Boycotting Capitalism

by C. A. Matthews

I’m waiting to hear some good news about the outcome of the Economic Black-Out that happened this past week. Did record numbers of shoppers stay home—and offline—denying profits to the corporations that have been partners in genocide? I’d like to think so.

I’d like to think that folks shopped locally on Black Friday and didn’t waste their time and money on whatever-expensive-thing the mega-corps are pushing this holiday season, because it’s not like we’re all drowning in money this year. Am I right? What struggling family has anything leftover to spend on frivolous things after scraping up just enough pocket change to buy this week’s groceries? If you can eat whatever you like, whenever you like, and buy without back-breaking interest whatever it is you like, you know you’re truly blessed, don’t you?

But even if only a handful of us boycotted the genocide-enabling corporations this week, it was well worth it. It’s always worth it to free one’s soul from the never-ending cycle of consumerism. Face it, we don’t need to own the latest widget or gadget or thingamajig in order to survive. We just need a roof over our heads and food in our bellies. All the rest is superfluous.

And dangerous. How so? If we find ourselves addicted to amassing more and more material goods or lusting after the “latest thing,” we could discover a greed that will never die. The monster of greed will just grow within our soul and grow and grow… Soon, we could find ourselves owning everything and nothing at the same time.

If our lives become nothing but an excuse to shop and spend, very soon we could have an overflowing shed or rented storage space and nobody to share any of the contents with. We wouldn’t have spent much time or effort on relationships. We’ll just have stuff. And stuff can’t snuggle with you on a cold winter’s night or hold your hand when you’re sick or be there when you’re in need of companionship. Stuff just sits around and gathers dust.

Useless, absolutely useless, stuff is, which is why it’s not worth accumulating much of it in the first place. In order to save our precious souls and the souls of others, it’s time for us to stop this destructive accumulation and cult-like worship of stuff, and instead focus our energies on making the world a better and safer place for us all.

That’s why the BDS or boycotting/divesting/sanctioning movement is so vital...

 

To learn more about how we can use BDS and striking to make the world a better place, please read the rest of the article by copying or clicking on the following link: 

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What If The Empire Ended?

What If The Empire Ended?

words and protest photos by C. A. Matthews 

I was driving to a local college this past week to hear a talk by a friend about her time living in Haiti when a intriguing song came on the radio. It was totally unexpected. I was listening to a smooth jazz station run by the local school district and usually the songs are instrumentals. But the lyrics of this song struck me as being extremely relevant to the situation we find the world in today. The opening lyrics went something like this:

What if the world ended? Would those I had befriended be my friends anymore?

This wasn’t a sentiment I expected hearing in a contemporary jazz song. I wanted a copy of it*, and I was sorry there was no identification given of either the artist or the song title by the time I reached my destination. (I drive an old car. My car’s radio doesn’t have an electronic readout. It’s primitive, but it does the job. I like my car’s CD player, too.)

Anyway, the song’s lyrics intrigued me in a slightly different way than considering the end of all life on Earth. What if the empire ended? What would life be like without the US empire? What if today—not next year or the next decade—the US empire came to a crashing halt? That’s it—it’s dead and gone. What would life be like for the vast majority of us?

For one thing, I’m sure my friend’s story about her time in Haiti would have a happier ending. The US empire has meddled, couped, invaded, and generally taken advantage of that small Caribbean country over and over and over again. (Read Major General Smedley Butler’s War Is A Racket to see how he felt about his part in it.) I believe the US government owes reparations to the Haitian people for our imperialist treatment of them—and to many others as well.

So, what if the empire ended? Would those whom Americans have betrayed become our friends again? What would the world be like if the driving force behind empire building (that is, capitalism) no longer existed?

Let’s do a thought experiment with some recent headlines...

 

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The People Take Action

Listen to Greta speak before the launch of the Global Sumud Flotilla.

The People Take Action

by C. A. Matthews

I’m tired of people whining. It’s not that I don’t whine myself, because we all do from time to time, but some folks’ incessant whining about how terrible things are and how they can’t do anything about them drives me up the wall. If I were a protagonist in a 1940s movie, I’d take the whiners by the shoulders and shake them hard and then slap them across the face to make them stop whining.

I know. I’d get into a helluva big mess if I resorted to physical violence to get the whiners’ attention nowadays. So, I’m left with using only non-violent means, such as writing, to get them to snap out of their whining tirades. So, here goes.

Things are terrible in 2025, but you can do something about them beside whining. You can take action.

The following are examples of people from all over the world who didn’t sit and whine about how terrible things are. They’ve stood up and started moving. They know their actions could make them lose their livelihoods or get them hurt. They realize they could be risking their lives and their reputations by taking action, but they feel it’s worth it. The ends justify the means—and any cost to themselves personally.

