Miriam, we took the same good advice during our separate training.
And for most of 13 years, the age of the eldest granddaughter, my
son-in-law and I have done this dance. He is a very bright,
articulate young man, and we seem to enjoy our discussions. But
neither of us appears to have moved one inch off our centers. Same
with our discussions on religion. Like Mostafa, Brian has studied
Theology...only from the Christian perspective...and is firm in his
beliefs and in his trust of those who taught him. Plus, he makes
strong arguments.
In my fiery youth, I would have gone nose to nose with someone like
Brian, but now I simply enjoy the conversation. Winning or losing a
debate is not going to change a single hair on the head of a single
Oligarch. Besides, as fast as I come up with a "better" argument,
someone from the "other side" comes down with the perfect "put me in
my place" response.
In my rational periods, I believe that our species is doomed, and my
hope is that we do not destroy all the innocent life on the planet.
Of course, the entire "experiment" is one of dog eat dog...literally.
Life depends upon death. Survival of the fittest.
When you step back and take an objective look, it's all shear craziness.
With all the evidence that life must die for more life to exist,
several billions of us close our eyes and ears and tell ourselves that
we Humans are the exception to the overriding rule, believing that we
have "earned" the right to Eternal Life! If that's not insanity, then
I don't know what it is.
Carl Jarvis
On 7/16/19, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Carl,
But if I were trying to talk to all of the people whom you mention, I'd
remember what they taught me on my first day in social work school. "Start
where the client is". If you start where all of these people are, you don't
talk about social classes. You think about all of the American values they
were taught and you try to choose one with which they can identify and which
might help them change their behavior. So you talk to your son-in-law about
his daughters, about how much he loves them, and you ask him to consider
what it might be like for the people whose children were taken away from
them and put in a concentration camp or a jail, just because the parents
wanted to come here to give them a better life. You remind them about why
everyone came here, and you remind them about how much immigration laws have
changed. You ask him why he thinks the laws have changed so much. You point
out that the laws change depending on the needs of business owners in this
country for workers. And you do this all very slowly, over a long period of
time because if you tell people that they are being manipulated by the
ruling class, they will resent you for telling them that they've been stupid
enough to be manipulated.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Tuesday, July 16, 2019 12:10 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: [blind-democracy] RE: [blind-democracy] Re:
[blind-democracy] RE: [blind-democracy] Re: [blind-democracy] Eric Garner
case finally heard — in a cops’ court
Another thought on the subject, Miriam.
My son-in-law sees his job with the Pierce County Sheriffs Department in the
same light as he sees my work with Older Blind and Low Vision People. We
are both serving the Public. He enforces the Law without ever questioning
whether the Law is protecting all the people equally.
He listens to my complaints regarding a program that is under funded and
over worked, and he tells me that it is the same in the Sheriff's
Department. And so it is with all my family, friends and associates.
We are all doing our jobs to the best of our abilities, and to the limits of
the rules that regulate our behavior. Most of us are floundering around
trying to make ends meet, and we never reach the time, or have the luxury of
time, to question why things work the way they do.
And if I were to travel to Tacoma and protest the treatment of little
children in that inhuman Baby Jail, and if I were ordered to leave the
scene, and I refused, I can assure you that my son-in-law would handcuff me
and arrest me for breaking the law...even though he has three little girls
at home, and would never stand by and watch any of them treated like the
children locked up in the Baby Jail. And in all of this, he never thinks
that he is protecting a Class Division to which he can never belong. He
believes that as an Officer of the Law, he is protecting America. And
because I mostly like him, and he is a good husband and loving father, even
though he is programming his daughters to be devout Christians, even though,
at the very same time, he is a lackey for the Oligarchy...the Ruling Class.
That is part of why I insist that we need to begin identifying America as a
Two Class System...the Ruling Class and the Working Class. While my
son-in-law is actually a member of the Working Class, he sees himself as
being above many of the people he deals with on a daily basis. He has been
taught to associate with the Ruling Classes needs without understanding that
if he failed to protect them, he would be squashed like a bug. My doctor
believes that he is "better off" than most of his patients. He is opposed
to Universal Health Care. He is opposed because he has been conditioned to
believe this, without seeing that he is helping to create and protect a
two-tiered System of Health Care...that very limited and expensive care
given to the Masses, and the full coverage provided to the Ruling Class.
