LIVE MARCH ON PALANTIR in NYC | Stop Permanent U.S. Surveillance State
Quick Read
Summary
Takeaways
- ❖The protest honored Mark Milano, an ACT UP activist known for his fearless direct action and loud moral vision against pharmaceutical profiteering.
- ❖Palantir, a data analysis company, is accused of being a "radical Christian misogynistic white supremacist founded government profiteering billionaire data analysis company" that fuels the surveillance state.
- ❖Palantir holds contracts with ICE ($81 million), the U.S. Army ($10 billion), and New York City Health + Hospitals ($4 million over three years).
- ❖NYC Health + Hospitals allegedly uses Palantir to chase down people for unmissed payments, turning healthcare data into a tool for debt collection.
- ❖The protest highlighted massive budget cuts to Medicaid, the ACA, and Medicare, totaling trillions, while defense spending and ICE budgets are increased.
- ❖Activists demand universal healthcare, including gender-affirming care and comprehensive sexual health services, free from federal interference.
- ❖The "Palestine as a laboratory" concept was introduced, framing the region as a testing ground for AI military technology, with Palantir implicated.
- ❖New York State pension funds reportedly hold half a billion dollars in Palantir, with the state controller doubling his stake despite knowledge of Palantir's controversial ICE contracts.
- ❖The protest culminated in a civil disobedience "die-in" outside Palantir's offices, blocking traffic to symbolize the deadly impact of their operations.
Insights
1Palantir's Role in Surveillance and Healthcare Exploitation
Palantir, described as a 'government profiteering billionaire data analysis company,' is deeply integrated into controversial government operations. It holds an $81 million contract with ICE, a $10 billion contract with the U.S. Army, and a $4 million, three-year contract with New York City Health + Hospitals. Within NYC hospitals, Palantir is allegedly used to track down individuals for missed payments, effectively turning healthcare data into a tool for debt collection and contributing to a 'surveillance state' within public health.
Speakers detailed Palantir's contracts with ICE, the Army, and NYC Health + Hospitals. Ryan Foster Casey stated Palantir is 'currently used in New York City’s hospitals and clinics' to 'chase people down for unmissed payments.'
2Historical Parallels: AIDS Crisis and Current Healthcare Attacks
Activists drew strong parallels between the Reagan administration's neglect during the AIDS crisis (1981-1988) and current government policies under the 'MAGA administration.' Both periods are characterized by significant tax cuts for the wealthy, dramatic budget cuts to healthcare and social services, and increased military spending. This historical context frames current threats to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Medicaid, and Medicare as a continuation of systemic disregard for human life, especially among marginalized communities.
Eric Sawyer detailed Reagan's tax cuts, budget cuts to healthcare, and increased defense spending, noting Reagan's comment 'why aren't the right people dying?' in reference to AIDS. Valerie Jimenez Reyes highlighted HR1's proposed trillion-dollar cuts to Medicaid over 10 years, potentially leaving 15 million uninsured, including hundreds of thousands with HIV.
3The Fight for Universal Healthcare and Local Autonomy
The protest advocated for comprehensive, universal healthcare systems, specifically promoting the New York Healthcare Act and Medicare for All. Speakers argued that such systems would eliminate reliance on federal funding, which is vulnerable to political attacks, and ensure access to a full range of services (vision, dental, mental health, gender-affirming care, abortion, medications) without barriers like co-pays or prior authorizations. They also highlighted the importance of free, city-run sexual health clinics as a model for accessible care.
Maddie B from ACT UP's trans working group called for passing the New York Healthcare Act and creating public clinics for trans care, HIV care, and sexual health. Dr. Runa Ray emphasized winning the New York Health Act and Medicare for All to eliminate private health insurance companies and ensure comprehensive care.
4Corporate Complicity and State Pension Fund Investments
The protest exposed the financial ties between Palantir and public institutions, specifically New York State's pension fund. The state controller is criticized for investing half a billion dollars in Palantir and doubling the stake, despite the company's known involvement in 'terrorizing' immigrant families through ICE contracts. This highlights how public funds are inadvertently supporting companies whose operations conflict with the public's stated values and human rights.
Ryan Foster Casey stated, 'We right now have the state pension fund with half a billion dollars of your money in this company.' He added that the state controller 'doubled his stake when everybody knew that they were terrorizing ICE or terrorizing with ICE.'
Bottom Line
Palestine is framed as a 'virtual weapons manufacturer' and a 'laboratory' where AI systems are tested on Palestinians, turning them into 'data bodies' for experimental and deadly violence, before these technologies are deployed elsewhere.
This perspective reframes the conflict not just as geopolitical, but as a critical testing ground for advanced surveillance and military AI, directly linking it to the global military-industrial complex and companies like Palantir.
Activists can leverage this framing to build broader intersectional coalitions against tech companies involved in military and surveillance, connecting global human rights issues with local concerns about data privacy and state violence.
New York City's public healthcare system, specifically NYC Health + Hospitals, uses Palantir to 'chase people down for unmissed payments,' effectively weaponizing patient data for debt collection.
This reveals a direct, local impact of Palantir's technology on vulnerable populations within a public health context, contradicting the perceived mission of public health services.
This specific use case provides a concrete target for local activism, enabling campaigns to demand transparency, accountability, and the termination of such contracts to protect patient privacy and access to care.
