Cop Car Burned! All Criticisms of Global Capitalism Rendered Moot!
i don’t endorse violence. i don’t think it’s the ideal way forward to a better society. i think all sane people would agree. heck, i don’t even endorse vandalism in the “service” of social change. i’m conservative that way. but the disproportionate reaction (to the disproportionate mainstream media coverage) to the image of a burning car and some broken windows at the G20 summit in toronto needs to be put into perspective.
i won’t bother with the obvious comparative study of the isolated “violence” of a handful of protestors versus the overwhelming violence practiced day in and day out at the expense of millions upon millions of human lives by national states the world over in order to secure their geopolitical interests. too easy. too obvious. too fundamental.
i will however, point out that unless you’ve been in the situation of being a direct, physical and psychological target of overwhelming and belligerent street-level force FUNDED BY YOUR OWN TAX DOLLARS, it can be hard to understand the frustration and rage that can build over the course of an afternoon let alone over the course of a lifetime.
hell, you don’t even have to have experienced it directly. just sitting on our couches in our homes, cursing the stinking system, we all know that the state has a monopoly on ultimate violence and total control. otherwise it wouldn’t exist as it does, right? things would be different, cause we would have gotten up off our couches and changed it if we were operating on a level playing field. but their is no level playing field between the state and its subjects. citizens plainly have insufficient institutional power to derail the sociopathic behaviour of the prevailing order. frustration and rage is the predictable result.
that frustration and rage is exacerbated when you’re pitted face to face against a wall of riot cops who are alternately corralling and intentionally provoking your otherwise peaceful demonstration into a corner, firing rubber bullets at you, detaining and searching you with no cause, hitting you with batons, singling out and abducting organizers, impersonating protesters, firing gas canisters intentionally at head level, exploding sound grenades by your ears, permanently damaging your body with exposure to chemical bombs (all based on personal experience by the way) and then having it all portrayed in the media as if it were YOU that needs to be restrained and punished rather than the megalomaniacs on the other side of the fence that continue to plunder and pillage the planet at these obnoxious publicly-funded private-parties of the global elite.
in these situations, there is only so much futility a person can take before their rage can get the best of them and a burning cop car or a smashed bank window starts to look pretty appealing. yes, these are futile acts, but what do we expect people to do when they are treated like shit and the justice system does nothing to intervene on their behalf?
sure, ideally we could all rise above it and aim for a perfect, superhuman state of restraint. sure. and yes, ideally i too would prefer the demonstrations were strictly peaceful (for strategic reasons mainly) and that other, more polarizing means of demonstration and protest and disruption occurred outside of these public gatherings (where they would be more effective).
but the people who manage the security state won’t let that happen anyways. they WANT violence. they provoke it. why? it justifies their absurd budgets. it lets them test and refine (and demonstrate to the rest of the population) their methods of population control in a managed setting, preparing for the day that the shit really hits the fan and the police state finally gets to give up any pretense of democracy. why else would they have the summit in fucking downtown toronto, where spirited protest was absolutely certain to occur, rather than on some cruise-ship in the atlantic where it could all be completely avoided? these are essentially war-games being staged on our nickel. and we, the people, are the enemy.
so let’s just try to keep things in perspective when corporate media habitually fails to hold concentrations of global power to any sliver of account and instead chooses to replay footage of a stupid burning cop car on a loop for hours on end as their marquee story.
there are plenty of examples of independent video footage of cops provoking and mistreating people at the G20 summit surfacing on the net. do yourself a favour and check them out and ask yourself how you would feel if you were on the receiving end of it. or if it were a member of your family.
that’s all i got to say.
Potemkin City Limits
well, here’s a seemingly banal article with an interesting ending that even I (the guy who wrote the song) didn’t know about. Francis’ final stand was even sadder that I imagined. as an aside, would people please stop calling us a “veganarchist” band. it’s silly. we prefer “satanic”. thanks.
Have a safe and pleasant G20 protest in Fortress Toronto.
Present your parade route to the authorities and calmly follow your faceless, badge-less police escorts through the fortress of fences; exercise your freedom of speech..oh, and cover your groin when the cops shoot rubber bullets into the crowd. They like to aim low.
What's Going On?
This is probably the only time we’ll ever be mentioned in the same breath as Marvin Gaye, so you’ll have to excuse us if we draw disproportionate attention to it.
Happy World Refugee Day!
Here is a list of World Refugee Celebrations that are happening in Canada today. Have a good one!
We in Da Club!
Go here to Dr. Ossify’s webpage and scroll down his media player till you a tune called “It’s a New Day” featuring Gem-In-Eye. See if you recognize anything.
Good One Everybody! Haha! You had me there for a second!
Perusing the tearful replies to reporters questions regarding the BP spill along the US Gulf-Coast, i am confused as to why so many are apparently moved to tears over the polluting of fragile ecosystems. Is it all an elaborate joke? I mean, if people were really concerned about pollution, they would have long along stopped letting their tax dollars pay for the “single largest source of pollution in the world: the United States military”, right?
And what’s up with people crying on camera about birds soaked in oil? When did people suddenly start caring about birds? They’re kidding right? I mean, if people really cared about birds suffering prolonged and horrid deaths, they would have long ago stopped financially supporting the animal-exploitation industry every time they sit down to a meal, right?
So, haha, that was a good one guys! You almost had me there! Man, those tears looked almost real!
June 20th is World Refugee Day!
Winnipeg is celebrating a day early for good times sake! This Saturday, June 19th, come on down to the World Refugee day celebration in downtown’s Central Park. The party starts at 12:00 PM. I hope to see you there!
glen lambert challenges cokie the clown to extreme fighting match!
Ex-propagandhi guitarist vocalist Glen Lambert has issued a challenge to Cokie the Clown over alleged trademark infringement. Said Glen:
“i was depressed and pathetic back in 2004, way before anybody else was doing it. The band NOFX even wrote a (terrible) song about how depressed and pathetic i was. Then this fucking clown comes along out of nowhere 4 years later, acting all depressed and pathetic. Coincidence? Well, this town is only big enough for one depressing and pathetic clown, and that’s me, Glen Lambert. So i’m issuing a public challenge to Cokie: meet me in the octagon. Three 1‑minute rounds. No holds barred. The loser apologizes publicly for stealing the other guys gimmick and pays the winner a whole shitload of money. I’m serious about this. I’ve been taping cutlery together and doing arm-curls for the past 4 hours. I’m fucking ripped. Rich people interested in organizing this event please get in touch with my manager, Murray Moon. Oh, and heres a tip Cokie: real clowns don’t wear make-up.”
The opinions expressed by Glen Lambert are those of Glen Lambert and not those of the parent corporation (Propagandhi, Inc) that fired him for incessant weirdness.
Chris Hedge's Columns
Chris Hedge’s writes a column every monday for the website called Truthdig. Here’s where you can find them. Often terrifying, always interesting.