HATE CRIME LEGISLATION

ok, folks. we can all sit around and talk about how terrible things are out in our world, or we can make some moves to change it. all of us are online, so there's no reason that we can't drop a line to our representatives and tell them that they need to get on the stick about supporting the anti-hate crimes act of 1998. versions languish both in the house and the senate.

need to know how to get in touch with your rep/sen?

for the house, check www.house.gov/writerep
for the senate, www.senate.gov/senator/membmail.html

i swear, we can not remain a silent majority on these issues. folks are being snatched and dragged along roads. hunted and shot in the street. set ablaze then their heads lopped off. it's scarily reminiscent of the '50s. as decent people, beyond color, beyond ethnicity, beyond creed or sexual orientation, we cannot in good conscious allow these acts to go with our voices silent. apathy is an excuse for action. and if things are not desperate now, i don't know how much lower we must sink for that to happen. these particular crimes happened against black people. what's to stop it from being perpetuated against women? asians? short people? tall people? bald people?

please don't tell me that one voice, one msg won't matter. i've witnessed an election in virginia beach where 16 percent of the city's voters decided who would take charge. that's less than one in five people. we can do better than that. we spam each other with junk across the 'net. this is a cause to get serious. and rightly we should.

at least i pray that we will.

if none of this makes sense to you, hit me up and i'll be glad to fill you in. but personally, i had to shed my normal unbiased view of the world for a minute. i had to step from my role as a journalist and back into my role as a taxpaying citizen. and i don't pay money so that people who look like me, or different than me, for that matter, can be abused. not if i can do something to prevent it.

sure, this is just a start. but we've got to get started. i implore you to think it over. then act. please.

pls,
nia ngina meeks
aka
browngirl
mailto:browngirl@email.msn.com