"...Ok, imagine that you are… (use masculine, feminine, or other pronouns, depending on the case).
An indigenous person in a country dominated by foreigners. A flock of military helicopters is headed toward your lands. The press will say that the wind farm occupation impedes the reduction of pollution or that the jungle is being destroyed. "The eviction was necessary to reduce global warming," says the Interior Minister.
A black man in a nation dominated by whites. A WASP judge is going to sentence him. The jury found him guilty. Amongst the evidence presented by the prosecutor is an analysis of his skin color.
A Jew in Nazi Germany. The Gestapo officer stares at him. The next day the official report will say that the human race has been purified.
A Palestinian in present-day Palestine. The Israeli army's missile is aimed at the school, hospital, neighborhood, house. Tomorrow the media will say that they took out military targets.
An immigrant on the other side of any border. The border patrol approaches. The next day there won't be anything about it in the news.
A priest, nun, layperson who sided with the poor, in the middle of the Vatican's opulence. The Cardinal's sermon is against those who meddle in worldly affairs.
A street vendor in an exclusive mall in an exclusive residential zone. A truck full of riot police parks. "We defend free trade," the government delegate will declare.
A woman by herself, day or night, on public transportation full of men. A small tick in the "gender violence" statistics. The cop will say: "it's that sometimes they provoke them."
A gay by himself, day or night, on public transportation full of machos. A small tick in the "homophobic violence" statistics.
A sex worker on a strange street and someone else's corner… a squad car pulls up. "The government is cracking down on white slavery," the press will say.
A punk, a Rastafarian, a rudeboy, a cholo, a metal head, on the street at night… another squad card approaches. "We're putting a stop to antisocial behavior and vandalism," says the elected official.
A graffiti artist "tagging" the World Trade Center… another squad car pulls up. "We'll do everything necessary in order to have a beautiful and attractive city for tourism," says some official.
A communist at a rightwing fascist party meeting. "We're against the totalitarianism that has done so much damage around the world," says the party president.
An anarchist in a communist party meeting. "We are against the petit bourgeois deviations that have done so much damage to the global revolution," says the party's chairman.
A segment from the "31 minutos" news broadcast on the CNN news ticker. Tulio Triviño and Juan Carlos Bodoque look at each other, disturbed, but they don't say anything. [2]
An alternative band trying to sell its CD at a concert starring Lady Gaga, Madonna, Justin Bieber, whoever comes after them. The cops approach. The fans scream like crazy.
An artist performing traditional indigenous dances outside of the great cultural center where the (yes-gala-invitation-only-we're-sorry-ma'am-you're-getting-in-the-way) Bolshoi ballet company is performing. Security proceeds to reestablish calm.
An old man in a meeting chaired by Japanese finance minister Taro Aso (he studied at Stanford and just a little while ago asked that the elderly "hurry up and die already" because it's really expensive to keep them alive). Social spending is cut even further.
An Anonymous criticizing a Microsoft-Apple shareholders meeting about copyrights. "A dangerous hacker behind bars," the media will say.
A young Mapuche who, in Chile, demands his ancestors' territory as he watches the olive-green offensive roll in with tanks and carabineers. The bullet that fatally wounds him in the back will not be punished.
A youngster and/or student or unemployed worker at a military-police-civil guard-carabineer checkpoint. The last thing he heard? "Shoot!"
An indigenous Nahua in the offices of a transnational mining company. Men in uniforms kidnap him. "We're investigating," say respective governments.
A dissident in front of a grey metal fence that's been erected, while on the other side the Mexican political class bites their tongues about yet another imposition. He's hit with a rubber bullet that causes him to lose an eye or break his skull. "It's called uniting for the good of the country. It's time to put the bickering behind us," say the talking heads on the news.
A peasant in front of an army of lawyers and police hearing that the land that he works, where his parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and so on were born and grew up, now belongs to a real estate company, and that you're depriving the poor businessmen of something that legally belongs to them. Jail.
Someone who opposes the electoral fraud sees how 40 thieves and their boot-lickers are exonerated. The mockery: "We've got to turn over a new leaf and look forward."
A man or woman approaches to see what all the ruckus is about and is suddenly surrounded by law enforcement. While they shove, beat, and kick her or him as they take her to the squad car, you manage to see that a well-known television channel's cameras are pointed somewhere else.
An indigenous Zapatista in the bad government's (PRI-PAN-PRD-PT-MC) jail for years.[3] He reads in the newspaper: "Why did the EZLN reappear now that the PRI has returned to power? Very suspicious."
Are you still with us?
Now…
Do you feel with certainty that you're out of place?
Do you feel the fear from being ignored, insulted, beaten, mocked, humiliated, raped, imprisoned, murdered just because of who you are?
Do you feel the impotence of not being able to do anything to avoid it, to defend yourself, to be heard...
From any corner of any world.
SupMarcos.
Planet Earth.
