Tear Gas'd for the 2nd and 3rd time

Round 2: Santiago, Chile

Out the corner of my eye I spot on a vendor's television, a group of protesters sitting in a big circle and I see part of a headline; "Santiago Estudiantes....."

Sit down protest? WTF's ahead?

Still inside the first 48hrs hours within the city, I'm hungry to swallow any morsel of culture that I can find so upon identifying that the protest is between here and my hostel I charge 'quick march' toward it. 

Run like muck!

I'll tell you - Battalions of special forces, chasing around rioting students with water cannon trucks and tear gas grenades.

Eh... 'Special Forces'

And when in range walloping randoms with their trunchons, which now after witnessing a few riots, appears to be usual protocol here in South America.

Or just another country

Full streets of students giving it the puffed out 'chicken chest', hurling hailstones of cement, paint bombs and the odd fire bomb. Total anarchy. On a side note; I've noticed a revival of British 70's punk music here. 
Martins, Union Jack t-shirts etc. 



Quality stuff until the water cannon truck made a surprise ambush from a side street to attack the group I'd become part off.
Run for your lives - giggling like a 2yr old; what a......riot!



Round 3: Santiago, Chile

Same city, different date, same reason for riot - the introduction of university fees. This time though I watched the start of it unfold on TV with Kevin; the Edinburger who happened to be the first Scotsman I have met in 13 months of travel.

Scotsman number one - on the right with the bunnet

This round was really just the same as the above.

Highlight was the smaller batallion of Special Forces guys getting stoned/ bottled into a retreat. Althought the push back from the Special Forces on this one was pretty brutal. Basically they just charge in a series of lines with their battons and if you don't turn and run you get leathered. Quality game of cat and mouse.

As the Special Forces were trying to split up the last remaining flash point I got caught between two batallions and just avoided a full body check as I ran through the middle of the encircling troops. The guy running right behind me wasn't so lucky. He got FFully body checked into a little food stall...all I heard was the clatter...turned to see him scrambling, I kept on running and decided that was enough for the day.

I have never stopped for the Red Man

After achieving the shaky hand of fear from that encounter I did consider the following question; where is the line when it comes to joining the back row of a riot just for the fun of it?

I'd propose that it's at the point where there is any chance of the use of rubber bullets to disperse the crowd. 

I say this because once you get used to it tear gas appears to be nothing other than a tempory irritation and screw being blinded by a rubber bullet.