PressTV: "The 1% is Bracing For Class War"

The ongoing human rights violations in the US, as detailed in a report recently released by the Russian foreign ministry, have led to great friction between the different classes in America.

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Press TV has conducted an interview with Caleb Maupin, an activist from International Action Center, to further discuss US human rights violations.

The video offers the opinions of two additional guests: Kevin Danaher co-founder of Global Exchange and Paul Wolf, a human rights and international lawyer.

The following is an approximate transcript of the interview.

Press TV: US human rights abuses cover a wide range of issues, and have escalated in its frequency: torture, harsh police tactics, bad prison conditions, and unfair judicial system: Why is the trend increasing in its frequency?

Maupin: I think the trend in repression in the United States is increasing due to the fact that people are standing up and demonstrating.

The fangs have always been there, the vicious ugliness of the rulers and their ruthless efforts to maintain their rule have always been there.

Just in 1982, the US dropped bombs in Philadelphia and destroyed an entire block against the MOVE organization.

But for a long time they haven't had to ratchet up their repression because people haven't been standing up to them.

But this Occupy Wall Street movement has opened up a new area of political space where people are taking to the streets in huge numbers.

And millions of people are learning the truth that activists like me have known for a long time, which is that, in New York City and anywhere else in this country, if you're a Zionist or a Ku Klux Klan, and you have a march then the police will escort you nicely and everything will be fine.

But if you stand up against Wall Street, and you stand up to these bankers and you have a message they don't want to hear, they'll come down on you with pepper spray and mace, and their orange nets, and they'll come and they'll brutalize you.

And that's the truth, this whole idea of the US as a democracy is a sham.

If you stand up to these ruling elites they'll come down just as viciously as they came down on striking workers back in the 1900s when unions were illegal, just like they came down on the Black Panther party in the black liberation struggle.

They rule this country, the Wall Street elite rules, and they will be vicious to defend their rule.

Press TV: Obviously you as a part of International Action center perhaps, and in line with Occupy protesters, when you hear about your freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, in terms of the constitutions, which is your right to exercise, and you have laws passed that where US citizens can be picked up from the streets, without any explanation of alleged terrorism charges, that's people standing up.

So is that the hope of the Occupy protesters, standing up to the system?

Maupin: That is absolutely the hope!

You know the Bill of Rights wasn't even originally in the constitution. It took a popular movement and demonstrations back in the time of the founding of the United States for the Bill of Rights to be even added in the constitution, it wasn't originally part of it. I was one in demands.

And you know, all this rhetoric of the US being the freest country in the world, there are more people in prison by numbers, alone, than there are in any country in the world.

I mean that's shocking, and this is a free country with so many people in prison.

And, in addition to that, I mean the level of police brutality we've seen, you know, right now they're bracing because they realize their system cannot solve the economic problems we're facing right now. And they're bracing because they know Occupy Wall Street is just the beginning.

They see the rumbling and they see that people are coming. And they're trying to brace everything and secure their system and lock down everything and prepare for the global class war that's coming, that's going to tear this system apart.

Press TV: Let me ask you two things; explain the definition of the global class warfare and how they are preparing for it?

Maupin: Well, as far as global class warfare, it's the fact that there is a whole generation of people all throughout who world that this system won't be able to provide employment for, whom all of the life that has been offered under this system is disappearing.

There are generations without jobs. And their only chose is to go out to the streets and to fight. And if they want to have a future they're going to have to fight for it.

So, they're bracing for that, and their bracing includes things like this National Defense Authorization Act, which basically gives the government the right to detain anybody. It also includes these massive expansions in the prison system, massive expansions in the Department of Homeland Security and other means of oppression.

Because they're bracing for the explosion that is coming! Occupy Wall Street is just the beginning!

If you look around the world right now, things are shaking. 2011 was just the beginning! Next year is going to be bigger, and the year after that is going to be bigger, and it's going to continue until this system falls apart.

Press TV: We have about forty-five seconds, and we want you to say whatever you like, regarding the topic we talked about.

Maupin: Well, I just want to say, the reason they're bracing right now, is because people are reviving the forgotten traditions of class struggle and fighting against the bankers.

People are learning the American history about heroes, not like George Washington, but like Huey Newton and William Z. Foster and the true revolutionary leaders in this country who have fought against the one percent.

And that's why they're bracing in fear, so we should be hopeful at this moment, we shouldn't cower!