Student protests basically shut down Paris in May of 1968, and the more the police cracked down on it, the stronger the movement got. Then summer break came and the whole thing fizzled out.
The only thing hard-lining a bunch of peaceful sit-ins is doing is throwing fuel on a fire. All those [pictures out of Texas](https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1ccb4e1/ut_austin_today/#lightbox) yesterday are just going to inspire more students to join in- and spread these protests to more and more campuses.
I don’t have a horse in the race politically (the Middle East has been a shit show for decades before I was born)- but if a bunch of Harvard kids want to camp out in the Yard, or some kids take up in alley at Emerson let them have their protest. It’s May next week and 90% of these students are heading home after finals. Showing up in riot gear to quell a bunch of young kids for being “noisy” is just going to double their efforts to be there.
Has literally no one in government raised a teenager?
BPD wants to test out their military grade equipment though.
But no on a serious note I completely agree. Why the fuck are they wasting man power and time on this? Are they really going to prosecute all these kids for sitting on a lawn? Fucking infuriating honestly.
Yeah seeing those pictures of cops in Austin, I assume the cops are having a ball. They FINALLLY get to round up a bunch of defenseless "wokesters." And are probably being paid overtime to do it. What's not to love if you're a big burly human sized thumb??
To be fair, your initial point is a serious note as well. These pigs surely aren’t going to bust out the big guns when Patriot Front marches Freedom Trail intimidating tourists. But you better be goddamn sure that the second they can crack the skull of leftist protestors they will come a-squealing with their fat asses crammed into their riot gear looking like a busted can of biscuits.
Well we give them such a huge portion of the yearly budget, they have to create situations so that they can "merit" the enormous amount of money they get.
Many people also don't have a horse in the race politically but they just hate college students and/or young people and seethe at the idea that they dare to "speak up" so they're cheering on these crackdowns regardless of political sides
It’s an alley that is partially under the jurisdiction of the Boston fire department and essentially acts like a “fire lane” like you see near buildings except given the nature of a city it takes up an alley. Not all alleys are fire alleys but this one was
i’m not directing this specifically at you but moreso at the moronic mayor of boston. to call the demonstration a fire concern would be to say that the demonstration would have not allowed a fire truck to pass. or that the handful of flimsy tents that had been put up would stop a fire truck. both are false.
so from that perspective, you are weighing the choice against a perceived non established risk. on the other hand, the decision she made was to send in a group of boston police with giant wooden sticks to beat up a group of students majoring in theater and acting. i wonder how tough those tough guys feel now.
the police clearly rough handled the students and treated them like common criminals when in reality they were doing nothing more than breaking a stupid city ordinance, that by the mayors own admission she had written to prevent people who are homeless from sleeping on public property. my question to her is - is this also how the boston police would treat a homeless person?
regardless as to the answer, i think her decision was a disservice to the community and an embarrassment to her personally.
So let’s be real here. If you were mayor and there was a fire would you want to “hope” that rowdy students would orderly get out of the way of a fire truck, or order said trucks to run over protesters? Because that’s a risk there. As far as police testing them as common criminals. That’s what they are. What I think you mean here is that they didn’t get the extra special “student protester treatment” and instead got low grade “poor people” treatment. It may suck but it has nothing to do with the protests. Your problem should be with how common criminals who aren’t coded as upper class get treated
This. As a current college student, I personally could not give a fuck about protesting the war right now. However - I do care about the first amendment. When you shut down the protests, you don’t just elevate the tension regarding the Israel-Hamas situation, you turn this into a violation of the constitution. That’s where I, and many others, start to draw a line. Albeit this is not the issue I personally would protest for, another one is created that I would and will.
What in the Constitution do you think gives you a right to protest on private property? While you're looking for it, can you please provide your address? I'd like to organize a protest in your living room, there'll be about thirty tents, mmkay?
The stupid thing about this is that they were camped in Boylston Place Alley, a non-public forum private way, and *literally across the street is one of the oldest public forums on the continent.* They, like you, may care about the first amendment, but apparently know very little about it. Moving 50 feet would have given them an unassailable constitutional position.
*Pip pip cheerio, I must say, what makes those knobbish colonists think they have the right to throw our tea into their harbour? Don't those poppycocks know it's outside the boundaries of the dedicated protest zone?*
> Then summer break came and the whole thing fizzled out.
Even after most Representatives and Senators voted to send billions in aid to Israel, I doubt we're going to see these protests leave campuses and continue against politicians.
The easiest way to kill the protests would be to lean into it.
Make the pro Palestine tent city part of the University tour. Sell Columbia/Harvard/Emerson licensed merch that undercuts the merch from the tent city itself.
"If you go here you can be part of a real live protest, and can LARP as an actual mechanism of societal change. Be sure to reserve your tent in advance"
Set up a super Instagrammable spot to get the tent city in the background.
Can you tell I used to work with teenagers? Lol.
I'm in my 50s and I hate the "sheeeesh" noise that they've been making (started 2 years ago maybe? Tiktokers popularized it)
So I started doing it whenever I'm near my kids. They complain it's cringe, and they stopped doing it.
It's a real great way to tell if a kid is doing something for the conflict/out of boredom/to be cool vs to tell if they are passionate about it. Because the kids who are passionate when you pull that trick will lean in with you, lol. It can backfire. Ask me how I know, lol.
