Thread by @lymanstoneky

in general, when protestors seize public roadways and deny general access to them, especially without prior provision of permits, it is reasonable for the security forces of the state to clear them from those roads with appropriate force.

this applies in the winter of 2022 and the summer of 2020 and in fact it just sort of applies generally.

when protestors seize public spaces and then deny their usage to the public, and do so continuously and without legal permission, they should be cleared.

parks, roads, whatever.

now, if legal authorities are denying permits for reasonable protests, or creating unduly onerous permitting processes, or otherwise denying basic assembly rights, this general rule can of course be suspended.

and when the entire system of government is unrepresentative and nondemocratic, well then, don't stop with closing a bridge. in that situation you've got to go full on Color Revolution or else your goose is cooked.

but in societies where permitting for protests is usually rather straightforward and authorities generally rather tolerant of organized protests such as, for example, the united states and canada, it's reasonable to disperse unlawful protestors.

when grungy hippies squat in a public park for weeks and deny normal public usage of it, you should clear them with whatever force is necessary to achieve that.

when legitimate and permitted street protests are hijacked by rioters and looters to shut down public roads, clear'em.

and when a bunch of truckers shut down major roads and international borders without even a semblance of attempt to abide by basic rules about protest, seems like the right solution is, again, to use such force as may be necessary to remove them.

and my general view here is that the appropriate amount of force is merely the amount which achieves the goal. as long as the public space remains occupied, insufficient force has been used.

now, again, this is stipulating the existence of democratic channels for dissent, a relatively straightforward and open process for permitting demonstrations, etc

but if you're going to set up barricades, you're inviting cannon fire.

as best I can tell, I'm not even opposed to the truckers in terms of most of their policy aims. i just think after years of rightists complaining about these strategies on the left, with good cause, it's a bit rich to now adopt them.

at the same time, i do hope the left will take note that the convoy is functionally identical to a lot of the left mobilizations we've seen in the last decade, and indeed is very obviously a strategy learned from various demonstrations and occupations on the left.

once a strategy has been used on one side, it will be used by the other.

and apparently, my side has the major force multiplier that each protestor brings 10 tons of mobile barricade with them, so a smaller body of protestors can do SO much more disruption