Freedom not Fear 2009
Text stolen from Karl over at the Destroyer Blog <3 ‘cause i couldn’t make it to the demo this year sadly.
Like last year, the Freedom not Fear (Freiheit statt Angst) demonstration in Berlin attracted thousands of people (25,000 according to a press release found at Netzpolitik). Peter Sunde of The Pirate Bay was there, as well as Pirate Party supporter Oscar Swartz, and Claudia Roth of the German Green Party. [comment by Josh: The Left party was there also of course. The fact that the Green Party tries to act like they are the civil rights party is somewhat hypocritical seeing how they supported surveillance laws when they were in the German government.]
The Pirate Party at the demo. I just wish they would use the Swedish Purple as their colour, not that fugly Orange.
A few rainbow flags could be seen in the crowd. I think the gay movement in general has missed that the privacy issues that the Pirate Parties have put on the agenda are very relevant to gay people. For example, when the Berlin gay guide Siegessäule interviewed politicians about gay issues, the focus was mostly marriage and adoption – the traditional gay issues. But those fights are won; today politicians compete in offering gay people human rights. It’s time to look upon gay politics from another angle. If gay people knew their history, they would worry about excessive surveillance laws, since gays and just about anyone with a different lifestyle are common targets in a society that aims to control its citizens. Surveillance laws will be misused, period.
about 11 months ago
German article in the TAZ
And a video of some cops beating up a guy at the demo because he wanted to report another cop.
about 11 months ago
Can you speak to me about this pirate party ?? i know so nothing about politic oO’ ^^
about 11 months ago
Your post says it very well. While in America we still have battles on those issues to face, our community is limiting its focus so narrowly that those two issues is all they care about. We have a lot going on in America that is wrong (and has been for many years). If our community does not awaken to the realities and the entire breadth of issues that we need to address, we will not only fail to achieve the results we want on the two focus issues but will likely lose many that we have already won as well as some that we have always had by virtue of our citizenship. We cannot continue to elect people to office that create spend trillions of dollars on wasteful programs, saddling future generations with the debt, just because they support two issues that we consider important. We’ve been lied to and betrayed by those who we helped elect and its time to make our power known by defeating all long-term politicians and bringing in fresh blood that will address the core issues of our nation as well as the important issues that are meaningful to us.
about 11 months ago
Wot, no music this time? Not even Meet the Boys on the Battlefront from The Wild Tchoupitoulas?
about 11 months ago
Well said.
We all to need to wake up.
The west is sleep walking into a totalitarian dictatorship that will make the Third Reich look like Dad’s Army.
about 11 months ago
Thanks Josh for pointing out how repressive the Greens have been on issues of surveillance. Many gays too are very limited in their outlooks as you have pointed out.
I hope the Pirates stay the course!
about 11 months ago
Pirates, eh?
I see no Flying Spaghetti Monster :(