Friday, October 14, 2011

definition of rhetoric


The powerful short film, "I Am Not Moving," juxtaposes Occupy scenes with footage of the Arab Spring alongside a righteous-sounding Hillary Clinton and Obama on the people's rights of expression and assembly.

I had no idea of the violence being used against the people demanding economic change in the US. I should, of course, have expected it as a Canadian whose own neo-conservative government brought out security forces en masse to stop, harrass, bully and beat Canadians from protesting the G 20 meetings in Toronto.

It seems the people angry at the profits of the economic warlords share concerns about the destructive paths of economic globalization as it touches down in our countries, our cities, our neighbourhoods, our lives. 

It also seems that governments, elites, and corporations wherever they are in the world share a 'superstatehood' existence, one that exists above the laws of democracy, human rights, and justice, one of security whose primary goal is protection of the powerful economic winners through the violent suppression of any peoples, anywhere, who are voicing their demands for economic change. 

The video above (7 m) shows some of the 'security' tactics taken up by US police forces to stop citizens from expressing their anger over economic injustices. Just who are they protecting these security forces? Corporations? The clip makes clear the hypocrisy of US politicians, the way that they use rhetoric, rhetoric that sounds like change but rhetoric that actually has more in common with clubs, teargas, water jets, and force than with language that  actually actualizes political and policy change.
One thing that is missing from the above video, however, is a bit of humour. Now, I know that humour is in the streets, too, as it is a survival strategy of people everywhere to get through anything. Below is a clip that I think should be added to the above: students at a university in Turkey throwing eggs at an IMF speaker who had come to give them a keynote, I mean, more empty rhetoric: 


5 comments:

Merche Pallarés said...

Excellent videos. And, yes, politicians and financiers are full of bull...., i.e. "rhetoric" as you say. Hugs, M.

julia said...

yes, hypocrisy

Spilling Ink said...

Until recently I thought I was alone in thinking that there was some sort of conspiracy to keep the oridinary people down but that was probably because I was hiding in fear or retribution.

I mean really, what did happen to free speech?

Merche Pallarés said...

I see you're digitically divorced once again... Sad. Hugs, M.

northshorewoman said...

thx you all for your comments. I will check out the site, Tim.

I am concerned with the "establishments" push to get the occupy folks out of public spaces. What happened to democracy? It seems to be hi-jacked by security measures.