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Comment by Mikeb85 | Hacker News Reader

Police 'violence'? Have they never been to America? Or seen any G8 meeting in Canada or Europe? Talk about propaganda...

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Yes, Americans are #1 in the world for police violence. And congratulations to us!

edit: I earlier said that this was the first time HK used teargas/rubber bullets, which is inaccurate. the important thing is that this is still violence, just because the US beats everyone in terms of sheer scale/frequency/intensity of police violence doesn't mean that this isn't police violence.

Tear gas was definitely used in '14, see this image from the Umbrella Movement protests:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Hong_Kong_protests#/media...

Multiple sources also mention rubber bullets being used in '14 as well:

https://www.google.com/search?q=umbrella+revolution+rubber+b...

ah, you're right, I misread the SCMP coverage yesterday, guess when they said "tear gas was used for the first time" that it was the first time ever, and not just within the protests this time.

the NYT article also has:

"The use of rubber bullets represented a turning point in the police response and was the first time the government acknowledged using the nonlethal rounds in Hong Kong in decades. The police response following the protesters’ push toward the Legislative Council was noticeably more aggressive as peaceful protests became more pitched throughout the day."

So maybe the use of force hasn't changed vs 2014, but the government's brazenness has.

Not then. Leung dare not. Do not know why lan dare.

The UK proved that rubber bullets can kill people[0]. The French first deployed tear gas during WWI.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_bullet#Riot_control_use

Hundreds of thousands protesting, hundreds who attack police and try to storm a government building... Seems like a pretty measured response. Try that in any other country.

Are you suggesting that no other country can possibly have police violence, because the US does?

If so, that's preposterous. Both can be heavy-handed!

If not, what is the point of your comment?

Whenever china appears on hackernews...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism

And inconsistently moderated. Actual HN staff seem to hover between not caring about the obvious tactics at play - even calling it a "trope" a if we were in a movie, or flagging posts calling out the tactic while the originals stay preserved (as do the ensuing derailed conversations)

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20169100

I tried emailing this same staffer to get my account deleted to escape this encroaching noise. They really don't give a shit. I'll be surprised if your post is still here later.

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