Scott Olsen, The Martyr of Occupy Oakland

photo source

There is a certain irony in the fact that Scott Olsen, a 24 year old, ex-marine who is today lying in a hospital with a fractured skull, survived not one, but two combat tours in Iraq. It just goes to show that the streets of America can, in some cases, be more dangerous than the battlefields of Iraq. What  Al Quaeda couldn't do, the Oakland police managed handily. Check out the videos below if you don't believe me.

Shame, shame, shame. I haven't been this shocked since National Guard members mowed down Viet Nam war protestors at Kent State University.Four students were killed and nine wounded in what was called " The Kent State Massacre.". I remember watching the TV coverage in 1970 like it was yesterday. My horror at this is the same. A friend of mine used to say as a joke " the first law of parenthood is don't eat the children"  and it seems to me that both at Kent State in 1970 and  in Oakland today, America is devouring its young. Shame shame shame.

The only good news about this is that Scott Olsen has performed a valuable service for his country by becoming an icon for the  Occupy movement.  His injury has, I hope, given the Wall Street fat cats and their lobbyist lackeys in Washington, pause for thought. At least they are paying attention now.  You can't  get rid of an idea with teargas and rubber bullets-- let's hope the powers that be realize that now and start addressing the inequalities that engendered this movement in the first place.

If you haven't  seen the video coverage. I've included a couple of eye openers for you below.  You need to have a look.

 Footage of Scott Olsen and Police 

Aerial View of the Police Action in Oakland

Some of the  Faces of Occupy Oakland( and they aren't all young either)