This article talks to a Crusader who had to give up politics after political repression. In the states, if you are serious about activism, sooner or later you will have to deal with being watched, harassed... no matter how non-violent you remain. This is not China. They will not just throw you in prison. No, they are much more subtle here. They will try to drive you crazy, get you addicted to drugs, set you up with a cult or a woman. Do all sorts of things to make you look nuts to yourself and others. All the age old tactics.
I am sorry to see a voice for the Good Fight silenced, but they had him for a year, and certainly tortured the hell out of him, broke up his family... I wish him well as he tries to rebuild his life and find peace and happiness. Luckily, I have no kids to worry about, so I can live more recklessly, flash my fuck you finger in whoever's face I want. I won this right the hardway, after a firewalk the intelligence agencies put me through. I won. I lived and fight on. They may have stopped all the people who thought they were doing what I wanted during 2007, but they actually had no idea that my plan is very long term. Longer than my life. I learned from Dr. Stern how to avoid their jails (until they tricked me into one for no fault of my own, as they tried to stop me from writing) for my own actions. I am a non-violent, law abiding, person who is more likely on the side of the Law than the Pirates... though I am certainly not going to work for either of them.
I realized a few months ago that I would have went to law school if my spine had not went out on me. My GPA was high enough to get into Harvard, or whereever. I would have done it. Better I write anyways. In the end, this may have more effect.... but I sure would like to know how to draft and get laws considered.
Again, be prepared is the Boy Scout motto... so don't let their watching you bother you at all. Like an old poet told me, "Oh, just ignore them. They aren't going to kill you." They try to bully you out of activism, scare you... mostly, that is all they can do if you remain peaceful and keep the camera on.
This is the summer of our discontent. I did a search for myself on a chinese google thingy, and they only had articles where I was critically discussing the states. None of my blogs or facebook were there, of course. I have a lot more sympathy for China than most Americans, and they know that... I have had contact with their premiere, just once... for some reason, the sight of her filled me with laughter, and she joined me. I was laughing because I was amazed that a boof blogger like me would get contacted by someone with such a great position of power. I found her charming. We discussed the seperation of church and state and my socialistic leanings. I don't know if they expected me to somehow be kinder to them in my blogs, or what.... at the time, I had a very popular blog on Xanga which was getting into China, and I was writing poetry about revolting in the states. They loved me. But, now, after seeing how they are censoring me, I guess they found out that I love the Dali Lama. I do accept that they are not going to give up Tibet, because they need those high mountains for their nukes, and I am not going to even begin to hazard an opinion... but the monks should be left alone, and peaceful protest should be reacted to by taking the concerns of the citizens in mind, and solving them.
If you read about what young Chinese activists go through, I think you would have great hope for them. They are well educated, savvy, and working the system fearlessly. If the risks were as high here for protesters, no one would be in the streets....
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