Re: clint, and who are you?

"Bruce Reilly (a.k.a Bruha)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> 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.
>
>
>
>
>
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>
>
>
>
>
> Usenet extends worldwide.
>
>     The heaviest concentrations of Usenet sites outside the U.S. seem
>     to be in Canada, Europe, Australia and Japan.
>
>     Keep Usenet's worldwide nature in mind when you post articles.
>     Even those who can read your language may have a culture wildly
>     different from yours.  When your words are read, they might not
>     mean what you think they mean.
>
> 11. Usenet is not a UNIX network.
>
>     Don't assume that everyone is using "rn" on a UNIX machine.  Among
>     the systems used to read and post to Usenet are Vaxen running VMS,
>     IBM mainframes, Amigas, Macintoshes and MS-DOS PCs.
>
> 12. Usenet is not an ASCII network.
>
>     The A in ASCII stands for "American".  Sites in other countries
>     often use character sets better suited to their language(s) of
>     choice; such are typically, though not always, supersets of ASCII.
>     Even in the United States, ASCII is not universally used: IBM
>     mainframes use (shudder) EBCDIC.  Ignore non-ASCII sites if you
>     like, but they exist.
>
> 13. Usenet is not software.
>
>     There are dozens of software packages used at various sites to
>     transport and read Usenet articles.  So no one program or package
>     can be called "the Usenet software."
>
>     Software designed to support Usenet traffic can be (and is) used
>     for other kinds of communication, usually without risk of mixing
>     the two.  Such private communication networks are typically kept
>     distinct from Usenet by the invention of newsgroup names different
>     from the universally-recognized ones.
>
> Well, enough negativity.
>
> WHAT USEN
You might have picked a better time to talk about "cuts" in healthcare and
education than when Congress and the administration are doing what they are
in those areas.