Forum Post: Evidently, Capitalism Is No Longer The Problem: How Abby Martin Just Sold Out The Movement on RT…
Posted 10 years ago on July 3, 2014, 4:09 p.m. EST by KevinPotts
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Evidently, Capitalism Is No Longer The Problem: How Abby Martin Just Sold Out The Movement on RT… REALITY CHECK NEWS
(Concerning the Top 0.01% in Abby Martin’s commentary/review of multi-millionaire “proud and unapologetic capitalist” Nick Hanauer’s Memo to his fellow Zillionaires ‘The Pitchforks Are Coming…For Us Plutocrats’ with RT producer Tyrel Ventura)
[Excerpt: 6:30-7:53] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZpPoDtbdGc&list=PLI46g-I12_9p7quGXXanTK2zEWLiOZQvZ&index=2
Abby Martin: “…So, I think I just said that wrong, but obviously I meant the .01% and I’m glad that he made this differentiation…”
Tyrel Ventura: “…Yes…”
Abby Martin: “… because I think that that was a really big flaw in Occupy Wall Street is we had this 1(%) vs. the 99(%) and really we’re not talking about…just rich people making six figures,…”
Tyrel Ventura: “…No, we’re not…”
Abby Martin: “…we’re talking about plutocrats.”
Tyrel Ventura: “Yeah, we’re not talking about just your average, ya know, good story of a guy who makes six figures, gets a high-paying job…ya know, we’re talking about the elite of the elite, we’re talking about the, the cream of the crop, the upper echelon, the kind of, you know, they call them the shadow rich, ya know the ones who are above the one percent.”
Abby Martin: “mmm (totally agreeing) Right (…) right, exactly, the ruling oligarchy…”
First of all, other than Abby Martin and other pro-capitalists-apologists like Libertarian Jesse Ventura’s son Tyrel Ventura, who produces her show on RT and a hypocritical, multi-millionaire, unapologetic capitalist like Nick Hanauer, Who The Fuck Is “We”? –Who Is NOT Talking About (And Attempting to Distract And Manipulate Public Opinion Away From) The True Exploitative Nature of Capitalism Itself? It’s certainly not those of us who are truly awake in The Movement, who understand the inhumane, exploitative nature of capitalism itself as a detrimental plague upon humanity, whose lives have been unjustly condemned to a lifetime of dependence, depravity and drudgery/servitude, who have been railing tooth and nail against it –It’s Certainly Not Us who are “not talking about” it. In fact, it’s the very heart of EVERYTHING WE Have Been TALKING ABOUT From The Very Beginning.
I used to be such a huge, hypnotized fan of Abby Martin years ago, when I first discovered her show ‘Breaking The Set’ on RT. She was everything an intellectual-humanist-revolutionary-against-the-system could possibly ask for. She was pro-humanity, pro-Occupy, pro-Movement, anti-war, anti-establishment, anti-mainstream-media, anti-corrupt-two-party-duopoly and anti-capitalism/anti-exploitation of people ALL the way (so it seemed). Not just smart, but super-insightful and brilliant! Not just a critical thinker, but philosophically Socratic! Not just likeable, but adorably charismatic! Not just caring, but extremely/spiritually humane (and like myself, I thought she was as far Left on the political spectrum as one could possibly be, to the point of surpassing any conceivable measurement or paradigm)! And not to mention, she’s smoking hot! And with a heart-filled passion for social justice and exposing corruption unlike anything I had ever seen before! As far as I was concerned, Abby Martin was Wonder Woman! And I was forevuh in Love! lol
And there were plenty of reasons for someone like me to be such a huge hypnotized fan; the intro to her show, where she bashed a TV (which represented mainstream media) with a sledgehammer was totally fucking Rock N Roll, the episode where she showcased Plato’s Allegory of The Cave connected with me deeply, and the fact that she has had so many of the greatest, most humane intellectuals of our time as invited guests on her show, such as Noam Chomsky, Chris Hedges, Dr. Cornel West, Peter Joseph (Abby has also even appeared to speak at The Zeitgeist Movement Festival), Dr. Jill Stein and David Swanson of The Green Party, my favorite activist/comedian Lee Camp, Democracy in The Workplace advocate Richard Wolff, and even the brilliant/futurist Jacque Fresco of The Venus Project have all appeared as speaking guests on Breaking The Set, plus Abby’s seemingly reverence for MLK and his ideals, these people are some of the greatest heroes of our time and to see them all on her show really helped to solidify me as a huge fan and to assume that we were both dedicatedly awake on the same level to the root of our world’s problems and that we both shared the same political, socioeconomic, moral understandings and ideals.