First example: American IT workers were willing to risk losing their jobs, their careers and professional reputations in order to make a bold statement protesting Israel’s actions in Palestine and their company’s association with the genocidaires. This is the story of what four former employees of Microsoft did recently ...

Our second example of people taking action instead of whining is global in its importance. From People’s Dispatch:

In July 2025, a new international maritime initiative was launched: the Global Sumud Flotilla. It was formed by four major coalitions: the Global Campaign to Return to Palestine, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the Maghreb Sumud Convoy, and the Southeast Asian Nusantara Sumud Initiative. The Global Sumud Flotilla is set to depart on August 31, 2025. Its goal is clear: to break Israel’s illegal blockade on Gaza, to deliver urgent humanitarian aid, and to expose the genocidal war waged on Palestinians.

The flotilla is composed of dozens of small civilian vessels carrying activists, parliamentarians, doctors, and trade unionists, alongside humanitarian cargo. More than 39 national delegations have pledged participation, making this the largest people-led maritime effort in solidarity with Gaza since the 2010 “Mavi Marmara”...

 

And be sure to register now for the webinar to learn how to become a part of the Lifeline for Palestine. https://lifelineforpalestine.com/

 

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 And also watch https://youtu.be/CtUGZXM_-Lc

 

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“We’re All Sad About Tom.”

“We’re All Sad About Tom.”

(A Brief Explanation of Why Things Are F’ed Up and What We Can Do About It)

By C. A. Matthews

“We’re All Sad About Tom,” the announcement posted on the Burger King kitchen wall begins solemnly, “But going to his funeral won’t bring him back. No time-off will be given. Thx.”

This short, emotionally tone-deaf message neatly sums up all that is wrong, all that is heinous, all that is cruel and totally f’ed up in Western society, particularly the United States of America. And in its cruel depths lie the seeds of our redemption.

Who is “Tom”? Obviously Tom was a Burger King employee. Tom was a low-paid service worker in one of a million fast food restaurants that litter the planet. Tom has since passed away, but whether his demise was job related or not we don’t know. All we know for certain is that Tom will no longer be reporting to work.

This means one very important thing: the Burger King restaurant where Tom worked is now short an employee.

This means that the remaining employees will be forced to pick up the slack. Whether or not this means it will be a permanent or temporary shortage of employees for the restaurant is unclear, but the late Tom’s position at the time the announcement was written doesn’t appear to have been filled yet.

The next line clinches the employee shortage situation: “But going to his funeral won’t bring him back. No time-off will be given. Thx.”

If you’re confused about the meaning of that line, here’s a different translation...


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Priorities, People! Priorities!

 

"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." —Voltaire

Priorities, People! Priorities!

by C.A. Matthews

Everyone probably has had a teacher, professor, coach, boss, or parent who has shouted, “Priorities, people! Priorities!” whenever you seemed to lose focus or got distracted by something not as important as you thought it was.

I can still hear my 9^th grade Algebra teacher repeatedly telling us to do our assignments first or we wouldn’t be able to pass the chapter test.

“Did you do the even numbered exercises last night? he’d challenge us. “You want to pass the test and pass this class, don’t you? Priorities, people! Priorities!”

Of course, not everyone did their homework. Not everyone passed the test or passed the class. They got distracted by something more fun than working math problems. In my era, that meant watching too much TV or listening to your latest rock LPs for hours on end instead of doing your homework. And the results of their distraction showed—in their grades then, and possibly in their lives later on because of the type of jobs they were able to get without passing Algebra. Not the good paying kind.

Becoming distracted from what is really important can lead to serious consequences. “What happened?” these distracted folks whine in confusion. They’ll blame everyone but themselves for making poor decisions by following a false priority down a dead end path.

I want to help you focus on what should be your top priorities, not because I enjoy scolding people, but because I hate seeing people suffer later, angry, because no one warned them from wandering far from what really matters.

 

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All Cops Are [Expletive Deleted]

All Cops Are [Expletive Deleted]

by C.A. Matthews

I really hate slapping a label onto a particular group of people, but sometimes the label just fits.

After watching videos and reading stories about what the police of various cities/countries have been doing to university students and faculty members who are attempting to hold down peaceful anti-genocide encampments, I can’t come to any other conclusion. The cops are not our friends. The cops are not there to protect and serve the public. The cops are there for one reason and one reason only.

That reason is to protect and serve their non-empathetic, zionarcissistic, capitalistic masters who are afraid that We the People are getting close to taking them out and shutting down the war machine to make endless profits.

