The nationwide outpouring of protests during the last 10 days has provided a historic moral response to the murder of George Floyd. In one city after another, people braved tear gas, pepper spray, clubs and other weaponry -- as well as mass arrests -- to nonviolently challenge racist police violence. Those same people were also risking infection with the coronavirus.

Tear gas has been known to cause miscarriage in pregnant people and is banned in war under the Geneva Convention, which are internationally agreed upon rules of warfare.

Despite this, local law enforcement agencies and the Ohio National Guard used tear gas in communities throughout Ohio as peaceful protests have supported the Black Lives Matter movement and called for justice for George Floyd and many others.

I would like to announce the publication of a book which presents evidence supporting the thesis that elimination of excessive economic inequality makes societies happier and better. The book may be freely downloaded and circulated from the following link:

http://eacpe.org/app/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Benefits-of-Equality-by-John-Scales-Avery.pdf

Ideals of the Enlightenment

The Age of Reason, or the Enlightenment was an intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated the world of ideas during the 17th to 19th centuries. Sir Isaac Newton's rational explanations for cosmic phenomena demonstrated that reason is better than superstition. Diderot's Encyclopedia and the writings of Voltaire and Rousseau paved the way for the end of Feudalism, the end of the theory of the Divine Right of Kings, and the liberation of serfs and slaves throughout the world.

The Columbus Division of Police (CPD) was told last year by the Matrix Consulting Group that its directive allowing officers to use pepper spray against non-violent protesters should be “reviewed” because it allows “use of force without an aggressive act.”

“This directive and the subsequent use of force continuum, allow the use of a chemical agent on non-violent or ‘dead weight’ protestors. The use of force without an aggressive act is a low threshold for the use of chemical agents and contrary to practices in many large agencies (in Cincinnati, for example),” stated the Matrix Consulting Group in the early pages of its 300-plus page report, which was completed last summer.

The CPD directive in question states: “Sworn personnel may use their Division-issued chemical spray to disperse a non-violent congregation of violators who are not moving. Prior to deployment of the chemical spray, at least two notifications should be made to the participants in the crowd advising them that they are committing a violation of law and are to disperse, and that chemical spray will be used if they fail to comply with the order.”