Fair point, tony -- typing too fast. "Protests get out of hand..."
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// these people complain that they are targeted by police here and in the U.S. and wonder why. ... //
Why is this such a popular chain of thought these days? "These people are totally irresponsible so naturally that's an excuse to copy their behaviour?" It's utterly illogical and utterly stupid that you can take your own arguments seriously. The police are meant to be a professional force and capable of conducting themselves better, and holding themselves to higher standards of behaviour -- and, when they fall short, they should be accountable. Why is this such an unreasonable demand? And then maybe they should be careful not to reach snap judgements. In the UK this is perhaps less of a problem because most officers don't carry lethal weapons, and the existence of an Independent Complaints Commission means that any potential breaches are investigated impartially. In the US, of course, police are routinely armed and the result is that snap judgements are much more fatal.