So it’s about time Occupy movements have been getting greater coverage in the news for these past couple weeks (remember when it was just OWS, and news sources refused to report on it in hopes that it would go away?)

Something really curious has been bugging me ever since the first protests started escalating into confrontations with police. As Occupy movements spread like wildfire throughout the country, the one guaranteed consistency has been riot police violence towards protesters. From pepper-spraying to hair-dragging, rubber-not-so-lethal bullets and shady midnight raids, riot police seem to share this very similar Us vs. Them mentality in dealing with mostly non-violent protesters.

It’s got me wondering what kind of psychology comes into play when people are given authority, shields and “nonlethal” gear. We saw the exact same thing in the Middle East not too long ago, and praised the protesters and rebels for their courage and upholding of liberty. I’m sure we all see the irony and hypocrisy of our entire system here, but I digress.

That infamous Stanford Prison Experiment immediately comes to mind when we see how similar the actions are of police all across the country. It makes me worry, because does that mean any one of us, any one of the Occupy protesters can be that easily corrupted, if given a sense of authority and power? Are the police being backed (and paid) by some overlying power intent on crushing this movement out of fear? Are they completely misguided in their enforcement of the law? Or are they really just on a major power trip, using their authority to take their own frustrations out on protesters?

Finally, it seems that the excuse for the police in general for the attempted violent eviction of protesters is that the protesters themselves are “blocking major walkways” or being some kind of “health hazard” or something. So as police, they have to clear such blockades, which evidently means using “nonlethal” gear like pepper spray and tear gas and what not to disperse them. Which is technically correct procedure, if you’re a cop that is.

So now I’m curious. Does this mean if all Occupy movements arranged their protests to be non-hindering in any way shape or form to walkways or public property, that the cops will stop beating on them? Or is this really just a bullshit “technical law” used as an excuse to crack down on any kind of protest? What’s the point of the purest form of Constitutional Right to Assembly if police can claim “blocking major causeways” as an excuse to disperse them?

Let me know what you guys think! I want different views on this to help me get a better grasp, especially on the last part!