This morning’s news story had a different twist to what has become everyday fare. In a small town one mile south of the Texas border in Mexico, they had decided to try something different. Every recent police officer and official in the town had been murdered. In an effort to provide some form of security for its citizens, the town elected a woman as its new head of the police. Surely, the drug lords would not have the audacity to harm a woman. Her home has been burned to the ground and she has disappeared. In broken English, a tearful woman explains to a reporter that their town no longer has any police protection and all water and electricity to the town has been shut off.
It is very discouraging to be deluged by all manner of media sources daily with accounts of brutal acts against men, women, children, clergy, politicians, law enforcement personnel and others, innocent bystanders or not so innocent, in the name of the “drug war”. If someone is “playing with fire” you could say they knew what they were getting into. If someone has the courage to “fight the fight” in an effort to stop the madness, I suppose they were aware of the dangers. But what do you say to those who lost loved ones that fate placed on the fringes of one of these slaughters and paid with their lives?
I am aware that the staggering amount of money involved is enough reason for those with twisted minds and morals to become involved in these wars. From the drug lords at the top with reputations to warrant folk lore names such as El Mas Loco and Winnie Pooh, to their hit men such as Oyster and Gordo, down the line to those in law enforcement who have acquiesced to the lure of big money and become facilitators, the enormity of it all cannot be overstated. The demand is there so it continues to grow.
I will leave for others to debate the merits or the methods of the on-going war on drugs as well as the argument by many that the most effective way to fight back would be to legalize drugs, but I would like to see what would happen if demand ceased, if people just said no. What if all of a sudden nobody bought drugs anymore? The drug dealer in the dark alley did not have any more customers? There was no longer any need for dealers, runners, snitches, protection and all the rest all along the chain all the way back to the growers? All dressed up with no place to go. All of a sudden they would feel like American auto dealers all over the country feel that are stuck with gas guzzlers on their lots.
I am convinced we can strike fear in their hearts. I am not so naïve as to think the hard core addict would be of much help but a trial “abstaining” by casual users could have a staggering impact. Say a 30 or 60 day period during which all those casual users that feel it is fashionable, chic, cool and that their self esteem is at stake if they don’t do what everyone else does, suddenly stopped buying. The guy standing in the shadows on a street corner selling to kids and adults is now looking around saying “Where is everybody?” The phone stops ringing for the pusher that supplies the white collar buyer. Suddenly the supply/demand equation becomes supply but no demand. Economics 101 teaches us that won’t last very long.
Obviously the intent is to make this source of demand dry up forever but let’s not get greedy here. Baby steps initially. I have a feeling support would soon follow from mothers and fathers of addicts, recovering addicts, ex-gang members and other concerned citizens. Granted there are those hard core users and addicts that will consider this drivel but I feel we can appeal to the others.
The drugs coming into our country on the back of a mule or in the hold of a ship don’t know where they are going, who paid for them or who the ultimate user will be. All of those users, no matter how far removed they feel they are, share some responsibility for feeding the insanity that is the drug war. They can each equally share in the effort to end that insanity.
We can dream.
It’s us or it will never get done.
So beautifully put, Woody. One can only dream for such a moment of collective clarity. I saw a program recently called "30 Days" where this brilliant young man puts himself in life situations/relationships/jobs,etc. for 30 day stretches to get a glimpe of how it is to be living the lives of others. In one of them he went to prison for 30 days. When he came out, he made it clear that if some drugs were legalized, it would shut down funding for so many factions of OUR government, such as police, prisons, etc. that it just would not be cost effective. It's a crazy friking world, my friend. Thanks for sharing this. Keri oh... and thanks for visiting too. lol. You know I'm completely crazy, yet you still come to visit. You're the best.
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