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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I think these are all really great points,
and things I would have liked to examined more (especially try to talk to James
Johnson, and consider the “whys” of the story) in my Phoenix piece,
however, given the facts that a) my editor assigned me the piece on Monday
evening, and it was due Tuesday morning, and b) the length limit for the piece
was about 400 words, I unfortunately wasn’t able to. I think one of the
main things I was trying to establish though, rather than just the whole
supposed “good guy vs. bad guy” thing, was how cool it was that
Andrew and Lee, otherwise complete strangers, were connected by this list, and
by this group, though they didn’t know it until after the fact. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>-Caitlin</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>
bostoncriticalmass-bounces@bostoncriticalmass.org
[mailto:bostoncriticalmass-bounces@bostoncriticalmass.org] <b><span
style='font-weight:bold'>On Behalf Of </span></b>Jocelyn Burrell<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Tuesday, October 02, 2007
12:05 PM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> Boston Critical Mass<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> Re: [*BCM*] Cyclist foils
heist, Boston Phoenix 9/28</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><strong><b><font size=3 color=teal face="Palatino Linotype"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Palatino Linotype";color:teal'>thanks,
paul. it's a relief to hear that others were startled
by the under-examined celebration of "law and order" that emerged on
the list. these are complex issues, to be sure, though at day's end i have
still found the police more of a harm than a help in my own lived experience
(not to mention the much broader community/national/global scale). </span></font></b></strong><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><strong><b><font size=3 color=teal face="Palatino Linotype"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Palatino Linotype";color:teal'>-jocelyn</span></font></b></strong><o:p></o:p></p>
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12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:1.0pc'><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font
size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>
bostoncriticalmass-bounces@bostoncriticalmass.org
[mailto:bostoncriticalmass-bounces@bostoncriticalmass.org] <b><span
style='font-weight:bold'>On Behalf Of </span></b>Paul Centro<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Saturday, September 29, 2007
10:31 AM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> Boston Critical Mass<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> Re: [*BCM*] Cyclist foils
heist, Boston Phoenix 9/28</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>I guess my main point was left in the dust. Let me quote from the
BCM website: "The Revolution Will Not Be Motorized." A
flip quote maybe, but I would agree with the premise that a revolution, at
least in our assumptions and ways of thinking, would be beneficial.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>It is not that I don't expect that the general population will have the
law and order viewpoint, it's that I would expect this group to have more in
sympathy with a lawbreaker than with the law by the very nature of your main
activity.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>I also know the rage that can be sparked by the adreneline rush.
When an SUV deliberately hit me on my bike in <st1:place w:st="on">Chinatown</st1:place>,
I kept riding (thankfully I could) because at that moment I could have killed
the driver with my bare hands, I have never been so goddam mad in my life, but
in that instant I learned that I could control that impulse and rise above the
moment. For me, at least, it was enlightening.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Through my own circumstances I have been pretty close to the street for
most of my life. At this moment I am involved with a group trying to
address violence in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Boston</st1:place></st1:City>
and I am coming up against many of the built-in realities of our system.
Perhaps my own experiences are what give me empathy.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>I always ask the "why" questions. Why was the bike
being stolen, why was my car broken into, why was my landlord mugged, and why,
for that matter, the almost universal hostility toward bikes? But also
why is it so hard to change things. This incident has shed a little
light on that for me. <br>
<br>
<b><i><span style='font-weight:bold;font-style:italic'>John Hays
<jjhays2@gmail.com></span></i></b> wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid #1010FF 1.5pt;padding:0pc 0pc 0pc 4.0pt;
margin-left:3.75pt;margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt'>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>While I strongly oppose all laws against the consensual growth, <br>
manufacture, distribution, possession and use of drugs of all kinds, and <br>
I fully agree that drug laws ruin lives, and that drug laws also <br>
necessarily increase the price of drugs, which can lead marginal drug <br>
users to theft -- all of that is COMPLETELY BESIDES THE POINT, absent <br>
further evidence, because there's currently no evidence that any of that <br>
applies to this asshole. I strongly disagree that most theft in the city <br>
is fueled by drug addiction, simply because there's far, far more <br>
property theft in the city than drug addicts can account for. As someone <br>
who lives in Allston, it's abundantly clear to me that drug addiction is <br>
rarely the underlying cause of property theft. College students, and <br>
young people in their 20s generally, are inveterate thieves, and you <br>
have lots of petty theft wherever large numbers of them congregate. They <br>
are also rarely drug addicts.<br>
<br>
Some people have minimized the severity of crime by scoffing at the <br>
importance of 'property' (conveniently forgetting the assault). While I <br>
think this is misguided for several reasons, I would just point out that <br>
the 'things' we legitimately acquire are the result of the product of <br>
hours of our own labor. If your $300 bike is stolen, and you worked at <br>
$10/hr job to raise the money to buy it, then you've lost more than a <br>
physical thing -- you've lost the 30+ hours of your own time that you <br>
invested into one pursuit over another, perhaps more enjoyable pursuit, <br>
in order to acquire it. That is, I think, no small crime.<br>
<br>
I have serious objections to the criminal 'justice' system, as well <br>
as the justice of deliberately inflicting unpleasantness onto people as <br>
retribution for a crime (as opposed to say, a framework designed around <br>
restitution to victims); but what I have no doubt about is that this <br>
bicycle thief has committed a grievous wrong, and I'm not going to <br>
lament his punishment too much.<br>
<br>
- John<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Paul Centro wrote:<br>
> It might have been interesting if someone had spoken to James Johnson, <br>
> the alleged perp, for his side of the story. While I do not know his <br>
> circumstances, let me suggest an alternative read for stories such as <br>
> this:<br>
> <br>
> -Drug addict in the throes of addiction needs money for a fix. John <br>
> Doe of Boston who has been unable to find steady employment due to <br>
> arrests in his youth for minor offenses finds himself in increasingly <br>
> desperate circumstances. What started out as recreational use of <br>
> cocaine has become a $50 a day methamphetamine addiction. "I'd like <br>
> to kick, but I cannot afford treatment and all of the subsidized slots <br>
> are filled," says Mr. Doe.<br>
> <br>
> "I'm really sorry about the bike, and you have to understand how <br>
> desperate I am, I'm looking at 2 years in jail due to prior <br>
> convictions. Running is the only choice I have right now."<br>
> <br>
> Is this so far fetched? I would argue that most of the property crime <br>
> in this city is perpetrated for just such reasons. Can we feel good <br>
> that this person was caught? What's to become of him? Jail at 40k+ a <br>
> year with no rehab or job training at worst, unable to work because of <br>
> a CORI that will follow him for the rest of his life and vote <br>
> dis-enfranchisement at best is what it looks like to me. All this for <br>
> a bike? I see no justice here.<br>
> <br>
> Make no mistake, we pay for folks to use drugs and crime is the method <br>
> of payment. Drug laws have a human cost and I think it's time for a <br>
> little empathy in place of punishment. I am disappointed that someone <br>
> involved with Critical Mass is so stoked at the result. If these <br>
> folks are unable to see beneath the surface of things, who is?<br>
> <br>
> Peter McNeff,<br>
> Jamaica Plain <br>
> <br>
> <br>
><br>
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