I think I have found a law I can get behind. This in fact is one I would lobby for and fully support. We must pass a law stating each senator, politician, state employee and voter is mandated to attend every funeral for every victim of our military and police. Each one of us should stand and see the lives taken and those mourning our violence.
Furthermore each one should be mandated to stand at the bedside and nurse the casualties of our wars back to health. They should stand there and wipe the sweat off of the brow of each human being scorched and mutilated by the weapons we bought and paid others to use against them. Each person should see just what they stand for. Each and every one should see the reality they avoid in their sheltered fantasy world where the murder they stand behind is white washed by a flag and some ignorant concept of patriotism.
Each one should hold the hand of the migrant as they sit in their cell and as they embark on their journey to a country we have forced them into. Each individual should see the whole person they have condemned with their hatred and bigotry.
No more hiding behind the convenient veil of media and state rhetoric that masques the deeds they promote and commit. No more looking the other way pretending that their slaughter and abuse of human beings is somehow virtuous. We need a law that not only shows reality through that facade of bullshit we swim in. We need that law that brings us to see the truth once and for all.
It is easy to ignore the truth when it is so conveniently hidden from us. It is easy to embrace murder hidden and shrouded in lies and deception. Just how easy will it be to continue on with the empire when we each must see the truth of what it is?
“We don’t do body counts.” These were the words of Gen Tommy Franks, the man in charge of the US-led invasion of Iraq.
We do not count our victims. Maybe if we did keep record of the death we brought to the world someone may listen. Maybe if we not only kept record but saw first hand what atrocities we commit around the world some of you might not be so comfortably hiding in your safe secure suburban lives able to ignore the truth as you currently are. May God have mercy on your souls.
AS THE SNOW FLIES SNOWBOARDER HAS DOWNHILL DARING
Daily News (Los Angeles, CA) January 18, 1996 | Brett Pauly Daily News Staff Writer She pounds the slopes 150 times a year, but April Lawyer falls short of calling herself a snowboard bum. A half-pipe junkie, perhaps, but not a pauper. here smith goggles
“It’s a laid-back lifestyle, but I wouldn’t say I was a total bum,” said the down-to-earth professional snowboarder from Big Bear Lake. “I do have a lot of fun and it’s not very stressful, but I don’t want to say I’m poor. I rent a house. I have a car. And I don’t borrow money from my parents.” Actually, Lawyer is far richer than her bank account suggests.
Indeed, she is an unassuming queen among the throngs of snowboarders identified by baggy pants, oversized sweat shirts and duct-taped gloves – a very existence that would scream poverty if it weren’t for those expensive surfboards-turned-skis strapped to the soles of their feet.
Her royalty is defined by top finishes in international freestyle competitions, corporate sponsorships, a burgeoning celebrity and a paycheck that will allow her finally to save money instead of merely getting by.
“I’m having the best time of my life right now. My job is to go out there and promote myself and get photos taken and all that stuff,” said the 20-year-old former children’s ski instructor who crossed over to snowboarding three years ago because she found it far more diverse and challenging.
Lawyer, who signed with her first professional backer last year, marvels at the notion of getting paid to snowboard.
“My folks are actually really excited about it,” she said. “They say that as long as I’m young and I’m able to do what I can do and make money and have fun, I might as well; it won’t last forever.” A grab-the-bull-by-the-horns-kind of gal, Lawyer rarely backs down to a challenge. Her specialty on the women’s pro snowboarding circuit is the big-air competition. She won an exhibition event in Japan last year and has several local successes.
“I have a lot of guts,” Lawyer said. “I think what makes me stand out is that my fear factor is a little different. I’m not really scared of many things.
“For example, if there is a big jump that a lot of people don’t take, I usually will as long as I know I won’t kill myself. I think ambition is the big difference.” She can fly 50 feet and excels at 360s and method air – acrobatically grabbing and twisting the board.
Competitors also match skills with her in the half-pipe event (freestyle maneuvers performed in a shell of snow), slope-style (tricks delivered over a series of jumps) and boarder-cross (a first-to-the-finish obstacle course in which five racers scramble around flags, berms and each other).
She will defend her big-air title next month in Japan during a three-week sojourn that will include filming a snowboarding movie and promoting the products of her sponsors – Hub snowboards, Airwalk boots, Bombshell clothing, Smith goggles and GMC gloves. Similar stops in Lake Tahoe and Colorado are slated before and after the overseas excursion.
Lawyer, who has called the San Bernardino Mountains home since age 3 and resides a stone’s throw from Snow Summit, is a quick learner brimming with natural talent. Last year, for instance, she took up mountain biking, then began competing and climbed the tour ranks from beginner to expert. She will be racing as a pro this year. website smith goggles
It’s not all speed and derring-do for Lawyer, however. She does have her mellow moments – painting watercolors, riding horses and disco dancing.
And though she is becoming more recognizable with each sideways tail grab, this poster girl for product catalogs, magazine ads and greeting cards remains unaffected and sincere.
“I’m definitely not different,” said Lawyer, who hopes to pursue management work in the snowboard industry. “People have known me for a lot of years living up here, and they know it hasn’t changed me. Every morning I get up to go snowboarding, the thrill is still in me.” It’s an excitement that will no doubt contribute to a canvas that has seen only the first of several promising brush strokes.
Brett Pauly Daily News Staff Writer
Author: PunkJohnnyCash
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Email PunkJohnnyCash I am a writer at Gonzo Times. I started the site up some years ago. The site would not be what it is today without my fellow contributors. I read, write and paint. I am the maternal figure in my children's lives. I cook a lot and consider myself a pretty good vegan chef. I am really interested in the history of Anarchism and classical Anarchist writers.
