Philosophy, Authority, Police and How It All Applies Today

I ran across this satirical cartoon on a favorite page I go to now and again and that I enjoy a good deal.

   Click on the picture for easier reading.

And it's good and funny and true but the thing I really took away, the thing that especially applies and applied to us today is what the author wrote at the end of the piece:

"Anarchism has always been a philosophy of mutual self aid, freedom, cooperation, dismantling illegitimate hierarchies, and moving towards open democratic structures in all aspects of life. Generally speaking, the people at the top of the illegitimate hierarchies, like people who command countries because they were born to the right family, or people who command workers because they have a piece of paper saying the own the factory, well...they do not care for this philosophy. And the police are on their side.

In fact, like the hover text says, everyone in this comic was arrested for what they are arguing for. Bakunin was arrested for trying to bring about democracy, Kropotkin for 'subversive political activity' (whatever that means, most likely just being an anarchist), Emma Goldman for 'illegally distributing information about birth control', and poor Proudhon was arrested for insulting Napoleon III, a rather silly thing to be arrested for and unfortunately for him that meant he had to look rather silly in the comic.

In every society, those in power will always call the people who are peacefully trying to change the system 'violent anarchists' and the people who violently enforce the system 'peace keepers'. Violence, to them, is having to give up their vacation home so someone else doesn't have to be homeless. Peace is having the police beat up and jail the homeless people who are sheltering there to stay out of the cold. To those whose privilege is built on mountains of injustice, merely asking for justice will be called violence, and violence to protect their privilege will be called justice.

Do not be fooled. The police do not enforce justice, they enforce privilege, property, wealth, and power.

Black Lives Matter."

Quote of the Day -- On Patriotism

"We Americans claim to be a peace-loving people. We hate bloodshed; we are opposed to violence. Yet we go into spasms of joy over the possibility of projecting dynamite bombs from flying machines upon helpless citizens. We are ready to hang, electrocute, or lynch anyone, who, from economic necessity, will risk his own life in the attempt upon that of some industrial magnate. Yet our hearts swell with pride at the thought that America is becoming the most powerful nation on earth, and that she will eventually plant her iron foot on the necks of all other nations.

Such is the logic of patriotism."

--Emma Goldman, "What is Patriotism?", 1908

Quotes of the Day

"Nationalism is our form of incest, is our idolatry, is our insanity. 'Patriotism' is its cult. It should hardly be necessary to say, that by "patriotism" I mean that attitude which puts the own nation above humanity, above the principles of truth and justice; not the loving interest in one's own nation, which is the concern with the nation's spiritual as much as with its material welfare — never with its power over other nations. Just as love for one individual which excludes the love for others is not love, love for one's country which is not part of one's love for humanity is not love, but idolatrous worship." 

--Erich Fromm, in "The Sane Society" (1955)

"We Americans claim to be a peace-loving people. We hate bloodshed; we are opposed to violence. Yet we go into spasms of joy over the possibility of projecting dynamite bombs from flying machines upon helpless citizens. We are ready to hang, electrocute, or lynch anyone, who, from economic necessity, will risk his own life in the attempt upon that of some industrial magnate. Yet our hearts swell with pride at the thought that America is becoming the most powerful nation on earth, and that she will eventually plant her iron foot on the necks of all other nations.

Such is the logic of patriotism."

--Emma Goldman, "What is Patriotism?" (1908)

"True patriotism isn't cheap. It's about taking on a fair share of the burdens of keeping America going.

Those who earn tens of millions of dollars a year but pay less than 14 percent of their incomes in taxes, and argue the rich should pay even less, are not true patriots.

Those who defend indefensible tax loopholes, such as the "carried interest" loophole that allows private-equity managers to treat their incomes as capital gains even if they risk no income of their own, are not true patriots.

Those who avoid taxes by putting huge amounts of their earnings into IRAs via foreign tax shelters are not true patriots.

Those who want to cut programs that benefit the poor -- Food stamps, child nutrition, Pell grants, Medicaid -- so that they can get a tax cut for themselves and their affluent friends-- are not true patriots." 

--Robert Reich, economist, writer, author, professor and former Labor Secretary of President Bill Clinton's Cabinet

Another salute to Howard Zinn, historian

“Let’s talk about socialism. … I think it’s very important to bring back the idea of socialism into the national discussion to where it was at the turn of the [last] century before the Soviet Union gave it a bad name. Socialism had a good name in this country. Socialism had Eugene Debs. It had Clarence Darrow. It had Mother Jones. It had Emma Goldman. It had several million people reading socialist newspapers around the country… Socialism basically said, hey, let’s have a kinder, gentler society. Let’s share things. Let’s have an economic system that produces things not because they’re profitable for some corporation, but produces things that people need. People should not be retreating from the word socialism because you have to go beyond capitalism." --Howard Zinn (who died yesterday)

It frustrates the crap out of me that most Americans think Socialism is a) purely evil and b) right up there with the worst of Communism and anything and everything else bad they can throw in.

It's maddening.

Most Americans haven't the foggiest idea what it means in Europe and Scandinavia what the benefits are, for example.

Ignorant gits.

Now, go read up on Howard Zinn.

And while you're at it, get a copy of his book "A People's History of the United States".

***With specific and sincere thanks to Matt Payton and his Tumble-o-rama for pointing out this quote.