acts of terrorism do not justify the u.s. government’s attacks on civil liberties. the patriot act does not make us feel safe – it’s just another way to create fear and consolidate control over civil society. backed by many anti-war organizations including RAW (rochester against war) brighton passed an anti-patriot act resolution – go brighton!

Press Release
Brighton Town Council Passes Resolution Upholding Rights and Liberties In Response to Flawed Patriot Act Provisions and FBI Abuse of Power
Rochester, NY— In response to concern about flaws in the Patriot Act and recent revelations of FBI abuse of Patriot Act powers, the Brighton Town Council, in a vote of 5-0, today approved a resolution upholding the Bill of Rights and Constitution and protecting the rights of Brighton residents from anti-terrorism measures that the Council believes go too far. Brighton is the first community in the country to pass an anti-Patriot Act resolution challenging National Security Letters (NSLs), which were recently revealed to be overused and abused by the FBI. Brighton also joins 409 municipalities to have passed resolutions against the Patriot Act, according to the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, which tracks the resolutions and encourages a national debate on threats to civil liberties from the Patriot Act and other post-September 11th anti-terrorism measures.

The Rochester Civil Liberties Coalition (RCLC) was founded by Lee Price of Fairport , NY to encourage local governments in Monroe County to pass anti-Patriot resolutions during the reauthorization process of the USA Patriot Act. “Rochester City Council’s resolution last year was our first success”, he said. ACLU legal counsel, Scott Forsyth, worked with the town of Brighton, a suburb of Rochester, to craft a resolution to address Patriot Act threats to civil liberties, specifically the still-flawed Provision Section 215 and NSL provisions. Nancy Braiman, a coordinator for the RCLC, called the Brighton vote a vote for the Bill of Rights. Ms. Braiman coordinated media coverage, lobbying, and other community events to build public support to adopt the measure. After a year of lobbying, Ms. Braiman and the RCLC finally convinced the board to adopt a resolution after the Department of Justice released an audit revealing widespread FBI abuse in the issuing of NSLs. “Brighton’s courageous vote sends a strong message to Washington and our whole nation that the tragic attacks of September 11th were not a signal for the United States to abandon the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. It also lets the residents of Brighton know that their elected officials have taken the necessary steps to ensure public safety, while protecting the civil liberties of its citizens” said Braiman.

The full text of Brighton’s Resolution is available online at: http://bordc.org/detail.php?id=743 ]

last thursday i met some friends for coffee, to discuss an upcoming fundraiser. we talked about everything under the sun including slavery and its implications. at one point someone compared african american slavery with jewish subjugation at the hands of the babylonians and pharoahs. besides the obvious difference in time elapsed since their respective liberation, there seem to be other unique factors inherent in the african american experience. african american slaves were ripped from their land, their culture, their language, their world and brought into an alien land. many africans were terrified by their captors because they had never seen people with white skin - they thought that they were ghosts, non-human, otherworldly.

they did not arrive in america as an exiled “community” but as fragments of tribes and cultures that most of them never came into contact with after their capture. most slaves did not speak the language of other slaves. the horror and loneliness of this fact alone is unimaginable. there was no cohesive community, no common language, no shared traditions, no comforting rituals, no common stories and myths, and no shared religion. there was nothing to tell them who they were and where they came from. no one to validate their sense of self-identity. it is truly nightmarish to be isolated to this point. on the other hand, most jews have a strong sense of community, of where they come from and who they are.

if one thinks about it, it is quite admirable that african americans overcame this by turning their experience of slavery into such a vibrant and strong culture. whether it be worship, music, language (strongly recommend toni morrison to get a feel for the african american experience through the “language” of the slaves), dance, or fashion, african americans have evolved into an incredibly creative community. if more of them were given the right circumstances to bloom and exercise this creativity, god knows how wonderfully explosive it would be.

btw here’s a great short film by kiki davis – it highlights problems of identity that stem from what I have tried to describe above - check it out.