• WolfLink
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    2 months ago

    What people in this thread are missing or ignoring:

    • The University of California is known for being a place for political protests
    • These protests do not always stay peaceful
    • These protests are not always primarily student-run or consisting of students

    All combinations have happened. Peaceful student-run protests with overreactive police. Violent non-student protests with police doing their job to control things. And everything in between.

    • ASDraptor@lemmy.autism.place
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      2 months ago

      Do you really think the UC is the only university in the world having protests? Because you know… I’ve seen protests in so many other countries but none of them had a university buying a fucking grenade launcher to “pacify” them.

      • WolfLink
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        2 months ago

        The tear gas is definitely excessive, but the right amount of “weapons” to buy is not 0.

        • ASDraptor@lemmy.autism.place
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          2 months ago

          That’s exactly the amount of weapons universities in other countries buy. And apparently, they all work and deal with protests frequently.

          • WolfLink
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            2 months ago

            Do they have “protests” where they go smash any business in the surrounding area that’s a franchise of a recognizable brand? When it started as a protest about a politician?

              • WolfLink
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                2 months ago

                I just don’t think it’s unreasonable to use force to stop things from actively being destroyed.

                • ASDraptor@lemmy.autism.place
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                  2 months ago

                  Yes, and the police force from the city, which by the way is not as militarized as the American one, deals with people without the university needing to buy weapons.

                  • WolfLink
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                    2 months ago

                    Ah, so the problem you see is the university having its own police department.

                    I definitely do think it’s a bit weird that the university has its own police. That’s not uncommon for universities in the United States. I’ll be honest that I don’t fully know the history behind it.