Protest or Just Persecution

Protest or just Persecution for Persecution Sake!

　

By Norm Richards



　

Hi everybody, Everybody? Hello!

As the new year approaches I begin to wonder if I’m making an impression on anyone, enlightening or at least amusing someone.

Granted, I haven’t often picked serious stories that needed response or interaction but on occasion I have. I wrote about the Free Pussy Riot movement in 2012. I think what happened in Russia over the imprisoning of three young women over a protest against Russian President Vladimir Putin was a legitimate cause. Pussy Riot as they are known were sent to prison on what could be considered trumped up charges. They used the Russian Orthodox church to bring attention to their protest. It worked.

Here is the Wikipedia page that explains it all - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pussy_Riot and yet I don’t feel they should have been sent to prison for the kind of protest they conducted. I think it’s an outrage!

What if our children in Canada or the USA were put in jail for similar reasons? How long do you suppose they would remain in jail or would they go to jail at all? I don’t think so. There might be out cry from the religious right. Franklin Graham would comment. Who knows, Jessie Jackson would side with the protest and give reason and understanding to the whole thing. The next week they'd  be on all the talk shows explaining themselves and that would be it. Fifteen minutes of fame and done. Smoke.

I can’t think of anyone high profile enough in Canada who would be listened to about such an issue.
Shaun Majumder would do a far better job than most any other countrymen I can think of. At least he’d add humour to those charges no one deserves to be struck with, no matter what country you are from. .

But perhaps Pussy Riot committed the ultimate protest. When Punk-Rock had it’s beginnings did the performers, if you want to call them that, think they would raise enough hell, the state would react and shut them down? Did they imagine at all? Well, perhaps not. Johnny Rotten sober wouldn’t have figured out a cause suitable to protest least of all getting upright to even perform.

Where does a state come off doing what was done to these women in Russia? Who would want to live in such a state? If a Titanic size ship left port at St Petersburg or Novorossiysk on the Black Sea next week and there were no restrictions on who left, who would leave Russia? But then what would move them to leave anyway? Are these women anywhere on anyone's mind in Russia today? Perhaps Putin knows how dumb his countrymen are and just what he can get away with to create fear in the populace. Is that it? Is it that simple?         

FAVOURITES 2012

Here are some of my favourite photographs from 2012. I enjoyed being in the presence of people not seen for many years, spectacular in many ways. The year for me was powerful. I made new friends, pissed off old ones, inadvertently mind you. I happen to go through life these days pretty much knowing what I like and what I deserve.

When I don't, it surprises me and I grapple with it for awhile internally. Somehow, I work out a way to understand. Some things I just can't do anything about. I loved the year and all the things I did. It was a treat and it just keeps paying off.

I got out and met some big stars too. I found they are not so different. They are talented and motivated. They are lucky enough to have others think money can be made by being a part of their lives. It's a matter of degree I guess. Makes me want to keep going. I have talent too and I have passions as much as they do.

So here are some of normspictures -

MY FAVOURITE

New Blog Feature called MY FAVOURITE.

By Norm Richards


I awoke this morning with an idea. This happens every once and awhile. Kind of like morning pages which you have to pour onto the page as soon as you wake up.

I'm going to create a series and I'll place it on my Blog page. I will call it "MY FAVOURITE!"

It could be a favoured person or thing and even an animal. Sometimes it will be brief, sometimes it will be for all times. But, most times I imagine favourite will be momentary. I'll leave it to you to decide why. Sometimes I'll say why.

Sure, like anything else there are good days and bad days. To be positive and forward thinking I'll focus on this. I'll search each weeks for things to name as favourites. You could be a favourite for some reason.

I'll take photos. I will capture some, since others take great pictures and deserve the attention. So, look for these on my Blog normswords. I'll have a new feature called normspictures. Perhaps this will evolve into high quality motion pictures. Who knows? For now, I'll have normspictures and normswords tell the story.  I believe a great deal of my current Blog postings are favourites already. This will ad to the dynamic.


I hope you like it.

Norm

Another Favourite - Actress Abbie Cornish

 

Have Faith or No Faith at All.

Well, here we are, November 2012, not long before Christmas. Where I live and in commune with family and cultural customs and faith, it's soon going to be Christmas again. People of other faiths honour this time of year differently and in slightly different ways from the world's Christian community. Every culture in the world has it's own windows. Celebration or honouring belief and trusts of faith is not the soul property of us Christians. No, we happen to honour faith at this time of year by celebrating gift giving in praise of the three kings who brought gifts to baby Jesus, thought to be the son of God. Wow, now there's a big one, the son of God! Who's God? Much of what was adopted way back when, is a Christian calendar year. It brings order and peace among the races, so goes the beliefs. However, if you follow the Mayan calendar, the end of days is on December 21,2012!

http://news.discovery.com/history/maya-long-count-calendar-end-date-120629.html

Are you ready for that?

I'm not.

I love my family and I want to see them again, surely before I'm wiped of the face of the earth. For now, Christmas 2012 will do, if we get there.

