Guest1
8th January 2002, 04:12
Sworn to protect and serve the
Corporate Elite
An interesting thing happened to me today. I was sitting on a bus. I hadn’t eaten for four hours and I was wondering how I was going to pay for food when I realised that I had some money in my back pocket. I pulled it out and there it was, the blue sheet of paper, the $5 bill. Then, a thought occurred to me. On the front, is a white man. When, I asked myself, has there ever been an African-Canadian or even an Aboriginal on money of any sort in Canada? In fact, has there ever been any person on Canadian money who’s not white? In fact, has there ever been a Native or Black Prime Minister? Is it because the money lies elsewhere?
Centuries of exploitation has left these minorities with economic devastation and a general reluctance to sell out to corporations who manipulate the system in their favour, with no regard to the interests of the powerless. These very same corporations built golf courses and tourist resorts on Native burial grounds and for centuries used the African-American population as free labour. Without the financial support of these criminals, the chances of election are slim.
We live in a system that thrives on inequality. The foundation of our way of life is inequality. The wealth of the rich is only defined by the misery of the poor. While some of us are able to worry about the status of their numbered Swiss bank accounts, many can only worry about where they’ll get their meal today. Capitalism is, by nature, a system of inequality.
Furthermore, the rift between the rich and poor is growing on a daily basis, not only in terms of an economic rift, but a rift in liberty, a rift in social standing and a rift in how much each can do to defend themselves.
According to newyouth.com, the world’s 358 billionaires have more assets than the combined income of countries representing 45% of the planet’s population. Today, the richest 20% of the world’s population take home 60% of the total income. Many of these people got there by oppressing minorities in the 3rd world and supporting brutal regimes that carry out repression on a daily basis and that disgusts me. That they continue to sanction the killings of Union leaders, Aboriginals and human rights activists disgusts me. That the people’s right to democracy is constantly being overruled by the corporate power’s lust for money disgusts me. Why should you believe me? Here’s a dose of undiluted reality:
In Columbia, an ongoing project to privatize the telecommunications industry lead by Bell Canada Enterprises and Nortel Networks has cost the people more than money. Many have been cut off from the only source of income they’ve known for years in favour of lower costs for the company. In 1998, strikes protesting privatization ended with 7 unionists assassinated and 13 more arbitrarily detained. It’s a safe bet that BCE and Nortel didn’t call for a minute of silence at their offices. An example had been made from those who resisted. Profits were protected.
In Cuba, large landholders residing in the U.S. made money off of land in Cuba that they never worked on. The workers who spent their entire lives working the land got meager wages for grueling work. Fidel Castro’s revolution changed that. The land was given to those that tilled it, and the rich had to find elsewhere to enjoy exploitation and inequality. Since then, rich Cuban exiles and American business interests have spent their time doing two things: cursing Che Guevara for his role in the revolution and paying U.S. Congressmen to look out for their interests. They got some revenge. Hundreds of thousands of Cuban children have died over decades because they can’t access medication blocked by U.S. politicians. All Capitol Hill needs now is a pimp.
In Africa, when governments saw that most of their brethren couldn’t afford the AIDS medications produced in the West, they decided to purchase cheap generic brands of the same drugs produced by other companies. Large pharmaceutical companies, mostly American, cried out as they got none of the profits despite holding the intellectual property rights to the drugs. The U.S. threatened sweeping sanctions; it would do anything to protect the American companies. As a result, hundreds of thousands of AIDS patients can’t get any medication at all. It seems that, in our society, it is more important to protect the intellectual property rights of these companies than the right to life of the masses. Why is this slaughter acceptable? Money.
In Mexico, harassment of the indigenous people of the Chiapas continues. The federal army destroys the crops of Indians on a daily basis. The Zapatistas (EZLN) are a very different group of Left-wing revolutionaries who fight for indigenous rights and true democracy. However, they are now out of the media spotlight. The media moguls know what George Dubya’s new relationship with Mexican President Vincente Fox could do. Being partnered with large corporations, it’s in their best interests that the revolution doesn’t succeed. They wouldn’t want to lose that big, juicy, bloody raw market for American companies.
Some preach that Capitalism is the best way, that it only needs to be reformed. They preach the death of Socialism, the death of “political uncertainty”. How do I see it? They preach the death of mass resistance of corporate control. They preach the death of morality. They preach the death of conscience. They preach the death of freedom.
There is a growing discontent with the way the world turns. The protests at Seattle, Quebec and Genoa among others signal a new time of mass civil disobedience. They also signal a new crackdown on dissent. Plastic bullets are fired into the crowds with no provocation. At Quebec, eyewitnesses report that tear gas continuously rained down on the protesters, once every 15 minutes, for hours. When the demonstrators began running, they began shooting tear gas up-wind of them so they would be stuck between the gas and the police. Nowhere to run. Many were arrested for simply looking suspicious. Riot police beat youths already laying on the ground with sticks.
In the media, we seldom hear of the protests without mention of malicious youths who aren’t interested in the cause, but rather simply want to be violent. Some do come for the chaos. Others have no choice. When there is no democracy and no freedom of speech, when the media ignores the powerless and the poor, when the government just wants to put out the flame of resistance, you must fight to get your message out. When the riot police are there not to keep the peace, but to repress dissent, you must fight. When the police become violent, you must fight.
The bus came to a stop at Guy-Concordia. As I walked to the Faubourg, a young man walked up to me and asked if I had some money for food. He claimed he hadn’t eaten for days, and he looked it. My four hours suddenly seemed pathetic. I felt guilty, so I gave him my portrait of some rich white person on a blue sheet of paper. Good riddance, I’m getting tired of seeing their faces on the bus and at school anyway. My way of redistributing the wealth.
