Totalitarianism is on the rise all over the world. Cuba has returned to jack-booted open oppression in the street. China loads its rifles and dares the world to stop it in Hong Kong. The United States surrenders to Woke authoritarianism wrapped in simpering illiberalism.
It appears in many forms — covertly, with Americans being “cancelled” from jobs and society for daring to oppose the Marxist Woke status quo, and overtly, with China disappearing thousands of Uyghur men and women into horrific “re-education” camps.
Recently, Kodak featured the work of photographer Patrick Wack — a dozen or so shots taken in the Uyghur region of Xinjiang on Instagram. Then almost immediately deleted them.
Kodak wrote of its decision: “We will keep ourselves in check and correct ourselves, taking this as an example of the need for caution.”
Kodak promised to “learn, grow, and do better” in obeisance to Communist China.
And why is this? In Suzy Weiss’ Common Sense Substack interview, Patrick says,
“China is a country where so many products are manufactured. It’s a country that the whole world has business and diplomatic relations with. And they are trying to re-engineer and disappear a people and their culture. I hope to bring light to this and what kind of a regime this is. We’re seeing history repeat itself in Xinjiang. And the architect is Xi Jinping himself.”
Patrick Wack is a brave artist willing to risk his life and livelihood to tell the story of these people through his photographs. Kodak, a monolith using the Woke techniques infesting America’s educational institutions, research labs, news organizations, law, medicine, unions, entertainment industry, government, business, non-profits and the military, is silencing him in the same way any American opposing Woke tyranny is silenced today. Or Cuban in Havana, or Uyghur in Jinjiang.
When I look back at this time, after the fall, if it is not fought off, no matter what happens to me, I’ll feel content to have used my words as Mr. Wack uses his photographs.
We are ensorcelled by our pleasures here, and terrified into silence so as to keep them. The rides, the games, the cotton candy and cacophony of bells. But the carnival stands on quaking ground, and it will open like a grave if we don’t stop promising to “do better,” and start fighting back.
Professor Brett Weinstein attacked by students at Evergreen State College, America, 2017.
I understand almost all Americans, with few exceptions, will remain silent for fear of losing their jobs, their homes, their friends, their pleasures. But that’s the problem with earthquakes, you see. Everyone will fall in, whether they spoke up or not.
In my mind I see our country as an old photograph now, like one you find when you’re moving house and you’re packing up your stuff. It’s faded to blurred yellow and pale grey. “Why didn’t I take better care of this photo,” I have thought to myself in the past. “Now that time is gone.”
Patrick Wack’s full interview with Suzy Weiss and more from the excellent Bari Weiss on Substack: https://bariweiss.substack.com/.