Their tactics give them away. Teresa Watanabe observes:

https://twitter.com/TeresaWatanabe/status/1785575610469007471

200+ pro-Israel counterprotestors are attacking the UCLA pro-Palestinian encampment. They started beating on one student and stomped another under a plywood board per LA Times’ Safi Nazzal on the scene. Where is UCLA security?

Good question. Campus security and the city cops seem to be working side-by-side on allowing vigilantism to terrorize the students. The cops are definitely not on our side but, even worse, they’re actually aiding and abetting acts of violence against peaceful protesters.

From Natasha Lennard’s article I’ve Covered Violent Crackdowns on Protests for 15 Years. This Police Overreaction Was Unhinged https://theintercept.com/2024/05/01/nyc-gaza-college-protests-police-outside-agitators/:

A lone Trash can lay on its side at the intersection of W. 139th St and Amsterdam Ave in Harlem, in front of the gates of the City College of New York.

At around 11 p.m. on Tuesday night, this was the extent of damaged property that I witnessed outside the college campus. At the same time, New York Police Department officers in riot regalia had amassed in their hundreds, including members of the Strategic Response Group — a unit dedicated to public unrest and “counterterrorism.”

More police had stormed through the school’s neo-Gothic gates less than an hour before, at the behest of the college’s president, to arrest protesting students en masse.

Twenty blocks south, police had locked down and barricaded all streets in a two-block radius of Columbia University, brutally arresting students inside the inaccessible campus.

Between Columbia and City College, over 200 protesters — almost all students — were arrested before the night was out.

There are many more examples of “unhinged police” actions that have taken place on college campuses across the country. Why would peaceful protesters trying to do a good deed by bringing justice and awareness to the plight of the Palestinians invoke such violent responses? Why are cops allowing Zionist vigilantes to beat and injure students with their blessing? Who is calling the shots here?

I think you know who. (Watch a video with Bibi giving the orders.) Netanyahu ordered the cops to squash the American campus encampments, and his puppet Joe Biden went along with it willingly. Biden's campaign staff is trying to make him look like a “kinder, gentler genocide-enabler who is also tough on crime” in this an election year. It’s better to let Netanyahu take the heat and pretend it’s all his idea than let Geriatric Genocide Joe draw more attention to the fact that he hasn’t been calling any shots lately.

But it’s even worse than a demented commander-in-chief not leading compassionately when it comes to policing campus protests. Treasonous Americans are actually causing violence against our students with the blessing of the police and perhaps even a foreign government. I bet you know which foreign government that is, too.

From The Grayzone:

Rebecca Weiner is a Columbia U. professor who also serves as intelligence director of the NYPD. Mayor Eric Adams credits her with spying on anti-genocide student protesters and directing the militarized raid that dislodged them from campus. (...)

During a May 1 press conference, just hours after the New York Police Department arrested nearly 300 people on university grounds, Adams praised adjunct Columbia professor Rebecca Weiner, who moonlights as the head of the NYPD counter-terrorism bureau, for giving police the green light to clear out anti-genocide students by force. (...)

Weiner “develops policy and strategic priorities for the Intelligence & Counterterrorism Bureau and publicly represents the NYPD in matters involving counterterrorism and intelligence.”

The NYPD’s Counterterrorism Bureau currently maintains an office in Tel Aviv, Israel, where it coordinates with Israel’s security apparatus and maintains a department liaison. Weiner appears to serve as a bridge between the Bureau’s offices in Israel and New York.

The Zionist government of Israel obviously is in charge of American security—particularly when it comes to policing college campus protests. The New York Police Department even maintains an office in Tel Aviv, Israel—that’s not a neighborhood in Brooklyn, either. Strange how the NYPD bows so easily to the wishes of a foreign government without a care to the welfare of its own citizens. Then again, most large city police departments throughout the US have had their officers trained by programs either conducted or originated by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF).

Perhaps that explains how the cops in New York and Los Angeles had no problems with pro-Israel vigilantes beating up on peaceful college students. The Israelis aren’t known for objecting to the abuse and torture of others or for protecting free speech. They’re experts on the use of deadly violence against civilians as we’ve seen these past seven months in Gaza and the West Bank.

It’s probably part of the IDF’s training to teach American cops like Rebecca Weiner to see their fellow Americans (such as the college students) as lesser beings, such as animals, who are only fit for abuse and imprisonment. It’s how the Israelis see the Palestinians. Israeli government officials have said as much on camera more than once.

American cops trained to think of pro-Palestine protesters as less than human. What could go wrong?

