THIS IS OAKLAND, CA USA?

WAR VETERAN WOUNDED AT OCCUPY OAKLAND

Oakland PD Shoots 2-Term Iraq Vet Exercising His Right to Free Speech

Submitted to Shelton Blog by Katherine Price Mason County Progressive

If ever anyone had the right to speak out for injustice in a public forum, it is a citizen who has served two tours in Iraq.

Scott Olsen, a Marine veteran who has survived two tours in Iraq, was shot in the head by a police projectile in downtown Oakland at Occupy Oakland on the evening of October 25. He is in serious but stable condition at an Oakland hospital.

Shooting a two-tour Iraq Vet could bring a whole new element of "security" to the occupations -- and these boys will be there to protect the citizens from the police AND to teach citizens how to "occupy".

If I were in the 1%, or the machine which serves them, I would be pretty worried right now. I would be worrying about having provoked a pretty big surplus, a surplus about to be increased, of unemployed, well-trained soldiers. Many of our unemployed, well-trained soldiers have survived multiple tours in Iraq; these guys know how to occupy.

I would be worried as hell about these unemployed men and women seeing on YouTube, the police in an American city attack the citizens as seen in the videos going viral out of Oakland.

I expect for many vets seeing their brother carried off through the smoke will remind them of whichever Oil War they have lately returned from. It will really freak them out when they remember that Scott Olsen was NOT in one of America's continuing Oil Wars being carried off; Scott was in an American city. Scott is a U$ citizen.

Scott is being carried by people who don't even know his name, who are shouting "MEDIC", and they are all on a sidewalk in California. There is smoke/tear gas, the sounds of explosions and gunfire, and it is surreal as hell to imagine that this is Oakland.

Scott was daring to exercise the very rights he was told he was in Iraq protecting. Scott was in a group of citizens lawfully and peacefully assembling to talk about their grievances and bring attention to their concerns.

Scott survived two tours in Iraq. I hope he survives being safe at home in the U$A.