With demonstrations planned this month against the 2010 Olympics, Shaw is putting together a team of medics to attend to people who may get hurt if violent confrontations with the police happen on the streets of Vancouver.
“The danger for protesters always comes from the police,” Shaw told the Georgia Straight in a phone interview.
He expects to have a temporary clinic up and fully operational at the First United Church on East Hastings Street on February 11.
On February 12, protesters belonging to various groups will assemble on the north lawn of the Vancouver Art Gallery and later march to B.C. Place, where the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Olympics will be held. Other protest actions in following days are being lined up.
With the risk of police deploying tear gas and pepper spray, Shaw offered a few tips to those joining anti-Olympic protests.
A bandanna soaked in apple cider, for example, may prove handy. Wrapped around an individual’s nose and mouth, it can diminish the impact of tear-gas fumes. Goggles that seal tightly around the eyes can keep out gas and pepper spray.
Carrying a water bottle is useful to keep hydrated at outdoor events. Water can also be used to wash eyes after tear-gas and pepper-spray strikes. Wearing contact lenses is not advisable.
An article in the June 26, 2001, issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal noted that chemical agents commonly used in tear gas are o-chlorobenzylidene malononitrile (CS), chloroacetophenone (CN), and dibenzoxazepine (CR).
According to “The Health Impact of Crowd-Control Agents”, “CS, CN, and CR gases irritate the skin, eyes, and upper respiratory tract. They have been described as chemical barbs that cling to moist mucous membranes.”
People with preexisting respiratory conditions like asthma or bronchitis may find it difficult to breathe if they are exposed to tear gas, according to the article.
The active ingredient in pepper spray is capsicum oleoresin, an oily extract of hot peppers that targets pain receptors, according to a CMAJ article that appeared in the publication’s July 10, 2001, issue.
The piece, entitled “On Pepper Spray and Civil Disobedience”, noted that pepper sprays cause inflammation of nerves, pain, redness of the skin, abnormal blinking of the eyelids, tears, and blurred vision.
Shaw said that although many people are worried about tear gas and pepper spray, he’s more concerned about blunt trauma, whether it comes from riot batons or police horses.
“They could generate the kind of injuries that I can’t deal with on the spot,” he said. “And then I have to evacuate somebody. While that’s going to be doable, it’s going to be more complicated.”
A guide released in November last year by the Vancouver law firm McGrady & Company has some suggestions on what protesters can bring. For example, having photo and video cameras may keep police in line, as they generally don’t like to be recorded hurting people. Those taking prescription drugs are advised to bring their medication just in case they get detained.
Clothes should be comfortable for running, according to the guide. “Further, you do not want to be easily grabbed by your clothes or your hair by someone attempting to restrain you,” it also states.
Vancouver Police Department spokesperson Const. Lindsey Houghton told the Straight that the force doesn’t discuss “operational deployment or strategies or equipment”.
Like other police agencies, Houghton added, the VPD has tear gas. Asked about rubber bullets, he said: “We have a number of less lethal options available.”
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Comments
I am going to attend the Feb. 12th protest and I admit I am fearful of being attacked by the police. But a peaceful protest is not going to hurt anyone, nor disrupt the games. But it may bring enough international attention to the fact that the Olympics are an unnecessary and unwanted burden to the average tax payer, that other cities will think twice before they decide to have a party at someone else's expense.
Cheers
That the Olympics is a giant boondoggle for a thin layer of the society is a reality. I lost my home of 20 years due to the 'Olympic' greed of my landlord.] Please make yourself aware of the bigger picture and look outside of your narrow world. thank you.
I was in Seattle 99 and FTAA 2001 protests and I've seen the spin. The image of violence, being outsiders, being irrellevent, being unreasonable... This is what the media will say. They love to focus on teargas - on page 6. The point is to not get sidtracked by that violence and lies because that is them winning. Us winning is exercising our "free speech" -- however that term itself is a pidgeonhole and so don't use it so much! What we are saying is right, it is not JUST because of free speech that it should be spoken. It is because the Olympics are a lie, a theft, a corporate takeover and exploitation of naive people who believe in something noble but unreal - the Olympic Myth. We need to advocate for local accountability and ending corporate welfare.
