U&S NYC will be at the #IndictAmerica action tonight at 7pm, beginning at Union Square. If you’re in NYC, meet us at the Northwest corner of the Square at 7pm by the #IndictAmerica flag. Below is our statement, written with other members of the Trayvon Martin Organizing Committee.
Burning All Illusions Tonight
Another black youth dead. The killer pig walks free. This is “justice.” And we’re supposed to just take it.
The Ferguson grand jury confirms what many already know: this system will never give us justice. The only way to prevent another Mike Brown, Trayvon Martin, Renisha McBride or Sean Bell is to dismantle the whole damn system. To abolish the cops, the prisons, and the fake-ass democracy of capitalist rule.
Capitalist white supremacy requires that cops kill us. Real talk: the police exist to serve and protect capitalism, wealth and the people in power. It’s their job to attack anyone who gets in the way. If we want to stop killer cops, we have to burn the system to the ground, and replace it with something completely new. Not small businesses, or new politicians, or even a new state–but a world run by us, the people, to fulfill our own needs and wants. True freedom. We build this world by fighting back.
But the movement’s self-appointed leaders disagree. Politicians, non-profit managers, and union reps tell us to stick to peaceful protests, and “make our voices heard” by working within the system. All while the capitalist state kills us, impoverishes us, and steals away every minute of our lives. These “movement cops” steer us into the courts, pointless voting rituals, and grant applications. They claim to negotiate in our name, but once they get a bigger piece of the pie for themselves, they betray us. And the cops back them up.
Ferguson has proven these “leaders” wrong, once again. It doesn’t matter if we protest peacefully, make “reasonable demands,” or pull our pants up. The system is made to fuck us over and keep us down, and that’s what it’s going to do. As long as we play by its rules.
Together we can create a different kind of movement. One that doesn’t compromise what it’s fighting for, and refuses to work within the system. Instead, we can declare the whole damn system guilty. Let’s start tonight, by burning all of our illusions.
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