by Vilma Ronzón

“This is how the shock doctrine works: the original disaster – the coup, the terrorist attack, the market meltdown, the war, the tsunami, the hurricane – puts an entire population into a state of collective shock.” – Naomi Klein

As we all sit in our homes living through this bizarre reality, we can sense ourselves absorbing the distress and anguish around us. How and Why become our daily habits. It’s okay to feel this moment for what it is. An entire fictional country has been stopped in its tracks by the original disaster: The Virus. 

Our attention has been centered on The Virus. But we know there is another illness present here, let us name him Capitalism. We were born into his culture and a result we have inherited trauma. It’s okay if we don’t have any answers at the moment. As always, the government promises relief, and because we are wise, we do not trust them. 

We have the right to feel distrust. Although we are wise, there is so much to learn about the façade of democracy we believe in. The empire has been able remodel itself over the years, claiming to be just and fair. Regardless of the many changes, one fact remains: it maintains control at the expense of subjugated peoples – Please…

See the following receipts: 

#1862 “The Dakota 38 refers to thirty-eight Dakota men who were executed by hanging, under orders from President Abraham Lincoln” – 38 by Layli Long Soldier

#1967 During the Detroit riots, three African American teenagers were killed by police. The police were exonerated by a jury.

#1968 Operation Condor

#1954 “Soon enough, Arbenz was out, and United Fruit Company was back in charge”- Guatemala, Coup

#1917 “The Espionage Act was used to imprison *people* who spoke or wrote against the war” – The United States, World War I

#1965 UC Berkeley Mafia (Go Bears!) Indonesia, Coup

 “…Questions were not discussed, and it’s crucial for a well-functioning propaganda system that they not be discussed” – Noam Chomsky

The government and those upholding this culture adore our silence and complicity. It is the consent they need to carry on with their atrocities, oppressions, and exploitations. This is no longer a conspiracy, the circus and the clowns in government continue to reveal themselves for what they are: machines for the corporatocracy. Many (if not all) have been programed to ignore the wellbeing of the people. During the pandemic we hear the Millionaires, Billionaires, and Trillionaires tell us, “We are in this together.” 

It’s okay to feel drained. As we continue to recover and heal in solitude, we find freedom in other ways. We understand that solitude nurtures the soul. Many of us are too familiar with confinement: closet doors, borders, injustice. We discover that our beliefs and thoughts are free to roam beyond this realm.  We were destined to ask. Therefore, we can and should offer questions:

Why are the 

Corporations being bailed out/where

Do the millions and millions of tax dollars go/how 

Many hours of life does $1,200.00 buy/where is my healthcare

And why do I not have            any/why is rent not being

Cancelled/and why is                       rent too damn expensive/

Deportations exist       during the pandemic/

Is it even a pandemic    or a plannedemic/what

Laws and policies are         being passed behind 

      our backss/#new

                                                   #trend#2020#question

                                                   #everything/Why do we 

                                 care so much about wealth/

                                why money/why work/

                                 Why labor/why 9 to 5/

                           why $$ in order to 

                          survive/am I for sale/

                         what about the hate

   crimes (both known

 and unknown)/where 

 is the authority going

and coming from/

 who is trying to take 

control/what is the

role of the corporation/

define: corporatocracy/ 

how do I organize/

It is important to allow this moment to radicalize us in any way. The anger _fear_ sadness_and _paranoia is valid. But when needed, we can collect and transform ourselves into vessels that carry solidarity/cooperation/understanding/revolution. We inherited a cruel system, but we also inherited the rituals of resistance from our ancestors. The incompetence of the empire is obvious. This is no longer an opinion. It is a fact: we outnumber the few in power. 

Let us move, let us act, let us think in unconventional ways, let us invite ideas and questions. 

Let us use whatever resources we have to build maps out of history, this is where we have been, but this is where we can go. Their divide and conquer strategies are decaying. Let this moment change you. Let us search, let us ask, let us learn, let us unlearn. Let us find poetry, let us create art, let us unite. Let us revolt. Let us create something new. 

I offer you these #questions#suggestions and #recommendations, so you can gather your own knowledge, power, and strength, and

I offer you these verses so you can remember who we are…

Today We Will Not Be Invisible Nor Silent – Victoria Lena Manyarrows

Today

We will not be invisible nor silent As the pilgrims of yesterday continue their war of attrition Forever trying, but never succeeding In their battle to rid the americas of us Convincing others and ourselves That we have been assimilated & eliminated,

  But we remember who we are

We are the spirit of endurance that lives  In the cities and reservations of north america  And in the barrios and countryside of Nicaragua, Chile, Guatemala, El Salvador

And in all the earth and rivers of the americas 

Sources:

• The Shock Doctine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism – Naomi Klein 

• A People’s History of the United States – Howard Zinn

• Media Control: The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda – Noam Chomsky

• 38 – Layli Long Soldier - https://onbeing.org/poetry/38/

• Today We Will Not Be Invisible Nor Silent – Victoria Lena Manyarrows 

For more information on the sources used for this posting, feel free to contact @croiizzant via Instagram.