Indie journalist Michael Tracey adds: 

Rebecca Weiner, head of the NYPD "counter-terrorism" bureau, identifies one of the threats that supposedly necessitated the Columbia raid: "Mainstreaming of rhetoric associated with Terrorism." No question this is recasting political speech as "Terrorism." She also blames TikTok. https://twitter.com/mtracey/status/1785707101676773621

Rebecca Weiner, an adjunct professor that the students at Columbia would have trusted spied upon them, then turned over the information to the police units that violently stormed their symbolic occupation of Hamilton Hall, a building which was also taken by students in a 1968 protest against the Vietnam War. The students trusted Weiner, and she consequently betrayed them and had them beaten and arrested.

Judas Iscariot looks like your favorite great-aunt—you know the one, your auntie who makes your favorite chocolate chip cookies and knits you warm fuzzy sweaters for Christmas—compared to this Weiner woman. How can a traitor like Weiner live with herself knowing how much she has hurt these kids and their futures? And for what? To further the Zionist plans of Israel in the USA? Or is it the United States of Israel now?

Fortunately not all professors are as traitorous or vicious as undercover cop Rebecca Weiner. Annelise Orleck, Head of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth, was banned from campus for six months for trying to protect her protesting students from riot police. (Watch it here: https://twitter.com/Zephyr_8______/status/1786149558625382830 )

So, for every traitor like Weiner, there’s a hero like Orleck. Of course, Professor Orleck has been harshly punished for her compassion, but somehow I doubt she regrets her actions. The students at Dartmouth were lucky to have her on their side.

Is there anything the students of Columbia can do to fight the injustices that their pro-Israel university directors have inflicted upon them? Yes, there is.

From the Twitter/X thread that starts here:

https://twitter.com/ColumbiaSJP/status/1786103595277992177

BREAKING: The Department of Education has announced that Columbia University is under federal investigation for anti-Palestinian discrimination and harassment. Palestine Legal is representing four Palestinian students and Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine.

“The law is clear— if universities do not cease their racist crackdowns against Palestinians and their supporters, they will risk losing federal funding” said senior Palestine Legal attorney Radhika Sainath

This comes less than 48 hours after Columbia President Shafik called in the NYPD, which violently arrested and brutalized dozens of student protesters, some with guns drawn, using sledgehammers, batons, and flash-bang explosives.

“Palestinian students at Columbia deserve justice and accountability, not only for Israel’s decades-long oppression and violence against our people, but for the racism and discrimination we’ve experienced here on Columbia’s campus,” said Mayam Alwan.

Palestinian students have dealt with immense repression and a hostile campus environment. A complainant received a conduct notice for stating her family was bombed in Gaza. Read the full complaint here: https://palestinelegal.org/news/2024/4/25/columbia-students-file-civil-rights-complaint-after-nypd-arrests-national-guard-threat

The owned-and-operated-by-Israel Columbia University and the racist, traitorous cops of the NYPD aren’t going to get away with their crimes if the justice system allows the students to sue. That’s a very big “if” considering how infiltrated the US apparently is by Zionists. Who really knows how many American judges are under Israel’s direct control?

A silent coup d’etat of the US by Israel has occurred, and it didn’t happen overnight. This shows you just how long the Israelis have been setting things up to guarantee America’s support before they started in on their genocide of the Palestinian people. This so-called Israel-Hamas War is premeditated mass murder. This is exquisitely planned ethnic cleansing. Nothing was left to chance. 

The Zionists knew then and know now what they're doing in Gaza is illegal under international law as well as being utterly heinous and immoral. They knew it would more than likely cause huge protests around the globe, but they still keep doing it. Bombs are raining down on Rafah and thousands of innocent Palestinians are running for their lives from this supposed "safe place" even as I type this sentence. Shutting down student encampments won't change anyone's mind who has already determined that this is a genocide.

Natasha Lennard sums it up well:

Israel’s decimation of Gaza has — at least for millions more people — given lie to the redemptive myths of the post-World War II political liberal order. Young people, even the children of the elite, even children of Zionists, are standing with Palestine. Their peaceful acts of protest count as disruptive because they count as un-American — which should be a badge of honor amid a US-backed genocide.” —I’ve Covered Violent Crackdowns on Protests for 15 Years.This Police Overreaction Was Unhinged.

Are all cops in the US working for the Zionists’ agenda? Maybe not. There is at least one outlier.

Denver’s Police Chief Ron Thomas declined to clear the students’ pro-Palestine encampment at Auraria University because he felt to do so was a violation of their rights to peaceful protest. Chief Thomas’ refusal to arrest the students is impressive. He actually sees the protesters as human beings, not animals, and worthy of having the rights guaranteed under the First Amendment of Constitution to free speech. We can only hope his actions are copied by others.

