From Skinhead To Hero

There are stories that come along every once in a while that leave you speechless. We look at people and make sometimes educated, sometimes not so educated guesses about what is on their inside based on what is outside. In some instances, as with clothing, tattoos, things we do to our appearance, this process is intended. But every once in a while, what we see gives no hint at all of what is really underneath. And every once in a while we get a glimpse of how fluid we really are as humans, or can be, how we can begin as one thing and become something else. This man’s story is such a story.

This man, Bryon Widner, began as one of the worst racist skinheads. He was described by anti-skinhead movements as one of the most aggressive and confrontational. Then something changed. I don’t know if we will ever know what. I’m guessing that having kids may have had something to do with it. But he not only left the white power group he was in, but decided to speak out against them. He underwent multiple surgeries to remove his facial tattoos, after seeking help from one of his former enemies to get the surgeries. He received death threats against himself and his family. And still continued and spoke up.

I could expound on what kind of courage it takes to leave such a group, or speaking out against their terrorism, or even finally going to a group of people who were enemies and admitting you were wrong. But none of what I am relating conveys the extreme nature of his story or the magnitude of what he did in renouncing his status as completely as he did. None of this conveys the magnitude of what his wife did to support him, or what his family went through. So here is a more extensive article that still does not convey it, but it comes closer.

http://news.yahoo.com/reformed-skinhead-endures-agony-remove-tattoos-162205881.html

I am a cynic and a pessimist. I don’t watch the news because I get too angry. I’m not Anne Frank. I can’t say that I believe that there is good in everyone. But when someone like this comes along, I believe, at least for a little while, that maybe I’m wrong about that. Good luck, Mr. Widner and good luck to your family. I hope you find the peace that you seek. As far as I am concerned, you have earned it. You have made a transition from monster to hero in such a way that we find in myth and legend. And I hope that your message and what you have gone through will change the world. It has certainly changed my perspective of it today.

Death of Troy Davis

Last night Troy Davis, in prison for 22 years, for a crime it looks probable that he did not commit, was executed by lethal injection in the state of Georgia.

http://news.yahoo.com/ga-executes-davis-supporters-claim-injustice-031409578.html

He was convicted back in 1989, of murdering a police officer who worked as a security guard. This police officer was without question a hero. He had served as an Army Ranger, and was in the process of defending a homeless man from a beating when he was shot. The problem is that there is significant reasonable doubt as to whether he was shot by Troy Davis. I personally do not believe he was.  There was the presence of another suspect, Redd Coles (wow, an unfortunate surname for me), there was no physical evidence found to indicate Davis, and seven of the nine ‘witnesses’ recanted and said that they were coerced for their testimony. Not only were there mountains of reasonable doubt, but there were allegations of witness tampering. This case should have been thrown out on that basis alone. One would think. But there were loopholes that kept unreliable testimony in, and kept people from interfering and stopping this. Essentially, Davis was killed by the devil in the details, and by people who knew those details enough to manipulate them.

But it’s done. All the elucidation in the world won’t bring him back.

I’m putting out a quote now by the officer’s family that boiled my blood when I read it. It is unfortunately clear to me now that this officer was the best of them.

According to the news, “Officer MacPhail’s widow, Joan MacPhail-Harris, said it was ‘a time for healing for all families. I will grieve for the Davis family because now they’re going to understand our pain and our hurt,’ she said in a telephone interview from Jackson. ‘My prayers go out to them. I have been praying for them all these years. And I pray there will be some peace along the way for them.’”

I’m not trying to be callous, but it was at this point that I parted company with them and lost sympathy for their grief. I’ve never lost a husband, and hope I never do until we’re crotchety and ancient, when we’re supposed to. But I’ve lost other people, everyone has. And losing someone to murder is an unbelievably horrible thing. We’re primates, and one of our first instincts is retaliation. That’s just one of the facets of our species, as it is with chimps, baboons, etc. But what we strive for in becoming ‘civilized’ is if not to tame that urge, to at least make sure that this urge is aimed in the right direction, hence our laws. Those laws are supposed to prevent more victims, because people stop thinking when they’re angry, and are more likely to harm truly innocent bystanders. In this case, this woman has had 22 years to mitigate her anger at whoever was responsible, and think about her stance and her actions and her words. Clearly, she never did. If you want to be satisfied that someone who you truly believe deserves it, ‘gets what’s coming to them’, I’m not qualified to judge, because I’m human and I’ve had that sentiment. But don’t pretend that it’s righteous or anything other than the urge to vengeance. Be honest about it. I respect that.

However, this is not the Klingon home-world, and we do not live by the sins of our fathers or other family members. To say such a thing to Davis’s family, who were one way or the other never involved, is simply monstrous and inexcusable. At this point, I feel she may not have pulled the trigger of a gun, or put the needle in his arm, but to derive any satisfaction or peace from the suffering of a family of people who never committed any crime themselves and then to have the arrogance to ‘pray for them because now they understand’?…According to Davis’ family, they felt he was innocent, so from their perspective, a terrible crime has been committed against him, and them. “A time for healing for all families…”? There won’t be any healing there. And the widow admitted as much when she stated ‘now they’ll understand the pain and hurt.” How is this statement to be taken as anything other than damning the whole family, whether the individual was guilty or innocent?

