By KC Shoen
“Tame street protests are doomed to failure. If you file for a parade permit or let the police pen you up in a ridiculous “free speech zone” or promise that you’ll be nonviolent no matter what, your street protest will be drowned out by the clinking of glasses and the popping of champagne corks in the salons of the ruling classes.” --Ted Rall
As Australia had finished a near- complete environmental and ecological collapse under the sheer weight of multiple incendiary cyclonic macro-systems created by the excessive smoke , heat and drought conditions, and is giving way to the Corona virus pandemic being the new incendiary device destroying not only the fabric of conventional economic Neo-liberalism, but human life itself, I would like to take this opportunity upon this marker of the human timeline and say fuck your environmental and political activism and protest.
None of it is doing shit.
My disaffection toward ‘activism’ has been punctuated by witnessing the American mainstream media’s continual deepthroating of corporate and government entities for confluence via the distribution of blindingly dense propaganda, not concerning itself with genuine journalism. Instead, dedicating its services in expanding capitalist fascism, making room for itself to exist within it.
Western governmental agencies supporting such increased propaganda under the Coronavirus pandemic are protected by private industry, and passively allowing the disease to kill the more impoverished. unprotected, ethnic working-class population at a higher velocity. Taking an enlightened and compassionate approach and saving as many human beings as able with access to available resources is not an acceptable revenue generator to keep markets ‘active’, and it is not inline with the ruling class' desire to see governments deliberately fail in their civic obligation to the masses so they can continue to receive their ‘ROI’ off its collective carcass.
This leads to any associated ‘resistance’ ‘protest’ and ‘pushback’ being nothing more than ego-induced, self-interested horseshit, for it is not focused on the primary element that fuels the current environmental, social, economic pandemic trifecta worldwide: the primary disease allowing the continuation of our destruction of both humanity and the environment
Inequality
In the United States, our more nauseating and jaunted group of cursory echo-addicted mainstream political activist-balls of Yak (both of the ‘left; and ‘right’) are more feverishly irritating given the petulant drivel they cling to full-on. Their staunch beliefs, always edited to suit their linear agendastic and limited vision (much of which is vacuously excavated of any notable nuance and reasonable candor), choosing the trading of barbs sent through corporate media outlets and twitter-spasms of apoplexy that end as deformed, stomach churning, anti-intellectual, cerebral-numbing discourse .
Both the liberal left and the conservative right are solipsistic bias-whores, both supporting the ongoing ‘cancel culture’ war between themselves, with the left exercising their selfish brand of pseudo-intellectual SJW , #MeToo, Black Lives Matter, #resist activism (much of which is racist and meant to solidify white entitlement using progressive themes as a cover: a form of lying), and its collective and continual psychotic hatred of the Trumps’ personae, while the right exists in its mindless patriotism, violent anti- woman / anti-ethnic mantras, xenophobic canards, religious zealotry, and its willfully ignorant consumption of unfounded conspiracy theories. Both sides being addled of any mental space for acknowledgement of what is truly killing humanity et al.
Inequality
Ignored by much of the media (and, particularly American society), is the fact the US has been riding (and continues to ride) a bailed-out, zombie economy since the market/ derivatives crash of 2008-09, extended by the current pandemic. Moreover, this bailout is to act as a 2 trillion dollar slush fund for the corporate elites to grab their share before a single face mask or ventilator is delivered to any US state. That is exactly the intent.
American Corporations as a whole had been grappling with regaining political leverage that was lost to Roosevelt during the Great Depression, adding further insult to injury by his not only “welcoming their hate” but by dropping the New Deal for the nation to recover utilizing social safety nets, having corporate elites heavily regulated and taxed for these social programs due to the damage done by them, beginning in the 1920s.
They were held to account for the disparity and inequality they created
By the 1970s , Corporations and Industrialists had finally found a friend within a Supreme Court appointee under Nixon, and for the next quarter-century, Justice Powell would deliver many a decisive turn for the elites, working in tandem under the Reagan administration during the great deregulation of Wall Street. The financial sector emerged from the decade a more prominent figure like never before, with more central control in policy making it had not enjoyed for almost 60 years at that point
Further adding to this new political strength of financial institutions ,was the succeeding administrations of Clinton, Bush II, Obama and now Trump. The Neo-liberal policies that were at one time regulated and controlled to prevent inequality were gone, and since the Nixon administration had been getting steadily chipped away at, quietly. Working wages in the US would never see another meaningful rise, rather, staying at relatively the same stagnate rate since 1970. For further reinforcement, The Supreme Court did not miss their opportunity to solidify this power, so that the current political structures and parties could retain their control, to allow further Corporate benefits from favors, to enrich themselves and their criminal friends in the Congress, Senate and the White House.