But if we continue to see police violence against peaceful students and flat-out refusal to honor the pro-Palestine protesters’ rights of free speech on university campuses—or street corners—across the US, then the old saying will still apply. The label will stick. You know the one I'm alluding to:

ACAB

Seen on Twitter/X from Fadi Quran:

https://twitter.com/fadiquran/status/1787065255677378638

Every student protesting should know these three things: 1. You are a ray of hope for Gaza: Every person I’ve spoken to in and from Gaza has told me they were losing hope in international solidarity, until these protests started. They said the encampments are their main (for many the ONLY) source of hope now. 2. Your pressure is working: Despite what the US government is saying publicly, under the table these protests have forced them to urgently pursue a ceasefire, including significantly increasing pressure on the Israeli war cabinet. 3. Boards of Trustees across campuses are now divided, with some shifting towards divestment, and asking themselves the question of: Why risk everything to protect weapon companies and war criminals? Given this rising impact, different tools of deception and oppression are going to be used to shut down your momentum. Maintaining your eyes on the prize, your unity, coherence of messaging and the moral high ground are central. You are at the forefront of the struggle for freedom and dignity. Millions across the world have your back. Until Victory.

Oxford and Cambridge Universities in the UK, and Copenhagen University in Denmark have also set up Palestine solidarity encampments.
 

Related Articles and Interesting Links

The problem with the coverage of the US campus protests | The Listening Post https://youtu.be/t4f9ulAAdJA

Columbia crackdown led by university prof doubling as NYPD spook https://thegrayzone.com/2024/05/02/columbia-crackdown-university-nypd/

I’ve Covered Violent Crackdowns on Protests for 15 Years. This Police Overreaction Was Unhinged. https://theintercept.com/2024/05/01/nyc-gaza-college-protests-police-outside-agitators/

Students in Cuba Stand with U.S. Student Encampments for Gaza https://youtu.be/hCn1jtHSj8E?si=wDX_KUWkhComRJNq 

Bipartisan Bill Would Create ‘Antisemitism Monitors’ at College Campuses
Pro-Palestine protests have been falsely labeled as 'antisemitic' even though many Jewish students are involved https://news.antiwar.com/2024/04/29/bipartisan-bill-would-create-antisemitism-monitors-at-college-campuses/

Israel Orders Evacuation in Rafah, Hours After Raiding Al Jazeera Offices https://truthout.org/articles/israel-orders-evacuation-in-rafah-hours-after-raiding-al-jazeera-offices/

The Press Freedom Clock is TikToking https://www.projectcensored.org/press-freedom-clock-tiktoking/

Israeli Finance Minister Denounced for Calling for 'Total Annihilation' of Gaza https://www.commondreams.org/news/smotrich-gaza-annihilation

The 'Antisemitism' Moral Panic Has Officially Jumped The Shark https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/the-antisemitism-moral-panic-has

The Bizarre Gymnastics Of The Gaza Aid Pier https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/the-bizarre-gymnastics-of-the-gaza

Sermon for Gaza  https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/sermon-for-gaza

Support Palestine. Boycott Israel https://boycott.thewitness.news/

Israel planning ring of checkpoints to prevent men from fleeing Rafah, source says  https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/exclusive-israel-planning-ring-checkpoints-prevent-men-fleeing-rafah

State Dept. Claims it Upholds Laws, but Won't Acknowledge Israel's Nukes, Flouting Law Requiring Funding Cutoff to Proliferators
https://husseini.substack.com/p/state-dept-claims-it-upholds-laws

How Israel Violates International Law in Gaza: Expert Report https://scheerpost.com/2024/05/01/how-israel-violates-international-law-in-gaza-expert-report/

"Vote Biden to save democracy" is not going according to plan, is it? https://www.councilestatemedia.uk/p/what-happened-to-vote-biden-to-save  (Good links to articles on the student protests and Zionist vigilantism.)

Pro-Palestine Protesters Occupy University Hall After Columbia Refuses to Divest https://truthout.org/articles/pro-palestine-protesters-occupy-university-hall-after-columbia-refuses-to-divest/

America is Rising for Gaza: What Should We Expect? https://www.mintpressnews.com/america-gaza-protests-what-should-we-expect/287313/ 

FIND THE PRICE OF YOUR CONGRESSIONAL MEMBER'S SOUL: Website Tracks AIPAC Campaign Cash Pay-Outs  https://mark192.substack.com/p/cartoon-find-the-price-of-your-congressional

CNN Compares Campus Protesters To Nazis In Stunning Propaganda Segment https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/cnn-compares-campus-protesters-to

