FTAA Miami - Bienvenidos a Miami, Scum...

Me, Myself, and I | 11/23/03 | Stephen O. Starr

[Sledge]

I finally got through with selecting and Photoshopping the photos I took at the FTAA protest. Presented for your enjoyment and education.

Regards,

Steve AKA Sledge

[Congressman Billybob]

Too bad, turkey. The Miami police were ready for you and your cohorts, unlike the Seattle Police. Guess you'll have to buy a coffee at Starbucks, rather than smash their windows in.

Get a life. Get a clue. Or get lost. DU will probably enjoy your pretty pictures.

Congressman Billybob

Latest column, "Double Crossing at the Rio Grande," discussion thread. IF YOU WANT A FREEPER IN CONGRESS, CLICK HERE.

[dagnabbit]

Too many Marxists in that crowd to make it something pro-freedom.

Too many open-border, unlimited-population advocates to make it something pro-environment.

To protest more credibly against creeping world government, someone should organize totally separate events that exclude the wacko far-left.

[Lurker]

Damn, I was hoping for some more cracked skulls.

L

[Dan from Michigan]

Here's the problem(I oppose NAFTA, GATT, and FTAA BTW).

Perception is reality. I've tangled with some anarchist pukes before. If you get 100 nuts and 2000 average joes at a rally, the 100 nuts are going to be on TV and paint the crowd. At a gun rally, it's the stereotypical 'Militia types' that get the coverage.

Those types marginalize those like us that oppose FTAA.

[Chad Fairbanks]

Nice report, however I can't seem to figure out one thing - why would Illegal Immigrants (the Freedome Ride or whatever, that were particpating) would be protesting against the "loss of our sovereignty", when they VIOLATE that sovereignty by their very presence here.

You got suckered by leftists, Che.

[doug from upland]

Yeah, where were the cracked sculls. The next time one of them is the victim of a crime, I wonder if they will call the police storm troopers.

Immigrant workers rights? I'll give them immigrant workers rights. Go home.

[finnman69]

Too bad you left out the ugly images of the anarchists, punks and thugs all the other media sources managed to capture .

[finnman69]

for better photos click my thread....

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1025777/posts
Police, Trade Protesters Clash in Miami (Typical Punks getting 'proper' Police treatment)

[narses]

Wait a second. Protests versus police force are critical parts of our form of government. Steve did a bangup job of documenting factually what happened. To abuse him seems wrong to me. It smacks of "shooting the messenger".

[cmsgop]

Dude check out the pics........LOL!!!!

[Chad Fairbanks]

You left some stuff out, man:

Protestors trying to pull down the fence that surrounded the meeting area. Gee, why would they want to do that?

And a cop making an inventory of various items found on several of these non-violent, peaceful protestors...

[dagnabbit]

I don't think I abused him at all. I certainly didn't pull some ad-hominem about “go to DU” etc. I think his points about the 1st Ammend. and excess policing were well-made, as was his broader point about creeping global government (I also appreciated the shots of commie babes).

That said, that crowd was one in which supporters of a sovereign and free America should not have felt comfortable. The enemy of our enemy is sometimes just another enemy.

[witnesstothefall]

It's nice to see the authorities protecting the rights of the people to peacefully assemble and petition the government. It's doubly nice to see that the authorities protect life, limb and property from those who wanted violence not a peaceful demonstration.

America is a beautiful thing.

[TopDog2]

I was there as well and your perceptions mirror mine. Too much force, not enough friendly. I didn't agree with a lot of the messages that I heard that day, but the intimidation was way beyond what I expect to see in the United States.

[Choose Ye This Day]

The level of force and intimidation present at the protest were altogether uncalled for.

Gee, I can't imagine why they'd want a large show of force...

[newwahoo]

If there aren't enough police and property is destroyed or people are hurt (as has happened too often with these protests), the police are wrong. If there are a lot of cops and the demonstrators feel "intimidated", then the police are also wrong.

Its a no win situation for the cops, but you can bet the local property owners supported their actions in this case. Their stores and homes were protected from the whims of the travelling anarchist-leftist circus.

[MegaSilver]

To protest more credibly against creeping world government, someone should organize totally separate events that exclude the wacko far-left.

As the Unabomber said, reasonable social activists ought to know better than to collaborate with leftists, and planners of revolutions should exclude leftists from said plans.

[MegaSilver]

To the protesters I would suggest that politics be left out of events like this one. All day I was assailed by chants of "Bush's FTAA". The growing trend toward globalization and the subjugation of the our country to these Trans-National organizations is not a manifestation of the desires of any particular political party, and Party Politics should not intrude when we are discussing these matters. Whether Democrat, Republican, Libertarian or Green, all Americans lose when these organizations win. The Union speeches were little more than Democratic campaign speeches, and the chants in the streets blamed it all on G.W. and Jeb Bush. We need to put aside party politics in these matters and together we can defeat globalization.

We should organize a pro-Bush, anti-FTAA march.

[smiling_radical]

"Protestors trying to pull down the fence that surrounded the meeting area. Gee, why would they want to do that?"

because they are being made subject to sweeping changes to the economic and social paradigm of the western hemisphere and yet are given no say in how these changes will occur. because in a "democratic" country that is "hated for its freedom," citizens are being entirely left out of crucial decision-making. because the "president" who is pushing the FTAA was not elected. because they are being treated like cattle and they don't like it. because once we f*ck up this planet, we don't get another one.

it's called class war. your government is waging it in your name with your money -- you really should educate yourself about it.