“There is a time … when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can’t take part. You can’t even passively take part.”
– Mario Savio, Berkley Free Speech Movement
Quick Hit – Police Tactics Are a Warning
Images of Official State Violence on American Streets & Campuses a Dire Warning for All
By Mark L. Taylor
Daily Call (11/26/11)
Shortly after watching the now viral video of the brutal pepper spraying of peaceful young protesters at the University of California – Davis campus this odd thought popped into my head: “I bet they have even worse stuff that they will be using.”
Sure enough a day or two later there was a report from the Canadian CBC of an apparent tear gas nerve agent being used by the Egyptian military on the pro-democracy demonstrators in Cairo. Emergency medical stations were reporting victims going into convulsions and losing control of their limbs. All of them experienced great difficulty breathing and swallowing, a number – no one knows how many – have died from the gassings.
It would be nice to believe that would never happen here, but all you have to do is tune in the latest police riot on the television to see images of capricious officially sanctioned state sponsored police violence that looks like it is being broadcast from some third world hellhole.
Read Naomi Wolf’s piece below and you will understand why the violence will be upped if Washington cannot stop the ‘Occupy’ protests. Whether you are a liberal or a conservative, take a look at the three ‘Occupy’ demands Wolf identifies. There is no way the powers that have high jacked this nation will put up with that stuff.
Wolf’s article is important for both liberals and conservatives to read, but especially so for Democrats so you can understand why the White House has been mum on all the recent violence; callously and cynically abandoning their supporters of ’08 to the batons, pepper spray and illegal detentions. While I still have some hope for our state Democratic Party, the national party is a lost cause; from Rep. Ron Kind to Obama himself, our national leaders will not lead reform of a system that benefits them and their class.
The reform movement must challenge both political parties if this nation is to have any hope and future for our children.
Given the inevitable crushing burden of paying for empire, the weapons of empire used against others are always eventually turned to subdue and control the beleaguered, impoverished citizens of empire. That is happening now and believe me, they have far more in their arsenal of tyranny.
Read Naomi Wolf’s piece and you can understand why the violence has been so over the top. You can understand why there have been no U.S. Justice Department investigations of the clearly illegal military action against citizens exercising their First Amendment rights. The federal government – ie. The Obama Administration – has been up to their eyeballs in the suppression and helped coordinate the crackdown in 18 cities.
The 1% are running scared, folks, and they will do whatever they need to do to hold onto power.
