Remember this? On December 26th 1971, two dozen Vietnam Veterans 'liberated' the Statue of Liberty

[shance]

THOSE WHO CARE, TAKE A STAND






On December 26th, 1971, two dozen members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War “liberated” the Statue of Liberty with a sit-in to protest resumed U.S. aerial bombings in Vietnam.

They flew an inverted U.S. flag from the crown as a signal of distress.

On the afternoon of December 26, 1971, Tim MacCormick of New Jersey and fourteen other members of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War arrived on Liberty Island by the Circle Line boat along with other tourists.

But, when the last return ship to Manhattan sailed that evening, the veterans were not aboard.

Instead, just before closing time, they hid among the exhibit partitions, building materials, and storage closets which were lying about the monument’s base while work was being finished on the American Museum of Immigration. When NPS personnel made their 7:30 evening check-up of the statue, they found that the veterans had seized control of the landmark and barricaded the three ground floor entrances.

The men inside refused to speak to or admit any Park Service people, but on the door they posted a typewritten statement addressed to President Richard M. Nixon:

Each Vietnam veteran who has barricaded himself within this international symbol of liberty has for many years rationalized his attitude to war. . . .We can no longer tolerate the war in Southeast Asia. . . .Mr. Nixon, you set the date , we’ll evacuate.

http://imagineaworldof.blogspot.com/search/label/Democracy

[shance]

1. "The reason we chose the Statue of Liberty"

The reason we chose the Statue of Liberty is that since we were children, the statue has been analogous in our minds with freedom and an America we love.
Then we went to fight a war in the name of freedom. We saw that freedom is a selective expression allowed only to those who are white and maintain the status quo.
Until this symbol again takes on the meaning it was intended to have, we must continue our demonstrations. . . .