Pubdate: Sat, 09 Mar 2002
Source: North County Times (CA)
Copyright: 2002 North County Times
Contact:  http://www.nctimes.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1080
Author: Kelly Patrick Hennessy
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/campaign.htm (ONDCP Media Campaign)

WE SHOULD LOOK WITHIN TO FIGHT DRUG WAR

Tough, swarthy punks from housing projects injected much fear into my 
childhood on Denver's west side. They'd approach in packs, summarily accuse 
you of dissing their sister, then smack you in the mouth, a total stranger.

This placid memory comes on the heels of the anti-drug zealots' latest 
humdinger of disinformation, a silly, slipshod, no-brainer ad depicting 
teen-agers as complicit cop and judge killers, as well as terrorist 
financiers, via the legerdemain of casual use.

As in my opening vignette from the 'hood, both cases involve the 
interposition of a causal nexus where none exists a priori so as to 
facilitate the mayhem of a bully or extortionist, both government and 
criminal to the extent that's not redundant. This is also kissing cousin to 
the mentality that marginalized Jews into moneylending occupations over the 
ages, then allowed Nazis and Bolsheviks to purge Semites for causing the 
putative ravages of global capitalism.

Arrogant, hypertrophied government creates the monster with untenable laws, 
and here's yet another nose-plugging extrapolation from this 70-year-old 
witch hunt. If lawmakers are looking for the fountainhead of drug war 
terrorism, the simple expedient of a hand mirror might help to clear things up.

KELLY PATRICK HENNESSY, Oceanside
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MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager