> My response is, one, her perception doesn't seem to be an accurate
> picture of America today, where, (unlike America of the long sixties
> or some countries where people are really fed up now), you hardly ever
> see big, angry protests or uprisings, and two, even if some did behave
> exactly as Liza says they often do, that's still not a crime, unless
> in a police state.
You don't get around much, do you?
Angry protests and confrontations with the police are more common than Yoshie is letting on.
I've engaged in my own share of verbal assaults against the police and usualy get away with it. The only time I got arrested for yelling at the police was back in 1986. I've been threatened with arrest many times since then.
I've seen plenty of angry skimishes between protesters and police. Three years ago I saw a black bloc in San Francisco charge and overrun a police line. I've seen "peaceful" protesters have confontations with the police. There have been plenty of other confrontations at a variety of protests.
I tell people that there is no such thing as a "safe" protest. I've been to "peaceful" ANSWER marches where the cops engaged in assaults and provocations with protesters who weren't doing anything.
Chuck