But after the initial hook phase, I noticed the content of her show gradually shy away from exposing and focusing on the root cause of our world’s problems (which is mainly capitalism, exploitation and the imposed oppression, scarcity and poverty, which results from a world ruled by money and a profit motive that values the freedom of unrestricted personal gain at the expense of others over the collective freedom, livelihood and well-being of ALL People). And it was never really that she ever came out and said what I just said herself, which is such a vital realization and understanding of the root cause of almost every aspect of humanity’s unnecessary suffering (an understanding which is paramount to the ultimate survival, livelihood and moral evolution of our species), the advocation of such deep realization came mostly from some of those heroic guest speakers I mentioned, who I just assumed that she agreed with. And I noticed the content of her show became more about anti-corporatism (rather than about anti-capitalism itself) and more focused on the wide-ranging symptoms of a world ravaged and deprived by capitalism (rather than a focus on the disease and how to cure it). And the more I noticed her agreeing wholeheartedly with and praising/promoting the political ideals of certain guest speakers like Gov. Gary Johnson and Jesse Ventura, the more I realized that our ultimate political/moral ideals are nowhere near on the same page at all really and that Abby Martin is (and had always been) a charismatic Libertarian, which is basically an anti-war, pro-gun, pro-drug, pro-gay, capitalist-apologist Republicrat who doesn’t want anybody to have to pay any taxes. And that her show Breaking The Set on RT is basically the Libertarian version of the Democrat’s “Rachel Maddow Show” on MSNBC.
[And Yes, I now feel like smashing this computer monitor with a sledgehammer while it plays Abby and her producer Tyrel Ventura talk about how “we’re not really talking about” capitalism itself as our problem, but No, I’m not really gonna do that. What a fucking Sell-Out.]
To say “it’s only the top 0.01% who are the real problem with capitalism” is like saying “it’s only the most violent rapists, who rape the most and cause the most damage who are the real problem with rape”. And it doesn’t matter if someone is in the top 0.01%, the top 1%, the top 20% or the top 50%, Capitalism Is Fundamentally Based on The Unjust/Inhumane Exploitation of People! And if no one was willing to exploit anyone or to be exploited by anyone then it could no longer exist. And people can remain in denial and try to sugar coat that shit ALL they want to, but there is no getting around that. Period.
[Excerpts:]
“This may be a shock… to those who have heard me say in some form of a less kinder, less gentler moment me, that Libertarians are Ayn Randian Regressives who more often than not parrot faux liberty talking points literally spoon fed to them by some Koch Brothers inspired think tank, talking points that in fact serve as a pillar that upholds the empire of the ruling elite even as they espouse to tear it down.” -Dennis Trainor Jr. / # ACRONYM TV http://nblo.gs/Y85TP
“Libertarians don’t have to agree on where all this ends (it ends with workers seizing the means of production), but they should understand that no matter what one replaces it with, dismantling an unjust system requires addressing..." -the Root Cause of- "...the injustices that system created. If you don’t, then your idea of “freedom” will be attacked as the freedom to be exploited by the same people running the world today. And with good reason.”
Elites didn't get rich off of some “free market.” Here's why libertarians should back radical wealth redistribution http://www.salon.com/2013/11/08/libertarians_are_very_confused_about_capitalism/
“The problem is that these people refuse to do anything more than pay lip service to issues. It isn't that they can't. It's that they won't. I think it's a self interest issue.” http://occupywallst.org/forum/libertarians-are-very-confused-about-capitalism/
@KevinLynnPotts @AbbyMartin We need to fight #capitalism, calling it #corporatism is a refusal to acknowledge the full scope of our problem. http://pic.twitter.com/Z8kXPC3M5c
REALITY CHECK NEWS Social Justice Oriented News/Satirical Commentary & Dissent / "Exposing The Reality of a Corrupt & Inhumane System" Creator/Host: Kevin Potts https://www.facebook.com/pages/Reality-Check-News/208106556037187
How would you structure a system to function"over the collective freedom, livelihood and well-being of ALL People"..
