Emile Henry was Guillotined in Paris on 21st. May 1894. His last words were reputed to be "Courage, comarades! Vive l'anarchie!" (wikipedia) His crime, placing a bomb in a cafe in Paris.
What drove Emily to carry out this act was his hatred and anger at the corruption, injustice and inequality that he saw all around him in society. All this existing behind an illusion and veneer of the opposite values. This hatred of what he saw and his desire for justice, equality and freedom drove him to desperate acts. Here we are 126 years on from his execution, if Emile could come back and view today's society, what would he think and what actions would he take?
Today the injustice has been magnified a thousand fold across the globe, avoidable inequality has ran rampant and reached unimaginable levels, corruption is so blatant that it seems to be the accepted way of life. I fear dialogue and debate will never remedy this state of affairs.
Today the injustice has been magnified a thousand fold across the globe, avoidable inequality has ran rampant and reached unimaginable levels, corruption is so blatant that it seems to be the accepted way of life. I fear dialogue and debate will never remedy this state of affairs.
Two quotes by Emile Henry from his trial:
“I had been told that our social institutions were founded on justice and equality; I observed all around me nothing but lies and impostures… I brought with me into the struggle a profound hatred which every day was renewed by the spectacle of this society where everything is base, everything is equivocal, everything is ugly, where everything is an impediment to the outflow of human passions, to the generous impulses of the heart, to the free flight of thought”.
And:
“You have hanged in Chicago, decapitated in Germany, garotted in Jerez, shot in Barcelona, guillotined in Montbrison and Paris, but what you will never destroy is anarchy. Its roots are too deep. It is born in the heart of a society that is rotting and falling apart. It is a violent reaction against the established order. It represents all the egalitarian and libertarian aspirations that strike out against authority. It is everywhere, which makes it impossible to contain. It will end by killing you”.
Drawing by Phil May, 1894.
