Police hitting peaceful spanish protesters in Barcelona

beatrice33

This morning:

Pics: http://www.elpais.com/fotogaleria/Desalojo/campamento/elpgal/20110527elpepunac_1/Zes/1

Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Geg_6Xoy04s

My name is URL

They had it comin'. Dirty no-good pinko liberals.

and so forth

Laika1986

Few smacks can do no harm really. Its not that big a deal, Syria, Yemen etc are where the real **** is going down

mgmt

LOL

You think they'd move after one smack on the head. Silly hippies.

Nodin

My name is URL wrote: »

They had it comin'. Dirty no-good pinko liberals.

and so forth

...what ye get for sittin down and being peaceful.

Seachmall

Where were they? Did they have a right to be there? What are they protesting for? Is there a God? Did we evolve? Is Spain really a country? Do dogs think? Can your provide any answers to these questions?

_feedback_

The little rascals.

Jaysus, they were fairly going for them with the batons.

GrizzlyMan

should have just used Tear Gas to move them, Saves alot of energy!

Fratton Fred

Franco would have just shot them.

That's how society starts to crumble.

Mint Sauce

You dont mess with the Guardia Civil or Policía. Visit any Spainish holiday resort and you will see what they are capable of if anything kicks off.

Anyway. Didn't the Guards here or the Met in London react the same during recent sit down protests.

sensibleken

Primavera festival is on in barcalona at the moment where all my mates are. i would think the coppers would mind themselves with the 1000s of extra torists around

Nodin

irish-stew wrote: »

You dont mess with the Guardia Civil or Policía. Visit any Spainish holiday resort and you will see what they are capable of if anything kicks off.

Anyway. Didn't the Guards here or the Met in London react the same during recent sit down protests.

The Met were worse, actually. Very nasty - in with batons and shields and ne'er a hand raised against them in one incident.

gosuckonalemon

Dirty spanish krusties, you'd think they'd move after the first smack. Instead they all get out their Nikon D3's and start snapping.

They've made their point last week already, cops probably getting fed up with their shi,te!

BaronVon

The crowd provokes the police, it's the only way they'll get any attention to their protest!

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

gosuckonalemon wrote: »

Dirty spanish krusties, you'd think they'd move after the first smack. Instead they all get out their Nikon D3's and start snapping.

They've made their point last week already, cops probably getting fed up with their shi,te!

I think it's the journlaists with the cameras.

Out of interest, how many of the pro-police posters were in favour of protests when Fianna Fail were tryign to introduce massive cuts and taxes?

mikemac

I don't see an ID numbers on the police.
Maybe it was their protective gear covering it?

Still, I'd have thought they would have an ID number on their uniform

gosuckonalemon

Spain is proper ****ed, 5 million unemployed.

If I was living there with nothing to hold back I'd scrape the price of a one way flight together and fcuk off to South America and live there instead of being miserable in Spain.
Work as a labourer on a nice big farm in the pampass of Argentina, eat loads of good steak and drink loads of cheap wine. Fcuk that sit down protesting bollix

Nodin

feelingstressed wrote: »

I don't see an ID numbers on the police.
Maybe it was their protective gear covering it?

Still, I'd have thought they would have an ID number on their uniform

Its carved in raised lettering at the end of the baton.

beatrice33

:eek:
I cant believe some of the posters...

thats what i get for posting this in AH.

The protesters are peaceful, no provocation at all. The police excuse was to empty the place of protesters so they could clean the place... apart from the "few smacks" see pic

http://twitpic.com/534ban

They are protesting because of the current economy and society state in Spain.

mgmt

Ikky Poo2 wrote: »

I think it's the journlaists with the cameras.

Out of interest, how many of the pro-police posters were in favour of protests when Fianna Fail were tryign to introduce massive cuts and taxes?

