Dispatch #2: From Beijing to the Twin Cities, a Battle of Narratives Between the People and the State
If you’ve been following the news at http://twincities.indymedia.org you’ll know that the various forces of the state here are doing everything in their power to intimidate and eliminate all threats, real and perceived. While they may or may not take us seriously as a legitimate threat to the smooth-flow of the theatrics inside, it is obvious that we are a clear and present danger to maintaining their dominant narrative in the public eye. The cold and calculating targeting of independent media with harassment, detention, seizure of property, etc., make it all too clear that any journalist that is not “on message” is persona non grata in the Twin Cities.
On the flip-side, during every raid on activist spaces in the last 36 hours, Fox News has been conveniently on the scene before any other media—indy or corporate—even knew anything had happened yet. This brings new weight to the question, “if this were state-controlled media, how would it look any different?” All of this is happening right here in the “heartland” of the United States in the immediate wake of identical behavior on the part of the Chinese state’s repression of activists as well as members of the media who cover them.
But despite this despotism, at home and abroad, we unequivocally refuse to be terrorized into silence. We will not be written out of the history books by the victors, because we have no interest in losing. The state will never be able to control our tight-knit network of equals, determined to up the ante after these many months of tireless work and preparation. We will have no idea how this will all play out until after tomorrow, but it’s a safe bet that it is worth participating in.
2 comments
Your courage is an inspiration Matt. Hold it down out there.
hey friends - shit's gone crazy out here (yes, crazier than previously) but i'm safe and (relatively) free. i'm exhausted and relieved that it's all over, and i intend to spend the rest of the week evaluating and decompressing. things are pretty all over the place right now, so i have little to report at the moment. seeya all in a week or so.
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