|
 
Welcome to the Shroomery Message Board! Please  login or  register to post messages and view our members-only content. You'll gain access to additional forums, encrypted messages, file attachments, board customizations, and much more!
|
 xFrockx
Fucking Hippie
 
Registered: 09/17/06
Posts: 1,274
Loc: Northeast
Last seen: 10 hours, 57 minutes
|
 A anti-drug war book with a different message: compassion
#7291998 - 08/13/07 07:06 PM (1 year, 3 months ago) |
|
|
Although information is a valuable tool in combating our current drug laws, I believe it is one that is not doing enough. After thinking about a friend of mine, and how his life has been changed for much, much worse because of our drug laws, I decided to write about him. Please, if you know someone who has been affected by our drug laws in a negative way, tell their story here. I think if we could get enough firsthand accounts of people that the drug war has destroyed, we could try to get it published. This is the kindof thinking that anti-drug people use to sway their arguement, so we must appeal with equal emotion.
We can't let the people who have lost their lives to the war on drugs be in the shadows any longer. I hope this thread will get off the ground, perhaps the Music, Art, and Literature fourm would be a better avenue, and if so feel fee to move this thread. The idea of this though is to (hopefully) create some publishable material that can make its way into the hands of the general public, and make them feel for our cause.
Here is the essay I wrote, feel free to critique it, and I really encourage anyone with a similar thought provoking story to share it. Thank you.
I have a friend named Randy. He has been living with his grandmother, and occasionally his mother and half-brothers, all his life in their small house in the country. Randy is not an honors student, in fact, he never graduated high school. After completing an extra year of high school for 1 credit of class, he failed his senior project because he completed volunteer work at a stable, which was not considered community service, as the project required, but I digress…
Randy does not lead a privileged life, not hardly, but his grandmother does all she can to provide for him, working on a barge as a cook for weeks at a time as they transport their cargo over the rivers of America. As a result, Randy has spent much of his life alone, cooking his own meals, cleaning the house, everything but giving himself a loving kiss goodnight. Randy, however, is a criminal in the eyes of our government, and only for one reason, he smokes marijuana.
I could go into great detail about the rather mundane happenings that occur when I am at Randy’s house, there always seems to be someone there hanging out, most likely smoking as well. Normally we watch movies or simply sit around and talk. Randy, nor anyone else in our circle of friends, has committed any violent crimes. Randy in particular is someone who would help anyone in need if he could, he’s one of the most selfless people I know. Perhaps it is because he has so little himself, but class aside, Randy, as well as our friends who keep him company, are kind, generous people.
Randy’s grandfather was arrested multiple times for growing marijuana. This took away the one father that Randy knew, and even though his family could easily grow marijuana and make enough money to supplement their small income and improve their quality of life. Randy’s fear of someone going to jail like his grandfather did is so great that even considering growing is out of the question.
The war on drugs is not as advertised, it has become a war on people, freedom, but most importantly, it has become a war on families like Randy’s. These are people just like you. Imagine having regrets over your late-grandfather because he was arrested for growing a plant. Imagine being a criminal for saving your grandmother enough weed to roll a joint with her morning coffee. Now realize this, your imagination is our reality, our only crime is burning a plant that gives us a little bit of joy in this world of poverty. Help us.
--------------------
I want to tell you a story,
About a little man,
If I can,
A gnome named Grimble Grumble,
And little gnomes stay in their homes,
Eating, sleeping, Drinking their wine
Edited by xFrockx (08/13/07 07:09 PM)
|
Hyper_Panda_GO
Team Action!
Registered: 05/28/06
Posts: 9,656
Last seen: 12 hours, 43 minutes
|
Re: A anti-drug war book with a different message: compassion [Re: xFrockx]
#7292211 - 08/13/07 08:43 PM (1 year, 3 months ago) |
|
|
Drug laws, for the most part, are stupid and melodramatic
I wish I could be more eloquent, but I'm not nearly as schooled as I'd like to be in that area
--------------------
There is no valid reason you should be reading this
|
 EntheogenicPeace
Scholar
Registered: 10/04/05
Posts: 2,326
|
 Re: A anti-drug war book with a different message: compassion [Re: xFrockx]
#7292564 - 08/13/07 10:40 PM (1 year, 3 months ago) |
|
|
Touching essay. you're a very effective writer.
However, Bertrand Russell said the following...
"If a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. If, on the other hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in accordance to his instincts, he will accept it even on the slightest evidence. The origin of myths is explained in this way."
The positive impact of ten such well-written stories (even if they are true) on the mindset of a casual "Drug War" supporter will be negated by one sensational story about the man who killed his girlfriend's 4-year-old daughter because he ran out of pot, or the person who took psychedelic mushrooms & assaulted & raped an elderly lady. Whether or not such stories are true is of little importance; those who are predisposed by a lifetime of intentional misinformation will immediately accept them as true, & also the underlying presupposition that it was the "drugs" that made people act as such.
Combine the acceptance regarding how horrible the drugs are with the disdain for the violence of the drug trade, which such people assume is because of the drugs & not their black market trade, & I just don't see empathetic stories of innocent victims winning them over. Even if they're slightly moved & agree with your essay (or one that is of a similar nature), they'll still resort to the mentally lazy cop-out of, "Well, it's (the "War on Drugs) not perfect, but it is necessary. We can't have drug dealers & users running around free, endangering law-abiding people."