Remember, All This Fascism Would Feel Way More Fascismy Under Trump  https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/remember-all-this-fascism-would-feel

Thank you for your support following the cancellation of my show on The Real News. https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/thank-you-for-your-support-following

Yemen Braces For Impending Massive US-Led Air and Ground Campaign https://www.mintpressnews.com/exclusive-yemen-braces-for-impending-massive-us-led-air-and-ground-campaign/287342/

Matthew Hoh & NC Green Party WIN in Court https://youtu.be/SB4IMfRw8Pc?si=xA_e8EvF8hKI94sg

The United States is the world’s terrorist. (An exhaustive list of all the military interventions the US has been involved in.)
https://joebrunoli.substack.com/p/its-not-russia-its-not-china-the

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Bullets v. Ballots or...?

Day X is here…

This blog will post just before Julian Assange goes before the court in London for his extradition hearing on February 20-21. To keep up with the latest news on him, please tune in to the Indie News Network for updates: https://www.indiemediatoday.com/

An update on the Ceasefire in Gaza resolution that Toledo City Council has dragged its feet on for the past several months: It has finally passed! It passed “unanimously” (or at least the council members who were actually there all voted for it). This is a huge relief to all the people who have put so much time and energy into seeing it pass. 

It’s probably no coincidence the resolution's passage happened after Biden’s poll numbers took a huge dive because he couldn’t give the correct names of the presidents of Egypt and Mexico. The Democrats on council might have felt now was the time to divert away from their party’s stance on refusing to acknowledge that a genocide in Gaza is actually happening and that a ceasefire is necessary. Rest assured, politicians don’t do things out of the goodness of their hearts without first checking in with local party leaders for their okay to vote yes. But a win is still a win, and it was well-deserved. Power to the People!

Now onto this week's topic. 

 

Bullets v. Ballots or...?

by C.A. Matthews

 

After the third online discussion on pretty much the same topic within a week, you start to notice a pattern: Folks are fed up.

The revolution isn’t happening quickly enough or at all. The same corrupt puppet-politicians are still in power. The workers are being oppressed by capitalist bosses who don’t give a damn about the harm they inflict upon their employees or the earth itself. Endless war is waged to line the pockets of Big Oil and MIC CEOs. Genocide is openly practiced and applauded by sycophantic politicos and celebrities alike. A human life is only worth whatever a billionaire says it is.

Gaza today

Get the picture?

What are we to do about it? There are two major schools of thought on this topic that can be summarized as follows: The revolution will come about through either 1) bullets or 2) ballots.

That’s it. It comes down to fighting our way out of this oppressive, corrupt system by using good ol’ fashioned firepower, that is, guns and ammo, or by using the power of the vote or ballot box.

Tempers have been strained these past four months watching innocent children and civilians being slaughtered in Gaza. Palestinian homes and refugees have been pulverized. Most Americans are heartsick and angry, totally at a lost as to how to stop the killing. If there’s anything positive to come from this horrendous loss of life, it’s that most Westerners don’t see their governments as the “good guys” any longer.

Eyes have been opened. They don’t like what they see. Those brainwashed into thinking they live in a “democracy” now know better. “Freedom and democracy” cannot be created though military strikes and conquests. Military excursions are just that—a use of deadly force to take what another country or people possess. If you want the land itself, you bomb the inhabitants into rubble or push them into someone else’s backyard. (In Gaza’s case, this means Egypt.)

“Freedom and democracy” are imaginary constructs used to manipulate Westerners into cooperating with their imaginary democratically elected governments. The so-called “major parties” in any Western country are about as genuine as a $3 bill. The partisans work for the same bosses everywhere, the billionaires (oligarchs), and not for their lowly constituents.

Sure, on occasion our elected officials might throw us a bone to get us off their backs. This happened this past week when the Toledo City Council finally passed a Ceasefire in Gaza resolution after three months of tortuous protests, intense email and phone call campaigns, and painful public statements made by individuals who have lost family members in the genocide. Not passing the ceasefire resolution could have very well spelled an end to the council members’ political careers at this point. Pro-Palestine protests have exposed politicians for the sociopaths they are, breaking the illusion of “freedom and democracy” and “justice for all” Americans supposedly enjoy.

We the People are “free” to live in the falsehood of a “democracy” that allows 60,000 Americans to die each year due to lack of health care. Westerners are “free” to live in a “democracy” that ethnically cleanses a whole population in order to steal their oil and land resources while allowing white settler colonialism to flourish. Or we are free to rise up and take out the puppet-politicians and the billionaires by use of force.

