Iconic Protesters
I saw courage both in the Vietnam War and in the struggle to stop it. I learned that patriotism includes protest, not just military service. - John F. Kerry
As I had threatened, another Occupy Wall Street post. November 17, 2011 is the 2 month anniversary of the nascent movement. As of last month, most Americans lacked an opinion of OWS, which is why it is still important to get their message out.
Neda Agha-Soltan was one. So was Mohammed Bouazizi. As was Khaled Mohamed Saeed.
They were the people that were iconic symbols of their protests in their Arab countries. Neda Agha-Soltan was killed in Iran during the 2011 protest there. Mohammed Bouazizi was a street vendor that lit himself on fire in Tunisia. Khaled Mohamed Saeed was allegedly killed by police in Egypt. The mere mention of their names united a population to the point where their brothers and sisters were willing to put themselves in harm’s way for their cause.
I believe Scott Olsen will represent that for the Occupy Wall Street movement. This is his Google+ post:
For those not familiar with the name, Scott Olsen suffered a fractured skull from a tear gas canister fired by an Oakland police officer. Despite the Oakland police department’s reputed fervor; I believe this was a purely unintentional and unfortunate accident. However, from the comments I have seen on his post in Google+, he has become a rallying point for the movement.
There are even comments in his Google+ page from supporters from Tunisia and Egypt. Considering America’s capitalist reputation around the world, I would be very surprised if this is not being portrayed in some countries as America’s Tiananmen Square in principle.
Although I believe in working within the political system for change, I support the opinions championed by the Occupy Wall Street movement. However, I feel the system has been put in an unfortunate position within these protests and are neither responsible for nor the target of these protests.
The Zuccotti Park occupation was taken down on November 15, but I very much doubt this is even close to an end of this protest.