no, i don't mean to say that people should get pepper sprayed. I'm just saying they knew it was going to happen. I really don't know what else you would expect, that the cops where going to release the people they arrested? Was it ok for it to happen, no.

I come down on the side of the protesters but there are realistic things we should ask our selves and be prepared for. Obviously the individuals that where sprayed were prepared to get sprayed with pepper spray, this is what i'm saying. Their choice to stick to their guns is commendable.

but what would have been a "proportional response" by the police? And do we actually ever expect the police to do that?

the point that some other people have written here about, though mired by other things they say, is that the way this image is often presented shows a officer maliciously pepper spaying the protesters. From watching the video that's not what happened.

Do we think that distortion matters? I think so, especially when we get pissed when the other side does it. But then again sympathy for the cause is needed to move forward. The problem is often people get pissy when what we acknowledge our own biases and propaganda. Though, we should understand that propaganda is a tool and it's use to sway public sentiment is strong (i use the word propagand but if we want to be nicer we can say "media relations.").

Now before anyone gets all huffy, i'm not saying the action of the protesters was propaganda. What i'm saying is that the way the image of this event has been distributed and the connotations that most people draw from the image is a distortion.

tl;dr: when you encircle police despite it being non-violent, your going to get pepper sprayed. we shouldn't expect any other reaction. Despite the way we feel the fact is that this image and it's meaning has been distorted in our (the protesters) favor in order to gain sympathy. Was this a conscious framing decision? i don't know, but that's what is happening

tl;dr2: i have no idea