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MLK's Final Speech Was Fraudulently Edited to Change History
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by duo | December 18, 2008 at 10:55 am
1808 views | 31 Recommendations | 39 comments
I made an astonishing and disheartening discovery. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s final speech has omissions and substituted text in 18 of the 20 online sources checked. This means there could be more. Are people throughout the world learning inaccurate wording for Dr. King's "I've Been to the Mountaintop" address?
Rev. King delivered his famous final speech in Memphis, Tennessee on April 3, 1968, the day immediately preceding his assassination. He was shot in the face while standing alone on the balcony of the Lorraine Hotel on April 4 during a strike by sanitation workers.
A video excerpt from Rev. King's final speech presenting accurate wording is below:
http://www.scholarspot.com/video/1318/1968-Martin-Luther-King-s-Pro...
Below is the correct language of Dr. King's quote. Text that is usually omitted online is in ALL CAPS below, and text often substituted for Rev. King's actual words is parenthetical.
All we say to America is, "Be true to what you said on paper." If I lived in China or even Russia, or any totalitarian country, MAYBE I COULD UNDERSTAND SOME OF THESE ILLEGAL INJUNCTIONS. Maybe I could understand the denial of certain basic First Amendment privileges, because they HAVEN'T (hadn't)* committed themselves to that over there. But somewhere I read of the freedom of assembly. Somewhere I read of the freedom of speech. Somewhere I read of the freedom of (the)** press. Somewhere I read that the greatness of America is the right to protest for RIGHTS (right)***. And so just as I say, WE AREN’T GOING TO LET ANY DOGS OR WATER HOSES TURN US AROUND, we aren't going to let any injunction turn us around.
___________________
References to "illegal injunctions" against peaceful assembly and to "dogs and water hoses" were deleted in the fraudulently edited presentations of MLK's "Mountaintop" speech.
* I did not hear MLK say "hadn't," but "haven't."
** I did not hear MLK say "THE press," but only "press."
*** I did not hear MLK say "right" (an ideological standard), but "rights" (as in full citizenship)
It is disturbing that so many online sources changed Rev. King's words without notifying readers that the speech was altered. One would assume the individual publishers carrying the misprint do not know.
Dr. King was more than a scholarly, peace-loving dreamer. He was a courageous human rights activist whose inspired leadership required that he and thousands of others who were fed up would stand up in the face of powerful government opposition. It is interesting that the text revealing the civil rights leader's willingness to defy illegal injunctions while facing police armed with guns, vicious dogs, and high-powered water hoses would comprise the frequently omitted parts of Dr. King's speech. Most online videotape excerpts of the "Mountaintop" address start with Rev. King saying, "We’ve got some difficult days ahead." Those video excerpts are not useful in verifying the authenticity of this often-misprinted quote, because this quote comes before their starting point. Stanford University has the quote correct at its link: http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/publications/speeches/I've_been_...
One would assume the video presented herein was cut to capture the most memorable portions of Rev. King's “Mountaintop” address. Unlike this video, the written versions all carry Dr. King's description of a plane incident just before the speech's famous conclusion when Dr. King proclaimed having "been to the mountaintop."
Dr. King’s methodology for non-violent social change required suppressed people and their supporters to peacefully assemble and protest for basic citizenship rights in a hostile climate wherein their justice quest was met with fierce dogs, strong water hoses, and worse. Thousands of African Americans were joined by people who were white, Jewish, and other, who stood together for justice during the civil rights movement in the face of illegal injunctions.
Civil rights activists should be heralded by all Americans. Their tenacity taught us that the human spirit is determined to be free, and society is better for the dedication those freedom fighters showed. Their protests against injustice never included rioting, looting, or losing their sense of dignity, unity, and purpose. Young people who protested the shooting death of Oscar Grant by Bay Area Rapid Transit police on New Year's Day are to be commended for demanding justice; however, protesters should take a lesson from Dr. King and the Freedom Riders who stood with him. The civil rights era of the 50's and 60's offers valuable lessons about the effectiveness of non-violent conflict resolution that should be protected and passed down to future generations without censorship. We must all learn to get along and resolve disputes without property damage and bloodshed. See the link below:
Happy Martin Luther King Day to Americans - Strongest People on the Planet!
http://my.nowpublic.com/culture/happy-martin-luther-king-day-americ...
The online versions of the "Mountaintop" address had omissions described in the quote below in 18 of 20 online sources checked in mid-December 2008. Recurring errors in Dr. King's speech are noted by brackets. Three of the links that featured the misquote follow it, although this writer hopes necessary corrections have been or will be made.
