http://www.moonofalabama.org/2007/09/john-kerry-is-a.html#comments
What gets me is the crowd doing nothing (or did they cheer at the beginning/) and wondering what I'd've done--maybe it's that the crowd wasn't united, or that the fear of being arrested--HST said he'd been arrested once and never wanted to be arrested again.
But...it's out on the web, one two three different videos and rememberinggiap over at Moon of Alabama...
...the sound of the taser...group solidarity--if they're gonna arrest ya, make sure you have support.
I'd appreciate comments from the ET crowd who lived through something...not similar...but the heightened tensions...I mean the sixties. I mean...I get my news from the web and this whole "We're going to war with Iran" nonsense...is taken seriously it seems by mainstream news organisations, or at least given a voice with the neutrality of the reporters...ach...
malooga often points out to the 'lord of the flies' character of the empire - & in incidents such as this we are watching it - in situ
how many 'incidents' in iraq - & i would say the overwhelming number of 'incidents' where people are murdered - in their cars, at barriers etc etc are as much an expression of the cultural aberration that lies at the heart of the empire as much as it is an expression of overwhelming force
even the notion of overwhelming force has at is heart - stupidy, short term thinking, it is the expression of bullies
that is why it was charming & i use the word advisedly when hugo chavez 'played' the bully against the real bullies in his united nations speech. there was great seriousness but there was always an extremely human reproach against the empire that had very liitle to do with ideology but had a great deal to do with humanity
& there seems to precious little of that inside the belly of the beast - tho we know that the great majority of americans are oppossed to this illegal & immoral war, the great majority understand the brutal lies that hold up this shiftless administration but they do nothing, as this audience does nothing
not one hand held out - just the baton & the taser
rememberinggiap (link above)
Apparently tasers can break your back. There's been a lot of talk about breaking the back of resistance lately, and that, it appears, is what they are doing to our children: manufacturing a spineless society. I am shaking with anger.
So there's also a class element. The poor, the marginalised know about this, they live this, but now it's touching the middle classes. Ask too many questions, get too loud, once the police man (or woman) decides enough's enough...ach Don't fight forces, use them R. Buckminster Fuller.
manufacturing a spineless society
The best way to ensure that you reproduce is to follow the crowd and play by the rules. As such very, very few individuals throughout history have encouraged individualistic behavior, particularly for women (as risk taking by men can sometimes lead to big rewards). What % of people participated in the movements of the 60's? I think the number is smaller than most people imagine.
As the Vietnam draft showed, or the civil rights movement for that matter showed, people will not riot and risk arrest until the potential benefits outweigh the real costs.
you are the media you consume.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/18/student.tasered/index.html
This is a good example of the technologies that enable the surveillance state working in the opposite direction. I could see a lawsuit without the combo of a video camera and youtube, but this damning, direct evidence instantly forced the hand of the police to put these guys on leave, and the odds of this guy winning a lawsuit based on excessive force are pretty good.
so? lawsuits? no, emigration. Rien n'est gratuit en ce bas monde. Tout s'expie, le bien comme le mal, se paie tot ou tard. Le bien c'est beaucoup plus cher, forcement. Celine
About emigration, a word that's often used in this sort of situation and that generates the most useless debate (i know i know, i used that word, so i'm just clarifying), it simply involves choosing to which government you give your money, and what actions you thus condone. You may think that political involvement can outweight this... I don't. But that's another discussion, more complicated than being coward or not being one. Rien n'est gratuit en ce bas monde. Tout s'expie, le bien comme le mal, se paie tot ou tard. Le bien c'est beaucoup plus cher, forcement. Celine
As far as emigration and choosing your government, I'd like to see more open borders but we're not going to have them anytime soon. Until the world is overall more equitable and the human population is under control we won't see it.
As a result there is no reason to see the police as a institutional agent aiming at reducing crime, checked by a judicial system, and in which lawsuits are a check, or in which lawsuit signal political resistance. Rien n'est gratuit en ce bas monde. Tout s'expie, le bien comme le mal, se paie tot ou tard. Le bien c'est beaucoup plus cher, forcement. Celine
No one in the audience protested! Some even seemed to be amused!
According to MSNBC's report, Kerry simply went back to the question and answer session while this man was being violated! ... For having been called upon by Kerry himself and having asked a controversial question.
Words fail me. .
The whole scene: It's like a cross between Idiocracy and Brazil. American ET-ers: the sense I got is just...here's anna missed (from Moon of Alabama, link above)
I've always seen the police having to threaten people to keep them from joining in in situations like this, amongst a political group, I've always seen half the police facing out and dealing with the crowd around, the fact that you dont have the police looking out so they are expecting not to be interfered with
That's what I find most scary Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.
I thought about what I'd've done. Maybe stand up and walk to the front, say to Mr. Kerry, "Excuse me, but they seem to be arresting that guy for asking questions."
I dunno. Something. But yeah, "scary" is the word.
I also thought "Solidarity". The lack of, and the results of the lack of.
Turns out the guy is a journalist of some kind. I'm hoping some civil rights lawyer types get onto this. The video evidence is clear. The female officer makes her move and he was supposed to walk out, sorta like bouncers escorting you from a club. "Out on the street you go, sonny!" But he says, "Are you arresting me?"
I was also reminded of Migeru's question:
"What will it take to radicalise the middle classes?"
(Well, it was along those lines)
I also thought of Kent State back in the sixties (apologies if I've mis-remembered), when they took over the offices, the police hauling people out, but...a taser? The sound... And the police following procedure, and feeling that they have obeyed the rules.
HST destroyed a guy's career for behaviour like that--a counter charge, suing for millions of dollars for wrongful arrest, get the police on the back foot...any US lawyers in the house?
And now it reminds me of one of Bernhard's comments a while back:
"The latest thing in Germany is to steal the air from the tires of SUVs and then leave a sticker on the windscreen explaining about environmental damage."
(My paraphrase.)
The point being, "to act or not to act": when they taser a guy for basically banging on too long, that's too late...ach...someone better at expressing themself can hopefully express it better. Don't fight forces, use them R. Buckminster Fuller.
Lou Reed, Dirty Blvd. "If you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles." Sun Tzu
