Author Topic: Got a taste of tear gas today...  (Read 5946 times)

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Offline armandtanzarian

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Got a taste of tear gas today...
« on: April 28, 2012, 08:53:43 am »
Went for a protest for free and fair elections, 50,000 people turned up. This was the protest I saw.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6XTcwjys4Y" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6XTcwjys4Y</a>


http://imgur.com/a/Sv011

And this is what happened afterwards.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwNOovLvLTI" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwNOovLvLTI</a>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8fzCE_gjAI" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8fzCE_gjAI</a>

We were sitting about half a mile down the road (people all the way along a 4-lane downtown thoroughfare) when the tear gas came, 10 minutes after it started on the Square. I started panicking when it became hard to see, and by some miracle we found a bookstore we hid in.

We continued to hide for 2 hours in the bookstore while police continued to bombard the downtown area with tear gas from helicopters and chemically-laced water. It was a short moment when we feared for our safety, when we couldn't see and all our exit points were blocked (I discovered my original exit point was also gassed).

Apparently the crackdown was triggered by protestors breaking down the barrier to Independence Square, which we were barred from entering. After that was done, police went "okay, fuck this" and brought out the riot gear.

Scary, sad that it went to shit.

Offline DasFuchs

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Re: Got a taste of tear gas today...
« Reply #1 on: April 28, 2012, 08:55:15 am »
"Apparently the crackdown was triggered by protestors breaking down the barrier to Independence Square, which we were barred from entering. After that was done, police went "okay, fuck this" and brought out the riot gear."

Unfortunately sometimes all it takes is a few fuckups in a crowd
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Offline Askold

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Re: Got a taste of tear gas today...
« Reply #2 on: April 28, 2012, 09:10:09 am »
Tear gas is nasty, you should wash all of your clothes, just in case.


"Apparently the crackdown was triggered by protestors breaking down the barrier to Independence Square, which we were barred from entering. After that was done, police went "okay, fuck this" and brought out the riot gear."

Unfortunately sometimes all it takes is a few fuckups in a crowd

Well it helps if the police/military have people just waiting for an excuse to go medieval on the protestors. Even in this case if the police had wanted to they could have pushed back the few morons who crossed the boundaries but instead, they turned their dials up to eleven. (Well to be fair sometimes both sides are near breaking point and one incident can trigger a violent riot.)
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Offline armandtanzarian

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Re: Got a taste of tear gas today...
« Reply #3 on: April 28, 2012, 09:25:32 am »
Tear gas is nasty, you should wash all of your clothes, just in case.


"Apparently the crackdown was triggered by protestors breaking down the barrier to Independence Square, which we were barred from entering. After that was done, police went "okay, fuck this" and brought out the riot gear."

Unfortunately sometimes all it takes is a few fuckups in a crowd

Well it helps if the police/military have people just waiting for an excuse to go medieval on the protestors. Even in this case if the police had wanted to they could have pushed back the few morons who crossed the boundaries but instead, they turned their dials up to eleven. (Well to be fair sometimes both sides are near breaking point and one incident can trigger a violent riot.)
I think it 'helped' that, around the time that I got gassed, a police car ran into 2 protesters and injured them. The protesters there were angered and flipped the (now-empty) car on its top.

Offline kefkaownsall

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Re: Got a taste of tear gas today...
« Reply #4 on: April 28, 2012, 10:07:21 am »
You alright *hug*.  I hope that someone in the govenrment takes protestors side

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Re: Got a taste of tear gas today...
« Reply #5 on: April 28, 2012, 02:37:17 pm »
*offers manhugs* Like askold said, if you were sprayed, be sure to change and wash your clothes as soon as you can. That stuff can still be harsh after it's left on your clothes and you rub your eyes or something after handling them.

But, most importantly, remember it's just a food product, essentially! /sarc.

Offline SpaceProg

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Re: Got a taste of tear gas today...
« Reply #6 on: April 28, 2012, 03:31:29 pm »
*offers manhugs* Like askold said, if you were sprayed, be sure to change and wash your clothes as soon as you can. That stuff can still be harsh after it's left on your clothes and you rub your eyes or something after handling them.

But, most importantly, remember it's just a food product, essentially! /sarc.

Technically it is made out of a food (hot peppers), but that doesn't mean it hurts any less, heh...

Offline Osama bin Bambi

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Re: Got a taste of tear gas today...
« Reply #7 on: April 28, 2012, 03:58:36 pm »
Tear gas is nasty, you should wash all of your clothes, just in case.


"Apparently the crackdown was triggered by protestors breaking down the barrier to Independence Square, which we were barred from entering. After that was done, police went "okay, fuck this" and brought out the riot gear."

