Commentary - Feb 9, 2012 - Printable Version - Occupy and Black Bloc tactics....Lives in the Balance by Mark Faulk
"A man who believes in freedom will do anything under the sun to acquire...or preserve his freedom." Malcolm X
(lyrics from “Lives in the Balance”, by Jackson Browne)
I've been waiting for something to happen For a week or a month or a year With the blood in the ink of the headlines And the sound of the crowd in my ear You might ask what it takes to remember When you know that you've seen it before Where a government lies to a people And a country is drifting to war
There has been a lot of debate lately about black bloc tactics as a so-called “violent action”, and it has been condemned as counter to the peaceful protest of the Occupy Movement. Up to now, those tactics have simply involved a gradual ramping up of pressure on the corporate interests who run (and ruin) our world. Those tactics have really been no more extreme than a brick through a corporate window, or a momentary disruption of the flow of money from the lower and middle classes to the pockets and offshore bank accounts of the ultra-wealthy. But let’s face the cold, hard reality here: peaceful tactics don’t always work. Our country has gone to war dozens of times for reasons that amount to nothing more than the protection of our corporate interests, and our government defends those actions in the name of some vague definition of democratic principles.
And there's a shadow on the faces Of the men who send the guns To the wars that are fought in places Where their business interest runs
Wall Street and greedy corporations have been the most predatory violent destroyers of property and lives in the history of the world. When someone threatens your family, your friends, and steals your livelihood and everything you've worked for your entire life, do you simply stand out in your front yard with a sign that says "Quit destroying my life"? When you see the world being systematically raped until it can no longer sustain life of any kind, mountains that have been blown to bits, or oceans and rivers that have been polluted by massive oil spills in the name of profit and greed, do you simply sign an online petition and hope that they suddenly decide to do the right thing?
Hell no....you fight back, and you fight back in WHATEVER WAY is ultimately necessary. It's our right…..check that, it’s our obligation to fight for our families, property, for our livelihood, for our world. And despite the propaganda that our corporate-controlled government perpetuates, it it's NOT terrorism, it's self-defense. It's the ultimate defense of our liberty, of our freedoms, of our democracy. Granted, a rational, measured debate about the issues is the first and best choice, but frankly, I have personally been engaged in that debate with Wall Street, members of Congress, and their corporate media lapdogs since 2004. In the end, while I and a handful of other dedicated activists were trying to convince people to put the best interests of the world and its people ahead of the ruthless pursuit of personal wealth at all costs, the entire planet as we know it has been mutilated beyond recognition.
On the radio talk shows and the t.v. You hear one thing again and again How the U.S.A. stands for freedom And we come to the aid of a friend But who are the ones that we call our friends-- These governments killing their own? Or the people who finally can't take any more And they pick up a gun or a brick or a stone
While we debate….they destroy. While we argue amongst ourselves about whether this tactic or that is acceptable….they steal our homes and jobs in a continual barrage of sociopathic greed. While we hold up signs during the day asking them to do the right thing….they steal our freedoms and rights in the dead of night. While we profess to hold ourselves to a higher standard of peaceful protest….they systematically and violently rape our world at a rate that will soon render our planet unlivable.
They sell us the president the same way They sell us our clothes and our cars They sell us every thing from youth to religion The same time they sell us our wars I want to know who the men in the shadows are I want to hear somebody asking them why They can be counted on to tell us who our enemies are But they're never the ones to fight or to die
Our world, and the world that our children and grandchildren will inherit, is under constant seige. And once the damage is done, there is no repairing it. We are hurtling headlong into an apocalypse of our own making, and we are rapidly reaching the point of no return. Unless our government begins to represent EVERYONE, and not just the 50 families who control everything, we'll collapse into utter chaos, and rampant violence will become a cold reality, instead of a hypothetical debate amongst armchair activists.
So what are we willing to do to save our world? How do we win against forces whose only gods are wealth and power? At what point do we fight back, and I mean REALLY fight back? Personally, I don’t advocate violence, but if my family or those I love are threatened….all bets are off. And if that makes me a potential terrorist, then so be it. I will defend those I love, and the world they have to live in, to the very end. Whatever it takes.
And there are lives in the balance There are people under fire There are children at the cannons And there is blood on the wire...
Mark Faulk, author of “The Naked Truth: Investing in the Stock Play of a Lifetime”, which chronicles an incredible true story of fraud in our financial markets www.thenakedtruthbook.com , has written over 150 articles on the topic of financial reform and naked short selling since 2004, and has logged hundreds of hours in radio and television interviews. He recently completed work on Wall Street Conspiracy, a major independent documentary scheduled to premiere in NEw York and worldwide on March 2, 2012.
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