Lobbyism, ‘revolving door’ Federal appointments for former CEOs from the financial sector and lobbyists that conflict with public interest, and cronyism are normalized in American culture. Such as is the case of the perpetual wars all instigated by the United States since Operation Desert Storm in 1991. The greed, corruption, violence, racism and despotism are all tolerated by a civically lethargic and distracted populace with no sense of indignation worthy of a strong revolutionary push back for change.
The willful ignorance, anti-intellectualism and divisiveness are all emblematic of a society devoid of true critical thinking, and consumed by material possessions and the further indebtedness of living beyond reasonable means. More terrifying is the fact that this ignorance is self-imposed. Verifiable facts and truth lose value against witless bias to ‘party’ and propaganda. Since the 1980s the self identification to a prescribed party or movement has become its own ‘branding’ , rather than a meaningful position or true social movement for change. Monikers and titles do not represent change, They are nothing more than symbols, and symbols are pretentious at this critical moment in human history, Being ‘democrat’ ‘republican’ or identifying yourself as part of the #MeToo, Black Lives Matter, #resist, Proud Boys etc. movement doesn't mean shit. It just means you are not looking at the obvious and fundamental disease that will kill us all, as sure as SARS-CoV2 will:
Inequality
From every arrogant, punk-ass selfish effete progressive intellectual to every flag waving trailer-park allstar who is looking to make America ‘Great Again’. To every self-absorbed pussy-cap wearing protester continuing their obsessive hate of the Cult of Trump and every bible-thumping evangelical judgemental jack-off spewing hate against women's reproductive rights and people of color. From those whom had made a life hiding out from reality within the hallowed walls and campuses of American and European academia, to those who, at every two-to- four years, believe that lodging your vote for one of two candidates pre-selected by the corporate duopoly as politically viable and meaningful act, your ‘protests’ and ‘activism’ are complete bullshit, and is not worthy of respect , reverence, admiration, or glorification.
They are nothing more than mindless, meaningless, insufferably selfish and lazy activity passively qualifying as civic duty.
Just as apathetic, is soliciting authorization from your local city official/law enforcement entity to parade professionally, prefabricated, carefully-worded signage, with some organizer coordinating rehearsed chants of dissidence and homages through a bullhorn to a group of protesters is not a true movement, either. When your protest is given ‘permission’ by the very forces you are ‘demonstrating’ against, it is reduced to meaningless vulgar pageantry, an empty symbolic public street performance of free speech, which immediately loses its credibility upon the first footstep taken, and immediately relegated to the dustbin of history when the last footstep falls.
A true protest is ugly, leaderless and organized just enough by vast numbers of ‘primary messengers’ as a large and moving group that is willing to collectively commit vandalism specifically against its oppressors’ primary and valued property and organizational quarters in the process. Its loud, cantankerous and aggressive without the intention of hurting or killing anyone in the oppressors group, but nonetheless scares the fuck out of them.
A true protest reminds the oppressor they are outnumbered, and as such, need to pay strict attention to the oppressed and their demands.
Which is exactly what we need. Because it is inequality that is killing us all.
World-wide, corporate-driven inequality accepted by western governments that are threatening mass extinction of the homo sapiens through the extension of poverty, repression and war. Any activism not dedicated to this most necessary human right is not legitimate and is full of shit.
The United States population is now quickly dying from withheld medical access and no federal government support either medically or financially , and is (as of the date of this article) leading the planet in total confirmed cases of CoVID19.
Even the mainstream media can stop the propaganda long enough to spit a little truth sometimes....
(Courtesy: CNN/WarnerMedia (AT&T)
So, the question now becomes this: at your point of death, now will you stand up as one? Or will you go down like the witless, useless, consumerist ne’erdowell pukes that Trump and the 1% multinational corporate elite take you for? Will you, my fellow Americans pull your collective heads out of your asses and rise up, or suffocate in the violent silence of this Plague….?
Hopefully , the Trump administration might have enough body bags on hand to zip up the piling corpses, as you, your family and friends expire, using shared ventilators in hospitals around medical staff, all of whom are wearing used, second-hand face masks, and are fatigued and infected themselves. And this being the better of possibilities for you, but only if you have healthcare insurance, unfortunately. For if you don't, you may have to stay at home to drown helplessly in your own lung tissues..
..and that's if you haven't been evicted from your home for not being able to keep up your rent payment after losing your job...
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