Question Authority. Do not be sheep. Do not go gently into that goodnight.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

Our government would much rather you didn't (question), you were (sheep) and that you didn't fight.

It makes their job much easier.


The Janitorial workers in Houston fought. Students at Kent State fought. Martin fought. Jack fought. Bobby fought. The Molly Maguires fought...


(A note from the Pinkertons to the Molly Maguires)

Geronimo fought.



It's easy to give lip service. It's hard to do jail time or die. These are the forms of patriotism that we don't talk about anymore.

It's our responsibility to question authority. It's our responsibility to protect ourselves and others who feel this way. Even when their beliefs don't coincide with yours. That's why you might see the ACLU fighting for the Nazi's or KKK one week and a Pro Choice or Whistleblower the next.

We're here only once and many decisions (especially the important ones) only come once. I promise you, if you ever leave another to the injurious advances of another without action on your part, it will haunt you if you have any sort of spirituality. You cannot base your judgments on the clothes one wears. If they wear robes, khakis or blue with a gold shield should not matter. There are things that you know are right and things that you know are not right and you should act accordingly.

If you stand by and watch a man being tasered repeatedly and have no idea if the actions will continue until he is dead, it is the same as standing by as a person bleeds to death without offering as much as a compress.

There are times when action has to be taken. For many here, I hope you are never faced with that decision because obviously, it is a strange concept to you.

[hsher]

1. K&R

:kick:

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

5. Thanks. It just seems that so many that did not see what civil disobediance can accomplish

are willing to wait for a white knight of some sort to come and make it all better.

We need to realise that we are our own white knights.

[Jcrowley]

2. And in the Warsaw Ghetto

Those who physically fought back had the highest rates of survival.

And of course we know the survival rate of those who went along with the Nazi programs incrementally was not good. Milton Mayer taught us this lesson among others.

Incrementalism was an integral part of the Nazi's program by slowly moving the line of acceptable behaviour.

On edit:
K&R

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

13. And that's the exact statistic that NO government wants to be in textbooks...

We teach our children for compliance today.

[understandinglife]

3. Recommended.

And, there's is much that one can do that is non-violent in response.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

16. as there was in the situation discussed here recently.

:toast:

[patrice]

4. If "the Group" doesn't owe All its individual members something,

it's not a real Group. It's okay to talk about Social/group duties on behalf of All of its members. If the People don't speak for themselves, and be diligent on our own behalf, the Corporataucracy, subsidized on our Tax dollars, and its running dog MSM, won't be looking out for us.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

17. The "group" is a terrible thing that most of us have become...

We can only hope...

[patrice]

37. What we need is to be both Individuals and a Group.

In an inter-active dynamic that rejects false dichotomies, but does not abandon, nor idolize, real ones.

[jannyk]

6. I'm with you Tom

I was more horrified by the student 'observers' than I was by the security cops brutality. The brutality we have seen many times before, the passivity of his fellow students was an eye opener. I was screaming at the tv "Why don't they do something, what is wrong with them?" Yet people here have justified the apathy with the excuse that they were worried about their fucking career prospects!

Jumping in to help a fellow human being being tasered, tortured, lynched or just drowning, is not something you weigh against your future prospects. It is an instinctive reaction to need and injustice - it takes courage, selflessness and character - something sadly lacking in the bunch in the library. Where are the follow up protests? The outrage?

I'm 54 and a woman. I remember the 60's and 70's - the marches, the protests, the riots and the sit-ins. If we had been as self absorbed as this generation of young people, we'd still be in Vietnam.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

7. We share the same age... And the outrage.

We saw it once and, unfortunately, so did the republicans and other power brokers. Hece the embeded reporter and no footage of the war dead.

It frightens me.

[Kenergy]

10. Good thread Tom

Even though we gained some ground with the Dems taking the majority in the House and Senate, we're
still not out of danger of losing our country. We will prevail eventually, but there's still a lot of
work to do.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

19. The problem is,,,,

tHE cORORATIONS ARE BEYOND THE ELECTORATE,

[scrinmaster]

8. But guns are evil, and you can count on the gov to protect you.

n/t

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

11. See Ghandi and MLK... n/t... no, let there be text.

A populace is a dangerous thing (to a totalitarian government). Unless the government/Invaders/Occupiers are willing to commit genocide, the populace has more power than they (the entity with a wish to control) can control as long as the populace remains informed and angry.

[McKenzie]

9. the PTB have us sussed TYJ

People are reluctant to move outside the comfort zone.

There is much more I could say but I won't except to ask...what happened in Germany during the 1930's? Who spoke up when their neighbours were arrested?

Indeed, the PTB know how little protest there will be if the "dissidents" are arrested...who will try to stop it?

