Unnecessary Violence Against Peaceful Protestors

Pak See Ip

ASA 2-A02

Blog 2

          From the 1960s to the 2010s, some major sit-down protests had eventually turned out to be peaceful protestors versus violent police officers. As Robby Cohen described in his article, “Berkeley Free Speech Movement: Paving the Way for Campus Activism”, the Berkeley Free Speech Movement involved students who organized a sit-down for the release of a graduate student who set up a table for racial equality on campus. The police eventually arrested many protestors, even though they had caused no harm. The Berkeley Free Speech Movement and the 2011 UC Davis Pepper Spray Incident that we learned about in class reminded me of the recent Umbrella Revolution that took place in Hong Kong last year. The Umbrella Revolution is a sit-down protest against the Chinese government’s restrictive control over which candidates are “qualified” to become the Chief Executive of Hong Kong. Due to the large amount of protestors, police tried to use pepper spray and tear gas to disperse the crowd who had no weapons but umbrellas, masks, goggles, and wet towels to protect themselves. Although some may consider the Umbrella Revolution as a failure, it actually captured global attention and made students of our generation become more aware of what is happening around the world.

           In most, if not all of these protests, police always comes first before a negotiation between the protestors and administration. It is not until people are injured or the protests gain attention that the administrations finally agree to negotiate. Why is it necessary for police to intervene when a peaceful negotiation can be accomplished without them?

Pictured are protestors with umbrellas to protect themselves from tear gas and pepper spray targeted at them during the Umbrella Revolution in Hong Kong