From the Marine Times:
An uncle of an Iraq War veteran injured when anti-Wall Street protesters clashed with police in Oakland, Calif., said he was appalled by officers’ action.Atlanta, Georgia
A hospital spokesman says the 24-year-old veteran and Wisconsin native, Scott Olsen, was upgraded to fair condition and moved into an intensive care unit on Thursday.
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His uncle, George Nygaard, tells The Associated Press from Wisconsin that Olsen’s parents were heading to California on Thursday morning.
Olsen apparently suffered a fractured skull Tuesday in a march with other protesters toward Oakland City Hall. The demonstrators were trying to re-establish a presence in the area of a disbanded protesters’ camp when they were met by officers.
It’s not known exactly what type of object struck Olsen or who might have thrown it, although the group Iraq Veterans Against the War said officers were responsible for his injury.
Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan said officials will investigate whether officers used excessive force.
My hands are not clean. We own investments. Still, my sympathy lies with the Occupy Wall Street protestors. The injustices are too great to brush away. The disparities in income between the rich and the working poor are too monstrous to ignore. That's not to speak of those who have no work, those who are stuck in part-time jobs, and those who are underemployed.
Why can't the protestors occupy public space and show themselves? None of the people with the power to change the sorry situation are listening. Can they close their eyes, too? Why can't the police let the protestors be, so long as they're peaceful?
"The bank is something more than men, I tell you. It's the monster. Men made it, but they can't control it." John Stinbeck - The Grapes of WrathH/T to Counterlight for the videos.