[uppityperson]

12. It is here, it is time to risk ourselves.

Time to learn and talk and think and learn and support each other and risk.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

20. Spot on! n/t

[lumberjack_jeff]

14. Grandpa was a molly mcguire

I come by my radicalism honestly.

HOWEVER,
The incident of the student being tasered would have ended worse if a riot had ensued.

The students which reported the abuse did the right thing.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

15. We all have our own opinions here at DU and one of the nicest things

about it is that we can disagree and still move toward a mutually beneficial conclusion.

We disagree here and that is okay.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

18. A reply because I feel this thought process is important.

And that too many feel otherwise.

[meganmonkey]

21. It's a hell of a lot later

than many seem to think.

:patriot:

[seemslikeadream]

22. Jah bless Tom Yossarian Joad

Marcus Garvey's words come to pass,
Marcus Garvey's words come to pass,

Ain't got no food to eat,
Ain't got no money to spend, wo-oo-oo
Ain't got no food to eat,
Ain't got no money to spend, woo-oo-oo

Come, little one and let me do what i can do for you
And you and you alone
Come, little one, come wo-oo-oo
Let me do all i can do for you and you alone, woo-oo-oo

He who knows the right thing
And do it not
Shall be spanked with many stripes,

Weeping and wailing and moaning,
You've got yourself to blame, I tell you.
Do right do right do right do right do right,
Do right do right do right do right do right
Tell ya to do right, woo-oo-oo
Beg ya to do right, woo -oo- oo

Where is bagawire, he's nowhere to be found
He can't be found
First betrayer who gave away Marcus Garvey
Son of satan, first prophesy,
hold 'em Marcus hold 'em
prohey fulfilled
Catch them, Garvey old

Prophesy fullfilled
Catch them Garvey, catch them woo-oo-oo
Hold them Marcus, hold them woo-oo-oo
Marcus garvey, marcus woo-oo-oo

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

25. Beautiful. Espeicially the italics. n/t

[Jcrowley]

23. It's there and it's here

Doing nothing allows it to spread everywhere.

Nov. 19, 2006, 3:46PM
At least 700 Iraqis die in 8 days of unrelenting violence
By STEVEN R. HURST
Associated Press

BAGHDAD, Iraq — The numbers are staggering: In the past eight days, 714 Iraqis have fallen victim to the country's sectarian bloodbath. They've been beheaded, tortured and blown up while looking for work. They've been shot, kidnapped and felled by mortars.

The number of killings in the past eight days is more than all but a few U.S. states see in a year. Iraq's death toll has reached at least 1,319 already in November, well above the 1,216 who died in all of October, which was the deadliest month in Iraq since The Associated Press began tracking the figure in April 2005.

At least 111 people were killed nationwide on Sunday, following a week of appallingly high daily death tolls: 134, 90, 119, 106, 49, 52 and 53.

The actual totals are likely considerably higher because many deaths are not reported. Victims in those cases are quickly buried according to Muslim custom and never reach morgues or hospitals to be counted.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4346829.html

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

29. Wondeful. Thanks for the link.

[siligut]

24. Obey little, question much.

It is so hard to know that when we finally wake up, it may be too late.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

26. Spot on. from someone who knows to little.

[undergroundpanther]

27. All it takes

for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing. ..ie by-stand around and fail to help while evil hurts someone.

It really is Evil for a good person to let a perpetrator harm others by letting him do it by doing nothing to stop it.A sin of omission that can lead to horrible things.

Death is not like torture, death is not like rape. The dead feel no more pain when they are dead,and can do no more harm and they do not have to suffer the aftereffects of trauma.Death can be a merciful response to a person who has no shame or capacity for love or humaneness.

killing criminals who rape and ruin others lives through inflicting traumas on them.. does NOT make a person intervening evil. But torturing a perp out of vengeance and sadism .. That is the choice that makes a good person become evil like the monster he torments..

It is NOT evil to quickly kill a perpetrator who will not stop on his own ,to protect yourself or others.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

28. Wow. Well said.

[earth mom]

30. That is why so many of us here are pushing for Impeachment...

We will not go quietly into the night.

Never give up!

[poo]

31. Okay....

That's unusual

[uppityperson]

36. bye bye poo, and

tom. RIP

[novalib]

32. NEVER Be a BY-STANDER!!!!

NEVER EVER be a by-stander when EVIL is HAPPENING!!!!

Resist tyranny and instead REBEL WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT!!!!

Do NOT let the Tyrants and Thugs win!!!

[poo]

33. spot on.

[Nick Fallon]

34. Huh?

The Janitorial workers in Houston fought. Students at Kent State fought. Martin fought. Jack fought. Bobby fought. The Molly Maguires fought...

Oh, come on. We can't win fights by mouth alone.

[uppityperson]

35. Exactly.

We can talk and help and encourage each other and share information, but we cannot win by words alone.