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<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=765110016-02102007><FONT
face="Palatino Linotype" color=#008080><STRONG>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). </STRONG></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=765110016-02102007><FONT
face="Palatino Linotype"
color=#008080><STRONG></STRONG></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=765110016-02102007><FONT
face="Palatino Linotype"
color=#008080><STRONG>-jocelyn</STRONG></FONT></SPAN></DIV><BR>
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=en-us dir=ltr align=left>
<HR tabIndex=-1>
<FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B>
bostoncriticalmass-bounces@bostoncriticalmass.org
[mailto:bostoncriticalmass-bounces@bostoncriticalmass.org] <B>On Behalf Of
</B>Paul Centro<BR><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, September 29, 2007 10:31
AM<BR><B>To:</B> Boston Critical Mass<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: [*BCM*] Cyclist
foils heist, Boston Phoenix 9/28<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV>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.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>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.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I also know the rage that can be sparked by the adreneline rush.
When an SUV deliberately hit me on my bike in Chinatown, 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.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>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 Boston and I am coming up against many of the built-in
realities of our system. Perhaps my own experiences are what give me
empathy.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>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>John Hays <jjhays2@gmail.com></I></B> wrote:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid">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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<BR>> are looking for what you sell.<BR>>
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