Am I being too harsh? Maybe. But I have been accused of something I didn’t do once. And I can say that there are very few things that are more soul-destroying than being a victim of false accusation, because it makes you and people who don’t know you, question the very core of your being. One of the things I so value about this country is the presumption that people are supposed to be innocent. And I get very angry to see that subverted. I fully sympathize with MacPhail’s family’s grief and their desire to see justice done. I even understand if they were satisfied at the death of a man they genuinely believe to be guilty. But to revel in the grief of others may have turned them into the same kind of creatures as the one who murdered their family member.

Finally, I am led to the irony that Iran, one of the countries we never fail to criticize for their laws, has just released two prisoners they took based on a false accusation, while we executed one of ours. Our criticism of Iran for its suppression and imprisonment of its own citizens is well-founded. However, given that prisoners in both of these situations are accused of something and may be innocent, I have to ask what makes their execution of prisoners barbaric and our execution righteous?

Someone died yesterday. While the family of the original victim rejoices in his death, the rest of us will inevitably go on with our work and our day. There is no avoiding that because we all have things that need to get done, paychecks to earn, kids to cook dinner for. But I don’t want to just move on as if Davis’ death were a speedbump in history. His death was much more than a speedbump. It was a tragedy to his family and to the people who hoped that the system would work. He left a hole in the world. And I hope that it is one that we don’t just pave over and forget about. I will try not to.

Troy Davis: Victim of Jim Crow Mentality

Troy Davis, an African American man in jail for the past couple decades, convicted of killing a police officer, is now scheduled to be executed today,  http://news.yahoo.com/troy-davis-issues-parting-cry-execution-025053052.html

This execution in Georgia comes despite condemnation from a former president, and a former pope. And, more important, it comes despite what appears to be overwhelming reasonable doubt that he committed the crime at all. He has maintained his innocence for the entire time of his imprisonment. I know that this alone doesn’t mean much, because the prisons are quoted as being full of innocent men, but given the other circumstances, I am beginning to wonder if that is in fact true. Seven of nine ‘witness’ testimonies were recanted and accompanied by allegations that they were coerced into those testimonies by the police. And there was never any physical evidence, circumstantial or otherwise linking this man to the crime. Amnesty International has taken up this cause. While many activism organizations are plagued with internal problems, in my experience, Amnesty does not take cases like this lightly. If they are paying attention, there is usually something worth paying attention to.

I was a juror once on an assault case. And just one of circumstances alone, the lack of evidence  or the recanted testimonies and allegations of coercion, would have been enough for me to pass on a guilty verdict. But this blatant disregard for reasonable doubt makes me cynical of the justice system of state of Georgia, and the impartiality or even sanity of any citizen who would convict this man and condemn him to the death penalty.

Normally, I don’t jump on the bandwagon of believing that racial bias fuels most decisions, but in this case, I would have to agree when the ACLU cries discrimination. I haven’t seen a more public and frank display of racism since the Jim Crow laws themselves.  And the lack of any question in continuing with execution in the face of so much public doubt, and no consideration or even discussion of clemency makes be actively believe in the claims of forced testimony. In fact it leads me right to notions of corruption in Georgia’s ‘thin blue line’, to claim a scapegoat for the murder from the most convenient victim available to them. And there would be no chance that this corruption would be limited to a couple officers. Such a decision at this point in the justice system is not made by a only few low-ranking officers.

I hope that the authorities reconsider their decision to accept ‘expediency before justice’ as they said in Babylon 5, before Wednesday. And if not, then I hope that something can be done for the Davis family, since it is unlikely they will find justice themselves. Social media is a great tool. I’ll be looking on the internet for sites donating condolences to the family in the event of their loss. I imagine, with the popular response, that there will be many such sites.

Here is the address of Amnesty International, in case you read this and believe that he should not be executed. They have a petition to stop the execution. http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?c=6oJCLQPAJiJUG&b=6645049&aid=516533&msource=WPSBTL2970

I never prayed much, except at Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. It is ironic that those high holy days begin slightly over one week after his execution date. Rosh Hashanah is the beginning of the Jewish year, and the first of the days of atonement ending in Yom Kippur. It is a time for people in the Jewish culture to start over, and to reflect on our sins of the past year. Though Troy Davis is not Jewish, and probably neither are most of the other people involved in this case, for me, it is no small tragedy that the biggest sin that could possibly be committed will be within days of our new year, for what seems likely to be a false accusation. I think I’ll pray a little more this year and the theme will be truth.

I’m not into praying for other people. I don’t mind when someone religious who genuinely believes in their faith and has good will says ‘I’ll pray for you…’ to me. Even though it’s not my bag, I feel honored and appreciate the gesture. But I get irritated when someone who is sanctimonious and judgmental says that to me, “I’ll pray for you,” as some parting shot to win an argument, as if they have a direct line to God and are gracing me as a godless heathen with their prayers. Blech. So I won’t pray for these people making the execution decisions, because I won’t pretend good will that I don’t feel toward them. Maybe I should atone for that too, if I were a God-filled person who believed that everyone should be forgiven for everything. But I’m not. So instead, I will take a close look at my own beliefs in the past year and identify if I’ve made judgments about people, or worse, decisions about people that were not based on logic, but on emotionally-based assumptions.

