ophelia, the self-torturing

Dear Judges, Lawyers, Policemen, Guards, Counselors, Taxpayers, et. al.,

We are here.  Like it or not, for good or bad, we are here.  Who are we?  We are the
downtrodden and dispossesed, the self-torturing, the disenfranchised convicts,
drug and alcohol addicts, the unemployed and unemployable.  We are the children of
poverty, financial and spiritual.  We have and will have children of our own,
grandchildren too.  We are ex-cons, uninsured, homeless, of many colors and speaking
many tongues.  We are the enemy in what has become a domestic war against ourselves.

And who are you?  You who like the tough talk of Tough on Crime?  You who watch as
budgets are cut in education and health care while you militarize a police force?
Bullet-proof vests, automatic weapons, helicopters, tanks, robots ... the
testosterone is oozing through the streets, more prisons, longer sentences, tighten
the belt, spartan conditions, task forces, gang units, gun courts.  And what is there
to show for it?  Unemployent stays low because half the population oversees those
"out of the workforce", the dregs, the rabble, the enemy?  Please tell me there is a
deeper reason.  Do you feel safer?  More humane?  More like a cohesive society with a
shared sense of purpose, who can identify Us and Them?  Do you live in a gated
community or gentrified neighborhood?  By the way, have you read the Declaration of
Independence and US Constitution - or do you only know the first phrases?

It's about time we got together.  Please know that I have yet to meet a convict who
wants their child to be a thief, an addict, a dealer, a prostitute, or a violent
individual.  Most of us still have hope for ourselves even when stuck in the darkest
dilemmas, ruts and catch-22s.  Most of us believe in crafting laws and instilling
order.  Many of us have burrowed beneath the surface to find a spiritual sense of
being, an understanding force at least as powerful as those we succumbed to, and many
of use wouldn't escape if you opened the front door.  Did you know that approximately
10 million Americans are either incarcerated, on probation, on parole or once were in
those categories?  Each of those 10 million have families, friends, neighbors ... and
so closer and closer does the We interface with the You.  Don't you think it's time we
talked?

Are you ready?  Can you accept that the road we are travelling points toward a grim
and painful future?  Do you have the heart to face monumental failures while bravely
struggling beyond where we are now?  I know that some of you are, and that some of us
are, and this is what gives me hope.  You need our insights just as we need your
structure.  It is never over, especially when a real solution, a real treatment for
our sickness, is yet to begin.

                                                   In Solidarity,

                                                   Bruce Reilly (a.k.a Bruha)
                                                   P.O.Box 8274
                                                   Cranston, RI 02920 USA

P.S. - I am trying to conceptualize an effective guerilla media campaign to promote
       this cause.  Ideas are welcome.  Collaboration is prayed.






















do something noble, please consider some worthwhile
     charity.  There are tens of thousands of children dying around the
     world daily, and they could use more than a postcard.  

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Subject: I just heard about a scheme the FCC has to implement a tax on
     modems!  Where can I post a message so everyone will hear about
     this and do something to prevent it?

     Post it the same place as the articles in response to #37, above.
     This is an old, old story that just won't die.  Something like
     this was proposed many YEARS back and defeated.  However, the
     rumor keeps spreading and people who hear about it for the first
     time get all upset.  Before posting stories like this, check with
     the organizations involved (like the FCC) to see if the story is
     true and current.

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Subject: Is there a public access Unix system near me?  How can I get
     access to system for news and mail?

     Phil Eschallier posts a list of open access Unix sites (he calls
     them "Nixpub" sites) on a regular basis to the following
     newsgroups: comp.misc and alt.bbs.   Check his posting
     for information on sites you can contact.

     Furthermore, a list of open access sites that are not necessarily
     Unix sites is posted regularly in alt.bbs.lists; see the postings
     entitled "NetPub listing" for more information.

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Subject: In rec.pets: My pet has suddenly developed the following symptoms
     .... Is it