You can protest and make a point, but don't be a dick about it. The farmers gave an example of how to protest during the week.

sensibleken

mgmt wrote: »

You can protest and make a point, but don't be a dick about it. The farmers gave an example of how to protest during the week.

how is sitting down being a dick?

Celly Smunt

it's the same over here,all the protesters should go get themselves jobs and stop being lay abouts littering the streets with their liberal hip talk.

gosuckonalemon

beatrice33 wrote: »

:eek:
I cant believe some of the posters...

thats what i get for posting this in AH.

The protesters are peaceful, no provocation at all. The police excuse was to empty the place of protesters so they could clean the place... apart from the "few smacks" see pic

http://twitpic.com/534ban

They are protesting because of the current economy and society state in Spain.

The guy in that pic looked like he deserved it in fairness!

Too many people with too much time on their hands. Place went down hill once Franco fell if you ask me!

prinz

sensibleken wrote: »

how is sitting down being a dick?

If I organise 100 people to sit across Grafton Street and block all through traffic of shoppers and pedestrians, should we be left there as long as we want? Or should we be moved?

sensibleken

gosuckonalemon wrote: »

The guy in that pic looked like he deserved it in fairness!

Too many people with too much time on their hands. Place went down hill once Franco fell if you ask me!

luckily nobody does

Redlion

Seems like the Spanish block up the streets over there too.

My name is URL

beatrice33 wrote: »

:eek:
I cant believe some of the posters...

thats what i get for posting this in AH.

The protesters are peaceful, no provocation at all. The police excuse was to empty the place of protesters so they could clean the place... apart from the "few smacks" see pic

http://twitpic.com/534ban

They are protesting because of the current economy and society state in Spain.

I wasn't being totally serious in my earlier post fwiw. Anyone with a functioning pair of eyes should be able to see that the Police reacted in a completely over the top fashion.

Many people here simply don't like the idea of protesting, and see it as a pastime for unemployed and smelly. The world is an irrational place

Celly Smunt

gosuckonalemon wrote: »

Too many people with too much time on their hands. Place went down hill once Franco fell if you ask me!

at least when franco was around people could earn a living without all those taxes paying welfare

Gunsfortoys

You haven't seen anything yet, you have to see what the regular posters will say.

It seems that not even a peaceful protest is allowed these days.

Some day a police officer like in the video will do some serious damage then the **** will hit the fan.

dlofnep

I'd expect nothing less from the Spanish police. That's all they are good for. Shame of anyone excusing this type of behaviour. Are people now allowed to have a peaceful sitdown protest anymore without being intimidated and beaten by Police?

No wonder Ireland has gone to **** with the attitudes in this thread. Anyone who has ever tried to protest in Ireland has had their character attacked. It's lowest common denominator bollocks.

Celly Smunt

beatrice33 wrote: »

:eek:
I cant believe some of the posters...

thats what i get for posting this in AH.

The protesters are peaceful, no provocation at all. The police excuse was to empty the place of protesters so they could clean the place... apart from the "few smacks" see pic

http://twitpic.com/534ban

They are protesting because of the current economy and society state in Spain.

i regularly do this to my girlfriend,it's just pig face fetish

Seamonster

“They had it comin'. Dirty no-good pinko liberals”, “Few smacks can do no harm really, Silly hippies”, “should have just used Tear Gas to move them”.....are you guys for real? I hope that´s sarcasm. The Spanish, and Irish government have destroyed our countries, 1000´s of smart, qualified people dying for jobs and a future which has been taken away from them while the elite few walk away with their millions. How can you people laugh and mock these protesters when we should be on their side? All they want is the government to know they are unhappy with things so Zapatero sends in the monkeys to beat peaceful protesters! They are even hitting a elderly woman for no reason! Zapatero just wants the square cleaned out so the footballers can get pissed and celebrate the match this weekend, it´s completely unfair the way these people are being treated, maybe you should be more active yourself instead of sitting at home in your comfortable pad laughing at everyone else....

