Carlo's Way

For opposing the rule of capital, for opposing the Empire of Wealth, Carlo
Giuliani was shot by the hit-men of capital, and, as if this were not enough, a
police vehicle rolled over his prone, wounded body.

The recent police shooting of 23-year-old Carlo Giuliani in the riotous streets
of Genoa has sent shock waves around the globe.

Giuliani, son of a Rome labor leader, was one of tens of thousands of
anti-globalist demonstrators who fell on the latest place where politicians and
corporate representatives gathered to insure their continued dominance of the
world's economy. Carlo was part of a growing movement, uniting the youth of many
so-called first world countries with the aspirations of many in the so-called
third world. It was this movement that shook Seattle, and made the anagram, WTO,
known throughout the earth.

For opposing the rule of capital, for opposing the Empire of Wealth, Carlo
Giuliani was shot by the hit-men of capital, and, as if this were not enough, a
police vehicle rolled over his prone, wounded body.

With the brutal state slaughter of Carlo Giuliani, the message goes forth that
anti-globalism is a capital crime. This is but the latest escalation by the
armed forces of capital, which has utilized increasing levels of state violence
to intimidate the swelling hordes of anti-globalists.

The blood on the asphalt of Genoa did not begin when a cop pointed his
semi-automatic into the face of a masked Roman anarchist. The blood of Genoa
flows from the streets of Gothenburg, in Sweden, when the European Union was
holding its summit meeting. There, police fired live rounds at protestors,
wounding three, one seriously.

Now, an anarchist, anti-globalist lies dead.

As soon as the news hit the wire, cane the words of the Irish playwright, George
Bernard Shaw, who once quipped, "Anarchism is a game at which the police can
beat you." Shaw, an ardent socialist, would perhaps amend his comments in light
of recent events (if he could).

What is most telling is how the representatives of the state and their
propaganda arm, the media, has reacted to this vicious tragedy.

While politicians uniformly spoke with forked tongues about the "tragedy," not a
single syllable was uttered in criticism of the police, was it?

For the media, however, a different game was played. In virtually every report,
the coverage told of violent protestors -- and suggested that they were
uninformed, or simply stupid for daring to care about the poor in Africa, Asia
or Latin America. Examine their biased, corporate-centered coverage, and ask
yourself one, simple question:

What would they have written if a Genoan cop had been shot, and run over with a
Land Rover driven by anarchists? Every corporate outlet would've blared about
how "vicious" and "violent" the anti-globalist "terrorists" were. Of this there
is no question!

Instead, a muted silence.

Silence, when the terrorists are the cops.

Silence, when the killers are the cops.

Silence, when the hitmen for the corporations act out.

You hear the fractured lectures of politicians talking about "assaults on the
democratic process," and the like.

Yet, how democratic is the G-8 (Group of 8)?

This group, which is self-selected, is seven of the wealthiest nations on earth
(plus Russia).

If there are about 193 nations in the world, what's "democratic" about 4% of
that number making all of the rules governing the rest of the world's economy?

Look at it another way: The G-8 consists of representatives for Canada, Japan,
Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, the United States -- and Russia. If
you were to count all of the people in each nation, and add them up, you'd come
up with around 824 million people. That's a lot of folks.

But there are 6,000,000,000+ people on earth!

How can 14% of the world's population set down the rules for 86% of the rest of
the people of the world?

Carlo Giuliani wasn't "assaulting the democratic process." He was protesting a
profoundly anti-democractic process.

He was fighting on behalf of most of the people in the world.
© 2001

By Mumia Abu-Jamal - 7/25/01
Text (c) copyright 2001 by Mumia Abu-Jamal. All rights reserved. Reprinted by
permission of the author.
Tuesday, July 31, 2001