When I was growing up in a small northern town, we had a big church to attend each Christmas. I was pulled kicking and screaming to church at midnight, of all hours. One year, I noticed a guy I knew well two pews behind me. I was smart enough to know, the man was Jewish. Not only, that he was the high profile Mayor of our town he was from a group who eventually saw to the death of Jesus himself. Since I'd had some indoctrination into the life of Jesus, I was surprised to see this man among us. In some way, it was as if his attendance was to celebrate Jesus without prejudice. Even then, I thought to myself, we Catholics had something going since this guy came to our church after all that happened in history. The songs by the choir were glorious. The sound of a full choir and the assembly of a full congregation had me at hello. I thought, why not? Midnight Mass wasn't so bad afterall. I loved the whole experience but I wasn't about to become a total bible thumper just yet, I still had sins to commit. The beauty of being Catholic is we can sin but confession would get us to heaven after all. Remind me, I have to go to church to confess before December 21st or I'm toast. What about the rest of you?

By Norm Richards        

Putin Talks Sex with Harper!

Sun News Reports Putin Talks Sex with Harper at APEC Summit

Sunday August 9, 2012

Story by Norm Richards

Canada’s Sun News Parliamentary Bureau and National Affairs correspondent David Akin wrote today Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Stephen Harper had a 50-minute closed-door one-on-one meeting during which Putin talked about “gang bangs” in public museums. According to the David Akin report Canadian officials were witness to Putin responding to Harper’s asking him how Canadians could believe that Russians have the right to speak their mind and exercise freedom of speech, Putin said Nadezhda Tolokonnikova of Pussy Riot who is currently jailed in Russia, participated in some performance art which was filmed and posted on the internet consisted of Tolokonnikova and others having group sex and Putin used the word “gang bang” at the Timiriazev State Biology Museum in Moscow in 2008. He told Harper, Tolokonnikova was pregnant at the time. So, according to Putin this was an aggravating factor in Tolokonikova and in turn Pussy Riot’s conviction in 2012. In Putin’s view stated on live television, group sex is perfectly fine in private but when done in a public place it becomes a mitigating factor and reason to jail Pussy Riot, four years after the public demonstration took place. Putin threw this all off by claiming free speech is okay in Russia just so long as the charges Pussy Riot now suffer and this “gang bang” art allegation doesn’t meet his approval or break so called Russian law.

What a crock of shit! I say Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina, Yekaterina Samutsevich - Pussy Riot members currently in jail would never be jailed or even paid much attention if they lived in Canada or the United States under such similar circumstances. I’m not sure a court would even hear a case made against them, except to warn them and set them free.

What the hell, man? Here I am sitting in my own country while life and freedom goes on around me and I’m concerned about three women locked up and behind bars in Russia? What is going on with me? Well, I’ve always been concerned about injustice or better still to have the right to live in a just society. Most of the time, I have the luxury of being free and having free speech rights. Maybe, I even have a heuristic manner in the way I approach others views. If I was otherwise, I suppose I would be employed as a front line reporter at a news network or newspaper somewhere. Instead, I prefer an open share on the internet. People can read and reply anytime they like if it so moves them. I even find letters to the editor suspect. They are handpicked, pre-selected and published only if approved by one inside man. Perhaps it’s a bit Putin like in itself.

FREE PUSSY RIOT IMMEDIATELY!

Birthday Boy Today

By Norm Richards



I enjoyed my year. I prepared for a trip home to play a rock concert with old friends. It happened all too quickly. I know know why we loved practices and playing every Friday for dances. It was the highlight of our lives. My buds keep playing but I'm away in the city where they don't live. I think I'll find people who share my passion soon and I'll get back in it.

Since I had to focus on the hometown gig this year, I haven't visited my children who live elsewhere. I miss them dearly and eventually may have to move just to be near them. We'll see. For now, I have to keep writing and dust of the many projects I have lined up. I just saw Nick Cave's screenplay come to life in "Lawless." I really loved it. He gave the actors something to work with and the story works real well. I recommend any one of you go out and see the movie.

Take care. Have a real nice day now, you hear!

Norm

A new blog story about me

A question was asked of me on Facebook of something I wrote in my book: “Moon” a nick name I had in my formative years. She chuckled asking me about it since she knows me. Seems odd, I suppose is why she chuckled, not knowing really, why. Here is my response:

I was the class dreamer, without focus, couldn't learn properly, ADD is better known today. The nuns who taught us brushed it off as dunce cap idiots. We were punished, ignored and called names. Sister Pousue or however you spelt her name, called the distracted unfocused kids "The Man in The Moon." It hurt and even stuck since most of my school mates were bullies and knob heads. Others in my community never understood the label and simply thought it was a workable nickname. I resented it to no end. I grew into a good adult. I never became a desperate human living on the street or worse. I discovered and developed talent within me. I later excelled in school when I returned. I married a good woman and had two wonderful children. My career has been a challenge and varied. I love the arts and find home in it. I turned bad memories into things I write about and most of all I don't care for people being treated bad, unjust and without proper resolve. I believe every person deserves better and the right to seek it out.


My friends response went:

Thank you Norm, for sharing what happen. What happen to you and others was a crime against humanity. Your words are real & passionate, therefore the dichotomy between the stories that you tell and the stories told by those who did the abuse is crucial to present day literary criticism wars. PS, your recent publication was an honour to read .....

posted by Norm Richards