As blogged earlier here and here, Mr. Olsen was shot in the head with a police projectile during the widely decried crackdown on Occupy Oakland. Mr. Olsen's assault and horrific injury, and while he was peacefully demonstrating, was captured on video that went viral. Although the police officer is graphically circled on that video, his identity remains undisclosed, with 500 officers and 18 police agencies said to be involved in an operation many view more like a virtual battlefield assault on citizens exercising their Constitutional rights. And all while the mayor, Jean Quan, flew out of town for the show, and later refused to assume responsibility. An investigation is supposedly still underway.
Mr. Olsen is also interviewed here by Rachel Maddow, here by Ed Schultz, and here by Keith Olbermann. Keith Olbermann asks if Mr. Olsen is shocked by the police violence. He responds, “On one hand, it shocks me a lot, and the other hand, it doesn’t. Because our nation’s peace officers have been militarized to combat terrorism, but they’re combating anyone with an opinion.” Mr. Olsen expresses opposition to current U.S. military engagements, and in all 4 interviews, the importance of more people getting involved and speaking out about the rights they are losing as Americans. Scott Olsen is active with both Veterans For Peace and Iraq Veterans Against the War as well as Occupy Oakland. Throughout all 4 interviews, he struggles notably with speech impediments due to the brain injury he now suffers, but optimistically and bravely maintains his daily improvement in the face of continuous physical frustration - and what could be characterized as a whole other level of reclaiming space.
Rachel Maddow also sums the current status for a number of major occupy sites, including Boston, where a court ordered the city not to interfere - D.C., where they are welcome as long as they keep the site safe and clean - San Francisco, where they have been ordered to leave without being dispersed - and more news on what happened in Philadelphia and Los Angeles, where L.A. arrests are now tallied at two hundred.
Information concerning another veteran, Kayvan Sabehgi, who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, blogged here and here, not spotted at the time of this posting. Mr. Sabehgi was walking home alone from the Occupy Oakland demonstrations, and at a rather remote location, when he was virtually mugged and beaten up by a group of police officers who confronted him. He was then thrown in jail, where he lay in critically injured condition on the floor of a filthy cell, overflowing toilet, without access to medical attention for 24 hours - unable to even leave, when summoned, to post bail. (Hello? Amnesty International? United Nations?) Mr. Sabehgi was eventually taken to the same hospital Scott Olsen was initially taken to - Highland - where Mr. Sabehgi underwent surgery to repair his spleen. A couple of weeks later, another video surfaced of that assault.
Mr. Sabehgi was not even demonstrating at the time of this assault, with some activists expressing concern that veterans were targeted by police, and especially since they were highly visible leading the front lines of the Oakland marches.
In the video that more recently surfaced, police appear to be engaged in a highly militarized, planned operation, advancing in full line-up, down an empty street, and in completely robot-like fashion. Except for the few officers directly facing Mr. Sabehgi (and who become violent rather than engaging in sensible dialogue - and as one advances menacingly and Mr. Sabehgi backs away - before he beats him up on the sidewalk with others), the police appear oblivious to the presence of any object, let alone human beings, in front of them. They appear to have hung up their individual abilities to employ critical thinking and make independent judgment calls.
Capturing aptly what Mr. Olsen criticizes about the direction of the police department, and the kind of behavior this mindless mentality engenders in law enforcement. Soldiers rather than peace officers. Whether or not Mr. Sabehgi was identified and singled out in this specific incident beforehand.
For what was this "full regiment" in Oakland at this location - engaged in this exercise - away from the demonstration - doing out there in the middle of the night? When Mr. Sabehgi happened to be strolling home?
What were they dress rehearsing for? Was this to be some weird remake of Glory? Return of Borg? Where was the director?
And will the alleged investigation let the public know?
Because - flashback - to Mr. Olsen's statement to Keith Olbermann - it not only looks like they're combating anyone with an opinion - it looks like they're combating anyone walking down the street.
In the video that more recently surfaced, police appear to be engaged in a highly militarized, planned operation, advancing in full line-up, down an empty street, and in completely robot-like fashion. Except for the few officers directly facing Mr. Sabehgi (and who become violent rather than engaging in sensible dialogue - and as one advances menacingly and Mr. Sabehgi backs away - before he beats him up on the sidewalk with others), the police appear oblivious to the presence of any object, let alone human beings, in front of them. They appear to have hung up their individual abilities to employ critical thinking and make independent judgment calls.
Capturing aptly what Mr. Olsen criticizes about the direction of the police department, and the kind of behavior this mindless mentality engenders in law enforcement. Soldiers rather than peace officers. Whether or not Mr. Sabehgi was identified and singled out in this specific incident beforehand.
For what was this "full regiment" in Oakland at this location - engaged in this exercise - away from the demonstration - doing out there in the middle of the night? When Mr. Sabehgi happened to be strolling home?
What were they dress rehearsing for? Was this to be some weird remake of Glory? Return of Borg? Where was the director?
And will the alleged investigation let the public know?
Courtesy of Star Trek
Borg mindlessly advance to reclaim what
*The Mind* knows is really *Its* Space.
Because - flashback - to Mr. Olsen's statement to Keith Olbermann - it not only looks like they're combating anyone with an opinion - it looks like they're combating anyone walking down the street.
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