Shirley Tipsy

Mindless Menace of Violence
(As spoken by Robert F Kennedy at the City Club of Cleveland - Cleveland, Ohio - April 5, 1968 - Exactly 2 months prior to his assassination)

“Mr Chairmen, Ladies And Gentlemen, 

This is a time of shame and sorrow. It is not a day for politics. I have saved this one opportunity, my only event of today, to speak briefly to you about the mindless menace of violence in America which again stains our land and every one of our lives.

It is not the concern of any one race. The victims of the violence are black and white, rich and poor, young and old, famous and unknown. They are, most important of all, human beings whom other human beings loved and needed. No one - no matter where he lives or what he does - can be certain who will suffer from some senseless act of bloodshed. And yet it goes on and on and on in this country of ours.

Why? What has violence ever accomplished? What has it ever created? No martyr’s cause has ever been stilled by an assassin’s bullet.
 

No wrongs have ever been righted by riots and civil disorders. A sniper is only a coward, not a hero; and an uncontrolled, uncontrollable mob is only the voice of madness, not the voice of reason. 

Whenever any American’s life is taken by another American unnecessarily - whether it is done in the name of the law or in the defiance of the law, by one man or a gang, in cold blood or in passion, in an attack of violence or in response to violence - whenever we tear at the fabric of the life which another man has painfully and clumsily woven for himself and his children, the whole nation is degraded.

“Among free men,” said Abraham Lincoln, “there can be no successful appeal from the ballot to the bullet; and those who take such appeal are sure to lost their cause and pay the costs.”

Yet we seemingly tolerate a rising level of violence that ignores our common humanity and our claims to civilization alike. We calmly accept newspaper reports of civilian slaughter in far-off lands. We glorify killing on movie and television screens and call it entertainment. We make it easy for men of all shades of sanity to acquire whatever weapons and ammunition they desire.

Too often we honor swagger and bluster and wielders of force; too often we excuse those who are willing to build their own lives on the shattered dreams of others. Some Americans who preach non-violence abroad fail to practice it here at home. Some who accuse others of inciting riots have by their own conduct invited them.

Some look for scapegoats, others look for conspiracies, but this much is clear: violence breeds violence, repression brings retaliation, and only a cleansing of our whole society can remove this sickness from our soul.

For there is another kind of violence, slower but just as deadly destructive as the shot or the bomb in the night. This is the violence of institutions; indifference and inaction and slow decay. This is the violence that afflicts the poor, that poisons relations between men because their skin has different colors. This is the slow destruction of a child by hunger, and schools without books and homes without heat in the winter.

This is the breaking of a man’s spirit by denying him the chance to stand as a father and as a man among other men. And this too afflicts us all.

I have not come here to propose a set of specific remedies nor is there a single set. For a broad and adequate outline we know what must be done. When you teach a man to hate and fear his brother, when you teach that he is a lesser man because of his color or his beliefs or the policies he pursues, when you teach that those who differ from you threaten your freedom or your job or your family, then you also learn to confront others not as fellow citizens but as enemies, to be met not with cooperation but with conquest; to be subjugated and mastered.

We learn, at the last, to look at our brothers as aliens, men with whom we share a city, but not a community; men bound to us in common dwelling, but not in common effort. We learn to share only a common fear, only a common desire to retreat from each other, only a common impulse to meet disagreement with force. For all this, there are no final answers.

Yet we know what we must do. It is to achieve true justice among our fellow citizens. The question is not what programs we should seek to enact. The question is whether we can find in our own midst and in our own hearts that leadership of humane purpose that will recognize the terrible truths of our existence.

We must admit the vanity of our false distinctions among men and learn to find our own advancement in the search for the advancement of others. We must admit in ourselves that our own children’s future cannot be built on the misfortunes of others. We must recognize that this short life can neither be ennobled or enriched by hatred or revenge.

Our lives on this planet are too short and the work to be done too great to let this spirit flourish any longer in our land. Of course we cannot vanquish it with a program, nor with a resolution.

But we can perhaps remember, if only for a time, that those who live with us are our brothers, that they share with us the same short moment of life; that they seek, as do we, nothing but the chance to live out their lives in purpose and in happiness, winning what satisfaction and fulfillment they can.

Surely, this bond of common faith, this bond of common goal, can begin to teach us something. Surely, we can learn, at least, to look at those around us as fellow men, and surely we can begin to work a little harder to bind up the wounds among us and to become in our own hearts brothers and countrymen once again.”

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The Presidential Primaries have got me all fluttery. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are two of the best Democratic candidates we’ve had in quite a while and I am psyched about how close it is right now. It’s projected that Obama will take Ohio, although he’s got a bit of a disadvantage because the weather is so bad in some parts of the state that some polling places had to be moved due to flooding. Obviously, some people would rather not brave the weather just to vote in a Primary, so the voter turn-out might not be as strong. That could work against either of them, so as a preventative measure, Obama asked for polling places to stay open for an hour longer.

