Its been sort of a crazy day for me. I had an interview to work for DHS as a receptionist today, I knew I would be getting one on Friday when I got an email saying my qualifications matched the position. I have been a wreck all day. I was up at eight, nervous...wondering what was going to happen. It was a group-panel interview, a format I have never experienced before and I didn't know what to expect. Not only that, but I had to drive a god awful distance to get there in a suit and tie, and had tons of butterflies in my stomach on the way up.
But I got a curious call while my fiancee was driving that I didn't really think much of until after the interview. The number was from one I didn't recognize, and I usually don't answer because creditors are constantly hounding me (lets just say, I have money problems...sigh. Ongoing) but this time I did. It was a nice woman who asked my name and I thought "great here we go, like I need this. I am trying to get your damn money"
Though the call didn't go as I thought it would.
Last week I discovered Support the Dream Defenders and the Mike Brown Overpoliced Rights Act. I had no idea that this group and project existed. Really. No idea. I mean, I had seen "Support the Dream Defenders" reblog stuff sure, all the time, but I didn't really know what the stood for. But when I saw the awesome thing that this community built...I just...I dunno. I couldn't believe I missed it.
Full of awe at this wonderful bill, I thought it might be a good idea to ask the people who represent me about it. I don't honestly know if they have ever heard about the effort here to end the horror we call "modern" policing and reform it to be human again, but I thought I would ask.
I also thought it might be a good idea to write a letter to the editor about the topic. Which brings me back to the call I received.
The woman on the phone introduces herself as an editor for the Statesman Journal and asks me a few questions. I thought it sort of weird, because at this point (earlier today) I had forgotten about even writing the letter at all in the first place. She asked my name and my residency and at this point I was a little confused.
"Do you remember writing a Letter to the Editor for the Statesman on Friday?"
Then it dawned on me.
"Oh yes, I did." "Oh, good! Then, can I ask you to describe what you wrote for me?" "For sure!"
And I told her that I had wrote a piece about police killings and the Mike Brown Overpoliced Rights Act. She said thank you very much, and we hung up with each other.
My fiancee turns to me and asks what that was all about, I said that a person from the Statesman called asking about a letter to the editor I wrote, and that was the end of the conversation.
We arrive at the interview location, the panel interview goes well and I come out thinking I am pretty competitive, at least amongst the group I was interviewing with. Now, since there are many applicants and only two positions, I highly doubt I got the position, but at least its a little experience in the format. I am going to keep trying.
But when I got home, had a chance to take my suit off and change into some normal clothes and look through my muted phone, I noticed the number and remembered the call from the Statesman Journal.
"Huh" I thought, "Maybe they published it"
So I fire up the internet phone google machine, search for Statesman Journal Letters to the Editor, and by god there it is
According to The Guardian’s feature, “The Counted,” which tracks people killed by police in the United States, Oregon ranks 11th out of 51 (per capita) this year in police killings. Twelve people this year so far have had their lives snuffed out by police around the state of Oregon.Justified or not, that statistic is horrifying to me as both a citizen of the United States of America and a citizen of the great state of Oregon.
Something must absolutely be done to end police violence not only in our state, but around the country.
Adam
Keizer
And then...A realization.Oh my god I forgot to talk about the most important part! I could have sworn I put it in there! The link to the Overpoliced Rights Act text and asking people to call their representatives about it! How could I have possibly forgotten about that! GAH!
Ugh, oh well. I still think its a great message, and I am glad I wrote it. The Statesman is a cesspool of rightwingery when it comes to LTEs and I am glad I squeaked one in for the good guys.
As for contacting Wyden, Merkley and Schrader. I have only gotten one response and sadly it was automatically generated from Sen. Wyden. I hope that they will get to my concerns as a constituent, and take a look at the proposed bill.
Oregon is number 11. What a sad, twisted, demoralizing statistic for an otherwise awesome state. I want that to change, badly. I figure I am not doing anything, I am gonna start a letter writing campaign. I want my representatives held accountable. This is a slow motion disaster and something must be done, and really I cant think of anything else I am good at. It'll never make up for my absence from the streets protesting this horror, but I can get off my lazy ass and get my fingers tappin'. And thats what I am gonna do until I get an answer from someone.
Something's gotta change, right?