Pumpkin Fest Rioters’ Confusing Chants

by | Nov 15, 2014 | 6 comments

There’s not much good to be said about the wisdom of crowds. In two videos recorded during the Pumpkin Fest riots in the Keene State College neighborhood, people are seen chanting “Fuck the Police” in one video while in another singing the national anthem. Perhaps the seeming contradiction in their messages has to do with what the college girl had to say after police shot up the party house she was at with pepperballs, “We’re not terrorists.  We love America.  We just like to drink!  Don’t shoot us!” The sentiment being that they love the idea of America, where they should be free to have a party and drink without being attacked by the police. Of course the irony is that the nationalist brainwashing of singing national anthems and pledging allegiance to a flag over generations has resulted in the religious, state-worshiping fervor that has allowed the police to militarize and disconnect from the people they supposedly serve.

Here’s the “Fuck the Police” chant:

and then a video of partiers singing the national anthem:

The Guardian Questions Police Response to Pumpkin Fest Riots

by | Oct 25, 2014 | 7 comments

guardian-logo[1]The Guardian’s Nicky Woolf came to Keene last week to report on the Pumpkin Fest riots and the police response. His article poignantly asks, “Did police’s militarised response to a small town pumpkin patch riot just make it worse?” According to the people Woolf interviewed, yes, they absolutely did. Here’s the full article, thanks to Woolf and the Guardian for the excellent coverage of this issue. (more…)