One anti-union judge replied, "To hell with the Constitution; we're not following the Constitution!"

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/colorado-governor-sends-militia-to-cripple-creek

Nov 23, 1903:
Colorado governor sends militia to Cripple Creek


Determined to crush the union of the Western Federation of Miners (WFM), Colorado Governor James Peabody sends the state militia into the mining town of Cripple Creek.

The strike in the gold mines of Cripple Creek began that summer. William "Big Bill" Haywood's Western Federation of Miners called for a sympathy strike among the underground miners to support a smelter workers' strike for an eight-hour day. The WFM, which was founded in 1893 in Montana, had already been involved in several violent strikes in Colorado and Idaho. By the end of October, the call for action at Cripple Creek had worked, and a majority of mine and smelter workers were idle; Cripple Creek operations ground to a halt. Eager to resume mining and break the union, the mine owners turned to Governor Peabody, who agreed to provide state militia protection for replacement workers.

Outraged, the miners barricaded roads and railways, but by the end of September more than a thousand armed men were in Cripple Creek to undermine the strike. Soldiers began to round up union members and their sympathizers-including the entire staff of a pro-union newspaper-and imprison them without any charges or evidence of wrongdoing. When miners complained that the imprisonment was a violation of their constitutional rights, one anti-union judge replied, "To hell with the Constitution; we're not following the Constitution!"

Such tyrannical tactics swung control of the strike to the more radical elements in the WFM, and in June 1904, Harry Orchard, a professional terrorist employed by the union, blew up a railroad station, which killed 13 strikebreakers. This recourse to terrorism proved a serious tactical mistake. The bombing turned public opinion against the union, and the mine owners were able to freely arrest and deport the majority of the WFM leaders. By midsummer, the strike was over and the WFM never again regained the power it had previously enjoyed in the Colorado mining districts.

[liberal N proud]

1. Grounds for impeachment

The Constitution is LAW!

[Wilms]

7. Ya mean, "it's just a God-damned piece of paper".

And it seems you have missed the memo. "Impeachment is off the table".

:patriot:

[MedleyMisty]

2. I do see the lesson in that bit of history

I have no fear of OWS going that route. Every occupier I've ever listened to was pro-nonviolence. Even the more radical people who don't see the big problem with occasionally damaging corporate property definitely do not endorse hurting humans.

Another lesson I see in it:

"This recourse to terrorism proved a serious tactical mistake. The bombing turned public opinion against the union."

Much like bombing Afghanistan and Iraq and Pakistan took all that international goodwill for the US after 9/11 and turned it into hatred and more recruits for the terrorists.

Much like violence against OWS will turn public opinion against the 1%.

We will win, because as far as I can tell violence is the only tool that the 1% has.

Why do oppressors never learn? I can read Gandhi and King and Gene Sharp and study Buddhism. I can look at history and at current events and make observations and draw conclusions and predict reactions. Surely the oppressors can too?

[Sarah Ibarruri]

3. So true. That's the beauty of OWS. It is peaceful, and it is being photographed and videorecorded

And there's precious little that law enforcement can do that won't be broadcasted around the world. If they hurt someone, it gets broadcasted worldwide. You're right that that changes people outside the movement, to see law enforcement behave violently towards the peaceful.

[Omaha Steve]

4. Kick

[LWolf]

5. To quote Big Bill:

"Eight hours of work, eight hours of play, eight hours of sleep, eight hours a day!"

[gratuitous]

6. The repressives have toned down their rhetoric in the last 100 years

But the aims are the same. Also, notice what happened when Harry Orchard set off a bomb: Public opinion turned against the miners, and the forces of repression enjoyed an unfettered hand to crush the workers. Resorting to violence against the best armed, most violent rulers on the planet is a fool's game. Whatever temporary gain you realize from violence will soon be turned back, and the authorities will NEVER forget that you used violence against them.