There Ain't No Justice

Fifty million dollars, and counting.  That what Joe Arpaio has cost the taxpayers of Maricopa County so far. Personally, I think it is no more than they deserve for continually re-electing this corrupt, sadistic, racist to office.

Sheriff Arpaio will be 80 years old next year.  Long past the age when most men retire.  The real tragedy is that he will probably be allowed to do so, rather than end up in prison where he belongs.

Don't expect any objectivity from me on this issue.  I admit it.  I hate the man.  I hate him with a passion.  I hate his arrogance, his sadism, his racism, his pettiness, his blatant self-promotion, all of it at the expense of those least able to protect themselves.  He is a mean-spirited bully, totally devoid of anything resembling compassion or empathy.  To me, he represents everything that is wrong, not only with this state, but with this country.  His efforts at voter suppression are the very definition of what is un-American.

Now, finally, things are beginning to unravel for him. He's run out of subordinates to throw under the bus, so there is little left between him and the consequences of his actions.  Though I fear those consequences will end up being little more than an inconvenience for him.  He had to know this day was coming, and I have no doubt he planned for it accordingly. Like any other unethical person with too much power, he probably has a number of things squirreled away somewhere, meant to ease his fall.

Pity.  

The lesson?  Sometimes evil wins.  And there's not a goddamned thing we can do about it.  At least, not without succumbing to that same evil.  In the end, that's what separates us.  I'd rather see him go free, than to become him.

Still, if there were true justice, he would spend the rest of his wretched existence wearing pink underwear, and eating green bologna.

Politics & Boredom

I've been watching with interest the incidents of unprovoked police brutality against the Occupy protesters. Most people can't figure out why the police would do harm to people who obviously pose no threat to them.  But I've seen it before.  It's a trick prison guards have been using for years.

If a person feels a sharp, unexpected pain - say, a jab in the ribs with a billy club - their first instinct is to lash out at whatever is causing that pain.  Being a prison guard isn't exactly the greatest job in the world.  They're overworked, underpaid, and generally treated like crap by their employers.  There were times I actually felt sorry for them.  My sympathy usually evaporated fairly quickly, as the guards' working conditions tended to make them surly, and mean-spirited.  They would invariably take out those frustrations on us.

They were trying to provoke us into doing or saying something stupid, which would then give them an excuse to beat us down, and toss us in the hole.  I caught on pretty quickly.  Some guys never did get it.

They did this, essentially out of boredom.  It was a little excitement to break up their day.  I suspect the actions of the police are a little more politically motivated.  I think the police are actually trying to incite a riot, thereby discrediting the movement.  It is my hope the the protesters see this tactic for what it is.

There is an upside. A sort of conditioning takes effect. Consequently, I can now take a fair amount of pain, and still retain my reason and restraint.

We could always tell if an inmate was new, because whenever a guard did something senseless and mean, the new guy would always ask why.

The guard's answer was so consistent, that I actually think it's a part of their training.

When asked, "Why?"  The response was always, "Because we can."

Early morning weirdness

I came across this, and while watching, something odd happened.

People often make fun of the way Carl Sagan spoke (billions and billions).  For me, it's easy to overlook, because what I hear -- what comes through the loudest,  is his genuine love of science and nature.

Like my father, I'm not exactly what one would call emotionally demonstrative.  Unless one counts being perpetually glib as an emotion.

So, I was surprised when tears began to well up while watching this.  For a number of reasons, I suppose.  Pride in what we've accomplished.  Grief for what we've lost.  For an instant, I was 9 years old again, and all that hope and wonder came rushing back.  But only for an instant.

Then the memories of all that has happened since intruded.  All of the imagination and vision that put us on the moon has somehow turned into pettiness and cruelty.  Once we had leaders who imagined the world a better place.  Now we have those who can't imagine anything more that their own immediate self-interest.  We have others who believe this world is destined to be destroyed by some mythical deity, and are scrambling to get what they can from it before the end.  They're blind to the inherent conflict between their supposed beliefs, and their actions.

It took a relatively short time for humanity to somehow become less human.  To become a people who cheer the death of one of our own who can't afford to stay alive.  People who consider compassion and empathy to be character flaws.

There is a difference between being pragmatic, and giving up.

I admit, my ignorance on a wide variety of subjects could fill volumes...or, actually, not.  But I do know one thing with a certainty I've never felt before.

The past should never hold more hope than the future.

Calling It What It Is

This is one of many ignorant posts found on We Are the 53 Percent, the right-wing's response to Occupy Wall Street.

"My wife and I decided in 1996 that we were sick of poverty. We went back to school. We earned degrees. We got jobs. No one handed it to us. We earned it. We did it. I didn't go through all that struggle while raising 5 children so I could support lazy [expletive] people who want nothing but government handouts. You want to 'occupy' something? Occupy a job and start contributing."
- We are the 53 Percent

Really.  You went back to school.  Did you get the money from the tuition fairy?  What about the time?  What did your 5 kids do while you were in class?  Sorry, but I'm calling bullshit on this one.

In the whole of my working life, I've asked for government assistance once.  One unemployment check in 1981, for the amount of $88.00.  The process that led up to it was so time-consuming, tedious, and demeaning, that I swore I'd never do it again.

Yet my every waking moment, and every resource at my disposal is spent treading water, trying to keep a roof over my head, and food on the table.  If I miss a day's work, it takes me weeks to catch up.  If I miss a week, I spend the next six months getting back to where I was.  Any more than that, and I lose everything.

Everything.

I don't own a car.  I could probably afford to buy one, but I couldn't afford the keep it.  Insurance, gas, maintenance.  No way.  The same goes for home ownership.

The computer I'm using?  Built from parts others have thrown away.  I do pay for internet access, but I recently gave up cable TV in order to afford an increase in my wife's prescriptions.

My point is, I don't live beyond my means, and I don't ask for assistance.  Unlike those who run Wall Street, I have neither the will, nor the resources to game the system to my advantage.  I am not unique.  There are millions like me.

And it is WE who are the 99 percent.