He does not see himself as being in the Working Class. His survival, he
believes, is dependent upon his compliance to the whims of the Ruling Class,
whether that is good or bad for most of his patients.
I could go on, but my point is that each of us justifies who we are, and why
we do and believe what we do, without thinking much about how we came to do
and believe what we do. A tenured professor believes he is superior to the
First Grade teacher because he has a PHD and she has a mere teaching
certificate. My local bank manager feels that she is superior to her
Tellers, because she has the power to fire them.
Until we can all see one another as supporters of the Ruling Class, the
American Oligarchy, and understand that regardless of how well or how poorly
we are "rewarded" for our contribution, it is ultimately done to benefit
that Ruling Class. Period.
One of the several companies my dad worked for was a huge building materials
manufacturer. The head of the Shop became good friends with my dad. He
constantly bragged about how he had "built that shop from nothing", and that
"Bill owes me big time". Bill was the owner...not actually in the Ruling
Class, but a multimillionaire, living the life of the Ruling Class. My dad
did his job, bidding successfully on enough jobs that the shop was soon full
to overflowing with work. My dad was laid off and went to work for a
competitor. The shop manager was also laid off, even though he went to Bill
and begged for his job.
He went home and closed his garage door, turned on his car, and committed
suicide. He died believing that he was a failure, leaving a note to his
wife and family saying how he had "let them down". He never understood that
he never was "successful" in the way he believed himself to be. Yet he
lived in a home and a neighborhood that my parents could never afford. Even
my ten acres with a 3,200 plus square foot home does not come close to the
luxury living this man provided for himself and his family. He was paid
well, but he was used. And when his usefulness was at an end, he was kicked
to the curb, just as my dad was. But dad understood the game, and simply
offered his skills to another "pretender to the Rich" companies that grasped
for the business in the manner of Donald Trump, lying and accusing one
another. And who benefited from all the misery they brought down on so many
workers, laid off for doing their jobs so well? The Ruling Class
benefited...the Oligarchy...not our friend, but our foe.
So, even though the shop foreman saw himself as "better" than my dad, and he
lived in a far fancier style, he still befriended my dad because he gained
an ear into what was going on within the offices where he would not be
allowed. And Bill, the owner, used my dad and the shop foreman in order to
assist in knowing when to make business corrections in order to undercut his
competition. Bill lived a life style that put all others to shame. If
wealth is your measure of success, Bill was near the top of the pyramid.
And yet, he was working for those above him.
All the while we have our eye on the wrong brass ring. We must come to
understand that success is not how much money or property or even how much
power we have, individually. We must come to see managing Earth and its
resources as our measure of success. If that means...and it does...seizing
back the ill gotten gains of the Ruling Classes around the Planet, so be it.
Putting our best minds and our great international wealth to work, we just
might save ourselves. But if we continue to allow the Ruling Classes to
direct and manage us, we'll be nothing more than a footnote in the history
of the Universe.
Carl Jarvis
On 7/16/19, Carl Jarvis <carjar82@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
That is exactly right.
Carl Jarvis
On 7/16/19, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
The services for the blind were set up to help blind people in the
total population. The oligarchy have their own services. The police
have always existed to protect the oligarchy.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Monday, July 15, 2019 9:35 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: [blind-democracy] RE:
[blind-democracy]
Re:
[blind-democracy] Eric Garner case finally heard — in a cops’ court
And therein lies the problem. These police officers are neighbors
and brothers and uncles and aunts. My son-in-law is a detective in
the Pierce county Sheriff's Department. My uncle Bill worked for the
FBI.
My former neighbor was a detective in the Seattle Police Force. And
on and on. They are regular folks doing regular jobs, just as I
worked for 17 years in the Department of Services for the Blind,
doing government work.
Just as for the past 25 years Cathy and I have worked for the System,
providing services to older blind and low vision folks. None of us
are bad people...well, most of us are not bad people, but we work
for, and answer to the same Master, the Grand Old Oligarchy. The one
that our Constitution was set in place to protect.