All we say to America is, "Be true to what you said on paper." If I lived in China or even Russia, or any totalitarian country, [omission] maybe I could understand the denial of certain basic First Amendment privileges, because they hadn't [should be "haven't"] committed themselves to that over there. But somewhere I read of the freedom of assembly. Somewhere I read of the freedom of speech. Somewhere I read of the freedom of the [extra word] press. Somewhere I read that the greatness of America is the right to protest for right[omit "s"]. And so just as I say, we aren't going to let [omission] any injunction turn us around.
http://www.school-for-champions.com/speeches/king_last_speech_3Apr6...
http://www.afscme.org/about/1549.cfm
http://www.kingian.net/ive-been-to-the-mountaintop.html
There are many more examples of Dr. King's final speech being misquoted in online documents while being presented as literal translations. Because identical errors recur in so many publications, this appears to be deliberate misinformation on the part of the person or entity that supplied the speech to publishers.
During the 1970’s, Black History gained popularity in universities because African American history was omitted from or misrepresented in most American History classes. For instance, my high school textbooks of the 1960's and 1970's made little or no mention of slavery, only Pilgrims.
Laws barring the right for Rev. King and other demonstrators to peacefully assemble and petition their government for a redress of grievances were "illegal injunctions." Dogs and water hoses were regularly used against demonstrators. It seems ridiculous for anyone to intentionally change Rev. King's speech to leave out those references, especially since peaceful protests won the great victory of that day. On the other hand, perhaps the deletions in Dr. King’s final speech result from error rather than intentional sabotage. It could be that the censorship this writer faces daily has made her distrustful enough to ask:
WHY IS THERE STILL AN EFFORT TO RE-WRITE BLACK HISTORY?
An article by Karen Hatter at the link below commemorates the 41st anniversary of Dr. King's death and presents a thorough examination of the misinformation that was employed to discredit him and confuse his message. Apparently, this effort never ended.
The 41st Anniversary of the Murder of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
http://my.nowpublic.com/world/41st-anniversary-murder-dr-martin-lut...
Martin Luther King, Jr. and 21st century human rights activists have much in common and apparently face the same opposition. There are striking correlations between Dr. King's struggle for civil rights for African Americans and my own family's efforts to hold America to "what it said on paper." Dr. King's freedom quest ended in Memphis, Tennessee on April 3, 1968, by an assassin's bullet. Suspicions of a police cover-up linger to this day. My family's justice quest began in Memphis on August 1, 2003, with my mentally ill brother's secret arrest and wrongful death while in police custody. Due to an elaborate cover-up, although it is now five years later, Larry Neal's family is not allowed to know why he was secretly arrested or exactly how he died. Authorities refuse to answer his family's simple question: Why and how did Larry Neal die? See http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com
Rev. King was a human rights advocate who devoted himself to liberating oppressed people. He used the Word of God and his gift as an orator to make a positive difference in the world. Since Larry's death, my family started ASSISTANCE TO THE INCARCERATED MENTALLY ILL ("AIMI"), a grassroots human rights organization with an online presence on Care2 and other Internet networks. This writer spends long hours advocating for oppressed mental patients and their families, trying to save others from suffering as my family has by an unjust system of "justice" that appears to use such persons to keep prisons and jails filled and profitable. AIMI also advocates for other people victimized by the justice system, especially prisoners.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. This writer remains home day after day after being followed for months and accosted several times at businesses in her neighborhood by parties unknown. The stalking has been going on ever since Larry Neal's family successfully served a lawsuit to The (Johnnie) Cochran Firm for fraud, alleging that The Cochran Firm contracted with Larry's mother immediately following his death in order to protect Memphis/Shelby County Jail, then merely held the wrongful death lawsuit against the jail to linger inactive on the law firm's shelves while Tennessee's statute of limitations ran for 10.5 months. The statute of limitations on such matters is 12 months in Tennessee; therefore this law firm kept our case inactive until it was too late to find honest lawyers.
The plight of African Americans living under Jim Crow laws and their quest for civil rights spearheaded by Rev. King and other leaders were ignored, met with violence sanctioned by authorities, and censored in mainstream news until the civil rights movement became impossible to ignore. Rev. King took it to the streets. Thousands of protesters joined Rev. King and marched for equal rights under the law. The quest to render basic human rights and civil rights to 1.25 million mental patients who are presently wrongly imprisoned in America for reason of their mental dysfunctions may require a similar effort. Just as Rev. King and his freedom fighters marched across the Jim Crow South, Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill members march across the Internet to alert the public of the injustice inherent in imprisoning rather than treating citizens for mental illness, challenge capital punishment, and other humanitarian concerns. Many other human rights and civil rights organizations also march online every day.
