Thursday, July 28, 2005

In Times of War, the First Casualty Is Always Truth

Well, well. Turns out that the British authorities lied about the innocent Brazilian kid murdered by cops at London's Stockwell tube station last Friday. Despite the early spin, he was not wearing a bulky jacket and did not leap the ticket barrier as reported.

Since the neocons' bloodthirsty defenders of state murder screamed about these fabrications as being prima facie evidence the kid deserved five in the noggin, I wonder if they'll recant anytime soon.

I'm not holding my breath.

1 comment:

J Ballot said...

Hi Cousin Lee!

Great to hear from you, and thanks for checking out my blog.

You make some interesting points, and I have just 2 quick replies:

1. One of my problems with this situation is the use of plainclothes cops. Given that English was not the kid's first language, it's easy to imagine his terror when armed men are yelling and running after him (and they're not easily identified as police by their clothing) -- I think that's why he ran. "Plainclothes" is another word for "cops in disguise" -- they're essentially spying on an unsuspecting populace. It's ironic that, in order to preserve "freedom" and "our way of life," the police engage in reviled tactics once reserved for repressive regimes (pardon the alliteration).

2. The main target for my post wasn't so much the behavior of the cops but the whitewash that ensued. The authorities justified their actions in part on the pretexts that the kid was wearing a "bulky" jacket and had jumped the turnstiles -- neither of which turned out to be true. The defense you presented was much more rational than the lying issued by British authorities. If the cops' behavior was appropriate, then why did they lie? And the worst part is the falsehoods were picked up and spread like wildfire by the media here -- people tend to hear that part but seldom the retractions and corrections that follow.

Anyway -- welcome to the blogosphere! I'll be keeping an eye on your new blog.

Love you too! :)

J