January 2013."
via CENSORED NEWS http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2013/01/zapatistas-marcos-iv-the.html
from http://MyWordIsMyWeapon.blogspot.com/2013/01/them-and-us-part-4-pains-from-below-by.html
"In his book, Gore complains that "virtually every news and political commentary program on television is sponsored in part by oil, coal and gas companies," a conflict of interest that, he argues, prevents them from reporting the truth about the issue most important to him: climate change...
Just consider the fact that we have come through a presidential campaign in a year where climate-related disasters cost the country $110 billion, 60% of the nation in severe drought, New York City flooded for the second time in two years, and in spite of all that, not a single question was asked to any candidate in any debate about climate change." via http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewmeek/al-gore-skewers-tv-news-8y9s
A black man in a nation dominated by whites. A WASP judge is going to sentence him. The jury found him guilty. Amongst the evidence presented by the prosecutor is an analysis of his skin color.
A Jew in Nazi Germany. The Gestapo officer stares at him. The next day the official report will say that the human race has been purified.
A Palestinian in present-day Palestine. The Israeli army's missile is aimed at the school, hospital, neighborhood, house. Tomorrow the media will say that they took out military targets.
An immigrant on the other side of any border. The border patrol approaches. The next day there won't be anything about it in the news.
A priest, nun, layperson who sided with the poor, in the middle of the Vatican's opulence. The Cardinal's sermon is against those who meddle in worldly affairs.
A woman by herself, day or night, on public transportation full of men. A small tick in the "gender violence" statistics. The cop will say: "it's that sometimes they provoke them."
A gay by himself, day or night, on public transportation full of machos. A small tick in the "homophobic violence" statistics.
A sex worker on a strange street and someone else's corner… a squad car pulls up. "The government is cracking down on white slavery," the press will say.
A punk, a Rastafarian, a rudeboy, a cholo, a metal head, on the street at night… another squad card approaches. "We're putting a stop to antisocial behavior and vandalism," says the elected official.
A communist at a rightwing fascist party meeting. "We're against the totalitarianism that has done so much damage around the world," says the party president.
An anarchist in a communist party meeting. "We are against the petit bourgeois deviations that have done so much damage to the global revolution," says the party's chairman.
A segment from the "31 minutos" news broadcast on the CNN news ticker. Tulio Triviño and Juan Carlos Bodoque look at each other, disturbed, but they don't say anything. [2]
An alternative band trying to sell its CD at a concert starring Lady Gaga, Madonna, Justin Bieber, whoever comes after them. The cops approach. The fans scream like crazy.
An old man in a meeting chaired by Japanese finance minister Taro Aso (he studied at Stanford and just a little while ago asked that the elderly "hurry up and die already" because it's really expensive to keep them alive). Social spending is cut even further.
An Anonymous criticizing a Microsoft-Apple shareholders meeting about copyrights. "A dangerous hacker behind bars," the media will say.
A young Mapuche who, in Chile, demands his ancestors' territory as he watches the olive-green offensive roll in with tanks and carabineers. The bullet that fatally wounds him in the back will not be punished.
An indigenous Nahua in the offices of a transnational mining company. Men in uniforms kidnap him. "We're investigating," say respective governments.
A dissident in front of a grey metal fence that's been erected, while on the other side the Mexican political class bites their tongues about yet another imposition. He's hit with a rubber bullet that causes him to lose an eye or break his skull. "It's called uniting for the good of the country. It's time to put the bickering behind us," say the talking heads on the news.
Someone who opposes the electoral fraud sees how 40 thieves and their boot-lickers are exonerated. The mockery: "We've got to turn over a new leaf and look forward."
A man or woman approaches to see what all the ruckus is about and is suddenly surrounded by law enforcement. While they shove, beat, and kick her or him as they take her to the squad car, you manage to see that a well-known television channel's cameras are pointed somewhere else.
An indigenous Zapatista in the bad government's (PRI-PAN-PRD-PT-MC) jail for years.[3] He reads in the newspaper: "Why did the EZLN reappear now that the PRI has returned to power? Very suspicious."
-*-
Are you still with us?
Now…
Do you feel with certainty that you're out of place?
Do you feel the fear from being ignored, insulted, beaten, mocked, humiliated, raped, imprisoned, murdered just because of who you are?
Do you feel the impotence of not being able to do anything to avoid it, to defend yourself, to be heard...
From any corner of any world.
SupMarcos.
Planet Earth.
January 2013."
via CENSORED NEWS http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2013/01/zapatistas-marcos-iv-the.html
from http://MyWordIsMyWeapon.blogspot.com/2013/01/them-and-us-part-4-pains-from-below-by.html
"In his book, Gore complains that "virtually every news and political commentary program on television is sponsored in part by oil, coal and gas companies," a conflict of interest that, he argues, prevents them from reporting the truth about the issue most important to him: climate change...
Just consider the fact that we have come through a presidential campaign in a year where climate-related disasters cost the country $110 billion, 60% of the nation in severe drought, New York City flooded for the second time in two years, and in spite of all that, not a single question was asked to any candidate in any debate about climate change." via http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewmeek/al-gore-skewers-tv-news-8y9s
