What’s missing from these protests and the coverage thereof is any awareness or recognition that despite their superficially radical rhetoric and symbolism, they are fully supported by the government, corporate, cultural, media, and technocratic power centers of US society
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It’s easy to lose sight of how entrenched and non-negotiable “woke culture” is in certain parts of society, because the idea of “wokeness” can almost become a punchline depending on who you follow online. But to say it’s the dominant elite cultural force is a vast understatement
As some are pointing out and asking, if the cause of BLM/ Antifa protest is an end to systemic racism, but even the Queen of England and Boris Johnson have got your back, then where exactly is ‘the system’ ?
To be fair, the WSWS have been asking questions about both Antifa and BLM. As for the Queen and Boris, they will go along with whatever their advisers tell them. And yes, it’s all about maintaining a “woke” or what we used to call a “right on” appearance. Go with whatever the latest public opinion seems to be. Of course, public opinion – or, to be more precise, how public opinion appears – is itself a battlefield. I daresay much of it is manufactured. But even then, in order to be effective, it has to reflect actual public sentiment in some way. You can see the entire rise of labour representation within government in this way.
No doubt racism plays a role in incidents of police violence. While the greatest number of police killings is of whites, African Americans and Hispanics are disproportionately targeted for harassment, abuse, arrest and incarceration. The Trump administration has deliberately cultivated the most backward and reactionary layers, including among police officers. Trump has proclaimed that he likes watching footage of “rough” treatment of “thugs,” and has urged police not to be “too nice.”
The source of police violence, however, is not racial antagonism, but class oppression. The unifying characteristic among victims of police violence —black, white, Hispanic or Native American — is that they are poor and among the most vulnerable segments of the population
Daniel Shaver was black, but this stomach turning video of the last few minutes of his life offers a glimpse of what all opponents of capitalist rule – white, black, brown, yellow or purple – will be up against “come the revolution”.
Seen on Twitter:
You might be through with identity politics, but identity politics isn’t through with you.
What’s missing from these protests and the coverage thereof is any awareness or recognition that despite their superficially radical rhetoric and symbolism, they are fully supported by the government, corporate, cultural, media, and technocratic power centers of US society
…
It’s easy to lose sight of how entrenched and non-negotiable “woke culture” is in certain parts of society, because the idea of “wokeness” can almost become a punchline depending on who you follow online. But to say it’s the dominant elite cultural force is a vast understatement
As some are pointing out and asking, if the cause of BLM/ Antifa protest is an end to systemic racism, but even the Queen of England and Boris Johnson have got your back, then where exactly is ‘the system’ ?
(Those quotes from Michael Tracy on twitter by the way)
To be fair, the WSWS have been asking questions about both Antifa and BLM. As for the Queen and Boris, they will go along with whatever their advisers tell them. And yes, it’s all about maintaining a “woke” or what we used to call a “right on” appearance. Go with whatever the latest public opinion seems to be. Of course, public opinion – or, to be more precise, how public opinion appears – is itself a battlefield. I daresay much of it is manufactured. But even then, in order to be effective, it has to reflect actual public sentiment in some way. You can see the entire rise of labour representation within government in this way.
I think this from WSWS calls it right:
Daniel Shaver was black, but this stomach turning video of the last few minutes of his life offers a glimpse of what all opponents of capitalist rule – white, black, brown, yellow or purple – will be up against “come the revolution”.
https://youtu.be/VBUUx0jUKxc