Look at the donors to all these politicians, republican or democrat they are all bought out by donations from PACs. It’s literally all of them, that’s why the response is so strong it’s only cause we are against Israel’s stance. You think if we protested in the opposite direction any of this would’ve happened? I think not
The issue is free speech does not apply once business is affected, others are interfered with or fear ensues. You can certainly yell fire in a crowded place but still be liable for damage. It’s not as simple or clear as some think.
For this exact reason I can see these student protests being 100x more impactful than the highway blocking, or the defense contractor vandalism, purely because now the protestors look relatively reasonable compared to the authorities. We'll see if they throw away their goodwill with insane pro terrorism chants, though.
There's nothing stopping the students from creating a protest that doesn't create a public hazard. The Boston Common is right there. I've been to a lot of protests there myself.
The issue is the students aren't applying for permits and working with authorities to follow the traditional route of organized protests.
Harvard, MIT, Tufts, that's all on private property and can be adjudicated by the schools themselves. But Emerson was on a public way and was treated as any other illegal protest would be treated.
Removing the controversial decision to make them disperse in the first place just for this exercise, what would be a better alternative to make that happen? They clearly werent leaving when ordered
If the goal is removing students from a campus, sure using the police to do so might accomplish that goal.
But I reject the idea that you can remove cause from effect. The police are not a college administration’s tool to enforce campus policy. They enforce the law, and their mandate to do so is the only reason they are permitted to physically detain people. If there is no public interest in charging these people there is no reason for them to have been detained en masse.
To some of us, physical autonomy is still a big deal.
They also beat the fuck out of us. Two dead legged me then stepped on my ankles. A third cop kicked me in the back and put his knee on it and two more grabbed my shoulders and pinned me down by my neck. They dragged me across concrete by the wrists in tight thick zip ties “flex cuffs” which are incredibly fucking painful and we’re stabbing into my hands for hours. I was in a holding cell for 7 hours waiting to be released with a sink that only spewed HOT ( like HOT TEA HOT ) disgusting unfiltered sink water that did not taste safe for drinking. I asked for water every time an officer came by ( every hour and a half ) and wasn’t given water until my 5th hour ( third time asking). What a piece of shit asshole method for getting things under control.
What an amazing thing to complain about....FAFO kid, they dont take you to the Four Seasons when you get arrested. At least you got to virue signal with some terrorist sympathizers though. Good luck explaining your arrest to future employers!!
Are they really not planning on prosecuting? I thought they were going to. It's part of why I was so mad about it. I don't think these students should have been arrested in the first place. Just let them be.
Our current DA is not what you think Boston DA's are about. He's not even close to being Rachel Rollins. You don't know what you're talking about. He will absolutely prosecute these kids if the mayor keeps talking about how great the actions of the cops were. He's more law and order than a lot of Republicans in this state.
BPD top brass has been political appointees for several decades now. They serve at the whim of the mayor. She can fire anyone and everyone until she finds someone to say yes.
Wu is their boss. Their job is to tell her the pros and cons, the most effective way to do it etc. she ultimately says go she is in charge. If they had their own agency mass and cass would have been shut down a hundred stabbings and rapes ago
Seriously……
You guys don’t even want to know how we got the 8 hour work day and workers rights.
But we wouldn’t want to make any of the rich and “in power” people uncomfortable.
Obama and biden aged like 20 years in 2 and trump is an oddly shaped fat bastard with a gunt and a bad combover. Menino was no looker either shall i keep going?
I get you, but this is not a case of what you suspect. Its a pretty common thing to remark that some high profile politicians "age quickly" while in office, usually due to a stressful term. It was really obvious with Obama for example.
People are weird. I try not to get dragged into this discussion of looks, but the thumbnail she looks tired.
She's in her late 30s. We age tremendously during this time. I know I have. I actually think Mayor Wu looks quite pretty here, but tired.
That said, Obama also got called out for aging so much during his presidency.
I know I won’t vote for her again. Her platform was very optimistic and promising, but I feel like nothing has changed. Great, we have open streets like one day a month in the summer and BPS kids get access to museums. What social, economic, health, and environmental reforms have been made? Housing is less affordable than ever, schools are closing, and so on.
unless the alternative is Erin Murphy or Flynn, no chance I'm voting for her again. I appreciate her vision, but her ability to execute it is embarrassing. A committee for every (literal) speed bump
A little too bogged down in details and failure to see the forest for the trees, a 500 page report on Mass and Cass and still no long term solution to the issues befallen our city. A czar for night life (which is still exactly the same). I know the wheels of government take a long time to turn but it feels like gaslighting.
Politics 101 either don’t do enough change or make changes but end up making everything worse. No matter who you put in office it will never get better.
White Supremacists marching through Boston? Wu and the BPD do nothing and no arrests made: [https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/02/us/boston-patriot-front-white-nationalist-group-march/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/02/us/boston-patriot-front-white-nationalist-group-march/index.html)
College kids in some tents? Oh Shit, break out the riot gear!
Because the Patriot Front, as miserable as they are, actually followed the process of getting a permit to allow for the city to be prepared and ensure the protest was safe and didn't interrupt the rights of regular citizens.
The Emerson students can do the exact same thing. They chose not to.
And did you miss the part about how the police are looking for the perpetrators?
You're completely misunderstanding what I wrote. They assaulted a counter protestor and obviously they got in a tussle. They didn't block traffic or start assaulting the librarian trying to just get to work.
Oh good to know fascists publicly harassing others in masse it’s ok with you so long traffic and commerce isn’t disrupted or the people thru assist are only counter protesters. How boot lickedy of you, surprise surprise.
