"There will be a peaceful vigil held Thursday, Oct. 27 for Scott Olsen, Marine veteran with two tours in Iraq and member of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW). Scott was critically injured by a police projectile at Occupy Oakland on October 25.
The Oakland vigil will be held during the General Assembly of Occupy Oakland at 14th St and Broadway.
A call has gone out to the Occupy Movement for Occupy encampments across the nation and world to hold SOLIDARITY VIGILS at this time (7pm in their respective time zones).
If you are holding a rally in your city, please let IVAW know about it by emailing details to media@ivaw.org.
Donations for Scott's medical costs & his family's travel expenses can be made at IVAW.org with 'Scott Olsen' under Special Projects."
I'm a little late in posting this... seeing its already 4pm... >.o. Still, do what you can and set up a vigil in Scott's name. There is no rally in my town so I am setting up a vigil at the end of my driveway. Solidarity is solidarity.
Please send warm regards to Scott who is now in a medically induced coma due to the swelling caused by the trauma.
You can write a letter, or a poem, draw a picture, send a package to another soldier overseas and tell him about it, place flowers on veteran graves and write to him, make a donation to OccupyOakland in his name, send photos of your local Occupy.
Do something constructive.
Show Scott that you love him in a non-violent meaningful way.
Scott Olsen
c/o Highland General Hospital
1411 East 31st Street
Oakland, CA 94602
His name is #ScottOlsen. His name is #ScottOlsen. His name is #ScottOlsen. His name is #ScottOlsen.
Video has surfaced of the flashbang that injured Scott Olsen. He was already hurt on the ground, being aided by other protesters as a member of OPD intentionally threw the flashbang into the crowd.
In my non-Anonymous life, I personally have the displeasure of knowing a retired NYPD officer. My sisters and I call him "uncle creepy" because of his over neediness to be liked. "Uncle Creepy" delighted in bragging about the instances he would abuse his power and fuck over what always seemed to be an innocent citizen. Everything from planting evidence to police brutality.
The story that haunts me most is that he once found a hand gun on a bus full of passengers. It was likely that the gun had been there for hours and the owner was long gone. It had been a slow month for him and he needed to made his quota or risk some sort of penalty, so he arrested every single passenger on the bus and charged them with illegal possession of a lethal weapon. I'm sure of of those people were already on probation and could have been sent back to prison because of this. I brought this up to him, and he just shrugged and laughed. "Who cares."
Did I mention I was little more than thirteen when he told me this? Yes. Uncle Creepy indeed.
When I see this video, I think of my Uncle Creepy. Remorseless. Its disgusting.
They need to do better psychological evaluations of the people that they take into these positions. How many other Uncle Creepies are out there chanting "Serve and Protect" as they cross their fingers?
You can tell his pain is genuine and I wish I could comfort him in person. But for now, all I can do is blog. We love you Scott. And we love you, Brother.
The same goes for the rest of our brothers and sisters in the services and our Veterans.
Without your continued protection, this movement would not have been possible.
We honor your sacrifice by maintaining our commitment to non-violence.
Do I really have to comment on this? Whenever I try to find the words all I can do is shake my head and say #shameshameshame. If any one person had an undisputed right to march those streets last night, it was Olsen.
If there was ever a time to join in and march for the cause, now is the time. Even if all you can spare is a night in the name of Scott Olsen. Always remember to remain non-violent to the end.
As I write this I learn that Olsen's injuries have caused swelling of the brain and he is in critical condition. Please tweet kind thoughts for scott #HisnameisScottOlsen. If you pray, please do.
Its safe to say that anyone with Internet access who hasn't been in an extended coma should be a little familiar with the Occupy movement. Many people are just familiar with OccupyWallSt which is one of the only sites of the movement that have been given any media coverage, however minuscule.
It may surprise people to hear that protesters have occupied cities all around the United States and even other countries. As usual of most protests throughout history, the number of police brutalities against Occupy protesters have been coming forward at an alarming rate. Then we thought to have seen the worst at OccupyChicago when ChicagoPD raided the protest and made mass arrests, violating the constitutional rights of hundreds of American citizens and then subjecting them to inhumane circumstances while holding them in custody. The list of charges includes not proving them with food, toilet paper or running water for over 24 hours, some held in custody needed medication and their repeated requests were ignored, and dozens held were denied a phone call or a lawyer. Eventually all of the protesters were released on bail, the funds for which were donated by other protesters or citizens in a show of solidarity for the cause. This had proved to all that many cities are turning into police states and our constitutional rights are little more than empty promises.
I wish I could say that was the worst of the police violence against the peaceful protests but tonight we've seen far worse at OccupyOakland. The protesters, which included children, elderly, and disabled, were pelted with teargas and fired upon with beanbag rounds. The Police's official report was that there were no injuries during the arrests. This photo posted by OccupyOakland's twitter screams in opposition.
Here is a video recorded at the scene by a protester. As the days pass, keep watch on youtube as other videos of police brutality of Oakland protesters surface.
I think the most important and most inspiring thing is that try as they might to silence the Occupy Movement by literally beating the protesters into fear and submission, tomorrow, they regroup and march again with larger numbers as more are awakened to the crimes of our government by witnessing their desperation to quiet what they know could lead to be Revolution.
So here's to you Occupiers. Be you on WallStreet, Chicago, Oakland, or any other city in the United States. Though I can't stand there in person, I support you here and in my home town.
If you are reading this and like me, have too many responsibilities to your family to Occupy for weeks at a time, let this be your call to do what you can in your home town. Make t-shirts, buttons, and stickers. Handout fliers in the mall. Occupy your mall or park for a day. Organize.
