scene-by-scene analysis of the video showing Ian Tomlinson being attacked.
What's struck me in several photographs and videos is the expressions on the faces of individual policemen: anger, contempt, rage. It's as though they're classing the protestors -- and by extension the public -- as The Enemy. Yes, some of the protestors were looking for a fight, and some individuals may well have been there
just to stir up trouble: the majority weren't. (Though I've been on the wrong end of excessive policing (Welling, 1993) and remember how easy it is to join in with the 'us vs. them' mob mentality.)
I am deeply uncomfortable with the idea that a peaceful demonstration is something to be avoided because of the risk of violence -- from police as well as demonstrators.
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