

YOCK  "WHITE"  WASH                         -by  Ciaron  O'Reilly
-----------------

I was in a Texas jail when the Rodney King verdict came down.  An
all  white  jury vindicating the Los Angles police who beat their
black prisoner senseless.  Nothing out of the  ordinary  for  the
L.A.P.D.--except  there  was  a home video rolling.  For the next
year America saw the images of the helpless king on his knees  as
the  white  boys of the L.A.P.D. swung their batons like baseball
bats.  At the  trial  of  the  four  police  officer,  the  legal
technicians  kicked in pushing the buttons of racism and fear and
the 12 jurors affirmed the  brutalisation  of  Rodney  King.  The
verdict  came  down  in  conflict with both image and reality and
L.A. burned--55 dead,  2,500  injured,  12,000  arrested  and  $4
billion damage.

There was no video rolling last November 7th,  when  Daniel  Yock
was tackled to the ground, knocked unconscious, cuffed behind the
back, thrown into the back of a police van and left to die.  what
was   rolling   immediately   after   his  death  was  the  Labor
Party/Police consensus machine to market the  killing  of  Daniel
Yock.  A machine to combat the Roma Street demonstration of grief
and rage within 24 hours of killing and the 4,000  strong  silent
march  and  exorcism of the watchhouse a week later.  To head off
this mass demonstration, Minister Warner was dispatched  to  Roma
Street  Forum  to  collect  petitions  and save us (or them?) the
march to Parliament House.

Goss,  Wyvill,  Plunkett  and  Associates--all  who  build  their
profiles  and  careers  on  the  civil  liberties movement of the
seventies--swung into action to sell this death.  The C.J.C.

Inquiry proved to be an effective  tool  in  damage  control  and
managing  dissent.   The  C.J.C.  managed  to keep intact the now
internationally recognised perfect score of no charges laid in an
aboriginal  death  in  custody.   As in the Rodney King case, the
police managed to present themselves  as  "victims",  threatening
litigation  and  demanding  an apology.  These paranoid delusions
were matched on the streets of  West  End  and  the  Valley  with
stepped up patrols and harassment.

What was most disappointing in the wake of the Inquiry  whitewash
was  the  minimal amount of solidarity forthcoming form the white
community.  This was evident  at  the  South  Brisbane  Church  I
attend.   Known as the most hip and liberal congregation in town,
mass was in full swing there on November 7th , as Daniel Yock was
being killed two streets away.  This church's lack of response to
the Inquiry  whitewash  was  explained  by  the  parish's  social
justice worker as "people are confused".  There was no attempt to
mobilise parishioners for the April 20th rally.   I'm  sure  this
moral  parishioners  was  duplicated throughout the various white
scenes in Brisbane.

Vigilling outside the West End police station for  an  hour  each
day  between  the  Inquiry's  conclusion and the April 20th rally
provided ample opportunity to reflect on  naked  racism  and  the
"confusion"  of  white  liberals.  The marketing of Daniel Yock's
death secured with the jingles  of  "He's  dead  because  he  was
drunk!",  "He  was no angel!" and "There's been a lot of break-in
West End recently!".

The racism is as old an as intrinsic as white  invasion  of  this
country.   The  confusion  is  one  of  where we stand.  Silently
behind the security forces that ensure our status  and  privilege
or  with  the broken body of Daniel Yock, the broken lives of the
invaded, the historic price of our privilege.   We  are  confused
about where we stand.

The April 20th rally was about one-third the size  of  November's
march.   The  gathering was predominantly aboriginal, proving the
community maintains the capacity to mobilise in the face of fear,
racism, and white indifference.

They know Daniel's arrest was another based on police harassment,
his death one of criminal negligence.

The whites who  gathered  were  predominantly  from  the  "fringe
groups"--Democratic   Socialists,   Catholic   Worker,  Anarchist
Squatters, West End Feminists.  Love 'em or hate 'em,  call  them
sects or call them communities, they were there, weren't confused
and continue to struggle with their own racism.  There  was  also
some  new  faces  of  the untested young and the "same old faces"
from the '60s and '70s who, like those Japanese soldiers found in
the  Pacific,  just  don't  know  the war is over or to cut their
losses and sign on with the Goss government.

Led by the emotions, rage and grief of  Lionel  Fogarty  and  the
analytical  clarity  of  Sam  Watson we moved through the streets
screaming truth to power.  No Minister Warner  to  meet  us  this
time--just  heaps of cops.  Mostly on hand and out of sight, some
on foot, on bikes, in cars,  on  horses  and  even  Water  Police
bobbin up and down under Victoria Bridge.

The killing Daniel Yock  is  symbolic  of  a  past,  present  and
future.   A  recent  past  of over a hundred aboriginal deaths in
police custody and subsequent cover-ups.   A  longer  history  of
invasion,  dispossession  and  genocide.  A present low intensity
conflict to secure the gentrification of the inner city.  As  Sam
Watson  put  it,  "blacks  are  bad for business"--the police are
there to move them on, to deal with them.  A future of a  growing
underclass  set  adrift from the economy and a militarised police
force to deal with them.  From Rodney King to Daniel Yock to  the
police  assassinated  children  of Rio de Janiero--you ain't seen
nothing yet.

In such times confusion, ignorance  and  silence  are  cultivated
luxuries the human family can ill afford.














































