they are laughing beneath raw, before rude, beside long barbers
Officer I. Q. Smythe, MBA
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.
would not have participated.
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7a. All right!! My group passed the mainstream vote!!
Congratulations; you have proved the worthiness of your topic.
System Administrators now have no excuse not to carry your alt group,
and you can say that publicly. After all, without an alt group,
how can people cross-post the same article to both groups? How
would people be confused about which topics go where?
Clearly, an alt group is needed. Every news group should have a
corresponding alt group!
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7b. Awww.. My group failed the mainstream vote. And we were so close.
Some people would suggest that you say something logical, such as:
"My topic has a lot of interest but not quite enough for the
mainstream Usenet. Therefore I recommend an alt group."
The problem is that this statement makes sense. As stated earlier,
logic is useless against system administrators. If you absolutely
insist, then you can gather together all of the reasons you didn't
use before and post them to alt.config. My advice, however, is
to follow the suggestions given for Question 7c.
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7c. I can't believe it! Usenet voters didn't like my group at all!
What?? Obviously Joe Blow (who criticized your alt group) has
formed a conspiracy against you. This is the only reason for
the skewed vote, since we both know your group is the best thing
to happen to Usenet since alt.sex.swedish.Bork.Bork.Bork.
Thus, you should post a message explaining the situation to everyone
who thought the vote was legitimate. You should accuse Joe Blow
of ballot stuffing, forgery, bias, murder, and any other crimes
you can think of.