I told my neighbor and friend and Iraqi vet who just finished two tours of Iraq about OWS Saturday when I heard about it. I will call him John (not his real name) He asked where my vet was. They are very close. I help him with his disability claim and my husband helps him with guitar and he helps us cut the grass. He is young and humble and and all round good young man.
John rushed down to the square on Sunday as his car is constantly breaking down. He did not get there Saturday. He was laid off from his woodworking job not long after getting in construction that fizzled. He has custody of his two very small children,
He is a single father and was scouted and had won a scholoraship to play college football when September 11th happened. He bought the sales job of the recruiter.
He became injured in battle but has never gotten but 20 percent and we are working on that. He is an independent. He did not care nor does he care about politics. He
does care about his brothers in arms and he is proud of his service. I know he has PTS and he and my vet will talk anytime he wants and I am here to answer his questions about his disability and VA business. He rushed over here yesterday in a raincoat and rung the doorbell.
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He said, " Where is everyone at the 99ers?" I replied.John, they gave the Occupiers three hours to protest since it is just starting. He said, " I marched alone. I made me
a sign and I held it up all day. I was alone, But I stood on that corner and I held my sign that said I am a 99er. I am a veteran. Stop corruption. I was awestruck and yet very proud of him. He said, I wondered why people were honking horns. I smiled.
I told him I was sorry for the misunderstanding but next week there will be more .
This morning when I carried my daughter to school he stood in the rain waited for me
to turn off the ignition. He had his camouflauge raincoat on and it was raining hard.
He said, "Hi Mom. He calls me Mom. Many young people do. Hes said, he had been following the Scott Olsen recovery after I told him about Occupy and that Marine.
He took my garbage can to the road for pickup and the rain was pouring and we talked. He adjusted his rain coat and told me that it disturbed him that the city gave us 3 hours. He informed me that he stood in Iraq to fight for their freedom and he would stand on any street corner with a voice in America. This humble young man had a look in his eye I was familiar with. I reminded him this was a peaceful protest but that did not seem to matter as he was deeply disturbed over things going down in America. I told him we would get together Saturday but the GA had to organize and things. He handed me his jacket which I said no, you need to keep that on I gotta go in..Come in if you like. He informed me he had to decide if he was going to go back down to the square and stand..He said I will stand day and night and night and day and nowhere do I think I need someone tell me if I am peaceful I can't stand on a city sidewalk with a msessage. I am going to be there. I will be there in the rain and the cold and the hot. I will stand. I will stand on any city sidewalk for my brother who was hurt. I will stand. A tear fell down his cheek and he said, we can't promote democracy anywhere if we don't have it here.
I think John had awakened to the fact that his government lied him into war. I think John was already hurting from his family being torn apart. I think John is a hero. He gave up his football career to go to war. I think John is hurting like so many verterans.
John is one of the vets my little org was trying to help for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
John doesn't trust anything anymore and John is willing to stand. John is a a 99er and occupy wall street supporter. He will occupy and I hope keeps his cool. he lives with his sister and her two children and she just got laid off. She was a Nurses Aide. She too is a 99er. I am proud to have them as neighbors. I hope they don't get evicted which may be imminent but this is why I advocate and help. These people are invisible people to the 1 percent.