Terrorist Phobia

Ok, I’m trying not to be too political and ranty, but come on! I read this post from Facebook, and it’s like poking an angry lion with a sharp stick and a steak dangling on it. Here’s the post I read that’s got me a bit riled:

http://shebshi.wordpress.com/2011/09/12/some-real-shock-and-awe-racially-profiled-and-cuffed-in-detroit/

And here’s the AP account: http:

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/sep/11/us-airline-passengers-detained/

Please visit this poor woman’s blog. She was basically a Middle-Eastern looking passenger, an American citizen and housewife coming home to her husband and kids, and she was taken off the plane in handcuffs along with two unrelated unsuspecting Indian passengers, for ‘suspicious activity’, suspicious activity being one of the unrelated men in her row going to the bathroom for too long. Things went as you might expect, in a conspiracy theorist’s worst nightmare, except it actually happened.

The airline in question was Frontier. I know, ‘What, really? Frontier?’ The last bastion of great customer service in airlines as far as I’m concerned, until this happened. So I’ve written the airline to complain. I don’t know that it will do any good, but unless people start saying something, the most bigoted voices are the loudest so far, and airline and airport and government policy will be ruled by the schoolyard bullies who cry ‘terrorist’ at anyone they don’t like. Unless someone calls people on their bullshit, stupid unreasonable claims of ‘suspicious activity’, and the hours or days of violated rights that come with it for the targets of such claims, will be accepted as normal adult behavior. Phobia will rule everyone’s actions.

I commented previously, that I’m sick and tired of fear of terrorism being used as an excuse for acting like, and I was going to say ‘shitheads’, but I used the word Nazis instead. I don’t mean the euphemism for someone who is just racist and acting like a jerk. I mean Nazi literally. This kind of surreptitious reporting of innocent people, and the violation of their rights with the excuse that it is for the good of others, is exactly how it started in Germany. And Herman Goering used the exact same tactics to get people to fall in line with the Nazi party, touting a standard of patriotism that involved suspicion of anyone not falling within a narrow definition of ‘German’. The Nazi party also encouraged policing one’s neighbors to prevent terrorism, though Goering didn’t use exactly the term terrorism because that is a 21st century catchphrase.

I think a lot of people don’t speak up against this garbage because we are all busy and in the back of our minds is the notion that everything will be fine, and ‘this can’t happen to me.’ Well, this woman never anticipated what happened to her either.

If you have been a Frontier customer, and feel moved by her story, I would recommend emailing their customer service, as a sometime passenger with what you expect of them, and what you don’t expect. Me, I’m Semitic, and my husband is Native American, and so collectively, we could look ethnic enough to be targeted, and I want to know if this is going to become a habit with them. If so, road trips are looking better and better, gas prices be damned!

Anti-Semitism and Addiction

I read this article on John Galliano, and it’s kind of like the straw that broke the camel’s back.

http://news.yahoo.com/designer-galliano-convicted-anti-semitism-case-152250173.html

There have been a spate of anti-Semitic rants spewed in the past few years by movie stars or other public figures. All of them, invariably seem to have been followed by demurely muttered apologies accompanied by addiction or substance abuse explanations, or mental instability. Well, I think I can agree with the mental instability claim. But, sorry, the ‘I’m a bigot because I lost mental control’ tactic isn’t working for me.

I don’t experience substance abuse. But lots of things can trigger lack of impulse control: lack of sleep, lack of blood sugar, some idiot almost clipping you on the road, bi-polar disorder, whatever. The mode doesn’t matter as much as the fact of emotional turmoil and imbalance. I’ve felt it myself, just not through drugs or alcohol. But you know what? While I won’t deny homicidal urges, and I certainly won’t deny cussing streaks that would make a trucker blush, someone’s upbringing and the decisions they make do to some extent govern how they react in anger. I can understand someone who punches a wall when they’re drunk. I did it when I was a teenager. I can even understand isolated incidents where someone hauls off and slugs the guy with whom they’re arguing. I’ve been in bars. That’s why they have bouncers, because this is not an uncommon impulse in many adults, right, wrong, or indifferent. And though I’m not a violent person, I can understand the impulse.

But never, ever, ever, in all my years have I had an instance of anger in which I was even tempted to call another person a racial or ethnic slur. The repulsiveness of such a thing was too deeply ingrained. I’m a writer and I can’t even write a character that says racial slurs. I cringe when I hear them. If I ever write a historical fiction piece, I’ll have to get over that, but the point is, at no point did it ever occur to me as an option for behavior.

People lose control of their impulses when they drink or use drugs sometimes, or when they’re just plain angry, I get that. But the fact that the impulse is there, to go off on a particular group of people because of their ethnic background is far more troubling to me than their lack of control. It means that even when they’re calm, that particular brand of poison is always there, beneath the surface.