Post by Nathan Morrison on Sept 13, 2006 15:15:58 GMT -5
September 13th, 2006 12:57PM Pacific Time
by Victor E. Lopez
They say you've never really worked until you've been fired. Even though my mind is in possession of the above-mentioned cliché, it still does nothing to turn down the intensity of my frustration. Frustrated at what you ask?
I am not frustrated that I must stand up for count every day at 4 p.m.; that I had to eat guess-what-meat for dinner or nuts where I sleep (literally). IÂ’m not even upset that I woke up on my third year and several months of being in jail. It bothers me, but it isn't quite as frustrating as my friend, Mike Malloy, being terminated from his job as a talk-show host.
It bothers me that an individual who would speak only the truth is rewarded by being given a pink slip. I was (and am) afraid the Government might try to silence Mike (or perhaps some insane Republican). I see now that I was very naive in my thinking. I was naive in that I never considered that the corporate fascism machine might get to him first.
The Old Sarge asked me as we spoke by phone, "You heard about Mike, right?" Instantly I thought perhaps he and his family had been harmed in some fashion. When the Old Sarge told me he'd been released from Air America I was relieved he (and his family) had not been physically harmed. Then my heart just sorta fell from my chest. Malloy is a true patriot and the threats on his life and that of his wife and two-year-old daughter are proof that Malloy was and is willing to risk it all to spread the truth to whoever has ears.
We live in a country (and world) where we are complacent and are too busy trying to stay afloat and survive. As such we rely on voices such as Mike Malloy to reflect what we feel inside upon the world. A world which, since the dawn of time, seems to be oblivious to what is taking place directly in front of it.
Again I say I was perhaps a bit naive, as I forgot about the time I'd worked at a grocer in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois (as I went to college). A middle-aged woman ranted to me endlessly about a certain flavor and brand of yogurt not being readily available at that very moment. After she concluded her rant, I replied by asking her if she was aware that in some countries, including our own, people (including women and children) were dying of starvation and malnutrition. I asked her if she had any idea where humanity and humility were in today's society. She stormed off and complained. I was fired for my words. I remember being happy that I'd asked what I'd asked. I knew my father would have been proud of me. I didn't speak to the woman of famine because I thought I'd be considered "cool." I did it because her rant brought bile to my throat.
Corporate America doesn't care about the truth and the only difference I see besides that and what happened to me, is that Mike's stock in trade is informing the American public of the truth on a daily basis and mine was stocking milk and yogurt.
It's so frustrating when the guillotine drops. It seems that it's always the head of a decent person at the receiving end. Hearing of what happened to Mike Malloy made me think of a time in my 8th grade Sunday School class, "Jerry," our Sunday School teacher said, "Some of you are sheltered as to the world outside these doors." He was speaking of the low-income housing and predominantly black area where the church and private school was located. His words were not pointed and he did not speak with a silver tongue. His words were raw with truth, not with malice but truth. Some of the kids (with wealthy families) complained. Their parents were on the Board of Elders and by the next Sunday he'd been replaced. When the replacement was confronted as to why the change was made he said "he didn't agree with the change, but he was there to fill in until someone permanent could be hired." Jerry would reserve comment when asked in the hallways of the Church. It's said that the Jerrys and Mikes of this world are summarily let go from positions they serve with such purpose.
How naive I was that the corporation called Air America would be any different from the rest of corporate America, bowing down to that old American dollar with blood and guts strewn all over its history.
It's a crying shame when a person such as Malloy is released for selflessly defending what so many have sacrificed their lives for. It would seem to me that the corporation known as Air America would have prided itself as being the median in the liberal effort to take control of a situation which has really spun out of control. Our nation is really going out of orbit and it may cost us our future. Mike's leaving Air America was just another hard-to-swallow example of how corporation/fascism wins over truth. Mike's leaving/termination, etc. is just another thing Bush and Company has robbed from us. Alas!
I have quite a bit of faith that Mike Malloy will rebound, for the sake of REAL America (and the rest of the world which watches us). I hope so.