Unfortunately sometimes all it takes is a few fuckups in a crowd

Well it helps if the police/military have people just waiting for an excuse to go medieval on the protestors. Even in this case if the police had wanted to they could have pushed back the few morons who crossed the boundaries but instead, they turned their dials up to eleven. (Well to be fair sometimes both sides are near breaking point and one incident can trigger a violent riot.)
I think it 'helped' that, around the time that I got gassed, a police car ran into 2 protesters and injured them. The protesters there were angered and flipped the (now-empty) car on its top.

Wow... WTF. It's a good thing you're all right, armand. Are police and government in Malaysia always this batshit insane? I know that Malaysia is some sort of monarchy and Islam is the dominant religion, but I must admit that I don't actually know that much about the political climate there.
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shykid

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Re: Got a taste of tear gas today...
« Reply #8 on: April 28, 2012, 04:08:25 pm »
*offers manhugs* Like askold said, if you were sprayed, be sure to change and wash your clothes as soon as you can. That stuff can still be harsh after it's left on your clothes and you rub your eyes or something after handling them.

But, most importantly, remember it's just a food product, essentially! /sarc.

Technically it is made out of a food (hot peppers), but that doesn't mean it hurts any less, heh...

Now tell Faux News that.

Offline DasFuchs

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Re: Got a taste of tear gas today...
« Reply #9 on: April 28, 2012, 04:43:02 pm »
Tear gas is nasty, you should wash all of your clothes, just in case.


"Apparently the crackdown was triggered by protestors breaking down the barrier to Independence Square, which we were barred from entering. After that was done, police went "okay, fuck this" and brought out the riot gear."

Unfortunately sometimes all it takes is a few fuckups in a crowd

Well it helps if the police/military have people just waiting for an excuse to go medieval on the protestors. Even in this case if the police had wanted to they could have pushed back the few morons who crossed the boundaries but instead, they turned their dials up to eleven. (Well to be fair sometimes both sides are near breaking point and one incident can trigger a violent riot.)

I can't say whether they were waiting for something or if they decided they were going to prevent it from escalating the way a few famous protests have to the point of rioting...kinda nipping it in the bud.
I wouldn't dare claim either way was the absolute way they thought because neither am I one of those officers, nor was I there.
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Offline armandtanzarian

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Re: Got a taste of tear gas today...
« Reply #10 on: April 28, 2012, 08:29:14 pm »
Tear gas is nasty, you should wash all of your clothes, just in case.


"Apparently the crackdown was triggered by protestors breaking down the barrier to Independence Square, which we were barred from entering. After that was done, police went "okay, fuck this" and brought out the riot gear."

Unfortunately sometimes all it takes is a few fuckups in a crowd

Well it helps if the police/military have people just waiting for an excuse to go medieval on the protestors. Even in this case if the police had wanted to they could have pushed back the few morons who crossed the boundaries but instead, they turned their dials up to eleven. (Well to be fair sometimes both sides are near breaking point and one incident can trigger a violent riot.)
I think it 'helped' that, around the time that I got gassed, a police car ran into 2 protesters and injured them. The protesters there were angered and flipped the (now-empty) car on its top.

Wow... WTF. It's a good thing you're all right, armand. Are police and government in Malaysia always this batshit insane? I know that Malaysia is some sort of monarchy and Islam is the dominant religion, but I must admit that I don't actually know that much about the political climate there.
Malaysia has always had a single party rule it for 55 years, since independence. The system is very heavily skewed towards the ruling party, which fosters a culture of corruption and nepotism. This protest is the 3rd of a series of protests which demand for a fair election, because, probably for the first time, this country has a credible opposition coalition strong enough to take down the ruling party.

This was the point of the protest; fair elections. The heavy-handed tactics, unfortunately, is par for the course for the ruling government.

Offline largeham

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Re: Got a taste of tear gas today...
« Reply #11 on: April 28, 2012, 08:33:52 pm »
Hope you are okay. Are you guys coming out again? How many people did the police arrest?

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Offline Stormwarden

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Re: Got a taste of tear gas today...
« Reply #12 on: April 28, 2012, 09:05:55 pm »
Glad you made it out alive, man. You be careful out there.


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Offline armandtanzarian

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Re: Got a taste of tear gas today...
« Reply #13 on: April 28, 2012, 09:42:12 pm »
Hope you are okay. Are you guys coming out again? How many people did the police arrest?
The organizers said they'll do another one (4.0) and again until at least the elections are called (we have a parlimentary system; there's no set date for elections but it must be called before March 2013). I don't think I'll go though; can't guarantee my own safety.

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Re: Got a taste of tear gas today...
« Reply #14 on: April 29, 2012, 12:05:28 am »
Glad you're okay, Armand.
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