A lot of folks online think that force or the “bullet” is the only effective solution to bring about revolution. Obviously, the ballot has failed us—just look at the example of Toledo City Council. But I’m not convinced the bullet is anymore effective than the ballot. Consider this: Western governments have bombs and nuclear weapons and large organized military forces called “Armies”. We the ordinary people have nothing close to approximating their firepower, and we never will.

A bunch of angry citizens running around with shotguns and pistols will not be able to take out a professional military force using the latest in weaponry and tactics. Sorry, but it won’t work. We can’t do it because we will not lay aside our differences with our fellow citizens in order to organize and train sufficiently to be able to take on a professional army. Governments have endless bombs to drop on any uprising that occurs. Plus, they have friendly fellow governments to help out when they need it. Just look at how readily the US helps Israel in conducting its genocide against the Palestinians.

Sorry for the cold splash of water in the face, revolutionaries. In the bullet v. the ballot argument, we are not organized enough, and we are not on the same footing weapons-wise as the corrupt government we wish to do away with. But the ballot? It has problems, too. We just have to look at our elected officials and see how they do as their wealthy donors tell them to do. Billionaires rule.

Neither the bullet nor the ballot alone are able to bring about the revolution we seek. Could combining them be effective? Possibly if the government we wish to overthrow doesn’t have a professional military. We’re screwed if it does. Violence is never the answer.

The “major parties” only nominate candidates they’re assured will do the bidding of their billionaire donors. Voting under these circumstances isn’t the answer. It’s time to add another “B” to the bullet/ballot scenario of revolution: Brains.

We the People may be poor and lacking firepower, but we’re not stupid. Our corrupt governments run by puppets of the wealthy assume we’re mentally deficient because we’ve allowed their corrupt politicians to take power. But what the billionaires and their puppets don’t realize is how frustrated ordinary folks have become. They don’t seem to realize that desperate people are not afraid to try new tactics and learn new skills in order to survive and thrive.

Using our brains, we can bring about the revolution we desire.

The BDS Movement (Boycott, Divest, and Sanction) is one example of using brains and not bullets or ballots to make a point. We pressure the real power behind the politicians—the corporations—to stop doing business with people and countries we don’t like and want to see go away. McDonald’s has experienced huge losses because of the boycott of their restaurants worldwide by those who support the Palestinian cause.

We could kill off the military-industrial-Congressional-complex this way if we really worked hard at it. McDonald’s and other corporations stop doing business with Israel and wham! Israel is too broke to keep buying armaments from Western nations. The Israeli government is weakened and overthrown by those who want to end the genocide and bring about a true democracy in that part of the world.

Along with the BDS, the power of the strike could be wielded as a weapon of brains. Workers organized and striking could bring down major corporations and industries that have harmed our planet with their endless wars for oil and their insistence on building nuclear weapons. A nationwide General Strike or, even better, a Global General Strike is the power of the people on steroids. We’re talking millions or billions or human beings striking against corrupt governments everywhere on the globe at once. Yes, there is the risk of bullets—mostly coming from the weakened corporations-governments who want to terrify the workers back into the factories—but possibly if we’re organized enough to run a Global General Strike effectively, we can effectively organize militia units to protect our fellow workers on the picket lines.

Brains and ballots can be used effectively together when we organize ourselves to support candidates and issues that take out the corrupt government. One recent example in the US is the “Abandon Biden” movement. Arab Americans are not going to reward Genocide Joe Biden with their votes, and they’re not making any promises that they ever will support his party ever again. This organized method of creating a massive voting bloc can wake up the powers-that-be and prove to them that we’re not stupid. We’re not cooperating with their evil intentions, and we’re not afraid to deny them power.

If a General Strike and the BDS tactics are added to this massive voting bloc to take out the “major parties” in the US, then We the People could become stronger than any army in history. But we will need to be united on whom we will support in order to prevent Biden or his evil twin Trump from taking power again. My suggestion is to support a strong alternative party candidate who will have wide ballot access and is clearly on the people’s side. And there is one such individual who is currently rising in the polls that fits this definition: Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. (The Green Party US does not accept money from corporations or PACs.)

I know there are those who will still moan that the ballot box is ineffective—especially in the US where rigged voting machines are not unheard of—but give me a chance to explain this tactic further. By voting in large numbers for Jill Stein, Americans will be making a very strong message that we’ve caught onto the major parties’ crooked methods. We’re not playing along with them and their billionaire donors any longer. Throw in a General Strike or a series of wildcat strikes, BDS tactics, teach-ins, sit-ins, protests and other outpourings of anti-oligarchy sentiment, and we will have seriously messed with the minds of the powers-that-be. The use of our collective brain power will cause confusion and panic in the ranks of the elites and their puppet-politicians.

