redemption

so i decided to watch redemption: the stanley tookie williams story - it took a lot of debating with myself cause theyre going to kill him on dec 13th and i really am not sure i want to learn about someone's life one month before he's to be murdered. but i decided my sadness isn't as important as knowledge and being able to spread this knowledge and try, at least, to do everything i can to save this man's life. which isn't a lot because i'm not a yank - a bittersweet reality - more on that later.

so i knew tookie was a nobel peace prize nominee, but i wasn't really sure why other than his anti-gang books for children. i had no idea what kind of impact these books had on kids all over the world, not just american inner city kids. what this man did was utterly amazing and i urge you to watch this film before dec. 13th - it might make you give a shit.

jamie foxx played tookie and did an exceptional job, this man's talent is mind-boggling.

warning: the following can be considered holier than thou preaching...

democracy | noun ( pl. -cies) a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives : capitalism and democracy are ascendant in the third world. • a state governed in such a way : a multiparty democracy. • control of an organization or group by the majority of its members : the intended extension of industrial democracy. • the practice or principles of social equality : demands for greater democracy.

here's how it works. as a citizen of a democracy, you have a voice. although it's harder than ever to have your voice heard, it's still possible. a government that represents YOU is about to kill a man who has single-handedly stopped gang warfare in cities all over the world. they are about to kill him for you. in your name, this man will have poison flowing through his veins on dec 13th and he'll take his last breath and the aftermath has the potential of making the riots in paris seem like hippies at disneyland.

are you ready to have this man's blood on your hands? are you ready to have the blood on your hands of gang violence that could result from this man's death? are you ready to accept responsibility for the deaths of inmates and prison officials all over the united states of america?

you have young men in iraq right now fighting for your right to have your voice heard. they are fighting for your right to vote, for your freedom of speech, for your democracy. they are losing their lives, they are being killed daily and their families are suffering tremendous loss. this is also in your name. and you have the nerve to turn your back on these rights and leave them, unexercised as the world stares on in horror at the atrocities and murders that are being comitted in your name - all we can do is wonder, do you have a conscience?

i take pride in my being canadian because the instances in which my government kills in my name are few and far between, but i would give anything to be able to have my voice count as one of the majority in your country. there are so many of you who feel the same way i do, there are so many of you who are for peace and civil resolutions to global and national problems. but you don't speak up. if i had american citizenship, i would never allow my fellow countrymen to go and fight a bullshit war and have their deaths be for naught by selfishly ignoring my place in the gears that run my government.

and more importantly, i could not allow the blood of tookie williams and all of those who will die as a result of his death, stain my hands without a fight.

a truly patriotic american would not let his voice go unheard.

all it takes is one signature - click here to sign

other important links:
www.tookie.com
savetookie.org
Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story

and then there was lee thompson young, for those of you who need a pretty face to get you through a movie of any depth


wow.

posted by Courtney at 1:41 p.m.

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