So, let me be sure I got this right: A 65 year old man, a 59 year old man, and an 84 year old nun (this already sounds like a bad joke) break into a nuclear weapons complex in an act of peaceful civil disobedience. They get three to five years in prison and have to do restitution and be probies afterwards. That’ll be a serious bitch on their social security, frankly I’m surprised the judge didn’t order their SS garnished but that’s probably only because he didn’t think of it, amateur. I can’t even seriously discuss just how much training a security force needs to stop an 84 year old nun from breaking into what is supposed to be a top notch national security complex. Yeah, I’d be pretty ticked to get my gun toting butt kicked by three card carrying senior citizens too but hey, I’m touchy.
Am I the only one who has serious issues with the so called “secure facility” gettin whupped on by a bunch of geriatrics??? I’m thinking the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge has a security problem which is a whole heap bigger than three peaceful old folks trespassing during an act of civil disbedience. Let’s be clear here, three people, with no intent of doing harm took part in an act of civil disobedience and did so knowing their actions would likely put them behind bars; elders which believed in the moral and ethical rightness of what they stand for enough to act on it in hopes of a better future for the world’s children. Fine, they knew what they were doing and what the consequences might be. According to U.S. District Judge Amul Thapar, he sentenced “the Oak Ridge 3” as he did because he was concerned the demonstrators showed no remorse and he intended their punishment to be a deterrent for other activists. To Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Theodore’s mind, the true crime these three committed is that they “destroyed the ‘mystique’ of the “Fort Knox of uranium.” Once again a government agency gets it’s fingers slammed in the barn door and hopes to deflect their incompetence by essentially sentencing three good people to what amounts to life in prison because they destroyed the myth of a government agency’s awesome super powers. I hate to spring this on Mr. Theodore but there isn’t much about our current government agencies which hasn’t already been tarnished and usually the tarnish comes via their own stupidity, but I digress.
What really burns me about this fiasco? The verdict of guilt, not just of tresspassing but of “destroying the mystique” of our government’s ability to protect America’s assets and her people; a verdict which mocks all of us who have had to pay and pay and pay for the misdeeds committed by corporate jokers. Where was the will to judge harshly Wall Street, the banking industry, all of the collateral business entities involved, and the political cronyism which had evil intent and and led to horrific consequences for millions? The bad guys, and gals, who trashed the US economy, impacted the world economy, and left those of us least able to afford the bill to pay the piper they danced to have walked away scott free with impunity. Those who brought about our latest economic crisis were aided and abetted by the politicians we elected to serve our best interest but whom the Wizards of Wall Street bought and paid for. The financial debacle of 2008 cost the American people billions –we”re still paying and will contintue to pay for years to come the cost of this folly. The guilty, who acted solely out of greed and avarice, who believe only in the almighty dollar, did not receive even a slap on the wrist and yet these three who believe so strongly in Christ’s teaching and acted in their belief have been egregiously punished. What about the mystique of financial security, fair political process, and justice the Wall Street crowd robbed the American people of Mr. Theodore? Judge Thapar, do you believe we should have made an example of the Wall Street Thieves Guild? God knows those responsible for the 2008 crash have given you have grounds to be supremely concerned since not a one of them has shown one iota of remorse; don’t you think future masters of finance should look on this current batch miscreants with horror because the punishment meted out to them has been harsh enough to stand as a prime deterrent to future financial hijinks?
The Boston Tea Party was an act of civil disobedience; sheltering Jewish children during the Holocaust was an act of civil disodedience; tearing down the Berlin Wall was an act of civil disobedience; a black woman sitting on bus was an act of civil disobedience; protesting nuclear proliferation and WMD’s was an act of civil disobedience; a carpenter healing a blind man on the Sabbath was an act of civil disobedience; an act of civil disobedience is to those in power something to fear. Megan and her friends are walking their talk and willingly paying the unjust price, it’s pretty clear their boss is a carpenter. Mr. Theodore, Judge Thapar, and all the rest of y’all in charge of justice and government in this case, here’s a little heads up, you ain’t workin for the same guy.
Cheers,
Laurie-Ann
Photo courtesy of Knoxnews.com
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/18/nun-nuclear-plant_n_4811373.html
Heartsease 