We are strong in one another.
Operation Press Record encourages this.
www.pressrecord.ca
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/group.php?gid=283251949068&ref=ts
The olympics cost 6 Billion every four years
The illicit drug trade is estimated at 400 Billion anually
The war in Iraq is estimated at 4 Trillion dollars.
Maybe find a more noble reason to protest?
The Olympics is an International sporting event which promotes world peace. It was only ever cancelled in 1916 and 1944. This is called WWI and WWII. They have a hard time co-existing.
So get a life and free yourself from The Grinch Mentality.
Jim Van Rassel
Coquitlam BC
Sat, 2010-02-06 16:26
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A Burden to the Taxpayers?
The olympics cost 6 Billion every four years
The illicit drug trade is estimated at 400 Billion anually
The war in Iraq is estimated at 4 Trillion dollars.
Maybe find a more noble reason to protest?
The Olympics is an International sporting event which promotes world peace. It was only ever cancelled in 1916 and 1944. This is called WWI and WWII. They have a hard time co-existing.
So get a life and free yourself from The Grinch Mentality.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~````
Your "figures" are laughable........of course the cost of the Olympics increases every time it is held, per inflation.......British Columbia does NOT nor has EVER spent 4 trillion dollars on the Iraq war, neither has Canada by the way........400 billion on illicit drug trade in B.C.?.......that is simply ridiculous......really.
The citizens of B.C. are stuck with this 6 billion dollar DEBT whilst facing the largest provincial deficit in our history.
Physical education classes and sports programs for our children are being eliminated in order to pay for these Olympics.
The Olympics do not promote sports for the children and citizens of B.C.......they devastate them, whilst burdening our grandchildren with debt.
In the meantime surgeries are being delayed, businesses and citizens are under siege with the "inconvenience" of this "celebration".
Just watch what your fellow persons/friends do -when you become conscious ...and head off on your own direction and not associate with a collective repressed identity.... Your decisive strength scares them ... they will do what they can to keep you where you are... because your part of their lazy identity and you affirm their lack of goals. Only follow your consciousness derived from a state of YOUR OWN PRESENCE.. not the collective . Hey protesters....Try and think of nothing for 30 seconds... and consciously observe how many of your thoughts are rooted in the past and future ...and they are all mostly negative and constraining... live in the NOW and nothing is overwhelming.
After all, the present moment is really the only thing that exists in whiich change can be made . So walk in a different direction than your "perceived sanctuary's" collective thought... and watch yourself think for today... instead of protesting a cause which is ultimately your own inner struggle. Try this now and your life will instantly shift to a interesting track.
You are welcome for the instant change in your thought pattern
Go ahead, this adds a new sport to he Olympics.
For six years straight, we are #1 in Canada...
One in five children in this province is living in poverty. Please let this sink in...one in five children...is all well?
Cost overruns of $400 million on the Media Centre, the heavily subsidized Trade and Convention Centre that benefits hotel owners from offshore, $350 million cost overruns on the Sea to Sky Hwy to benefit resort owners in Whistler, $750 million cost overrun of the Canada Line, lining the pockets of SNC Lavalin (pork barrel specialists), or the $1 billion debt staring in the face of kilt wearing haggis eating visionless Mayor Robertson and Vancouver residents once the Games are over...smile wave flags pretend all is well...be part of the farce if you wish...like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City (spend hours going through security and waiting for transportation...an illusion is all it is...the emperor (IOC) has no clothes.
Again a lot of what was spouted by these hypocrites was that the police would brutally crack down on them but the truth is that the cowardly hooligan element among the protesters who weren't brave enough to show their faces went on a violent and destructive rampage trying to create a riot and goad the police into retaliating where they could then cry "police brutality"...HYPOCRITES. If the leaders of the protest can't control their members maybe they should stay home or maybe this is really their agenda to create anarchy. They have lost all credibility and respect because of these actions.
This professor, however - now condoning the anarchic behaviour of violent rioters, was a commissioned member of the military, and once pledged an oath to a violent organization.
The hypocricy is quite sickening.
Jim Van Rassel
Coquitlam BC