[AKidsRight.Org] NonViolent Action: Murtari arrested in Syracuse & Your FEEDBACK

jmurtari@AKidsRight.org

Good People & People of Faith:

This message contains info on:
1. John Murtari arrested - NonViolent Action in Syracuse.
2. Your FEEDBACK - on sacrifice, Faith, and guilt?

1. John Murtari arrested - NonViolent Action in Syracuse.
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For full details and history see http://www.AKidsRight.Org/actionc_syr 
John Murtari was arrested and taken into custody today when he
returned to the Hanley Federal Building in Syracuse, New York.  John
attempted to enter the building and was denied entrance by a Federal
Police officer.

John then went to a nearby wall and started to write "Dom I Love You
- Senator Clinton Help Us!" on the outside wall of the building
using chalk.  He was told not to write anything and he only finished
the first few words before being arrested.  He was charged with
"disobeying an officer" and "vandalizing gov't property/graffiti".
He was then released.  At present John plans on returning to the
building Tuesday, April 12th.  Your presence is welcome!

Today's action was part of an ongoing effort to convince Senator
Hillary Rhodam Clinton (D-NY) of the importance to many parents of
Family Law reform.  More details and plans will be posted to the
web site (link above) as they become available.

2. Your FEEDBACK - on sacrifice, Faith, and guilt?
-------------------------------------------------
A collection of recent FEEDBACK John has received.  Hopefully
who will find interesting opinions and replies.  Read recent
messages at http://www.AKidsRight.Org/archive/archive2005

--- Teri Stoddard <allkdathrt@yahoo.com>    "All the best!"

> All the best to you and your mom John.  I want to let you know
> I've started on the Shared Parenting Works website.  For now you
> can find it here: http://www.geocities.com/sharedparentingworks/

--- Robert Brothers <rjbii@comcast.net>     "Guility of love"

> I'd guilty to loving my child and innocent to defacement of public
> property (in that order.)

Yes, I think you are right.  What needs to be clear is why I am
there and it has nothing to do with crime.  That is not my motive.
I love my son.

--- Ron Pfitzner <RPfitzner@aol.com>        "Your conscience"

> The following is not meant to be considered legal advice (in fact,
> I'll probably be asking you for some shortly, but that is a
> different story):

> 1. If you feel you are intentionally violating a just law-plead guilty.
> 2. If you feel the law you have violated is unjust-plead not guilt.
> 3. A third option is to plead no contest.  It is not an admission
> of guilt, but will be treated as such for sentencing purposes.

> Your conscience, your call.

Thanks for the message and it does make a lot of sense.  It would be
so much easier if the law I was 'breaking' was directly related to
the cause, like slavery or segregation.  This is one step removed.
I don't mind saying what I did, but it seems strange to say, "Yes, I
am a criminal?"

--- William Dolan <wmdolan@hotmail.com>      "Year in Jail"

> I urge you to re-consider writing with chalk on a federal
> building.&nbsp; When a lady did it down here at the Capitol, she
> was charged with a federal felony.&nbsp; That could mean more than
> a year in the federal prison, and no parole.&nbsp; Your mother and
> Dominic need you.&nbsp; You can't be locked away a year or two
> from them.&nbsp; Don't be a masochist.&nbsp; There are a lot of
> ways to communicate with and even to meet Hillary down here.&nbsp;
> She seldom goes to Syracuse.&nbsp; <BR>All the best!

Well, there is a pleasant thought!  I know you have read the
messages.  What would you have said to a Black guy ready to walk
down the street in a small town and sit in the front of the local
bus?  Especially when some local Klan guys were ready to burn his
families house down if he did that?

Everyone talks about how important being a parent is, but how about
the sacrifice that really demonstrates it?  I know what you mean
about Dom and my Mom but the system does not think about them at
all.  They were doing everything they could do cut me off from Dom,
even now, they could come after me and throw me in jail for six
months for being a dead beat!  (they did it several years ago).
Even though I spend every extra penny I have on seeing Dom, and live
like a pauper, but not the way they want it.  I am not giving myself
any more 'protection' for them by just being quiet.

--- Steve Tilley <walkinwdstlk@yahoo.com>    "Try talk first"

> Might I offer a more suitable means of getting attention?  I have
> run across a connection to the House Judiciary Committee.  Search
> the last cuple of days' posts on our site:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AFRA_EAGLE.  There is a link to
> their site. Additionally I have attached a link to get the pro Se
> packet from the U.S. District Court.  this will enable youy to
> file in the Federal Court and you can get the case law and
> violations to cite from me or on our site.

> This will accomplish more than the writing on the wall and you
> don't have to go to jail.

> Remember the LORD loves you and this is his message to you: "Take
> courage my beloved son.  These trials are but a moment and if you
> endure them well, you will live in paradise."

> We care.  Come to our site and see what we are accomplishing with
> others.  There is a chat at 6PM PST.  Join us.

Thanks for the message and we really have exercised most of the
official channels of contact, you can check
http://www.AKidsRight.Org/legislative.htm -- you just reach a point
where they just aren't interested because 'most people don't seem to
care about the issue'

The things you are talking about are fine. But if the history is an
example, then sacrifice is also required to make GREAT rights a
reality -- or else, how do people know that are GREAT? 

