Monday, June 18, 2012

Hedges

Words of wisdom:

In every conflict, insurgency, uprising and revolution I have covered as a foreign correspondent, the power elite used periods of dormancy, lulls and setbacks to write off the opposition. This is why obituaries for the Occupy movement are in vogue. And this is why the next groundswell of popular protest—and there will be one—will be labeled as “unexpected,” a “shock” and a “surprise.” The television pundits and talking heads, the columnists and academics who declare the movement dead are as out of touch with reality now as they were on Sept. 17 when New York City’s Zuccotti Park was occupied. Nothing this movement does will ever be seen by them as a success. Nothing it does will ever be good enough. Nothing, short of its dissolution and the funneling of its energy back into the political system, will be considered beneficial.

Those who have the largest megaphones in our corporate state serve the very systems of power we are seeking to topple. They encourage us, whether on Fox or MSNBC, to debate inanities, trivia, gossip or the personal narratives of candidates. They seek to channel legitimate outrage and direct it into the black hole of corporate politics. They spin these silly, useless stories from the “left” or the “right” while ignoring the egregious assault by corporate power on the citizenry, an assault enabled by the Democrats and the Republicans. Don’t waste time watching or listening. They exist to confuse and demoralize you.

The engine of all protest movements rests, finally, not in the hands of the protesters but the ruling class. If the ruling class responds rationally to the grievances and injustices that drive people into the streets, as it did during the New Deal, if it institutes jobs programs for the poor and the young, a prolongation of unemployment benefits (which hundreds of thousands of Americans have just lost), improved Medicare for all, infrastructure projects, a moratorium on foreclosures and bank repossessions, and a forgiveness of student debt, then a mass movement can be diluted. Under a rational ruling class, one that responds to the demands of the citizenry, the energy in the street can be channeled back into the mainstream. But once the system calcifies as a servant of the interests of the corporate elites, as has happened in the United States, formal political power thwarts justice rather than advances it.

...

The physical eradication of the encampments and efforts by the corporate state to disrupt the movement through surveillance, entrapment, intimidation and infiltration have knocked many off balance. That was the intent. But there continue to be important pockets of resistance. These enclaves will provide fertile ground and direction once mass protests return. It is imperative that, no matter how dispirited we may become, we resist being lured into the dead game of electoral politics.


The Wisconsin recall debacle is the final stamp on the "dead game of electoral politics."

Occupy.

2 comments:

  1. YES...tried to post this yesterday here...but couldn't. God bless Hedges...he's a true. American hero and patriot....

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  2. The power is in the streets. We have to learn from the police tactics to disrupt OWS. It will not be as easy if the unions are in the hands of the rank and file. The leadership will fight like hell to preserve their power but even they are in danger. In the past they were partners with the ruling class which saw them as very useful and gave them stuff as part of the deal. But the current situation will lead even sell-out union leadership to move but all very slowly. Chicago will be the test case for the new movement if the strike hits in September.
    The ruling class will try to stamp out the union bit if it can't it will offer crumbs and then vilify them for not taking them. If the CTU truly has grassroots support it will withstand the assault. Even Randi and the AFT will be forced to support them though she will try to broker a deal like she did when the transit workers were on strike and she helped get them to back down.

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