Corporate Elite
An interesting thing happened to me today. I was sitting on a bus. I hadn’t eaten for four hours and I was wondering how I was going to pay for food when I realised that I had some money in my back pocket. I pulled it out and there it was, the blue sheet of paper, the $5 bill. Then, a thought occurred to me. On the front, is a white man. When, I asked myself, has there ever been an African-Canadian or even an Aboriginal on money of any sort in Canada? In fact, has there ever been any person on Canadian money who’s not white? In fact, has there ever been a Native or Black Prime Minister? Is it because the money lies elsewhere?
Centuries of exploitation has left these minorities with economic devastation and a general reluctance to sell out to corporations who manipulate the system in their favour, with no regard to the interests of the powerless. These very same corporations built golf courses and tourist resorts on Native burial grounds and for centuries used the African-American population as free labour. Without the financial support of these criminals, the chances of election are slim.
We live in a system that thrives on inequality. The foundation of our way of life is inequality. The wealth of the rich is only defined by the misery of the poor. While some of us are able to worry about the status of their numbered Swiss bank accounts, many can only worry about where they’ll get their meal today. Capitalism is, by nature, a system of inequality.
Furthermore, the rift between the rich and poor is growing on a daily basis, not only in terms of an economic rift, but a rift in liberty, a rift in social standing and a rift in how much each can do to defend themselves.
According to newyouth.com, the world’s 358 billionaires have more assets than the combined income of countries representing 45% of the planet’s population. Today, the richest 20% of the world’s population take home 60% of the total income. Many of these people got there by oppressing minorities in the 3rd world and supporting brutal regimes that carry out repression on a daily basis and that disgusts me. That they continue to sanction the killings of Union leaders, Aboriginals and human rights activists disgusts me. That the people’s right to democracy is constantly being overruled by the corporate power’s lust for money disgusts me. Why should you believe me? Here’s a dose of undiluted reality:
In Columbia, an ongoing project to privatize the telecommunications industry lead by Bell Canada Enterprises and Nortel Networks has cost the people more than money. Many have been cut off from the only source of income they’ve known for years in favour of lower costs for the company. In 1998, strikes protesting privatization ended with 7 unionists assassinated and 13 more arbitrarily detained. It’s a safe bet that BCE and Nortel didn’t call for a minute of silence at their offices. An example had been made from those who resisted. Profits were protected.
In Cuba, large landholders residing in the U.S. made money off of land in Cuba that they never worked on. The workers who spent their entire lives working the land got meager wages for grueling work. Fidel Castro’s revolution changed that. The land was given to those that tilled it, and the rich had to find elsewhere to enjoy exploitation and inequality. Since then, rich Cuban exiles and American business interests have spent their time doing two things: cursing Che Guevara for his role in the revolution and paying U.S. Congressmen to look out for their interests. They got some revenge. Hundreds of thousands of Cuban children have died over decades because they can’t access medication blocked by U.S. politicians. All Capitol Hill needs now is a pimp.
In Africa, when governments saw that most of their brethren couldn’t afford the AIDS medications produced in the West, they decided to purchase cheap generic brands of the same drugs produced by other companies. Large pharmaceutical companies, mostly American, cried out as they got none of the profits despite holding the intellectual property rights to the drugs. The U.S. threatened sweeping sanctions; it would do anything to protect the American companies. As a result, hundreds of thousands of AIDS patients can’t get any medication at all. It seems that, in our society, it is more important to protect the intellectual property rights of these companies than the right to life of the masses. Why is this slaughter acceptable? Money.
In Mexico, harassment of the indigenous people of the Chiapas continues. The federal army destroys the crops of Indians on a daily basis. The Zapatistas (EZLN) are a very different group of Left-wing revolutionaries who fight for indigenous rights and true democracy. However, they are now out of the media spotlight. The media moguls know what George Dubya’s new relationship with Mexican President Vincente Fox could do. Being partnered with large corporations, it’s in their best interests that the revolution doesn’t succeed. They wouldn’t want to lose that big, juicy, bloody raw market for American companies.
Some preach that Capitalism is the best way, that it only needs to be reformed. They preach the death of Socialism, the death of “political uncertainty”. How do I see it? They preach the death of mass resistance of corporate control. They preach the death of morality. They preach the death of conscience. They preach the death of freedom.
There is a growing discontent with the way the world turns. The protests at Seattle, Quebec and Genoa among others signal a new time of mass civil disobedience. They also signal a new crackdown on dissent. Plastic bullets are fired into the crowds with no provocation. At Quebec, eyewitnesses report that tear gas continuously rained down on the protesters, once every 15 minutes, for hours. When the demonstrators began running, they began shooting tear gas up-wind of them so they would be stuck between the gas and the police. Nowhere to run. Many were arrested for simply looking suspicious. Riot police beat youths already laying on the ground with sticks.
In the media, we seldom hear of the protests without mention of malicious youths who aren’t interested in the cause, but rather simply want to be violent. Some do come for the chaos. Others have no choice. When there is no democracy and no freedom of speech, when the media ignores the powerless and the poor, when the government just wants to put out the flame of resistance, you must fight to get your message out. When the riot police are there not to keep the peace, but to repress dissent, you must fight. When the police become violent, you must fight.
The bus came to a stop at Guy-Concordia. As I walked to the Faubourg, a young man walked up to me and asked if I had some money for food. He claimed he hadn’t eaten for days, and he looked it. My four hours suddenly seemed pathetic. I felt guilty, so I gave him my portrait of some rich white person on a blue sheet of paper. Good riddance, I’m getting tired of seeing their faces on the bus and at school anyway. My way of redistributing the wealth.