Where was the twittered outrage for #ourownbackyard?

In the lead up to the US elections less than a year ago, protesters gathered at the party conventions.

The police were waiting for them at the DNC convention in Denver:

(Photo by sonicquirtgun)

And the police were also waiting for them at the RNC convention in Minneapolis / St. Paul:


(Photo by waiting line)

Before the RNC convention even began, however, police had pre-emptively raided and arrested those planning 'disruptive protests':

The group of 'disruptive' protesters arrested above were, in fact, iWitnessVideo, who had traveled from New York to St. Paul in order to record and witness any incidences of state repression, like, for example, police brutality. Due to their detention, however, the group were unable to witness the events captured in the images taken below.

A picture of photographer experiencing 'pain compliance' before being charged with 'rioting' at the Republican National Convention.

A group of protesters and a journalist being pepper sprayed by police. The journalist was also later charged with 'rioting.'

>A policeman stands on a bridge waiting for protesters, journalists and bystanders who are being corralled onto the bridge from which there is no escape:

Police on the bridge then mass arrest the corralled journalists, bystanders and protesters where they had been cornered:

By the end of the event, the organizers of the protests had been charged with "furthering terrorism" (charges later dropped) and only embedded journalists had not been pepper sprayed or arrested:

A journalist 'embedded' with police

Amy Goodman, for example, was not an embedded journalist:

But, unlike protesters in other nations, our own protesters turned out to be (as always) "anarchists" who the "police had to pepper spray:"

I wonder, where was the twitter outrage for stuff happening in our own backyard?

Update: And our protesters are "low level terrorists," according to the Department of Defense.

Antiterrorism training materials used by the Department of Defense teach that public protests should be regarded as "low-level terrorism," according to a letter of complaint sent to the department by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California.

"Teaching employees that dissent on issues of public concern is something to be feared, rather than encouraged, is a dangerously counterproductive use of scarce security resources, making us less safe as a democracy," Northern California ACLU staff attorney Ann Brick and ACLU Washington national security policy counsel Michael German wrote in the letter to Gail McGinn, acting undersecretary of Defense for personnel and readiness.

Update 2: Here is a list of the fifty five journalists arrested at the RNC on charges ranging from "unlawful assembly" to "suspicion of felony riot."

Again, I wonder, where was the twitter outrage for stuff happening in our own backyard?

Follow Max Keiser on Twitter: www.twitter.com/maxkeiser

Comments

[billy925]

Here here! We should have been in the streets when Bush stole the elections.

[Nova16]

The stolen elections of 2000 and 2004 in the US were filled with fraud and chicanery. the republicans now want the president to confront the rioting in Iraq with strong measures. They wasted lives and treaure in Iraq with warmongering and profiteering and now want to do the same in Iran. The election there may be a fraud, but the real power is held by a theocratic dictator and his power is absolute. Forget rebellion or revolution, the Ayatollah is supreme and you have to deal with him. The Middle East is another apocalypse largely because of republican meddling in the area..

[Matthew Winder]

I can understand all of this outrage and America has had a rather bad experience with the last president to steal elections "twice" leaving the country in what you can only_call_a "mess".

However, just like in any other country there are political titans at the highest levels whom have alliances and interests which they would want achieved. They are willing to take extreme risks and they are worth it.

It must be difficult for Americans to see Mr Ahmadinejad as a person and a president, since the MSM paints him as satan reincarnate. But his hardliner attitude towards the worlds ethically challenged powers (US and Israel) impress the poor and middle class of Iran and they love him, and he has done wonders for them and that is why he got over 60% of the vote.

Please do some Research into Mr Mousavi and Mr Rafsanjani, as these individuals are orchestrating this coup, even though the masses of Iranians know that they are corrupt scoundrels (Irans Rockefellers).

Obviously the west doesn't like what he is doing because he is buddy buddy with the Chinese and the Russians.

It would be about the ideal time to rally the forces of evil (Kissinger and Associates) to fund and stage an uprising and hopefully a successful coup, Just like America did back in 1950's when they did it to the democratically elected Mossadec.

Search for "Kissinger threatens regime change in Iran if coup fails" on youtube and watch him ADMIT.

[mimsnpips]

With no vetting, (and no spin or sound bytes), anything is possible. But for now: "The spirit of Cuahtemoc alive an untamed" to the Iranian people.

[Michael Toro]

Comparing America with this totalitarian tinderbox called Iran is extremely ridiculous. Indeed, our nation has its hypocritical side: incidents of political bigwigs talking of freedom and democracy while exerting their power (especially during conventions) over the opposition; but never, not even during the Chicago Convention of 1968, exerting such brutality as is occurring in Iran. Could you imagine how citizens would react to a government­-sanctione­d killing of demonstrators in the streets and on the campuses of America? (Note: Please don't bring up Kent State.)

[MrBadExample]

I was at most of the protests of the oughts-- from the antiwar protests to the RNC 2004--and I can tell you from my personal observation that police routinely roughed up people and sprayed folks with pepper spray and teargas as a form of 'pre-emptive punishment'. Americans have no right to scream in righteous anger about what's happening to hte protesters in Iran if they can't stand up to an oppressive government trying to make the right to freedom of assembly go away.

