"Crowd Control"

First of all, I can't believe it needs to be said in this country, in this day and age, that violence against others is a bad idea. 

Now, I'm sure many of you are saying, "Well, if we're in danger, and the other guy is a murderous psychopath, and we have to protect our homes or our lives or something, then violence is okay..."

Yes, in that hypothetical situation, violence is a necessary evil.  The key word, of course, being "evil."  We are supposed to use violence only as a last resort and only when absolutely, unquestionably necessary, and not just to make a point.

I don't know what it is about us hot-blooded Americans and that testosterone in our systems that seems to just screw up anything we put our minds to.  I don't know if it's something in the water, or our food, or if it's what we see on TV or the movies that makes us more prone to violence, but the fact of the matter is that we see violence as a one-size-fits-all solution to whatever problems we're facing, rather than the last resort it should be.

I think it needs to be said that we are lucky enough to be in America, where violence typically shouldn't be necessary.  It's true that we have gangbangers, rapists, murderers, and Juggalos, but these individuals are the exception rather than the rule.  The fact that we have a relatively efficient legal system with which to process these dangerous individuals is all the more reason for us to refrain from violence ourselves rather than stoop to the level of thugs or gangsters.

I stress again that these psychopaths are the exception rather than the rule.  It's true, there are many people in our day-to-day lives we have disagreements with.  They could be friends, co-workers, family, and, hypothetically, a protester who happens to be at your rally.  And these disagreements could involve things such as finances, property, relationships, or, speaking hypothetically, wearing a blonde wig and getting too close to your candidate while holding up a sign that basically says "Screw your candidate."

However, this does not mean that one should respond to these individuals, and deal with these disagreements, using violence.

Tensions are high in this country.  Campaigns lately have been more personality-driven than possibly ever before, with Obama himself as a prime example.  The latest candidates such as Palin or O'Connell haven't helped matters much in that regard.  However, the fact of the matter is that the country's disgust with its political institutions has become so severe that we now end up demonizing whoever's in charge.  It happened with Bush, and it's happening again with Obama and the Democratic party.  (It's happening literally with O'Connell...)

Like many people, I get my news from Comedy Central, America's most trusted source of talking poo and blind black white supremacists, so imagine my surprise during The Daily Show's Moment of Zen the other day when I saw Americans attacking...other Americans.  The reason?  Well, it either has something to do with their beliefs, or, as one of the attackers noted later, they thought she was a security risk, and pinned her to the ground.

Embedded below is a video of Rand Paul supporters at a rally as they try to do some crowd control.  (The video stretches out to the right side of my screen, otherwise this post would have been a lot shorter.)  Watch as they tackle the "security risk" to the ground, rip off her wig, and then proceed to stomp on her.



A few notes.  First of all, up until the 0:20 mark, our crowd control personnel haven't really done anything overtly "evil."  I mean, yes, they tackle her to the ground and all that, but if we are to believe their story, they were still under the assumption that she was trying to assault the supporters, if not Rand Paul himself.  In fact, you can hear them asking for police support (though you can't help but wonder if they were simply trying to cover up their bullying by asking for an adult...).

Also, you see that guy who steps in after the 0:20 mark, and puts his foot against her head to stomp her skull-first into the pavement?  Yeah, you see that guy?  Well, he's the county organizer for Paul's campaign.  Or, luckily, he was, seeing as how he was booted off the campaign following the incident.

Also, he wants an apology.  As in, the guy who stomped someone's head into the ground, wants an apology, from the individual who was on the receiving end of his foot upon said stomping.

Note:  The Brewsky is not amused.

However, the Brewsky will not resort to violence, since violence is morally reprehensible, but instead wishes for a civilized discussion on why it is wrong to ask for an apology from someone you've given a concussion to.