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posted by Kimberly:
Citizens’ Arrest of Senator Patty Murray of Washington State
[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=5925383020874564169]
Oh, my. We have to pass around this video. It shows citizens trying to do a “citizens’ arrest” of a Democratic Senator who voted for war.
There are two golden moments revealing how the patriarchy operates. Just glowing, model moments, captured on tape.
Golden moment 1: when a citizen speaker goes on forcefully and articulately at the mic, Senator Patty Murray sits there glibbly. Then, the older, white man sitting next to the Senator just does a subtle eye thing to security… and another man in a blue shirt starts to casually remove the person from the room. The Senator does not have to make a move. Her servants can take care of the matter seamlessly.
Oh, my. That glance just reveals the absolute lack of freedom in the Empire. It reveals them. We are constantly surrounded. They do not have to create a scene. At any moment, they will give a certain, subtle cue to the security guards waiting in the wings, and we will be taken away.
Golden moment 2: In the hallway, a nice, young lady, with pretty, curly hair, is sweetly explaining to the peace people that the Senator is with them. This young woman is the one the patriarchy pays to be a model of empathy and an image like us, who we can relate to. She is dressed down like the common people. She is using the kindest words. But, her words have no political meaning. And, she has no power. She is just the overpaid tool of the patriarchy.
The young aid kind of reminded me of the Counselor in the Star Trek series. Someone who is from a different planet than the actual politicians, whose only role is to understand and reflect the emotions of the citizenry and interpret things in the language the citizens will understand. Only in this case, the Counselor is trained to speak in a way in which the citizens will be appeased.
Study this aid’s words, her actions, her dress-more casual than the others, humbly revealing some skin on top. Then, think about why she is there. She is something like Kucinich. When the suited-up, glossy, warmongering leaders have to address real people, they will need ambassadors. Two-faced ambassadors from the warlords, slithering out into the hallway to meet with the real people, one affinity group at a time. The politican, through her aid, only needs to pose one way at a time, to one group at a time, in the way that will appease them the most at that moment.
(Similar to the role that Kucinich and the other semi-pro-peace, Democrats-who-are-sent-to-the-primaries-to-lose play.)
Also, please consider the cost of war. The Senator was at a meeting to talk to constituents. There were only a handful of people in the room–not many people who were being served by the informational meeting on a different subject. But, the Senator had to pay to have the following “protect her” from the truth and “protect her” from her peace constituents: The man who knows how to give “the look” to security; The man in the blue shirt who escorts people from the room; the aid; the aid that walks with the aid, so she does not have to be alone; the uniformed policewoman person who waited to the end to politely and manipulively ask the demonstrators for their identification. Wonder how much that circus cost a minute? And, think about it, all that support staff was there whether the demonstrators were or not. No wonder the War in Iraq costs billions of dollars.
For more reflections on Kucinich and other pro-war Democrats and their strategies, please see the poem “A Place Called Hope.” I might have to add another stanza now!
Filed under: Anti-War, campaign finance reform, democrat, democratic primary, grassroots democracy, international politics, kucinich, media, original music, Peace, personal, Political Websites, progressive politics, reform, US Politics, war Tagged: | a place called hope, Bill Clinton, democrat, democratic primary, Island Songwriters Showcase, kucinich, Uncategorized, Working Families Party
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