Ball of Confusion (Madness)

¡Hola! Everybody...
What can I say? There’s sooooo much going on in the world today it’s hard to figure out where to start... (lots of links!)

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It is bad enough that people are dying of AIDS, but no one should die of ignorance.

-- Elizabeth Taylor

First, while the mostly conservative US media and political class assure us that toxic sludge (or at least “safe nuclear reactors”) are good for us, you’d better not drink the water (or milk) in Japan, cuz, you know, the radiation levels are kinda/ sorta above levels. Shit, I live about 25 miles from a steaming mess of nuke that’s more dangerous than the Japanese glow-in-the-dark one. Imagine trying to evacuate about 22,232,494 (more or less) people from the NY Metro area? We’re not very polite... LOL

I find it ironic that the same people who were after the Village Idiot’s head (on a platter) for waging war under false pretexts and redistributing wealth (upwards), now applaud Obama as he does the same. In fact, we’re fighting three wars right now. Teachers are being fired, jobs (and record profits) continue to be outsourced, republican state governors are trying to bring us back to the days of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire tragedy, and we just ejaculated 131 Tomahawk missiles at $1 million a pop.

Hold on while I sneeze:

::ACHOOO-HYPOCRITES::

Sorry, but I’m allergic to moral cowardice.

On the entertainment front, raging beauty, talented actor, compassionate activist, Elizabeth Taylor passed away. The first time I saw The Last time I saw Paris, I was so struck by her beauty, it felt as if her image was burned into my brain synapses. What a gorgeous freak of nature! IMNSO, Taylor was matched in beauty and talent only by the as sublime Dorothy Dandridge (who, unfortunately, wasn’t allowed to shine). Taylor also cared, she left the world a little better than she found it, AFAIC.

I spent all day yesterday meeting with lawmakers and attempting to sway their positions regarding criminal justice policy. The event was part of a coalition of organizations that included a group from the Juvenile Justice movement. Right now NY State, which is facing a so-called budget deficit, is maintaining several empty prisons at the cost of more than $200 million per year. In addition, we’re closing schools at a time when we’re sending juveniles to prisons deemed inhumane by federal investigators. The cost of keeping one child in prison per year in New York state? Over $100,000. Some researchers put the actual cost at over $200,000 per bed, per year!

The good news? For me it was hanging out with a great bunch of very young activists, who were well-versed on the issues and who, in passionate terms and an informed manner, schooled members of our state legislature on the foolishness of incarceration as a panacea for all social ills. Even legislators hostile to our agenda seemed genuinely impressed by the young people in my group. I’ll be writing little bit more about this process later on this week. For those of you who like to beat up on our youth, I am compelled to ask: what the fuck are you doing to make this world a better place?

So, there you have it: there’s the mess, the message, and there’s also solutions to the mess. Which part did you play today? Are you making this a better world?

Just sayin...

My name is Eddie and I’m in recovery form civilization...

The Oscar Grant Verdict: So Where Exactly is the Injustice?

 Look, it's no secret that the involuntary manslaughter conviction and potential 2-4 year sentence of Johanness Merhsele in the Oscar Grant trial presents itself to be yet another injustice face by African Americans. I suppose that anything short of a public flogging and subsequent beheading as punishment in this case isn't justice in the minds of many, who just so happen to be black. Well I say, though understandable, it's a misguided and ill-formed opinion. Moreover, much of it lies in the assumption that justice wasn't served because the victim in this case died at the hands of a white man, who happened to be a police officer.

NOTE: Black folks kill each other senselessly everyday and nobody riots.

Now I understand quite clearly the historical context of "justice" as it applies to minorities here in the US of A. But the automatic assumption that justice wasn't served in this case, I find to be be sadly shrouded in tribal knee-jerked reactions. Sure I know this is hard to accept coming from me the ever present and always on the job racism ambulance chaser that I am. But, being a habitual line stepper and free thinker, I would be remiss if I didn't call bullshit, or keep it real as I do on this site as I do.

Over the last few days I've communicated with people on and offline on the subject of this verdict. The one thing that remains consistent is that people are of the opinion that an "involuntary manslaughter" conviction wasn't good enough, because the cop in this case deliberately shot and killed an unarmed black man. A black man who at the time was laying face down on the pavement. Yes, like you I saw the video clip; but what amazes me, is the absolute deafening silence when I ask people to prove that officer Merhsele intentionally, willfully, and deliberately pulled the trigger to execute Oscar Grant.

Even more troubling, is the lack of understanding of involuntary manslaughter, voluntary manslaughter, or second-degree murder as legally defined in California; or the choices the jury had to make in this case. With that said, let's take a look at the breakdown of said definitions as it applied to a conviction of Merhsele:

SECOND-DEGREE MURDER: An intentional killing that was neither planned or premeditated. The jury had to be convinced that Merhsele fired his gun deliberately.

VOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER: Oscar Grant was killed in the "heat of passion" without intent. The jury had to believe that Merhsele's fear of danger from Grant and his friends was unreasonable

INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER: Killing of another person with "criminal negligence". The jury had to believe that Merhsele's deviations from training were so profound that it was criminal.

ACQUITTAL: Accused not found guilty. The jury would conclude and accept  that Merhsele used appropriate level of force for the level of threat he perceived.


So now I ask, after reading the four choices they were given above, just which outcome or verdict is acceptable. Better yet, if you were on the jury, which one would you argue or vote for? Further, just exactly what evidence or testimony would you use to press your argument? Yep, make your case; I'm listening...

In the Heart of the Heart of Darkness: A Look at the Prison Pipeline & Minorities

Not too long ago, I attended a conference in which one of the panelists related a story that to me was more horrifying than any slasher movie. A child in kindergarten class was asked to draw a picture showing how he saw himself in the future. It’s an innocent enough exercise, one I am sure is given in kindergarten classes across the nation. The child drew an elaborate diagram. In it he drew his school. From his school, he drew a tunnel that wound its way through a rather sophisticated landscape. That tunnel led to a prison.

Now, the teacher was horrified. She called in her superiors, who called the parents, and so on. When asked why he would draw such a picture, he responded in the typical honesty only children can muster. He said he drew it because it was true.

And he’s right...

The spectacle of conservatives pontificating about morals has become a bad joke. For example, watching that morally-challenged fool, William Bennett, on CNN spinning a report on the US prison population is the height of hypocrisy (or at least it was back then). As a society, we incarcerate more people than any other nation in the world. We have 5% of the world’s population, but 25% of the world’s prison population. There are currently 2.3 million men and women behind bars in the USA right now. Add to that the 5 million on probation and parole and you have an epidemic.

The vast majority of those in prison are young people of color. You might say that this is so because people of color are more prone to crime, but you would be wrong. Reams of studies, such as those published by the Sentencing Project, have shown that, all other factors controlled, a black youth is 1.5 times more likely to be sentenced to prison than his white peer -- even when the crime and criminal histories are the same.

You might say that, hey, prison is fucked up, but we need to lock up criminals in order to stem the tidal wave of crime. Again, you would be wrong. There is no correlation between incarceration and crime rates. In fact, New York City’s record crime drops occurred during a decade in which the prison population was decreasing.

You might say that the collateral damage inflicted on these individuals is justified if it keeps dangerous criminals off the street and again, you would be wrong. The majority of those currently incarcerated are non-violent, first time offenders -- often low level drug dealers with drug histories. Our criminal justice system is so overburdened, that if everyone currently fighting a case would choose to go to trial, the system would implode. As a result, plea-bargaining -- giving up the right to a fair trial in exchange for a more lenient sentence -- is the norm rather than the exception. In other words, the vast majority or people in prison didn’t even have the benefit of a fair trail.

Finally, you might not give a fuck because you think this doesn’t affect you, but, again you would be wrong. Where do you think our government gets the money to build and maintain these prisons?

Where the Heart is...

-=[ Home ]=-

A house is not a home…

[Editor's Note: The following piece comes from my good friend, and newest member of our writing team, Eddie Blue Eyes. His blog, [un]Common Sense, is highly recommended as daily food for the soul.]

My first morning here, a bright sunny Sunday morning, I was awakened by a hushed but insistent, not particularly good mariachi singing right outside my window. Annoyed, I got up to see who it was and to request they take their singing ass somewhere else. When I looked, I saw a short, older Latino, dressed in black, with black cowboy hat and boots. He wore dark wrap-around shades, and with the small accordion he held, he played the same three chords over and over again. He sang songs of heartbreak, of love lost and regained and lost again, in his hushed, not particularly good, but insistent voice.

Next to him, stood a large shopping cart full of roses for sale and young Latino/a families on their way from church would occasionally stop and purchase a few. I realize he is blind, his cane pressed up against his armpit. He comes here most mornings to sing of love lost in that same hushed, not particularly good, but insistent voice.

I have moved from the largely upscale, yuppie Brooklyn neighborhood of Park Slope to Sunset Park. It’s not that far away, and still somewhat upscale, but there is definitely more diversity. It's a neighborhood first colonized by a wave of Puerto Ricans in the 50s and 60s and later revived by an explosion of Latin American and Asian immigrants. One avenue block up, on 5^th Avenue, you can walk the main drag and see scores of businesses offering their goods and services to the many different Latino/as that live here. Young Salvadoran teen girls and Mexicans from Puebla pass by Dominican hair salons, Puerto Rican and Mexican restaurants, or buy treats from sidewalk vendors selling everything from aguacates to mangoes, caña, and piraguas.