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Community => Politics and Government => Topic started by: armandtanzarian on April 28, 2012, 08:53:43 am

Title: Got a taste of tear gas today...
Post by: armandtanzarian on April 28, 2012, 08:53:43 am
Went for a protest for free and fair elections, 50,000 people turned up. This was the protest I saw.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6XTcwjys4Y
(http://i.imgur.com/Eir2rh.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/9HW8Ch.jpg)
http://imgur.com/a/Sv011

And this is what happened afterwards.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwNOovLvLTI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8fzCE_gjAI

We were sitting about half a mile down the road (people all the way along a 4-lane downtown thoroughfare) when the tear gas came, 10 minutes after it started on the Square. I started panicking when it became hard to see, and by some miracle we found a bookstore we hid in.

We continued to hide for 2 hours in the bookstore while police continued to bombard the downtown area with tear gas from helicopters and chemically-laced water. It was a short moment when we feared for our safety, when we couldn't see and all our exit points were blocked (I discovered my original exit point was also gassed).

Apparently the crackdown was triggered by protestors breaking down the barrier to Independence Square, which we were barred from entering. After that was done, police went "okay, fuck this" and brought out the riot gear.

Scary, sad that it went to shit.
Title: Re: Got a taste of tear gas today...
Post by: DasFuchs on April 28, 2012, 08:55:15 am
"Apparently the crackdown was triggered by protestors breaking down the barrier to Independence Square, which we were barred from entering. After that was done, police went "okay, fuck this" and brought out the riot gear."

Unfortunately sometimes all it takes is a few fuckups in a crowd
Title: Re: Got a taste of tear gas today...
Post by: Askold on April 28, 2012, 09:10:09 am
Tear gas is nasty, you should wash all of your clothes, just in case.


"Apparently the crackdown was triggered by protestors breaking down the barrier to Independence Square, which we were barred from entering. After that was done, police went "okay, fuck this" and brought out the riot gear."

Unfortunately sometimes all it takes is a few fuckups in a crowd

Well it helps if the police/military have people just waiting for an excuse to go medieval on the protestors. Even in this case if the police had wanted to they could have pushed back the few morons who crossed the boundaries but instead, they turned their dials up to eleven. (Well to be fair sometimes both sides are near breaking point and one incident can trigger a violent riot.)
Title: Re: Got a taste of tear gas today...
Post by: armandtanzarian on April 28, 2012, 09:25:32 am
Tear gas is nasty, you should wash all of your clothes, just in case.


"Apparently the crackdown was triggered by protestors breaking down the barrier to Independence Square, which we were barred from entering. After that was done, police went "okay, fuck this" and brought out the riot gear."

Unfortunately sometimes all it takes is a few fuckups in a crowd

Well it helps if the police/military have people just waiting for an excuse to go medieval on the protestors. Even in this case if the police had wanted to they could have pushed back the few morons who crossed the boundaries but instead, they turned their dials up to eleven. (Well to be fair sometimes both sides are near breaking point and one incident can trigger a violent riot.)
I think it 'helped' that, around the time that I got gassed, a police car ran into 2 protesters and injured them. The protesters there were angered and flipped the (now-empty) car on its top.
Title: Re: Got a taste of tear gas today...
Post by: kefkaownsall on April 28, 2012, 10:07:21 am
You alright *hug*.  I hope that someone in the govenrment takes protestors side
Title: Re: Got a taste of tear gas today...
Post by: shykid on April 28, 2012, 02:37:17 pm
*offers manhugs* Like askold said, if you were sprayed, be sure to change and wash your clothes as soon as you can. That stuff can still be harsh after it's left on your clothes and you rub your eyes or something after handling them.

But, most importantly, remember it's just a food product, essentially! /sarc.
Title: Re: Got a taste of tear gas today...
Post by: SpaceProg on April 28, 2012, 03:31:29 pm
*offers manhugs* Like askold said, if you were sprayed, be sure to change and wash your clothes as soon as you can. That stuff can still be harsh after it's left on your clothes and you rub your eyes or something after handling them.