Atlanta is Martin Luther King's hometown. It is also home of the Court-declared "non-existent" Atlanta Cochran Firm office. It seems to this writer that this law firm took the name of a trusted legal agent for disenfranchised persons and now uses it to prevent and contain lawsuits after the wrongful deaths of African Americans like Billey Joe Johnson, Kathryn Johnston, and Larry Neal. The justice system now incarcerates 1in 9 African American young men. People are made to serve long sentences in prison for infractions that were mere misdemeanors a few years ago. Contrarily, it is nearly impossible to hold the system accountable for infractions against the people - even wrongful death by police. Justice does not seem to work well in the reverse.
People of all races find the apparent emergence of a police state and decline of civil liberties in America alarming. With 1 in every 31 persons either behind bars or living under the immediate threat of prison as parolees or probationers, America has been dubbed a prison nation. Inmates are oftentimes abused and killed, including vulnerable mental patients who should have been treated in hospitals or their communities (depending on their offenses) rather than jailed in the first place. While the investment portfolios of prison investors grow thicker, the chairs around American dinner tables grow fewer because brothers, sisters, uncles, and parents are in prison - 2/3 of whom are arrested for non-violent crimes. Unfortunately, the cruelty within America's prison system rivals that in offshore "War on Terror" determent camps. See this desperate plea for help by Pennsylvania prisoners who fear for their lives, saying they were severely punished when Obama became president by verbal abuse, beatings, electrocution, and starvation, with their punishment allegedly growing more brutal after they reported their torture: http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/1124844
Dr. King and other historical human rights heroes of all races and nations would be disappointed that people in the U.S. have allowed the proliferation of an emerging police state in America without strong and united opposition. While we still have freedom on assembly on the books, people must unite and just say "NO" to injustice prevailing - peacefully, lawfully, and emphatically.
Join us for the Human Rights for Prisoners March in Atlanta on May 16.
http://my.nowpublic.com/world/human-rights-prisoners-march-planned-...
See a list of 25 justice issues at the link above which will be addressed by peaceful, concerned people walking together in what is intended to be a multi-racial, multi-cultural march for justice in Dr. King's hometown.
The solution for justice is the same today as Rev. King suggested four decades ago. America must be true to what was said on paper and actually become a nation with equal justice for all.
Mary Neal
Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill
at Care2: http://www.care2.com/c2c/group/AIMI
Author's Website: http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com
Author's Page: http://www.care2.com/c2c/people/profile.html?pid=513396753
Articles: http://www.nowPublic.com/duo
Let no man pull you so low that you hate him. Always avoid violence. If you sow seeds of violence in your struggle, unborn generations will reap the whirlwind of social disintegration. ~ Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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at 17:51 on December 18th, 2008
Would someone please post this video to the MLK story?
The videotape of Rev. King's "Mountaintop" address at the link below includes the text that is omitted in most video presentations online, and it bears witness to the deletion of Rev. King’s words as presented in most of the "Mountaintop" speeches on the Internet!
http://www.scholarspot.com/video/1318/1968-Martin-Luther-King-s-Prophetic-Last-speech-Remember
at 05:22 on December 19th, 2008
censorship comes to those who may present a threat and refuse to conform, so yes, all who are censored, feel proud to be in great company! change is what we need in all of America, every living being has the right to freedom from repression, it may be on paper, but it isn't evident in daily life.
at 12:01 on December 19th, 2008
Sheila, thanks for your comments. It is infuriating to know that they are likely teaching our children Rev. King's speeches from fraudulently edited text! I only checked online versions so far, but I urge all who are concerned about censorship and preserving the historical record of the civil rights movement in America to check textbooks and other written records for the omissions and substitutions I found to be prevalent online.
You are so very right that people who refuse to relinquish their freedom and live under oppression are and have always been targeted for censorship and worse. However, it is imperative that we fight oppression. We must fight censorship and denial of our civil rights to our very last breaths, like Dr. King. God demands that we stand against wickedness in high places. Read:
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God
~Ephesians 6:10-17
Thanks so much for writing!
