I think the idea is that the right to protest is protected until you break the law. They intentionally blocked traffic so they should have been fined, arrested, but not beaten. A lot of cops just switch into a ridiculous power trip mode in these situations. Everyone must disperse, but you must somehow disperse without going anywhere. Everyone doesn't disperse gets a tazer shock and a crack with a baton. It defiantly pays to keep the protests peaceful. One of my favorite peaces of protest video I've seen recently was an antiwar protest in San Fran from earlier this year. Protestors started blocking cars and "peacefully" destroying private property. They started banging their protest signs on one of the cars trying to get through. Just an average blue collar worker trying to get from point A to point B... So the guy driving gets out, and he's huge. The protestors wouldn't stop hitting his car. So he ends up beating the crap out of 2 or 3 of them before they would let him leave. DONALD D GAGEN MAILTO:DGAGEN@ENSEMBLESTUDIOS.COM ENSEMBLE STUDIOS http://www.ensemblestudios.com