So until the next time, keep my words in your hearts and minds... "perhaps tomorrow will be a better day."
by Victor E. Lopez
They say you've never really worked until you've been fired. Even though my mind is in possession of the above-mentioned cliché, it still does nothing to turn down the intensity of my frustration. Frustrated at what you ask?
I am not frustrated that I must stand up for count every day at 4 p.m.; that I had to eat guess-what-meat for dinner or nuts where I sleep (literally). IÂ’m not even upset that I woke up on my third year and several months of being in jail. It bothers me, but it isn't quite as frustrating as my friend, Mike Malloy, being terminated from his job as a talk-show host.
It bothers me that an individual who would speak only the truth is rewarded by being given a pink slip. I was (and am) afraid the Government might try to silence Mike (or perhaps some insane Republican). I see now that I was very naive in my thinking. I was naive in that I never considered that the corporate fascism machine might get to him first.
The Old Sarge asked me as we spoke by phone, "You heard about Mike, right?" Instantly I thought perhaps he and his family had been harmed in some fashion. When the Old Sarge told me he'd been released from Air America I was relieved he (and his family) had not been physically harmed. Then my heart just sorta fell from my chest. Malloy is a true patriot and the threats on his life and that of his wife and two-year-old daughter are proof that Malloy was and is willing to risk it all to spread the truth to whoever has ears.
We live in a country (and world) where we are complacent and are too busy trying to stay afloat and survive. As such we rely on voices such as Mike Malloy to reflect what we feel inside upon the world. A world which, since the dawn of time, seems to be oblivious to what is taking place directly in front of it.
Again I say I was perhaps a bit naive, as I forgot about the time I'd worked at a grocer in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois (as I went to college). A middle-aged woman ranted to me endlessly about a certain flavor and brand of yogurt not being readily available at that very moment. After she concluded her rant, I replied by asking her if she was aware that in some countries, including our own, people (including women and children) were dying of starvation and malnutrition. I asked her if she had any idea where humanity and humility were in today's society. She stormed off and complained. I was fired for my words. I remember being happy that I'd asked what I'd asked. I knew my father would have been proud of me. I didn't speak to the woman of famine because I thought I'd be considered "cool." I did it because her rant brought bile to my throat.
Corporate America doesn't care about the truth and the only difference I see besides that and what happened to me, is that Mike's stock in trade is informing the American public of the truth on a daily basis and mine was stocking milk and yogurt.
It's so frustrating when the guillotine drops. It seems that it's always the head of a decent person at the receiving end. Hearing of what happened to Mike Malloy made me think of a time in my 8th grade Sunday School class, "Jerry," our Sunday School teacher said, "Some of you are sheltered as to the world outside these doors." He was speaking of the low-income housing and predominantly black area where the church and private school was located. His words were not pointed and he did not speak with a silver tongue. His words were raw with truth, not with malice but truth. Some of the kids (with wealthy families) complained. Their parents were on the Board of Elders and by the next Sunday he'd been replaced. When the replacement was confronted as to why the change was made he said "he didn't agree with the change, but he was there to fill in until someone permanent could be hired." Jerry would reserve comment when asked in the hallways of the Church. It's said that the Jerrys and Mikes of this world are summarily let go from positions they serve with such purpose.
How naive I was that the corporation called Air America would be any different from the rest of corporate America, bowing down to that old American dollar with blood and guts strewn all over its history.
It's a crying shame when a person such as Malloy is released for selflessly defending what so many have sacrificed their lives for. It would seem to me that the corporation known as Air America would have prided itself as being the median in the liberal effort to take control of a situation which has really spun out of control. Our nation is really going out of orbit and it may cost us our future. Mike's leaving Air America was just another hard-to-swallow example of how corporation/fascism wins over truth. Mike's leaving/termination, etc. is just another thing Bush and Company has robbed from us. Alas!
I have quite a bit of faith that Mike Malloy will rebound, for the sake of REAL America (and the rest of the world which watches us). I hope so.
So until the next time, keep my words in your hearts and minds... "perhaps tomorrow will be a better day."
