Change Will Only Come to those Who Open the Eyes of the Willingly Blind

I've been trying to keep up with the news on the protests that occurred at G-20. There was one protest that erupted in a big way, a bunch of Pitt Students and a CNN reporter got gassed and arrested. It's unfortunate yes, but I say it was a sign of success. In every protest/revolution/etc. there is one fact that a lot of people overlook, and that is, to make prominent change one must involve the middle class, the voters, the populace who otherwise don't know what is going on. I repeat myself, yes, but I can't think of any other way to put it, The Willingly Blind.
I've been to several protests myself, and for the longest time I was weekly helping a group called Food Not Bombs. I tried my hardest to submerse myself in that culture but that was the one trend I could not help but see. A lot of these groups have the right idea, their heart is in the right place, but overall it comes down to one fatal flaw, you're preaching to the choir. Food Not Bombs for instance is a world wide group that cooks vegan and vegetarian food for the homeless in metropolitan areas. They do so by donations from supermarkets, dock workers, pretty much anyone with perfectly fine vegetables that are not otherwise "fit" to be sold to people. They are not a non-profit group, at least in the eyes of the law, and for the most part it's a group of people who share similar ideals who do something great for the world and make damn sure it's in plain, public view. My reasons for ending my tenure with the group are my own, but there is a problem with this otherwise fantastic group and it's the same problem that many movements meet, and that is both its strong point and weakness. Simply, it's a group of like minded people that are dissenting while becoming prone to the very same trends that say, the republican party fall prey to.
Everyone is so like minded, and so agreeable that barely any growth comes out of it. Sure, it's in a public place, especially in the case of the group I was in. We served in a very touristy, middle/upper class area, but the people who lived and visited either just didn't give a damn, or were so foreign to the idea of helping people that they were completely disgusted by the display of hope and good will that they would call the police. In a country founded by these ideals it is now just a cruel, dog eat dog world. It's like when I walk down the street and hold doors open for people going into buildings that I myself am not going into. They get repulsed! Especially women, because in this society, especially on the East Coast, we are so jaded with these ideals, that we get scared and uncomfortable. This leads me to my point, it is not the groups that fail, never, it is that we live in a world where being a Good Samaritan is either considered a sign of weakness, or it's so foreign to people that they get scared and think "he/she's being nice, what are their real intentions?"
It's repugnant, it really is, I'm prone to it as well, If I see a lost child crying for their parents, I'm afraid, because I wonder what are people going to think? Maybe I'm a molester, maybe I'm trying to hurt the kid. Luckily I'm young enough now that there's the off chance that people will think he/she's my younger sibling, or given how the world is now, my son/daughter, but in 10 or 15 years? What then? But I have greatly digressed. What people need to do is they have to make their cause and actions acceptable to the middle/upper classes, the group that society deems "fit" to have a word. Sure, the constitution has changed, but the ideas of the founding fathers are still strong. Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of happiness...if you are white, male, middle aged and own land. What we blue shirts need to do is try to set aside our class biases even for a moment and try, and I mean really TRY (trust me, it's hard) to make our causes and ideals known to that "Higher Class". We need to package them in such a palatable way, without sugar coating the real story, so it's easier to swallow and maybe then we can have some sort of unity.

-Jonny Gonzo

Is it ever sunny in Philadelphia?

Everyday the city is under my feet and everyday I get more disgusted at the cruel display that unfolds. Walking to work is like walking through a safari. Savages are all around me, like rich slobs on the backs of slaves looking for that next big kill. Anger has been taking over kindness and humanity is standing on a powder keg. In the few years I've been here there has always been a balance of bad vibes but this year things are getting...heavier. The snake is starting to bite its own tail and a cycle of tensions and violence is quickly closing in. Then again, it could have always been like this and I'm just now starting to see the true demonic face of the situation. A city found on revolutionary ideals of freedom from oppression is nothing more than the butt of barbarous jokes. Corruption and death has sullied the name of the city and the few people that see it are too busy bitching amongst themselves to accomplish anything. Is there really an American Dream anymore? People from all around emigrate to this country with those hopes but they are soon shattered by a juggernaut of greed and complacency, but then again, perhaps that is the American Dream. As a great writer once said "In a nation ruled by swine, all pigs are upward mobile." With the right set of eyes, one can see the high water mark of this atrocity before the real wave hits. I feel, if the tsunami of filth and broken dreams is going to come to that mark, it'll be right here at Independence Hall. Where the poetry of old world ideals and the disease of new world reality mingle in such balance that no one will even know what happened.

it's been a while

Alright, alright, fine, you've twisted my arm, I'll start writing again. It's been a while since I've written anything, even longer for anything substantial. Pretty much lately I've been sticking to beer and book reviews but not so much in what I want to do which is investigative journalism. I have several ideas, the easiest being a report on "for profit" schools and student loans. I want to do this because this is something that I have regrettably become very very familiar with. I already have several friends who want to help me with interviews and resources so hot damn! Currently I'm in my own battles with the financial Juggernaut (IT'S THE JUGGERNAUT BITCH AND I GOT A BITCH WITH ME!) known as Sallie Mae. Apparently in 2007, Junior passed a law stating any loans signed for after 2006 were susceptible to the College Cost Reduction Act (CCRA) meaning, given one's income the loanee is only responsible for 10% of his or her total income, given I'm a po' white boy that's 800 a year. They're trying to get me to pay 826 a month and I didn't even know about this act until my roommate mentioned it in conversation. Updates to come.