United Liberty
A Troubling Yet Perfect Picture of the State
Tue, 07/14/2009 - 9:42am | posted by Chris Moody
A satire artist couldn’t have drawn it better: A government official presses his foot to the back of protestor in western China, holding his finger on the trigger of a gun pointed directly at his head.
To be sure, this picture that ran in The Washington Post on Saturday lacks context, and may not tell the full story. In case you haven’t been following the protests that are occuring in the far corner of China, a minority group of ethnic Turks called Uighurs have been clashing with Chinese forces over the past week.
For background, The Economist has more on the story.
This isn’t an “in-the-moment-of-action” shot. The “officer” is pointing a gun at the man’s head after he has held him long enough to have the man remove his belt & shoes and pull his trousers down to his ankles. The man is also handcuffed.
This is a photo of tyrany.
This is another to be added to a library of photos of Chinese tyranny. This is the state that got to hold the Beijing Olympics and that holds the United States’ debt.
“Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty.” - Thomas Jefferson