Mistakes will be made by our oppressors that We the People can take advantage of to our ultimate benefit. If the government resorts to rigging the election, we can up our strikes, protests and other tactics to expose their treachery. That's what independent media and journalism is for, helping the people tell their side of things. 

If the government resorts to violence, then we can return the same with a clear conscience that we didn’t instigate it. We are only protecting ourselves from tyranny. We are true patriots, and they are despots. Who would blame us for standing up to evil?

What have we got to lose by exposing the corrupt puppets and their billionaire donors in such a fashion? Propaganda is meant to keep the people in line. When we’re in control of making the headlines through indie media, then the propaganda narrative of Western governments will cease to exist and so will they. We will become the story.

Bullets v. Ballots doesn’t quite give us the credit we’re due. We the People have brains, too. If we organize and use them wisely, the future is ours.

Related Articles and Other Interesting Links

Egypt Builds Walled Enclosure on Border as Israeli Offensive Looms https://archive.is/yswSj#selection-2175.0-2175.66

Ignore What Western Officials Say About Israel; Watch Their Actions Instead https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/ignore-what-western-officials-say

Washington’s End Game for Ukraine is a New “Charlie Wilson’s War” https://joebrunoli.substack.com/p/washingtons-end-game-for-ukraine

John Pilger's 2002 documentary Palestine Is Still the Issue
https://youtu.be/P3kfb6SzTYE?si=vA6Q0gZTP7XL4mhf


Continuing To Support Israel At This Point Just Means You're A Garbage Human Being https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/continuing-to-support-israel-at-this

US Gives Israel Green Light to Kill Civilians in Rafah
https://scheerpost.com/2024/02/14/us-gives-israel-green-light-to-kill-civilians-in-rafah/


Frustrated by Netanyahu, Biden Is Under Pressure to Condemn Israeli Atrocities https://truthout.org/articles/frustrated-by-netanyahu-biden-is-under-pressure-to-condemn-israeli-atrocities/

South Africa lodges Urgent Complaint with Int’l Court of Justice over Israel’s Plan to Assault Rafah https://www.juancole.com/2024/02/complaint-justice-israels.html

Australian federal MPs, including PM Albanese, back vote calling on UK, US to free Julian Assange  https://www.firstpost.com/world/australian-federal-mps-including-pm-albanese-back-vote-calling-on-uk-us-to-free-julian-assange-13727162.html

Dunning Kruger America https://julianmacfarlane.substack.com/p/dunning-kruger-america

Israel accidentally lied about data centre below UNRWA HQ https://normalislandnews.substack.com/p/israel-accidentally-lied-about-data


We Think This Dystopia Is Normal Like People In Abusive Relationships Think It's Normal https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/we-think-this-dystopia-is-normal

Crocodile Tears Over Navalny While Ignoring Assange https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/crocodile-tears-over-navalny-while

100 days and 75 years of Genocide  https://www.facebook.com/17841401579080873/videos/1614754079330246/?mibextid=0VwfS7

 ICJ Hearings to Examine 57 Years of Israeli Occupation of Palestine https://www.commondreams.org/news/israeli-occupation

We Can’t Watch Genocide and Do Nothing. Now Is the Time for Renewed BDS. https://truthout.org/articles/we-cant-watch-genocide-and-do-nothing-now-is-the-time-for-renewed-bds/


State Department Threatens Congress Over Censorship Programs https://www.racket.news/p/state-department-threatens-congress

How the US government began its decade-long campaign against the anti-pipeline movement https://grist.org/protest/keystone-pipeline-fbi-government-documents/

 Why you need to stop criticising Putin’s “Special Military Operation”https://joebrunoli.substack.com/p/why-you-need-to-stop-criticising

 75% of all journalists killed across the world in 2023 were killed in Israeli war on Gaza, says CPJ https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/02/16/75-of-all-journalists-killed-across-the-world-in-2023-were-killed-in-israeli-war-on-gaza-says-cpj/

Julian Assange’s Final Appeal https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/assanges-final-appeal  

For Biden, ending Israel’s mass murder in Gaza is a ‘non-starter’ https://www.aaronmate.net/p/for-biden-ending-israels-mass-murder

200+ Unions Launch Network to Push for Gaza Cease-Fire https://www.commondreams.org/news/labor-unions-cease-fire

Local Papers Across the US Are Refusing to Cover the Movement for Ceasefire https://truthout.org/articles/local-papers-across-the-us-are-refusing-to-cover-the-movement-for-ceasefire/

You Only Need To Cage A Bird If It Knows That It Can Fly https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/you-only-need-to-cage-a-bird-if-it

 

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