General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Putting the picture of the Chicago cop punching a protester in context [View all]facetious_badger
(16 posts)Thank you for the balanced viewpoint! Much of those alleged police brutality clips never show the whole picture of what happened. The police have shown a great deal of restraint. The police are vastly outnumbered, there are some groups who are vocal about their dislike or hatred of the police, and riots can be instigated more rapidly than most people think. They can't just focus on the people in front of them, they have to monitor 360 degrees around themselves, constantly assess the mood of the crowd, keep on the lookout for any potential crime, are often heckled and have things thrown at them, and must still be able to engage with people in the crowd. For the duration of their time in the crowd they keep every single one of those points constantly in mind, and often do not have any protection except for maybe a bulletproof vest. It's scary stuff, and violence can crop up out of nowhere with the slightest shift in the crowd's mood.