‘I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.’
Such language sounds more like the paranoid ramblings of a conspiracy theorist than a founding father, but it was Thomas Jefferson who penned those words in a letter to the secretary of the treasury in 1802.
If the main author of the Declaration of Independence took a stroll through downtown Pittsburgh last Thursday or Friday, he would have amended his stance from being a mere belief to an emphatic statement of declaration.
On Sept. 24-25, the Steel City hosted the Group of 20, or G-20, summit ‘- a meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 nations whose stated goal is ‘restoring worldwide financial stability.’ In the best interest of keeping the peace, Pittsburgh officials put 6,000 police and National Guard troops, as well as 11 Coast Guard vessels, on standby.
So, when around 1,000 protestors exercised their freedoms of speech and peaceful assembly and voiced their concerns over issues such as the war in Afghanistan and high unemployment, they were met by police in full riot gear. ‘
The Wall Street Journal reported that most of the 1,000 protesters were anarchists and ‘anti-capitalists.’ From amateur videos surfacing on the Internet since Thursday, it does appear that some anarchists were present. In one video, a group of them attempted to roll a dumpster on wheels into a police Hummer, only to miss their target.’
But trash can-pushing idiots weren’t the only ones being tear-gassed. Alarmed over the treatment of other protesters, students at the University of Pittsburgh took to the streets Friday night. Some wanted to protest and some to get a first-hand view of the action, but by all accounts few sought to riot.
Their treatment by police was absolutely draconian. Students were beaten, fired on with pepper spray, tear gas and rubber bullets, and in a fine moment for law enforcement, accosted with a Long Range Acoustic Device ‘- its first usage against American civilians on U.S. soil.
Reports are still coming out, but the crowd was overwhelmingly comprised of students who had assembled peacefully and who attempted to disperse when ordered to do so, only to be chased and apprehended. Some were bystanders who live in the towers adjacent to the protest and were simply attempting to enter or exit their homes.
Thomas Jefferson understood the incredible power wielded by those who helm the financial system. The behavior of the authorities during this miscarriage of justice called a summit reveals that the members of the G-20 are also aware of their power, and they seem to be quite afraid of the common man’s ability to be heard and to take that power away, if necessary. ‘
It doesn’t take an anarchist to prefer no government to governance like this.