Mary
at 18:02 on December 19th, 2008
WHILE MY MESSAGE IS BEING "CONTAINED" I NOTE THAT SOME PEOPLE ARE BEING TOLD TO SILENTLY FIX THEIR WEBSITES. BUT PLEASE NOTICE THE DAY OF EDIT. THE ONES I SAW SAID 12/18/08. I GET SO TIRED OF PEOPLE TRYING TO MAKE FOOLS OF BLACK PEOPLE. WHEN WILL IT EVER END?
MARY NEAL
at 12:21 on December 22nd, 2008
Ascertaining the motivations behind these omissions and 'alternative transcripts' of Dr. King's speech may lie in the identities of those posting the material.
Given the specific nature of the changes, with changes altering the inference, as in the case of substituting the word 'right' for 'rights', which does alter the sentence, one meaning right, as in right from wrong, the other, rights, a specific reference to rights denied those of African descent at that period in time, lends itself to justifiable inquiry as to the reason for the substitution.
Whatever omissions or alterations may be found may merely represent the use of old audio tape of bad quality, once transcribed, being used as a source by others, passed along in error on numerous occasions.
The video tapes are another issue, which may only reflect an editor's attempt to shorten the speech, with a focus on what they perceived to be the most relevant content.
It is all of us who must stand vigil as witnesses to history that will keep all honest in the process of keeping all history preserved as it happened, not as someone may have wished it had been.
at 21:25 on December 28th, 2008
Thank you for your observations, Karen, and for commenting on this story. I feel that because the publishers overwhelmingly got this very famous quote wrong in exactly the same place, this is something historians need to look at closely - not only the "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech, but Dr. King's other speeches as well, and speeches by other notable historical figures that are presented online as being verbatim. I deduce that all of the publishers who have the misquote were supplied erroneous data from some central source, or the quote would not have the same omissions in 90% of the online sources I checked.
The films that record Dr. King's final speech are in mint condition - no damage to the audio whatsoever, so that is not the explanation. (See the link to the film below this comment.) I do not think all of these publishers would intentionally print Dr. King's speech as being a literal translation unless they believed it to be so. However, because the errors are identical among the majority of online publishers of the text, typos cannot be blamed. The publishers' source should be checked and corrected. Children are learning this quote for programs every day!
http://www.scholarspot.com/video/1318/1968-Martin-Luther-King-s-Prophetic-Last-speech-Remember
From the amount of interference I went through posting this article, I am convinced this may have been intentional. See below what Google wrote to me about my blogspot where I also published the news about Rev. King's final speech:
****************************
Subject: http://freespeachblog.blogspot.com/ - ACTION REQUIRED
Your blog will be deleted in 20 days if it isn't reviewed, and your readers will see a warning page during this time. After we receive your request, we'll review your blog and unlock it within two business days. Once we have reviewed and determined your blog is not spam, the blog will be unlocked and the message in your Blogger dashboard will no longer be displayed. If this blog doesn't belong to you, you don't have to do anything, and any other blogs you may have won't be affected.From:Blogger <no-reply@google.com>(Add as Preferred Sender)
Date:Thu, Dec 18, 2008 7:46 pm
To:mln@theywrong.com
We find spam by using an automated classifier. Automatic spam detection is inherently fuzzy, and occasionally a blog like yours is flagged incorrectly. We sincerely apologize for this error. By using this kind of system, however, we can dedicate more storage, bandwidth, and engineering resources to bloggers like you instead of to spammers. For more information, please see Blogger Help: xxxxxxxxx
Thank you for your understanding and for your help with our spam-fighting efforts.
Sincerely,
The Blogger Team
P.S. Just one more reminder: Unless you request a review, your blog will be deleted in 20 days. Click this link to request the review:
*******************
I have had that blog for over two years, and nothing like this every happened before - no one ever falsely accused my writing as being SPAM. Citizens for Legitimate Government (CLG) is an online independent news source that immediately confirmed my information about MLK's final speech and picked up my blog link to carry it in their daily news. After those who monitor my online communication saw me open that CLG link, my Google blog was falsely listed as SPAM. (My monitors "saw" me do so because my computer has a keystroke virus and Trojans, etc. that I cannot seem to escape, despite having my hard drives wiped clean in three computers and even buying two new ones!)
