They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but this picture from the Chicago NATO protest is worth a million words.
I wrote these words after looking at the body language from picture. Now there is a sequence of pictures available showing that violence from protesters was also involved. Violent conflict is complicated and messy. I regret the editorial error. These pictures should speak for themselves.
The calm discipline of the unarmed and unprotected protesters await the raised batons of the armored police.
The expression of attacking officer caught in the act of unleashing a punch is the face of the abuse of power. Imagine how it must feel to be the one taking that picture. The courage of our protesters comes through loud and clear.
Why is the punching officer not in riot gear? Is he an higher ranking officer charged with supervising his men and setting an example of how to enforce the law?
It's my experience that it's the officers wearing the shirts who are often more eager to fight the class war. Will his badge number displayed in an act of questionable use of force result in a disciplinary inquiry?
This contrast between nonviolent peaceful protester and the police intimidation by force needs to go viral.
“Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals.”
Martin Luther King
“Nonviolence is a weapon of the strong”
Mahatma Gandhi
7:51 AM PT: Here is the sequence of photos from the Chicago Tribune
http://galleries.apps.chicagotribune.com/...
Violence from the protesters emerges as a contributory factor in the conflict, but the photographs clearly show how ugly the police response was.
Another amazing photo
There is book at the center of the swirl of conflict. The cover: George Orwell 1984.
The moral of this diary is that life is complex and sweeping generalizations are not. Violent protesters did participate in this situation, but the majority of the protesters photographed have open hands and protective postures.
Let's keep the vision alive and learn the discipline and power of nonviolence.