# Violent Left-wingers attack police **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 25, 2009, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violent-left-wingers-attack-police/511507 "2009-09-25T12:59:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violent-left-wingers-attack-police/511507/101 "2009-09-27T02:52:39Z")
All I know is that a bunch of assholes came in – NOT the majority, mind you – and made a total mess of MY home. They vandalized some businesses, and made themselves look like fools – just for the sake of “sticking it to the man.” Can any of you tell me WHAT said anarchists were protesting? Because the rest of them, the ones who made themselves heard, who didn’t hurt anyone, actually had a message, and were coherant. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violent-left-wingers-attack-police/511507/102 "2009-09-27T04:40:15Z")
The irony is (given that the OP blames “left-wingers”), there have been enough incidents of plain clothes police going into otherwise peaceful protests and instigating violence to blacken the protesters’ rep and give the cops an excuse to use strongarm tactics that many people assume it happens every time there’s a large public protest of this nature. And it’s impossible to say if they’re wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violent-left-wingers-attack-police/511507/103 "2009-09-27T05:02:24Z")
It really wasn’t “left-wingers” OR “right-wingers” in this case. I don’t think you call anarchists either, would you? ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violent-left-wingers-attack-police/511507/104 "2009-09-27T07:17:56Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > It really wasn’t “left-wingers” OR “right-wingers” in this case. I don’t think you call anarchists either, would you? I believe the word you are looking for is “idiots”. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violent-left-wingers-attack-police/511507/105 "2009-09-27T07:20:58Z")
Anarchists are aniticapitalist libertarians. That puts 'em somewhere on the left. ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violent-left-wingers-attack-police/511507/106 "2009-09-27T14:19:50Z")
> [@Olentzero](#): > > Anarchists are aniticapitalist libertarians. That puts 'em somewhere on the left. Umm, by my understanding of the definition, libertarians can not be anti-capitalist. That is the entire foundation of their political system, so without it, they don’t qualify as a libertarian. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violent-left-wingers-attack-police/511507/107 "2009-09-27T14:25:01Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > What the hell? “Multi-jurisdictional”? “It is not unusual for tactical team members to wear camouflaged fatigues. The type of fatigues the officers wear designates their unit affiliation.”? > > … > > No visible badges or uniforms (No, fatigues alone don’t count), a car that does _not_ look like a unmarked car. I got a problem with this setup, here. > **[G20 cops dressed in camo 'snatch' protester](https://www.rawstory.com/2009/09/video-appears-to-show-us-troops-kidnapping-protester/)** > > G20 security officials took responsibility Friday afternoon for a video that seemed to depict US troops 'kidnapping' a protester.The military was not involved in the incident, but G20 security did acknowledge that "law enforcement officers from a... The g20 admitted it. Their people did it. Conspiracy over. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violent-left-wingers-attack-police/511507/108 "2009-09-27T14:47:42Z")
… Gonzo, listen carefully to my words. Yes, I understand ‘their people did it’. I am asking 'what the sam hill are ‘their people’? Those words they used make no sense. Camo is one thing. [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/2574/3952118510_1f00e25329_b.jpg "DSCN1624") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/nycmonkey/3952118510/in/set-72157622449783388/) But as you can see here, it’s labeled camo. Unlabeled camo bothers the hell out of me. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violent-left-wingers-attack-police/511507/109 "2009-09-27T16:14:50Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > It really wasn’t “left-wingers” OR “right-wingers” in this case. I don’t think you call anarchists either, would you? If we make the right wing take responsibility for the Klan and its ilk we have to take responsibility for moronic student groups. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violent-left-wingers-attack-police/511507/110 "2009-09-27T17:11:13Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > If we make the right wing take responsibility for the Klan and its ilk we have to take responsibility for moronic student groups. I wouldn’t compare these guys to the Klan. More like the Teabaggers. But I guess you’re right. (I’m just pissed that it was in MY hood, you know?) I’d say, if they have to take responsibility for the Klan, the Nazis, etc, we take responsibility for the commies, the Bolsheviks, etc. That sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violent-left-wingers-attack-police/511507/111 "2009-09-27T19:43:05Z")
> [@Lok](#): > > Umm, by my understanding of the definition, libertarians can not be anti-capitalist. That is the entire foundation of their political system, so without it, they don’t qualify as a libertarian. Try picturing someone who despises the repressive authority of the State and thinks that it can be gotten rid of by overthrowing capitalism instead of removing all regulations and restrictions on it. There’s your anarchist. Anticapitalist libertarian. See? That wasn’t so difficult. > [@Guinastasia](#): > > I’d say, if they have to take responsibility for the Klan, the Nazis, etc, we take responsibility for the commies, the Bolsheviks, etc. That sort of thing. That’s quite all right, don’t need you doing that. We’re just fine without you all from Republican Lite getting involved. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violent-left-wingers-attack-police/511507/112 "2009-09-28T20:26:34Z")
> [@Sinaijon](#): > > **Violent Left-wingers attack police** [Actually, it was the other way around.](http://www.democracynow.org/2009/9/28/nearly_200_arrested_as_police_unleash) ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violent-left-wingers-attack-police/511507/113 "2009-09-28T21:58:57Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > [Actually, it was the other way around.](http://www.democracynow.org/2009/9/28/nearly_200_arrested_as_police_unleash) 1- Group attempts illegal march. 2- Group is (lawfully) ordered to disperse. -repeat #2 for approx 45 minutes- 3- Police begin to force a dispersal. 4- Folks complain because they are being forced to disperse, by means they were informed would be used, including gas, force, and “non-lethal” munitions. 5- Some of those folks attempt to resist legal and authorized use of force, and learn that groups of police in riot-gear who have been screamed at and pelted with bottles of urine and feces are not scared. ---
