Monday, January 18, 2010

Happy Martin Luther King Day

My respect for Dr. King has increased greatly over the years as I have learned what this man accomplished using non-violent means. For those who say that you must only lobby congress to change harmful laws, look at how Dr. King and his followers were able to expose the discrimination authorized by the law using civil disobedience. Would the civil rights movement have gained any traction or accomplished any real change if Dr. King simply wrote his congressman to beg for the metaphorical whippings to stop? Though Dr. King did have his faults, he should be commended for not bowing down to the establishment and using non-violent noncompliance to achieve his goals.

5 comments:

  1. Glad to see you're still writing, Jake. I need to keep up more. Curious if you read the Harper's piece on the three alleged suicides at Gitmo that basically appear to be anything BUT a suicide. I'm not sure how high that stuff is in regards to your disgust with the government, but it constantly amazes me how much the American people are able to turn a blind eye.

    Anyways, like I said, glad to see you're sticking with the posting. Your ambition is admirable and makes me feel pretty lazy...

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  2. Jake,

    I had heard about the Gitmo "suicides" in passing but haven't had a chance to explore in greater detail. And yes, it does rank high on my seemingly endless list of things that disgust me about the government. In fact, one of the recent adds to my podcast subscription is to Scott Horton of Antiwar.com and Antiwar Radio.

    Scott interviewed a lady this past month who is the attorney for one of the Gitmo detainees and she was able to shed some good light into how tragic that whole situation is. Here is one of the most ridiculous things I found out about Gitmo:

    38 Gitmo Habeas cases have been decided by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that Gitmo detainees have the right to challenge their detention. Of the 38, 30 have been ordered released and 8 have been denied. Of the 30 ordered released, 18 have been released with 12 still detained.

    So the overwhelming majority of those who have requested Habeas hearings have been granted. These are people who have been literally kidnapped and thrown in a cage to rot. I'm not saying these men are saints, but at least give them due process to ensure that these government people aren't just simply grabbing brown people at will with Muslim sounding names and thrown into the dungeon. Such a barbaric system for the "land of the free", no?

    And now Obama is simply going to move the Gitmo prison to Illinois (not closing it as promised), no doubt taking care of some well-connected friends in his home state.
    Hope and change, eh?

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  3. Jake,

    Here is the Antiwar interview of Scott Horton (the host) with Scott Horton (of Harper's Magazine and of no relation) regarding the "suicides" at Gitmo.

    http://antiwar.com/radio/2010/01/19/scott-horton-26/

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  4. Thanks for the link. The fact that Obama hasn't changed much isn't too surprising. What I do find interesting is how a lot of people keep claiming that he is a radical socialist, when really, he continues so many of Bush's programs, that it's hard to see a difference. Gitmo? No. Iraq/Afghanistan? No, he's sent more troops. People truly don't care about issues. Only what color their jersey is. I'm becoming more disillusioned by the day. You laugh, I'm sure, because you're unsure why I'm not there already. But my cynicism is growing stronger still...

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  5. I'd say that Bush and Obama are more fascist than socialist since the wealth redistribution primarily ends up in the hands of the well-connected corporations (military industrial complex being a major player), rather than in the hands of the people. Of course, wealth redistribution, even the kind that lands the money in the hands of the people, is still stealing by definition.

    Call it cynicism or call it being exposed to the truth. Once you've been made aware of the absolutely destructive power of the state, it's hard to look at things the old way.

    Welcome to my world! :)

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