Views in brief
Troy Davis' innocence matters
INNOCENCE DOES matter to us ("When innocence doesn't seem to matter")! Now, more than ever, we need to make our voices heard. So please, in addition to signing the Amnesty International petition listed in the article, use this opportunity to show the U.S. Supreme Court that you believe it is the Court's job to protect the innocent.
Please support Troy and his family by signing the "Innocence Matters" petition! On behalf of Troy, Martina, and his family, thank you!
Deirdre, from the Internet
For more information, visit the Save Troy Davis Web site.
Using the police to stop ICE
IT SEEMS wrong to me to take the position that the police should not help keep out Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from schools ("Standing up to ICE's campaign of fear").
It's true that the police cannot be the allies of working-class movements such as these. However, if they are on occasion forced to live up to their own "protect and serve" propaganda, that's a good thing. It's better not to have to rely on that, because we can't trust them, but in a case like this, it would seem the movement cannot yet offer an alternative.
Until we can build a movement large and radical enough to physically keep out ICE on our own, this might sometimes be a necessary evil--and the job of socialists should be to work against illusions that the cops are helping for any reason other than that they are being forced to do so.
Avery Wear, San Diego
One show worth watching
I WHOLEHEARTEDLY agree with Joe Allen, especially on the issue of cop shows becoming the "substitute proletariat" ("Television's buffoons and bigots").
One show that Allen didn't mention, but did do a great job of covering working-class and lumpenproletarian class life is The Wire. The second season of the show, while slower dramatically, focused on the decimation of the white dockworkers' living standards thanks to better technology, which shipping companies used to engage in mass layoffs.
It showed how, faced with falling living standards and long-term unemployment, young Blacks and whites would resort to crime to make ends meet. The second season also exposed union corruption, but the show did not take a decidedly pro- or anti-union stance. Season four focused on the struggle of a white cop-turned-school teacher, stuck in Baltimore's failing schools.
One could criticize the show for really doing an excellent job of humanizing the police, but the show slammed the "war on drugs," the corruption of city hall politicians and the grinding poverty that fueled the drug-related gang wars.
Compared to the two-dimensional reality of "good hard-working cops" versus "no-good criminals who might've made bad choices but confess by the end of the show" portrayed by CSI and Law and Order, The Wire is a gem. Perhaps that's one reason why The Wire was cancelled after five seasons, while CSI and Law and Order are still going strong.
Pham Binh, from the Internet
The privatization of our schools
IT SEEMS to me that the plan behind California's education cuts is "privatization" ("Fighting California education cuts"). While the "No Child Left Behind" law holds public schools to higher standards, the funds to implement improvements are simply not there.
The plan is to undermine public education to make a more convincing argument for private schools, especially the faith-based variety; schools will be owned by some large corporation with permanent tax cuts. There might be a titular school board or administration for the sake of appearance, but the real power will be in the hands of a corporate board located somewhere in Dubai (cynical chuckle here).
Excellent article by Jessie Muldoon.
Hallie Lund, from the Internet
