Never Mock the Empire

Satirist and Iraq war veteran Essam Attia was arrested by the New York police department after he switched out advertisements from display cases at bus stops and other public locations and replaced them with his own bit of brilliant social critique, the below graphic which many have seen:

In an interview, Attia explained…

…”that he posted the images ‘to create a conversation about the deployment of drones in American airspace. We have to remember that right now, internationally, they are being used to kill people. They’re armed: they shoot missiles. We’re fighting an illegal war in Pakistan and no one seems to want to talk about it.’”

But the state does not take kindly to criticism, and even far less kindly to ridicule. As the linked above article explains:

….”the artist has been charged on 56 criminal counts, including grand larceny, possession of stolen property and a weapons charge for possession of an antique, unloaded .22 caliber handgun. The NYPD appears to have put some effort into hunting the artist down.”

With those kinds of charges, Attia no doubt faces decades longer in prison for a harmless social critique than the much-celebrated “Pussy Riot,” which violated private property, religious sensibilities, and the public order. Do not look for any international outcry over Attia, though. The Left is also in love with the empire
BTW, follow me on Twitter @DanielLMcAdams

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2:31 pm on December 11, 2012