MICHIGAN, May 1, 2012 — Civil disobedience is best defined as nonviolent protest. Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protestors, from their inception, have been documented as having been disruptive, disrespectful to law enforcement, and vandalizing private property. Rather than practicing “civil disobedience,” which generally suggests peaceful refusal to obey government edicts that protestors believe are unjust, OWS protestors simply have no consideration of law whatsoever and are hardly nonviolent.
OWS sympathizers have organized “May Day” protests to disrupt the morning commute in major U.S. cities today. Reportedly, labor and immigration activists are also joining OWS to rally in support of The International workers’ holiday (also known as “May Day”). They are calling it “civil disobedience.”
It is ironic, if not compelling that OWS is leading a protest which they allege as “civil disobedience” in commemoration of activities which promoted lawlessness and socialism. International Workers’ Day commemorates the 1886 Haymarket Massacre in Chicago, which ignited when a private citizen threw dynamite at law enforcement as officers attempted to calm a public assembly during a general strike for the eight-hour workday.
Law enforcement officers were forced to protect themselves. Tragically, many protesters lost their lives, as did a number of police officers. Eighteen years later, in 1904, at the “International Socialist Conference” in Amsterdam, there was a call for the “Social Democratic Party” and “trade unions” of every nation to protest and “stop work” of the aforementioned tragic incident.
Like the protestors of the Haymarket in Chicago, some trade unions have, in times past, violently lashed out at fellow Americans. This is not a matter of civil disobedience, but is instead a matter of uncivil chaos.
It is noteworthy that socialists and “trade unions” created the foundation of May Day Protests, as an “International Workers Holiday,” in light of the fact that forced unionism and socialism are largely responsible for the unemployment of millions of American workers.
Union subsidies, such as the Davis Bacon Act (Prevailing Wages) cost American workers over 160,000 jobs per year, while preventing equal access to work opportunities. Forced unionism, which is a form of socialism, not only denies American citizens the right to choose whether to join unions, but also violates the 1st Amendment right of citizens who dissent from union representation. Most important, states that have “Right to Work Laws,” which prevent socialism in labor, have higher employment rates than those states which do not. OWS protestors should note these facts when protesting in support of trade unions.
Kira Davis, a member of Project 21, A National Speaker’s Bureau of Black Conservatives, speaking on the implications of Labor Unions sponsoring OWS Protests, stated: “Unions are willing to prevent thousands of innocent people from earning their day’s wages in order to protest something that only benefits their own small percentage of workers. Further proof their goal has nothing to do with ‘spreading the wealth’ and everything to do with hoarding as much as they can for themselves.”
OWS, labor and immigration activists are not protesting in support of workers. Instead, they are advancing a socialist agenda that has resulted in high unemployment rates and an economic recession. It is fitting that immigration activists align with OWS and labor unions, in light of the fact U.S. labor unions have, for years, lobbied Congress to grant amnesty to millions of illegal workers and to stop enforcing laws against employers who hire illegal workers.
Amy M. Ridenour, President and Chairperson of the National Center for Public Policy Research, addresses the May Day Protests: ““People who claim to care about the welfare of the so-called 99 percent seem in fact to care only about calling attention to themselves. I realize at their advanced age it’s a long shot, but they should grow up. Blocking bridges and roads does nothing for the ninety-nine percent except make them late for work”
In the final analysis, the protests of OWS, Labor Unions, and Immigration “activists” should not be recognized as a holiday in commemoration of workers. Instead, the American people should recognize it as a continued attempt by special interest groups to undermine the rule of law by any means necessary.
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