ACLU, don't bother unless you are sombody important
I read in The Stranger where their "public intern" was harassed for holding a sign on the street in front of an establishment that I will not name.
My point is that the ACLU was called. And they responded!!
I contacted them over a year ago to complain about the Seattle Symphonies harassment of me for merely being on the their side of the street.
I have yet to receive any response at all.
My guess is that the ACLU is only interested in the rights of people with media access.
Santa Claus, Easter bunny, God, now the ACLU !
All I have left to believe in is you good people.
My point is that the ACLU was called. And they responded!!
I contacted them over a year ago to complain about the Seattle Symphonies harassment of me for merely being on the their side of the street.
I have yet to receive any response at all.
My guess is that the ACLU is only interested in the rights of people with media access.
Santa Claus, Easter bunny, God, now the ACLU !
All I have left to believe in is you good people.
posted by Lane Savant at 12:42 PM
4 Comments:
A fan's attempt at Composer Support:
Do you really expect to be able to answer the question 'what kind of music do you write'? To me such work seems as useless as it is impossible. music picks up where language founders; I might even argue that language is a mere subset of music. Perhaps a smidgen of creativity could be burned to deflect the question into useful territory or at least useless territory that's fun. For example: "it's like your hat only lighter." Or "its very popular with people who like cats; especially after dinner."
As for the ACLU they probably make mistakes like other people do. It's not hard to find errors, personal conceits, or worse in the activities of lawyers. But I do believe that they are an important layer of support in these facscist times by at least trying to raise awareness of things like the Patriot acts, FISA signings etc etc. (they won a couple of rounds in court last week). Narcoleptic as these activities are it seems to me that they are important aspects of the effort to prevent daily life from becoming similar to that in today's Iraq. Plus great composers tend to be crazy and the ACLU doesn't know squat about composing but as lawyers they understand crazy to hell and back with breakfast. There may have been a passing resemblence to a lobbyist or something.
Cheers!
Lane,
I'm with you on this (just as I was on the street with you when this happened. I guess one would have to be first arrested for this to be newsy enough for the ACLU to consider it worthy of their time and effort. Maybe a push might help them help you if you gave their non-action on your behalf as the reason for not renewing your membership.
--Anonomann
Perhaps you are right, Sir Lane, and like that old adage, "And justice for all!" becomes a parady, a bad joke, a misrepresentaion. I was a whistle blower once with the Department of Veteran's Affairs. I stood up to an abusive boss, that ape in the corner office. Two years later, and several appeals, EEO got around to denying my claim. My boss was given lawyers to advise him, and I was given jack shit. Now what's wrong with that picture? So there you were, exercising your rights as a harassed citizen, appealing to the ACLU, and they just blew you off.
The American system of government is founded on two counterbalancing principles: that the majority of the people governs, through democratically elected representatives; and that the power even of a democratic majority must be limited, to ensure individual rights.
Majority power is limited by the Constitution's Bill of Rights, which consists of the original ten amendments ratified in 1791, plus the three post-Civil War amendments (the 13th, 14th and 15th) and the 19th Amendment (women's suffrage), adopted in 1920.
The mission of the ACLU is to preserve all of these protections and guarantees:
Your First Amendment rights - freedom of speech, association and assembly; freedom of the press, and freedom of religion.
Your right to equal protection under the law - equal treatment regardless of race, sex, religion or national origin.
Your right to due process - fair treatment by the government whenever the loss of your liberty or property is at stake.
Your right to privacy - freedom from unwarranted government intrusion into your personal and private affairs.
We work also to extend rights to segments of our population that have traditionally been denied their rights, including Native Americans and other people of color; lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender people; women; mental-health patients; prisoners; people with disabilities; and the poor.
If the rights of society's most vulnerable members are denied, everybody's rights are imperiled.
The ACLU was founded by Roger Baldwin, Crystal Eastman, Albert DeSilver and others in 1920. We are nonprofit and nonpartisan and have grown from a roomful of civil liberties activists to an organization of more than 500,000 members and supporters. We handle nearly 6,000 court cases annually from our offices in almost every state.
The ACLU has maintained the position that civil liberties must be respected, even in times of national emergency. The ACLU is supported by annual dues and contributions from its members, plus grants from private foundations and individuals. We do not receive any government funding. Learn more about joining the ACLU.
Sometimes we suffer from the "small fish" syndrome, there is no doubt. In terms of things that you may be disillusioned with do not forget Superman's credo about preserving, "Justice, Liberty, and the American Way!". That certainly seems to be in jeopardy in these pseudo-fascista times. Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny I never really bought into, even as a tyke --but God, well the jury is still out on that one; too much synchronicity abounds you see, like our getting back together as friends after a 30 year hiatus.
Meredith seems to imply that perhaps you have an obstinate streak, that you get your back up about something, or your teeth into the rump of something, and that old bulldog in you emerges. Obstinancy, anger, hubris, pride, lack of self image and self respect, creativity pushing of every pore, and yet an intellect that would make a fine bowling average, soaring above most of us, leaving you in a cortical chaos, a lonely stratus flapping your long wings in empty air --and that is just before you have your coffee in the morning. Is there a corps or core of "good people" out here that I am missing out on? Even Hitler liked dogs and children, or so they say.
I await the emergence of the KORNY KULTURE KORNER. I could use some about now. Hell, here I am at the office, at my desk, and all I really want to do is read a book, and take a nap, and watch a movie, and have some time for more writing. Is that asking so much? Well, I will be 66 in 2010, and Uncle Sam will give me full scheckel pension, and I will have saved a few pesos in my portfolio, and then every day can be Saturday, and every night will be Saturday night. It does bother me, though, that several retired types I am acquainted with keep saying that there still is not enough time to get things done, that stuff just keeps coming up. Where is our golden parachute, our gold watch, our golden years? I guess it is like THE TAXMAN by the Beatles. We should be grateful they do not tax the air, and when we die, watch out for those pennies on our eyes.
Glenn
I agree that speech is a subset of music. The whole music thing starts with a constriction in the throat that constricts breathing creating a realization of mortality and a consequent howl that evolves into all phonic communication.
In other words, we are just trying to clear the throat.
I can accept the ACLU's social value.
For me, It's like Mel Brooks explained; "Comedy is when you slip on a banana peel and land in the hospital. Tragedy is when I get a paper cut and need a bandage"
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