I reported my computer stalking to the U.S. Government Internet Crime Complaint Center. I hope they will stop the problems I have with cyberstalkers. It is irritating and illegal. Censorship on the Internet in the 21st Century is akin to book-burning in WWII-era Nazi Germany. Mary Neal http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com .
at 04:10 on January 18th, 2009
Why do I get a Google mapping error message when I come to this page, NP?
at 07:26 on January 31st, 2009
Even if Dr. King's speeches are edited and words are omitted, I do not believe that his message could ever be contained. I can honestly say his image carries as much compasssion as his speeches. He was a man of true convictions for the human race, his compassion can never be censored, and his message is still strong and alive today. I agree that there are those out there that would misrepresent his words, but there are others that just make mistakes. That is evident in the news every day.
at 19:53 on February 1st, 2009
Thanks for your comments, Subculture. You are right about mistakes being made, but for 90% of the online text to carry the exact same mistake is a bit much for me to accept. That is one of Dr. King's most famous quotes - one they teach the children for Black History Month. I believe the idea is that the quote has to do with civil disobedience, if necessary, to gain and/or maintain one's civil right(s). I believe that message is one that is suffering attack.
Consider the right to peaceful assembly - almost gone in America today
Free press - absolutely gone
Freedom of speech - going fast!
Too many "errors" around the same phrase: "illegal injunctions" and "dogs and water hoses" and substituting "right" for "rights" equals sabotage in my mind. But I'm suspicious like that.
I appreciate your sharing your thoughts! I agree, his message cannot be contained. Do you know why? It is because Dr. King only paraphrased what our Lord and Savior said.
Here is my Black History Month greeting to everyone:
MLK's 1964 Prediction: Black President Within 25 Years
http://my.nowpublic.com/culture/mlks-1964-prediction-black-president-within-25-years#comment-288516
If you read it, please share your thoughts!
Blessings,
Mary
at 11:40 on April 4th, 2009
As as many know, the 4th Amendment has ceased to exist for the targets of "organized stalking." We badly need to restore the rule of law in this great country!
at 11:41 on April 4th, 2009
And as many know, the 4th Amendment has ceased to exist for the targets of "organized stalking." We badly need to restore the rule of law in this great country!
As always, thanks for your mighty efforts in standing up for justice, Mary.
at 12:50 on April 4th, 2009
Thank you for your comments, as always! I updated the article to include some interesting information by Karen Hatter. She published an excellent article commemorating the 41st anniversary of Dr. King's assassination and giving information about the efforts to spread misinformation about his activism. Hopefully, his speeches will be corrected online some day.
Mary
at 13:09 on April 4th, 2009
Martin Luther King: "Until we find something we are willing to die for, we aren't fit to live."
(I don't remember if this is from your article or Karen's, but it's a great one. The world is certainly a better place - it's such a tragedy that he wasn't allowed to live...)
at 15:20 on April 4th, 2009
I can imagine Dr. King's response to those of us who miss him and think what might have been:
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:7
Although we mourn Rev. King and always will, it was stated well: "It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain."
Mary
at 06:47 on April 5th, 2009
His eloquence is remarkable. Thank you for the quote.
at 08:59 on April 5th, 2009
Yes, Lincoln was a gifted speechwriter. I always liked the Gettysburg Address. It was one of the many historic American documents my brother recited over and over when he was in crisis. Because he did that, I used to know most of them word for word as a child. I cannot tell you how it saddens me to learn that America has never lived up to the words on those cherished documents in Washington and had no intention of doing so at the time they were written, now, or in the future. But you are right, they are eloquent words. I still enjoy the idea of Lincoln being an abolitionist, although now I understand he was only an abolitionist by default to keep the "U" in the USA.
The notion of "liberty and justice for all" is still a good concept, although it is clear that in America, there are words missing after the "all" that we don't see. All of whom? Certainly not all citizens. I believe it means all healthy, privileged, white people. But who else? I know a number of Caucasian people who are middle- and low-income and received less than equal justice. Therefore being white alone will not suffice. The children the Pennsylvania judges were sending to private prisons for profit were mostly white kids. Because they showed up in court without an attorney like any privileged child would have, these white children were exempt from equal justice. Some white men are on death row begging to test their DNA evidence to prove their innocence before execution. Being white alone will not include a person in the "all."
Sick folks generally don't qualify. People who are mentally ill are usually disrespected and subject to abusive treatment no matter what other identifiers they have. Sometimes the mentally ill are mistreated even in private care facilities, but those who can afford to be there do fare much better than the indigent sick people who are tossed into prison dungeons. Therefore, money insulates rich people who are sick somewhat, but they would still find it hard to be considered equal. That is also true for physically sick and disabled white women, who can be starved to death if their husbands give the word. Black sick people can actually be murdered wholesale without permission from their families, like those in Memorial Hospital in New Orleans during Katrina. Nothing was done to the medical staff that murdered them. My sick brother was killed while under secret arrest, and he is not considered to be as worthwhile as Michael Vick's dogs. Their deaths were investigated, but Larry's was not. So America's brand of "liberty and justice for all" definitely does not include sick people, regardless of racial and economic classifications.
