Sunday, June 7, 2009

The Weekly Radley - Tiananmen Square Edition

Here's Radley Balko, posted at his Agitator Blog back on June 4th:


It was 20 years ago today that the Chinese government killed 2,000 to 3,000 of its own citizens for the crime of demanding their own liberty. This iconic photo is about all that’s left of them.
George Orwell said, “If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—forever.” He’s all too right. Last century, an estimated 262 million people were murdered by their own government . That doesn’t include the hundreds of millions more killed by opposing governments during war.
Today ought to be a day to celebrate and promote human liberty, and to remember the abuses governments have heaped upon their subjects over the centuries.
So go find your own metaphor for the government tank pictured above.
Then put yourself in front of it.

1 comment:

TarrantLibertyGuy said...

Whenever I was a kid and I'd see images of Nazi brutality, Communist's killing their own in the name of the state, when I'd watch a movie like "1984" or other dystopian stories with government 'stamping a human face forever'... it would really get me riled up. It still does.

So, imagine me watching LIVE this brave student standing in front of tanks and temporarily halting the government thugs, it truly inspired me! This Chinese kid got this American 'kid' to really put some thought into my politics! I owe a lot to him.

Not too long after this, China accelerated it's economic liberalization. Soon, but 20+ years in the making, a political liberalization may take root.

My tank? The Pelosi/Schumer/Franks/Obama/Bush/McCain Neo-Con/Fascist/Communist steam train. If a few more folks stand with us, we can turn them away... even if it takes 20 years.