Local elected officials are criticized for 'compliance is failure' when they excuse healthcare cuts by simply stating 'funds were cut,' rather than actively fighting against federal directives or finding alternative solutions.
This challenges the passive acceptance of federal policies at the local level, arguing that local officials have a responsibility to resist and protect their constituents, even against higher authorities.
Activists can pressure local politicians to adopt a more confrontational stance against federal cuts, demanding proactive measures like the New York Healthcare Act to create state-level protections and funding independent of federal influence.
Key Concepts
Interconnectedness of Struggles
The idea that fights against AIDS, for healthcare, housing, immigrant rights, trans rights, and against war and surveillance are not isolated but deeply linked by underlying systemic issues like corporate greed, white supremacy, and government priorities.
Direct Action as a Catalyst for Change
Drawing from ACT UP's history, this model emphasizes that significant societal change often requires disruptive, non-violent direct action, media spectacle, and civil disobedience to force accountability and shift public opinion when traditional political channels fail.
Palestine as a Laboratory
A conceptual framework suggesting that Palestine serves as a testing ground for advanced military and surveillance technologies, particularly AI, which are then exported or applied elsewhere, making the region a 'weapons manufacturer' in a virtual sense.
Lessons
- Advocate for the New York Healthcare Act and Medicare for All to establish universal healthcare systems independent of federal political interference and private insurance companies.
- Utilize and promote New York City's free sexual health clinics (in Morenia, Jamaica, Corona, Fort Green, Chelsea, Central Harlem) and demand extended hours, free COVID/flu/RSV testing, gender-affirming care, and free KN95 mask distribution.
- Pressure the New York State controller and other public officials to divest state pension funds from Palantir and other companies complicit in government surveillance, war, and immigration enforcement.
- Engage in direct action and civil disobedience, inspired by ACT UP's tactics, to disrupt business as usual and draw media attention to critical issues like healthcare cuts, corporate profiteering, and human rights abuses.
ACT UP's Direct Action Playbook for Social Justice
**Identify the Target:** Clearly define the government entity, corporation, or policy responsible for the injustice (e.g., pharmaceutical companies, specific politicians, data analysis firms like Palantir).
**Develop a Clear Message & Visuals:** Craft concise chants and create 'stunning visuals' (e.g., giant syringes, coffins, banners) that attract media attention and convey the message powerfully.
**Employ Disruptive Tactics:** Utilize non-violent civil disobedience, such as 'cough-ins' (feigning illness to protest healthcare policies), 'die-ins' (simulating death to symbolize lives lost), and disrupting public events or corporate operations.
**Leverage Media & Public Opinion:** Actively engage with independent journalists and create events designed to generate widespread media coverage, informing the public and building pressure for change.
**Build Coalitions & Sustain Pressure:** Form broad, intersectional alliances with other activist groups and maintain consistent pressure over time, even when initial crowds thin, understanding that change requires sustained effort and resilience.
Notable Moments
The 'cough-in' protest at the Trump International Hotel in 2017, where activists feigned illness to protest attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
This demonstrated a creative, non-violent direct action tactic that effectively garnered media attention and highlighted the health implications of policy changes.
Disrupting Trump's 2017 inauguration by yelling 'You elected a fascist' from the VIP section.
This showcased Mark Milano's fearless approach to directly confronting power and his ability to generate media spectacle even in highly controlled environments.
The 'Free the Vaccine' campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic, featuring a gigantic cardboard syringe prop carried by doctors and nurses.
This was a powerful visual protest against wealthy nations hoarding vaccines and pharmaceutical companies refusing to suspend patents, effectively communicating a global health justice issue.
The roll call of fallen activists, where participants shouted 'we remember you' after each name, including Mark Milano, Larry Kramer, and others lost to HIV/AIDS.
This was a deeply emotional and unifying moment, honoring the movement's history and fallen comrades, reinforcing the personal stakes and continuity of the fight.
The civil disobedience 'die-in' at Palantir's offices, where activists sat in the street, blocking traffic.
This was the culmination of the protest, a direct confrontation with the target company, symbolizing the deadly consequences of its operations and demonstrating a commitment to direct action, even risking arrest.
Quotes
"You don't fight because it's easy. You fight because it's right."
"A man who wanted to be president of the United States was letting people die. Oh, wait. We understand that now. Yeah, that was shocking back then. There was waiting for letting other people die on a continent for a patent. And Mark Milano exposed that and said, 'Not on my watch.' And he succeeded."
"Reagan didn't give a [expletive] about people. In a cabinet meeting, he was asked, 'Shouldn't we be doing something about this HIV uh problem uh this AIDS stuff?' Uh and his comment was why aren't the right people dying?"
"Science has kept me alive. Medical advances have kept me alive. Medicaid kept me alive for decades and your hope and your support have kept me alive. But budget cuts will not keep me alive or will keep any of you alive. War won't keep any of us alive. a government that doesn't give a damn about us and will will not keep us alive."
"Companies like Palunteer help make this happen through billions of dollars of government funding that could instead be used for things like health care and other social services that help people instead of hurting them."
"Palunteer is a radical Christian misogynistic white supremacist founded government profitering billionaire data analysis company."
"Palestine as a weapons manufacturer because that's what they are. They are a weapons manufacturer, a virtual weapons manufacturer in the modern age."
Q&A
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