PGHIMC - Pittsburgh Independent Media Center

Are we at War?
by - Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2003 at 8:22 PM

An interesting essay from Raise the Fist website

Is protesting good? Yes. Is protesting enough to stop "the war"? No. Is the black bloc a good tactic? You decide. Is the black bloc going to "stop the war"? No. Is peace good? Of course it is. Do we currently have peace? No. Is war bad? Yes. Is there war in Iraq? Yes there is. Is there war in Colombia? Yes. Is there war in Afghanistan? Yes. Is there war in Nigeria? Yes. Is there war in Palestine? Yes. Is there war in america? Yes. When hundreds of Iranian and Middle East citizens are rounded up in jails, that's war. When employees are chased out of the air ports by the INS, that's war. When our homes are raided by the FBI and Secret Service, that's war. When you can't walk down the street without the fear of being stopped by police because you're a person of color, that's war. When you can't walk down the street without fear of being stopped, harassed, and searched because you look like an anarchist, that's war. When the U.S decides it can consider U.S citizans as "enemy combatants" in a time of war, that's definatly war. They don't have to come out and say the words "we officially declare war". They didn't say the words when they wiped out an entire native culture on this contintent. They didn't say the words when they went to africa, put blacks on slave boats sailed us here to be sold off, beaten, and hung for the rich. They didn't have say the words when they went into Vietnam. Of course not. There isn't a single contintent on the face of this planet where the U.S hasn't waged it's war. There's war in Afghanistan, war in Colombia, war in Nigeria, war in occupied Palestine, with the U.S imperialist wars waged against people of the world in India, Hungary, Handuras, Guatemeala, Argentina, Panama, Angola, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Iran, etc. And meanwhile do we find it any bit ironic that the more we focus on a "peace movement", U.S agrression has become more stronger, advancing and manifesting it's imperialist military capabilities around the world, spilling the blood of more and more. And yet all we continue to do is hold a sign, and protest. Not that we should stop, Protesting is fun, it gets peoples attention, but real change won't come by limiting ourselves to a political arena confined within the legitimate systematic policies of liberal reform and social patriotism. This is a war, and we are it's targets. If we value our "peace" so much, then why do we let someone take it away from us so easily. A passive aproach is not going to keep this system from repressing our communities locally and internationally. It's going to take direct action, and by that meaning grass-roots community building; education, food, clothes, shelter, and self defense. The best way we can prevent our communities from being continuously attacked by this system isn't to keep recognizing it's abusive authority by begging it to stop. It's to empower our communities to the point where this system can't lay a finger on us any more. If U.S troops decide to pull out of Iraq 5 years from now, the people of Iraqi still won't be free. If comrades like Mumia Abu Jamal get out of jail tomorrow, he still won't be free. If millions of us go out and protest with signs and banners, we still won't be free. If black blocers go out and smash every single corperate window in the world, they still won't be free. We won't be free until we can walk these streets and this government can't ever touch us ever again. That type of freedom requires that we abandon the tactics that make us vanurable by wotking within the interests of this system, meaning that we treat this situation for what it really is. A warfare situation. A situation where there's only one solution, a revolution. And by any means necessary.

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