Punishing Protest, Policing Dissent: What is the Justice System For?

Published on Sunday, February 12, 2012 by Common Dreams

Punishing Protest, Policing Dissent: What is the Justice System For?

by Erik Hoffner

This year promises to be another historic year of people calling for change worldwide. Citizens took to the streets for a wide variety of reasons, from the Wisconsin Capitol to D.C., which hosted many actions last year including the highly visible civil disobedience of activists seeking to halt the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline. The resulting mass arrests, totaling over 1,200 by early September, surely played a large role in President Obama’s decision to delay approval of that climate- and water supply-threatening project.

Story continues here: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/02/12-6