522 years ago Christopher Columbus ‘discovered’ the Americas; setting forth the systematic genocide and colonization of the indigenous people by the European settlers. The indigenous people world over have been observing the 12th of October as a day of disaster for their communities. Colonial invaders from different parts of the world have virtually plundered away the wealth of the original inhabitants, deranged their cultural heritage deprived them of their basic human rights; thus relegating them to the bottom of the society. Indigenous peoples the world over are left to suffer the ignominy of being embodiment of high incidence of poverty, morbidity, mortality, displacement, indignity and state-sponsored violence. They are deemed invisible, walked over and crushed.
The Zapatistas are an indigenous movement based in the southern state of Chiapas, Mexico. The name is derived from Emiliano Zapata, who led the Liberation Army of the South during the Mexican Revolution, which lasted approximately from 1910-1920. Zapata’s main rallying cry was “land and liberty”, exemplifying the sentiments of the many indigenous populations who supported and formed his army. The modern-day Zapatistas declare themselves the ideological heirs to these struggles, again representing many indigenous struggles in southern Mexico. Their fight is very much alive today, more than twenty years after its first public appearance. The Zapatistas, as almost all indigenous movements, have at the base of their revolution a love of the land. But their fight is not our fight. They demand us to return to our cultures and fight. Because what will ultimately kill the Zapatistas will not be the Mexican government. It will be the Mexican government, hired by transnational corporations, who will build dams, extract mineral resources, and create “free-trade zones”.
On the Left, communities are organizing around every type of campaign, with a growing focus on climate change. The Left talk about the issues of the world ad nauseaum, pontificate from afar on theories of oppression, revolutionary histories, and daily incidences of state violence.It speaks of climate change as something in the future. But climate change is not something in the future, but rather it is something that is killing 1,000 children per day, roughly 400,000 people per year. Scientists are now saying that the species extinction rate is 1,000 times the natural background extinction rate, with some estimates at 200 species a day, because of climate change. Black men are being killed at a rate of one every 28 hours in the US. One in three women globally will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime. There are more global slaves than ever in human history, with the average cost of a slave being $90. It is estimated that there is dioxin, one of the most horrific chemicals we have created and a known carcinogen, in every mother’s breast milk. We read about “solidarity” with the oppressed and work for “justice”. We speak of “loving the land” and wanting to “protect” nature. But how can we say we “love” these people/places/things when the actions we take to protect them have been proven to be wholly ineffective and stand no chance of doing so?
We are told to focus on small lifestyle reforms, petitioning politicians who have shown that they do not listen to us, and relying on a regulatory system that is fundamentally corrupt. We are bombarded with baseless utopian visions of a “sustainable world”, complete with solar panels, wind turbines, abundance, and peace. But these are false visions, meant to distract us. Our entire world infrastructure is based in an extractive, destructive process, without which our first world way of life is entirely impossible. Everything from the global wars, increasing poverty, the police state, and climate change are built around this foundational injustice. These injustices are inherent and are not “reformable”
In the face of the horrific statistics of our dying planet, we need a radically different tactic.
Adapted from this article here
The Zapatistas are an indigenous movement based in the southern state of Chiapas, Mexico. The name is derived from Emiliano Zapata, who led the Liberation Army of the South during the Mexican Revolution, which lasted approximately from 1910-1920. Zapata’s main rallying cry was “land and liberty”, exemplifying the sentiments of the many indigenous populations who supported and formed his army. The modern-day Zapatistas declare themselves the ideological heirs to these struggles, again representing many indigenous struggles in southern Mexico. Their fight is very much alive today, more than twenty years after its first public appearance. The Zapatistas, as almost all indigenous movements, have at the base of their revolution a love of the land. But their fight is not our fight. They demand us to return to our cultures and fight. Because what will ultimately kill the Zapatistas will not be the Mexican government. It will be the Mexican government, hired by transnational corporations, who will build dams, extract mineral resources, and create “free-trade zones”.
On the Left, communities are organizing around every type of campaign, with a growing focus on climate change. The Left talk about the issues of the world ad nauseaum, pontificate from afar on theories of oppression, revolutionary histories, and daily incidences of state violence.It speaks of climate change as something in the future. But climate change is not something in the future, but rather it is something that is killing 1,000 children per day, roughly 400,000 people per year. Scientists are now saying that the species extinction rate is 1,000 times the natural background extinction rate, with some estimates at 200 species a day, because of climate change. Black men are being killed at a rate of one every 28 hours in the US. One in three women globally will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime. There are more global slaves than ever in human history, with the average cost of a slave being $90. It is estimated that there is dioxin, one of the most horrific chemicals we have created and a known carcinogen, in every mother’s breast milk. We read about “solidarity” with the oppressed and work for “justice”. We speak of “loving the land” and wanting to “protect” nature. But how can we say we “love” these people/places/things when the actions we take to protect them have been proven to be wholly ineffective and stand no chance of doing so?
We are told to focus on small lifestyle reforms, petitioning politicians who have shown that they do not listen to us, and relying on a regulatory system that is fundamentally corrupt. We are bombarded with baseless utopian visions of a “sustainable world”, complete with solar panels, wind turbines, abundance, and peace. But these are false visions, meant to distract us. Our entire world infrastructure is based in an extractive, destructive process, without which our first world way of life is entirely impossible. Everything from the global wars, increasing poverty, the police state, and climate change are built around this foundational injustice. These injustices are inherent and are not “reformable”
In the face of the horrific statistics of our dying planet, we need a radically different tactic.
Adapted from this article here
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