Tuesday, April 06, 2004

The American babe in the woods complex.
Will the 2004 election be called off? yeah ... they might as well call it off. I mean, OBVIOUSLY, it would totally suck for Americans to be denied the choice between a Christian fundamentalist oil man and a millionaire sellout Vietnam veteran, but perhaps it would just be better to let Americans in on the fact that "we the people" and our opinions and decisions don't really mean shit.

food for thought about terrorism
(criminologist Todd Clear, New York Times, Dec. 12, 1993)
"Why do harsh penalties seem to have little to do with crime? ... Police and prisons have virtually no effect on the sources of criminal behavior ... About 70 percent of prisoners in New York State come from eight neighborhoods in New York City. These neighborhoods suffer profound poverty, exclusion, marginalization, and despair. All these things nourish crime."

the same path of logic works whether you're talking about New York State or the world. The most empoverished and oppressed sectors are going to lash out against the most wealthy and well fed when they are left no other realistic recourse to better their lives. Building more prisons or getting tough on crime doesn't stem the occurence of crime in this country, just like kicking in doors, bombing weak countries and occupying foreign lands isn't going to make this country any safer from terrorism.

Fair and honest governments should have nothing to fear.