On this day in 1970, a spontaneous uprising against U.S. military occupation broke out in Koza, Okinawa, Japan after an American drunk driver struck a local pedestrian. Approximately 60 Americans and 27 Okinawans were injured, and dozens of cars with American license plates were torched.

Following Japan's defeat in World War II, the country was occupied by Allied forces and governed under martial law. While most of Japan regained its independence in April 1952, the Okinawa Prefecture was to remain under U.S. military occupation for another twenty years.

Prior to the events of December 20th, three Americans had been acquitted via court martial after striking and killing an Okinawa civilian. This incident fueled the growing discontent of Okinawans with the standard status of forces that exempted U.S. servicemen from Okinawan justice.

On December 20th, 1970, a drunk U.S. serviceman struck an Okinawan pedestrian in the city of Koza. A crowd quickly surrounded the car and the policemen who had arrived, demanding that this incident not also be swept under the rug.

When American MPs arrived and attempted to pull the driver away, the protest turned violent, with thousands gathering to try to prevent the driver from leaving. By the end of the night, dozens of cars with American license plates had been torched and approximately 60 Americans and 27 Okinawans had been injured.

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  • GaveUp [she/her]
    ·
    11 months ago

    TikTok is such an echo chamber I actually thought most Silicon Valley Zoomers would be anti-capitalist and anti-big tech and I've been reeling from culture shock for 2 whole years

    What hard quarantining for 2 years does to a person's perception of the world

    • Kynuck97 [he/him, comrade/them]
      ·
      11 months ago

      Close to 0 class consciousness among the tech workers I know. Absolute whipped by the establishment chuds that somehow see themselves as above working class. "I dont need a union, thats for people who are exploited by their employer. I have skills to move to different employers." Yeah ok bud, try not working for a month or two and see watch your bank account show you just how "not working class" you really are.

      Source: work in tech, friends work in tech (they're all libs at best, many reactionary at worst.)

      • GaveUp [she/her]
        ·
        11 months ago

        The few I know that do have class consciousness literally say shit like "that's why I have to climb over all the other proletariat to become a bourgeoisie"

        And you know what? The sad part is they're not even delusional. All can become landlords if they want to. Most can get millions in funding for a startup if they're not complete idiots and work for it

        • Kynuck97 [he/him, comrade/them]
          ·
          11 months ago

          Imagine having any shred of class consciousness and saying shit like that - having any understanding of systems of oppression and exploitation and going joyce-messier "I will kick my fellow workers down to become bourgeois.". Straight up demonic behavior.