Our global economy, like our political system, has been hijacked by a tiny oligarchy, composed mostly of wealthy white men who serve corporations. They have pledged or raised a staggering $18 trillion, looted largely from state treasuries, to prop up banks and other financial institutions that engaged in suicidal acts of speculation and ruined the world economy.

Has there been a clearer articulation of the work of repressive and ideological state apparatuses in relation to contemporary concerns over media piracy than what recently happened in the Chicago suburb of Park Forest, IL?  On August 30 “Police arrested another alleged CD/DVD pirate last week during a traffic stop.”  In the inventory search of the car, officers found CDs and DVDs with handwritten labels, which prompted them to contact the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).  The RIAA is among the many media industry lobby groups responsible for spreading the notion that sharing media is not only illegal, but downright immoral.  The charges against the driver, who was pulled over for speeding, now include two that are related to copyright infringement thanks to a further search of his house.

So, the ideological work of the RIAA in creating a public “awareness” of piracy as evil has certainly done its work on the cops in Park Forest who, upon seeing the handwritten labels “naturally” noted this as a criminal activity and sought counsel from the very group who in part help construct their understanding of the phenomenon in the first place.  Torrentfreak notes that “They might be searching iPods next.”  The success of the RIAA’s propaganda also seemed to work on the man who was arrested in as much as his first reaction was to deny that the infringing materials were his, offering instead that they belonged to “a friend.” (Who, upon questioning, also denied knowledge of the materials – some friend.)

It makes us question who is really calling the shots here. The police are clearly, in this case, representing the interests of a coprorate music industry, and are not working in the interests of the citizenry, who have demonstrated time and again the desire to share and copy music.  Especially given the recent criminal charges brought agains Alan Ellis, the former OiNK admin, and the four OiNK uploaders in the UK, perhaps we also need to ask: Do we need another force to keep the public safe from the long arm of the corporate media industry?

Perhaps this could have the unintended effect of making all “pirates” drive slower, while allowing those dutiful citizens who have purchased their music legitmately to drive as fast as they want!

Full stories at Torrentfreak and at the Park Forest “enews” site.  It also appears that the Park Forest police do this thing fairly often.

Read Louis Althusser’s “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses.”

But let’s face it, most suburbanites can turn off their lights at 8pm on a Saturday night.  “The CN Tower soon darkened in the city’s skyline,” reports the CBC, “along with highrises, sports arenas such as the Rogers Centre and Air Canada Centre”  Jeez, on a Saturday, aww…thanks big business, for taking an hour out of your weekend to show how much you care! (1)

I’d like to see Toronto participate in an Earth Hour on a Monday, say around 10am.  Let’s see how many takers there would be for that!  Of course, the effect isn’t so dramatic is it – you can’t see all those lights that are always on during the day go out when its still daylight!

My favourite quote from the CBC article comes from a stalwart Albertan, who like many wasn’t about to let Earth Hour get in the way of the Battle of Alberta:  “Not a chance, I’m sorry to say…Let’s celebrate Earth Hour at four in the morning. That will be a lot better time, I think.”

Just as Buy Nothing Day hasn’t caused a massive rethinking of consumerism in the lives of many, Earth Hour isn’t going to all of a sudden make people use less energy.  In fact, because these events are promoted in a such a dramatic fashion, and involve a dramatic action (turning all the lights out, buying nothing) they can actually undermine their stated goals.  They make consuming less seem to be a dramatic thing when in actuality, consuming slightly less over longer periods of time (say, walking to work, taking public transit, turning out lights in rooms that you’re not in, sucking up the hot weather in summer; the cold in winter, etc.) would likely be much more effective.  By casting environmental action as a dramatic, Earth Hour runs the risk of scaring people off because the task of acting responsibly becomes too large, to unobtainable:  “how can we live without the lights on?”

Other things to consider:

• I wonder how many people drove to Earth Hour events like the one described in this article?
• I wonder how many enjoyed a nice hot coffee or tea in a paper cup with a cardboard ring around it and a plastic lid while at the event?
• How many rushed to their computers to frantically check email after one hour of blackout – were computers even part of the items turned off, or was it just lights?
• Were energy saving compact fluorescent lights turned off? By my recollection I think those things use more power when they are turned on than when they are left on.

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(1)  According to TheStar.com, “the ACC participated in Earth Hour by dimming exterior and corridor lights” – playing on a darkened ice surface would be chatoic, despite the “lights long turned off on the Leafs’ playoff hopes”.  Ha!