Mourning in America: A Time for Action

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Wednesday December 19, 2012 · 5:27 PM PST

2012/12/19 · 17:27

Twenty children and six adults were shot and killed in an elementary school on Friday, with another dead in her home. One man entered that school in Newton, Connecticut and pulled the trigger. But he is not the only one with blood on his hands. Every gun manufacturer, every lobbyist pushing to relax gun laws and every politician that takes their money, every media organization glorifying killers and the havoc they wreak, and every gun owner who refuses to admit that there is a gun problem in this country shares in the responsibility for what happened.

Sadly, massacres like this are so common that there is a standard response when they occur. The instant media blitz is always accompanied by a debate over whether such an event could have been prevented. The country mourns with the families of the victims. Prayers are said. Speeches are made. Bodies are buried. But, ultimately, nothing is done. People move on. And then, inevitably, the cycle begins again when there is another slaughter by another man with a gun.

Not this time. The cycle cannot continue. There must be a response. Something must change.

WordsNotBullets

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Saturday October 29, 2011 · 12:24 AM PDT

2011/10/29 · 00:24

What was originally a small, localized protest of a few hundred people near Wall Street in downtown New York has spread over the last month to include hundreds of cities in dozens of countries, and thousands and thousands of supporters. At this point, it is undeniable that the Occupy Wall Street movement has caught the attention of the world. More than thousand protesters have been arrested in support of their ideal of a more fair economic system in which the deck is not stacked in favor of those that already have more money than they could ever possibly spend. They are camping out on the streets of Manhattan and all over the world in a call for a system that does not treat those without seven-figure bank accounts as expendable and insignificant. These people are standing up for the huge majority of Americans that want nothing more than the opportunity to work and provide for the their own well-being, as well as that of their families. And, after a little over a month of protests, marches, sign-waving, and arrests, they have finally caught the attention of the mainstream media. But, now that they have the attention of the world, what comes next?

WordsNotBullets

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Saturday September 10, 2011 · 5:05 PM PDT

2011/09/10 · 17:05

As everyone knows, this Sunday marks the tenth anniversary of the September 11th attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center, damaged the Pentagon, and killed over 3000 people (including over 400 rescue workers). Like most people, I remember that day vividly. I remember where I was, what I did, what I thought, and how I felt as clearly as if it had happened yesterday. I was shocked, I was saddened, I was confused, and above all, I was scared. I don’t think these memories will ever fade, and I hope that they don’t. I think that these events should be remembered. But, I think that it is essential that they be remembered correctly, and in their proper context.

One of the things I remember most was how quickly the events of that day were distorted. I remember tragedy being turned to propaganda. I remember mourning turning to vengeance. I remember it becoming an excuse for invasions of privacy, hate crimes against Muslims, and two unjust wars (wars that continue to this day). And, these reactions to a tragic event turned something terrible into something even worse. This was a day of tremendous loss, and it was exploited.

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Mourning in America: A Time for Action

From Protest to Power: What's Next for #OccupyWallStreet?

Reflections on 9/11: How a Tragedy was Exploited