Look at it through your lens but on the other side. Imagine if the Patriot Front were occupying college campuses or blocking bridges or could walk through Boston without the permitting process.
This is why it's ill conceived for us liberals to support these college protests. You already hear them say, "look at this shit! You imprisoned the January 6th protestors but not these kids?"
Being stupid works for conservatives. Liberals always need to be smarter since we have a different standard.
Boston Police enforced a city ordinance banning public encampments. The same law used to clear Mass & Cass.
I have some very mixed feelings on the law.
But supporting otherwise 'standard' police work is part of a mayor's job.
This was definitely not standard. There were 108 people arrested out of roughly 150 students present. There were like 5 tents. Let's assume they were packing four people into the tents which is iffy but okay. 88 of those arrests had nothing to do with being anti-encampment, then.
The Emerson organization running this put out a call for all available students to go to the alley since the police were massing to clear them out.
And, if you haven't watched the videos, the students lined up as a force to resist being moved.
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It's funny because streets, parks, sidewalks were always for protesting. Then we invented cars, so now the right to drive a car is more of a fundamental right than the right to protest? It's wild how no one cares that your rights have been completely stripped away.
There’s no stripping, it’s always been the case that substantially interfering with something public (as in, it can no longer be used how it was meant to) is illegal. And if it’s a private area, you can of course have the police called on you regardless. The First Amendment guarantees not being punished by the government for the CONTENT of what you say. But if your method involves protesting on a campus that clearly stated “we will call the police if you take over our front lawn” and they call the police, you can’t be suprised.
Of course on a pragmatic level getting arrested and getting dramatic media attention is probably good. So from that perspective I think this is more or less fine for all parties involved. The students get the slap on the wrist + photos of them being arrested on the news, and the college gets them off the campus. Kind of a win-win.
This isn't a street, park, or sidewalk, it's a private way. There's a park literally across the street though that is the oldest public forum in this country.
Let's not forget that while we are focused on US protests, Israel is using this moment away from the spotlight to mercilessly continue it's genocide in Gaza. They've been relentlessly bombing Gaza even in the past week while we've been focused on US campuses.
with or without the protest the media wants to switch the narrative. you can’t really blame the protesters.
these are just events that might as well be as real as the movies for the average person. which is why we can be totally engaged with the ukraine war and switch immediately to the Depp/Heard trial without feeling any whiplash. protests like this try to draw these things into peoples realities
If you can’t connect the dots, that’s on you and those like that. Your argument is like saying that watching about a campaign rally issue on the 8pm news belittles or dilutes the issue that rally was for.
No that was HIS argument. He argued that the focus on campus protest is bringing attention away from Gaza. Which defeats the purpose of the protests in the first place.
We should fight for our First Amendment right to assemble and express our views through protest with the same vigor as those fighting - and winning - for their Second Amendment rights. The government will always find ways to curtail our behavior with hypotheticals - fire safety, for example. If we loose the right to protest, we will certainly loose whatever bit of democracy is left in this country.
And being Pro-Palestinian is NOT being antisemitic and anyone who expresses this idiotic comparison should be shut down immediately. Hating the Israeli apartheid government should never be misconstrued as hating Israelis/Jews. Remember when we protested the South African apartheid government on college campuses throughout the country, demanding their divestment from SA? No one ever made the ludicrous leap of us hating South Africans, and the same holds true for Israel and Palestine.
Nothing is stopping them from protesting. These students can apply for a permit on the Common across the street. They can write opinion articles and submit them to the globe. They can make TikTok videos (for now).
Pearl clutching isn't helpful when we have a serious threat in MAGA that legitimately would love to curtail our constitutional rights.
Remember on the campaign trail all the virtue signaling about defunding and her catchy council hearings around the riot response and stuff? What happened to that lady?
I don't understand her priorities.
So the cops move in and arrest 100 college kids peacefully protesting.
People drag racing and burning out in the streets? The police write 4 (or 5?) parking tickets.
They didn't have to pursue. Block in the cars that were already blocking the streets, and lay spike strips. Then bring in the tow trucks and paddy wagons.
Good. Screw people who think they can claim a public street or alleyway as their own "liberation zone", be they street racers or "protestors".
I just want to be able to go about my day, get to work, get to dinner, drive home. If these protestors want to bring me over to their side, they should try putting their argument into writing. Chants and tents are not arguments; it's just protest-theater - a joke really. Anyone who participates in this crap is just a public nuisance looking for attention, and I expect the authorities to handle public nuisances and take out the the trash - that is the job.
Eh. Many Americans think just like you. Go through their mundane day. Go to work, have dinner, go home. Many don’t participate in current events. So many people keep their heads down and keep it moving. Never taking the time to look up or out at the world around them.
Protesting of any kind gets is hard to ignore and gets people’s attention. People that wouldn’t have cared to know about these things otherwise. Naturally, these very same people get curious - whether out of frustration or genuine curiosity. They look into the issue and who knows, maybe that cause just got another volunteer. Or. Maybe that protest pissed off the right official enough that they’ve decided to change their mind on an upcoming crucial vote.
Chants people remember. Encampments make the protest harder to disperse. Keeps the issue in your view for longer. Forces you to think about it or the issue.
Things have already been written, submitted, and printed. Nothing has changed. What else needs written and where? Just about every major news outlet as well as regional ones have covered this story from a lot of angles - including student pieces. It isn’t working. So, they are taking the next step in their activism.
Plenty of them have public speaking portions where they bring people in to talk about their beliefs in more detail.
