Powerful video of paramilitary police stomping on the First Amendment

I stumbled upon this the other day and thought it was extremely powerful, illustrating the unacceptable weathering away of our first amendment rights. It's only about 8 minutes long but watch it and try not to get p*ssed.

Protests and the First Amendment
Click here to watch the video

The description is as follows:

Local law enforcement agencies across the United States and Canada are being militarized at an alarming rate. As the Federal Government -- largely through the DOD and Homeland Security -- dole out billions of dollars in military hardware to police departments across the country in the name of the War on Drugs, the War on Terror, or fear of the civil unrest that comes with failing economies, our police officers can now be seen emulating the war-fighting tactics of soldiers.

Amidst all this, our First Amendment right to petition our government for a redress of grievances is being unwittingly and covertly "abridged." The right to petition, or protest, though it remains on paper can only be done AS LONG as one applies for a government permit which says they're allowed to do so.

To say that one only has the right to exercise a right once they ask the government for permission to do so is fundamental blasphemy to many of us who support freedom, liberty, and the constitution. And even if it makes sense in a very mundane way, you must be able to see the danger that setting such a precedent creates -- in many cases, it is not up to you, the citizenry, to decide when, how, and where you exercise your first amendment right to free speech. It is up to the government, whether it be local, state, or federal. They have the ultimate authority, and this stands totally opposed to what was intended in the words of the Constitution.

Through these and other mechanisms, our ability to peacefully petition the government has lost much if not most of its effectiveness. Protests have been reduced to mere sidewalk performance pieces. As the police cordon off designated areas for the petitioning to take place, it is nearly impossible to reach out to other uninformed citizens. In a sense, protesters are just preaching to the choir. There is no effect on the world outside their little bubble and the whole thing becomes mere background noise. There is no urgency. There is no spontaneity. And if you do so much as step outside your designated petition area, your peaceful protest risks turning into a riot, and what little the outside world sees of your movement will be in an extremely negative light.

Spread the word...

Where's the vid? Link?

Thanks

reply to post by soma100


I think you need to fix your video link.
it might help thing just a little


EDIT: Oh good it's working now

www.youtube.com...






embedded for you
second line thx for sharing this video

I apologize for the mishandled video link and appreciate the heads up. I went ahead and simply placed in a direct link to the page as oppose to the video itself, mainly because I couldn't get it to work that way for some reason.

Protests and the First Amendment

i've said time and time again that it's the police that will deliver us to the powers that be......the police don't even know that's what they are doing and they won't ever know...sure you'll hear of a few that will break from the orders, but not enough of them to be meaningful.....these guys are being trained to believe that we are their enemies.....you can see it on this website, you can even see where the military are coming in here and ganging up on us in the threads.....wake up people, your sons, daughters, moms, dads, brothers, sisters, friends, etc.. that are serving in any kind of armed forces will be the deliverers.....they will be and are being told that we are the enemy.....peace out and may god save us all from the police.......

reply to post by soma100


S&F for you!

I have long said that our local "Law Enforcement" is being militarized through massive grants by the fed's in the name of the war on drugs or the war on terror. They have been turned into a paramilitray force and no longer resemble law enforcement agencies. They tend to generally look down on the public and treat most citizens as if we are all guilty of some criminal act.

I don't know about where you live, but here in central Fl most all of the street cops walk around in black military BDU's and boots and most wear black t-shirts and tactical vests that say "POLICE" on the back with no other ensignias at all. I was at the local grocery store the other day and there was a cop in front of me dressed exactly that way with a tactical assualt vest on with at least 6 clips of ammo in his vest.

Jefferson said that when the people fear the government there is tyranny, but when the government fears the people there is liberty. That is why we are living in the condition we are in now, because the government through it's passage of unconstitutional laws and regulations have regulated the people into a state of fear.

reply to post by soma100


Where are the men of America? All it would take is enough men to stand up to these thugs but apparently we have become nation of cowards...

Originally posted by hawkiye
reply to post by soma100

 

Where are the men of America? All it would take is enough men to stand up to these thugs but apparently we have become nation of cowards...

we have become a nation that is scared of our police forces....even the people who are republicans now feel watched and victimized by the police and the government....i don't believe in parties, but when the homeland security starts claiming my parents are terrorists because they are republicans something is wrong........

reply to post by soma100


we need to retaliate soon or its going to be too late

everyone on this site should make all their posts from now on about revolting against the opression.
lets start the revolution against tyranny right now!

stand up people
money is not your god if you choose

When the police come on here to defend how crooked they are, they will rank each other up and the police mods will give them applause for their good work.

wow we're pretty much boned arent we.

at least change the name of our police to "select law enforcement officers" or just "enforcement officers", to more accurately reflect their current roles.

reply to post by snarfbot


I prefer to use a term that, IMHO, "more accurately reflects their current roles", which is frakking pigs. I don't care what anyone says, that's the way I see it and I don't see that changing. I don't care if I'm stereotyping them, once a pig always a pig and I cannot ever have any respect for them.

What's that saying that caught traction last election? You can put lipstick on a pig but in the end, it's still a pig? Something like that, anyway.

We are living in a police state. it's them against us. Sad state of affairs nowadays.

reply to post by TheLoony


I preper to refer to them as "Tyranny Enforcement Officers".

reply to post by Nucleardiver


Sounds about right to me.

There will be no curiosity, no enjoyment of the process of life. All competing pleasures will be destroyed. But always—do not forget this, Winston—always there will be the intoxication of power, constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler. Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory, the sensation of trampling on an enemy who is helpless. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—forever. —Part III, Chapter III, Nineteen Eighty-Four

reply to post by Nucleardiver


Agreed with everything you said. Here is another example of what you speak. They need this in Afghanistan, not St. Louis...

The department will seek bids for the project, to be financed with half of a $500,000 grant. It could be running within months.

Toys for St. Louis Police

$ not well spent.

CJ