Democracy at work.The one person whose arguments I find the most logical are those of Marxian Economics professor Rick Wolff.His ideas reflect a modernized version of Anarcho-Syndicalism.His ideas don't seem to include a total elimination of all forms of Capitalism.He advocates elimination of structures that involve a small group of people who control all capital in order to benefit only themselves.If we could at least do that, all living things would be saved from the whims of a few sadistic creeps and destructive wars could become a thing of the past.
".He advocates elimination of structures that involve a small group of people who control all capital in order to benefit only themselves"
I agree, but the tricky part is the details. So how is it done, and what is put in place to assure it doesnt happen again?
An orderly transition would be almost impossible.My understanding of the transition from State Capitalism to Neoliberalism in Russia is that it was not very orderly.Criminals were able to surge into the vacuum and they still have great power there.I think,in those days,Russians still continued to go to work even though they knew there would be no pay for it for a long time or possibly never.Somehow I can't imagine Americans continuing to go to work if they know they won't be paid.We really need to be training organizers right now.That is the best and only thing for Occupy to do.I have some ideas in this area and I plan to go to NYC on S17'14 to try to find people who have the ability to train organizers.I think the situation is critical.Consultation and consensus must take place before we can figure out what is the best way forward.Americans still haven't figured out that our present system is-inoperable.
Any one heard of the Illuminati? How about the international Jews (Henry Ford)? This sounds a lot like a rewrite of those conspiracy theories to me. That there is a ruling elite that govern, or seek to govern the world. Spooky stuff, really, but still just a bunch of conspiracy theories without real proof. It doesn't matter if your calling them international Jews, Illuminati, or Shadow rich, it's still the same theory.
Gee what a shock. Yet another sell-out. Damn right she is. No. It's not just the top .01%. That notion is absurd. Sure, it would help if the concentration of wealth were reduced significantly at that super high echelon. But not enough. Not even close.
I don't have a problem with some concentration of wealth and income. I don't know anyone who does. But even the low end of the income bracket for the 1% is around 10 times the median (Give or take. It's been a while since I checked.). That is PLENTY. In fact, that is ENOUGH in my opinion. There is no legitimate reason for ANYONE to make over 10 times the pay of a firefighter, cop, teacher, factory worker, or garbageman. Not if the hours are full time.
The wealth and income are far too concentrated in this screwed up country. It's not logical or even moral. The 1% rolls of the tongue rather easily and it makes sense mathematically. This attempt to single out the .01% is just another trick designed to weaken the entire cause. If we were to focus on them exclusively, then someone would come along and tell us to focus on the .001% and so on and so on.
We should all double our efforts for a few months ripping on the 1% just to compensate for this .01% CRAP being shoveled in our faces.
I think what the point is is that a couple making a couple hundred grand a year is not having a disastrous effect on the economy. Thats the level of income we all want to be at.
The housing crash, the free trade deals, the monetizing of commodities, the power racket, oil tycoons, decisions to go to war, etc. These are made by people that are in an entirely different group of people.
99 vs 1 % was a marketing dream come true. Easy to remember, adds up, creates a clear enemy. But its hard to look at your doctor and tell him if it wasnt for him, everything would be fine. I think that was the point.
Besides, we have seen every system so far put into place turn to shit afterwards. Maybe its not the system so much as the populations willingness to participate in said system.
Theres a reason its hard to stay #1 in sports. People get content, and everyone else is gunning for ya. Maybe thats whats going on more than anything.
Abby Martin has always seemed like a Plant to me.Other people apparently think the same as she was refused an entry on Wikipedia.That suggests to me that there is a commonly held opinion that "Abby Martin" is a Persona rather than an Actual Person.