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Occupy Oakland
14 years ago
Certifiable Mad Scientist: I have a Death Ray, and I know how to Use It.
Yesterday was a rather worrisome day, as there was a major clash in Oakland, CA between occupy protestors and the police. City busses were being brought in because the police force did not have the space to arrest everyone in their normal vehicles, and there was over 300 hundred arrests.
Pictures from the incident posted to Flickr and other places show a story that does not seem like it should happen here in the US. Fully armed police going after civilians who are fighting back with rowdy words and fists. It looks like something out of the pictures we were getting out of Egypt, back when we would herald the freedom of the internet as an awesome way to get a country fired up about the ills of government and spark free speech.
The most poignant moment thus far: A young woman with leukemia (who may have been pregnant) was in the crowd. From all reports she was peaceful in the protest, but vary if she was there or on a stretcher when she was punched in the abdomen hard enough to cause her to begin to urinate blood. This person did not have any insurance and because she was in the occupy protest, last news was that she was NOT going to be treated without pay.
If you check some of the Anon sources, they're since ousted all of that cop's personal contact information.
This does however make a rather stark illumination of our society in the United States. Here we are, having protests that are peaceful until the police come to shut them down, then appear to be worse then some of those countries whose government we deplored internationally. The US is also a country where a cop can cause grievous injury to someone, and society does not care enough about people to even lift a finger to make sure that they survive. At least, not without showing the money. That is a failure.
If you aren't doing it already, keep an eye out on Occupy Oakland. The Oakland PD has always been one of the more violent and quick to anger forces as Oakland has historically been a less then great place to live. That same attitude with protests like we're seeing and its only a matter of time before people begin to die for showing free speech and the right the peacefully assemble.
Maybe we'll end up with our own Tank Man, like China did once... it may get that bad.
Pictures from the incident posted to Flickr and other places show a story that does not seem like it should happen here in the US. Fully armed police going after civilians who are fighting back with rowdy words and fists. It looks like something out of the pictures we were getting out of Egypt, back when we would herald the freedom of the internet as an awesome way to get a country fired up about the ills of government and spark free speech.
The most poignant moment thus far: A young woman with leukemia (who may have been pregnant) was in the crowd. From all reports she was peaceful in the protest, but vary if she was there or on a stretcher when she was punched in the abdomen hard enough to cause her to begin to urinate blood. This person did not have any insurance and because she was in the occupy protest, last news was that she was NOT going to be treated without pay.
If you check some of the Anon sources, they're since ousted all of that cop's personal contact information.
This does however make a rather stark illumination of our society in the United States. Here we are, having protests that are peaceful until the police come to shut them down, then appear to be worse then some of those countries whose government we deplored internationally. The US is also a country where a cop can cause grievous injury to someone, and society does not care enough about people to even lift a finger to make sure that they survive. At least, not without showing the money. That is a failure.
If you aren't doing it already, keep an eye out on Occupy Oakland. The Oakland PD has always been one of the more violent and quick to anger forces as Oakland has historically been a less then great place to live. That same attitude with protests like we're seeing and its only a matter of time before people begin to die for showing free speech and the right the peacefully assemble.
Maybe we'll end up with our own Tank Man, like China did once... it may get that bad.
