You can watch it and judge if you like. But to me it seems he was running back and forth amid gunfire. And back and forth. And back and forth. The news reports are saying that "attackers opened fire on a barricade" as if he was standing there drinking milk at the barricade. But it doesn't read like that when you watch the footage. Why was filming each rock being tossed necessary? Why did each run back and forth need to be captured from front line distance? Was that really necessary to "tell the story"? of Oaxaca? Should anyone be suprised that he caught one?

I understand that to some, posing these questions of the Hero of the Moment might be unwelcome. I mean no disrespect to the man's memory. Perhaps what you hear from me is simply frustration and disappointment. It feels so unnecessary to lose such a warrior in this fight in such a way. I know there is a lot going on there. And certainly more than I know about. I am only going by the video. And perhaps there is much the video does not show. But the reason I write this now is that I was all prepared to write a heroic salute to the man. And after watching the video, I was a bit stunned. It wasn't as if he was standing with a crowd shooting some peaceful action. He was running with the crowd. He was dodging under trucks and getting as close as he could and as I said, running back and forth with a crowd that was dodging bullets. What was the story? Did it need to be about each barricade kicked? Did it need to be running with these people who were dodging bullets and throwing rocks? Maybe it's unfair of me, but I couldn't help thinking of someone who is excited to run with a crowd that is really too dangerous for him.

Perhaps it was his passion that caused him to be careless. Perhaps he couldn't afford a vest. Or maybe a vest would have slowed him down too much. I can't know. I won't sit in further judgment on the man. But I do find the loss of him a shame. And as I said, especially when it seems it didn't quite need to happen that way. I suppose it's always easy to second-guess after the fact.

To highlight the heart and hope and mission of Bradley Roland Wills, I quote this inspiring song that he sang "at the top of his lungs" outside an Italian consulate when anarchist Carlo Guiliani was shot in the face by police during the G8 demonstrations.

I've seen the land beyond these borders where the corporations rule
And they spin their lies and they globalize and the working man's their tool
And the streams are so polluted that their banks are bleak and bare
And the babies all are born deformed and the smog is everywhere
And the workers' wages dropped thirty percent in just one year
Now the greedy bastards want to bring that situation here

And you called upon me brother and you asked what could I do
And I told the truth dear brother, when I spoke these words to you:
"I will stand beside your shoulder when the tear gas fills the sky
And if a national guardsman shoots me down I'll be lookin' him in the eye
And if I will wash their pepper from your face and go with you to jail
And if you don't make it through this fight I swear I'll tell your tale
And I will stay with you in the prison cell in solidarity
And I will not leave that cursed room 'til you walk out with me
For we the people fight for freedom while the cops just fight for pay
And as long as truth is in our hearts we're sure to win some day
I will not falter when the iron fist comes out of the velvet glove
I will stand beside you brother and defend this land I love

I've heard the tales from conquered islands where the sweatshop barons rule
Recruiting girls from the Asian slums to be the rich man's tool
And they're promised lives of luxury in the golden U.S.A.
And then they're stranded on these islands with their passports stripped away
And their aging fingers toil and bleed year after grueling year
Now the greedy bastard want to bring those same conditions here

And you called upon me sister and you asked what could I do
And I told the truth dear sister, when I spoke these words to you:
"I will stand beside your shoulder when the tear gas fills the sky
And if a national guardsman shoots me down I'll be lookin' him in the eye
And if I will wash their pepper from your face and go with you to jail
And if you don't make it through this fight I swear I'll tell your tale
And I will stay with you in the prison cell in solidarity
And I will not leave that cursed room 'til you walk out with me
For we the people fight for freedom while the cops just fight for pay
And as long as truth is in our hearts we're sure to win some day
I will not falter when the iron fist comes out of the velvet glove
I will stand beside you brother and defend this land I love

I've walked the tall and misty forests, pulsing vein from ancient time
And they'll cut the heart out of a mountain to kill the oldest thing alive
Now the rainforest dwellers smell a burning, and the 'dozers are close behind
Replaced with plantations and cattle, plowing under whatever they find
With the rain comes a raging mudslide, where the land was stripped and cleared
Now those greedy bastards want to bring those same conditions here

I've watched the oceans rolling, schools of fish running under the tide
Working fishermen grounding their bodies, starving on a hook and line
While industrial fishers haul in their nets, scoring the deep ocean floor
Dolphin and sea turtle snagged in those nets will ride those waves no more
They rip the heart out of the deep blue sea, their boats increase every year
Now the greedy bastards want to push their bloody products here

And you called upon me brother and you asked what could I do
And I told the truth dear brother, when I spoke these words to you:
"I will stand beside your shoulder when the tear gas fills the sky
And if a national guardsman shoots me down I'll be lookin' him in the eye
And if I will wash their pepper from your face and go with you to jail
And if you don't make it through this fight I swear I'll tell your tale
And I will stay with you in the prison cell in solidarity
And I will not leave that cursed room 'til you walk out with me
For we the people fight for freedom while the cops just fight for pay
And as long as truth is in our hearts we're sure to win some day
I will not falter when the iron fist comes out of the velvet glove
I will stand beside you brother and defend this land I love
I will not falter when the iron fist comes out of the velvet glove
I will stand beside you brother and defend this land I love

- By Desert Rat and Brad

Adios, Bradley Roland Will. You went out fearless and following your heart. And that is an inspiring thing. Thank you.

UPDATE: It's true that this post takes for granted that we have accepted that there are such violent conditions in the normally tourist-peppered town of Oaxaca that a reporter might be hurt in such a way without a bulletproof vest. I'm sad to say I guess I have taken that for granted by now.

I read today, tho, that Oaxaca is back in the hands of the State, and with no real resistance at all, even though the rebel radio stations were urging disobedience. Sorry, no link. Please to use The Google.

UPDATE: It wasn't as peaceful as all that. I was going with the first page I read on it. Here's a bit more. This one talks about the woman who stuck pink flowers in the police's guns to "change their hearts."

Via commenter Suzanne: La Jornada's take. Y de Narcosphere, en Inglés.

UPDATE: I had a lot of thoughts on this. This post was the first wave. Please read this entry for more on Brad Will's death. And click here for a video of Brad playing a song called I Really Like the Cops.