By Matthew McGuire

I read “Police attacking Occupy protesters” by Robert Wilhelm and I was slightly intrigued, so I decided to look into it for myself.

I would have been delighted if you would have provided some sort of link or reference to the accusations in your belligerent rant, but you didn’t so I just checked on the Internet.

It is to my understanding that this protest is partially against corporate greed, so obviously the majority of people there will be filming with their iPhones and video cameras right? Well, from what I can see, that certainly is the case.

My search was indeed fruitful.  The first video I came across was of some lady getting pepper sprayed for what appeared to be no reason. Maybe she spit on the police officer, threw an  object at the cop or did something to that nature. If she did, I didn’t see it so I will assume the cop was out of line.

After watching that video I thought that you were indeed correct in the allegations presented in your article. It’s a shame that I try to base my opinions off of more than one instance or very limited information, so I continued my search, watching video after video of amateur Occupy Wall Street footage.

What I found seemed to indicate that the pepper spray video was the exception, not the rule.

In the majority of videos I saw, people were yelling at police (not a big deal), pushing police, resisting arrest and, in a few videos, throwing things at the police.

Search “Occupy Denver video: Cops pepper-spray protesters, fire rubber bullets”  on YouTube.  You will indeed find protesters being shot by those “less than lethal” weapons you referred too.

However, if you are able to temporarily cast aside your rage and watch carefully, you will notice that while they are preaching nonviolence, they certainly are not practicing what they preach.

The people in this video are reminiscent of an angry mob, not a peaceful protest. They are belligerently screaming at the police, pushing the police and throwing objects at the police.

I know if I were a police officer in that situation, I would certainly feel physically threatened to say the least.

Judging by the gas masks these “peaceful protesters” certainly knew what they were getting themselves into and possibly even had sinister intentions from the get go.

Which brings me to the pregnant mother you were talking about. Oddly enough, I could not find a single video to validate your claim, which was odd considering the amount of cameras in every video. So let’s assume that she was not attacking the officers, resisting arrest or even doing anything illegal.

Based off of the massive amount of news coverage, YouTube videos and the vibe of the protest, it should have been obvious to her that as an expecting mother, it is not in the best interest of the unborn child to be involved in such an event.  Personally, her poor judgment makes me hope that social services at least looks into her.

As for the veteran that the media is trying to make into a martyr, my heart goes out to him, it really does.

It is unfortunate that he was injured so badly. Do I think that the police intended to hurt him that badly? No. Do I think he was being 100 percent peaceful when he got hurt? I don’t know, but I’ll tell you what I do know.

As a veteran of four deployments and numerous port calls around the world, I know how rowdy military people can get from time to time (I am no exception).

I’m sure a lot of people have been peacefully protesting  and gotten tear gassed.  Well, that’s what happens when the police repeatedly ask you to disperse and you do not.

Also, it’s standard issue to get tear gassed in boot camp. I know what it feels like. It sucks, but it’s not that big of a deal.

Lastly, I do not understand why so many people are so irate about student loans.

They were not forced to take loans. Since they are in college, I would seriously hope they understood they had to pay them back when they applied, and if they can’t find a job maybe they should have researched a major that will lead to a job in good demand and is decent paying before they took on such a burden.

Occupy Wall Street?  No thanks. I’d rather have Wall Street occupy my safety deposit box.