Lots of people are excluded from the famous last words of our Pledge of Allegiance for various reasons - in fact, I believe most citizens are. The "all" includes only very few, actually - healthy, privileged, white people. If you are missing one of those, you are in the "except you" group. Knowing that, I enjoy the famous documents in Washington for their historic value and poetic beauty. There is no truth in them. One day I might get over feeling sad about losing something I never really had.
Mary Neal
http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com
at 05:15 on April 5th, 2009
Let me ask a question: Why is this story always hidden? Why is it that other articles of mine fall in line according to the date I updated or created them, but this one is always on page 3 or 4 of my lineup? Why can't my articles fall in line according to the clock like other peoples'? What is the shame about this story? Is it that Martin Luther King was censored, that misinformation went out about him to disrupt his message, and that the public is still being fed misinformation today - 41 years after his murder? Today, I was not permitted to email this article - had to ask Amy to do it.
I will be sure to mention this story this week when I do radio interviews and to mail hardcopies to universities. Your attempts to hide the truth, whoever you are, will not work. Sociopaths.
Mary
at 08:54 on April 5th, 2009
Mary,
I wasn't sure where to post this. Decided that MLK would be appalled by those of us who are being followed and harassed in our communities, simply for speaking our minds. As Harry Truman said (and I wish I had a quote by MLK that is its equivalent),
"When even one American -- who has done nothing wrong -- is forced by fear to shut his mind and close his mouth, then all Americans are in peril."
I found a petition (there is a Care2 reference) related to "Community-based Mobbing/Harassment" that we know is prevalent in this great country and must be stopped:
Perhaps you can articulate this better than I. And perhaps you'll have a better place to post it. Our homes and communties should be places where we feel relatively safe. What has happened to "our America???"
www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-mobbing-aka-community-based-
at 11:11 on April 5th, 2009
I think you chose an excellent place to speak about the injustice that we are facing in Amerikkka. The "k's" represent the level of intolerance there is for differences in our country now. There is such a move toward fascism that in order to miss seeing it, one would have to be blind or as ignorant as I was until recently.
Your quote was very nice. I think truth can come from anyone - even folks who don't believe what they are saying themselves, like many church folks.
I'll take a look and perhaps help promote it, although I want to warn you - sociopaths don't care about popular opinion. Sociopaths are totally narcissistic, and part of their sickness is that they only care about what pleases them and have no feelings whatsoever for other living things, whether animal or human. I think most governments and corporations may be run by sociopaths now. Therefore, petitions are only beneficial inasmuch as people can use them to feel connected with others who care, but they are ineffective for getting things changed. Petitions attempt to appeal to the receiver's sense of decency or justice. Sociopathic decision makers are generally motivated by money and power to the exclusion of human decency, and they care nothing at all about justice.
For instance, 700 people so far signed our petitions to have my mentally ill brother's secret arrest and death in Memphis/ Shelby County Jail investigated by the USDOJ, which was already in overview of that jail because of previous abuses. Notice that (1) it is already the law that any deaths on government property or in government custody must be investigated; and (2) it is only decent and humane to give a family some information on how their relative died to promote closure. The USDOJ has not been just enough to do the job they are paid to do for five years and counting. The agency refuses to investigate Larry's death. The people who they would find to be criminals during the investigation are useful to them; we are not. Here is a link to on of our petitions - the other is closed for signatures. You can open it and view the signatures and comments without signing, if you want. It helps to see how many people are also being dogged out in America and read comments from folks who care:
http://www.petitiononline.com/Neal/petition.html
Decency and justice mean nothing to the people in charge around here simply because most of them are sociopaths. In fact, our asking for an investigation regarding Larry's disapperance and death is exactly why we are censored and persecuted now. I stay home now because I was chased all year 2008 by four cars of men for asking about Larry and trying to hold our wrongful death lawyers accountable for defrauding us by NOT asking for records or investigating Larry's wrongful death as contracted to do. But if your defendant has more money and power than you do, lawyers will sometimes pretend to work for you while actually working for your defendants. If your defendants are rich, they can afford to pay your lawyers not to work on your behalf. That way, the lawyers miss nothing and no effort is required for them to get paid. They are paid for not working, and the courts uphold that conduct. The Constitution has been nullified already, and even the concept of civil rights is dead. Because I warn others, I am censored and endangered.