But, most importantly, remember it's just a food product, essentially! /sarc.

Technically it is made out of a food (hot peppers), but that doesn't mean it hurts any less, heh...
Title: Re: Got a taste of tear gas today...
Post by: Osama bin Bambi on April 28, 2012, 03:58:36 pm
Tear gas is nasty, you should wash all of your clothes, just in case.


"Apparently the crackdown was triggered by protestors breaking down the barrier to Independence Square, which we were barred from entering. After that was done, police went "okay, fuck this" and brought out the riot gear."

Unfortunately sometimes all it takes is a few fuckups in a crowd

Well it helps if the police/military have people just waiting for an excuse to go medieval on the protestors. Even in this case if the police had wanted to they could have pushed back the few morons who crossed the boundaries but instead, they turned their dials up to eleven. (Well to be fair sometimes both sides are near breaking point and one incident can trigger a violent riot.)
I think it 'helped' that, around the time that I got gassed, a police car ran into 2 protesters and injured them. The protesters there were angered and flipped the (now-empty) car on its top.

Wow... WTF. It's a good thing you're all right, armand. Are police and government in Malaysia always this batshit insane? I know that Malaysia is some sort of monarchy and Islam is the dominant religion, but I must admit that I don't actually know that much about the political climate there.
Title: Re: Got a taste of tear gas today...
Post by: shykid on April 28, 2012, 04:08:25 pm
*offers manhugs* Like askold said, if you were sprayed, be sure to change and wash your clothes as soon as you can. That stuff can still be harsh after it's left on your clothes and you rub your eyes or something after handling them.

But, most importantly, remember it's just a food product, essentially! /sarc.

Technically it is made out of a food (hot peppers), but that doesn't mean it hurts any less, heh...

Now tell Faux News (http://gawker.com/5861688) that.
Title: Re: Got a taste of tear gas today...
Post by: DasFuchs on April 28, 2012, 04:43:02 pm
Tear gas is nasty, you should wash all of your clothes, just in case.


"Apparently the crackdown was triggered by protestors breaking down the barrier to Independence Square, which we were barred from entering. After that was done, police went "okay, fuck this" and brought out the riot gear."

Unfortunately sometimes all it takes is a few fuckups in a crowd

Well it helps if the police/military have people just waiting for an excuse to go medieval on the protestors. Even in this case if the police had wanted to they could have pushed back the few morons who crossed the boundaries but instead, they turned their dials up to eleven. (Well to be fair sometimes both sides are near breaking point and one incident can trigger a violent riot.)

I can't say whether they were waiting for something or if they decided they were going to prevent it from escalating the way a few famous protests have to the point of rioting...kinda nipping it in the bud.
I wouldn't dare claim either way was the absolute way they thought because neither am I one of those officers, nor was I there.
Title: Re: Got a taste of tear gas today...
Post by: armandtanzarian on April 28, 2012, 08:29:14 pm
Tear gas is nasty, you should wash all of your clothes, just in case.


"Apparently the crackdown was triggered by protestors breaking down the barrier to Independence Square, which we were barred from entering. After that was done, police went "okay, fuck this" and brought out the riot gear."

Unfortunately sometimes all it takes is a few fuckups in a crowd

Well it helps if the police/military have people just waiting for an excuse to go medieval on the protestors. Even in this case if the police had wanted to they could have pushed back the few morons who crossed the boundaries but instead, they turned their dials up to eleven. (Well to be fair sometimes both sides are near breaking point and one incident can trigger a violent riot.)
I think it 'helped' that, around the time that I got gassed, a police car ran into 2 protesters and injured them. The protesters there were angered and flipped the (now-empty) car on its top.

