Few actions are as shocking as a government turning on its own citizens. Americans have grown used to that spectacle in other parts of the world, but we're generally surprised when it happens here. Even though it's happened all too often
The images from Tuesday's police riot at Occupy Oakland are shocking, but sadly familiar. The members of the ragtag "Bonus Army" in 1932 wouldn't be surprised at all. After all, their own army colleagues - led by Douglas MacArthur, Dwight David Eisenhower, and George S. Patton - swept them out of the city in a violent afternoon filled with gun fire and tear gas that culminated in the burning of the encampment. Many people were injured and two babies died.
Officially titled the "Bonus Expeditionary Forces," the group of WWI veterans and their families briefly occupied Washington DC in 1932. The 15,000 assembled there demanded payment of the soldiers bonus promised in 1924, but not due to be paid until 1945.
"I want to beat the undertaker and spend the money before the undertaker gets it," one marcher says in this video:
Also in this video, another speaker - who I think is Bonus Army leader Walter Waters, although he's not identified - says this about the occupiers:
"I know who's made this country worth living in. It's you fellows. Look. It makes me so damn mad... a lot of people think of you as "trash." By God, they didn't speak of you as "trash" in 1917 and 18!
Take it from me: this is the greatest demonstration of Americanism we have ever had!"
Yep. Using people up and throwing them away like "trash" is hardly an American value - but standing up for your rights and expecting a level playing field surely is.
Alabama Representative Micky Hammon may enjoy calling Alabama's state workers "lazy," but I bet he'd sing a different tune if his house were on fire. Those firefighters wouldn't seem quite as lazy then, would they?
Compare how the Bonus Army was viewed by those in power....
Army Chief of Staff MacArthur was convinced that the march was a communist conspiracy to undermine the government of the United States, and that "the movement was actually far deeper and more dangerous than an effort to secure funds from a nearly depleted federal treasury." But that was simply not the case.
... with how the Occupy Wall Street movement is described by the GOP & its allies:
Rep. Allen West says that OWS has ties to Communists and Nazis... and that furthermore, MLK wouldn't have supported it. (Remember when we last left Rep. West, he was ranting hysterically at Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz.)
Rush Limbaugh calls them "human debris." Is that a step up from "trash?" I'm not sure....
Sean Hannity warns that they “will come for you and drag you into the streets and kill you.”
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is concerned about "mobs pitting Americans against Americans." After all, Cantor sees creating division as his job, guys!
Compare the organization and structure of the Bonus Army encampment.....
Discipline in the camp was good, despite the fears of many city residents who spread unfounded "Red Scare" rumors. Streets were laid out, latrines dug, and formations held daily. Newcomers were required to register and prove they were bonafide veterans who had been honorably discharged. Their leader, Walter Waters, stated, "We're here for the duration and we're not going to starve. We're going to keep ourselves a simon-pure veteran's organization. If the Bonus is paid it will relieve to a large extent the deplorable economic condition."
.....with the Occupy Wall street encampment:
"They seem to have done a really good job making it a surprisingly livable place. There's food, there's a medical tent, a library, cell phone charging stations. It really is getting to be a self-sustaining thing." The jobs within the park have also helped create a sense a community.
The Bonus Army marchers were peaceful. When the Senate voted down immediate payment of their bonus, they didn't riot:
The Senate was voting on the bill already passed by the House to immediately give the vets their bonus money. By dusk, 10,000 marchers crowded the Capitol grounds expectantly awaiting the outcome. Walter Waters, leader of the Bonus Expeditionary Force, appeared with bad news. The Senate had defeated the bill by a vote of 62 to 18. The crowd reacted with stunned silence. "Sing America and go back to your billets" he commanded, and they did. A silent "Death March" began in front of the Capitol and lasted until July 17, when Congress adjourned.
Today's "occupiers" are also non-violent:
Despite mounting arrests and some possible instances of police brutality, the Occupy Wall Street movement so far has done a fantastic job of keeping violence to a minimum without sacrificing any of the wrath that has made it so famous.
But the Bonus Marcher's non-violent action didn't stop the government from turning on them:
Infantry and cavalry supported by six tanks were dispatched with Chief of Staff General Douglas MacArthur in command. Major Dwight D. Eisenhower served as his liaison with Washington police and Major George Patton led the cavalry.
By 4:45 P.M. the troops were massed on Pennsylvania Ave. below the Capitol. Thousands of Civil Service employees spilled out of work and lined the streets to watch. The veterans, assuming the military display was in their honor, cheered. Suddenly Patton's troopers turned and charged. "Shame, Shame" the spectators cried. Soldiers with fixed bayonets followed, hurling tear gas into the crowd.
By nightfall the BEF had retreated across the Anacostia River where Hoover ordered MacArthur to stop. Ignoring the command, the general led his infantry to the main camp. By early morning the 10,000 inhabitants were routed and the camp in flames. Two babies died and nearby hospitals overwhelmed with casualties.
Eisenhower later wrote, "the whole scene was pitiful. The veterans were ragged, ill-fed, and felt themselves badly abused. To suddenly see the whole encampment going up in flames just added to the pity."
Occupy Oakland protesters also got a whiff of tear gas and gunfire.
Protesters scattered in both directions on Broadway as the tear gas canisters and several flash-bang grenades went off. Regrouping, protesters tried to help one another and offered each other eye drops.
One wounded woman, who others said had been hit by one of the canisters, was carried away by two protesters.
The crony Capitalists and their allies aren't going to give up easily. The 99% have a big fight ahead. Hopefully, it will be a non-violent, civil political conversation.
Still, it's helpful to remember that in the past, the US government has suppressed - sometimes violently - citizens' Constitutional right to peaceably assemble and petition for redress of grievances.
Cross posted at Left in Alabama