Pacific Free Press was launched in March 2007 by Dutch-Canadian Richard
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the slag-heap of lies, ignorance and witless diversion that has buried
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harsh realities too often ignored or distorted by the mainstream press.
The Numbers Just Don't Add Up (and "They" Still Have the Guns)
by Mickey Z. In the Vietnam War protest song "Five to One," Jim Morrison of The Doors sings:
The old get old/And the young get stronger
May take a week/And it may take longer
They got the guns/But we got the numbers
Gonna win, yeah/We're takin' over
In my youth, I took solace in the whole "we got the numbers" thing. The very idea filled with me hope . . . but little did I know, the ones with the guns have had it all figured out for a very, very long time.
Philosopher David Hume, in 1758, explained it this way: "As force is always on side of the governed, the governors have nothing to support them but opinion. It is, therefore, on opinion only that government is founded and this maxim extends to the most despotic and most military governments as well as to the most free and most popular."
"The corporate grip on opinion in the United States is one of the
wonders of the Western world," adds Gore Vidal. "No First World country
has ever managed to eliminate so entirely from its media all
objectivity, much less dissent."
This potent combination of
muscle and misinformation manifested itself in the events leading up to
the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. On February 15 of that year, tens of
millions of earthlings marched and carried signs to declare their
unambiguous disapproval of America's plan to drastically ratchet up
what had essentially been a 12-plus year war against the people of
Iraq.
The massive global protests were barely noticed.
The shock-and-awe invasion went on as planned.
The repulsive occupation continues to this day.
Doesn't say a whole lot for "having the numbers," huh?
"We"
also had the numbers last summer when it came to who did and didn't
support Israel's assault on the Lebanese populace. Outside of a select
few in Israel, Great Britain, and the United States, the vast majority
of our planet's human population were vociferously against the actions
of the Israeli government and its U.S.-funded armed forces. But once
again, the numbers just didn't add up. As long as America's ruling
elite avoided any mention of a ceasefire, Lebanon remained doomed to
its fate... no matter how many of us didn't like it.
In these
and countless other cases, "we" have had the numbers. "We" still have
the numbers. Morrison's "they," however, give no indication they'll be
surrendering their guns any time soon. As a result, dissent in America
is pretty much limited to marches, protests, boycotts, petitions,
candlelight vigils, Michael Moore documentaries, the occasional vote
for a third party candidate, and articles like this one.
All of these
methods (at least in their safe-for-mass-consumption versions) are
deemed "legal" by those with the guns and, in their own way, legitimize
the power held by those with the guns. Thus, all such tactics are
ultimately impotent in terms of provoking systemic, long term change.
If you don't believe me, ask yourself why you haven't taken your
rebellion beyond the methods listed above.
Your answer is likely the
same as mine:
"We've got the numbers, but they've got the guns."
Maybe
author Derrick Jensen had it right when he said: "We still think we
have something to lose. That's what's stopping us. As soon as we
realize we have nothing left to lose we'll be dangerous." After all, as
Jim Morrison sang: "No one here gets out alive."
Mickey Z. is
the author of several books, most recently 50 American Revolutions
You're Not Supposed to Know (Disinformation Books). He can be found on
the Web at: www.mickeyz.net.
Writings 
In the Vietnam War protest song "Five to One," Jim Morrison of The Doors sings: 
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