Liberty to Tyranny: The Role of Power and Knowledge in Global Resistance
Watching the Facade of Western Values and International Law Unravel in Realtime.
“If a white man wants to lynch me, that's his problem. If he's got the power to lynch me, that's my problem. Racism is not a question of attitude; it's a question of power.” - Kwame Ture.
Talofa reader,
The world is in a big mess right now, and it's hard to just potter on, talking about AI and technology. The reality of democracy and Western civilisation is being shown for the lies and hypocrisy it truly is, and it seems to be getting worse by the day.
The recent student protests that kicked off at Columbia University quickly spread around the world. They are in support of a free Palestine and aim to stop the genocide in Gaza this week.
These events have filled my timeline and my conscience, so I felt compelled to write it out.
I know I addressed the situation in Gaza in a few newsletters ago in:
The image of the West as the "shining light on the hill" started unraveling in a very public way since October the 7th.
This situation just reminds me this is not the first time Western civilisation has been shown to be the imperialist hegemony it really is.
As we saw with Iraq, Afghanistan, and countless wars, WikiLeaks and wiki pages later revealed U.S. and European war crimes and atrocities.
Usually, this stuff gets hushed up.
The media are able to facilitate the laundering of Western-backed genocides while Western governments are being trigger-happy on putting sanctions on countries.
They influence other countries to do the same (or else), or they just straight up “regime change” these sovereign nations, to better pillage that country's resources.
I don't know why, but it feels different this time - and not in a good way1…
Maybe it's because of phrases like "the first genocide where victims are broadcasting their own destruction in real-time." that describe just how connected we are due to technology, and that we can now get the real, raw, on-the-ground devastation in real time.
I don't want to vent (much) about geopolitics and history.
I'm not an expert in those fields. I know what I've read and picked up, bits and pieces here and there.
I wanted to look at how something can go from being a great idea - like liberty, freedom, and free speech - to something that's oppressive, tyrannical, and must be resisted.
That's essentially the first part of the opening quote - if you want bad things, want all you want, it's got nothing to do with me.
But, and it's a massive "but", if the person has the "power" to bring about those bad things, upon me - that is 100% every single part, my problem.
It’s about power.
The Powerful vs Everyone Else
Power is a force that shapes our lives in countless ways, but also in ways that differ depending on who you are.
From geopolitical conflicts to personal interactions with police - your relationship with power will either have you excusing a genocide or resisting an occupation, by any means necessary.
While it's neither inherently good nor bad, how it's wielded determines its ethical impact and ultimate consequence.
I've experienced firsthand how power can be abused by those in authority.
I got in trouble with the police in my younger days, fighting to protect my brother from a police officer's knee on his throat after he was wrongfully arrested and was actually handcuffed at the time.
I remember reading the police report filled with some absolute lies.
It described me like some animal, who was belligerent and "grunting" (I shit you not), not the concerned brother who was calmly asking them why he was being arrested before the officer wanted to show me "who was in charge".
There's a reason I don't have any convictions despite my run-ins with the police.
I had lawyers2.
I had lawyers because I had some money.
I had money because I had knowledge; knowledge that got me paid, and knowledge that said, this is how you fight back against a system that's open to corruption.
These experiences just reinforced what I already knew at the time, that knowledge is power.
The Movement
I'm currently seeing and watching all the news stories of the universities around the world protesting the genocide in Gaza by the apartheid state of Israel.
I'm seeing students putting their bodies on the line and resisting peacefully even though they are being assaulted by “cosplay G.I. Joe” police forces, and zionist supremacists who seem to have carte blanche when it comes to assault and battery of anyone they want.
It's actually been really surreal to see the treatment of students by their own government. They act in the exact same way they would lecture Egypt or Russia or other non-Western countries, somehow assuming a moral superiority for being the pillar of democracy - which we all know, and are seeing in real time, is an absolute farce.
I'm seeing the student protesters trained in talking with the media. Mainstream media who time and again show up in absolutely bad faith to try and "gotcha" these young people, but failing to do so.
Knowledge.
I'm seeing demands for divestment and public pressure put on these university administrations by students who understand the political influence of these stories and remain steadfast in their protest. More news stories of universities meeting these demands, one by one and again adding more pressure on the genocidal state of Israel.
Knowledge.
I'm reminded of the Hong Kong student protests of 2019, railing against the machine looking to change their way of life. They used their understanding of surveillance cameras and tear gas to neutralise and fight back against the police and the state descending upon them.
Knowledge.
I guess when I said "it feels different this time" and not in a good way, is because I don't think I've seen the West i.e. Western countries like Israel, UK, Europe, and the U.S. so blatantly be complicit. Through their vetoes, their spokespeople, the televised news coverage or lack thereof, the newspapers with the blatant lies in the face of daily war crimes, the hugely underestimated figure of 40,000 Palestinians, 15,000 of them children is...
there are no words for it.
There are no words in the English language to really convey how sickeningly grotesque this combination of unrelenting visual evidence of human carnage, meeting disgustingly flagrant disregard for truth, human dignity, and life, by the so-called "civilised" Western world.
I'm cynical by nature, not very trusting of the systems and institutions (or people in general to be fair), but even I was quite surprised at how blatant it's all been in the last 7-8 months.
I'm going to put that aside, for now.
I am encouraged by the stance of university students all over the world. I'm encouraged by Jewish people who are standing for the human rights and dignity of Palestinian people and everyone else in the world who can call a genocide a genocide and stand for what is right.
Throughout history, there are examples of groups of people, mainly in the "powerless" group, banding together, working out the system and then fighting back for fair and equitable treatment.
Many of them had dogs and hoses set on them, many of them were driven from their villages, more were murdered, lynched, or denied medical help that would cost them their lives.
Even though members of the resistance went through this, the movement carried on, and on, until there was freedom.
It might not have been clean, or pretty, most of the time it was ugly, but the genuine care and love you would see amongst the members of the downtrodden, for their fellow human being, is the very, very best of the human experience and more than any status, feelings and delusions of being "superior" to another group of people, or anyone for that matter.
Long live the resistance.
A Side Note
I've been trying to write this piece for weeks now. I will get partway through it, go off on an absolute tear and the sheer state of the world, and it would devolve into almost nonsensical rantings. As well as being super busy with work, community projects, and Dad life, I felt like I just needed to get this one done and published. I will head back to my regular tech-based topics as that's still a very real focus of my brain anyway, but I will always have a heart for those suffering injustice so, from now, until that beautiful day, it's always-
From the River to the sea, Palestine will be free. 🇵🇸
Ia manuia,
Ron.
For the most part, but do I acknowledge there are some positive movements happening.
Notice how I didn't say "because I was innocent"? Because in the justice system, it doesn't matter - and I mean that, with every fibre of my being. To this system, it only matters what you can win in court.