Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Land of the Unfree

A little essay I've been writing for a while, more to come later on...
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"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

Our first amendment states that we Americans have freedom of speech among others, but looking at our history, we do not have as much freedom as we may think. From Slavery to McCarthyism to the Civil Rights Movement, people have been denied the rights drawn out in the constitution.

Ironically, many of the founding fathers in America owned slaves. Taken from their homes, they were denied the freedom of religion and forced to become Christians. They weren't allowed to learn how to read or write and therefore couldn't possibly have any freedom of press. To top it off, they couldn't say what they wanted because they were not given the right to speak freely. For many years, a whole people were persecuted and all of this was allowed by the government.

After the south was forced to release their slaves via the military tactic referred to as the Emancipation Proclamation, the blacks were still denied the rights described in the constitution. Even when black men were officially allowed to vote, bigots created laws such as the Grandfather Clause which made voting impossible for the freedman. When the blacks gained the right to vote, their lives were threatened by the KKK or other like-minded bigots. As all of this went on, the government stood idle while the white man made a mockery of the First Amendment.

Workers became fed up with the low pay and long hours during the early part of the 20th century. However, their cry for help from the government wasn't answered with open arms, but death. In 1914, National Guardsmen opened fire on a group of protesting coal miners known as the Ludlow Massacre, the miners returned fire. The strikers set up tents privately owned by their union. When the union organizer attempted to make a truce with the National Guard, he was beat with the butt of a gun and then shot three times as he lay on the ground. Later that night, the militia set fire to the camp burning to death two women and eleven children. Thirteen people had died during the gun fight. While exercising their right to peacefully assemble, they were killed. Unfortunately, this wasn't the only incident involving strikers. On many occasions people who merely wanted a living wage were fired, killed or assaulted for protesting. The government not only allowed this too happen, but did the dirty work as well.

Women were not allowed to vote until the 19th amendment and ratification of 36 states occurred in the summer of 1920. In 1869, the National Woman Suffrage Association was formed. The organization obtained a hearing with the congress from 1869 until 1919. Over a 50 year period, politicians stood by denying women one of the most important expressions of speech in the US.

Shortly after the Bolsheviks gained power in Russia, events occurred leading to the first Red Scare in America. In 1919, several bombs were mailed to much of the rich elite and politicians - none of the bombs in the mail killed anyone, but several were injured. The major blast occurred on September 16th, 1920. At J.P Morgan Company a large bomb exploded killing 40 people and injuring 300. The identity of the bombers wasn't discovered, however this created a lot of patriotism amongst Americans and this patriotism resulted in a lashing out against Communists, radicals and foreigners. Although it is believed that the Anarchists were behind the bombings. In the explosion that took place at Mitchell Palmer's home, the bomb's timer went too early and ended up killing the bomber. After searching the neighborhood, authorities found Anarchist pamphlets and the hair of a person whom they believed to belonged to a Anarchist. Mitchell Palmer, Wilson's Attorney General, claimed that the Communists were the main source of all problems in America at the time, even though there were only 70,000 professed Communists in the country. J. Edgar Hoover, head of the new General Intelligence Division of the Justice Department, didn't want lawyers present during the interrogation of immigrants and got rid of the law that granted immigrants the right to an attorney. Palmer raided leftist organizations without warrants and arrested 249 foreigners to deport them back to the Soviet Union. Overall, 16,000 Communists were arrested and the government didn't find any conclusive evidence of any revolution, even so they were held without a trial for long periods of time. In Waterbury, Connecticut, Joseph Yenowsky got into an argument with a man and brought up the fact that Lenin was a smart man. For this act, he was sentenced to six months in jail. In Chicago, Illinois, George Goddard refused to stand up for the US National Anthem. As Goddard tried to leave after a confrontation, he was shot by a sailor of the US Navy three times leaving him wounded. The congress had refused to give, Victor Berger, a fairly elected socialist from Wisconsin a seat. Freedom of Speech apparently only applies to those who don't have any power to change the system, whether it be through reform or mass education of the people.

