Sunday, March 6, 2005

Do you want to be blind forever?

The capitalists will always use the government, and the law to keep you where you are.  They will always try to stop you from striking, stop you from trying to improve working conditions...They might not always succeed, but currently they succeed more than they fail.

    So great is the assurance of your masters in your stupidity that they dare do such things. They feel safe in having duped you so thoroughly and reduced your naturally rebellious spirit to such abject worship of 'law and order' that you will never dream of opening your eyes and letting your heart cry out in outraged protest and defiance.

     At the least sign of your rebellion the entire weight of the government, of law and order, comes down upon your head, beginning with the policeman's club, the jail, the prison, and ending with the gallows or the electric chair. The whole system of capitalism and government is mobilized to crush every symptom of dissatisfaction and rebellion; aye, even any attempt to improve your condition as a workingman. Because your masters well understand the situation and fully know the danger of your waking up to the actual facts of the case, to your real condition of slave. They are aware of their interests, of the interests of their class. They are class conscious, while the workers remain muddled and befuddled.  --Alexander Berkman

Why did we ever start saying things like "sheep" to describe the masses?  Are you a sheep?  Do you know anyone who is a sheep?  Do you think any of your friends consider themselves "sheep?" You know that they do not.

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