I majored in journalism in college for awhile and am struck by the above image. Of all the images coming out of the Occupy Wallstreet movement this one of veteran Scott Olsen being carried away after Oakland police injured him is the most breathtaking. BagNotes analyzes the photo here. A commenter over there remarked how the photo looked like the Descent from the Cross paintings. I can see it. You have the injured martyr figure being carried down from the makeshift lamppost cross in the background by mourners.
If you don’t know the story Olsen was at Occupy Oakland when he was struck by a tear gas canister. He has a skull fracture and was until recently in critical condition. Video of the incident shows police throwing the tear gas canister at him. I suppose I should put “allegedly” in front of that. After watching the video tough it seems pretty clear to me what happened. Video of Olsen getting hit with tear gas is here and him being carried away by fellow protesters is here. (searching YouTube will give more videos from different angles) In the first video you can see the police throw more tear gas at the protesters who ran towards Olsen to carry him to safety. The irony of a US Veteran surviving two tours in Iraq getting critically injured in the US by police is staggering.
—
From Occupy Together:
Tonight: Vigils Across America for Scott Olsen
“Tonight: Vigils Across America for Scott Olsen, Marine Veteran Critically Injured by Police Projectile at Occupy Oakland
Call for Vigils for Scott at Occupations Everywhere
Occupy Oakland contact:
Matt Howard, Iraq Veterans Against the War Bay Area
415 819-6430, matt.dubya.howard @gmail.com
National contact, to arrange interviews with veterans:
Joseph Carter, Iraq Veterans Against the War national office:
253-777-6117, josephcarter @ivaw.org
This morning Occupy Oakland and Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) put out a call for occupations across America and around the world to hold solidarity vigils for Scott Olsen, a former Marine and two time Iraq War veteran. Olsen sustained a skull fracture after being shot in the head on October 25 with a police projectile while peacefully participating in an Occupy Oakland march.”
—
From Reuters:
Injured soldier spurs veteran support for “Occupy”
“A former soldier wounded in a protest on the streets of Oakland after surviving two tours in Iraq has put a new face on the ‘Occupy’ movement by galvanizing veteran backing for the push against economic inequality in the United States.”
It’s sad that it took a critical injury to force news coverage away from the dirty hippie tent city angle. Not all news agencies of course but some of it was pretty bad.
—
The latest news is that Olsen is awake!
From Raw Story:
Wounded Iraq veteran awake after ‘Occupy Oakland’ head injury
“An Iraq war veteran badly wounded in clashes between protesters and police on the streets of Oakland was awake and lucid, hospital officials and family members said on Thursday.
Scott Olsen, a 24-year-old former U.S. Marine struck in the head during Wall Street protests on Tuesday night, had been upgraded from critical to fair condition overnight.”
Let’s wish him a full recovery!
Posted by Vixen as News at 10:43 PM CDT