Somehow we need to stretch that Constitution so it covers All
Americans, not just the privileged.
Carl Jarvis
On 7/15/19, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
This is the NYPD that is in tight control. My son-in-law's father
was a NYC police department detective. The woman who drove me around
to do errands and shopping for 25 years had a husband who was an
NYPD officer and her son joined the police department when he grew
up. So I have difficulty just seeing what this particular police
department does as an abstract concept of ruling class domination.
This stuff is done by real people, possibly people I've known, or
supported by those people.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Monday, July 15, 2019 1:16 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: [blind-democracy] Eric Garner case
finally heard — in a cops’ court
How many times and how many ways does the Great American White
Oligarchy have to take in order to make clear that it is still in
tight control?
And why do underpaid, over worked police treat fellow Americans in
ways which they would never allow their loved ones to be treated?
The answer to that last question is simple. Security! Join the
Powerful Oligarchy and you will be protected, so long as you follow
orders and do the bidding of your Master.
Can we all sing that refrain from the old Ernie Ford favorite,
Sixteen Tons?
"I owe my Soul to the company store!" Of course we can!
Journalists write of their shock over Persons of Color and Women who
climb aboard the Donald Trump Roller Coaster. But why should they
not do so? The Democrats have not been able, or willing to provide
protection.
The weak protection offered by the Democratic Party is tantamount to
fighting a Grizzly Bear with a Fishing pole.
Which reminds me, on a personal note, we found Bear scat just
outside our garage door yesterday morning. "Where's the Bear Spray?" I
asked.
"We have two cans," Cathy replied. "Whew! I should have one by the
deck door", I insisted.
"Ah, I think both cans are down at the barn."
And in a way, that is the story of today's Democratic Party. The
danger is right at our doorstep, but our defense is off watching
over an empty barn.
Carl Jarvis(and Smoky the Bear)
On 7/15/19, Roger Loran Bailey <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
https://socialistaction.org/2019/07/14/eric-garner-case-finally-hea
rd
-
in-a-cops-court/
Eric Garner case finally heard ??? in a cops??? court
/ 20 hours ago
July 2019 Gwen Carr, (Marty)
Gwen Carr, Eric Garner???s mother. (Marty Goodman / Socialist
Action)
By MARTY GOODMAN
??? NEW YORK ??? The 2014 chokehold murder of Eric Garner, an
unarmed 43-year-old African American man, by a city cop, Daniel
Pantaleo, finally got its first public hearing in June???not in a
court of law but at an NYPD hearing!
The charges against Pantaleo were brought by the semi-independent
Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB). The NYPD Deputy
Commissioner of Trials, Rosemarie Maldonado, has 90 days to decide
whether to fire Pantaleo, fine him or dismiss the charges. She
cannot jail Pantaleo since it is a non-criminal case. Maldonado???s
decision???which does not have to be released to the public!???will
be read by Mayor de Blasio???s top
cop, James P. O???Neill, who will ultimately rule on Pantaleo.
A possible Justice Department decision on civil rights violations
must be rendered before the fifth anniversary of Garner???s death
on July 17.
It has been reported that the agency has reached a decision, to be
announced sometime in July.
Not one of the half-dozen cops present at Garner???s murder in 2014
have served a single day in jail, despite hearing Garner cry out
???I can???t breathe??? 11 times! The lethal chokehold used by
Pantaleo was banned by the NYPD in 1993, but was used with deadly
effect on Anthony Baez in
1994 and on other victims of police brutality like Eric Garner.
Leaked documents show that citizen complaints against Pantaleo were
among the NYPD???s worst (see ThinkProgress.org, March 21, 2017).
Pantaleo and his partner, Justin Damico, were told by commanding
officer, Lt. Christopher Bannon, to arrest Garner for selling
???loosies,???
or single cigarettes, a misdemeanor, at a storefront on Staten Island.
But, witnesses say, Garner had just broken up a fight when the cops
arrived. Upon learning of the death of Garner, Lt. Bannon texted
with racist indifference to arresting cops, ???Not a big deal.???
Pantaleo???s lawyer, Stuart London, claimed his client was using an
approved ???seat-belt hold.??? However, Inspector Richard Dee, head
of training at the New York City Police Academy, testified that
Pantaleo???s action was ???the definition of a choke hold.???
