Tag: Neil Diamond

From the Center of the Circle

Change we can believe in is on the march in America.

Security Guards Do Nothing as 15-Year-Old Girl Is Beaten . . .

The 15-year-old girl thought the three security guards in the Seattle bus tunnel would protect her from attack.  She was wrong.  The guards watched and did nothing as the girl was punched, thrown to the ground, kicked repeatedly in the face and then robbed.  The Seattle Times published an editorial shortly after a video of the beating was released Wednesday condemning the inaction of the guards and questioning the multibillion-dollar contract the transit authority has with private security firms.  The editorial asked, what are the taxpayers paying for?

Private security guards doing nothing, that’s what they’re paying for.  Congressmen and Senators doing nothing, that’s what they’re paying for.  A President doing nothing, that’s what they’re paying for.  Middle class Americans thought their government would protect them, but for 30 years, they’ve been punched, thrown to the ground, kicked repeatedly in the face and then robbed.

It’s called the Two Party System.

It’s the sacred foundation of modern American “democracy” and demonstrates for all the world to see that except for the systemic failure of every institution in America, we live in the most stable and enlightened society on earth.

In Here There Be Monsters, William Rivers Pitt warns about the systemic failure of public school administrators to protect children from beatings and bullying in America’s public schools.  . . .

A fact underscored by a recent story out of my home state of Massachusetts. A 15-year-old girl named Phoebe Prince was mercilessly bullied and tormented by her classmates, until she finally snapped and took her own life.  Hundreds of angry parents, worried teachers and even terrorized kids are reporting ugly episodes of brutal bullying at schools across Massachusetts as the heart-wrenching case of Phoebe Prince continues to expose a painful nerve.  It’s a toxic cauldron of abuse that parents fear could land their children in the same no-win corner as Phoebe Prince.

And, in a constant refrain, they all say nobody in power cares.  “Nobody listens. It seems like you’re talking to the wall unless you have $1 million,” said a Cohasset dad who said his boy is picked on constantly. “Put that on the front page.”  

NOBODY IN POWER CARES.  That banner headline should be on the front page of every newspaper in America.  It should be the lead story in every newscast, the only story in every newscast.  NOBODY IN POWER CARES.  That says it all, the rest is just gory details.