Joshua Jones

Pigs get into power.
They send the old stallion to the glue factory.
The other animals get up in arms.
The pigs release the hounds.
Animals back down.

I thought people would get this old routine by now.

beatrice33

Gunsfortoys wrote: »

You haven't seen anything yet, you have to see what the regular posters will say.

It seems that not even a peaceful protest is allowed these days.

Some day a police officer like in the video will do some serious damage then the **** will hit the fan.

Thanks... Im assuming people are taking the piss...i think i would have a heart attack otherwise...

Celly Smunt

dlofnep wrote: »

I'd expect nothing less from the Spanish police. That's all they are good for. Shame of anyone excusing this type of behaviour. Are people now allowed to have a peaceful sitdown protest anymore without being intimidated and beaten by Police?

No wonder Ireland has gone to **** with the attitudes in this thread. Anyone who has ever tried to protest in Ireland has had their character attacked. It's lowest common denominator bollocks.

big hint

Homer

Live on Sky News..

Reporter to jobless hippie: Why are you protesting?

Jobless hippie: To make the government listen; we don't want them wasting our money and taxes.

["YEAH!" come the screams]

Studio police chap: It's cost £7million in extra policing for you to protest "peacefully" today.

Jobless hippy: ...

gosuckonalemon

Seamonster wrote: »

“They had it comin'. Dirty no-good pinko liberals”, “Few smacks can do no harm really, Silly hippies”, “should have just used Tear Gas to move them”.....are you guys for real? I hope that´s sarcasm. The Spanish, and Irish government have destroyed our countries, 1000´s of smart, qualified people dying for jobs and a future which has been taken away from them while the elite few walk away with their millions. How can you people laugh and mock these protesters when we should be on their side? All they want is the government to know they are unhappy with things so Zapatero sends in the monkeys to beat peaceful protesters! They are even hitting a elderly woman for no reason! Zapatero just wants the square cleaned out so the footballers can get pissed and celebrate the match this weekend, it´s completely unfair the way these people are being treated, maybe you should be more active yourself instead of sitting at home in your comfortable pad laughing at everyone else....

Which will generate a shed load of money for the economy assuming they have protestor free space to celebrate!

beatrice33

Seamonster wrote: »

“They had it comin'. Dirty no-good pinko liberals”, “Few smacks can do no harm really, Silly hippies”, “should have just used Tear Gas to move them”.....are you guys for real? I hope that´s sarcasm. The Spanish, and Irish government have destroyed our countries, 1000´s of smart, qualified people dying for jobs and a future which has been taken away from them while the elite few walk away with their millions. How can you people laugh and mock these protesters when we should be on their side? All they want is the government to know they are unhappy with things so Zapatero sends in the monkeys to beat peaceful protesters! They are even hitting a elderly woman for no reason! Zapatero just wants the square cleaned out so the footballers can get pissed and celebrate the match this weekend, it´s completely unfair the way these people are being treated, maybe you should be more active yourself instead of sitting at home in your comfortable pad laughing at everyone else....

All the posters who really think they are just a bunch of smelly unemployed, deserve all the crap their governemtn are throwing at them.

gosuckonalemon

Homer wrote: »

Live on Sky News..

Reporter to jobless hippie: Why are you protesting?

Jobless hippie: To make the government listen; we don't want them wasting our money and taxes.

["YEAH!" come the screams]

Studio police chap: It's cost £7million in extra policing for you to protest "peacefully" today.

Jobless hippy: ...

Good point but you lost marks for not putting on the spanish accent!

prinz

dlofnep wrote: »

Are people now allowed to have a peaceful sitdown protest anymore without being intimidated and beaten by Police?

