So, the Occupy Wall Street protests have been an effective bust. Having been unable to get the message across in a clear and effective manner has neutered the movement. Some, however, are still vigilant. If there is one thing that the Occupy protests are accomplishing, though, it is shedding light on the injustices that are the various police forces that supposedly serve and protect the citizenry.
I would like to direct your attention to this reddit post (WARNING: naughty language) and this YouTube video. These are first-hand accounts of the Occupy Oakland protests on January 28, 2012. The post and the video paint a picture of grim reality – peaceful protest in the United States of America is becoming criminal.
The situation most large protests find themselves in is that they need to get a permit to protest. They could be denied the permit outright, which happens quite often. On the occasions where the protesters gain the required permit(s), the protest begins – marching, sign waving, etc. and, eventually, the cops show up. The goal is always the same – disperse the protest.
There are several things I could say about the ridiculousness of needing to gain permission from the state in order to protest the state, but I’ll leave that one alone for now.
What I’d really like to talk about is the disgusting trend in this country that has seen police units actively militarized and used, not for keeping the peace, but inciting violence and causing chaos. As a country, we’ve accepted this and even celebrated it in the form of cop-drama T.V. shows and movies. We’re contributing to the problem because we turn a blind eye to it.
We have “free speech zones” where people are caged and told that these are the only places they can exercise their First Amendment right of peaceful protest. I’m just curious – what’s the point in calling it free speech if you aren’t actually free to voice your grievances to the people they are directed at?
Hey, you guys can yell at the Democrats and Republicans who are eagerly bending over for the banking and corporate interests which want nothing more than to bleed the American people for every dollar they can possibly get out of them, just to enlarge the plutocracy that we’re living in, and meanwhile we’re going to stand like Stormtroopers, with guns pointed in your faces while you do it. Oh, and you’ve gotta be way over here where no one can hear you. – The Cops
Call me dramatic all you want, but it doesn’t change the fact that this is the reality we are living in. I’ve posted this quote before, but I feel it is once again appropriate.
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.”
– John F. Kennedy
Dwell on that for a moment, if you will, and remember that we have a Congress with the lowest approval rating in Gallup history.
This Government (that we elected, mind you), doesn’t care about improving the economy. It sees no value in improving American schools so that our children don’t grow up to be mouth-breathing imbeciles. It doesn’t care that we rank ever lower in testing for science and math, year after year. The Government sees no point in establishing clear civil rights for all Americans.
Instead, this Congress would rather pass censorship laws that limit freedom of speech. Our Government would rather spend its time making it more of a crime to pirate Michael Jackson’s music than it was to kill him with medical negligence. These people see no problem in maintaining the prohibition of marijuana, even though the majority of the American people want it legalized.
Oh, but let’s build a moon base, shall we?
