Forum Post: WSWS: Thousands march in Oakland to defend Occupy movement

Thousands march in Oakland to defend Occupy movement

Thousands of protesters participated in a day of marches and demonstrations in Oakland, California Wednesday. The actions were held eight days after a violent attack by police on the Occupy Oakland movement resulted in more than 100 arrests and the near-fatal wounding of a young Iraq War veteran, Scott Olsen.

Olsen, 24, suffered a skull fracture when police fired a “non-lethal projectile” directly at his head during peaceful protests on October 25. He remains hospitalized in fair condition, according to friends.

Those participating in the protests Wednesday expressed deep outrage over the attack on freedom of speech and other democratic rights, as well as the enormous inequality that has animated the Occupy movement as a whole.

Claire, from San Francisco, told the WSWS that the police attack was “horrific.” She added, “We have the right to protest. We go into other countries and tell them to rise up, and when we do it here, we get shut down. I don’t want my kids to grow up in this ‘democracy.’”

Trixie, from Piedmont, said, “I wasn’t coming down here until I saw the attack; then I had to come. I’ve always wanted this movement to happen, and I had to come and be counted. Our government is hypocritically criticizing other government crackdowns and then doing it here.”

Referring to the 1932 attack on the Bonus Marchers during the Great Depression, she added, “It reminded me of when Eisenhower and MacArthur ordered troops to attack veterans before WWII. They killed people—they will kill to get their way.”

http://wsws.org/articles/2011/nov2011/oakl-n03.shtml