Occupy my country

[debgeisler]

As the "Occupy" movement spreads, the responses to the protests in different cities and countries has been a fascinating (and quite educational) chapter in freedom of expression. The latest stupidity in dealing with the protests, however, comes right out of the US.

In its heavy-handed response to the local "Occupy" movement, the Oakland, California police department used a "non-lethal" projectile which injured a veteran US marine, who is now in critical condition. While people were trying to help the wounded protestor, police lobbed a "whiz-bang" device at them, and the explosion (not surprisingly) had people fleeing.

Eventually, protestors got the wounded former Marine, Scott Olsen, to the hospital. He is currently in a medically-induced coma. As one news report notes, he survived two tours in Iraq, but it is not clear that he will survive the Oakland Police Department.

On Reddit, one US Marine posted the photo below. (Click to embiggen.) The thread has more than 1600 responses.

Comments

[randy-smith2.livejournal.com]

Another piece of this story is that Oakland Mayor Jean Kuan was out of town while all of this mess was going on. She was in Washington trying to get grants. Across the bay, San Francisco cancelled their crackdown that was scheduled for early this morning. I'm wondering if the debacle in Oakland had something to do with their change of mind.

[jbriggs.livejournal.com]

I'm amazed that of all places in California this happened in Oakland, one of the more liberal and tolerant communities in this state; a city where the current Governor (Jerry Brown) had been Mayor.

[randy-smith2.livejournal.com]

I am not at all surprised at this, especially since the horror that was the Oscar Grant protests last year. Also, the Oakland Police Department has been in disarray for a while with new chiefs coming and going on a regular basis.

[stegoking.livejournal.com]

My brother, too.

[debgeisler.livejournal.com]

And mine.