Paid Protesters coming to Phoenix area? (taxes, living in, ordinance)

[DutchessCottonPuff]

Originally Posted by raimeiken

lol you guys believe this stuff? Don't be so gullible. Fake postings by the right wing, so gullible people will eat it up, share it on social media or other echo chamber hole they belong to and blame the other side for starting stuff.

this ^^^^^^

[TempeAZnative]

Originally Posted by Zippyman

This might be the scariest attitude I've seen expressed so far. Much scarier than "nazis" or "Antifa" being present in Phoenix. Shooting someone in the nads with a pepper beanbag is against police protocol because it can kill them *and* because the police aren't there to torture dissidents.

Whomever took that shot (if it was intentionally placed there) broke the law while wearing a badge.

Tossing a teargas canister (by hand) back at the person who propelled it at you with a gun is, in my view - appropriate. The only reason police are allowed to use teargas is because it's "harmless".

Think about cops intentionally shooting people in the crotch - not during a trump rally, but maybe at a meeting of the (aptly named) corporation commission, or the council when they do a taxpayer giveaway & you might like to protest that. There are times in a democracy when normal, reasonable people need to show up & face their government to protest an imminent wrong. If the cops are allowed to shoot you in the junk for that, then they can only blame themselves when protesters get even more violent.

I have zero sympathy for a paid agitator who went to there with a gas mask knowing they are going to try to riot. The Phoenix PD handled it perfectly and antifa ran for the hills when they were finally challenged by police and not allowed to destroy property.

[Valley Native]

I'm sick of these protesters from all sides. While protesting is a First Amendment right, it seems that many protesters are taking this too far ... and it's obvious many of them have nothing better to do with their time. This applies not only to the political protesters, but those who fight against everything including development (NIMBYs). They obviously have few goals in life except making trouble and seeking attention.

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by TempeAZnative

I have zero sympathy for a paid agitator who went to there with a gas mask knowing they are going to try to riot. The Phoenix PD handled it perfectly and antifa ran for the hills when they were finally challenged by police and not allowed to destroy property.

According to the reports here- you've got video evidence of the police using deadly force against an unarmed protester (a shot to the junk is deadly), further - in this thread you've got someone who claimed to have witnessed someone getting shot directly by a rubber bullet (rubber bullets are supposed to be bounced off the ground, not shot directly at a person).

If the cops are improperly using "non lethal" force in a *lethal* manner, it's absolutely no different than just pulling out their glocks and shooting unarmed protesters (except for the "deniability" part). That's nothing to be proud of.

[KurtAZ]

Originally Posted by Zippyman

According to the reports here- you've got video evidence of the police using deadly force against an unarmed protester (a shot to the junk is deadly), further - in this thread you've got someone who claimed to have witnessed someone getting shot directly by a rubber bullet (rubber bullets are supposed to be bounced off the ground, not shot directly at a person)..

Where did you hear this? Indirect fire is one way of deploying Impact munitions but it is not the only way. Police Officers ARE supposed to aim for muscle areas though...thighs, biceps, etc. So the guy that got shot in the crotch was just a misplaced shot. The officer was probably aiming at his leg.

You seem to be excusing the protesters for throwing projectiles at the officers in the first place.

[johnp292]

Originally Posted by Zippyman

It's not just $25 an hour, it's plane fare (last minute), lodging and meals as well.. Probably $1000 a "protester" pretty easily.. That's some serious cash to be throwing around.

Come on Zippy, you don't believe that's real, do you?

[Bungle]

The guy shot in the junk is answering questions here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/phoenix/com...t_shot_in_the/

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by KurtAZ

Where did you hear this? Indirect fire is one way of deploying Impact munitions but it is not the only way. Police Officers ARE supposed to aim for muscle areas though...thighs, biceps, etc. So the guy that got shot in the crotch was just a misplaced shot. The officer was probably aiming at his leg.

You seem to be excusing the protesters for throwing projectiles at the officers in the first place.

I think both sides of this particular confrontation were idiots, but tossing a can of teargas back towards the guys who shot it at you with a *gun* isn't equivalent. If *shooting* cans of teargas at protesters isn't "deadly force", then returning one by hand isn't "deadly force". The police don't get to have it both ways - it's either harmless & no big deal, or it's "deadly" force & being /intentionally/ misused against the public. That's why I'm 100% against the use of "non lethal" crowd control measures - there's a double-standard & deadly force is often being used against unarmed people.

As for rubber bullets being directly aimed at people, the manufacturers info I've seen says they need to be bounced, not aimed directly, or they're no longer "non lethal". There's a poster earlier in this thread claiming he saw someone "knocked down" by a rubber bullet- an indirect hit isn't going to knock an adult down.

The primary point being - when you start shooting & gassing protesters- you're stifling dissent & escalating force.

That leaves legitimate protesters with two options - stop protesting, or start shooting.

My concern isn't this particular protest - my concern is future protests that may be legitimate.

If I organize a group of neighbors to go yell at the corporation commission for being as crooked as a three-dollar-bill, is it going to be "o.k." with you to shoot me in the junk? It'll likely be the same officers that get called to remove "disorderly" rate payers.. is that the kind of country you want to live in? Whomever has the ear of the police gets the use of a free army to stifle whomever objects?

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by Bungle

The guy shot in the junk is answering questions here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/phoenix/com...t_shot_in_the/

Thanks for posting this. Doesn't sound like a paid protester as has been alleged here multiple times.

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by johnp292

Come on Zippy, you don't believe that's real, do you?

Absolutely don't believe it's real, just pointing out the absurdity of the offer - no one is going to spend thousands of dollars per protester to fly them in.