Stand or Fall

[Terry Bain]

They say if you don’t stand for something – you will fall for anything.  This is a story about people who stand and people who fall.

 

A couple of nights ago, a guy stood against the Money Power in Oakland.  He was a Marine Veteran, and like every Veteran, he stood and took an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States when he joined.  He kept his oath.  Waging war was hard:  waging peace is harder.  We thank him for standing with us.

 

He was almost executed by a guy with a badge.  Maybe the guy with the badge thought he would get away with it, because he thought “he was the Law.”  He should not have fallen for that.  The Constitution is the Law.

 

Maybe the guy with the badge thought nobody would catch him.  He should not have fallen for that.  There are pictures of the guy with the badge, and witnesses that will testify when he faces trial.  The world was watching. 

 

Maybe the guy with the badge thought he could say it was “just an accident.”  There are pictures, however, of a hand grenade being thrown at the people that were trying to give first aid.  Nobody is going to fall for that.

 

The guy with the badge might think he can say “he was only following orders.”  That did not work out well for the Nazi war criminals that came to trial after World War Two.  The people who gave the guy with the badge his orders, however, are probably hoping they can get him to take the fall for them. 

 

The people who gave the guy with the badge his orders can’t say they “had to do it” – the police in Baltimore did not fall for that.  They are keeping the peace.  They uphold the Law.  Thanks for Standing Baltimore.

 

Maybe the Money Power thinks they can just ignore this, and the whole thing will just go away, again.  Oakland is not falling for that.  There is a general strike underway.  The world is watching. 

 

We are proud to stand with Oakland today.