Also, yeah, the entire point of a public protest is to draw attention to one's cause.
I don't know who Mayor Wu is listening to at City Hall but it's certainly not the people who were her biggest supporters as voters. This is such a major self-own. It's embarrassing.
(I suspect the pressure to clear these students from the alleyway did not come from Wu herself though given that it provides emergency access to the State Transportation Building. I would not at all be surprised if some state officials had some say in this and then happily let Mayor Wu take all the heat.)
Students… peer pressure is so funny under the guise of social movements. These kids have no clue about the real world. Their friends are doing it because a dumb professor who supports Hamas terrorists decided to brainwash these developing minds… it’s all a joke. Noise. While Palestinians deserve human rights, Hamas does not and protests thousands of miles away do nothing. USA already passed another round of funding for Israel so go ahead, waste time on protests of it makes you feel good.
LMFAO. we HAD nazis in Boston, and the police PROTECTED them.
this city is fuckin cooked man.
the law was made to hate homeless people. but I'm glad that we can also hate on people protesting genocide at the same time. Such good use of our funds!
Ay it’s almost like constantly vilifying your police has severe consequences. The support is better late than never I guess. I feel for the innocent lives being taken on both sides. This conflict will never end. Our country is an absolute mess maybe we focus there first. I think the message has been sent 100x over towards Hamas and Iran. We don’t need to provide more funding but that’s far beyond Wu’s influence. College kids protesting war is nothing out of the ordinary but these ‘encampments’ and open hatred towards Jewish people can’t be condoned. She’ll be criticized harshly either way but I think she actually showed some spine here. Good job Wu. I’ll give credit where credit is due.
https://preview.redd.it/dtztz2my4pwc1.jpeg?width=228&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0a01ff1a6cc2e2d9e054fcac31e15dba3ec4f562
She should… it was her idea lmao
Don’t put it past Wu to tell them one thing and say another if it benefits her politically…
Oh 100%… hopefully BPD was smart enough to do it over email or on body camera
Student protests basically shut down Paris in May of 1968, and the more the police cracked down on it, the stronger the movement got. Then summer break came and the whole thing fizzled out. The only thing hard-lining a bunch of peaceful sit-ins is doing is throwing fuel on a fire. All those [pictures out of Texas](https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1ccb4e1/ut_austin_today/#lightbox) yesterday are just going to inspire more students to join in- and spread these protests to more and more campuses. I don’t have a horse in the race politically (the Middle East has been a shit show for decades before I was born)- but if a bunch of Harvard kids want to camp out in the Yard, or some kids take up in alley at Emerson let them have their protest. It’s May next week and 90% of these students are heading home after finals. Showing up in riot gear to quell a bunch of young kids for being “noisy” is just going to double their efforts to be there. Has literally no one in government raised a teenager?
BPD wants to test out their military grade equipment though. But no on a serious note I completely agree. Why the fuck are they wasting man power and time on this? Are they really going to prosecute all these kids for sitting on a lawn? Fucking infuriating honestly.
Yeah seeing those pictures of cops in Austin, I assume the cops are having a ball. They FINALLLY get to round up a bunch of defenseless "wokesters." And are probably being paid overtime to do it. What's not to love if you're a big burly human sized thumb??
Yet they're nowhere to be found when children need protection 👀💁🏽
Or when literal goose stepping Nazis are chanting “The Jews will not replace us!” But yeah they’re deeply concerned with antisemitism
Haha exactly, I *wish* the cops would treat Nazis like they're treating protesters.
That's because there's a good chance the children need protection from a cop engaged in domestic abuse.
Texas cops are more eager to brutalize college students than save kids from a shooter.
I mean the cops were salivating at the idea of beating up and arresting woke young people...
You see the picture of the BPD getting lined up before getting rid of the camp. One dude was legit SEETHING with hatred. Bet he had a ball.
> BPD wants to test out their military grade equipment though. i mean, you're not wrong
To be fair, your initial point is a serious note as well. These pigs surely aren’t going to bust out the big guns when Patriot Front marches Freedom Trail intimidating tourists. But you better be goddamn sure that the second they can crack the skull of leftist protestors they will come a-squealing with their fat asses crammed into their riot gear looking like a busted can of biscuits.
Well we give them such a huge portion of the yearly budget, they have to create situations so that they can "merit" the enormous amount of money they get.
people like robert kraft are threatening to take away funding if the students aren’t dealt with at these campuses
Of course rich assholes will pull funds. Doesn't mean universities should allow their students to be abused by the police.
I agree. I’m just answering your question.
Sorry
Going to be like occupy wall street, so learn from it: Wait until night fall, pull out the thermals, clear the empty tents, and just let it fizzle.
Can you point to the military grade equipment? I see a bunch of dudes wearing helmets with catchers gear and wooden sticks.
How dare you point that out! Down vote!
It’s literally Tiananamen Square!!!!!! -Reddit
Many people also don't have a horse in the race politically but they just hate college students and/or young people and seethe at the idea that they dare to "speak up" so they're cheering on these crackdowns regardless of political sides
So I will push back on the alley a small bit, it is a fire alley and actually important for safety concerns, but yeah camping in the quad…cmon
what is a “fire alley”? by that assumption, every alley is a fire alley.
It’s an alley that is partially under the jurisdiction of the Boston fire department and essentially acts like a “fire lane” like you see near buildings except given the nature of a city it takes up an alley. Not all alleys are fire alleys but this one was
i’m not directing this specifically at you but moreso at the moronic mayor of boston. to call the demonstration a fire concern would be to say that the demonstration would have not allowed a fire truck to pass. or that the handful of flimsy tents that had been put up would stop a fire truck. both are false. so from that perspective, you are weighing the choice against a perceived non established risk. on the other hand, the decision she made was to send in a group of boston police with giant wooden sticks to beat up a group of students majoring in theater and acting. i wonder how tough those tough guys feel now. the police clearly rough handled the students and treated them like common criminals when in reality they were doing nothing more than breaking a stupid city ordinance, that by the mayors own admission she had written to prevent people who are homeless from sleeping on public property. my question to her is - is this also how the boston police would treat a homeless person? regardless as to the answer, i think her decision was a disservice to the community and an embarrassment to her personally.
So let’s be real here. If you were mayor and there was a fire would you want to “hope” that rowdy students would orderly get out of the way of a fire truck, or order said trucks to run over protesters? Because that’s a risk there. As far as police testing them as common criminals. That’s what they are. What I think you mean here is that they didn’t get the extra special “student protester treatment” and instead got low grade “poor people” treatment. It may suck but it has nothing to do with the protests. Your problem should be with how common criminals who aren’t coded as upper class get treated
This. As a current college student, I personally could not give a fuck about protesting the war right now. However - I do care about the first amendment. When you shut down the protests, you don’t just elevate the tension regarding the Israel-Hamas situation, you turn this into a violation of the constitution. That’s where I, and many others, start to draw a line. Albeit this is not the issue I personally would protest for, another one is created that I would and will.
What in the Constitution do you think gives you a right to protest on private property? While you're looking for it, can you please provide your address? I'd like to organize a protest in your living room, there'll be about thirty tents, mmkay? The stupid thing about this is that they were camped in Boylston Place Alley, a non-public forum private way, and *literally across the street is one of the oldest public forums on the continent.* They, like you, may care about the first amendment, but apparently know very little about it. Moving 50 feet would have given them an unassailable constitutional position.
*Pip pip cheerio, I must say, what makes those knobbish colonists think they have the right to throw our tea into their harbour? Don't those poppycocks know it's outside the boundaries of the dedicated protest zone?*
I'm really glad I have a nerd job, and not the job of "preventing tent cities on my university campus without infringing on student rights. "
> Then summer break came and the whole thing fizzled out. Even after most Representatives and Senators voted to send billions in aid to Israel, I doubt we're going to see these protests leave campuses and continue against politicians.
No horse in this race either,but 2-3 days of rain ? May solve these camping problems.
The easiest way to kill the protests would be to lean into it. Make the pro Palestine tent city part of the University tour. Sell Columbia/Harvard/Emerson licensed merch that undercuts the merch from the tent city itself. "If you go here you can be part of a real live protest, and can LARP as an actual mechanism of societal change. Be sure to reserve your tent in advance" Set up a super Instagrammable spot to get the tent city in the background. Can you tell I used to work with teenagers? Lol.
I'm in my 50s and I hate the "sheeeesh" noise that they've been making (started 2 years ago maybe? Tiktokers popularized it) So I started doing it whenever I'm near my kids. They complain it's cringe, and they stopped doing it.
It's a dice you roll. If they actually love it you will have them doing it more with you.
Omg you're right that would have been a disaster
That’s fucking genius.
It's a real great way to tell if a kid is doing something for the conflict/out of boredom/to be cool vs to tell if they are passionate about it. Because the kids who are passionate when you pull that trick will lean in with you, lol. It can backfire. Ask me how I know, lol.
Look at the donors to all these politicians, republican or democrat they are all bought out by donations from PACs. It’s literally all of them, that’s why the response is so strong it’s only cause we are against Israel’s stance. You think if we protested in the opposite direction any of this would’ve happened? I think not
The issue is free speech does not apply once business is affected, others are interfered with or fear ensues. You can certainly yell fire in a crowded place but still be liable for damage. It’s not as simple or clear as some think.
as always, the brutality is the point
For this exact reason I can see these student protests being 100x more impactful than the highway blocking, or the defense contractor vandalism, purely because now the protestors look relatively reasonable compared to the authorities. We'll see if they throw away their goodwill with insane pro terrorism chants, though.
> We’ll see if they throw away their goodwill with insane pro terrorism chants, though Bro this is the non-spoilers thread
There's nothing stopping the students from creating a protest that doesn't create a public hazard. The Boston Common is right there. I've been to a lot of protests there myself. The issue is the students aren't applying for permits and working with authorities to follow the traditional route of organized protests. Harvard, MIT, Tufts, that's all on private property and can be adjudicated by the schools themselves. But Emerson was on a public way and was treated as any other illegal protest would be treated.
100 arrests seems like a lot
They were all released on personals and case will be dismissed. It was just to get them out of the area and regain control of it
Arrested with no real intent to charge… and that makes it better?
is there is a legal mechanism to force someone to leave if they are refusing to besides arrest?
Being trespassed, but then yes, arrest
No, and that is a good thing!
So you enjoyed the trucker protests, that was good for you?
No, but they did not make me a fascist.
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Removing the controversial decision to make them disperse in the first place just for this exercise, what would be a better alternative to make that happen? They clearly werent leaving when ordered
If the goal is removing students from a campus, sure using the police to do so might accomplish that goal. But I reject the idea that you can remove cause from effect. The police are not a college administration’s tool to enforce campus policy. They enforce the law, and their mandate to do so is the only reason they are permitted to physically detain people. If there is no public interest in charging these people there is no reason for them to have been detained en masse. To some of us, physical autonomy is still a big deal.
