Thomas Sowell’s Nov. 1 column, “Facts matter little to protesting mobs” questioning and condemning the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations, could just as well been written by a Tory columnist writing in a Boston newspaper on March 4, 1770.
Those scruffy, long-haired bearded colonists were gathering on Boston Common to protest the British establishment’s treatment, you know, “taxation without representation.” Those scruffy ruffians had the audacity to challenge King George’s soldiers on Boston Common and to rally against their treatment at the hands of the crown. Of course, we know the outcome of that encounter, as history books tell the story of the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770.
Yes, Sowell’s column would have been well received by the British colonial establishment in 1770. In 2011, local authorities have determined to smash the “Occupy” movement in New York, Austin, Denver, Oakland, Portland and countless other cities. One would wonder if somewhere beyond the grave, King George and his supporters have given a rousing cheer.
Hugh Shuford
Vancouver
