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| UC Davis Student Civil Disobedience, 11/18/2011 |
"The two greatest visions of a future dystopia were George Orwell’s “1984” and Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World.” The debate, between those who watched our descent towards corporate totalitarianism, was who was right. Would we be, as Orwell wrote, dominated by a repressive surveillance and security state that used crude and violent forms of control? Or would we be, as Huxley envisioned, entranced by entertainment and spectacle, captivated by technology and seduced by profligate consumption to embrace our own oppression? It turns out Orwell and Huxley were both right. Huxley saw the first stage of our enslavement. Orwell saw the second."
------ Chris Hedges, from 2011: A Brave New Dystopia, Truthdig 12/27/10
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| Nazi Execution of Dissident |
By now, you've probably seen the video of the obviously intentional and grotesque behavior by campus police at the University of California in Davis. (If not, you can see it here.) This video, originally only available through fringe progressive blogs and websites, has finally seen the light of day within the corporate-owned mainstream media -- mainly because it has gone viral on the Internet. As with anything accusatory or demeaning of the corporate-state, unless there's no further chance of ignoring or omitting the obvious (as in the case of the Occupy movement), the corporate media is forced to undraw the curtain and reveal the events -- although, not necessarily, and often not, the truth and reasons behind them.
The question I want to ask is this: When this kind of despicable behavior is conducted by those entrusted to serve and protect us from criminal activities, and equally important, is condoned and approved by their superiors and those we supposedly elect, when and where is the line drawn that separates us from the inhumane and state-sanctioned slippery slope toward totalitarianism and demagoguery?
11 comments:
The answer is: We've crossed that line, broken through the safety fence of the Constitution, and are sliding ever faster down the hill.
What we crash into, and what the pile of wreckage will look like at the bottom is yet unknown.
If ever there was a time for caring citizens on the sidelines to become involved in supporting the resistance - in whatever ways they are able to - now is the time.
I'm old enough to remember Kent State. This truly saddens and angers me. The bully bastards.
Police at times and in places have acted like undisciplined, badly trained (or untrained) thugs, with respect to the OWS protests, no question about that. Bloomberg has shown his true colors, and they aren't pretty. So has Oakland's mayor and a few others.
All that said, we're fortunately still a long way from the kind of oppression in the books you mention or that practiced by the Nazis.
MSM were slow to get serious about reporting on OWS protests, but have reported incidents of harassment and police brutality. It's not all left to videos circulating on the Internet.
Doing something about the slippery slope in your question requires finding and supporting real reform candidates for elective office, and getting them elected. Protests are fine for expressing dissatisfaction and showing numbers and solidarity, but by themselves rarely bring about reforms. Political movements and parties, OTOH, are capable of making desired changes into realities in a functioning democracy.
Anna, I couldn't agree with you more. We've turned the corner, although most people ignore the signs and refuse to acknowledge the truth. As a nation, we're entering uncharted waters. I believe 2012 will be a pivotal year for our republic.
As always, thanks for your insight.
Jayne, I'm also old enough to remember Kent State, in addition to The 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago.
My motto: Occupy Charlotte, and bring liberalism back to the Democratic Party. It's been gone far too long.
Thanks for visiting NCR...
Mr. Anderson, although we're not there yet, you have to admit we're certainly heading in that direction. Possibly this will convince you.
If you haven't read Naomi Wolf's The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot, please put it on your reading list. As per Wikipedia, "[t]he book illustrate[s] ten common steps which Wolf stated could be witnessed in the transitions of open societies into closed regimes."
We're well on our way.
JG....this is exactly the type of police behavior I EXPECT at demonstrations/protests. Al Sharpton and others want to join the Cal Davis students in a show of solidarity in the near future. As one comment once noted, there was a time when radical groups like the Weathermen and the Black Panthers caused property destruction as acts of rebellion and protest. I'd hate to think it's going to once again come down to that type of behavior to win what I'm afraid will become a civil war against the establishment. Seems like that's what the establishment is looking for, no ?? Now we can see why the NRA is fighting to keep citizens armed, we are going to NEED the weaponry !!
Brutalizing peaceful protesters is exactly how you empower a Lenin, or a Robespierre.
They'd best change their ways, or their ways are going to haunt them later. There are plenty of strong tree limbs that will hold a great deal of weight.
Ellis, I expect the police to station themselves to protect against violence; I don't expect them to be the purveyors of the violence.
As far as your question regarding what the establishment is looking for, I can only surmise. Because, since 2008, "a U.S. Army Brigade Combat Team has been stationed permanently in the United States, in part to be ready to help with civil unrest and crowd control", I'd say the expectation of societal breakdown is definitely on their minds. That said, martial law would be a certainty and all constitutional rights and protections suspended.
The next logical question would be, what will precipitate this? Obviously, it would be a cataclysmic event, on a par with, or exceeding, 9/11. This could be a "terrorist" inspired event, or more likely, in my mind anyway, an economic upheaval such as collapse. It certainly wouldn't be the protesting of the Occupy movement, but rather something more of their undertaking and something they'd provoke, or at least have the prior knowledge about.
Any way you look at it, something's rotten in Denmark.
Mr. Bronkowitz, thank you for visiting NCR, and thank you for commenting. Occupy is certainly haunting them enough right now, but I suspect by next spring things will hit a boiling point.
I hope you're right, but even a mighty oak tree can be fallen by shallow roots and loose soil. Time will tell.
About your quote from Chris Hedges: I think our police state is more like Brave New World and less like Orwell's vision. I haven't read 1984 for a long time, but if I remember right, the population was cowed, scared to death of Big Brother. Most Americans are under the thumb of the 1%, but most of us don't care because there's plenty of junk food in the pantry, beer in the fridge and the TV gets 500 channels. And Wal-Mart is having another sale this weekend. Is this a great country or what?
I don't have an answer to your question at the end, but I do think OWS needs to do a better job of selling its message and connecting to the general population. The police, security guards, and most of the people who pass the OWS encampments are part of the 99%. The cop who has to face off against OWS might have had his own home foreclosed -- after his own tax dollars bailed out the same bank that foreclosed on him.
We should all be on the same side and be working for the same goals. "We" meaning everyone except Big Business and the legislators who are in their pockets and the "regulators" who are pretending to "regulate" them.
Tom, I think we're moving toward Orwell's version, as Hedges indicated in the last sentence. Here are some acute indicators if you're still skeptical.
Every play has two acts.
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