I took the photo above shortly before midnight on December 31, 2011, at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in downtown Manhattan. Please allow me to explain.
Members of Occupy Wall Street and other local “activist” groups held a “noise demo” in front of the jail to let the prisoners know they were not forgotten (or something like that). I attended these demos in both 2011 and 2012.
Here’s how it worked: We made lots of noise — chanting, singing, playing musical instruments, etc. — as a squad of cops, correction officers, and some unidentified plainclothes agents stood menacingly nearby. They glared at us and threatened mass arrest.
The ostensible idea of this passion play was for “activists” to show solidarity with those who had fallen prey to a crooked justice system and the Prison-Industrial Complex. Many prisoners came to their windows, flickered their lights, and waved to us. So, perhaps it offered some solace to a few souls behind bars on New Year’s Eve.
Besides that, it was misguided virtue signaling — even if I refused to admit it at the time.
Firstly, it was classic left-wing naivete to paint all prisoners with the broad brush of victimhood.
Secondly, even if somehow every prisoner who acknowledged us was innocent, what did we really do for them? This is not to downplay momentary relief but let’s be serious. Like all “activists,” we went on our way when the demo ended while some persons were still caught in the web of courts, lawyers, and red tape.
Each and every day, individuals get fed up and decide they want to “make a difference.” Unfortunately, regardless of the issue or ideology, they get funneled into the same paradigm of ineffective and counterproductive tactics.
To add to it, I’ll own up to a not-uncommon personal mindset I succumbed to. As I rode the NYC subway to and from the demos both years, the trains were jammed with people heading out to ring in the new year.
I looked around at them in their fancy clothes, on their way to being overcharged by some jam-packed restaurant or club, and felt proud that I was choosing to do something “meaningful” on New Year’s Eve.
Trust me, I’d still rather yell outside a prison in the cold than be at a loud party but it is so easy to fall into the “activist” trap. All across the ideological spectrum and all across the decades, so many folks who start out wanting change end up feeling superior while accomplishing less than nothing.
This is how we end up as such easy pickings for the Parasite Class
to manipulate. So, as we fight for freedom and autonomy in 2023, let’s always remember to keep our guard up…
See you next year!
The post How an “Activist” Celebrates New Year’s Eve (2011 & 2012) first appeared on Dissident Voice.
This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by Mickey Z..
Mickey Z. | Radio Free (2022-12-31T14:19:22+00:00) How an “Activist” Celebrates New Year’s Eve (2011 & 2012). Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2022/12/31/how-an-activist-celebrates-new-years-eve-2011-2012/
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