"The wealthy, not only by private fraud but also by common laws, do every day pluck and snatch away from the people some part of their daily living. Therefore, when I consider and weigh in my mind these commonwealths which nowadays do flourish, I perceive nothing but a certain conspiracy of rich men in procuring their own commodities under the name and authority of the commonwealth.

They invent and devise all means and crafts, first how to keep safely without fear of losing that which they have unjustly gathered together, and next how to hire and abuse the work and labor of the people for as little money and effort as possible."

Thomas More, Utopia

Monday, December 11, 2006

A Real Journalist Revisited: The Price of Courage

Its been far too long since my last post. My apoligies, but I found myself in a "perfect storm" of sorts which has kept me from posting since the 22nd of November. First I changed internet providers, then my system crashed, followed immediately by work becoming extremely busy.
Enough about my problems.

I was inspired to post today after comming across an article by Robert Parry, a journalist who helped break the Iran-Contra scandal during the Reagan administration back in the 80's. Parry pays tribute to Gary Webb, the late San Jose Mercury News journalist who had the temerity to connect the dots between the CIA trained and funded Contra terrorists and the emergence of the crack cocaine epidemic on the west coast.

A question for my fellow police officers out there: ever feel like you're running in place as far as the "war on drugs" are concerned? Robert Parry goes a long way towards explaining why. Reflect on the price Gary Webb paid in exposing this obcenity the next time the mainstream corporate media pats itself on the back about its vaunted "integrity".

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Many people will still dismiss this a merely as a "conspiracy theory" despite the obvious facts stated in the article. The majority of us who are African American are outraged but not surprised. There has always been plans in place to "marginalize" people of color in this country. Financial redlining by financial institutions,substandard public schools,the concentration of negative messages broadcast to our youth by the mainstream media and the proliferation of drugs and weapons in our communities. Having said that,no one who is comfortable with the status quo wants to acknowledge that things like this are everyday occurances. African Americans for our part,need to detour from the self desructive path we've been placed upon. In the end,THE CHOICE IS OURS. It's time we started to collectively make decisions that positively impact ourselves and our children instead of making the same stupid mistakes over and over and then blaming racism for our situation. I know I digress,so let me close by saying that any journalist that tries to print the truth about what is REALLY going on in this country will probably meet with the same fate sooner than later. But God bless him for having the courage and integrity to try.

Anonymous said...

Amen. There are still journalists who tread where the mainstream dares not, however, they remain at the margins. I'll continue to do what little I can to get their message out there. Stay safe.

Coldtype said...
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