Hours after news arrived of Pearl Harbor, 1,212 first generation Japanese Immigrants were arrested without any warrants. In 1942 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an order calling for the incarceration of Japanese Americans and Japanese immigrants. 112,000 to 120,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans were put into internment camps during World War II in the United States of America. Whole families were taken from their homes, businesses and farms and sent to cramped military styled barracks, many of which were in the desert or swamp lands. They were rarely given more than 48 hours to sell all of their possessions resulting in what is estimated of several billion dollars lost. The rights of these Americans were put on hold because their families were of Japanese ancestry. Until late 1946, these innocent people were kept in their camps. When the US government was forced to recognize their wrong-doings, they gave reparations for locking innocent people up in camps. However the reparations do not undermine the fact that the government strip human beings of their simple rights because Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.

McCarthyism being the second Red Scare abused governmental powers once again. The Alien Registration Act passed in 1940 made it illegal to advocate, abet, or teach the desirability to overthrow the government. In other words, any ideology that wasn't Capitalist was now illegal. HUAC (House of Un-American Activities Committee) set it's sights on Hollywood actors who had leftist political views. After interviewing 41 people in Hollywood, HUAC had a list of 19 people whom were accused of having leftist views. Ten of which refused to answer any questions from HUAC as they believed the first amendment is still in existence. Unfortunately they were wrong, the US had done away with the first amendment long ago. They ended up spending six to twelve months in jail. McCarthy's committee interviewed many people about their political past and some of those who admitted to being apart of the Communist Party were fired from their jobs. Later Senator McCarthy banned 30,000 books from libraries on the grounds that they had to do with Communism.

The American Civil Rights Movement faced a large group of white people whom due to their upbringing hated all minorities. The hate led to the breaking of many basic rights that all humans should be allowed. Although the federal government was not directly the culprit, their negligence allowed this to happen. Emmett Till didn't even have the right to whistle at a white woman, for this gesture he was lynched. The murders were acquitted and faced no punishment for the atrocity they committed. In 1957, nine black students gained court approval to attend a white high school in Little Rock. While on their way to their first day of school, they were met by the National Guard whom were called upon to stop them from entering the school by Arkansas' governor. They were only allowed to attend when President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered the National Guard to return to their barracks and deployed protection for the nine students. Once in school, the white students spit and harassed the nine new students. People who participated in Sit-Ins were often violently removed from the diner they were protesting in. Many of these peaceful protesters were denied their right to peacefully assemble ad thrown in jail for their acts. During a freedom ride in Anniston, Alabama - the bus was fire bombed. In Birmingham, Alabama, an undercover FBI agent reported, Public Safety Commissioner Bull Connor encouraged the KKK to attack the upcoming freedom riders. Many freedom riders landed themselves in jail were stuffed into small cells and some were even forced to work in 100 degree heat. The courts gave an order making all protests illegal in Birmingham which put one of the most influential leaders, Martin Luther King Jr., in jail along with many other activists. When more then 1000 students left school in protest, Bull Connor unleashed dogs onto the school children and sprayed them with water. This act of aggression resulted in President Kennedy releasing the innocent protesters from jail after public outrage over the situation.

Assassinations of highly popular Socialist and Marxist-Leninist leaders occurred in America as well. Although blame for the assassination of Socialist embracing Martin Luther King Jr. and Marxist-Leninist Malcolm X cannot be place squarely on the US government, the assassins had done a huge favor for the Bourgeois elite in America. The only two men who could have possibly stood up against the government were conveniently assassinated by Racists and people who feared their power. Although evidence shows that the government didn't plan and execute these assassination, they created an environment in which rejects all the things these two men stranded for. Because of that - they didn't have the right of freedom of speech.

