Angry Taxpayers

[H2O Man]

“ ….there is nothing more dangerous in this world than an angry taxpayer when it finally dawns on them that they have been HAD.”
Rubin “Hurricane” Carter; letter to H2O Man; March 7, 1979.



I was watching the news tonight, and something about the tone coming out of Wisconsin reminded me of that line, from a letter my friend sent me almost 32 years ago, from solitary confinement. I thought that I'd share them with friends on the Democratic Underground.

For several of the years of the Bush-Cheney administration, progressives and liberals were locked in a different isolated state in America. The message of the democratic left was marginalized by the media. Our voices were not heard on network or cable television. Very few elected representatives in Washington, DC, dared stand up to the whores of Babylon, who were doing the bidding of the beast in the Middle Eastern nation of Iraq.

We were able to tap out messages to like-minded people in their homes and offices and cells in other parts of the country, using the Democratic Underground. Yet, even here, we were frequently visited by shadows, who ridiculed our beliefs and values, while attempting to convince us that we were an insignificant, fringe minority.

They lied.

The fact is, we have been lied to for many years. Decades of deceit. And all of our lives, we have watched the television, listened to the radio, and read newspapers and magazines filled with that filth. Accusing us of being “unpatriotic,” because we knew Al Gore won the 2000 presidential election, realized that Iraq posed absolutely no threat to the United States, and recognized that thugs like Bush and Cheney et al were the real enemies of our nation.

But things are changing. The working class was outraged when Wall Street was rewarded for criminal acts, and their family, friends, and neighbors suffer for no offense except trying to make an honest dollar for an honest day's work. They are unwilling to pretend that a hurricane didn't destroy a large section of the Gulf Coast, that an oil “spill” didn't poison an ocean, and that the vast majority of politicians in DC aren't contaminated by corruption.

They are tired of being lied to.

I was talking to a friend. He lost most of his retirement a few years back. Then he worked for change he could believe in. But, he told me, things aren't getting better for him, or for his grown children.

“It's not the same country we grew up in,” I said to him.

“Yeah. It used to be that when I got fucked, I could participate,” he replied. “But not any more.”

It's not just you and I that are fed up these days. It's people like my friend, who worked his entire adult life, only to realize that he's been had.

[steve2470]

1. kick and rec ! nt

[H2O Man]

7. Thank you.

[stevedeshazer]

2. +1

[H2O Man]

8. Thanks!

[Me.]

3. Whai Do You Think?

Make Wall Street Pay

http://www.buzzflash.net/story.php?id=1319757

I'd print an excerpt but can't get it to print properly

[H2O Man]

10. I like comment #3:

"The sleeping giant is awake."

What is most important, in my opinion, about the Wisconsin protests are that they are changing the way people think. Malcolm X taught that you must first change the way people think, if you hope to change the way they behave.

People across the country are looking at Wisconsin, and connecting it to their own frustrations. And that's a good thing.

[Me.]

17. I Also Like

That we're not seeing the jack boot of the law in this.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x558591

[OhioChick]

4. K&R n/t

[H2O Man]

11. Thanks!

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. Waterman I am detecting an almost revolutionary

tone in Wisconsin.

I realize it scares a few folks here, but that is what I am detecting.

For our sake, I hope this follows the main of US History and it stays mostly peaceful... But that is the tone.

Of course the revolution will not be televised, but will be on twitter.

[H2O Man]

12. I agree.

That level of thought is coming towards the surface. And that scares some people, including some of our friends here. They have had thoughts of freedom and true democracy pushed down, to the lowest level of their consciousness; they instead function in an unconscious state. They are not yet awake.

Peaceful revolution is nothing to be afraid of. A revolution of ideas can involve difficulties, but we will be okay. And a revolution of values -- what Dr. King advocated -- is the ultimate goal.

[MedleyMisty]

22. I totally agree

What scares me is that it won't be peaceful on their side, that they'll react like Gaddafi.

Which is why it gives me so much hope to see how the Wisconsin police are reacting. Of course, some of Gaddafi's security forces defected. And he brought in mercenaries.

Blackwater is headquartered right here in my state.

It's not the idea of change that scares me. I'm all for it and am doing everything that I can in my small corner of the internet to further it.

It's the idea of how those who don't want change will react that scares me.

[H2O Man]

32. Yeah.

It is certain that, in the face of a large, nonviolent movement, the dark forces in society will resort to some level of violence. Thus, if they react like Gaddafi, we must respond like Gandhi.

I've told the (true) story about going to a march, years ago, where things were pretty tense. On the ride there, our Clan Mother -- usually the calmest person I've ever met -- was anxious about the potential for violence. And, indeed, we were confronted by thugs.

One of them hit me with a board. Luckily, he hit me on the head, and it broke the board! I joke about it now, but it was not pleasant at the time. I am convinced that the more unpleasant things become, the more we need to bring forth that spirit of Gandhi. Now, that can be hard: my natural reaction, when attacked, is to fight back. But "fight or flight" isn't the best option. Gandhi Power is.

[Raksha]

41. I totally disagree with you!

Re "Thus, if they react like Gaddafi, we must respond like Gandhi."

If they react like Gaddafi, it's IMPOSSIBLE to respond like Gandhi unless you want to get massacred and have your revolution fail. Are the Libyan revolutionaries responding like Gandhi? They are fighting A WAR, a war of liberation, which is the only thing they can do at this point.

Non-violent resistance presupposes some minimal level of restraint on the part of the enemy. Gaddafi has no restraint. He didn't start his attempts at crowd control with tear gas and rubber bullets like Mubarak. He started with live ammunition and escalated from there. Murdering 200 soldiers at a time and setting them on fire because they refused to kill their own people. Shooting anti-aircraft weapons at unarmed civilians. Burying prisoners alive without food or water. Kidnapping the wounded from hospitals and killing them. Shooting at the mourners at funerals. And at the very same time, making long-winded speeches on TV and lying his ass off, trying to convince the international community that everything was JUST FINE in Tripoli and the people loved him!

When you're dealing with that kind of a psychopath in the cornered-rat phase, nonviolent resistance has reached the limits of its effectiveness. From there you have to switch to another kind of resistance. Thank God we aren't anywhere near that point in the U.S. But it's a whole other story in Libya.

[H2O Man]

44. I remember that

Ho Chi Minh said that if Gandhi had been facing France in India, rather than England, he would have died an unknown attorney.

I think that in the United States, our opposition's violence will be distinct from Gaddafi's. I was not speaking literally. Rather, figuratively. Hence, the example I used, of being smacked over the head with a board -- unpleasant, for sure, but better than having a large bomb dropped upon me.

I am convinced that a real struggle for non-violent change with the goal of a just society will include people being confronted with violence. I think some will go to the ER, others to jail, and some to the cemetery. In order to reduce the suffering, and move towards social justice, I view Gandian tactics as essential. But I appreciate the fact that others are not where I am at. Hence, my willingness to walk the walk, so to speak, rather than asking others of different opinions to do what I think is correct. I can only speak for myself, though I can act for others.

[Grinchie]

43. Gandhi was Right!

I with you when it comes to non violence. While any desperate animal can and will react like Gaddafi, we must find methods that help take us out of harms way in order to be more effective.

For those that lament the possibility of getting slaughtered by mad dogs, they are just showing their fear about the possibility of losing grip on the sham that has been perpretrated upon the American people for the last 40 years. To rebuild a society based on ethics, after it has fallen into corruption requires so much hard work that most people cannot comprehend it. Hard work for many is a four letter word, after they have spent the last 20 years maxxing out the credit card.

The reality of non violence is that sheer numbers will overwhelm any mad dog. The mad dog depends on fear to control the sheep, and when that doesn't work, they remove the less fearful through force or rule of law. To incarcerate or control a few is tenable, but when the majority become part of the less fearful, it begins to cost a large amount of resources to remove the bodies, incarcerate the undesirables, or heal the injured. Eventually, it just becomes too costly to try and maintain the status quo, and that's when real change happens.

There are so many ways that the average American can weaken the grip of our Corporate fascists without even stepping outside of their door. One of them is so easy, it can be done almost overnight, and that is to stop consuming for a week. Stop working for a week. Stop commuting for a week. Just starve the corporate consumption machine for a week and hit them where it hurts.

The trouble is that most Americans equate wealth with a steady job, whether it is enjhoyable or rewarding or not. This silly symbol we call money is the driving force in everyones lives, yet it is created out of thin air by the Federal Reserve, and then allocated as they see fit. It's only a symbol used to facilitate trade. It does not produce the food - Only the desire for money may produce the food - Unsustainably at that.

Unfortunately, with nearly 85% of the world population now living in urbanized areas, these people are in for a shock when the supply lines for all of the inputs required to actually live in an urban area get cut, like food, water, electricity, which are all imported in from the outside, things will get ugly.

Just imagine a city like San Francisco or Los Angeles without running water for a week. All of a sudden 20 million toilets are useless, not to mention the fact that there would be no water to drink or bathe in.. That single scenario alone should strike fear into people that are not prepared.

Electricity is another example.. No refrigeration, no traffic signals, no lights, no TV, no Internet, no cash registers.

The powers that be know how fragile the system is, yet they ignore it in the hopes that we all pull together with sacrifices in order to keep the status quo.. Yet, they ignore that the Earth is at a critical stage of population overshoot and ecological collapse.. The possibility of a jack booted Police state is mild compared to a megopolis running out of water or electricity, because the jack booted police need to eat and drink just like the rest of us, and their own private stash won't last forever.

[myrna minx]

6. I'm right there with you, K&R for yet another wonderful essay. n/t

[H2O Man]

13. Thank you.

Mighty glad that you and I are on the same team.

[malaise]

9. Great post Waterman

Rec

[H2O Man]

14. Thank you.

[Octafish]

15. We the People have ALL been had.

Thank you and Mr. Carter for putting it into words, H20 Man. This is THE story.

[H2O Man]

16. Right.

And it's worth reminding ourselves that, although we have been lied to, had, and hoodwinked, the values we hold are the right ones. It's just that those who seek to exploit us on a never-ending basis do not share those values.

[MichiganVote]

18. K&R

[shraby]

19. Excellent as usual! You are always worth reading and seems

you are always right. The pendulum swings when there is a drastic overreach that exposes the "hidden agenda" and the majority of people find they disagree with that agenda.

[BobbyBoring]

20. Rubin knows the system better than most!

Here's a man that really paid the price for standing up. Now that we're all paying a price for not standing up, it's TIME.

I want Justice for these fucks as much or more than I want our money back.

If we don't revolt, they won't stop until we're toast~

[dotymed]

25. You're right Bobby.

We can't be half-assed about THE REVOLUTION. If we take a few crumbs and say "thank you", we are "toast." We have to demand our rights and our fair share. Yes, that is right, we deserve re-compensation.
It would do my old soul good to see the shoe on the other foot. WE CAN DO IT!

[Desertrose]

21. K & R Thanks, H20Man

We've been used and abused (so to speak).

I'm so tired of lies.

[TBF]

23. That's for sure. K&R nt

[democrank]

24. Bless you, H20 Man

We can fight the lies by sticking to our principles. The "radical fringe" name calling around here means nothing. Why? Because Progressives know we`re doing the right thing by standing with those that need us the most. The rest can throw their weight behind the poor, underserved corporations and their poodle politicians.

[H2O Man]

38. Thank you.

Well said.

[jdadd]

26. Something tells me .....

The moneyed interests in this country,have jerked the tiger's tail,once too often.

[glowing]

27. Which is why the teaparty worked against us...

People were pissed, but realized that medicare was the govt and they didn't want to be associated with racists... They wanted their anger heard and felt and they thought Obama was their answer to their anger... He threw them all under the bus.. Contracts for the wealthy wallstreet bankers have to be honered at millions of dollars, but teachers and fireman need to be broken? $250,000.00 is nothing to live on, cops making $90,000.00 including their benefits are living high on the hog and need to give more (like their actual lives in the line of duty weren't enough).

John Stewart did an excellent show with the same mouth pieces glorifying the criminals, and villifying real, honest, decent workers in America. I hope the sleeping giant remains awoke. I hope that as we continue to push for what we want and elect people that will work for us. Its not easy... but gas and food prices may keep the pressure cooker right at steamy.

