"Occupy Marines Bringing Reinforcements To Occupy The Nation"

[KurtFF8]

Source (http://www.addictinginfo.org/2011/10/22/semper-fi-occupy-marines-bringing-reinforcements-to-occupy-the-nation/)



Semper Fi: Occupy Marines Bringing Reinforcements To Occupy The Nation

October 22, 2011
By Stephen D. Foster Jr. (http://www.addictinginfo.org/author/stephen-foster/)

http://www.addictinginfo.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/united-states-marine-corps.jpg (http://www.addictinginfo.org/2011/10/22/semper-fi-occupy-marines-bringing-reinforcements-to-occupy-the-nation/united-states-marine-corps/)What began as the gathering of just a few US Marines has now become a major organized movement to get Marines and military personnell of all branches to Occupy America nationwide. You can thank Marine Sgt. Shamar Thomas for that. His actions last week have inspired service men and women across the country to take a stand for the American people and join the Occupy protests.
Sgt. Thomas, as you’ll recall, stood up to the NYPD during the protests in Times Square and told the officers that hurting peacefully protesting American citizens is wrong. His message seemed to work on the officers present since they backed down. Now more members of the military are joining the movement in a strong organizing effort to help the protests get through the winter and beyond.
“#OccupyMARINES Are Currently Assessing The Current Situation To Ascertain What Is Currently Needed To Support OWS America. We Are Humbled At The Substantial Support OWS America Has Provided And Ask That Everyone Continue As You All Do While We Implement Organization Nationwide. As We All Know, ‘Occupy’ Groups Are Being Established Even Now And Would Like To See This Trend Continue. “
Their website OccupyMarines.org, is calling for “Non-Active ‘Occupy’ Military Supporters Only” and they are organizing a dress code which will help identify their branch affiliation. So we should be seeing Marines, Army, Navy, and Air Force personnel dressed to impress at Occupy events across the country. Their goal will be to talk sense into police officers and recruit them into supporting the cause.





#OrganizeMarines states, “Security forces/police should be seen as potential recruits to our cause and message, not as adversaries. Ultimately, they are accountable to the people. Defensive strategies never win. Do not respond to verbal attacks or hostile propaganda from Nay-Sayers by using the language of the opponent. Reframe.”
One Veteran, Alex Limkin said:
“There is nothing more central to a free and democratic people than the right to dissent, the right to disagree, the right to stand up in the town square and be heard… I feel quite sure that in standing in solidarity with the peaceful Occupy Wall Street movement, I am doing no less than upholding my oath as an American soldier.”
Marines were already beginning to support the Occupy Wall Street movement. Now they are bring reinforcements from the Marine Corps and other branches of the United States military, to put their organizational skills, patriotism, and resilience to good use in the effort to give more weight to the protests and help them continue the fight to change America indefinitely. For years, they have fought for us in countries far away. Now, they fight beside us in America.




This could be an interesting development. The Occupy Marines website has a call to support the NYPD, however which I find odd because it seems the whole premise of this was an antagonistic exchange between a Marine and the NYPD.


This could develop into something worth paying attention to (or perhaps it isn't significant, who knows)

[Jose Gracchus]

Organic attempt by prevailing social forces to reintegrate and redirect #occupy into socially safer waters. The soldiers' councils of 1917, this ain't. The GI movement and dissidence of the SE Asian wars, this ain't.

[ВАЛТЕР]

Infiltrate, misinform, redirect.

Typical strategy of the ruling class in many protests. Don't get your hopes up, however this can cause problems within the movement.

[GatesofLenin]

This seems fishy to me. After last week, why would the Marines support the NYPD?

[Susurrus]

I doubt this is any sort of conspiracy. I think that when they start getting hit with billy clubs for switching sides, they'll change their rhetoric.

Hah, found this pic when I googled "occupy marines"

http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/facebook.com%20screen%20capture%202011-10-21-14-14-55_OccupyMARINES.jpg

[Ocean Seal]

Security forces/police should be seen as potential recruits to our cause and message, not as adversaries. Ultimately, they are accountable to the people. Defensive strategies never win. Do not respond to verbal attacks or hostile propaganda from Nay-Sayers by using the language of the opponent. Reframe.
Now comrades if there is anything to learn here, it is the policy of good rhetoric. And this is some damn good rhetoric. Look at that, calming people down with the police are our allies type of thing.

[jake williams]

I'm torn between this being a really good sign of organic working class support, including within the military, for a progressive mass movement - and an ugly sign of a potential quasi-fascist scapegoating of finance, with support from a militarized nationalism, during a capitalist economic crisis.

As much as Obama (as a prototypical Clinton Democrat) is very much a candidate of Wall Street, he's certainly mulling over the possibility of taking a hit in finance contributions in exchange for massive support from the rest of the bourgeoisie (as well as the working class). It's a gambit, but it could work, and I'm sure that's why the banks are actually a little frightened by OWS. The enemy of your enemy isn't necessarily your friend.

[Lenina Rosenweg]

Its hard to tell. The movement appears to be organized by a sergeant, not a higher ranking officer. A lot of these people have been indoctrinated into a simplistic patriotism and they see the current crisis (as well as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan) as a betrayal of this.

The Occupy # movement could go either way. It may be crushed by police repression, its lack of clear goals, and/or cold weather, or it may last though December. Either way the class struggle in America is bound to heat up and I feel future historians will view Wisconsin and OWS as the turning point pointing to a tremendous working class fight back.If military personal express support or even join these movements we should appeal to them and attempt to educate them as much as possible.Lower ranking non-career military people don't have much to expect from the system either and, like everyone else, they know this.

Of course its to be expected that they will have many confused ideas.This will change.

The lethargy is over, Over the next 2-3 years things will begin moving very fast.

[Rocky Rococo]

What these guys are likely to find once they get out there is that at many "Occupy" sites, Veterans for Peace members are actively core participants.