Yesterday was a hectic day. Work in the morning caused my fibromyalgia to flare up. I was in a lot of pain, and could barely even think. I was supposed to go grocery shopping after work, and decided instead to go straight home. I napped, which didn't help much, and ended up falling into bed early, but still not actually falling asleep until after midnight.
Today we've got some news, but I think it's also time for me to reveal something about myself afterward. Enjoy, I guess? :)
-- An independent report concerning police response to UC Berkeley protests has been released. In it, reviewers say they were "disturbed" by the quickness of which police beat protesters with batons, saying that they should have learned from previous campus protests. The school has created a Protest Response Team to prepare for future events, and says they realize they were inadequately prepared for something they knew was likely. Criticism of the police response in the UC school system abounds.
-- Eight members of the Muslim community have filed a lawsuit against the NYPD as of yesterday, alleging that the NYPD's tactics are unconstitutional due to the use of race, religion, and national origin. It's the first lawsuit challenging the NYPD's surveillance techniques, in which they basically stalked entire communities of people, finding out where and when they ate, prayed, worked, and did mundane tasks, such as getting a haircut. The NYPD Commissioner says the surveillance is needed to prevent another 9/11 type attack.
-- Four Occupiers were arrested last night in Milwaukee, after they allegedly disobeyed police orders to stay on the sidewalk and moved into the street, partially blocking traffic for a time. Roughly 40 protesters were marching, flanked by about 30 police officers. The four arrested were charged with disorderly conduct. Later, when the Police Chief was briefing reporters about the arrests, protesters shouted him down, according to several news outlets.
-- Here's an opinion piece describing the events of the City Council meeting in which the ban of shields and such was proposed. It's written scathingly against Occupy, and has several quotes that show what some of the more fanatical people can be like. It's an interesting read, to be sure.
So, now I'm going to let you in on a little more about me.
I'm a writer, if you couldn't tell by how I daily find and blog information. But something happened yesterday that left me in tears, for over an hour.
Ray Bradbury died.
Ray Bradbury is, and always will be, my favorite author. He's inspired me to always think for myself. His writing encouraged me to keep writing, even if my Creative Writing instructors hated my style. His books encouraged me to dream, to realize, and to understand the people and things around me. He predicted so many things in our world today: the big screen TVs, the interactive media, ATMs, and tons of technology. But he also predicted other things. He predicted a world where thinking is a bad thing, and can even be criminal. He predicted that we would be governed by advertising and a misled media. He predicted that we would be afraid of our own government.
And he was right.
My writing is similar to his in some ways. I write fiction, sometimes horror, sometimes war. I think it's time that I show you a piece that I've written, even though I don't like where it is. My short story WarCrimes is on Amazon Kindle, but it's free to borrow, which I intentionally set up recently so that people could read it without paying a dime. I'm going to post the link to it, so if you like, you can read it. I would post the story here, but my contract with Amazon says that it can't be placed anywhere else.
http://www.amazon.com/WarCrimes-ebook/dp/B00516HHQI/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1339079689&sr=1-1
There's the link. The story is ambiguous for multiple reasons. It could be set in the past... Or the future. It's up to you. The ending is cruel or kind. I don't know. I couldn't change it, even when I was threatened to lose a letter grade for my refusal to do so. (I had submitted it in one of my writing classes. People loved the story, hated the ending. Too bad.)
I'm telling you about this story because I feel like it's becoming more and more relevant as we watch our freedoms disappear. If you read it, great. If you don't, I'm not offended or upset in any way. I love all my followers, readers, and friends.
***Solidarity***
To contact me for any reason, please email elvishbutterfly@hotmail.com. Thanks for being here.
No comments:
Post a Comment