Friday, September 21, 2007

Delusional eagles

There is a poster at SCSU Scholars named Janet. Spot has no idea who Janet is, but she has written movingly—she was apparently moved about writing about it, anyway—about a Gathering of Eagles. Janet flew to Washington, D.C., in a plane, not on her own, last March:

Anarchist anti-war protestors spray-painted the steps of the US Capitol in January. Another anti-war protest being organized by a coaltion [sic] of radical leftist and anarchist groups is "gathering near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial" on March 17th.

Although the organizers deny any intention to "defile" the Memorial, I will be joining A Gathering of Eagles, which plans to be present to protect the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Janet had so much fun in March that she went back to rail against the protest last weekend. Here's one little incident that Janet didn't write about:

Submitted by Rick Perlstein on September 20, 2007 - 8:08pm.

Last week I wondered whether an oily substance found on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and reported by wingnuts as anti-war vandalism might have actually been a false-flag operation intended to stir violent outrage at the anti-war activists coming to Washington for a September 15 march.

If so: mission accomplished. The pro-war fascists of Gathering of Eagles found a father of fallen Marine to beat up along the route: Carlos Arredondo, who marches in anti-war demonstrations pulling a flag-draped coffin adorned with a picture of his son. Here's one account:

As Carlos passed counter protesters, one man ripped a picture of Alex from the memorial. Carlos leaped on the man to retrieve the picture. It was at that point that approximately five others all began to attack Carlos by kicking him in the head, legs, stomach and back.

The Capitol police bicycle patrol then appeared to break up the fight. Several officers including a female officer were engaged in breaking up the fight and were able to stop any further injuries from occurring. Hannah Jones who was walking with Carlos was also assaulted.

A bystander named Ramesh witnessed the whole encounter and also retrieved the picture of Alex for Carlos. He was quite distressed at how he watched the men follow Carlos as he pulled the memorial, purposefully yelling epiphets and eventually taking Alex's photograph. Soon, an ambulance showed up as well as many concerned activists. The paramedics provided first aid to Carlos but he did not seek further medical attention. Carlos sustained bloody cuts on his shins. He also reported bruises all over his torso and head where he was kicked.

Perlstein also reports that the man who grabbed the picture of Carlos' dead son said that he was acting to "rescue" the picture, since it was being held "hostage."

Is this the sort of rabble you're consorting with, Janet?

No comments: