This is one of the most effective pieces of political advocacy I’ve ever
seen. Ben Cohen, the Ben of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream, narrates a short
Flash movie for TrueMajority.org, in which he explains – using Oreo cookies
– the way that the federal budget is currently apportioned, and how
little rearrangement would be necessary to renew all of America’s social
programs. The examples are vivid and charming, and the logic is
compelling.
The only thing I’d change is adding a fast-forward, pause and rewind
button. I wanted to refer back to specific sections of the movie, and
the “play all the way through” interface really frustrated me (just
taking this screenshot was really hard).
“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge’ “
Isaac Asimov, “A Cult of Ignorance” January 21, 1980
This past year we all watched the media portray a white land owner well within his right, to shoot & kill a young Aboriginal youth, for reasons the white landowner was protecting his land from a trespasser.
It’s ironic, that today the media plays out another portrayal; Aboriginal land owners, protecting ancestral, traditional land being forcibly removed by heavily armed military and tactical units. The same whites who thought it was ok that the white farmer was well within his right to kill for his land, want the government to forcibly remove, and even kill Aboriginals for protecting their land.
On January 7th, 2019 a team of tactical RCMP were deployed in Wet’suwet’en territory, where they forcibly removed Gitdum’ten people and supporters from their land in order to facilitate the construction of the TransCanada Coastal Gaslink Pipeline.
Last year when the RCMP was called out, they had permission for “lethal overwatch” (SNIPERS!).
Now they are back. This time they don’t want the eyes of the world on the RCMP. So they have a twenty km “exclusion zone” keeping reporters and citizens out.
“These decisions should not ever be tied to a corporate construction schedule, such as Coastal Gas Link.
“There needs to be time and space set aside for a very thorough adjudication of the Common Law and the Wet’suwet’en Law and all aspects and dimensions of this very complicated issue.
“We have to just stop relying on these low level Interlocutory Injunctions and sending in the RCMP as if somehow they represent the corporate 7th Cavalry. It’s just absolutely reckless and irresponsible, and may cause serious injury or loss of life.”
—Grand Chief Stewart Phillip Union of BC Indian Chiefs Press Conference
Settlers like me might not get the “7th Cavalry” reference. Those were the people responsible for Custer’s Last Stand.
