When I saw the pictures of wounded from Yemen, Egypt and Palestine, I felt immense pain for the protesters- shot and gassed simply for standing up for what they believed in. But still I foolishly thought to myself "that won't happen here... things will be different. We're not that kind of country".
Now I'm seeing yet another picture of a bloody human being who only wanted a better country being carried by his brothers.
But it hurts all the more knowing that this picture was taken on American soil.
Knowing that the men who did this took an oath to serve and protect, took an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America.
The constitution which clearly prescribes that the people have a right to assemble, that they have a right to alter or abolish corrupt government, that they have a right to be free and to stand together and shout at the system they feel threatens their liberty.
The whole world is watching, Oakland. From the 60" mahogany-framed plasma TV in boardrooms to the 10" netbook in an African classroom with 4 students huddled over it. The shots fired in Oakland today were just the beginning.
America is watching. Please share this note on Facebook. Paste this text and these images in an email and send it everywhere. These pictures should circle the country until you get this email back. These pictures will not frighten Americans, they will infuriate them. The videos coming from Oakland will light a fire in the 15 million veterans who've served since Vietnam, and the 3 million men and women serving today. Men and women who swore to uphold that document that defends the natural and permanent right for Americans to assemble, to speak their mind and to petition their government. Many of them are undecided, but more and more of them are making up their minds.
Veterans make up 5% of the population, and you're mad if you think they will stand by and see this happen in their community. They've secretly feared this was going to happen for a long time. You can bet that they aren't going to stand idly by and watch this happen.
Share this picture with a friend in the military. Tell them where and when and how this happened: ordinary men and women protesting a government that everyone knows is corrupt were gassed, shot and grenaded in America today.
Tell them to go to OccupyTogether.org and find an occupation in their state. Tell them to show up Saturday in full uniform if they have it.
Show the people behind the bullets that they're not just shooting at helpless civilians anymore.
2 comments:
Please remove the last photo in your article. The one with the soldier holding the american flag. I am the photographer and gave you no permission to use that photo.
This pic is all over FB and countless people have used it. This is a copy of an article written by someone else. You need to contact the author. I am not the author of this article. And there is no creative license or watermark from what I can see. If you like, I will add your credit...but keeping article as is until I hear from the author of the article.
Post a Comment