By Ken Walker
This is a space usually reserved. It has the purpose to persuade either way in musical pleasures. This time I choose to utilize my writing powers, as minuscule as they are, to get a message outside of my mind. This past weekend, an extremely close friend of mine had all his citizenry freedoms stripped of him, as we all do in this country daily. He must remain nameless, as it could affect his court case. He expressed himself in every way he felt he should, and now he has no freedoms, as they were stolen. He sits in a holding cell for hours or days, and his bail was set at $5,000. The reason given by the courthouse servicer to his father: “Well sir, if your son had not mouthed off, the bail wud be set at $800.” He spoke. Now he pays. If he does not speak, he pays entirely less. Since when did the United States government become a business? That was sarcastic.
He was arrested by the extravagant Jefferson County Police Department. This a police department that Friday had two of its top detectives indicted on charges. This person is a full time student here at U of L and also a full time worker. He pays his taxes and obediently abides by the ways of society. He is a student, a worker, a friend and a member of a family, and justice has now failed him.
It has been a reawakening to me. It made me realize the screen put up to all the United States’ citizens. The first amendment was created and should be (but is not) protected in order so we feel free. Now how many of us tiptoe around words, phrases, and other things, and fail ourselves in complete expression. We are all in college now, gaining knowledge and discovering ourselves. Hopefully, all of us will do this forever. The one thing we cannot allow ourselves to do as U of L students is to become more brainwashed, more conservative and transformed as our parents have been. Notice it. A man told me once while I was working that as you get older, you finally begin to open your eyes. My father says that you become more tired of the “same shit.” So which is it? Here is my answer. Figure it out now, and stick with that same process as long as you live. Do not trust police officers. When we are young, drunk, doped up punks, they will not trust us, so why should we ever trust them? They misjudge, and so do we.
Last year, I recall a female student running to her car only to beg and plead with a U of L officer writing her one of those eight dollar parking tickets (if you wait, $32.) She asked him not to give her a ticket, and he left the ticket in her hand to drive off in his gun- protected, mace- protected, billy club- protected, bulletproof glass protected- car. What did the female have after that? Tears.
I was told at a young age, and in the midst of an argument with parents the other night, that these officers are the protectors of my rights. My friend’s rights were stripped, and now he will go through a court process drawn out over months and suffer to pay a lawyer while some old man sits back and revels in his personal destruction of a young and becoming man. Ask yourself why every second of every day, and please do not allow yourself to be hushed or be ill expressed. I’ll end this rant with a quote from my favorite band. See if you can recognize it. “If we don’t take action now, we’ll settle for nothing later.” Thanks for reading.
