The government, leading financial institutions, prominent entrepreneurs, and intelligence agencies are in league with one another to preserve the status quo of the oppression of the average citizen at any cost. Their collusion has resulted in unlawful harassment and inhuman treatment of those determined to exercise the freedoms granted to them by the fundamental doctrines of human rights, thereby quashing anything remotely resembling a stance taken for justice and what is right.
This is not a conspiracy theory, nor is it the plot for a thriller about the common man facing the adversities presented by a crooked system. Recent revelations have shown these to be the appalling facts of the demise of the Occupy movement in the US.
Supported by Noam Chomsky and the late Eric Hobsbawm amongst other academics and figures of note, the defeated physical movement and its limited tangible achievements gave way to a cerebral movement that still hopes to win the war in the long-run. The nature of its defeat, however, in a country that forces all others to fall in line with its beliefs because these values are seen as the best, should act as a cautionary tale.
The movement was born out of the need to take a stand against the actions of the financial institutions that were responsible for the worldwide crisis, whose effects can still be felt. The frustrations took the shape of a collective protest. From its inception, it was treated as a “criminal” and “potential terrorist” group rather than the peaceful people’s movement that it was, despite this definition being publicly acknowledged by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security.
Granted, some of the methods of protest fell foul of the law, but these minor and infrequent infringements were far outweighed by law-abiding citizens lawfully exercising their fundamental rights. The attitude of the authorities was little more than a clear distrust for any sort of movement that went against the status quo, especially one that espoused justice and egalitarianism.
FBI branches across multiple states, including states like Alaska where Occupy did not take off actively like in New York, were given powers to have special task forces to tackle this potential “threat.” The eventual, violent police crackdown was not just coordinated by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security, but also involved the big banks.
There was clear involvement of the New York Stock Exchange, at least one local Federal Reserve and several large banks in organising the surveillance that was conducted as early as August 2011, a full month before Occupy Wall Street and other Occupy movements took to the streets.
The FBI, in true trustworthy law-enforcement agency manner, tried to hide the existence of all surveillance-related documents. It was only under the Freedom of Information Act that this knowledge became public, albeit heavily redacted and after their existence had previously been denied.
This shows that Occupy was treated as a matter of serious national security. It is staggering, to say the least, that a country that was actively fighting two wars physically, and countless others (such as its War on Drugs and Terror), zealously, often covertly, was investing so much of its resources in keeping lawful citizens on a leash and suppressing evidence of such activities.
This is the nightmare police state that horrify citizens of third world countries. They need not worry: Their reality has come about because their governments are following the developed world.
It would appear that the freedoms of speech and assembly in countries that champion human rights exist on condition that they never threaten to speak the whole truth, demand exact justice, and seek accountability and egalitarianism.
The future for third world countries where politics is synonymous with autocracy and sycophancy, and who take their lead from these champions – often funded by their bureaucratic development programs – is therefore bleak in a world that has accepted that there is to be no defence against oppression.
When security is prioritised over freedom, the ideal circumstances are created for protectors to become tyrants. The price of complete subjugation, loyalty, and compliance out of fear, and regular tributes that always steadily increase, becomes too high for the average citizen, the defenceless, and the wronged.
The perfect storm that is created only benefits those at the top. The heinous injustices and unlawful activities of the authorities will cause a small amount of embarrassment before becoming an anecdotal footnote post-haste. This will be repeated again followed by shameless defences, sporadic apologies sans remorse, and a continued preservation of this absurd system.
