| Thanks for taking the time to reply and apologies if I seem worked up. > therealrukshan (the linked streamer) for instance is far from independent or objective media. There's an irony in claiming that a guy walking around with a camera isn't independent. Yes he has a take but he isn't beholden to any large company (murdoch, abc...). The raw footage is also some of the most objective content out there, it's so voluminous that even when he tries to hide the protests doing something ugly it can't help but give a good ground level perspective. His edited down footage is fairly biased, but not any more than majour outlets. > taken out of context for propaganda purposes. It's all there in the footage... people are peacefully protesting for a few hours, sitting down, arms raised to show they have no weapons. They even observed a minutes silence to honour the shrine. They are then forcefully removed by the police using rubber bullets, horses and some sort of noxious gas. Taking it out of context is misdirecting to side shows like telegram groups (by the way several have also be arrested for suggesting people attend protests online). Taking it out of context is misdirecting to the failed negotiations with the police. I live in the area and watched them from afar for about an hour before things got out of hand, I saw first hand that they were being respectful and peaceful. > Subsequently a borderline riot took place outside a union office in the city that afternoon This was really the only time in the whole affair the protesters were violent and even then it was only a small minority. (and egged on by the internal union politics - not indiscriminate). The protests as a whole were largely peaceful and in no means justified the continual escalation and militarization of the police. Almost every other time the police have just been quelling peaceful protests and subverting democracy. |