I believe the most effective technique is solid, indisputable facts, & not emotions, because a clever propagandist can always make a touching (or frightening) piece evoking empathy and/or fear to get others to go along with their agenda, no matter how sinister (e.g. U.S. military aggression against Iraq). Emotions are too easily manipulated. Hit someone with solid facts & only the most stubborn won't concede you're right.
For example... Dispel that notion that legalizing marijuana would be disastrous for society by explaining how it is less damaging to the user than alcohol or tobacco, & although those substances are legal, they haven't plunged society into godless decadence (since most ignorant supporters of the "Drug War" like to think of themselves as standing for 'values' & 'morality'). Explain that it is the trade that causes the violence, & not the substance; that any product with a high demand that has a 10x, 100x, or even 1000x mark-up from production to retail, if criminalized, will inevitably lead to violence & corruption due to the desire to profit from and/or monopolize the trade.
These are just two quick examples that could be better expounded upon, & countless more exist. But because I'm getting tired, I'll leave it at that for now.
--------------------
"Every part of this earth is sacred to my people. Every pine needle, every sandy shore, every humming insect is holy... We are part of the earth and it is part of us... The earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth." - Chief Seattle
"...the role our nation has taken... of those who make peaceful revolution impossible by refusing to give up the privileges and the pleasures that come from the immense profits of overseas investments... we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values... When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered." - Martin Luther King Jr.
|
xFrockx
Fucking Hippie
Registered: 09/17/06
Posts: 1,274
Loc: Northeast
Last seen: 10 hours, 57 minutes
|
Re: A anti-drug war book with a different message: compassion [Re: EntheogenicPeace]
#7292765 - 08/13/07 11:56 PM (1 year, 3 months ago) |
|
|
I know where you are coming from, but I think the wise words of Russel may not be so relevant here.
We do not need to convince everyone. The people who understand the facts and listen to good science are already on our side. The people who truly drive the War on Drugs are the fearful masses who tell stories just like these. It is the only side of their argument, their lies like the one you mention are all they know. We can and must still use the truth, but we need to make it more aesthetic so that those who don't care enough about the drug war to question it (the majority of the population) will at the very least have something else to consider when paying their taxes.
--------------------
I want to tell you a story,
About a little man,
If I can,
A gnome named Grimble Grumble,
And little gnomes stay in their homes,
Eating, sleeping, Drinking their wine
Edited by xFrockx (08/13/07 11:57 PM)
|
EntheogenicPeace
Scholar
Registered: 10/04/05
Posts: 2,326
|
Re: A anti-drug war book with a different message: compassion [Re: xFrockx]
#7297309 - 08/15/07 11:37 AM (1 year, 3 months ago) |
|
|
I can agree that appealing to emotion can be more effective on some of the ignorant, appealing to reason & facts more effective on others, & combination of both might be the best way to go. Some, of course, are too bigoted & content in their own ignorance & stupidity too be swayed no matter how factual & persuasive the argument (against "drug" prohibition) is. It all depends on the individual(s). The latter, though, are not even worth wasting one's time on; they're hopeless.
Quote:
The people who understand the facts and listen to good science are already on our side.
Most definitely, but there are plenty among the ignorant who could be swayed if only they understood certain things that they're not incapable of comprehending; they just need to be exposing to the truth and/or have someone explain it to them in a sincere & well-organized manner.
|
xFrockx
Fucking Hippie
Registered: 09/17/06
Posts: 1,274
Loc: Northeast
Last seen: 10 hours, 57 minutes
|
Re: A anti-drug war book with a different message: compassion [Re: EntheogenicPeace]
#7297688 - 08/15/07 01:47 PM (1 year, 3 months ago) |
|
|
Yes, a combination is definitely needed, but right now we don't have that, all we have are the facts. Its kindof a moot point now anyway, now that this thread has been moved here it has no chance. I don't see why we even have this subforum if its just a place threads go to die. Especially since the content of it requires participation. :sigh:
--------------------
I want to tell you a story,
About a little man,
If I can,
A gnome named Grimble Grumble,
And little gnomes stay in their homes,
Eating, sleeping, Drinking their wine
|
EntheogenicPeace
Scholar
Registered: 10/04/05
Posts: 2,326
|
Re: A anti-drug war book with a different message: compassion [Re: xFrockx]
#7305912 - 08/17/07 07:46 PM (1 year, 3 months ago) |
|
|
The DEA raids of medical marijuana facilities in California, as tragic & criminal as they are, may be a catalyst for widespread social unrest (one can hope), being as more & more everyday people are coming to see the irrefutable truth about the benefits & benign nature of cannabis, that political reform on the national level doesn't seem to be going anywhere, & that the youth of today are more politically active (thank the blatant criminality of the current U.S. regime for that), & potentially militant than they have been since the 60s.
I wish the solution to the problem of oppressive "drug" laws within the U.S. (& how they play out in places like Colombia) were as simple as: Educate people & "get out & vote", but I have very little faith in a plutocratic system that masquerades as democracy. I believe society must be fundamentally changed for these progressive advancements to occur, as I don't see them happening under the current system. As people become more educated & aware about the world, I believe this transformation of society from economic oppression & environmental destruction to one of global peace & living in harmony with all other species who inhabit the planet, & with the planet itself, is inevitable; though a significant amount of bloodshed may very well accompany it.
| |
|
|
|
Previous
Index
Next
Threaded
Edit 
Reply 
Quote 
