Jimmie Higgins
15th December 2005, 19:25
I haven't posted for a few days because I went up to San Quentin to protest the exaccution of Stan Tookie Williams. It was one of the most diverse and dynamic protests I have been to in my life and the only time I heard old white liberals sing "We shall over come" and I didn't feel like gagging and kina understood why people sang it back in the civil rights movement. There were thousands of people there and although they were demoralized by the exaccution, I think these were thousands of people who were radicalized by this; if they came not because the were against the death penalty, but against this particular exaccution, they left being against the death penalty and will never give the government the benifit of the doubt that "justice will be served by the government".
Arnie dosn't care about black people:
But what is most interesting about the recent developments in this case was the statement made by Arnold when he deneyed clemancy. I will let this portion of the statement (mostly) speak for itself:
The dedication of Williams' book "Life in Prison" casts significant doubt on his personal redemption. This book was published in 1998, several years after Williams' claimed redemptive experience. Specifically, the book is dedicated to "Nelson Mandela, Angela Davis, Malcolm X, Assata Shakur, Geronimo Ji Jaga Pratt, Ramona Africa, John Africa, Leonard Peltier, Dhoruba Al-Mujahid, George Jackson, Mumia Abu-Jamal and the countless other men, women and youths who have to endure the hellish oppression of living behind bars." The mix of individuals on this list is curious. Most have violent pasts and some have been convicted of committing heinous murders, including the killing of law enforcement. But the inclusion of George Jackson (a militant activist who founded the Black Guerilla Family prison gang and was charged with the murder of a San Quentin prison guard) on this list defies reason and is a significant indicator that Williams is not reformed and that he still sees violence and lawlessness as a legitimate means to address societal problems.
While the media repeatedly empasised how this was a hard decision for Arnold and not motivated by politics, one can not read this list (which is also a list of many of my personal heros who fought against racial opression) and believe politics have nothing to do with this case.
In this statement, the right-wing hack ghost-writers for Arnold equate street gangs and the Black Panthers and Malcom X and the ANC! Thanks Arnold, you just convinced a generation of kids that we can not rely on the system and that violence and lawlessness are legitimate means to address the violence and racism of the system.
Arnie dosn't care about black people:
But what is most interesting about the recent developments in this case was the statement made by Arnold when he deneyed clemancy. I will let this portion of the statement (mostly) speak for itself:
The dedication of Williams' book "Life in Prison" casts significant doubt on his personal redemption. This book was published in 1998, several years after Williams' claimed redemptive experience. Specifically, the book is dedicated to "Nelson Mandela, Angela Davis, Malcolm X, Assata Shakur, Geronimo Ji Jaga Pratt, Ramona Africa, John Africa, Leonard Peltier, Dhoruba Al-Mujahid, George Jackson, Mumia Abu-Jamal and the countless other men, women and youths who have to endure the hellish oppression of living behind bars." The mix of individuals on this list is curious. Most have violent pasts and some have been convicted of committing heinous murders, including the killing of law enforcement. But the inclusion of George Jackson (a militant activist who founded the Black Guerilla Family prison gang and was charged with the murder of a San Quentin prison guard) on this list defies reason and is a significant indicator that Williams is not reformed and that he still sees violence and lawlessness as a legitimate means to address societal problems.
While the media repeatedly empasised how this was a hard decision for Arnold and not motivated by politics, one can not read this list (which is also a list of many of my personal heros who fought against racial opression) and believe politics have nothing to do with this case.
In this statement, the right-wing hack ghost-writers for Arnold equate street gangs and the Black Panthers and Malcom X and the ANC! Thanks Arnold, you just convinced a generation of kids that we can not rely on the system and that violence and lawlessness are legitimate means to address the violence and racism of the system.