“If you’re not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.”
These truthful words from the great revolutionary Malcolm X came rushing back to me as I refreshed the front pages of the Financial Times, Reuters, and The Guardian.
Instead of some actual news, my eyes were treated to the usual pomp and pageantry of the Democratic National Convention in the US – a gathering that might as well be known as ‘the annual meeting of thieves, war criminals, and other decrepit individuals’.
Beyond this flood, I was bombarded with non-stop updates on the capsized boat and whereabouts of UK multimillionaire Mike Lynch, whose misfortune apparently demands our utmost attention.
Meanwhile, little to no ink was spilled on the Israeli war machine’s latest act of terrorism against a Gazan school, where 12 children were murdered.
Equally absent was any mention of a new report exposing the horrendous conditions forced upon asylum seekers – conditions that lead to death after their journey on boats far less glamorous than Lynch’s.
The war criminals and those cruising on luxury yachts seem to be granted all the real estate available for print, while the victims of imperialist slaughter and plundering are conveniently ignored and underplayed.
Never has it been more clear that a paper like The Communist is vital: cutting through the crap in the bosses’ rags, and providing the perspectives that we need to arm ourselves for the class struggles that lie ahead.
Nish Gora, Edinburgh
Luxury yachts vs. small boats
I can’t go an hour without being blasted with headlines about the British “entrepreneur” Mike Lynch (not to be confused with Mick Lynch), who drowned in the Mediterranean after his luxury yacht sunk.
At least it makes for a welcome break from the right-wing rags’ hysteria about the small boats ‘invading’ our shores!
The attention that this maritime accident has received makes it clear who gets help and attention under this barbaric system.
It’s almost as if to say ‘You must have a net worth this high to warrant a full media breakdown and a search and rescue operation – or else you’ll be left to drown without a eulogy’.
If you’re a refugee fleeing from the bloody wars stirred up by western imperialism – putting your life in the hands of profiteering human traffickers to make it to safety – you get nothing but demonisation from the media, and the threat of deportation.
But if you’re lying in the wreckage of some billionaire’s yacht, you get the thoughts, prayers, and fanfare of the entire establishment.
Our ruling class stands back and lets migrants drown. Why should we care when one of their own suffers the same fate?
Ben Cownley, Manchester
Two-tier Keir?
In his latest bid to become the 21st century’s answer to Enoch Powell, Nigel Farage has locked horns with Starmer over Britain’s alleged “two-tier policing” of the far-right riots.
You heard that right! The Reform MP thinks that “protesters” burning down hotels and hurling bricks at mosques are actually the victims of harsh policing.
According to Nigel, we presume, those taking part in pogroms should receive a slap on the wrist. Perhaps some community service will turn them into upstanding citizens?
Farage’s nonsense has been echoed by the likes of “Tommy Robinson” and Lawrence Fox. Even Elon Musk has waded in, popularising #TwoTierKeir.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 6, 2024
Well, this might be controversial, but I think these guys could be onto something.
Black people are many times more likely to be subject to stop-and-search, police violence, and unjustified arrest.
Meanwhile, government ministers can flout Covid restrictions, and Royals can abuse underage girls to their heart’s content!
And while pro-Palestine protesters are thrown into police vans for opposing genocide, and climate activists are handed five year sentences for merely planning protests, the real criminals – those directly profiting from war crimes and environmental plunder – are practically untouchable.
As the ancient saying goes: “Laws are like spiders’ webs – they will catch the weak and poor, but are torn to pieces by the rich and powerful.”
If you ask me, Farage and his ilk should consider themselves lucky. Wait until the working class is in charge – then they’ll have something to complain about!
Maurice Dumighan, Tower Hamlets
Have you got something to say about the hypocrisy of the media and the establishment?
Are you sick of there being one rule for the rich and powerful, and another for the rest of us? Send your ‘Them and Us’ submission to The Communist today!
