When you watch the video, it doesn’t quite make the same impression.
What impression do you get?
I see a single civilian facing down a column of tanks. If anything, seeing the context of the photo makes him look more brave.
And for more context, everyone should know more about the events leading up to the massacre, just how large the protests were, what happened during, and the aftermath:
Content warning: violence, blood, gore, death
I think it’s important to understand this part:
Donald’s cable to London described the “atrocities” against several thousand pro-democracy protesters as being undertaken by the 27th Army of Shanxi Province. He called this truculent group of soldiers “60 percent illiterate” and “primitives.”
According to Donald and his trusted source, however, the troops that entered Tiananmen Square prior to the 27th Army were unarmed. This was an initial attempt to disperse the massive group of protesters without violence, as most were students, unarmed, and non-violent.
[…]
“The 27 Army APCs (armored personnel carriers) opened fire on the crowd before running over them,” Donald wrote in his cable. “APCs ran over troops and civilians at 65kph (40 miles per hour).”
He explained that even though the CCP had provided protestors with a warning, even this small amount of leeway was underhanded, a lie, and viciously broken.
“Students understood they were given one hour to leave square, but after five minutes APCs attacked,” Donald said.
[…]
“Students linked arms but were mown down,” wrote Donald. “APCs then ran over the bodies time and time again to make, quote ‘pie’ unquote, and remains collected by bulldozer.”
As if this wasn’t atrocious enough, the government’s criminal and brutal activity that day got even worse. With no regard for the families of these victims, not to mention their identities, what was left of them was disposed of — in an unspeakably callous manner.
“Remains incinerated and then hosed down drains,” Donald wrote.
[…]
On top of that, the recently declassified cable stated that the 27th Army was called into action that day specifically because of its disregard for anything but orders. The troops were “the most reliable and obedient,” Donald explained.
“27 Army ordered to spare no one,” he wrote. “Wounded girl students begged for their lives but were bayoneted. A three-year-old girl was injured, but her mother was shot as she went to her aid, as were six others.”
The first group of Chinese military didn’t kill anyone, by some accounts wouldn’t kill anyone, and attempted to disperse the students peacefully. This didn’t work, so the CCP called in a group of brainwashed thugs who could be relied on to kill anyone they were instructed to, and they did, with no regard for life and no respect for the dead. Those thugs made the CCP what it is today, and there is still no regard for life or respect for the dead, which is why they are so desperate to hide information about what happened, spread disinformation, and suppress memorials.
Never let these people, or the crimes committed against them, be forgotten.
What is that, like 1 minute’s revenue for Amazon?