[Jackpine Radical]

28. Wisconsin is more of a test than most people even faintly imagine.

Corporate money is pouring in; there is a media blackout; Fox is putting out straightforward lies. They are bussing teabaggers around the state to put on canned pro-Walker "demonstrations" in the outlying regions, only to have their little roadshows met by overwhelming numbers of red-clad counter-demonstrators.

None of the usual perception-control stuff is working here, as the polls are showing. The protestors are playing it very smart; no violence, lots of humor (e.g. the inflatable palm trees at the Capitol), taking full advantage of the online social media.

The question remains--Can the well-heeled corporate forces overwhelm a popular (and populist) uprising? In many ways, it's reminiscent of guerilla warfare in which a large, agile group of poorly-funded but highly creative people are taking on a seemingly overwhelmingly well-financed conventional force.

Who's gonna win, the dinosaurs or the mammals?

[H2O Man]

31. Well said.

The fact that the power of the protesters is decenteralized, to a large extent, adds to that guerilla dynamic. The corporate interests are not able to attack a single individual/small group. To attack the union workers, they have to attack someone in most families in most neighborhoods. And that, much like guerilla warfare, makes them unpopular.

[Jackpine Radical]

35. If you happen to have read "The Starship and the Spider,"

we are the Apache.

There really is no central organization; there are, at most, information nodes, and there are a million of them.

A couple of nights ago in Eau Claire, three guys decided they wanted to explore putting together a progressive messaging system of some kind (alt. newspaper, whatever) & put out the word of a meeting on very short notice via email. About 30 people, including my recently-defeated state Assemblywoman, showed up.

[bertman]

29. I hope all of these pissed-off taxpayers shut off their TeeVees and hit the streets

before they fall asleep again.

I mean, who could worry about those commies in Wisconsin when Charlie Sheen is trying to kidnap his own children?!



Kicked.

[hay rick]

30. Charlie Sheen? Wisconsin?

Charlie Sheen? Wisconsin? Charlie Sheen? Wisconsin? Charlie Sheen? Wisconsin? Charlie Sheen? Wisconsin? Charlie Sheen? Wisconsin? Charlie Sheen? Wisconsin? Charlie Sheen? Wisconsin? Charlie Sheen? Wisconsin?

Charlie Sheen.

[wovenpaint]

39. Not a coincidence, IMHO

The other day, that's all anyone wanted to discuss with me. I told them that this story was just a big smokescreen for the events in Wisconsin.
The reply was unanimous...."What events in Wisconsin". :grr: :banghead:


Thanks, H2Oman for another thoughtful essay. It's going to be an interesting year, I think.

[vicarofrevelwood]

33. I'm overjoied they have,

awakened the sleeping dragon and filled him with a terrible resolve.

[Overseas]

34. recommended. //nt

[spanone]

36. k&r.... Error: you can only recommend threads which were started in the past 24 hours

[lonestarnot]

37. Yes, but I'm doing it anyway! K & R

[Raksha]

42. I got the same error message a few minutes ago. :-)

[skepticscott]

40. Apparently not outraged or tired of being lied to enough

to keep that same Republican party from sweeping back into power in the House and in Governor's offices and state legislatures all over the country. People in this country have a very short memory and attention span, and are more focused on who advanced in American Idol than on who is governing them.

[H2O Man]

45. That is accurate

in some cases. I don't think it fits what is happening in Wisconsin. Nor would I think it describes most of the members of this community.

[skepticscott]

46. Well, I wonder how many of the people

protesting in Wisconsin showed this same amount of passion and energy in supporting Democratic candidates last November. Or how many stayed home or even voted Republican? I'm guessing the answer is not all to the first question or zero to the second.

As far as DU goes, I've seen any number of members swear up and down that they would not give money to or work for Obama's campaign in 2012, after having done so in 2008 (and presumably feel the same about Democratic candidates in general). That was insane even when not considered in light of the events of the last few month, and even more so when it is.

[pscot]

47. Which Democratic candidates I choose to work for

will depend on the available alternatives.

[skepticscott]

48. And not on the consequences

of seeing a Republican elected instead of the Democrat that you withhold support from? That's the kind of thinking that got us into a lot of messes in the first place, starting with the election of Bush II in 2000.

[VoteProgressive]

49. +1