--- "Roger Knight" <rogerwknight@hotmail.com>   "NonViolent Action"

> I strongly disagree with the proposition that refusing to pay an
> arbitrarily and excessively defined sum of money each month labled
> "child support" is a violent action.  It is no more violent than
> workers going on strike when wages and working conditions are not
> what they desire for their labor.  Nor is it any more violent than
> Indians, at the suggestion on Mohandas Ghandi, making their own
> salt in violation of some British imposed law requiring them to
> import salt from the British Isles.

Sorry for any confusion.  I don't think not paying child support is
'violent'.  I use the word NonViolent Action to draw a distinction
to what that is, acting with love, Faith, and willing to demonstrate
personal sacrifice for your cause.  What Gandhi and King did.

        That is different from just saying,

* non violence - I'm not going to hit anyone or do any physical
damage. But if I ridicule people or call them names -- that's okay,
because that is what they are!

* civil disobedience - Non cooperation (like not paying child
support), or other actions which might cause some physical conflict.
Sometimes done with anger/contempt.

The big thing with the NonViolent Action is treating people as the
brothers and sisters they are (even if we don't agree with them).
If they are doing something wrong, we may call attention to it, but
never resort to ridicule or name calling.  The 'exclamation point'
that make our message come across is the willingness to make
personal sacrifice.  I don't have to 'yell' when I am in front of
the Federal Building, my quiet actions make the impact.

> John, I strongly respect what you are doing.  But if you choose to
> pay the support as ordered, no one has any reason to listen to
> you.  Least of all Senator Hilary Clinton.  Of course, for most of
> us, compliance with a support order is not possible anyway.  There
> are extremely good reasons most societies, including ours,
> prohibit extortion and peonage.  When we practice extortion and
> peonage for child support or for any other debt or obligation, we
> ignore these extremely good reasons at our peril.

I know what you mean about 'extortion'.  They have beaten me up on
'support' and treat me just like an ATM machine!  But that is not
the 'center' of the problem, more an effect because we don't
recognize equal parenting as a GREAT RIGHT.  Once both parents know
they are EQUAL, then negotiation and mediation works.  You both have
EQUAL time, no money is changing hands - but you are free to
negotiate anything you want.

--- "Ned Holst" <nedholst@fathersandfamilies.org>  "Snowball effect"

> Are your activities resulting in a major increase of membership or
> support for your organization, or for your efforts?  Such as 300
> new people actively involved, or perhaps a few thousand?

> If not, do you have some other measure of the degree to which you
> are accomplishing anything?

> Because if your heroic efforts are not resulting in a snowballing
> movement, then you need to consider whether you are just
> obsessively pursuing a losing strategy whose only effect is to
> paint you as a nut and get you thrown into jail at considerable
> personal cost. It is even likely that your efforts, if they are
> not generating a snowball, are actually setting your issue back,
> as decision-makers simply dismiss non-custodials as nuts.

Thanks for taking the time to write.  Results are always hard to
gauge, but I would certainly say progress is being made overall. It
has certainly affirmed my belief in the power of NonViolent Action
and really all that is missing is greater involvement (the snowball
you talk about).

The only problem there is you just don't know when the snowball is
going to start rolling?  The sacrifices I have made are so minor
compared to other groups in history working to have GREAT RIGHTS
recognized.  Yes, anyone can label you a 'nut' and history says that
happens, but the labels don't stick.

There is still more room for effort to see if the snowball will
roll, but it is certainly not a waste in any case.  Just the
seriousness of the effort has transformed me and many people near
me.  I take care of what I have to do -- the results will take care
of themselves.

--- Athein@comcast.net    "Aren't we all Good People - YES!"

> Every time I read your "Good people, people of faith" writings, I
> wander.  There are those of us in your audience who are Atheans,
> there are those who are religians; most are in-betweeners. Have
> you considered how those of us who are not religians, feel about
> your words of faith?  

> Are we not Good People? Does talking of faith belong to large
> audiences such as ours, where the commanding subject is not one
> about faith and where most are really not here to share your
> faith?

You certainly are GOOD people.  This has come up before on the list
and hopefully your message will help explain. THe salutation is
'Good People AND People of Faith'

I specifically address People of Faith, because the NonViolent
Action campaigns as demonstrated by Gandhi and King were first
populated with people of Faith, whether Christian, Hindu, Buddhist,
....  

Certainly, everyone else, including agnostics/atheists are in the
'Good People' category, the most inclusive one.

Faith is a very private thing.  I certainly don't push conversion in
our messages, your ideas of God and Spirit are your business.  BUt
at the same time, the historic example of NonViolent Actions,
http://www.AKidsRight.Org/civil_back.htm -- is that movements began
with people of Faith.  Now later, as they grew, everyone began to
join in because it 'worked' -- what seemed risky, sitting in front
of the bus in the Deep South, became trendy, you had many "Freedom
Riders" who would load a bus and go to jail.  I'm sure they did not
all share the same faith some of the first 'players' did.

--- 
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