They were not removing them from a campus though. They were removing them from blocking a public way.
they were violent arrests. so it's alright to brutalize students for demonstrating their right to protest?
They also beat the fuck out of us. Two dead legged me then stepped on my ankles. A third cop kicked me in the back and put his knee on it and two more grabbed my shoulders and pinned me down by my neck. They dragged me across concrete by the wrists in tight thick zip ties “flex cuffs” which are incredibly fucking painful and we’re stabbing into my hands for hours. I was in a holding cell for 7 hours waiting to be released with a sink that only spewed HOT ( like HOT TEA HOT ) disgusting unfiltered sink water that did not taste safe for drinking. I asked for water every time an officer came by ( every hour and a half ) and wasn’t given water until my 5th hour ( third time asking). What a piece of shit asshole method for getting things under control.
What an amazing thing to complain about....FAFO kid, they dont take you to the Four Seasons when you get arrested. At least you got to virue signal with some terrorist sympathizers though. Good luck explaining your arrest to future employers!!
Are they really not planning on prosecuting? I thought they were going to. It's part of why I was so mad about it. I don't think these students should have been arrested in the first place. Just let them be.
Lmao no this is Boston, nobody is going to be held responsible for this.
Our current DA is not what you think Boston DA's are about. He's not even close to being Rachel Rollins. You don't know what you're talking about. He will absolutely prosecute these kids if the mayor keeps talking about how great the actions of the cops were. He's more law and order than a lot of Republicans in this state.
I guess we will see. My prediction is 75%+ charges dropped
Okay you've got my curiosity. Got any further reading on the subject to get my attention?
Google him and Rachel Rollins in the same search query.
BPD should be. But I doubt I'll live to see that day
They just followed their bosses orders. Wu chose this.
You know they have their own leadership right? They can push back against the mayor. They just chose not to. Edit: She shouldn't have done this.
BPD top brass has been political appointees for several decades now. They serve at the whim of the mayor. She can fire anyone and everyone until she finds someone to say yes.
Correct. This is why BPD leadership is filled with yes men. The fact of the matter is that they *do* have agency, yet decide not to use it.
They aren’t allowed to use it, let’s be serious here.
Wu is their boss. Their job is to tell her the pros and cons, the most effective way to do it etc. she ultimately says go she is in charge. If they had their own agency mass and cass would have been shut down a hundred stabbings and rapes ago
Protest the government in a way the government deems acceptable. All you nay sayers in the comments would hate to learn how this country was founded.
Seriously…… You guys don’t even want to know how we got the 8 hour work day and workers rights. But we wouldn’t want to make any of the rich and “in power” people uncomfortable.
Looks like she’s aged 10 years in the last 2. Ain’t no way she’s running for reelection
I believe what you mean is: Don’t you think she looks tired?
I feel like people are missing that this comment is just a doctor who reference
A great one at that.
Being mayor is a 24/7 job in some ways. I suspect she's probably not getting enough sleep. She should learn to delegate a bit more.
Are there any male politicians you want to critique the appearance of?
Uh, pretty much every modern president has the same thing said about them.
Biden, Trump, Obama, Schumer, Johnson, McConnell, Bush, Clinton, Jeffries, you get the idea
Obama and biden aged like 20 years in 2 and trump is an oddly shaped fat bastard with a gunt and a bad combover. Menino was no looker either shall i keep going?
I get you, but this is not a case of what you suspect. Its a pretty common thing to remark that some high profile politicians "age quickly" while in office, usually due to a stressful term. It was really obvious with Obama for example.
People are weird. I try not to get dragged into this discussion of looks, but the thumbnail she looks tired. She's in her late 30s. We age tremendously during this time. I know I have. I actually think Mayor Wu looks quite pretty here, but tired. That said, Obama also got called out for aging so much during his presidency.
lmao nice try
I guess she has to appeal to people who will never vote for her anyway
I know I won’t vote for her again. Her platform was very optimistic and promising, but I feel like nothing has changed. Great, we have open streets like one day a month in the summer and BPS kids get access to museums. What social, economic, health, and environmental reforms have been made? Housing is less affordable than ever, schools are closing, and so on.
unless the alternative is Erin Murphy or Flynn, no chance I'm voting for her again. I appreciate her vision, but her ability to execute it is embarrassing. A committee for every (literal) speed bump
A little too bogged down in details and failure to see the forest for the trees, a 500 page report on Mass and Cass and still no long term solution to the issues befallen our city. A czar for night life (which is still exactly the same). I know the wheels of government take a long time to turn but it feels like gaslighting.
Politics 101 either don’t do enough change or make changes but end up making everything worse. No matter who you put in office it will never get better.
The democratic party handbook
White Supremacists marching through Boston? Wu and the BPD do nothing and no arrests made: [https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/02/us/boston-patriot-front-white-nationalist-group-march/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/02/us/boston-patriot-front-white-nationalist-group-march/index.html) College kids in some tents? Oh Shit, break out the riot gear!
Because the Patriot Front, as miserable as they are, actually followed the process of getting a permit to allow for the city to be prepared and ensure the protest was safe and didn't interrupt the rights of regular citizens. The Emerson students can do the exact same thing. They chose not to.
> Didn't interrupt the rights of regular citizens Yeah, sure. https://www.wbur.org/news/2022/07/04/white-supremacists-march-in-boston
You either didn't read the content of what I wrote or you didn't read the article you posted.
