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Good for you, Lara!
This is so synchronistic with what has been spinning around in my head
all day long, it is amazing!
I stay up all night and do transcription, usually with the TV on. Last
night, I was riveted by the particular segment of the Leeza Gibbons show
that was on. It was a show on minimum mandatory sentencing laws.
I was particularly moved by the plight of a mother and son (black), so
much so that I cannot forget it and have had an inner dialogue with
myself all day long in the vein of, "We have got to do something.
People have to get outraged and stop this madness! I am going to do
everything I can. I will not stop talking about this!"
The mother cried floods of tears, nonstop, and I had the feeling that
from now on this is what this fascistic war on poor people, especially
on poor black people, has sentenced her to. She is serving a life
sentence while her son serves three life sentences. Her son was
televised in prison simultaneously. He could hear his Mother as she
talked and cried, and he struggled hard to stay strong and keep from
crying when he talked, knowing that he could never comfort his Mother
again, but he failed. You could see that it was all he could do to keep
from breaking down right then and there, and that later on in his cell
he would cry all night long, for many, many nights to come.
Oh yes, his crime? He introduced some people to some other people who
then went on to transact some type of dope deal. The people who did the
actual dope deal are now out on the street again. Apparently, there is
some type of "conspiracy" law where if enough people who accuse someone
of doing something, that person can and most probably will go to prison
for the rest of his or her natural life. Also, the jury in voting
"guilty" never are told that they are sentencing someone to live the
rest of his life behind bars.
This young man was caught with nothing, did not do the crime, merely
introduced some people to each other, who "snitched" on him, one of whom
was his cousin, and the result is that he is locked up for life.
As his mother's favorite child, he will never be able to make things
better for her again or make her smile. His future is null and void.
He and his mother are doomed to live the rest of their lives in hell
because of this war on drugs.
There was a black man on the show (I wrote his name down but can't find
it), a former D.A. defending these laws. I want to write to this man
and tell him how unforgivable it is for him to betray his people like
this.
What makes these laws even more egregious than they would be just in
their own right is the whole CIA and contra connection. Add in School
of the Americas (aka School of Assassins) at Fort Benning, Georgia, and
the thousands of tortured, murdered and disappeared in a war against
communism (a war for fascism?) Add in the flood of cocaine into this
country. (IMO, Nancy would have better served the country if she had
told Ronnie, "Just say no to the Contras!", than telling young people to
"Just say no to drugs!" If she had, maybe there wouldn't be all these
drugs here for them to have to say "no" to!)
Yes, Lara, it is time, way past time, to fight back! As an Oakland
citizen, count me in! Under separate cover, I am forwarding you words
spoken by Jerry Brown during his "recovering politician" days. We must
hold him accountable to what he said then!
Linda Mickelson <[log in to unmask]>
Lara Johnson <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> ALLIES NEEDED AGAINST THE DRUG WAR!!!!!
>
> OAKLAND, CA (CERJ) -- A coalition of organizations concerned about
> criminal justice policies (police accountability, drug war &
> death penalty) have been pressuring Mayor Jerry Brown's
> office for a meeting. In the last week, we have suddenly
> gotten some very strong support from close associates of
> Mayor Brown ...
<snip>
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