Eoin Butler: writer, journalist and Mayoman of the Year
Tripping Along The Ledge
chris rock
IN SLOW MOTION, IF YOU MISSED IT THE FIRST TIME… THAT IMPROBABLE ANNE FRANK/CHRIS ROCK SEGUE IN FULL
The death of Miep Gies, the Dutch woman who helped Anne Frank’s family hide from the Nazis, has depressed me again. Not that she has died, although obviously that is very sad. But rather that her death is such a noteworthy occasion. In 1940, a cabal of psychopaths seized control of her country, arbitrarily decreed 10% of the civilians therein enemies of the state and rapidly begin the process of herding them up and slaughtering them like cattle. Read the rest of this entry »
Getting away with murder
From Nelson Mandela to The Birmingham Six; from Andy Dufresne to Deirdre Rachid; the plight of the wrongfully incarcerated will always strike a chord with people. Perhaps it’s a subconscious manifestation of our guilt over greater injustices (such as the unfair division of wealth and opportunity) in which we are complicit. Perhaps Western society places a higher value on liberty than it does on life itself. Whatever the reason, cases of wrongful imprisonment arouse sympathy and outrage in us like very little else.
But who, outside the ranks of the world’s law enforcement agencies, spares much of a thought for the people on the other side of the injustice equation? The people who are free but who deserve to be locked up. The wrongfully still-at-large. Does anyone write songs, chant slogans or organise benefit concerts to celebrate these people and their struggles? Time to redress the imbalance I think. Read the rest of this entry »