On the Murder Mile
Posted on August 7, 2008
There has been some complete arsewash spouted¹ in the lead up to the two week Coca-cola–McDonalds–Samsung–GE–Lenovo–Kodak product placement otherwise known as the ‘Olympic Games’.
Mention brutal suppression of Chinese workers’ labour rights, appalling working conditions, detention without charge, the absence of an independent judiciary, absence of freedom of assembly, hastily expedited death sentences which feed the organ transplant market … and the occupation of so-called ‘autonomous’ regions such as Tibet, and opponents will focus on Tibet to the exclusion of all other charges. Essentially, the contention is that if one opposes the Chinese military industrial complex’s occupation of Tibet (and let’s not talk about any of those other things you mentioned), then one must necessarily favour restoration of a Lamaist theocracy — as if the only alternatives are dictatorship … or dictatorship. Any criticism of the Chinese dictatorship is part of a ‘racist’ ‘culture war’ and a conscious attempt to strengthen the hand of American imperialism. And besides, Beijing rescued Tibetans from feudalism and slavery — from themselves. In other words, Tibetans are children and cannot be relied upon not to enslave themselves, as any return to self-government must entail. Poor little Tibetans, can’t govern themselves. Just who are the racists here? Chinese nationalists have responded to criticism and recent protests with counter-accusations of ‘jealousy’ and a promise to ruin the 2012 Olympics — with all sincerity, we wish them well in that particular endeavour.
While some opponents of the Chinese government have called for a boycott of the Games, the torch relay and associated events have provided opportunities to embarrass China’s rulers, with farcical spectacles such as the transfer of the torch to buses to protect the ’sacred flame’² in Paris and London. Protesters in Paris carried a banner which said ‘Peine de Mort Chine Médaille d’Or’ (Death Penalty Gold Medal China).
It is possible to oppose the brutal and oppressive hyper-capitalist Chinese dictatorship and to oppose a return to theocracy and feudalism in a future independent Tibet, without supporting American domination of China. In fact, to characterise socialist opponents of China’s bureaucratic élite as collaborators with American power is a vile slander. We support the self-emancipation of workers. We support an armed workers’ revolution to sweep aside the sclerotic structures of the stillborn revolution, and tear down the military industrial complex.
Meanwhile talking heads are in Beijing doing ‘pieces to camera’, purring about the remarkable sense of freedom they ‘feel’ — while the police stop them to check their travel documents every 5 minutes. For nothing will be allowed to get in the way of ‘doing business’ and ’shifting product’. If imperialism is the highest stage of capitalism, the Olympic Games cannot be far behind.
Today’s true Olympic moment won’t be some pituitary case setting a world record in a sport that’s ignored throughout the four years between Olympics, then sweating out a drug test. It will be a Chinese yuppie plunking down two months salary for one of the sponsors’ mobile phones.³
¹ Much of it emanates from the apologists for dictatorship and genocide connected to RCP/LM/Spiked Online.
² The torch relay was introduced at the 1936 Games by the Nazis, who were enamoured of such spectacles.
³ Going for the gold in Beijing - literally — Guardian, 5 August, 2008
