Loitering Men Torch Lebanon’s Central Bank

Most Americans don’t appreciate the history of violence against men in this nation.  It’s long and illustrious.  It’s not a recent occurrence.  The U.S. has turned its gun on its own citizens many times literally and figuratively.  Sometimes that was all men.  Sometimes it was Black men. Sometimes it was Asian men.  Sometimes it was Hispanic men.  The  murders of men such as George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery happen because there is often tacit approval by the state to allow this to happen.  And, it’s just not black men.  It’s all men.  The crime bills by Reagan, Nixon and Clinton that swelled 4% of the world’s population into 25% of the world’s prisoners in what is supposed to be the democratic beacon on the hill is no coincidence. (The prison bubble has been a topic on here over the years and I’ll be talking more on that later.)  Recent unrest in the U.S. is not just about the murder of these two men.  While these were clearly driven by racism, the massive citizen response recognizes the issues that led to this are systemic and far deeper. 

Our nation is bombarded with propaganda by the likes of the New York Times, Fox News, MSNBC, celebrity culture, the government and the like. Anyone reading or watching mainstream media for their news is not getting an accurate picture of what is happening. Each source of news has their own self-interested agenda.  There are agent provocateurs (possibly from the government), police destroying property to blame the movements, massive police violence, looters, anarchists, white supremacists, black people seeking and end to their endless misery, white people seeking an end to their misery, people of all colors seeking justice and democracy across a broad range of issues, media/political and social elites attempting to absorb the protests, corporate capitalists seeking to feign support, business owners angered by how they were destroyed in the shutdowns while corporations looted the public treasury and on and on and on.  The underlying movement is legitimate but the state and those of entitlement (cops, media, corporations, politicians of both parties and on and on) are attempting to control it for their own self-interested agendas or to destroy it.  This is how hierarchy maintains its grip on power.  Absorb the movement, make minor concessions that maintain existing power structures and declare a victory.  (Old interviews with Trump have emerged that reveal he has a book from Adolph Hitler’s speeches and he was supportive of the brutal Chinese communist party crackdown on Tiananmen Square. It’s not looking good for the Donald. But Joe Biden is every bit as pathological and far more responsible for the state of America.  No doubt Trump will exploit this if given the chance.)  

There are many topics written about over the years on year that have been lying in wait for the moment to ignite.  As it pertains to this post, one is the war on men, another is that we will likely watch large American corporations fall like dominos and finally that World War III will likely be humanity’s war against the state.

People across the world have resumed their 2019 protests against the state.  Before the pandemic it was 50 or more nations.  It’s spreading.  It’s spreading in support of the U.S. and in countries that share similar grievances in their own government.  The shine is off the dime and the transparency of the internet has made it impossible for us to go back to a system of ignorance where a chosen few crooks and thugs rule our lives. 

The people who wish to point to these protests as random chaos or thugs have an agenda.  It’s not.  Is there random violence?  Yes. But most of it is targeted at institutions and corporations that are viewed as the source of many economic ills.  I’ve seen videos of people skipping stores owned by citizens and focusing on multinational corporations.  Videos of cops destroying property or the source of violence they tried to blame on protesters.  Even looting by people is misunderstood.  One must appreciate oppression in a capitalistic society to understand the dynamics of looting.  And, by the way, the U.S. government loved the protesters in Hong Kong because it fit their narrative.  They also looted, set fires and destroyed property.  To paraphrase, MLK stated that looting is a last act of people without a voice.  Again, not to be condoned, but corporations and the economic aristocracy in this country achieve their wealth through legalized looting.  The plutocracy.  The people are responding in kind.  And, if the state doesn’t provide for its people regardless of nation, it’s going to get a whole lot worse. 

And, with that, Lebanese loitering men torched one of their central bank buildings. (link)