re: Troy Davis

I woke up this morning to an America that just got that much uglier. the execution of Troy Davis should not have happened. not while Obama is in office, not while there was an international outcry that even the former slave state of Georgia could hear. not while American influence around the world is on a decline, not while American political stability is in question, and not while there was barely any evidence linking Davis to the murder.

riding home last night i contemplated what it would mean if the execution went through despite the groundswell of support against it. it would mean that the 2008 election of an African American to the highest office of the world's most powerful nation did not usher in a post-racial America as so many people believed. on the contrary, the vitriolic and disrespectful backlash against Obama coupled with the execution of an innocent black man signals a system as racist as it has ever been. it means that we remain a nation incapable of listening to anyone lower on the socio-economic-racial totem pole, a nation almost completely devoid of compassion.

this is the America i woke up to this morning, and it's not pretty.

to say Troy Davis' state-sanctioned murder occurred outside the context of other major shifts in the United States would be absurd. like the indefinite detention and torture of Bradley Manning, Davis will remain a symbol of just how much we've devolved since 9/11. after 10 years of perpetual war and hidden gulags that would make Joseph Stalin smile, the united states today looks that much more like a dictatorial and intolerant society. it is a society that stands alongside only 4 other countries that execute people: iran, saudia arabia, pakistan, and china. this is not a good list to be on.

this morning, America feels that much closer to a corporate version of the Soviet Union. one where those who dare to express opposition to the state are not only ignored but also silenced. take the protesters who got arrested outside of wall street earlier this week for simply chalking on the sidewalks. most people around me are completely unaware that there is even a protest happening at wall street but then again most people are only informed by corporate juggernaut media outlets, if they bother to read, listen or watch a news story at all.

the america i live in moves like a staggering redneck - willfully ignorant of justice, heavily armed, and drunk off its own power. and there is nothing more dangerous than a drunken heavily armed redneck. for the hatred that drives him to kill overseas can easily be redirected domestically and the execution of an innocent black man is only one more indication that this is already happening.

this is only my take on things of course, as an activist - still, as a lifelong activist, this morning feels like a horrible dark storm that shows no sign of letting up. and like the Soviet Union, and all empires, i know it will eventually collapse onto itself, for me, that moment cannot come soon enough...but for now, i can only wait.