The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
    David Seaton's picture

    Wikileaks (virtual world) versus lynching the Prince of Wales (real world)

    By David Seaton on Mon, 12/13/2010 - 3:39pm |

    On Saturday the 11th of December, about 50 people demonstrated in favor of Julian Assange in front of the US Embassy in London. The demonstration was organized on the Internet. 

    Two days before, in the same city, a crowd of rioting students nearly lynched the Prince of Wales and his wife the Duchess of Cornwall. The royal couple's bodyguards were at the point of drawing their guns... imagine the political repercussions if they had smoked a few students... or had even fired warning shots into the air.

    Before going any farther I must say that nobody loves the Internet more than I do. Thanks to the Net I have been able to triple my modest income, not to speak of all the fun and opportunities for self-expression that I have found on it. Having said that, I have lately become a bit skeptical about the political power of the Internet.

    This recent skepticism of mine has it origins last spring, when the Spanish right wing was trying to crucify Judge Garzón. There was immediately a page in FaceBook supporting him and thousands of people "friended" it. Shortly after its online, viral success, this page, with thousands of "friends" and an enthusiastic stream of hourly outpourings of support on its wall, called for a demonstration of support for judge Garzón in a plaza in the center of Madrid, near the Court House, where Garzón had his offices. The page was all abuzz, you thought we were about to storm the Winter Palace.... The wife and I got on a bus and went... about twenty  other people actually showed up.

    Not long after that the major left wing institutions: trade unions, political parties etc, organized a demonstration for Garzón in the Puerta del Sol: the official center of Spain, .. and my wife and I went to that one too... thousands upon thousands of other people showed up too. This demonstration made a big difference, the right still wants to crucify him, but they are more afraid to make their move now.

    This experience was the filter through which I have observing all of this. Virtual people are virtual people and real people are real people was the conclusion I came to.

    Wikileaks and the hacktivists that are attacking Twitter and MasterCard etc are going to do little more in the medium and long run than make some people very rich. Anyone who comes up with the technical answers to making the net secure for governments and large corporations will now not only have the blessing of China and Russia, but also of the USA and the EU and carte blanche, unlimited budget. This will make the net less fun and less free, but governments are not going to fall. That only happens when people actually take it to the streets.

    But, Englishmen physically attacking the Prince of Wales... That is significant. England is not Czarist Russia or Bourbon France... The English don't do that sort of thing... Till they do it. 

    Except in black neighborhoods during the 60s, Americans don't take it to the streets either, just like the English don't try to beat up the heir to their throne, right?

    Maybe.

    Here is how an old hound whose been around, Arnaud de Borchgrave, succinctly describes the present situation:

    The progressive Paladin in the White House is no more. There are 15 million jobless and even more if one counts those whose benefits have run out and those who have stopped looking. There are several million of still vigorous over 50 who can see neither job nor retirement benefits for the rest of their lives.
    Friend Beetlejuice sent me this text from  a very interesting article in TruthDig by Columbia University professor Moshe Adler entitled "Low Taxes are the Problem, Not the Solution":
    "It is not inconceivable that 13 months from now, after the extension of unemployment benefits expires, the Obama/Republican plan will result in the kind of street riots we’ve begun to see across Europe, led here by the unemployed. The larger-than-ever deficit will make renewing the extension of unemployment benefits unacceptable, particularly to a Republican-dominated House. University students fed up with higher tuitions and employed workers fed up with the high prices for government services could even join in. In an economy with an impoverished middle class and political instability, investors will become even harder to find."
    I am not belittling the significance of the harm that WikiLeaks has done to elite communication and the harm it may do to some governments who will be embarrassed to have their citizens become aware of their subservience to Washington, but those 25 million jobless and "vigorous" over 50s that de Borchgrave is talking about could care less. When They get violent, then things will move... they may get much, much worse, with real repression and the US Army being employed in American streets under Bush's Homeland Security Act but they will move. When they break out the tear gas and the rubber bullets, mouse pushing is willy pulling.

    So that is why I take the attack on the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall more seriously than the DNS attacks by "Anonymous".

    Zeitgeist it is called.

    Crossposted from: http://seaton-newslinks.blogspot.com/

    Comments

    I get your point, David, but I don't think your anecdote is strong evidence. The internet is an organizing tool; it doesn't automatically do the organizing for you.

    So if the Facebook rally flopped and the union/political party rally succeeded, that just shows some people are better (i.e. more experienced) organizers than others. You can bet the unions and left-wing parties were all over the net in the run-up to their demo.

    You're right about one thing. In both cases, the organizers understood that the point was to put boots on the street. None of this online petition crap.

