The events of police repression over the last 2 weeks, from the Denver Democratic National Convention to the Minneapolis-St. Paul Republican National Convention should not come as a surprise to anyone who hasn’t been living under a rock for the past 8 years.
When you arm and equip local and out-of-state police departments with $50 million worth of high-tech equipment, ranging from concussion grenades, tear gas, microwave machine guns, gas bombs and wooden bats, what do you expect? When you call in hundreds of National Guard members to work alongside the police, what do you expect? These are YOUR tax dollars at work, a continuation of “Shock and Awe” in the homeland.
The American people know what is happening in this Country, and are allowing it. It is total crap when the media cries that the police are being “brutal.” The police live for this stuff. They call it “awesome,” as Amy Goodman announced the other morning after she was detained.
While I was protesting in Denver, the fear and intimidation tactics were more than evident. Cops were walking around in gangs, armed to the teeth, chomping at the bit for action. In fact, they all had disposable cameras asking young people, who didn’t know any better, to pose for a picture, with me screaming at them to stop it. They took dozens of photos of the tables setup in the parks, where permits had been arranged a year before. Permitted marches and rallies were all videotaped ad nausea.
Troop transports covered all the streets in the City of Denver, where fully armed and battle ready police road around looking for any type of “disturbance.” I saw families who live there totally appalled at the site, but said nothing. Peaceful protesters were gassed and sprayed, and rounded up like they were taking part in mass murder of the local population. The ones who are there to “protect and serve” caused the “us against them” mentality from the get go.
The same in Minneapolis, although the tactics we have been seeing the past 5 days leave even me speechless. We are living in a fascist state, get used to it. It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. We have allowed ourselves to be spied on, lied to, and terrorized by our own government all in the name of “national security.” We have been told that torture is acceptable and no one has done anything about it. Our newsly elected Democratic-led Congress has gone along with funding the war, rubber stamping the FISA bill, passed the “Protect America Act”, “Military Commissions Act,” and the “Patriot Act” amongst other horrendous acts of treason against the people who live here. Are they not complicit?
Why is everyone in the “peace movement” acting so dumbfounded now that the gloves are off and the cops are showing their true colors? I think it is about time we saw what it is like to live under this Regime. What it’s like to be a “Good German.” Why is the press whining that they shouldn’t be arrested? This kind of stuff goes on everyday in the ghettos around our Country, now you can relate to it.
George Carlin, my favorite comedian and life coach, once said: “The people who live in this country don’t have rights. We don’t have a Bill of Rights, we have privileges. And when the ruling class decides your privileges need to be revoked, don’t cry about it. Just ask the Japanese-Americans after Pearl Harbor about their rights!”
The whole fascist trajectory of this Country is almost complete. Do you think that Barack Obama is going to stop this? And you couldn’t possibly think that John McCain will. The people must follow them, they have both made that abundantly clear in their messages, but no one is listening. And people ARE following them, like sheep to the slaughter.
The anarchists have it right, fight the power, and don’t stop there. Malcolm X had it right, not Dr. King. We must rise up and take on that power, or we will have nothing. The time is getting late, folks. It started right here in my own backyard in 2004 with the New York City RNC.
They got rough, tackled people with nets, but didn’t have the high-tech gear they have now. New York City lost millions over law suits, which haven’t ended yet. But that’s not their problem, it’s my problem. I PAY TAXES so financial settlements don’t have an impact on Mayor Bloomberg or Commissioner Ray Kelly, and they won’t have an impact on Minneapolis or Denver governmental officials. The citizens suffer. Why are you allowing it?
This government is out of control, the Bush Program is symptomatic of the underlying root problem. Don’t think America can be fixed by one election. You are fooling yourselves once again. The governmental structure is beyond repair, must be torn down, and rebuilt, but only “we the people” can do that once again. Refresh that tree of liberty, don’t allow that money to go to suppress our freedom of speech, or our rights to be on the streets.
We cannot sit back and shake our heads in amazement at what we are seeing at the RNC. We should all be OUTRAGED, finally. Expect repression, and much more of it. In Hitler’s Germany it got worse and worse, and they will come for all of us. There are detention centers all over this Country, and there is a Presidential Directive #51 that basically states at any time the President deems necessary, martial law can be invoked, especially when a “state of national emergency” is declared.
Ask Barack Obama or John McCain if they plan on revoking that privilege?
