Power has greatly abused its authority
in New Mexico and some of us are trying to do something about that in
various arenas, but particularly in the struggle to end police
violence in Albuquerque. We're confronting power, we're directly
challenging the people who lay exclusive claim to it, and we're
rebalancing the power relations between us.
Our efforts must be
working quite well, because the city administration's tactics are
gaining in repugnance what they lack in credibility—witch-hunts of one stripe or another,
patently obvious perversions of our own institutions to punish us for defiance in the face of lawlessness. For what is Unconstitutional Policing if not the zenith of
lawlessness?
The results of a new KRQE poll are telling. As is this remarkable video footage of what is being purported to be the basis of a felony charge ludicrously pending against David Correia, one of the Burque 13.
More Dirty Dancing than the Dirty Dozen, I'd say.
In grossly over-charging David (as the video
plainly shows and the New Mexico Mercury reports) Power's lackeys do our job for us--eyes are opening to injustice; people, and not just White people, are shaking off their stupor.
The sheer fact of the over-charge, however, the show of
force it represents, is presumably intended to have a chilling effect on our ever-growing coalition. But with
a pile of five dead bodies this Spring of Sorrows, Mary Hawkes' among them, the over-charge is having the opposite
effect—it's warming us up, instead. And in case you were wondering how low some alleged journalists can go...?
In threatening the mother of
the boy in the video with "child endangerment charges,” a boy whose father
was killed by the APD (they forgot to mention that in their story),
they have succeeded in pissing off just about everybody else not already
outraged by the killings.
COA Rick Perry wants the boy's mother to sink to her knees in fear and despair, but before that happens he'll
have to get past:
Nora Anaya
Dinah Vargas
Frances Madeson
and a
few other uppity women we know.
Further attacking our friend's family
is a non-starter. Ditto to not-so-subtly threatening parents who bring their kids
to marches and rallies. Somehow I don't see that message going over
so well with the Respect Albuquerque Women coalition. Not at all. In
trying to terrorize a single mama of three with the state-sanctioned kidnapping of her
children, they've probably quadrupled our attendance at Roosevelt
Park. And damn if Dinah didn't see them coming when she created this!
More information at www.apdprotest.org |
Plus, I hear we've successfully booked Mala MaƱa! So
whatever else happens on Summer Solstice at Coal and Sycamore, it's going to be a spirited day of
beautiful music, dancing and community.
Speaking of the human community, I just
sent this lady a letter. It only takes a minute.
Chair-Elect
Mary Lynn Roper - NM Broadcaster's Foundation
President/General Manager KOAT-TV
Albuquerque, NM 87125-5982
mroper@hearst.com
President/General Manager KOAT-TV
Albuquerque, NM 87125-5982
mroper@hearst.com
Charlie gave me the idea. My letter
reads:
Dear Ms. Roper:
I don't know whether you were
sabotaged, blindsided or undermined by staff, but this propaganda parading as journalism is on you. With so much at stake, we're all watching you very closely to see how quickly and well you handle it. Good luck.
I am also posting this letter online as part of the "Over-Charging" blogpost on Written Word, Spoken Word. Please feel free to respond in the comments so everyone may have the benefit of your answer.
With every good wish for a thorough Spring cleaning,
Frances Madeson
Sent to Roper via email on 6/7/14