    But don't lump the "Anonymous" denial-of-service attacks with some namby-pampy petition. Those attacks were designed to show Paypal and Amazon and Mastercard that there would be a monetary price to pay for knee-jerk acquiescence to U.S. government pressure. It was quick, down-and-dirty retaliation -- not the main event. A warning shot across their bows, if you will, or just possibly an attack on Fort Sumpter. (Let me link to the excellent analysis you posted on In the News four days ago: The Wikileaks scandal is more than just a diplomatic scuffle; it’s a war for the future of the Internet )

    I think that analysis is correct; it's war. And so far our side has the upper hand in the internet arms race, so we'd better use it to effect while we can. Doesn't mean we won't have to get out in the street at some point and risk batons on heads, but one step at a time.


    by acanuck on Mon, 12/13/2010 - 4:55pm

    I agree the retaliatory nature of the attacks across the internet was nothing more than a cat playing with a mouse. Eventually the cat will tire of the game and kill the mouse. There's a huge difference between playing and doing it for real. DOS attacks are immature and childish, but do serve a purpose that shows even a child has the ability to bring an adult down to their level and the adult can't do anything about it. But there are bigger players who can take advantage of the misfortune created by the children and that when all hell breaks loose. 


    by Beetlejuice on Mon, 12/13/2010 - 6:59pm

    A couple other bloggers here like Trope touched on this point, but I never connected this with the incident involving Prince Charles.

    What do we need, 30 million out of work? Now you have me thinking of looking at the criminal statistics of late. The ignominy of being unemployed for a long period of time after having 'achieved' the American dream and then having people like rush call you all sorts of degrading things.

    This has to translate into rage eventually.


    by Richard Day on Mon, 12/13/2010 - 5:16pm

    Most monarchs have the good sense to not take a stroll through a demonstration of tens of thousands of young people who've just seen the price of their education triple.

    Is that an indication of anything?

    Dunno... stupidity, maybe?


    by Obey on Mon, 12/13/2010 - 5:37pm

    David, David, David -- thank you for beginning to amuse me (as compared to irritating me).

    How do you spell HYPERBOLE? Maybe this way:

    "....a crowd of rioting students nearly lynched the Prince of Wales and his wife the Duchess of Cornwall .... " 

    No, David. Some carried-away protesters shouted invective at the HRH duo and one live-to-regret it protester kicked their car .... a car which even their own minders, after the fact, acknowledged was not damaged. (Was it nonetheless an alarming experience for the cosseted therein? Apparently so, given the sensationalist photograph you chose, which I suspect you chose, not to highlight their fear, but because it is a sensationalist image).

    Never mind. Why should one be accurate, or even specific in reference, when one can simply resort to an inflamatory/hyperbolic stream of whatever? As in:

    The royal couple's bodyguards were at the point of drawing their guns... imagine the political repercussions if they had smoked a few students...  the Spanish right wing was trying to crucify Judge Garzón. .... you thought we were about to storm the Winter Palace.... the right still wants to crucify him, but they are more afraid to make their move now .... But, Englishmen physically attacking the Prince of Wales ... That is significant .... the Obama/Republican plan will result in the kind of street riots we’ve begun to see across Europe ....  the harm that WikiLeaks has done to elite communication and the harm it may do to some governments .... but those 25 million jobless and "vigorous" .... When They get violent, then things will move... they may get much, much worse, with real repression and the US Army being employed in American streets under Bush's Homeland Security Act  .... When they break out the tear gas and the rubber bullets, mouse pushing is willy pulling.....

    The truth in your post is contained here:

    Before going any farther I must say that nobody loves the Internet more than I do. Thanks to the Net I have been able to triple my modest income, not to speak of all the fun and opportunities for self-expression that I have found on it.

    Btw,  WTF? There is also the issue of your reflexive sexism that you reveal when you say:

    The wife and I .... 

    "The wife"? 


    by wws on Mon, 12/13/2010 - 6:22pm

    The wife is the posh way of saying da wife.  Watching the Royals is improving Dave's terminology, it seems.  Wonder what might get him to zee wivfe?  Paging Doctor Zigmund...

    SNL had a sketch of this scene with freaking Sir Paul McCartny and Paul Rudd.  It was up on Huffpo, but I can't find it now.  Guess the Queen might be wantin' her Knighthood back, eh? 


    by we are stardust on Mon, 12/13/2010 - 6:47pm

    LOL, Laughing the business about "THE" wife is stylistic. In my first draft it was "my" wife (BTW, is the possessive "MY" less machista than the definite article "THE"?), but I saw that in the following paragraph that when we went to the second big demonstration I referred to my darling as "my" wife, so I went back to jazz up the first reference to this talented and adorable creature. I like the way "the wife and I" got on a bus and went to "storm the Winter Palace" rolled off the tongue, there is something so prosaic about it. The other alternative would have been to refer to my baby as "my old lady" and believe me if I ever referred to her as an "old" anything she would have my liver for lunch.

    Understand that I am not apologizing. I think "politically correct" is so idiotic as to be beyond contempt and I refuse to be called on it. Anyone who insists in doing so is welcome to osculate my fundament. The English language is much too juicy to be corseted by nonsense like that.

