This article is an informative read: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/oct/26/occupy-oakland-protests-live
As I'm sure you're all aware, Occupy Wall Street and it's sister operations in cities around the country (and now the world) has been in fully swing for weeks now. Disturbingly, but not surprisingly, local governments have sought to shut down the protests, violently in many cases. Using everything from legal trickery regarding permits to full blown anti-riot measures, police across the United States have been acting brutally, unfairly, and in many cases, unlawfully, against the protestors.
Today came what I consider to be the most appalling story yet. Scott Olsen, a United States Marine who served two tours of duty in Iraq and was a member of Veterans for Peace, was part of the Occupy Oakland protests today. The goal for today's march was to take back the original position that the protestors had (to the best of my knowledge, lawfully) occupied prior to the police clearing them out. The protestors were brutally attacked by Oakland police, who deployed gas canisters and fired into the crowd with rubber bullets. Somewhere in this mess, Scott Olsen was struck in the head with either a gas canister or a bullet, and is now in critical condition with a fractured skull.
I can barely express the shock and horror I have at this kind of a story. I don't think I have to remind any Americans of our First Amendment right to free assembly, a fundamental right of any free state. While I fully agree with reasonable, non discriminatory permits for the safety of all parties, I cannot believe that in America, we are seeing a fascist crackdown of a non violent protest like this. Or, rather, I can believe it, and I can't believe I can believe it (if that makes sense). I'm no idealist, but this is too much. It doesn't really matter that Olsen is a Marine, though it does make the story a little more poignant, I think. The fact that any "free" American citizen, protesting non violently, may have been murdered (Olsen is in critical condition and may or may not survive) in so doing is insanity.
The Oakland police hardly have a spotless record before this, either. They are incredibly racist - despite having similar size populations in the city, blacks account for about 50% of vehicle stops and 65% of searches, compared to whites, with only 16% of stops and 6% of searches. There is also the infamous incident of Bobby Hutton, a Black Panther who surrendered, unarmed to the Oakland police and was shot twelve times.
As I'm sure you're all aware, Occupy Wall Street and it's sister operations in cities around the country (and now the world) has been in fully swing for weeks now. Disturbingly, but not surprisingly, local governments have sought to shut down the protests, violently in many cases. Using everything from legal trickery regarding permits to full blown anti-riot measures, police across the United States have been acting brutally, unfairly, and in many cases, unlawfully, against the protestors.
Today came what I consider to be the most appalling story yet. Scott Olsen, a United States Marine who served two tours of duty in Iraq and was a member of Veterans for Peace, was part of the Occupy Oakland protests today. The goal for today's march was to take back the original position that the protestors had (to the best of my knowledge, lawfully) occupied prior to the police clearing them out. The protestors were brutally attacked by Oakland police, who deployed gas canisters and fired into the crowd with rubber bullets. Somewhere in this mess, Scott Olsen was struck in the head with either a gas canister or a bullet, and is now in critical condition with a fractured skull.
I can barely express the shock and horror I have at this kind of a story. I don't think I have to remind any Americans of our First Amendment right to free assembly, a fundamental right of any free state. While I fully agree with reasonable, non discriminatory permits for the safety of all parties, I cannot believe that in America, we are seeing a fascist crackdown of a non violent protest like this. Or, rather, I can believe it, and I can't believe I can believe it (if that makes sense). I'm no idealist, but this is too much. It doesn't really matter that Olsen is a Marine, though it does make the story a little more poignant, I think. The fact that any "free" American citizen, protesting non violently, may have been murdered (Olsen is in critical condition and may or may not survive) in so doing is insanity.
The Oakland police hardly have a spotless record before this, either. They are incredibly racist - despite having similar size populations in the city, blacks account for about 50% of vehicle stops and 65% of searches, compared to whites, with only 16% of stops and 6% of searches. There is also the infamous incident of Bobby Hutton, a Black Panther who surrendered, unarmed to the Oakland police and was shot twelve times.