America has already reached the stage where citizens can disappear and die in government custody and their own families are supposed to pretend not to notice they are gone, or the families live under threat. Therefore, our petitions are good only for social discourse on problems that are gaining prevalence each day as this country spirals down the rabbit's hole into fascism, but please don't expect a successful petition to effect change.
Most leaders who have genuine regard for decency and justice get killed like Dr. King, because they are in the way of the sociopaths who will eventually remove words like "decency" and "justice" from our dictionaries for fear that defining such words will expose their total lack of either quality.
Thanks for your comments!
Mary Neal
http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com
at 08:55 on April 5th, 2009
The previous link was truncated.
www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-mobbing-aka-community-based-harassment
at 11:33 on April 5th, 2009
Hello. I endorsed the petition, which I was able to access just fine off your first link. The one above did not link. You must always put a space after a link to activate linking. Here it is: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-mobbing-aka-community-based-harassment
at 07:33 on April 6th, 2009
Mary,
Thank you for endorsing the petition and for the suggestion. And, of course, you are right about petitions, but we keep trying to move forward in ways large and small...,
Thank you, as always for standing up for injustice. -A.
at 10:11 on April 6th, 2009
Thank you for helping bring attention to those of us who live under this type of duress. When I leave home, I am followed by up to four vehicles and a USDOT truck. Larry's death was followed by the biggest conspiracy since JFK. From what I can glean from what happened, this is the progression of events:
1) Police secretly arrested Larry and he died, whether just by medicinal depravation or other means, we cannot say, because despite the open records act, they won't release records
2) Shelby Co. officials covered for jail by not reporting Larry's death to the USDOJ as mandated under the terms of the jail's lawsuit by USA after years of violating inmates' civil rights before Larry's 2003 arrest and death
3) The USDOJ covered for Shelby Co. officials by allowing them to violate the terms of their Agreement after lawsuit by the USA. The USDOJ probably also allowed Shelby Co. officials to enter perjury into federal court proceedings to release Shelby Co. Jail from federal overview (allowed them to omit reporting Larry's death, although I had already complained to the USDOJ about his secret arrest and wrongful death coverup a year before the hearings)
4) The Cochran Firm covered for all of the parties above by getting our lawsuit and holding it inactive while telling us in letters (mail fraud) that the legal work was going foward
5) The courts now cover for The Cochran Firm: GA Sup. Ct. said there was no Cochran Firm in Georgia (where we served suit) while the firm remained open every day, and the Georgia court dismissed our lawsuit in 2006. Later that same year, the Cochran Firm was representing the family of Kathryn Johnston, another black victim of police violence in Atlanta. In 2007, my family filed suit against the law firm for its fraud in federal court. But no matter what proof we presented - including proof of perjury entered directly to USDC - the federal court calls it all "immaterial" and dismissed our lawsuit in Feburary.
6) Now the USDOJ refuses to investigate, probably because there would be too many important people to prosecute. The agency ignores my emails, and I was put on terminal hold when we placed a call to USDOJ Crime Dept.
It was apparently decided by someone that it would be easier to go after Larry's family. So we stay home now and peep out the window at a host of new neighbors who moved into foreclosed homes on our street - homes that never went up for sale as far as I know (no for sale signs) and neighbors who don't seem to have jobs except to watch us.
See the documents tab at the website for some of the proof. More is in our USDC court file freely accessible with a USDC PACER account. That is the shape justice is in in America. We have allowed ourselves to fall into the hands of sociopaths who care nothing about decency or justice.
Mary Neal
http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com
at 09:58 on April 6th, 2009
Mary wrote: We have allowed ourselves to fall into the hands of sociopaths who care nothing about decency or justice.
Yes, and there are so many people who just won't believe it. I am stunned.
at 10:08 on April 6th, 2009
Thanks for commenting. As I told you, in our case, it is not a matter of "believing." It is all a matter of public record. Just see for yourselves.
Mary
at 10:39 on April 6th, 2009
Mary,
I agree but, from my perspective (and tragically), many members of the public/Americans love to keep their heads "in the sand" -- many are still terribly uninformed and, even when something is spelled out for them, just won't believe the truth and act accordingly. I so wish that someone in the MSM would do a story on your situation.
