When a President Points Guns at His People
August 29, 2007
(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
Who is this police officer pointing his weapon at?
a. an angry mob
b. some school children
c. a group of peaceful protesters
d. all of the above
Answer after the jump.
The answer is (c), a group of peaceful protesters.
This picture was taken by Elaine Thompson of the Associated Press as Bush’s convoy wound its way through Seattle on Monday, snarling traffic for a private fundraiser for one of his most loyal supporters in Congress, Representative Dave Reichert. The officer in question is pointing his weapon directly at a crowd of protesters as the president’s limousine passes in the background.
Police officers should never draw their weapons unless they intend to use them. And they should not use them unless they have to. Clearly, peaceful protesters are not a sufficient reason to unsheath a bazooka. This image is another sign that this government would like to see us cross the line from democracy to fascist police state.
What do you think?
Image via Daniel Kirkdorffer.
This picture almost makes me lose hope.
Say, how hard is it to become a Canadian citizen these days?
I think this is very disturbing and were I a protester with that gun pointed at me I’d be even more upset.
The photo is being picked up by bloggers like yourself and I hope it goes viral. This is not what Americans want to see their nation become, but we’re turning into a police state with every new lost civil liberty. Soon they’ll start firing on us just because we flipped Bush the bird.
This is rather disturbing, but come on. That is not a bazooka. That looks to me like a grenade launcher, but is in all likelihood a tear gas launcher. I would also challenge you to carry a weapon like that and not have it drawn at all times, it’s not like it fits in a holster. Also, that is not a regular police officer. That’s a riot cop. Charged with the security of the President. He could have it pointed a little lower though.
Also, whether you like it or not, that is The President of The United States of America going by behind him. It’s his JOB to protect him, and you never actually know how peaceful a protest group is. Every protest group is “peaceful” until one pulls out a gun and starts shooting at the convoy. Although the probability of that happening is very low it’s this guy’s job to lower that probability as much as possible.
Last thing, I promise. Providing tight security for the President is a far cry from a “fascist police state”. Seriously. People are not being jailed for speaking out against Bush. While wire-tapping has me more than a little concerned about civil liberties we still live in one of the freest societies in the history of the world. While I think the “War on Terror” has taken us a few steps in the wrong direction, a little perspective would be nice.
Mark. I hardly think that cop is under any pressure to protect the President’s motorcade. It’s a moving vehicle with bullproof doors and windows. The only way its going to stop is if somebody shoots it with a rocket launcher, in which case his tear gas dispenser wont really help all that much. I see no reason for him to have a tear gas dispenser in the first place.
Its really the secret services job to protect the president, those cops were acting super tough and baddass. He was so happy to get dressed all up in his cute full body armored suit and threaten bellevuites. Man, Im getting stiff just thinking about it. A lot like hard core paintballers like to play soldier. By the way, bush has the largest S.S. entourage of all presidents. I would too If I were in his situation, knowing the visceral hate so many have for him.
Seriously though. This isn’t something that bothers me. I mean, EVERY president of the US is an assassins dream. And a lot of them had far less to worry about than this one. Those guys were doing nothing that I would ever really object too.
I think some people are missing the point of this photo. Bush is so hated that he cannot expose himself to people, or wave out a window or drive in a convertible. He’s so hated it is almost expected someone will try to do him harm.
That’s not always been the case in this country. It isn’t the case in many other countries.
That’s why I ironically captioned this photo “Man of the People”.
BTW, a second photo has another riot cop in a much more relaxed stance. This particular guy went overboard.
I think more than anything what bothers me most about this photo is that this cop felt that he had to aim his weapon at human beings — no matter whether it was a tear gas launcher or a “bazooka” (which was a rather tongue in cheek way to say “that’s a huge fucking gun!”).
More to the point, this police officer felt entitled to point his weapon at human beings with impunity. So far, I haven’t heard any fuss about consequences for this guy.
If we are advocating error on the side of liberty, then police officers must be required not to draw or — since the weapon in question is so massive that it’s hard not to have it drawn — aim a weapon unless they intend to use it. And they must not intend to use it unless they are facing an immediate threat to their safety or the safety of others. The fact that this guy drew his weapon, aimed it at a crowd of peaceful protesters and is facing no consequences is a really clear violation of American civil liberties. At least it is to me.
Daniel: It’s pretty standard for the President to not wave out the window of his limo or ride in a convertible. If you look in pictures listed on your site you can clearly see a SECOND limo, identical to the the first (easier to see in the second picture). It is standard Secret Service practice to have two limos. In the event that there may be some whack job in a 9th story window with a bazooka he won’t know which one to target. Having the window rolled down with Bush waving out of it would kinda defeat the purpose.
Bush is decidedly unpopular, but riding in a bulletproof limo instead of an open air convertible (JFK anyone?) is not a sign that this particular President is so unpopular that the Secret Service has to take extra precautions. This is standard Secret Service procedure, not a response to an increased likelihood of attack due to low approval ratings.
Mark:
And all of that is increasingly the reason that very few people will EVER believe any President is a ‘man of the people.’
How can you be ANYTHING ‘of the people’ when you’re so scared of them you hide behind bullet proof glass?
These days, whether they acknowledge it or not, the vast majority of the public (in Europe as well) think of their politicians as belonging to some sort of Ivory Tower to which they’ll never be privy. It’s exactly that sort of lofty superiority that ended the age of Kings in Europe and led to the American Revolution.
Who knows where it will lead us this time..
I realize it would be irresponsible to leave yourself open to attack everytime you went out. But to be so obviously afraid of even your own people.. seems to me, a sad commentary on the state of the world.