Transcending our differences - lessons from Sgt. Shamar Thomas and Occupy Oakland

[G_j]

http://1stcontact.newsvine.com/_news/2011/10/29/8535110-transcending-our-differences-lessons-from-sgt-shamar-thomas-and-occupy-oakland

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The essential question is how did the situation get to that point to begin with? I maintain no anger towards either police in riot gear or towards protesters. What happened in Oakland can be viewed from a different angle. It can be viewed from the angle Veteran Marine Sgt. Shamar Thomas viewed the NYPD in riot gear.

Specifically – Thomas wrote the following on his YouTube channel: “I took an Oath that I live by. I am NOT anti-NYPD. I am anti-Police Brutality. I am no longer under contract with the USMC so I do NOT have to follow military uniform regulations. I DON'T affiliate myself with ANY GROUPS or POLITICAL ORG. I affiliate myself with the AMERICAN PEOPLE that's it. I REFUSE to affiliate with anything that SEPERATES. There is an obvious problem in the country and PEACEFUL PEOPLE should be allowed to PROTEST without Brutality. I was involved in a RIOT in Rutbah, Iraq 2004 and we did NOT treat the Iraqi citizens like they are treating the unarmed civilians in our OWN Country. No one was brutalized because our mission was to "WIN the hearts and minds", why should I expect anything less in my OWN Country.”


This points to a very important paradigm shift in the way any of us should view Oakland. Why were the police officers sent into situation in such a way as to escalate the tension (rather than de-escalate the tension)? That is a very important question and it is one that will be reviewed for months to come. But … it is a command level decision.


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[xchrom]

1. recommend

[Fumesucker]

2. Because the 99% is the enemy of the status quo and TPTB..

As Mark Twain once observed, history doesn't repeat itself but it does rhyme.

This is a pattern that has been observed throughout history, the masses threaten the elite in any way and the elite resort to force, they can't help themselves really.

Think of it as "Stochastic Fascism".