I agree with Freesia2--many of the freedoms most of the American people speaking out against Iran take for granted don't exist in this country any more. The brave men and women who died serving this country didn't do so to protect the concept of 'first amendment zones' and 'pre-emptive detention of protesters'.

[jan4insight]

Actually it was through Twitter (posted to a friend's blog) that I found out about the RNC police actions in the first place.

[mluo2010]

This is just ridiculous as GOP Congressmen comparing themselves to the Iranian protestors because they got shut out of a discussion.

Americans have no right to compare themselves to the Iranians who are being killed in the streets.

[Khirad]

Here, here.

I'm frankly getting sick of it. Especially comparing 2000 to living in the IRI.

[cancercure23]

Canada stood by, while the Americans crumbled. Sorry guys, I was an outraged citizen, because if it can happen to you, it can happen to us and ten months later I'm sorry to say, it's starting up here. Don't cry for us, Argentina.

Our government is racked in scandal: missing gold from the Royal Canadian Mint, coverup of evidence for our fledging RCMP involing tasers & drunk drivers, passage of a bill enshrining the mandatory minimum of 15 years for trafficking of cannabis, attempting to pass a bill removing the crime of trespassing for Health Canada officials, and introduction of a bill allowing police spying of internet usage. I guess the Kool-Aid drinkers are going to get what they deserve, eh?

[worddiva]

This is just a theory, but maybe the reason why there wasn't much Tweeting back then was because Twitter had not yet become the phenomenon that it is now. Many were still not hip to it. With the Iranian uprising, perhaps now people and activists will take advantage of its usefulness. But that remains to be seen.

[mendelcrosses]

Well,the MSM wasnt talking in outrage about it either. And dont tell me,the MSM had not quite taken off then too.

[mmmtoblerone]

The MSM is corrupt. In that regard, America is worse than Iran. At least the Iranian media has the excuse that it is actually owned and run by the government. Ours sold their souls voluntarily. Worse, it's looking like both the government and the media were sold to corporate interests that want as tight a grip on us as the mullahs have on the Iranians.

[Boyaca]

The rest of the world knows how hypocritical the USA is. Before the american government tries interfering in the election process in another coun try they should first fix their own disfunctional election systems. The USA is one of the most corrupt countries in the world. You have no lessons to teach anyone else.

[climatebabes]

Iranians started feeling hardship and connecting it to government policy earlier. This phase will come when the painfull consequences of the feds policies enter the social circle of the middle class..

[henrywolff]

I was there. Those guys all wanted to be arrested. Because they know they'll be out on bail pronto and if there is any brutality they'll rake in the bucks. Also, if you cannot see the difference between what is going on in Iran right now and our little election difference then God help you.

[breakingpoint]

What a broad statement. You knew all the protesters wanted to be arrested in order to sue?

Are you psychic?

And the difference between Iran and the US?
Let's see, how about LA, NY, Chicago and along the US/MX borders innocent Americans, many children, shot by gangs every day. Iran doesn't seem to have that problem nor is their prison population anywhere near that in the US.

We have a few little problems here in the US, a financial, housing and jobs collapse.

So before you start chanting USAUSAUSA why not look a little closer in your own backyard and leave other countries with sovereign borders to their own.

They may have their Mullahs, but we have our Oligarchs.

[breakingpoint]

Americans need to stop living vicariously through the Iranian People.

[Freesia2]

That's a question, isn't it?

My husband and I were talking this morning. I was looking for all the updates on the Iran situation and reading minute by minute tweets from Andrew Sullivan's blog and we were mulling over that stolen election. I wondered what would have happened, this time, if the Republicans had rigged yet another election here. Would we have tweeted furiously, and taken to the streets? Because what happened there has happened here and yet we didn't hit the pavement in outrage. Why is that?

And when I hear the neocon right bleeting incessantly in an effort to goad us into war there, they don't sound so different from the ayatollah. Eric Cantor said something to the effect that when a people cry freedom America answers. And yet they stole our freedom of election and we didn't answer. Not a tweet.

[crisdel]

Well said, Freesia2.

[whitk227]

I've been thinking the same thing! And the respect and awe I feel for the Iranian people who are willing to put their lives on the line for democracy is tempered with the shame I feel for "accepting" that a stolen presidency (8 years ago) was beyond our control to fight.

[mmmtoblerone]

It did happen this time. Didn't you hear about Acorn? The teabaggers and Faux News have been trying to get the word out. Maybe they should try tweeting about it. Twitter sure got the word out about the repression of the House Republicans.

Don't get me started on the hypocrisy of scaring people with Acorn after what was done in 2000 and 2004 or whining about minority oppression!

[propitiousmoment]

I agree that both the 2000 and 2004 elections were stolen. However, it is not the same thing as what is happening in Iran. Our two were very close elections, practically impossible to call until the very last critical state was finally "counted." Iran, however, would not have been close. It's a little harder to take to the streets when it's a close call. But given the way this last US election went, if the repubs had tried to pull what the Ayatollah is doing, I believe there would have been mass protests here, too.