Amid the Omicron Covid variant spread, and despite an emerging consensus that this latest variant is not very severe in terms of individual impact and hospitalizations, lockdowns are returning to much of Europe, but so are fierce protests.
Chaotic and disturbing scenes are coming out of Sunday's large anti-restriction protests near the National Museum in Amsterdam. The protest had been declared illegal by authorities, but a huge crowd showed up anyway, and that's when police in riot gear attempted to disperse thousands.
Among many scenes of people being beaten with police batons, dogs were also unleashed on the demonstrators, including in the above video which shows a man being mauled by a police dog who wouldn't let go of his arm - even as he was prone on the ground at one point. It's unclear if the officers were wanting the dog to release after clearly injuring the man, or if they wanted the animal to continue biting him.
Just before the police unleashed violent tactics on the crowd, the anti-lockdown protesters surrounded the anti-riot force and their vans, presumably there to make mass arrests.
"The Netherlands went into a sudden lockdown on December 19, with the government ordering the closure of all but essential stores, as well as restaurants, hairdressers, gyms, museums and other public places until at least January 14," CNN writes of the new controversial lockdown. "Public gatherings of more than two people are prohibited under the current set of restrictions."
The protest looked to be at least in the tens of thousands, and possibly bigger:
Clearly citizens in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe are furious over this climate of the 'never-ending pandemic' and corresponding lockdowns which governments seem to now impose with ease.
Angry crowds go after riot control police in The Netherlands this weekend:
But many are saying "enough!" and it's becoming harder and harder to remove the liberties of the populace in the name of "protecting" people from the virus - a virus which we were told would dissipate once the vaccine is available.
But instead we still have these scenes of police cracking skulls as people simply stand up for their rights amid authorities' attempts to control all aspects of life in the name of "safety" amid the persisting pandemic.
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