In light of tonight’s debate and the shenanigans that ensued from the KitchenAid twitter account I thought I’d throw this little number together since it was the first thing I thought of when I heard about it.

The internet is a powerful thing.  It has help unite revolutions around the world, organize protests for change, and make people aware of things they otherwise may have never known about.  But at the same time it is a tool that can be used to fuel anger, hatred, and even violence.  As I’ve pointed out before, the internet is a dangerous place.  Imagery and video out of context can fuel strong feelings that can help support a belief or cause.  But as I mentioned previously in regards to the Occupy protests and police brutality, it’s important to take a step back and consider what you are looking at before reacting or coming to a conclusion.

Unfortunately, like in my previous post about how dangerous the internet can be my dad let his feelings get the best of him.  He was emailed the image you see in this post of a man defecating on the American flag.  In the email it claimed the photo was of an occupy protester.  He felt strongly about the image, as many would, and ultimately that brought him to turn around and post the image on Facebook with a similar message.

As a supporter of the Occupy movement and an overall skeptic when it comes to anything I find online that’s politically motivated, I questioned it.  I did a quick image search in Google for “man defecating on amercian flag” and quickly found multiple copies of the same image.  Many were on blogs trying to spread a similar message to what my dad received in his email, but one in particular stood out because it was in a post from 2007.

The post on Full Metal Patriot tells the story of the image a bit more clearly.  Taken in 2007, this image was actually from a peace protest that was held in Portland.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if it’s politically, socially, or morally motivated and it’s shared online DO YOUR HOMEWORK.  Dig a little.  Check Snopes. Do some searches and see what you find.  Check dates.  Compare.  If it checks out, or you feel confident that it’s legit.  Share to your hearts content.  At least then if it comes back later that it’s fake or founded on misinformation you’ll have done your part to try and find the truth.

Before I jump into this too deep let me start by saying I support the Occupy movement and what it stands for.  Assuming that is that you are part of the Occupy movement as a means of making change so that our government is a true democracy that is fueled by the people and their votes and not by large banks and organizations that pay our politicians the most.  That being said, this whole concept of “police brutality” is starting to get out of control on the internet.  Everyday I see a new viral video hit the net that depicts “brutality” by local or campus police.  In some instances, such as the UC Berkeley protests I will agree whole heatedly.  But in other instances I am left to wonder if people are considering, or even looking at the whole picture.

Today Gawker posted an article titled Here’s a Cop, Just Casually Pepper Spraying Peaceful Protesters in the video the officer at UC Davis does just that.  However, what we see is a line of protesters clearly refusing to remove themselves from their position being pepper sprayed. In this particular instance, no other protesters are being sprayed. Just the ones on the ground blocking the sidewalk.

My speculation is that there is some rule/ordinance that prevents people from blocking public walkways at the school.  That most likely is what fueled this incident.  The police probably came, told them they had to move granted they may or may not have pointed out why.  And then ultimately pepper sprayed these protesters as a means of dispersing them and ultimately arresting them.

I agree, there have been a number of incidents where excessive force has been used the UC Berkeley incident being a prime example, but you can’t take every photo and video at face value.  Every time we use freedom of speech or right to protest as an example for why these police are out of control we are grounding these statements in rights that are enforced by law.  Just as we want to be protected by these laws/rights, we need to recognize that these laws aren’t going to prevent us from getting in trouble if we ourselves don’t follow other laws and ordinances in place.

Again, I just as most people talking about the police brutality at the occupy protests are basing this all on speculation, but again my guess is that in instances like that in the case of UC Davis these students were pepper sprayed not for protesting, but most likely for violating some other rule or law. And even after reading the accounts from English Professor Nathan Brown, I am again reminded that these people were probably asked to move multiple times before it escalated to this.

Before you jump to make some of these “police brutality” videos and images viral, take a step back and consider what elements of the story you may be missing.  This applies not only to those of us online, but also those at the protests watching from 5,10, or 20 feet away. You don’t always know what was said or done prior to the outbreak.  Yes, you are there, but you don’t always have the full story like you think you do.  You have your perception of the story.

When all is said and done, even I may be in the wrong here.  Perhaps at UC Davis there was no rule being broken or law being enforced and ultimately the force used by UC Davis police was excessive.  But that being said, my goal here is not to say who is right or wrong, but to say look at the whole picture and think about what elements you may NOT be seeing or understanding before you assume excessive force is being used.