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New
York Zapatistas January 2, 2001
As supporters of the Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional-the EZLN-and its sympathizers in Chiapas, Mexico; as activists in other local, national, and international causes; and as people striving to be free, we have relied on WBAI-FM to tell us the truth, to help spread our word, and to maintain an ideal that reflects the goals toward which we and our compañeros around the world are striving: Democracy, Liberty, and Justice. Specifically as supporters of the EZLN, we have also done our best to learn from our compañeros in Chiapas, because we believe that the means by which we struggle are as important to the struggle as our ends. Among the Zapatistas and their supporters and allies, these means have been marked by a radical commitment to truthfulness, democracy, respect for the human being, and compassion. We wish to express our firm adherence to these means of struggle, and to make it known that we do not support anyone or any group who, though claiming to be working toward a future in which the human being will be valued at his or her true worth, treats human beings here and now in any way that is dishonest, undemocratic, disrespectful, or cruel. In light of this, we would like to point out the following: It is dishonest to suggest that there is no alternative to chaos but tyranny. It is dishonest to attribute to others one's own destructive actions and impulses: paranoia is caused by a desire to inflict harm on other people. WBAI needs to be protected from the people and the undemocratic processes that have brought it to its present condition of captivity. (At least accusing others of your own destructive actions and impulses serves the purpose of tipping your hand.) It is dishonest and undemocratic-it's so very Republican-to take by force what you cannot achieve by consensus or even majority vote. And it has not escaped our notice that the principal victims of the station takeover, as always-as so very unbearably always-are people of color. It is dishonest and foolish to demand from others what you are unwilling to give them-and this is as true of love and compassion as it is of respect. It is dishonest to claim that the forced removal of people from WBAI, through firings carried out with calculated cruelty and changing the locks on the doors, is an "internal matter." Once they are no longer on the inside, neither is your conflict (this should be obvious). If you don't want your "family business" to be out in the street, then you mustn't put so many members of your family there. Abuse involves the entire human family, and abuse thrives in secrecy. Both the people who have been fired and banned and the remaining producers at WBAI have been called upon to speak out-by the listeners of WBAI-because this is not a time for secrets. And if this is really an internal matter, what is the role of the external paramilitaries that were invited onto the premises? It is absurdly dishonest to suggest that the potentially fatal wound that was visited on the spirit of WBAI by the station takeover was "self-inflicted." It is dishonest and disrespectful to suggest that the station's listeners must feel like children, which is to say, powerless, and that they must do as they are told, particularly with regard to giving money to a radio station that no longer exists-in order to keep it from going out of existence. It is dishonest and disrespectful to announce that you will make no changes in programming while you are making them. It is dishonest and cruel to suggest that any healing can ever begin while the knife is still being thrust farther in (Republicans please take note). Step 1 of any healing process is and always has been: First, take the knife out. The New York Zapatistas support all movements and all people everywhere who are working nonviolently and honorably toward more democracy, more autonomy, more truthfulness, and more compassion at WBAI. Specifically, the New York Zapatistas support the three lawsuits already begun against the national board of Pacifica; the establishment of a separate fundraising effort that can release monies to WBAI when it becomes more democratic, more autonomous, more truthful, and more compassionate; the rehiring of those who were fired; and full public access to the station. We remain entirely unconvinced by all the "explanations" we have heard so far for the firings, bannings, and program changes at WBAI. New York City police officers accused of murder have come up with more plausible stories in only 48 hours-and their stories are not plausible. ¡Ya basta! ¡Libertad! New York Zapatistas Van las posdatas obligatorias: P.S. We also wish to advise our compañeros still inside WBAI to follow the sage advice of one who used to be among them: Stay strong, and pay close attention. And please don't forget: those who look to the Tallahassee alligator for protection are always the first to be eaten. P.P.S. In the plantation system and other systems of slavery, sometimes the overseer-the person who administered the beatings-was also a slave. This job was not a guarantee that the overseer himself would never get beaten (and it might be anybody's guess by whom). P.P.P.S.,
which has some questions: Vale. Salud y un abrazo fuerte para todos y todas-incluyendo a los y las con quienes no estamos de acuerdo. Que sea la verdad quien gane.
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