Wow... WTF. It's a good thing you're all right, armand. Are police and government in Malaysia always this batshit insane? I know that Malaysia is some sort of monarchy and Islam is the dominant religion, but I must admit that I don't actually know that much about the political climate there.
Malaysia has always had a single party rule it for 55 years, since independence. The system is very heavily skewed towards the ruling party, which fosters a culture of corruption and nepotism. This protest is the 3rd of a series of protests which demand for a fair election, because, probably for the first time, this country has a credible opposition coalition strong enough to take down the ruling party.

This was the point of the protest; fair elections. The heavy-handed tactics, unfortunately, is par for the course for the ruling government.
Title: Re: Got a taste of tear gas today...
Post by: largeham on April 28, 2012, 08:33:52 pm
Hope you are okay. Are you guys coming out again? How many people did the police arrest?
Title: Re: Got a taste of tear gas today...
Post by: Stormwarden on April 28, 2012, 09:05:55 pm
Glad you made it out alive, man. You be careful out there.
Title: Re: Got a taste of tear gas today...
Post by: armandtanzarian on April 28, 2012, 09:42:12 pm
Hope you are okay. Are you guys coming out again? How many people did the police arrest?
The organizers said they'll do another one (4.0) and again until at least the elections are called (we have a parlimentary system; there's no set date for elections but it must be called before March 2013). I don't think I'll go though; can't guarantee my own safety.
Title: Re: Got a taste of tear gas today...
Post by: The Right Honourable Mlle Antéchrist on April 29, 2012, 12:05:28 am
Glad you're okay, Armand.
Title: Re: Got a taste of tear gas today...
Post by: N. De Plume on April 29, 2012, 10:50:10 pm
What I find interesting is that the tear gas apparently wound up boxing folks in rather than helping to promote dispersal of the crowd.


I don't think I'll go though; can't guarantee my own safety.

Unfortunately, that is the idea behind making such harsh crackdowns. Make the protesters sufficiently afraid for their own safety and they won’t show up. Of course, everyone has to decide for themselves how much risk they are willing and able to take. So really, this sort of decision can make one feel “damned if you do, damned if you don’t.” And that sucks.
Title: Re: Got a taste of tear gas today...
Post by: ThunderWulf on April 29, 2012, 11:28:52 pm
Damn.  Glad you're okay.

Sounds like things got out of hand fast.
Title: Re: Got a taste of tear gas today...
Post by: Askold on April 30, 2012, 07:01:19 am
What I find interesting is that the tear gas apparently wound up boxing folks in rather than helping to promote dispersal of the crowd.

Not suprising, tear gas will linger for a long time and they were using it in multiple places so this was bound to happen. Besides, wind will move the gas cloud and in a city where the gas is 'funneled' by the buildings and streets it is really hard to contain/control tear gas.

I think there was a case in where the police was critizised for NOT using tear gas (I don't remember if they used beanbags or clubs or what. ) and they responded by saying that tear gas would have made that particular city block 'unlivable' for half a day so they use anything alternative if possible.
Title: Re: Got a taste of tear gas today...
Post by: armandtanzarian on April 30, 2012, 10:19:01 am
Thought I'd give you an idea of the extent of teargassing. Note the scale. I was near the intersection between Jalan tun Perak and Jalan Raja Chulan.

And N. De Plume, part of the problem is my job(s) actually forbid me from attending such political rallies, so I have that extra risk I get caught in the melee.
Title: Re: Got a taste of tear gas today...
Post by: N. De Plume on April 30, 2012, 06:32:56 pm
Thought I'd give you an idea of the extent of teargassing. Note the scale. I was near the intersection between Jalan tun Perak and Jalan Raja Chulan.

That’s a lot of teargas.


Quote
And N. De Plume, part of the problem is my job(s) actually forbid me from attending such political rallies, so I have that extra risk I get caught in the melee.

Yuk. Yeah, I totally understand. Nothing I have said was meant to be critical.
Title: Re: Got a taste of tear gas today...
Post by: largeham on April 30, 2012, 08:18:30 pm
It's good you are okay. Regarding your job, it is a problem in a lot of places. I know people who can't get arrested (let alone go to jail) because they would probably lose their jobs.