Myspace protest
Just read at boingboing.net about a student protest of 15,000 in Los Angeles. "The students were, once again, protesting the House bill (that) would make illegal immigration into a felony rather than a civil offense."
This sort of story is what sends shivers up my back...makes me proud of teens and of their ability to use something like myspace for positive action as well as standing up for their rights, the rights of their parents and of their friends. It's esp. moving because I remember just a few years ago in Los Angeles a stupid proposition (187) was trying to get passed that would basically enforce teachers to turn in their students if they thought they were "illegal". What an inhumane thing. The irony of this is the very same people who supported this prop are usually the same crazies who support anti-choice. How can they value some life but not all life?
To me, when such propositions come out, it's usually a way of scapegoating a group of people for much deeper problems. There are many reasons why this should not be tolerated as it primarily provokes hatred and creates fear. What it does, however, is mask political corruptness and misused trust of our government. For example, the Terrie Schiavo case. For some reason this case among all the hundreds out there reached supreme court and clogged the news for several weeks. The various politicians wept for this comatose person and raged against the injustice of her being "let go". But why then? And why not all the other injustices of people being "let go". And why aren't these politicians, if they are so sensitive, stopping a war that continues to hurt thousands and thousands of innocent people both Iraqi families and multi-national soldiers?
It's come out lately that there was another reason for this big "to do" over Schiavo. She was merely a pawn to be played as the other hand swept and passed a law which will effect millions of living breathing people. A law which benefits an already manipulative and corrosive entity called credit card companies.
Bankruptcy was intended originally to aid those in regards to illness, divorce or death and I would add recent poverty. It was a way of helping to erase (forgive) these bills and help those individuals start fresh. Yes, there is some bankruptcy fraud. However, on the whole most people who needed to do this had an option. Now, during one of the darkest periods of the US (the largest unemployment or employed at minimum wage, little or no health care, housing at artificially high costs, wages kept at an absurdly low rate and student grants cut to nothing) people are meant to owe on credit for the rest of their lives. All this happened between tears and rage for a comatose woman. Now, don't get me wrong. I feel sorry for Schiavo but I feel rage for the living. Why do our children have to have massive debts on their hands? And why are we spending trillions on blowing up a small country that was found not to have ANY weapons of mass destruction? Why aren't we all shouting "no, stop this"?
Perhaps we have already succumbed and the time to rage has been past and we have let it roll away. Will a time come when we are left, alone, unprotected and there is no one to help? I've shared this poem before and I will do so again.
First they came for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me,
and by that time there was no one
left to speak up for me.
by Rev. Martin Niemoller, 1945
This is why we need to speak up and if that means to go against what is being said, lies and all, then we must speak. And we must speak together.
And if you are confused by what side to take, remember this. If you have to work for a living you are on our side...the working class side.
Peace to all~
This sort of story is what sends shivers up my back...makes me proud of teens and of their ability to use something like myspace for positive action as well as standing up for their rights, the rights of their parents and of their friends. It's esp. moving because I remember just a few years ago in Los Angeles a stupid proposition (187) was trying to get passed that would basically enforce teachers to turn in their students if they thought they were "illegal". What an inhumane thing. The irony of this is the very same people who supported this prop are usually the same crazies who support anti-choice. How can they value some life but not all life?
To me, when such propositions come out, it's usually a way of scapegoating a group of people for much deeper problems. There are many reasons why this should not be tolerated as it primarily provokes hatred and creates fear. What it does, however, is mask political corruptness and misused trust of our government. For example, the Terrie Schiavo case. For some reason this case among all the hundreds out there reached supreme court and clogged the news for several weeks. The various politicians wept for this comatose person and raged against the injustice of her being "let go". But why then? And why not all the other injustices of people being "let go". And why aren't these politicians, if they are so sensitive, stopping a war that continues to hurt thousands and thousands of innocent people both Iraqi families and multi-national soldiers?
It's come out lately that there was another reason for this big "to do" over Schiavo. She was merely a pawn to be played as the other hand swept and passed a law which will effect millions of living breathing people. A law which benefits an already manipulative and corrosive entity called credit card companies.
Bankruptcy was intended originally to aid those in regards to illness, divorce or death and I would add recent poverty. It was a way of helping to erase (forgive) these bills and help those individuals start fresh. Yes, there is some bankruptcy fraud. However, on the whole most people who needed to do this had an option. Now, during one of the darkest periods of the US (the largest unemployment or employed at minimum wage, little or no health care, housing at artificially high costs, wages kept at an absurdly low rate and student grants cut to nothing) people are meant to owe on credit for the rest of their lives. All this happened between tears and rage for a comatose woman. Now, don't get me wrong. I feel sorry for Schiavo but I feel rage for the living. Why do our children have to have massive debts on their hands? And why are we spending trillions on blowing up a small country that was found not to have ANY weapons of mass destruction? Why aren't we all shouting "no, stop this"?
Perhaps we have already succumbed and the time to rage has been past and we have let it roll away. Will a time come when we are left, alone, unprotected and there is no one to help? I've shared this poem before and I will do so again.
First they came for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me,
and by that time there was no one
left to speak up for me.
by Rev. Martin Niemoller, 1945
This is why we need to speak up and if that means to go against what is being said, lies and all, then we must speak. And we must speak together.
And if you are confused by what side to take, remember this. If you have to work for a living you are on our side...the working class side.
Peace to all~
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