A man suspected of plotting to blow up the nation’s largest mosque in Michigan will soon be living at a Howard Center-run facility in Burlington for people with serious mental illnesses, U.S. District Judge William Sessions III ruled Monday.
Roger Stockham, 65, has been in federal custody since Jan. 24, 2011, after police, acting on a tip, arrested him in Dearborn, Mich., outside the Islamic Center of America.
Stockham’s van was later found loaded with explosives, according to court documents. He suffers from a bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, court records said
Stockham’s case involving his conduct in Michigan was heard in Vermont because he was on release conditions from an earlier federal case in Vermont when the Michigan incident occurred.
According to court documents, Stockham made similar threats in 2002 to blow up the Veterans Administration hospital in White River Junction and kill then-President George W. Bush and injure federal Judge J. Garvan Murtha.
Sessions said Monday he was convinced Stockham could be released into the community after reading a report from a federal prison psychiatrist that said Stockham did not pose a risk as long as he stayed on his daily medications.
“If you don’t take the medications you’re going to be coming back to court immediately,” Sessions told Stockham. “If you take the medications, all signs are you will do very well.”
This puts the responsibility on the oppressed. It suggests to people of color, to women, to gays, to any oppressed group that “if only they had confronted the discrimination they faced in a better (more tactical, more appeasing, etc.) tone, maybe the people who ignored them would have listened. It teaches them that they should not burden others with their stories. It teaches them that they are in part responsible for their oppression due to their poor use of tone, even though they have no power over how someone labels their tone and even less power over how they are treated. Which, come on. Deciding whether or not to listen is a choice. If the decision to ignore injustice hinges on someone’s tone…
It is very difficult to avoid this trap. It means playing offense and defense at the same time. The easiest thing to do is to try and given people fewer opportunities to attack your tone. But make no mistake: this also means capitulating to the same oppressive power dynamic that is silencing you in the first place. In addition to the outsiders who will police your tone, you begin to watch your own tone. Tone becomes a tool you use to amplify your voice and oppress yourself at the same time.
You stifle your outrage, your defense mechanisms, your right to speak out. You train yourself to talk about discrimination with a brilliant smile. You live with the anxiety and reality that they may slam your tone anyway, ignore you, anyway.
They remind you that they listen to you only because they are benevolent enough to tolerate your pleasant tone. Perhaps they will even give you benevolent advice on how to talk about your experiences, all while reminding you that while experiencing discrimination is not optional for you, listening is optional for them. That before they care about your pain, you have to remember to please them, first, by respecting their right not to be annoyed by you. You must be deferent to be viewed as worthy of consideration, goes the advice.
You allow them to argue that the way you say it is more important than what you are saying. Because the majority has deemed that only certain tones are appropriate when discussing these issues. Because those with power get to dictate how the victims talk about their own oppression. And you want to believe that maybe, maybe if you just say it the right way, this one time…people will listen.
| — | Racebending (via damnlayoffthebleach) |
zuky:
This is the story of a racist myth that began with a light-hearted letter to the New England Journal of Medicine in 1968 and subsequently exploded in North American culture — in direct opposition to every shred of scientific evidence — becoming so prevalent that credulous eaters buy into it to…
I was wondering about this, actually. We learned about glutamate as one of the amino acids… the “monosodium” part just means that it’s attached to a sodium ion and in salt form, like what we eat whenever we have NaCl (tablet salt). So yeah, there shouldn’t be anything wrong with eating MSG assuming the person can digest protein OK.
And let’s be real, it taste better with the MSG. It just does. I’m always disappointed when I see “no MSG” on take out flyers.
On both #iTunes & #GooglePlay — cop this now & share… #10FriskCommandments REMIX http://twib.me/FriskRemix
zuky:
This is the story of a racist myth that began with a light-hearted letter to the New England Journal of Medicine in 1968 and subsequently exploded in North American culture — in direct opposition to every shred of scientific evidence — becoming so prevalent that credulous eaters buy into it to…
| — |
From Square’s newly updated seller agreements. Make sure to check out #1 and #22. Guess that CNN/HuffPo article didn’t go over so well. Please be careful SW’s. SW15 (via sexworkerproblems) I think #28 spells it out… but what about erotica in novel form? and WTF is occult materials? |
Customer appreciation photos!
Thank you for making them, I LOVE THEM! They are very comfortable and not heavy at all like most hanging earrings.
Thank you so much for sharing the photos!
My brother made these incredible earrings, I think all lovers of tea should have a million pairs. Look at the detail of the tea pot and the dainty little cups. Its POURING THE TEA. OMFG WANT.
