Priority
While the british government rather focusses on bombing Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia etc. the whole 3rd world’s anger unleashes in their own YOUTH. Black and White are uniting against an oppressive system towards both races. The non-white community in the UK doesn’t only fight a corrupt regime which spends their tax money on bombing their brothers and sisters in occupied countries all over the world, but also also a government that is using vast police brutality against “its own” citizens.
The Guardian reported that “a total of 333 people have died in or following police custody over the past 11 years, but no officer has ever been successfully prosecuted, according to a watchdog’s report. Prosecutions were recommended against 13 officers based on “relatively strong evidence of misconduct or neglect”, but none resulted in a guilty verdict.”
Demonization – a lovestory
In the meantime the corporate media from all over the world not only tries to demonize the protesters as some kind of violence-lusty anarchists that only seek for loot & destruction in the “developed” areas of London but also reduce the anger that led to those actions as overreaction to the killing of Mark Duggan. What they want you to forget is that the last riots – where even the Tory HQ had been stormed – started less than 10 months ago. While, in my humble opinion, the education cuts riots were a direct response to direct action, the situation is different right now.
Nina Power, Guardian correspondent, brilliantly summed up the context to the riots:
“Since the coalition came to power just over a year ago, the country has seen multiple student protests, occupations of dozens of universities, several strikes, a half-a-million-strong trade union march and now unrest on the streets of the capital (preceded by clashes with Bristol police in Stokes Croft earlier in the year).”
The cause of violence is clearly the result of miscommunication. Miscommunication in the sense that the british government does not even ‘listen’ to their youths’ demands, not to mention that they would “hear” them if they listened.
This scene between protestor and ITV reporter couldn’t encapsulate the desperate attempts to ‘be heard’ by the people & the arrogant, racist responses by the government (= no response at all) any better.
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Is rioting the correct way to express your discontent?
“Yes,” said the young man. “You wouldn’t be talking to me now if we didn’t riot, would you?”
The TV reporter from Britain’s ITV had no response. So the young man pressed his advantage. “Two months ago we marched to Scotland Yard, more than 2,000 of us, all blacks, and it was peaceful and calm and you know what? Not a word in the press.
Last night a bit of rioting and looting and look around you.”
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In context to the campaign of demonizing the protesting/rioting youth we also have to ask us WHO is protesting there?
Those arent “mad criminals”, those are also the same young people that were rioting months ago after the announcement of the education cuts. The ghetto/black London youth isn’t on its own in being oppressed, brutalized & hardly taken seriously. Black, white, middle-class & working class uniting against the government. I mean those are – amongst others – the people that will attend the elite universities of their country, people that may dominate UK’s politics one day and you want us to believe that those are violent criminals that just wait for a reason to riot?
I will not advocate the looting of houses in any way & seriously believe that the youth should only target their enemy, an enitity of racism, capitalism & imperialism. Why do you think the police is protecting Tesco while the small businesses get looted?
On Violence
“Violence can thus be understood to be the perfect mediation. The colonized man liberates himself in and through violence (Frantz Fanon). Is the clear mirror of violence not something of a mirage in which the dispossessed see their reflections but from which they cannot slake their thirst?” (Homi K. Bhaba)
Reactions:
On the first sight it seems pretty obvious that we should denounce the violent looting and many leftists, artists, etc. did but none of us asked them to loot either so aren’t we doing the governments dirty work then? There’s a people’s demand and to be ‘heard” it took some looting & rioting. Now it’s the governments turn to address the people and every condemnation from within towards the protesting voices only serves the governments agenda of demonization.
If the government cares about all of its people it will address the protesters’ demands. If not, everyone that’s now “in fear” has the chance to join them and show the government that it should fear the people, not vice versa. If anyone still pretends it doesn’t has anything to do with him or is happy how politics in Britain are being run he/she has all the right to do so. . . the same right as the protestors have to find him/her guilty of co-operating with a racist & imperialistic government that disregarded the people’s demands for months & years now.
To me, this is clearly another baby step towards the global revolution where the “wretched of the earth” due to white supremacy/imperialism/capitalism/racism/neo-colonialism stand up to their oppressors and are ready to take over the 1st world and the expired justification & morality of “our” values.
My Final Thoughts in the words of Malcolm X:
“The chickens coming home to roost”
Abgelegt unter: Economic Crisis, Global Revolution, Imperialism, Malcolm X, My Articles, Police Brutality, Propaganda, Racism