Too black and white. Sometimes even sit down protesters have to be moved for their own safety as much as anything else. If the gardaí or Spanish cops left a sit down protest in a dangerous spot and one of the protestors got hurt the same people would be up in arms asking why didn't the police move them etc. Lose-lose. You have a right to sit down and protest but other peole have a right to go about their lives unaffected by your protest, so if you are blocking access to businesses/workplaces/
streets etc you should of course be moved. You try to resist being moved and force will be used, no problem with people having a sit down protest out of the way somewhere safe, where they aren't causing a disturbance to others.

dlofnep

prinz wrote: »

Too black and white. Sometimes even sit down protesters have to be moved for their own safety as much as anything else.

I think that batoning them across the head compromises their safety.

Seachmall

dlofnep wrote: »

I think that batoning them across the head compromises their safety.

So sedate them and then move them?

I would suggest reasoning with them but large groups tend not to like being reasoned with.

Gunsfortoys

Homer wrote: »

Live on Sky News..

Reporter to jobless hippie: Why are you protesting?

Jobless hippie: To make the government listen; we don't want them wasting our money and taxes.

["YEAH!" come the screams]

Studio police chap: It's cost £7million in extra policing for you to protest "peacefully" today.

Jobless hippy: ...

So the wonderful Spanish government spent 7 million on a few heavies with batons to beat a few peaceful protesters? I doubt any of them have a lit braincell between them.

dlofnep

Seachmall wrote: »

So sedate them and then move them?

I would suggest reasoning with them but large groups tend not to like being reasoned with.

I would hazard a guess that arbitrarily batoning people across the head probably isn't the most functional way to move on a crowd. If anything, it will only turn what was a peaceful protest into a violent one.

prinz

dlofnep wrote: »

I think that batoning them across the head compromises their safety.

So what do you suggest they do when a large group needs to be moved and steadfastly refuses to do so? Shower them with daisies? If they used water cannon you'd still be complaining. Tear gas... complain....

gosuckonalemon

Of course they have a right to a peaceful protest, however if I was running late for work and they blocked the road I wouldn't care if force was used to open up the street/road. People want to go about their daily lives.

prinz

dlofnep wrote: »

I would hazard a guess that arbitrarily batoning people across the head probably isn't the most functional way to move on a crowd. If anything, it will only turn what was a peaceful protest into a violent one.

The most functional way is to ask them to leave or disperse or move of their own accord. Generally that gets one response...

Seachmall

dlofnep wrote: »

I would hazard a guess that arbitrarily batoning people across the head probably isn't the most functional way to move on a crowd. If anything, it will only turn what was a peaceful protest into a violent one.

So, some suggestions?

Cianos

prinz wrote: »

Too black and white. Sometimes even sit down protesters have to be moved for their own safety as much as anything else. If the gardaí or Spanish cops left a sit down protest in a dangerous spot and one of the protestors got hurt the same people would be up in arms asking why didn't the police move them etc. Lose-lose. You have a right to sit down and protest but other peole have a right to go about their lives unaffected by your protest, so if you are blocking access to businesses/workplaces/
streets etc you should of course be moved. You try to resist being moved and force will be used, no problem with people having a sit down protest out of the way somewhere safe, where they aren't causing a disturbance to others.

I'd happily trade being inconvenienced on my way to work for the privilege of living in a society where protesting isn't struck down physically and with cynicism on first sight.

I don't see how anyone can get injured in a peaceful sit down protest - and disrupting the norm for a few hours for the sake of highlighting and bringing to the forefront bigger problems that have been going on for years is worth it.

And if anyone was injured I'm sure the good folk of AH would simply shout that they brought it upon themselves in the same way they brought being struck with a baton upon themselves :rolleyes:

TheDukeOfEarl

That was relatively disgraceful.

Gunsfortoys

gosuckonalemon wrote: »

Of course they have a right to a peaceful protest, however if I was running late for work and they blocked the road I wouldn't care if force was used to open up the street/road. People want to go about their daily lives.

No doubt if you didn't have a job, your wonderful reasoning would be along the lines of, " does durty governments need shot"!!!11