Nothing screams desperation like police stopping people from voting on their own future.

Catalonians proved to Spain that they do not see Madrid as being any kind of leader of the province as the people defied orders to cancel the vote as well as the police who were sent out to block the polling locations.  There really isn't much to say here.  The people of Catalonia are not attacking Spain.  They are not rioting and behaving lawlessly.  They simply want to register their group opinion in a public, nonbinding referendum.  If Spain is worried about the legality of Catlans wanting to govern themselves then I get it.  But is simply talking about wanting to leave a crime?  Is assembling at polling places in order to determine how many others want to self govern also a crime?  If breaking free is the crime then why is Madrid cracking down on this current noncriminal activity?

Madrid, you bunch of fucking cowards!  You know that people don't want to be under your rule so you send in police to stop them from even exercising an act of free speech!  I can tell you right now that this is not going to end well for Spain.  Catalonians and other northern provinces have too much Basque blood in them to roll over easily.  Every single one of the police who participated in these blockades should be individually charged with violating the rights of the people and they should all lose their jobs and pensions and then do some jail time to boot.

Madrid is spitting in the face of freedom and telling the Catlan people that they need to shut up and go back to being good little tax slaves for Madrid.  That is just maddening.  Madrid does not own these people and attempts to assert their slave ownership rights should be met with deadly force IMO.  That just so happens to be about the only thing that big governments understand.  Nobody wants to fire the first shot understandably but I can't see this going on much longer without a shooting battle.