by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Unfortunately, from New York to London, politicians and the police have been bought off to protect corporate interests. Police are forcibly evicting the peaceful protesters from public spaces and and politicians, local, regional and federal, are discrediting the movement in the media as “dirty hippies” and “violent criminals” with no clear agenda.
In NYC the park was cleared under the pretenses of “public health” concerns and in London at St Paul's Cathedral the claim was made that the church had had to close because of “health and safety” fears. Both of it utter rubbish.
The protest camps at ST Paul's Cathedral of the “Occupy the LSX” campaign was nowhere close enough to present a safety issue whether as regards to fire or anything else.
It is not hard to see why the powers that be are nervous: the occupiers have sparked a vital battle of ideas, and the corrupt, elite 1% stand to lose everything.
It is now three years since the financial crash exposed the greed and recklessness that drives our financial system and destroys our economies. We are losing jobs, homes, and benefits, yet politicians continue to throw public money to keep big banks afloat to speculate and hand out fat bonuses. The 1% get their way every day, through massive spending on lobbyists, revolving door networks with current and former politicians and using the media to spread threats and fear.
Enough is enough! We know ordinary people working together can shake even the most entrenched powers; we have seen it over and over this year, beginning with the Arab Spring that turned into an Arab Autumn and, if we are not careful, into an Egyptian Winter. However, in the last two months the occupiers' message has resonated in homes, bars, and workplaces everywhere; people are beginning to speak out against the rotten financial and political systems that wreck our democracies, if democracies they actually really are, which I doubt.
Many so-called police officers do not deserve to wear the uniform for they behave like JBTs and not the public protectors that they are meant to be. The power they have been given to, for instance, smash demonstrations, has gotten to many of their heads and they are behaving in the same way as did the SS in the Third Reich.
Anyone who will pepperspray an old lady is worse, probably, than many a SS officer of Hitler's guard.
In the UK it would appear that they are going to try their damnest; the regime of Cameron-Clegg, to outlaw demonstrations and protests and will make all protest actions and demonstrations a criminal act come 2012.
So much for the Mother of modern Democracy, which Britain likes to, so often, be portrayed at and portray itself.
When it is illegal to camp out for democracy but legal to do so for commerce, as is the case time and again when the big sales start, such as at Black Friday, then we must reexamine our systems.
Time to take our countries back from the bankers, bent politicians and jack-booted thugs in police uniforms.
© 2011
