I was thinking about the "official" response to the Occupy Wall Street Protesters this morning because I woke up to the news images of protesters being pummeled, gassed and dragged away. So I wrote a brief letter to express my concern with that response.

Dear State and local governments,

Violence is not the answer, when you arrest a protester all you are doing is creating a spokesperson, when you injure a War Veteran, you create a leader. You love the status quo, I get it, you are afraid that you won’t be on top anymore, but it is impossible to squelch this thing.

I am not a protester, I do not agree with most of what they are saying, but as an average citizen it makes me seethe with rage to see images of violence directed at what is for the most part a very peaceful protest. Is it legal for you to clear the park based on a no camping ordinance? Yes, but to do so is an obvious and cowardly tactic to avoid the issue, you told us you could solve problems and you work well with people, that is how you got elected, now prove it.

When people are blocking the entrances to buildings, or climbing public art, or causing damage, you can gently remove them, but violence against the civilly disobedient cannot be justified.

Joseph Murray