A Black Panther, George Jackson, was murdered by the police. He found himself in jail after he was charged with robbing a gas station of $71 and sentenced to one-to-life. While in prison, Jackson was charged with the death of a guard who earlier had killed three black activists and had been acquitted due to "justifiable homicide." George Jackson wrote two books: Soledad Brother: The Prison Letters of George Jackson (1970) and Blood In My Eye (1971) while he was unjustly held in prison. Which was based on political economy and radical ideas. When he was on his way to his trial, Jackson was shot down in the prison yard. They said he had a 9mm, however the witnesses said he didn't have a weapon. No record was ever made regarding the gun.

Fred Hampton was a Black Panther who instilled class-consciousness into the poor communities in Chicago. He brought together multiracial groups together who had simular ideals to one and other. He rose quickly into leadership among the Black Panther Party and was likely to the Party's Central Committee's Chief of Staff, had he not been murdered. His radical beliefs prompted the FBI to open up a long investigation on him. They tapped his mother's phone line and created a file with more then 4000 pages regarding him. The FBI released racist cartoons in the name of the BPP to alienate white activists.The FBI also sent anonymous letters to create a split between the Black Panthers and Blackstone Rangers with one of their insiders instigating a armed clash between the former allies. A unit of the FBI, SOA, was assigned to raid Hampton's apartment on charges of him having illegal weapons. The FBI insider had drugged everyone at the apartment, so by the time the SOA arrived everyone was knocked out. Mark Clark, who was guarding the door with a shotgun, was asleep and killed instantly when the raid began, death spasms caused him to fire one round, the only round fired by the Black Panthers at this raid. Hampton was wounded in the shoulder and when a African American officer, James Davis, arrived he noticed Hampton was still alive and then shot him two times at point black range. Afterwards the government lied and claimed self defense, only to be proven to be liars some time after the event. All police officers were cleared of any charges.

H. Bruce Franklin was a English professor and a Marxist. While working as a assistant professor at Stanford University, he help found a Maoist organization, Revolutionary Union. His membership didn't last long due to the RU suggesting black applicants for the Party instead chose the Black Panthers. He then joined the Venceremos, a multi-racial leftist organization. After leading a group of students to occupy the computer center and allegedly inciting violent protests against the bombing of Laos, he was fired from Stanford. At the time he had a tenure and couldn't be fired for having an unpopular belief, but they nonetheless fired him.

Viola Liuzzo was a white activist and in 1965, she was murdered by the KKK. One of the murders was a payed informant of COINTELPRO, and FBI program. Shortly after her murder, the COINTELPRO issued rumors about her sexual affairs with black civil rights workers as well as rumors of her being a part of the communist party. The KKK members were sentenced to 10 years in prison while the FBI informant was acquitted.

Robert Thaxton in 1999 was arrested and sentenced to 7 years in prison for throwing a rock at a police officer during a protest against the G-8 summit. The protest was on the day: "International Day of Action Against Global Capitalism." Thaxton was a Anarchist and out of all the people arrested around the world, he received the longest prison sentence. His sentence was excessively large due to his political beliefs and as a warning to others that a agree with him.

Jeff Luers set fire to three SUVs in 2000 as a protest against global warming. As another Anarchist, he received a twenty-two year sentence for his act. While the average sentence for rapists is 10 years. Crime that involves a person whom has political motivation is punished more than actual crimes against humans.

The FBI surrounded a farmhouse in Puerto Rico on September 23rd, 2005; Filiberto Ojeda Rios was murdered during a shoot out. Rios was a Puerto Rican rebel wanted for organizing a bank robbery in America and then throwing much of the money off a tall building. He wanted Puerto Rico to be freed from American Imperialism - however the US government wouldn't have that happen. They murdered Rios the first chance they had. Others inside the house claim that the FBI had fired the initial gun shots, which resulting in a stand off between the FBI and the people inside the farmhouse. Rios had told them that he would surrender to Jésus Dávila, but the FBI refused to allow him to do so.