I agree, although I think the police also probably just wanted to do their jobs and get home.
Unfortunately it is foreseeable that within a year the US national guard will be the ones doing the crowd dispersing. What is being witnessed now is the USA before austerity, society is stressed due to the squeeze that more expensive energy and higher food costs are placing on people especially those either less fortunate or less gifted in enterprise terms. IMO things will get a lot worse once austerity measures are being implemented.
Once upon a time a basic labourer used to bring home enough to support a small family with the basics. Now, that same persons wage is equivalent to unemployment benefits which (by itself) won't even support one person, let alone a small family. These people rely heavily on government assistance and services that are soon going to be withdrawn due to austerity measures.
The population of the USA is approximately 311 million, of these about 44 million are on government food assistance (food stamps). The US govt is approx 17 trillion in debt and climbing at about 1.3 trillion per quarter presently. In recent years the public has seen the US govt spend huge amounts bailing out large coorporations and banks, only then to witness these same business hand out huge bonuses and salary increases to board members without salary movements for the low paid workers.
I would not be at all suprised if protests in the USA start resembling those in Syria.
