The right of people to be maimed by riot police
Friday, August 29th, 2008In a recent post, PZ Myers of Pharyngula relayed a letter from Nathan Acks about the mass arrests outside the Democratic National Convention arena. After which Myers (predictably) expressed:
Where is this country going? We seem to be on the road to mindlessness and tyranny. We are descending into madness.
Mindlessness (again)! Tyranny (again)! Descents into madness (again)! Why, this is just like… like the 1968 Democratic Convention!
Actually, I dare say, things have improved since then. I mean, for a horrifying civil rights abuse, I didn’t hear one word about the National Guard being mobilized, with orders to shoot to kill—like in 1968. What’s that you say—someone got sprayed with pepper spray? And they didn’t even get clubbed viciously? What’s this country coming to!—at a convention, I expect to see people clubbed viciously. Dear God, we’re not even at the level of the 2004 Republican Convention.
You see, Myers, we are not descending into madness. We’re ascending into a slightly less-mad madness!
