Maybe rural cops in TX are bigger jerks than elsewhere; not a possibility I relish, but it would explain why your experiences with rural cops across the States is different than mine with rural TX cops. The main problem with that YouTube video was that the cop did not just mace them, he went down the line spraying it right in their eyes. I still do not consider it a MAJOR problem; when I was a kid I made the mistake of getting into my moms purse and wound up macing myself pretty badly; it was incredibly unpleasant, but I survived without permanent scarring. End of the day, they were in noncompliance and the cop used non-lethal force to remove them. Anyone serious about civil disobedience should understand they signed up for that along with the rest.

Cops do cross the line too often though (perhaps the most famous case being veteran metropolitan LAPD cops continuing to beat Rodney King after he was unconscious.) Like I said, I give them the benefit of a doubt absent a reason not to do so, but only marginally. Authority figures carrying lethal force must be closely scrutinized to prevent power abuse becoming routine. I concede people too often overreact; there was a case a few years ago where folks in (heavily minority) East Austin were outraged over a cop shooting a guy dead during a traffic stop; that the driver grabbed the cops arm and began racing down the street with him hanging from the window made it difficult to share their outrage.