I often wonder how the 1% will expand their crackdowns if the Occupation Movement continues to grow. Police brutality and disruption are just the first step. If that continues to prove ineffective things will escalate. One possible sign is the latest measures passed 93-7 in the Senate that allows the military to indefinitely detain American citizens without charge. While the defense bill still needs to be reconciled with the House version and Obama is threatening he may veto, (though not because its wildly unconstitutional, but rather mainly because he doesn’t feel its the place of the Congress to decide these sorts of matters and instead maintains it should be left up to the Executive itself) I think ultimately it will pass.
I don’t think the government would suddenly use the law in mass against occupations. Most of the time these measures creep in. For example they would find the most unsavory character who they think they could tie to the movement, claim they are allied with a terrorist group somehow, and use it on them. Since they would pick someone naturally repulsive to most Americans they would probably get away with it, making it easier to use it a second time on people perhaps not quite so repulsive. This way little by little it creeps into being common practice.
Or perhaps a new war or a false flag creates the atmosphere the government feels it can use to wholesale start calling many occupiers terrorists during a time of national crisis. A sort of Shock Doctrine effect that could allow them to indefinitely detain many occupiers. If the unrest gets so large though that they try to use our military to pacify us, and not just as an end around to due process, I think that could be a fatal mistake to the 1%. I have felt this way for a while and that feeling was reinforced late last night.
I was on night watch and around midnight 3 young men called from the road at the edge of our camp asking what the tents where about. We invited them to our small fire in the barbecue promising not to bite. I asked if they had heard about OWS and they said they had not. They were marines who had just finished boot camp so had been completely out of contact with the rest of the world. They were in Raleigh on a 6 hour lay over before heading to the next stage of their training and had been wandering around trying to find something interesting to do until their bus left around 5:30am. Since they were all under 21 the bar scene was out and until they came across our occupation they had found little of interest. Not all that surprising on a Monday night.
I explained a little of the history of how OWS started. When I explain to someone for the first time what OWS is about I focus generally on the fraud that led up to the 2008 crash, how there had been no accountability for those actions primarily due to the banks buying off our politicians, how voting has seemed to be an ineffective way to make change, and how occupation was being attempted to force a message in the public sphere that our government and economics should be working for the benefit of the 99%. They were very receptive to what we described and we got into a long discussion with them ranging from occupation issues, their experiences at boot camp, cars, practical jokes, and home towns.
One was getting increasingly frustrated with the cars that would either shout a negative comment at us or blare their horn non-stop to try to wake people up. He held up a small rock and asked me if it would bother us if he threw it at the next one. I explained a little about what being a leaderless and autonomous movement meant but then stipulated that one thing we did agree on is that we are a non-violent movement, so throwing the rock would be an issue. His buddy mentioned he could just go across the street to do it if he wanted calling it a surprise attack. I added that the people that drove by doing those things seemed overall pretty gutless in the sense that they didn’t ever stop to talk or confront us. He let the rock drop I guess deciding it wasn’t worth the trouble.
At one point the discussion turned to the new types of weapons the police where using on protesters. One of the marines who would soon astonish me with the wisdom he displayed shook his head in disappointment at my mention of the use of a sound cannon on OWS protesters, as he knew even before I said it that the weapon had been designed for the military to use abroad and not to be used on American citizens. A little while later the other marine who had considered using the rock mentioned that if the movement got big enough the government might call in the marines to deal with us. I said that I had actually thought about that and it was one thing that gave me some hope if things went that far. It was clear the police where willing to use violence on peaceful American protesters but I felt that if the military were ordered to do so they may not fire. Paraphrasing what followed:
“Well, if we get orders to, I mean, you know, ” His buddy then cut him off, “Yea those might be orders but we have a choice,” he repeated looking at him seriously, “You have a choice.”
I went on to mention that it felt like the military had certain codes of honor that might keep them from shooting at Americans that’s different from the police. I realize that not all enlisted personal are people of integrity but I do think for military personal its an anathema to attack Americans. Police have to confront and be forceful with citizens as part of their regular duty. That’s not the same for the military. I think ordering the military to open fire on Americans is a line the 1% cross at their own peril.
After a couple hours three more from their group showed up at the camp. We talked briefly about what we were protesting. After a short time they all left and I told them to be safe and it had been a pleasure talking with them. Once they were gone I realized what I wished I had said. About 20 minutes later a large amount of supplies arrived and as I started my way to help the two marines I had been speaking to most where back and offered to help us unload. We gratefully accepted their help and before long everything was unloaded and squared away.
They put back on their jackets and again took their leave wishing us luck with our protest.
“You guys keep fighting for our freedom and we will keep exercising those freedoms to try to make things better,” I told them as they left.
“Hoorah,” replied the marine who had displayed so much wisdom at such a young age straight out of boot camp when he reminded his fellow marine that they had a choice.
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