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Originally Posted by valo403
Apparently your google skills are poor.
Either the internet doesn't actually work in Finland or you went out of your way to bury your head in the sand. And having been to Finland I'm under the impression that the internet works just fine there. It took me literally 5 minutes and 3 searches to find that.
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Thank you for that.
I didn't actually think of using the searchword "slashing", sorry. I looked for "stabbing", but mostly I was interested in the claim of rushing the police line, because the general behaviour of the protesters as a group is more interesting that anecdotal incidents. (To me at least.)
Oh, and since you propably didn't notice, there is an addition to the story about the stabbing you linked:
Basicly, what you posted is just another example of the camps being a place where people go to find help. Not the other way around. I'll get back to that...
I did find one more for "your case":
http://publicola.com/2011/11/07/woma...-seattle-camp/
I'm quoting a bit of it because I think it's an interesting showcase for how the question of "safety" on the occupy camps is a complicated question.
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A report for the incident doesn’t clearly state that the woman was staying at the Occupy Seattle camp SCCC’s campus, but the woman had several blankets with her when she was arrested.
According to court records, the 20-year-old woman has previously been arrested for assault, prostitution, and unlawful imprisonment. She is being held at the King County Jail on $950 bail.
A police source tells PubliCola the camp at SCCC has become a magnet for Seattle’s homeless population, and some of the Occupy protesters haven’t taken too kindly to their presence at SCCC. However, because the school has given protesters permission to set up tents on campus, the department is reluctant to tell people they can or can’t stay in the encampment.
Instead, the source says, members of the camp have formed an ”unwelcoming committee” to make certain people feel, um, unwelcome at the encampment. We haven’t confirmed the existence of the committee or heard exactly how the “unwelcoming committee” operates, but we’re looking into it.
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So it seems they are at least hinting that the woman was a bit of loose cannon, possibly homeless and at the camps for reasons unrelated to the occupy movement.
I admit, stuff like this does put into question the overall safety of the camps.
However, when we are talking about incidents like this, you could also claim that this woman could have just as well have made those threats anywhere else. Some homeless people might be dangerous.
Do the camps make the overall situation any worse, or do they actually make it better?
Here's another case:
http://articles.sfgate.com/2011-11-0...minor-injuries
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No one knows why she chose to head to the camp at Justin Herman Plaza, roughly 2 1/2 miles away, and not the St. Francis Medical Center, which is just a little more than a half mile away.
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Now, obviously, if you're "pro-occupy", this is your response:
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"It is showing that this is not just helping the local community or the Occupy community, but a lot of people in San Francisco," he said. "We're filling a niche that is out there for homeless people who can't afford an ambulance or a ride to the hospital."
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Is that true? Hard to say, but you can't exactly refute it out of hand, since this is not the only incident where someone has gone to the camps to seek for help.
Basicly in my opinion the non-violence of the protests has not been undermined by the few relatively minor incidents you found, considering the size of this whole thing (in time, space and number of people involved). I would need to see a lot more than this to start questioning whether or not these are non-violent protests.
And no rushing the police lines, which is very relevant considering overall police behaviour.
(EDIT: Also of note is that the occupy camps are not necessarily all the same, and a responsible police force should assess the threat presented with that in mind.)