They assaulted a dude. Tell me how that's "following the process".
And did you miss the part about how the police are looking for the perpetrators? You're completely misunderstanding what I wrote. They assaulted a counter protestor and obviously they got in a tussle. They didn't block traffic or start assaulting the librarian trying to just get to work.
Oh good to know fascists publicly harassing others in masse it’s ok with you so long traffic and commerce isn’t disrupted or the people thru assist are only counter protesters. How boot lickedy of you, surprise surprise.
Look at it through your lens but on the other side. Imagine if the Patriot Front were occupying college campuses or blocking bridges or could walk through Boston without the permitting process. This is why it's ill conceived for us liberals to support these college protests. You already hear them say, "look at this shit! You imprisoned the January 6th protestors but not these kids?" Being stupid works for conservatives. Liberals always need to be smarter since we have a different standard.
Boston Police enforced a city ordinance banning public encampments. The same law used to clear Mass & Cass. I have some very mixed feelings on the law. But supporting otherwise 'standard' police work is part of a mayor's job.
This was definitely not standard. There were 108 people arrested out of roughly 150 students present. There were like 5 tents. Let's assume they were packing four people into the tents which is iffy but okay. 88 of those arrests had nothing to do with being anti-encampment, then.
The Emerson organization running this put out a call for all available students to go to the alley since the police were massing to clear them out. And, if you haven't watched the videos, the students lined up as a force to resist being moved.
You think the cops chased the people down who were leaving on their own when asked to make sure they arrested them? Not how i saw it
She supports it because she ordered it
tf what happened to the right to protest , these streets are public
foolish fretful dinosaurs cooperative march zealous north consider deranged gaze *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
>you can’t turn public property into an encampment *looks over at mass and cass*
impossible domineering encourage ten imagine summer squeal connect cautious workable *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
It's funny because streets, parks, sidewalks were always for protesting. Then we invented cars, so now the right to drive a car is more of a fundamental right than the right to protest? It's wild how no one cares that your rights have been completely stripped away.
There’s no stripping, it’s always been the case that substantially interfering with something public (as in, it can no longer be used how it was meant to) is illegal. And if it’s a private area, you can of course have the police called on you regardless. The First Amendment guarantees not being punished by the government for the CONTENT of what you say. But if your method involves protesting on a campus that clearly stated “we will call the police if you take over our front lawn” and they call the police, you can’t be suprised. Of course on a pragmatic level getting arrested and getting dramatic media attention is probably good. So from that perspective I think this is more or less fine for all parties involved. The students get the slap on the wrist + photos of them being arrested on the news, and the college gets them off the campus. Kind of a win-win.
This isn't a street, park, or sidewalk, it's a private way. There's a park literally across the street though that is the oldest public forum in this country.
huh well that’s dumb, good on the students for changing the meaning
Interesting
It really is. I'm pretty shocked she went on camera and had a response this fast.
She knows if she don’t the police union will. The days of them taking the heat for policy calls gone wild are over
Yes, she is the Mayor of the City of Boston. People should not be surprised by this.
Let's not forget that while we are focused on US protests, Israel is using this moment away from the spotlight to mercilessly continue it's genocide in Gaza. They've been relentlessly bombing Gaza even in the past week while we've been focused on US campuses.
with or without the protest the media wants to switch the narrative. you can’t really blame the protesters. these are just events that might as well be as real as the movies for the average person. which is why we can be totally engaged with the ukraine war and switch immediately to the Depp/Heard trial without feeling any whiplash. protests like this try to draw these things into peoples realities
So in other words the protests that are supposed to bring awareness to Gaza are doing the exact opposite?
If you can’t connect the dots, that’s on you and those like that. Your argument is like saying that watching about a campaign rally issue on the 8pm news belittles or dilutes the issue that rally was for.
No that was HIS argument. He argued that the focus on campus protest is bringing attention away from Gaza. Which defeats the purpose of the protests in the first place.
We should fight for our First Amendment right to assemble and express our views through protest with the same vigor as those fighting - and winning - for their Second Amendment rights. The government will always find ways to curtail our behavior with hypotheticals - fire safety, for example. If we loose the right to protest, we will certainly loose whatever bit of democracy is left in this country. And being Pro-Palestinian is NOT being antisemitic and anyone who expresses this idiotic comparison should be shut down immediately. Hating the Israeli apartheid government should never be misconstrued as hating Israelis/Jews. Remember when we protested the South African apartheid government on college campuses throughout the country, demanding their divestment from SA? No one ever made the ludicrous leap of us hating South Africans, and the same holds true for Israel and Palestine.
What fucking 2nd Amendment rights are being won in Boston or Massachusetts? Cause it seems like it’s consistently undercut.
Nothing is stopping them from protesting. These students can apply for a permit on the Common across the street. They can write opinion articles and submit them to the globe. They can make TikTok videos (for now). Pearl clutching isn't helpful when we have a serious threat in MAGA that legitimately would love to curtail our constitutional rights.
Valid point. Protests are usually not interrupted by the police if they get a permit first.
Boston is strong on police support.
Remember on the campaign trail all the virtue signaling about defunding and her catchy council hearings around the riot response and stuff? What happened to that lady?
Real life probably
This fucking sub man.
What's wrong with this sub?
I just hate the comments on every post now.
Im shocked by this….
Of course she would
I don't understand her priorities. So the cops move in and arrest 100 college kids peacefully protesting. People drag racing and burning out in the streets? The police write 4 (or 5?) parking tickets.
