The SONY Movie: More of the Same, American Shame

AMERICA responded to 9/11 with not only going to war with a country that had nothing to do with it, we also said "you cannot have toothpaste" or "shaving cream" on planes. Forget about the fact that once upon a time we trained Bin Laden and ignored tons of intelligence leading up to that horrific day.

As a country we've also traditionally ignored massive systemic inequity that stems from generations of overt socioeconomic oppression and racist justice systems, and then we blame the general result of those forces squarely on "the parents" or perhaps a young persons choice of fashion or music. I've said it before, it's sorta like dating a woman who was molested as a child and then abused by her previous boyfriends and wondering why she doesn't trust you. That, and you really only like her for her looks but aren't ready to admit it.

So, in regards to this movie from Sony that's supposedly getting shutdown by North Korean hackers, this is simply par for the course. This is not actually the American government getting pushed around though but really just an example of cowardly, visionless, greedy, corporate execs in Hollywood possibly getting punked by a couple hackers who play Halo in their spare time. Even if it was perpetrated by the North Koreans, they are laughing their asses off. Nobody is going to physically attack the US because of a Seth Rogen film.

But, it's our fault as citizens of this country (and consumers) that we don't demand more from our leaders as well as the companies who profit in the Billions off of our toil in this crony-capitalistic quagmire. These companies continue to drive our country into the ground and we are just along for the ride like its an amusement park roller-coaster… Weeeeeeee!

We allowed our music and radio to be gentrified by "Clear Channels" and swallowed whole their mind-numbing, homogenous, sterile servings of candy-coated pop and bamboozling rap. Our parents grew up with CSNY, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, and Bob Marley being mainstream. I grew up watching Public Enemy educate me on MTV that for my black and brown friends, "911 is a joke," and was able to absorb hip-hop music on radio stations that featured everything from A Tribe Called Quest to "Street Soldiers." But, the music on the radio now is not the reason for our collective dumbing down, nor the crime in our streets. It's simply a reflection of what we aspire to be together as a society and what the system thinks of us.

We continue to allow 'Wall Street' to run amok without any true regulation and do not force our political leaders to implement real rules to prevent the next collapse (Google: Vockler Rule, or Citizens United), let alone prevent the destruction of the middle class, or the fact that our two-party political system is literally a corporate oligarchy. ‪#‎BushClinton2016‬

That is why all of this talk about not showing the movie in theaters somehow sets a "dangerous precedent," is such a dishonest, unexamined bunch of hot-aired, small-town-thinking bullshit.

We set a dangerous precedent when we continue to support invasion, occupation, and 'endless war' in the Middle East (and beyond).

We set a dangerous precedent when we continue to ignore entire communities of Americans that have been systematically subjugated and violently torn apart by immensely reckless and failed policies like the "War on Drugs," which only works in concert with our for-profit prison systems. Call it: 'Jim Crow 2.0'

We set a dangerous precedent when we continue to glorify 'Guns' as an omnipotent way to solve our problems, and thus remain the most violent nation of any first world country on planet Earth.

We set a dangerous precedent when we spend Trillions on 'Defense' and simultaneously GIVE BILLION DOLLAR BREAKS to entities that champion outsourcing, rather than employ the necessary amount of resources toward our education system. After all, the future is not our children in America anymore, it's our reciprocal relationship with a hyper capitalist-authoritarian Communist government in Asia. Right?

We set a dangerous precedent when we wake up every morning and look ourselves in the mirror and lie about what we believe is truly important in life. Not the future for our children, not the environment, not the unalienable right to life, liberty, and happiness FOR ALL Americans. Nope. Just the daily rat race that has us treating each other like rodents instead of human beings.

NATE MEZMER

Bay Area hip-hop artist and political activist, recent album "Few May Know" is available for free download or streaming at http://FewMayKnow.com 

September 12th America :: Revisited

I wrote this article on September 11th, 2006, and it was published on 'Counterpunch' the following day...

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September 11th, 2001, I remember waking up to the sobering fact that two planes had just crashed into the twin towers. To be honest, I cannot recall if I was actually hung over, although it is not out of the realm of possibility. You see, at the time of the attacks I was living in a small college town, in a house full of guys and school was still out for the summer.

When I shoved open the double doors from my kitchen-converted bedroom, my roommate Walker was sitting on the living room floor, staring at the television. He immediately informed me that planes had crashed into the world trade center and without speaking much more than a few sentences we spent the next hour or so, flipping through the channels in attempts to figure out what was going on. As the fateful morning played out live on our TV screen we would not only be witness to greater tragedy, but we would also begin to speak to each other.

Once the rumors of terrorist involvement began to swirl, I remember insinuating that this horrible event was the perfect thing for Bush and his illegitimate presidency. Walker, who was an All-American rugby player, a championed drinker and a gentlemen of few words, countered with the argument that I was basically a crazy conspiracy nut! Of course, in the coming months I did begin to question if 9/11 was indeed an inside job, however at the time I simply meant that it was a great opportunity for the United States government to do whatever they wanted with foreign and domestic policy.

Maybe, it was my disposition as a history major to immediately view the government in a devious light, or the fact that I had recently read extensively the writings of muck-racking journalist Greg Palast, who covered the fraudulent 2000 US presidential election, or maybe it was simply the fact that ever since anyone can remember I've always been in constant question of authority? No matter what the reason, my quick synopsis of the situation was clearly viewed as ludicrous by my roommate.

For several months after the 11th of September, I began to scour the internet and almost simultaneously remained glued to free-speech radio stations in search of information regarding what our government knew about 9/11 before the attacks and what its ultimate intentions would be in the aftermath. With my bullsh*t filter on high alert I found that I was even watching cable channels and the evening news! It seems that CNN, MSNBC, and FOX had replaced my addiction to ESPN as phrases like "Axis of Evil" and "Homicide Bomber" haunted me in my sleep!

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You can read the rest of this article here: http://www.counterpunch.org/mezmer09122006.html