"Ease up on protesters"

Denver Post "Colorado Voices" - Stephen Terence Gould

Gould is "an independent scholar and member of the Denver Com- mission to End Homelessness."

How does one become an "independent scholar?" Is that akin to being "unemployed?"

I kid because I care.

Gould wrote a well-reasoned piece on "civic wisdom." Specifically, he calls for restraint by the state in reacting to protesters at the DNC.

I hope the state takes his advice to heart.

But I am not hopeful.

Asking the state to use its power responsibly is akin to asking an addict to use his heroin wisely. It ain't impossible, but it's unlikely.

BlueCarp is no pollyanna when it comes to protesters. Many will be present with the express goal of causing trouble. They will take every inch the police give them and then some. These people want a billy club to the gut, and they will push the limit until they get it.

Then they will write about how it was an unwarranted abuse of power.

These people are in the minority. Most protesters will be peaceful.

Telling them apart will not always be easy. That is where the call for "civic wisdom" comes into play.

The cops largely have a thankless job. But they chose the profession, so that is no excuse for any abuses.

Gould says that "Anyone who's had a police billy club slammed into his gut, without warrant, knows how easy it is to feel distrustful toward cops. It happened to me in a SWAT sweep down Haight Street in 1968."

I betcha that cop has a different version of how that went down.

I have no idea what actually happened to Gould. The point, however, is that not only cops should exercise "civic wisdom." Protesters should too.