The enforcers

These are Egyptian riot cops standing behind barbed wire fencing closing off the road leading to the presidential palace in Cairo. According to Russia Today (RT) TV, not always the most reliable new source, about 100,000 protestors marching on the presidential residence faced off against riot cops with tear gas. Apparently overwhelmed, the cops allowed protestors to approach the building which prompted President Morsi to flee. Russia Today’s correspondent, said some of the cops sought protection from the crowd & the protestors threw up a cordon around them. So much for those concrete & barbed wire barrier walls all over the city!

These cops are just young guys. They’re the ones the oligarchs put on the front line, the ones who have to do the dirty work, carry out the violence, beat up people. The ones here look scared & it must be pretty hairy facing down 100,000 people even in your spiffy outfits, with helmets & truncheons & tear gas. Jobs are hard to come by with riot cops becoming a growth industry around the world. But judging from cop protests around the world, they don’t get paid any better than the rest of us & are facing the same attacks on wages & benefits. So they need to make a choice. They can’t be brothers & sisters while they’re beating on our heads. They’re on the wrong side. This is a strong case of “you can’t have it both ways.” It’s so hard to see why they’d want to do  the dirty work for oligarchy when the pay is lousy & the work stinks. (Photo by Asmaa Waguih/Reuters)