Liberation

[pms]

At 11:06 AM 1/25/99 -0500, you wrote:
>Laflame,
>
>You may disagree, but I kind of thought that what you say and what I said
are not in conflict. I kind of thought Judith Butler was discussing a
contradiction in "subjection".  It is reflected in the fact that cops are
repressors, yet there is a lot of crime and people want police protection.
When cops help victims of crimes they are real heroes to those victims. The
hero role is exaggerated and romanticized  by television. Cops other side
is not exposed on television. 
>
>Or do I get what you are saying ?
>
>What Chomsky quote ?
>
>Charles
>
>
>>>> pms <laflame at mindspring.com> 01/24 8:49 PM >>>
>>Television, which I call Big Brother that we watch instead of BB watching
>us, is a main site of subjection. Think of how many cop shows there are,
>where they make cops such lovable people ?  Ain't that Judy ? Cops, the
>very teeth of the repressive apparatus of the state, the Force in the
>Power, are like our best friends and selves in the American mind control
>machine.
>>
>>
>
>That quote from Choamsky doing Orwell has made me brave, so here is the
>first of many things I'm going to address which will earn me smirks and
>condemnations, but, fuck it.
>
>This statement about cops makes me very uncomfortable.  Because it doesn't
>take into account that my friends in East Atlanta hate it that the police
>don't come for a simple car theft or something.  And I like that the cops
>pass down our East Point streets frequently, and a lot of them are pretty
>nice.  And underpaid.
>
>But what really makes me uncomfortable about such talk is the way it
>seperates us, from real actual living people.
>
>Armed revolution against a state that spends godzillions of dollars on
>weapons is not an option.  And everybody's always saying, we gotta start a
>movement.  Well, you ain't gonna get no movement if you ain't got no one
>listening to you.  And this sort of blanket condemnation of the police is
>not gonna go over with most people.  Even people who want high minimum
>wages and universal healthcare and 90% tax rates on the wealthy.
>
>On the other hand, I know that police brutality needs to be in the
>spotlight.  I agree that Big Brother TV is a wicked instrument of
>propaganda.  Shit. I keep forgetting to read up on the history of the
>Fairness Doctrine.
> 
>It's sucks that a bunch of Democrats could call the president a liar,
>saying Soc. Sec. didn't need to be saved, and it was barely news.
>
>Coming Soon-why I think small business owners deserve to make money.
>
>pms
>
>

Whoops.  Sorry Charles, I didn't know you were referring to the Butler
discourse.  

I was talking about the Choamsky/Orwell quote about the left being removed
from reality, mainly cause the reality is that people hate not having good
police protection.(sorry, can't find the quote)

Of course I agree with you on the tv cop thing, though that's never worried
me as much as news.  Here in Atlanta, if I read about a crime and there's
not a picture, I assume it's a white person.  Amazing how often this turns
out to be true.

I also meant to drone on about my particular East Point cop experience.
When I moved here and the good ole
last-white-person-to-leave-EP-shut-off-the-light-crowd was in charge, I had
a very different view of the police, just by the way I heard them talk to
the kids in the neighborhood.  You know, they're riding their bikes in the
street, and the cops would just be nasty to them.  Now, after 4 years with
a black, fairly progressive mayor, things seem to have changed.

Now my biggest problem is getting my yard waste picked up.  Our maintenence
staff is grossly underpaid, I think in part cause, the black/white city
officials all want their friends to have jobs,( like we don't need a
director of PR), so we have twice as many useless people as we would have
if it wasn't for the great racial divide. In the meantime, the people who
actually work are getting shafted and it looks like I'm going to have to
get involved again. HO-hum.

pms, enjoying the up-side of global warming. End of January and it's 70
outside.

PS- thanks for the groove site Paul.