Flipped

Just several months ago, the United States government was avid about helping protestors stand up to oppressive regimes across the world. Our pro-democratic government was in favor of supporting movements that would mean the spread of democracy.

It is interesting, then, to imagine how a government that supports non-violent protest in another country would react to non-violent protest in its own. It is not necessary to "imagine", however, since we can see this scenario for ourselves.

Since the beginning of the Occupy Wall Street Movement, there have been reports of unnecessary force used by police officers against protestors in New York City. As the movement spread across the country to other cities and to college campuses, this brute police force spread along with it. This very use of force is congruous with the type of brute force we saw in Egypt and other countries, except this time our government is not fighting it. On the contrary, they are the ones endorsing it.

There have been multiples reports of police using violent force against protesting students at various college campuses. A recent pepper spraying incident at UC Davis has escalated into a national debate. As the article UC Davis' pepper spray fuels national debate, growing protests describes, U.S. officers are now the ones using violent force, and our protestors are receiving help, even from...Egypt.

"Lt. John Pike's pepper spray canister has fueled the controversy into a growing encampment and spurred plans for a general strike Monday with sympathizers streaming in from across the state. There is now a geodesic dome and nearly 100 tents, donated from as far away as Egypt -- with more on the way."


This incident raises many questions about our government and its actual ideals about democracy. Astute individuals may have questioned the government's real motives as they supported protestors across the world, and I think now even more people can be skeptical of the government's motivations. Certainly it is understandable that a government would react differently to this type of situation in their own country, but if our leaders are really pro-democracy, they should be listening to the protestors instead of beating and pepper-spraying them.