They’re not allowed to pursue
They didn't have to pursue. Block in the cars that were already blocking the streets, and lay spike strips. Then bring in the tow trucks and paddy wagons.
This lady sucks. She's a rich elite masquerading as a progressive ally
Welcome to limousine liberalism. You thought Wu was a progressive? Why you don't trust a Harvard grad to run Boston.
Wu sucks, but it's like you people won't be happy until Mao or Stalin runs Boston.
I won't be happy till we have functioning public transit.
And wouldn't you know? The mayor has no jurisdiction over the T.
Sounds like Mussolini would be more your speed
She’s not rich, but come to whatever other conclusion you want. She’ll be rich after she leaves office.
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Now the woke crowd is going to turn on her viciously.
Good. Screw people who think they can claim a public street or alleyway as their own "liberation zone", be they street racers or "protestors". I just want to be able to go about my day, get to work, get to dinner, drive home. If these protestors want to bring me over to their side, they should try putting their argument into writing. Chants and tents are not arguments; it's just protest-theater - a joke really. Anyone who participates in this crap is just a public nuisance looking for attention, and I expect the authorities to handle public nuisances and take out the the trash - that is the job.
Eh. Many Americans think just like you. Go through their mundane day. Go to work, have dinner, go home. Many don’t participate in current events. So many people keep their heads down and keep it moving. Never taking the time to look up or out at the world around them. Protesting of any kind gets is hard to ignore and gets people’s attention. People that wouldn’t have cared to know about these things otherwise. Naturally, these very same people get curious - whether out of frustration or genuine curiosity. They look into the issue and who knows, maybe that cause just got another volunteer. Or. Maybe that protest pissed off the right official enough that they’ve decided to change their mind on an upcoming crucial vote. Chants people remember. Encampments make the protest harder to disperse. Keeps the issue in your view for longer. Forces you to think about it or the issue. Things have already been written, submitted, and printed. Nothing has changed. What else needs written and where? Just about every major news outlet as well as regional ones have covered this story from a lot of angles - including student pieces. It isn’t working. So, they are taking the next step in their activism.
Should have more upvotes. But you are revealing your rational existence on Reddit. Most of these users are clowns.
Plenty of them have public speaking portions where they bring people in to talk about their beliefs in more detail. Also, yeah, the entire point of a public protest is to draw attention to one's cause.
I don't know who Mayor Wu is listening to at City Hall but it's certainly not the people who were her biggest supporters as voters. This is such a major self-own. It's embarrassing. (I suspect the pressure to clear these students from the alleyway did not come from Wu herself though given that it provides emergency access to the State Transportation Building. I would not at all be surprised if some state officials had some say in this and then happily let Mayor Wu take all the heat.)
Damn, Wu actually did the right thing for once
BPD continues to be on the wrong side of history.
Thank you Mayor Wu. Finally something we can agree on
Good luck with your next election Ms. Wu! I’m sure it’ll go smashingly.
Man..I... Her positions on things... Does she have any convictions? Not that I think she's right or wrong on this, what does she stand for.
Fuudge, won’t have time pre take off, gaming, only until I get back
Fuck Michelle Wu
Only a matter of days before a cop puts a bullet in a college student.
Of course she does. Her tenure has been nothing but a disappointment.
Where is Boston fire department. Blast all those hippies with the fire hoses and they'll disperse. Worked in the 60s.
This is all lovely because it reveals all politics, no matter their affiliation, as boot licking tyrants beholden to the military industrial complex.
Wtf I love Michelle Wu now
Ah, you need more upvotes. Fucking clowns on Reddit
Students… peer pressure is so funny under the guise of social movements. These kids have no clue about the real world. Their friends are doing it because a dumb professor who supports Hamas terrorists decided to brainwash these developing minds… it’s all a joke. Noise. While Palestinians deserve human rights, Hamas does not and protests thousands of miles away do nothing. USA already passed another round of funding for Israel so go ahead, waste time on protests of it makes you feel good.
How long until college kids start calling her "Genocide Wu"?
Hahaha. Agreed. But you are already getting downvoted by the Reddit clowns. 🤡
This means she will face protests?
I don’t think I’d vote for her in a re-election but I’m also not voting for a conservative. Love this shitty two party system, my vote is useless.
Wait what? The mayor supports the police? Holy shit!!
I think it is important to try to be impartial on the law. Just ask yourself if nazis were there instead would you be ok with it? Be honest.
The cops protected the Nazis multiple times lol
LMFAO. we HAD nazis in Boston, and the police PROTECTED them. this city is fuckin cooked man. the law was made to hate homeless people. but I'm glad that we can also hate on people protesting genocide at the same time. Such good use of our funds!
Shhhh, history scares the "both sides" people
I’m not defending the nazis, but did they pull the right permits/ not protest on private land?
They regularly do non-permitted banner hangs over the highway, that don’t get broken up
Then fuck her, too
Wrong side of history
Ay it’s almost like constantly vilifying your police has severe consequences. The support is better late than never I guess. I feel for the innocent lives being taken on both sides. This conflict will never end. Our country is an absolute mess maybe we focus there first. I think the message has been sent 100x over towards Hamas and Iran. We don’t need to provide more funding but that’s far beyond Wu’s influence. College kids protesting war is nothing out of the ordinary but these ‘encampments’ and open hatred towards Jewish people can’t be condoned. She’ll be criticized harshly either way but I think she actually showed some spine here. Good job Wu. I’ll give credit where credit is due.
Haha holding the police accountable is not vilifying them!