**Author:** ![Karrius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71c47a/32.png) [@Karrius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karrius)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violent-left-wingers-attack-police/511507/114 "2009-09-29T00:12:11Z")
Pitt student reporting in. There’s word from the Pitt news that all files against Pitt students are being dropped. The news today had a large issue on what happened, and a lot of it wasn’t good, such as people who weren’t involved in the riots - people who just stepped outside their dorms - teargassed, and then arrested when they tried to head back inside. There’s also a story of a group caught on one of the staircases, trying to get back TO the dorms to disperse, with a group of police at the top of the stairs blocking them, ordering to go back down… and a group of police at the bottom, also blocking them and ordering to go back up and into the dorms immediately. This group was apparently arrested – there’s supposed to be a youtube video on it, and I haven’t seen it yet, but one of the more trustworthy Pitt News writers talked about it, and there’s a lot of clatter about it. Overall, the majority of opinion on this campus is that yeah, everyone is glad that the jackass from California got his due and was arrested, and there’s a lot of support for the businesses with broken windows and such. There’s also a LOT of resentment against police - a lot of students who weren’t protesting were arrested, and a lot of people are extremely unhappy about it. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violent-left-wingers-attack-police/511507/115 "2009-09-29T00:45:26Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > [Actually, it was the other way around.](http://www.democracynow.org/2009/9/28/nearly_200_arrested_as_police_unleash) It is always that way. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violent-left-wingers-attack-police/511507/116 "2009-09-29T04:17:45Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Just when it couldn’t get dumber ,you felt the need to respond. You did get it dumber.Congrats. The English language has obtained a restraining order against you. ---
**Author:** ![UTejas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UTejas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UTejas)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violent-left-wingers-attack-police/511507/117 "2009-09-29T05:41:28Z")
> [@Karrius](#): > > Pitt student reporting in. > > There’s word from the Pitt news that all files against Pitt students are being dropped. The news today had a large issue on what happened, and a lot of it wasn’t good, such as people who weren’t involved in the riots - people who just stepped outside their dorms - teargassed, and then arrested when they tried to head back inside. > > There’s also a story of a group caught on one of the staircases, trying to get back TO the dorms to disperse, with a group of police at the top of the stairs blocking them, ordering to go back down… and a group of police at the bottom, also blocking them and ordering to go back up and into the dorms immediately. This group was apparently arrested – there’s supposed to be a youtube video on it, and I haven’t seen it yet, but one of the more trustworthy Pitt News writers talked about it, and there’s a lot of clatter about it. > > Overall, the majority of opinion on this campus is that yeah, everyone is glad that the jackass from California got his due and was arrested, and there’s a lot of support for the businesses with broken windows and such. There’s also a LOT of resentment against police - a lot of students who weren’t protesting were arrested, and a lot of people are extremely unhappy about it. [Students on the stairway story](http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=170729816899&ref=nf) link to a facebook group [Post-Gazette Coverage of Pitt Students](http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09270/1001203-482.stm): This is a good article on the situation. I’m a former Pitt student and I am quite upset with what had happened. It seems as if students, most of whom were minding their own business, were ordered to disperse and no matter where they went were met with more police. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violent-left-wingers-attack-police/511507/118 "2009-09-29T12:24:52Z")
It seems to me that a group of people trying to show that a hierarchical power structure is not needed to enforce social order would self-police their own god damned protests to prevent people from breaking windows. ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violent-left-wingers-attack-police/511507/119 "2009-09-29T15:15:46Z")
But then they wouldn’t get on international news, being shown “fighting the Man.” ---
**Author:** ![Karrius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71c47a/32.png) [@Karrius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karrius)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violent-left-wingers-attack-police/511507/120 "2009-09-29T16:48:10Z")
Thanks, UTejas! More from Pitt campus. The Pitt News had a lot more info today, including several conservative columnists condemning police action during last week. There was apparently a meeting last night (or over the weekend? not sure) about students gathering and voicing their opinions on what happened during the G-20, and sharing stories. There was no violence or anything of the sort. Today, now, there are a bunch of fliers all around campus, encouraging upset students to meet up in the Union tonight, talk about what happened, and calm down. The fliers are encouraging peace, and resolving any issues through mediation. The fliers are posted by the College Democrats. Contrast this with the editorials that appeared in the paper before the G-20 itself, but some of the more extreme republican columnists, who said that they hoped “there would be a good hippie bashing”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violent-left-wingers-attack-police/511507.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violent-left-wingers-attack-police/511507.md?page=7)