All the best,
A.
at 15:26 on April 6th, 2009
They have this story under tight wraps. I have done a week of public broadcasts on a public access TV station in Atlanta and four radio interviews, one of which is at my Care2 page and on the website (see the CONTACT US tab at http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com). My family thought they were keeping under such tight wraps because there was a desire to settle the case with The Cochran Firm with minimal exposure and a confidentiality agreement. Since that was not the case, just what are their intentions? Keep us censored until what?
Most of my emails don't even make it past the ceiling at Yahoo. Every time I hit "send," I get an error message that lasts about a minute, then, apparently if they approve of the message, it can go through. If they do not like the message, it never reaches the intended addressee. If I write an article at NowPublic they don't like, when I go back to Yahoo, I get a picture of a skinny, homeless dog on my screen and a message that says, "It takes two hours to poison a dog." You will notice dogs are my motto here at NowPublic.
Sometimes, I get a commercial message saying "Dont't bring a knife to a gunfight" and there is a big, dead ant. Now, I know these are commercial ads, but they seem to only come on my screen when I typed something these folks don't like. One ad was so alarming that I wrote and called other people who I knew were on Yahoo mail when I was to see if they got it, and they all said they never, ever saw such an ad. It was an ad for a coffin.
I captured the coffin ad to show folks some of the cyber stalking that I endure. Here is the link to see it. When the link opens, double-click on the small album.
http://www.care2.com/c2c/photos/view/217/513396753
Sometimes, they take the lethal injection bed photo that I use for advocating against the death penalty and they put it where I will see it when I open a window on the Internet, it just pops up with my name underneath. A friend was visiting one night and was in the room where I was working and she saw it, too.
That was during the time when the microphone feature would not close on my computer and they could hear every word in my house (which is probably how they knew when I was planning to leave home and where I could be accosted). Time I told her to look at it, it disappeared. But I had already hit "print screen," so I was able to send proof to USDC along with her affidavit, but the judge said no matter what folks did to me, it was "immaterial." I often work online with a digital camera and a video cellphone right beside me to capture the censorship and cyber stalking. One day when we do a documentary, we can use the footage, if we don't decide to release it on YouTube sooner.
It is awful and these are very sick people. Sociopaths. Who are "they"? Your guess is as good as mine, since police refuse to investigate. Maybe police already know who it is.
Mary Neal
at 17:12 on April 6th, 2009
Mary,
These things that are happening shouldn't happen to anyone anywhere, but certainly not in these United States. And these "people" (animals, really) are truly evil and cruel - that they have such power defies logic. Something is terribly wrong, as we know.
I wish you strength and do hope that your struggles, pain and suffering will bear fruit. I wish you and yours, endurance,strength, and relief. Who would not count themselves blessed, to have a sister like you.
All the best.
-A.
at 19:26 on April 6th, 2009
I agree with you. No one should be incarcerated for having a common health problem, yet 1.25 million people with mental dysfunctions are imprisoned in the U.S.A. There is a simple solution to their situation. Please Google Kendra's Law or Laura's Law. They are Assisted Outpatient Treatment programs that are successful in reducing incarceration, homelessness, and re-arrests among mentally ill persons by as much as 87%. Participants in the programs receive subsistence assistance and mandated treatment. That is all it would take to solve prison overcrowding and much of our nation's homelessness problem.
Thanks for saying I am a good sister. Larry is gone now. I am trying to be a good sister to those who remain and are in his same condition. We are all brothers and sisters in the Lord. Mostly, I seek to be a good daughter. I feel that through Larry's death, we were chosen to try to help bring attention to the plight of mentally ill people in prison. They suffer, and many die. Just click on the "dur" near the dog icon for more of my articles, many of which have films.
Thanks for your encouragement!
Mary
at 10:22 on April 6th, 2009
A glimmer of hope...
In the spirit of MLK, in my opinion: "The Director of National Intelligence last week named Roslyn A. Mazer of the Department of Justice to be the next Inspector General of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence." ( Federation of American Scientists: "Steven Aftergood")
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2009/04/mazer_odni_ig.html
Regarding the "closed regimes" of the Cold War era, Ms. Mazer said: “We prevailed over those societies because of our passion for openness, for trusting our citizens more than we empower our leaders. We celebrate our openness. In fact, it is unnecessary secrecy that is timid and cowardly. Openness is courageous. Be courageous. Be as open as you responsibly can,” Ms. Mazer urged.
Please read the article -- I hope that her appointment bodes well for the America we would all like to see...