A Question!

[sabrina 1]

People are being hurt by the police in some cities. Several people were wounded by the police last night.



Watching the video of the Oakland Police Assault on the people, they are indiscriminate. Even attacking people as they are trying to help someone else.

And by now everyone knows about Iraq War Veteran Scott Olsen, who is in critical condition in the hospital.



So, the police in some cities are a clear threat to the safety of the peaceful protesters.

My question is, should the Occupiers now request protection by the National Guard from the police in states where violence has taken place?

If the police are attacking them, then they obviously need protection. I don't know who would do that other than the National Guard.

Just wondered what other people think, would it help keep them safe, or would it make matters worse?

And is it even possible?

[EFerrari]

1. With this president, worse.

He won't order them to protect the occupiers.

[sabrina 1]

4. Isn't it the Governors who are in control of the National Guard

though?

[elleng]

5. Yes.

The crap that's going on in SOME cities is 'local;' the good that's going on in some cities is also local.

[EFerrari]

13. Yes, that's right. But what governor is going up against a sitting president

who will likely be re-elected

And again, I don't mean to slam Obama as if he's outside the norm. It would be the same under any president out of the current crop of potential office holders, imo.

[RKP5637]

6. His silence is very very telling. After all, in this country we're supposed to

have the right to peaceful protests, and he sits idly by, at least from what I see ... It's more BS IMO.

[TBF]

2. Nat'l Guard works for the 1% - I think we're on our own here. nt

[RKP5637]

8. We don't live in a police state 'till something threatens the Plutarchy, the 1%, then

we are reminded we live in a latent police state.

[TBF]

9. You got it. We find out VERY quickly if we step out of line, and they've got the

Patriot Act to push through whatever they want to do to people. An Act that stands under President Obama. :banghead:

[sabrina 1]

15. Isn't that the way it is in every dictatorship/police state?

I had a friend from Iraq, eg, and he told me that even though he despised Saddam Hussein, if he just went about his business, no one bothered him. And he had a pretty decent life until the war. Not perfect, it would be the way we feel about Cheney eg, but unless he rocked the boat, he raised his kids, ran his business and life was not what we might have thought from over here.

[RKP5637]

16. Yes, I've heard similar. Stay with the agenda and don't rock the boat, things

can work OK. As we used to say in some of the Darth Vader corps here, keep your head low, don't stand out in the corp. crowd.

[ChandlerJr]

3. Mayor Daley called in 7500 Nat. Guard

reinforce the 12,000 cops in Chicago in '68. In 1972 the Nat Guard slaughtered 4 protesters at Kent State.

You sure you want to do that?

[Starry Messenger]

7. More likely they will be on the other side of the barricades.

If OWS garners more union presence, that might change though.

[broiles]

10. Where are we?

Yemen or Syria, maybe Bahrain.

[piratefish08]

11. Kent State?

be careful what you wish for

[sabrina 1]

18. Maybe the people need to start their own security

firms, after all the 1% have their own and they've taken ours. But it is the people who are in the most danger of harm right now

[Taverner]

12. America is not a Democracy. It is no more a Republic than Egypt, Tunisia or Syria

[Luminous Animal]

14. Brown won't send the National Guard but it would be good PR if Occupy Oakland made a formal request.

[sabrina 1]

17. Yes, it would. And I think they should. The other side things

nothing of making stuff up for PR purposes, this is legitimate, it is becoming very dangerous in certain cities to exercise your Constitutional rights and any way that can be highlighted should be done, imho.

I watched Channel 7 News today, by accident I was somewhere else. And I saw the the Altanta Police Spokesperson lie outright on national TV.

He was asked why they had raided the protesters' camp. He said 'Because there was a guy there with an AK47 and we wanted to be sure that everyone's safety blah,blah.

The thing is the protesters told them that guy was not welcome with his gun and was not part of the movement. And if HE was the problem, why not just get him out of the park?

And of course the interviewer never questioned his responses. Just nodded as she is supposed to do. But there are a whole lot of people now who think someone from OWS is bringing guns to the protests and that could change people's views, which is what they want.