Outrageously, London implied that Garner caused his own death by
not moving when ordered by police! An additional video showed that
all of the cops and an EMS crew left Garner lying on the ground for
several minutes without attempting resuscitation or using available
oxygen.
Anti-racist activists packed the courthouse and maintained a noisy
picket line outside the hearings in lower Manhattan where
well-attended press conferences were held. Speaking after the
concluding session on June 6, Gwen Carr, mother of Eric Garner,
said that the hearing sends ???a clear message that Black lives do
not matter.???
Pantaleo is now on desk duty, with 35% more in earnings (N.Y. Daily
News). He was present in the courtroom but refused to testify and
thereby submit to cross-examination by CCRB attorney Suzanne O???Hare.
His lawyer, Stuart London, said Pantaleo would be ???reckless??? to
take the stand because the Justice Department is still investigating.
After almost five years, President Barack Obama, New York Mayor
Bill de Blasio, and Donald Trump allowed Pantaleo to keep his job
after the entire world saw him choke Garner on a cell-phone video!
In 2015, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer issued a $5.9
million check to the Garner family, saying that the payout was
???in the best interests of all parties.??? The police union
denounced the settlement.
The payment was made by the city without conceding liability, which
insulated New York???s power structure from a drawn-out court suit
that would further expose the racist NYPD and ???progressive???
Mayor de Blasio???s cynical inaction on police violence.
Phony ???socialist??? De Blasio campaigned for mayor on reforming
racist police practices, yet refused to fire Pantaleo, merely
calling Garner???s death a ???terrible tragedy??? for all
concerned???despite compelling video
evidence!
Ramsey Orta, the quick-thinking activist who vide-oed Pantaleo
choking Garner, was arrested three weeks later on weapons charges.
He was released on bail in April 2015 and rearrested in 2016 on
drug and weapons charges and sentenced to four years. Orta says
that what happened to him is retaliation for the video. Orta says
he???s endured harassment and beatings.
Orta has been in solitary confinement at least four times. Orta???s
fianc??, Deja Richardson, told Socialist Action that he is
currently in solitary on a 90-day sentence. Orta was thrown back
into solitary following his testimony against Daniel Pantaleo via
video from Groveland Correctional facility in upstate New York. His
release date is December 2019. It remains an outrage that Ramsey
Orta???a hero???is the only person to be jailed in the Eric Garner
case!
(Letters of support for Ramsey Orta should be addressed to: Ramsey
Orta, Ramsey Orta 16A4200, Collins Correctional Facility, Middle
Road P.O. Box
340 Collins N.Y. 14034. Your return address and Orta???s number are
critical since his prison changes. Send no cash. Prison authorities
will read all letters. Email: officialramseyorta@xxxxxxxxx or
deja.richardson.dr@xxxxxxxxx.)
In December 2014, a closed-door grand jury on the Garner case was
held in the conservative stronghold of Staten Island and led by
Republican District Attorney, Dan Donovan. The grand jury decided
on Dec. 3 not to proceed to a trial, provoking large, militant
protests in New York City and across the U.S.
Grand jury hearings are almost always prosecuted by white attorneys
who decide on the evidence and witnesses and are not subject to
cross examination. Politicians like Donovan depend on cops as
witnesses in other cases. If prosecutors are seen by racist police
unions as anti-cop, it could mean trouble prosecuting cases. The
Garner grand jury, its testimony sealed, was denounced as a sham,
especially given the video evidence.
James Cohen, a law professor at Fordham University, said, ???There
is no question that a grand jury will do precisely what the
prosecutor wants, virtually 100% of the time.??? Whatever the
outcome, we must remain alert and ready to mobilize. Fire and jail
Pantaleo! Jail ???em all! Justice for Eric Garner!
Share this:
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July 14, 2019 in Black Liberation, New York, Police & FBI.
Related posts
???It stops today!??? ??? Eric Garner, NYPD victim
Bronx NYPD settles with Copwatch
Outrage at racist grand jury decisions
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Voltaire
??? Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit
atrocities. ???
??? Voltaire,
