Police state. Martial law. The new Inquisitions. Whatever you want to call it, it’s happening. Right before our eyes. When do we, as a supposedly free people, say “enough is enough”? There have be SO many events recently that I have had a difficult time deciding on which to blog about. After learning about what is happening to Muslim communities I decided to write about that and mention some of the other extremely disturbing events that are taking place.

Muslim communities, particularly in New York, are being overtly and covertly spied on in ways that defy logic or understanding. Yes, overtly spied on sounds like an oxymoron, but it’s not, as you will see. The covert part is clear enough, under cover agents being placed in Muslim communities and mosques, secretly listening in on sermons and that sort of thing. The overt is the NYPD and, evidently, the FBI as well, knocking on doors in Muslim communities and asking residents questions about their mosque attendance, what websites they use to access news, their political ideology, their views about recent (and current) events in the Middle East and so on. This is all done to people who are not accused of any crime. Their only “crime” is that the FBI and the NYPD doesn’t like Muslims. They apparently especially don’t like Muslims interacting with one another and living their faith.

What would you do if the FBI or your local law enforcement came knocking on your door asking you questions like that? “Where do you worship? What is being said there? What websites do you use to get your news? What are your political views? What do you think about events in the Middle East?” What would you do? If it happened to me, I hope I would be able to refrain from my initial, knee-jerk reaction of clearly saying, “F*** you!” and instead calmly ask if I was under arrest and if not then not answer a single question and shut the door in their face. If I was placed under arrest, I would still not answer any questions and not say anything at all except to demand a lawyer.

The Occupy Movement

Then there are the events surrounding the Occupy movement. Unarmed citizens being gassed, pepper sprayed, shot with ‘bean-bags’ and rubber bullets, clubbed, punched, kicked and otherwise brutally treated. President Obama, our fearless leader {sarcasm} has recently said that the DOJ will be investigating abuses by police. I find this very odd indeed since that would mean that one department of the government will be investigating what yet another department, the DHS (Homeland Security), has had an active role in coordinating. It’s like the old saying about the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.

Why are the members of the Occupy movement being so brutally treated when the T-baggers, er, the Tea Party rallies and protests are not? Is it because the Tea Party has members at their rallies and protests that look like someone from The Beverly Hillbillies walking around with semi-automatic weapons slung over their shoulders? It’s absurd! Nobody from the Occupy movement is walking around with guns slung over their shoulders and yet they are greeted by armed and armored denizens of the new police state. I think it’s clear. The Tea Party simply cannot gather the numbers and momentum that the Occupy movement has. This obviously frightens the government and irritates the Tea Party.

SOPA

If SOPA passes, then websites ranging from giants generating billions of dollars to small blogs like this one could be shut down, fined or face other legal action if they (whoever they decide to oversee SOPA) deem a site to be in violation of the new law. The Internet-Nazis supporting and pushing SOPA claim it’s simply to help stop piracy. Don’t believe that load of crap. Research SOPA and you will see it for what it is… censorship. Censorship already happens, it’s nothing new, but this act will take it to a whole new level. It will give government and corporations sweeping powers to crush any content on the Web they don’t like, or any site on the Web they don’t like. Like all the absurdities and lawlessness taking place in the name of “national security”, it will be taken to the Internet in the name of SOPA.

Welcome, my friends, to the new police state. Where, especially among the GOP and Tea Party, Christianity is the only acceptable religion and all others may lead to terrorism (their thoughts, not mine!), where censorship may soon reign supreme, where unarmed American citizens are brutalized in our streets by the very people sworn to “serve and protect” them. Where paranoia is praised. I think it’s safe to change the spelling of our country’s name now. Instead of America, it would seem that Amerika is more appropriate.

Lately I have been both amazed at the tenacity of the American people and disgusted at the apathy of the American people. I am, of course, referring to the Occupy movement. I am amazed, proud and impressed by the tenacity of the protesters. People who have been clubbed with batons, shot with rubber bullets/bean bags, had flash-bangs thrown amongst them, maced, punched and had tear gas grenades/canisters thrown amongst them. They continue on. An Iraq war veteran among them was just shot in the head by one of those projectiles fired from police shotguns and is in critical condition with a fractured skull and swelling of his brain. He did two tours in Iraq and survived only to be critically wounded by a domestic police force using excessive force.

On the other hand, I am also utterly disgusted at the apathy of so very many Americans toward all this. Whether or not one agrees with the ideology of the protesters, it boils down to a simple fact. The first amendment which, as you know, is supposed to protect the right to free speech and peaceable assembly is being utterly destroyed right before our eyes. I have been shocked to hear and see such complete and utter apathy regarding this.

To those of you who value your second amendment or any other amendment yet show nothing but apathy and even disdain toward the protesters’, I can only say this, Do not expect anything but apathy in return when your right to own guns or your right to freedom of religion or any other right is trampled upon as well. We are supposed to have these basic rights in America, but when we try to exercise them, the mace, tear gas, batons and other weapons come out to squash them.

It’s not about ideology. It’s about rights. So if you are one of those showing apathy and disgust toward the protesters simply because you disagree with their ideology but do not even consider their rights, don’t cry and whine and expect sympathy when your own rights are trampled upon. This is how government gets away with steadily eroding our rights. The American people complain about the incompetency of government to do anything, yet it is the American people themselves that seem utterly incapable of joining together to create change for the better because they are too busy belittling those they disagree with. If we could put our differences aside, and simply acknowledge that we need change, then we could make that change happen. I haven’t heard anyone from any side deny that we need change in this country. But as long as we are busy bickering and belittling one another then the power-hungry in government are free to go on with “business as usual”, which is eroding our rights, allowing the economy to go down the drain, destroy even further our credibility abroad and so on.