    IMHO true feminism would be to fight for free child care centers for working single mothers and not worry so much about the language used. I see a lot of middle class ladies worried about this  terminology stuff and not worrying nearly enough about what happens to their sisters below the poverty line. Being "left" is about class, not about sex. PC is petit bourgeois.


    by David Seaton on Tue, 12/14/2010 - 6:09am

    Ah, Dave, mi amigo; I love it when you just dig yourself in deeper while 'not apologizing'.  It's awful damned entertaining.  Thanks.  LOL!


    by we are stardust on Tue, 12/14/2010 - 11:12am

    ¿Innocent?


    by David Seaton on Tue, 12/14/2010 - 12:10pm

    David:

    How I admire your consistency. Refusing to acknowledge, much less address, the substantive point raised -- i.e., your unrepentant willingness to serve up flagrant factual innaccuracy in favor of florid hyperbole in your blogs. Am I surprised? Sadly, no. Nonetheless, because you are a self-proclaimed "professional" journalist, I (as a former journalist) find it curious and saddening that journalistic integrity (as people our age were taught it) is apparently not a concern in Seaton blog world; there, you boast, "what matters is only the number of 'hits' and 'links' that may be generated."

    Which is presumably why, rather than engaging in a serious discussion about journalistic standards, you instead offer three blatant provocations to feminist sensibilities: 

    1) you inaccurately, though slyly assert that the "only" alternative to calling your spouse "the wife" was to call her "my old lady;" 

    2) you resort, once again, to feminist baiting in derogatory gender/sexual terms; last go-round your response to my calling you a "blog hogger" was to refer to me as a man; this time, you issue an invitation (to someone you refer to as a man?) to "osculate your fundament" ....

    3) more importantly, you inaccurately generalize and denigrate "middle class women" as people more concerned with PC terminology than women interested in effecting real change....

    In other words, as Stardust so succinctly observed, you just keep digging. 

    Odd, isn't it? That the man who entirely scorns and rejects the notion of being "PC" is the same man who then immediately turns around to lecture middle class women on what they may consider "correct" issues in which to become involved to call themselves feminists. Ha!

    Apparently, David, the support of middle class women on such issues as, say: scholarships/grants for women, political candidates aware of feminist concerns, legislation that affects both physical and mental health issues for women, etc. are not issues important enough to be on the list of endeavors worthy of a woman's time; rather, in Seaton world, apparently only issues that involve childcare are worthy of a woman's time .... leading one to surmise, David, that women themselves, as individuals, are as unimportant in Seaton land 2010 as they have been in ages past; their only viable function is, apparently, still the traditional one of devoting their lives to the well-being of children. 

    However, even by your arbitrary and limited standards for correct feminist action, maybe -- just maybe -- as a woman who, when she had resources, personally funded a battered womens' shelter, staffed it, and provided a warehouse for donated furniture/household goods to give women and their children of all ethnicities some sense of dignity in starting over from scratch ..... hmmm, maybe I am someone who qualifies, even by your standards, as a middle class woman who may call herself a feminist.

    As I am a woman who is now fully qualified to call you an equal opportunity sexist. For I find it too hilarious that you offered the same person you recently called a man the opportunity to "osculate your fundament."  Noooh thank you... but as every good southern woman would say: "thank you so much for asking." LOL.


    by wws on Tue, 12/14/2010 - 1:16pm

    ¿Smile?


    by David Seaton on Wed, 12/15/2010 - 1:26am

    The wife's artwork is amazing, David.  Please tell her so, from Lis.  Thanks.

     


    by LisB on Wed, 12/15/2010 - 1:52am

    Thankee Mam, will do. Kiss


    by David Seaton on Wed, 12/15/2010 - 8:35am

    David, the Homeland (in)Security Act is nothing without the Posse Comitatus Act...it is the one that allows the Army perform policing actions within the US and could be directed at individuals exercising their 1st Amendment rights.

    url :  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posse_Comitatus_Act

    If anything like what happened in England or Spain happens in the US, martial law won't be too far behind.


    by Beetlejuice on Mon, 12/13/2010 - 6:48pm

    If anything like what happened in England or Spain happens in the US, martial law won't be too far behind.

    And I do not think it would be the political left that would be in the streets shouting and yelling about THAT. It would be the gin tooting right that would be out. Make no mistake.


    by cmaukonen on Mon, 12/13/2010 - 7:13pm

    It would be interesting to see the look on tea-bagger faces when they take a townhall hissy fit to the streets and are confronted by armed troops ready to kick their butts and haul them off to a makeshift detention center.


    by Beetlejuice on Tue, 12/14/2010 - 5:17am

    Or shoot them where they stand. Sieg Heil.....


    by cmaukonen on Tue, 12/14/2010 - 10:27am

    the gin tooting right

    funny but true


    by Hey Wally on Wed, 12/15/2010 - 11:59am