South Koreans Show Up For Themselves-Military & Police Following Unlawful Orders Documented

(I'm back from Thanksgiving travel & back up running with the Houston Democracy Project Blog. Thank you for reading the blog and for supporting the effort.)   

The Houston Democracy Project tries to keep it local. But since everything is connected, that is not always possible.  

In South Korea, deeply unpopular right-wing President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law. Thousands of rank & file South Koreans went to the parliament building in Seoul to oppose the move.

Thank you to the brave citizens of South Korea showing up for their freedom. Everyone deserves to live freely. Those people in Seoul are showing up for us in America, in Texas and right here in Houston/Harris County. They showed up peacefully and with courage unlike the cowards of January 6th.  

Above is a picture of ordinary South Koreans taking pictures of police and troops trying to enter the parliament building so that these anti-democratic actions would be documented for all to see. 

We can document official wrongdoing by local police, state police and the national guard if need be here at home. Anyone following an unlawful order must know that a day of lawful accountability is always possible.       
      
From The Guardian:

"In attempting to declare martial law, South Korea’s president, Yoon Suk Yeol, sought to awaken ghosts the rest of the country thought had been laid to rest....The last time martial law was declared, in 1980, hundreds of people were killed by the military dictator Chun Doo-hwan, who sent protesters to a concentration camp for “purificatory education”... In the course of his meteoric rise to power from prosecutor to president, Yoon outraged much of the country by making complimentary remarks about Chun, claiming..that many people thought the general had done well in politics apart from his coup and the crushing of protests … Yoon’s short-lived declaration of martial law appears to have been a desperate gamble in the face of rock-bottom public popularity – with positive ratings barely over 10% – .. and staunch political opposition, increasingly including his own People Power party,...Yoon may have thought that his nostalgia for authoritarianism would resonate with at least some of the South Korean political spectrum, but the unanimous vote in the national assembly to overturn his declaration, including by his own party, suggests he miscalculated. Within hours, he was forced to back down, and martial law was formally lifted .."

The vote in the South Korean parliament against the martial law decree was 190-0. President Yoon has lifted the martial law. We'll see what happens next.   

Imagine that even members of President Yoon's own party voted to oppose martial law. What a contrast to the groveling acquiescence and enthusiastic support Republicans extend to the traitorous insurrectionist Donald Trump.     

Of course what took place in South Korea can happen here. We already had the January 6th coup attempt. Trump had no intention of accepting the defeat if he had lost the election. Trump has said he will use dictatorial powers. Trump is in alignment with authoritarians across the globe. 

We must be ready to respond with the same bravery, purpose and swiftness we saw from the people of South Korea today.        

I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later on Egberto's YouTube channel.​​

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