Hillary is projected to win Texas, which would definitly keep her in the race.. thing is, Obama has proven to be quite the popular guy, keeping a cool 100 plus delegate lead so far. Even if Obama wins both Texas and Ohio, he will still be short of the 2,025 delegate total necessary to secure the Democratic Nominee bid. Winning those two states will just make it rather difficult, if not impossible, for Hillary to catch up to Obama in time to beat him. As of right now, it looks like Hillary is ahead in Ohio and BEHIND in Texas. So who knows whats going to happen? It could all rest on tonight.. i’m so excited!!!!

To be honest, I voted for Hillary here in California, but I would still be ecstactic if Obama ends up being our Nominee since he is definitly the better choice compared to what is now the pretty much official Republican Nominee, John McCain. I was happy to hear that Huckabee dropped out though; I almost did a dance. That guy just gave me the heebie jeebies.

This entire process is beyond exciting for me.

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I’m a pixie piranha, myspace prima donna,
A vision in Dickies and Chucks.
A love her and leave her, daydream believer,
A queen of hearts, down on her luck.

A camoflauge harlot, unrealized starlet,
A canvas who’s void of all shade.
A dime-store bargain, whose 50-cent jargon
Belongs in the penny arcade.

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I don’t mind the traffic, but I sure do hate the quiet.

Still hiding, hope you find me.

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We’re different now than the world was 50 years ago…

We’re living in an age where the name printed on the tag of our clothes means more than the name printed on the Presidential Election ticket. The word “recession” means no more to us than the officials trying to do something to stop it. We spend more, waste more and appreciate less than ever before.

We spend more time worrying about which celebrity is dead, going to rehab, breaking up, making up or making babies than we do about the fact that in another 40 years or so there will no longer be any Social Security for those of us now in our 20’s to fall back on.

We’re chasing after the dream and throwing caution to the wind. In return, the budget, housing market and economy in the US is getting worse and worse.

We’re outsourcing our work, destroying our natural resources and sticking our nose into everyone else’s business.

We are a lost generation. We are all focused on the wrong problems and creating new ones that do not need to be brought up in the first place. Most of us are pissing away our youth trying to prove that we’re as young as we feel and for those of us in our 20’s, trying to feel as young as we’re supposed to be.

It’s time for change. We’re adults now guys. It’s up to us to define this generation. Go read up about the candidates. Truly invest some time in deciphering what they stand for, what they have accomplished in the past and if those things fall in line with the America you want to live in for the next 4 years. Make an informed decision. Vote. Take a stand and actually help to make a difference. I’m so tired of everyone complaining about G.W. Bush, but then hearing them turn around in the same breath and say that they didn’t even vote in that presidential election.  

I know we’re young. I know we have alot of things we would rather be doing, but this is our Country. This is our life. This is our future. Get off your ass and do something about it or spend the rest of your life watching the things you want pass you by because you wouldn’t take the 10 minutes to effect change!

Hugs, Kisses and Near Misses,

Disenchanted Audrey

P.S. -

In regards to this, I thought I would provide some helpful sites and resources I have been using to keep track of the Presidential Election debates and the statements and foundations of the candidates claims.

Here are some cool things you can check out to stay informed:

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/

This site lists some of the statements made in the debates and whether or not they’re true, helps to keep a tally of who is running off of fact and who is making things up to sound legit.

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/

Keeps a scorecard of who is winning in the primaries and caucuses. Gives keypoints on each candidates viewpoint and where they stand on the major hot issues like the war, abortion, immigration and same sex marriage.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/

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It really is sad losing all of these people that are so close to my age. It makes me realize my own mortality. In light of this fact, here are some of the truly tasteless jokes my friends and I came up with surrounding poor Heaths death:

1. I guess the “Joke” is on him

2. Guess it really will be a “Dark Knight”

3. Heath Ledger starring in “10 things I hate about dying”

4. Looks like Brokeback Mountain finally broke Heath

5. The brothers must really be Grimm now, huh?

6. Life; looks like he finally learned how to quit you.

Think of any others? Post yours here in the comments.

P.S. - I realize this is tasteless and sad, but people have to deal with things like this in their own way. I choose to laugh. Sue me.

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The rules:
1. Go to Wikipedia
2. In the search box, type your birth month and day but not the year.
3. List three events that happened on your birthday
4. List two important birthdays and one death
5. One holiday or observance (if any)

Three things that happened on my birthday:
1972 - Apollo program: Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt begin the sixth and final Extra-vehicular activity (EVA) or “Moonwalk” of Apollo 17. This was the last manned mission to the moon of the 20th century.

2000 - American Vice President Al Gore delivers his concession speech ending his hopes of becoming the 43rd President of the United States.

2003 - Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is captured near his home town of Tikrit (see Operation Red Dawn).
Two important birthdays and one death:

1948 - Ted Nugent, American guitarist

1521 - Pope Sixtus V (d. 1590)

2005 - Stanley Tookie Williams, co-founder of the Crips (b. 1953)

Holiday or Observance:

December 13th - In the Julian calendar before the Gregorian reform, this was the shortest day and longest night, and widely celebrated as such.

 

I Tag:

KidDisco

Matt Cutts

SugarRae

Kristi

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