Scott Olsen is the Marine Corps veteran critically injured at Occupy Oakland Tuesday night, during a confrontation between the protesters and the police. The latest news is good: his condition has been upgraded from critical to fair and he is apparently conscious and able to respond to doctors and family members. I sincerely wish him a full recovery, and I also hope that a proper investigation is conducted to determine whether police misconduct is responsible for his injuries.
But I ran across something this evening that may add a new dimension to this story. It has been widely reported that Olsen is a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War. But apparently his opposition to the U.S. military and the Marine Corps in which he served runs a little deeper.
The site is no longer live, but Olsen was the founder of IHateTheMarineCorps.com, a private user forum apparently dedicated to bashing the Marine Corps. (click to enlarge)
[Picture at site]
A Scott Olsen is listed as the registered owner of this domain, and I was able to confirm that this is indeed the same Scott Olsen based on a user profile on the fundraising site pledgie.com.
If he is using the name of the Marine Corp in vain, then shame on him! Not everyone that served, served honorably. But, it’s hard to believe that a Marine would do this. And, this is coming from a Navy guy that none the less respects the most well dressed soldiers around.
I still love this promo spot the best: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwY67LYzH7Q
Dave
The Oakland PD has already said it is treating the investigation into Scott Olsen’s injury exactly with the same seriousness as they would a fatal police shooting.
So, they will get to the bottom of it.
Isn’t there still a you tube video of the injury happening?
Yes.
It is here.
NOTE:
Olsen’s body is down when it is first seen clearly. (the 28 second mark)
At the 19 second mark the camera pans toward where he and the group he is in are.
There was a crowd around him.
A tear gas bomb is thrown toward that group.
The bulk of the flash and its smoke is not next to him, but several feet closer to the officer who threw it.
At the 20 second mark the area he ends up in is clear of smoke and he is NOT down.
At the 23 second mark a flash goes off near him, perhaps a piece of it broke off and hit him?
He falls at the 23 second mark.
All the end of the video focuses on is that the crowd regroups around him only to be gas bombed away again.
Since he served in the Corps, I guess he’s earned the right to bash it. I know plenty of Marine who do not speak fondly of their service. I guess that’s their choice.
@Liberal1 (objectivity):
Another strawman from one of our brave leftist drive by posters.
No one is saying he doesn’t have the right. We are just pointing out his character or lack thereof.
I think it is mostly irrelevant WHY he was at an OWS event.
Barely a small percent of OWS’ers can cogently tell an interviewer WHY they are there.
When police order you to move and you do not move something willhappen next.
Either society loses and the police back down.
OR….
Society wins and order is restored by police activities.
(And, perhaps, during those ensuing police activities, someone might get hurt.)
He was among those who disobeyed the orders of duly empowered officers.
He happened to be the one who got hurt.
Hope he has a full recovery and justice is done.
The guys a dirt bag and yes he can say whatever he wants. His fellow Marines fight and die for his freedom as well as the idiots who are demonstrating.
When you’re an enlisted person who’s in the service, there are days when you hate the service. Blowing off steam is a time-honored military tradition. All that’s new is the internet.
What’s interesting is that someone would dig so deeply in an effort to discredit the guy. Apparently any suggestion that non-conservative protesters aren’t the scum of the earth is considered dangerous, and can’t be left unchallenged.
As a proud member of the Fraternity of Marines, and as someone who has run the same blood in the same mud as this fellow I GIVE him and his Occupy this or that friends the right to their fair opinions, as bassakward and wrong as they may be. What I DO NOT give them the right to do is simple: in any way, shape, or form mutilate, desecrate, burn fold or spindle MY American Flag. And there have been SEVERAL “Occupy ” vidoes all over Youtube where these idiots have done exactly that. I say that someone should slit THOSE guys throats and use their blood as fertilizer…and thats MY right!
@Liberal1 (objectivity): Since, from your post, it appears that you were never a Marine, you may want to leave it alone. Marines have earned the right to criticize their own. Your pandering comment is disingenuous to say the least. If you would like to join the club, your friendly recruiter is just around the corner.
@Greg: Please! someone get Greg some Windex.
@Greg:
Comrade greg, as usual you try to defend a fellow leftist no matter what they do.
You think creating a forum bashing the Marine Corps is ok, but pointing out that he did it, isn’t? You need some indutrial cleaner for your stomach window.
@Marine72, #10:
With three years in the Army and one in the RVN, I figure I’m qualified to comment. Simply consider a couple of acronyms originating with the lowly EM that reflect his attitude concerning recurring states of military affairs: FUBAR and SNAFU.
Soldiers have ranted and grumbled about military life since the days of the Roman legions. Back then they left graffiti on alley walls outside drinking establishments; today more of them are literate, and they’ve got the internet.
@Hard Right, #11:
How would you feel about a current active duty Marine making public comments on the internet bashing his current Commander in Chief, whose orders he has taken an oath to obey and to whom he is expected to show respect? Would you apply the same standard?
Attitudes are like ass–oles, everyone has one; but, when the word cocaine came up all bets are off. That stuff is rapacious and has been a cancer on society for over a hundred years. I got sober and helped others to free their lives from the addiction to alcohol but when it concerned blow I turned my back on those drug users. Their level of lying was unbelievable. One guy who proceeded me in attending to the program I befriended with chicks, dates, and even going out to sea as a member of my sailing crew. As it turned out his “sobriety” was nothing but a smokescreen while forced to see his parole officer. Once clear of those felony obstacles he appears in gold chains, silk shirt, driving a new corvette. Away from us the next known is he whipped a guy with a bicycle chain got rearrested for dealing then returned to Georgia to serve more prison time. Cocaine users doing coke are real hard to read and work with unless all are doing the white lines.
@Greg
Commander in Chief is a title but a far stretch of the imagination to believe he could command anything! That is a down right shame!
Dave
@Greg:
FYI, there are military regs that address such an issue. I would consider it unwise.
You again try to deflect from what he did and tried to complain that it was pointed out.
Being unhappy with the military after the fact and grousing about it is one thing. He took that a step further and created a forum with the sole purpose of bringing others together for bashing the MC.
It also helps to explain why he was at the OWS protest.
There have been a few Marines who have turned their back on the Marines and their country. Lee Harvey Oswald was a Marine.
Otherwise, there is always an unspoken camaraderie among former Marines. A nod of the head and nothing more needs to be said, it’s unexplainable, but it is real.
After 911 I watched an old guy get out of his battered pick up. He was overweight and walked with a cane. His hands were crippled and swollen. When he slammed his door, I noticed a sign that had a special message to Islamic terrorists and a challenge to meet him on a field of battle, below that was the Latin phrase, Semper Fidelis. I grinned and admired his spirit. Without a doubt an enemy would pay dearly for his position.
God Bless the Marine Corps. Semper Fi
The Corps has allowed an entire new segment of society so perhaps Scott Olsen is a psydenom for .some super vicious 40 accross the stern lesbien.
I don’t see how this is important at all.
When it comes down to the main issue, it doesn’t matter if this man were a former marine, an ex-con, or a visiting immigrant from overseas. Who cares what opinions he had about the military? Isn’t freedom of speech one of the values our country is supposed to hold so dear?
He’s still a person, and the police had no right to use such force against people who weren’t carrying weapons.
It’s been stated time and time again that no trained police officer would have been able to accidentally shoot someone in the face from that short amount of distance.