buzzfeed's 45 most moving photos of 2011

[brinstar]

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/the-most ... os-of-2011

what's your favorite? i gotta go with #12, christians forming a human shield just so muslims can pray. fuuuuuck.

[Lyion]

The Muslims in Egypt are not in any danger. Unlike the Coptic Christians.

#20 almost makes me cry. It did when I saw it on the news. It still has that effect on me.

Slain Navy SEAL Jon Tumilson's dog "Hawkeye" lies next to his casket during funeral services in Rockford, Iowa. Tumilson was one of 30 American soldiers killed in Afghanistan on August 6 when their helicopter was shot down during a mission to help fellow troops who had come under fire.

[brinstar]

The Muslims in Egypt are not in any danger. Unlike the Coptic Christians.

i realize this

but unless i'm mistaken the photo surfaced from coverage of tahrir square

muslims had to pray, but feared becoming easy targets for crowd suppression tactics; christians on the scene respected that and stood guard for them so they could pray uninterrupted

[Gypsiyee]

#20 almost makes me cry. It did when I saw it on the news. It still has that effect on me.

this one was the one that hit me the most too. there are a lot of amazing photos in there though.

[Kaemon]

#45

I guess it is true about that old saying...100 sailors go in a sub for 6 months, 50 couples return home.

[Narrock]

I'm guessing that the students in #16 are going to listen to and obey police commands from now on. lol

[Gypsiyee]

it's not against the law to peacefully assemble.. it's a right guaranteed in the constitution. they're sitting down, not rioting. that's a clearly overzealous use of force and abuse of 'power' (whatever power a campus rent-a-cop has). not really something that's laughable, kind of bad form there Erik.

[Narrock]

it's not against the law to peacefully assemble.. it's a right guaranteed in the constitution. they're sitting down, not rioting. that's a clearly overzealous use of force and abuse of 'power' (whatever power a campus rent-a-cop has). not really something that's laughable, kind of bad form there Erik.

First of all, I'm a huge supporter of the right to peacefully assemble, and I furthermore am empathetic to these students protesting the tuition hikes. Secondly, these are not "rent-a-cops" but a legitimate police department, where the officers had to go to a California police academy. They are commissioned officers just like deputy sheriffs or city cops or highway patrol officers. If an officer gives you a lawful command (which is the case here) and you refuse, then whatever happens to you after that is your fault for disobeying that lawful order. If the officers chose to go hands on and physically remove those students, things would have been worse. The cops didn't do anything wrong. I laughed because of the arrogance of those students. Bad form? Bullshit. Excessive force would have been if the cops shot the students or whacked them upside their heads with batons.

[Zanchief]

Mindia's right. Pepper spray is made to be as harmless as possible.

[Gypsiyee]

Then I'd recommend you spray some pure capsaicin in your eyes and let me know how harmless it feels. It's regarded as an illegal arms weapon in some countries for a reason. Causes body spasms, temporary blindness, difficulty breathing, etc. Nonchalantly galavanting down a line of sitting protesters who don't impose any danger to anyone and hosing them down with that vile shit is unnecessary. You realize that pepper spray can be lethal in some circumstances, yes? I'm not saying it's not a good alternative in some situations, but peaceful protest isn't one of those situations where it's needed.

They're well within their rights to protest, and what's the point of a protest if someone can just come tell you to gtfo and you're like 'oh ok sir, I didn't really care about this cause anyway. I'll be on my way then.'

[Narrock]

Then I'd recommend you spray some pure capsaicin in your eyes and let me know how harmless it feels. It's regarded as an illegal arms weapon in some countries for a reason. Causes body spasms, temporary blindness, difficulty breathing, etc. Nonchalantly galavanting down a line of sitting protesters who don't impose any danger to anyone and hosing them down with that vile shit is unnecessary. You realize that pepper spray can be lethal in some circumstances, yes? I'm not saying it's not a good alternative in some situations, but peaceful protest isn't one of those situations where it's needed.

They're well within their rights to protest, and what's the point of a protest if someone can just come tell you to gtfo and you're like 'oh ok sir, I didn't really care about this cause anyway. I'll be on my way then.'

I've been pepper-sprayed by law-enforcement-grade oleoresin capsicum at both police academies I attended, one in California, one in Nevada. Yeah it sucks... All the more reason to obey an officer's commands.

[Zanchief]

Shrug, there comes a time where you have to disperse a protest. They are being a nuisance on the campus. Are you saying there is no limit to how long a peaceful protest can take place on private property? It seems the police were pretty restrained. No one was seriously hurt, and they all get to line up and sue the police department. Everyone wins.

[Narrock]

I get so sick of bullshit terms like "excessive force" and "police brutality.". I'm not denying that it doesn't happen once in a great while, but I bet 98% of those claims are pure bullshit by some loser who just wants a big cash payout. I can't help but to think of Chris Rock's "How to NOT get your ass beat by the police." LOL. It's on YouTube.

[Jay]

The police were called out to the quad to remove tents which the students had already done by the time the police had arrived. The protest was peaceful and in fact most universities including UC Davis encourage student's rights for peaceful protest on school grounds so long as it remains peaceful, clean etc etc and that people aren't setting up camps. This protest was done mid day. There were also multiple exit points and gaps that police officers could have easily accessed so that throws the whole "surrounded" argument out the window.

[Zanchief]

Yes, I'm sure the school was encouraging them while calling the police.

[Jay]

Chancellor Katehi called the police to disperse the encampment. Not stop the protest. She wanted the tents removed and for no one to stay over night. The UC Davis quad has had protest movements since the Vietnam War.

[Narrock]

Whatever the students were doing should have ceased when the police said "MOVE." If a cop tells me that, I'm not gonna say "hell no, we won't go" or whatever... I'm gonna fucking MOVE. Plain and simple. That's a true win-win.

[Gypsiyee]

well, Erik, I sure hope that when your constitutional rights are violated for no reason you're still as pro-governmental intervention as you are in this case.

so, when all those evil liberals come to take your guns away in the imaginary super-government-controlled future, I hope you're ready to just say 'here you go sir' because after all, that'd be a lawful order and you should cease your rights immediately upon said order.

[Narrock]

well, Erik, I sure hope that when your constitutional rights are violated for no reason you're still as pro-governmental intervention as you are in this case.

so, when all those evil liberals come to take your guns away in the imaginary super-government-controlled future, I hope you're ready to just say 'here you go sir' because after all, that'd be a lawful order and you should cease your rights immediately upon said order.

That will never happen. They're trying, but it will never happen.

[Zanchief]

Chancellor Katehi called the police to disperse the encampment. Not stop the protest. She wanted the tents removed and for no one to stay over night. The UC Davis quad has had protest movements since the Vietnam War.

That sounds like the exact thing I would say if I wanted to distance my self from controversy.

[Gypsiyee]

well, Erik, I sure hope that when your constitutional rights are violated for no reason you're still as pro-governmental intervention as you are in this case.

so, when all those evil liberals come to take your guns away in the imaginary super-government-controlled future, I hope you're ready to just say 'here you go sir' because after all, that'd be a lawful order and you should cease your rights immediately upon said order.

That will never happen. They're trying, but it will never happen.

of course it won't (and they're not trying) which is why i said imaginary, but let's say it did for the sake of argument. would you still have the same stance?

[Zanchief]

On one side we have full blown fascism where a government run police state is trying to control and subdue its citizens.

On the other side we have radical terrorists protesting and disrupting things.

I think we can look past the rhetoric and see that this story falls somewhere in the middle and the use of excessive force is based on subjective moral guidelines, Gyps

[Narrock]

You're talking apples and oranges, and trying to trip me up. A. Tuition hikes and getting pepper-sprayed by the police is NOT a violation of your constitutional rights. B. Taking away your gun rights is a democrat's wet dream, and IS a blatant violation of our constitutional rights. Again, apples and oranges... Nice try on trying to trip me up or make me out to be some kind of hypocrite.

[Arlos]

Mindia, check some of the news reports about the UC Davis thing. Everyone, including police experts themselves, are saying what that cop did there was entirely out of line. The students had *NOT* been ordered to disperse. They were not disobeying any orders whatsoever. He just went and did it.

-Arlos

[Narrock]

Doesn't matter. As a police officer, you don't have to ask your sergeant what to do every time you have an issue. You have to be able to think on your feet and react quickly to situations. Like I said, if he had used his gun or baton, that's a different story.