Re: anthony, who are we?

Beautiful article. What's the nature of the program(s) you're seeking to
establish? What kind of dialogue are you looking for?

It would probably be good to have crime covered as a sociology or civics
topic in high schools. I guess one of the problems is what would go into the
textbook. It is somewhat a political issue, I suppose.

My father ran a Boys Club in the black section of Richmond, Va back when the
south was just beginning to integrate. I guess this would be back in the
1950's. I think every community should have sufficient resources for
recreation to keep kids out of trouble.


"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.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> period, if it has been determined that a new
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>
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