How the Red White & Blue has oppressed you

[Hazekiah]

I narrowly dodged my first felony relatively recently and even though the state bailed me out as a gimme and then offered me probation terms I successfully completed to have the charges dropped I still have the arrest on my record and a cop still searched me against my will and lied to the knowing judge's face to establish "probable cause," which of course the bastard judge allowed.

And I can now pay fees to have even the arrest expunged from my record but it's a bunch of bullshit that it won't still come up on any halfway decent background checks anyway, screwing me out of countless loans, jobs, apartments, classes, etc. for pretty much eternity. Plus if I hadn't completed my probationary period or had gotten busted again during it then I'd still be completely fucked so the gesture isn't much appreciated regardless.

So there you go; direct oppression. I don't care if you think it's just a silly little drug thing or not, my rights were fucking trampled start to finish with that ordeal, I just got lucky 'cause I'm white and didn't have any recent priors in that specific county. Hell, it's not just Orwellian it's downright Kafkaesque with it's labyrinthine showtrial lunacy that's gone on for far too long.

And don't even get me started on the mercury fillings U.S. military healthcare melted into my dental cavities with fillings I eventually swallowed or the fact that the local municipal water source is constantly in violation of EPA standards for months before we get notifications about the health risks, etc., etc., etc.

That's obviously among the LEAST of the U.S. government's transgressions in the field of oppression, too.

I sincerely hope this thread isn't trying to make the point that people haven't been and/or aren't oppressed by Old Glory, because that would be absolutely fucking retarded.

:-\

[Mugwump]

I love my country and I am willing to accept some personal drawbacks for the greater good of society.

I do not feel oppressed in any way. Overall, I feel very happy.

[Sticky Killer Jones]

Because we're fortunate enough to have a Democratic administration right now, even "illegal" Mexican immigrants under, what, 30 or something? Can breathe a little easier- work, go to school, etc. Unless they live in some crazy shithole like Alabama or Arizona. All in all, things are pretty good, I think.

"Opressed" is a strong word.

Even at that, the Obama Administration has still deported more immigrants in one term than Bush did during his entire term in office. Not that I'm ungrateful for letting younger ones who've gone to school, served the military and have no criminal history stay, I felt it could've been handled better and done earlier. To the Left's benefit, I think the DREAM act would've passed a few years ago if Republicans in Congress wasn't filibustering everything they tried to get through the Senate to death.

Oppressed is indeed a strong word, but I couldn't find a better one. Repressed? Repressed by the fail?

I'd also like to walk around naked for the hell of it every once in a while. C'mon.

I'll contact the Supreme Court and see if I can remedy this situation. It's your right to display to the world that your ass is prettier than Tater's.

I sincerely hope this thread isn't trying to make the point that people haven't been and/or aren't oppressed by Old Glory, because that would be absolutely fucking retarded.

It occurred to me that I came off anti-drug as I posted this, which I'm not in any sense. People should be allowed to use their bodies as they fit without the threat of arrest. If it didn't make me feel like having a heart attack and wasn't at the expense of people I know dying violently, or people being raped and dismembered across the border for it's distribution, I'd be snorting coke off Satan's asscrack at the moment. I feel the same way about weed that isn't grown here or my dealer paying a tax to Los Zetas. You can say I have snobby standards regarding drugs. At least I'm not whining about boycotting a chicken fast food franchise donating their profits (as it's their right) to anti-gay organizations that are destined to fail, as gay marriage is still being legalized slowly state by state. No personal harm will come to me if I can't get married anytime soon, and gay people aren't being decapitated and hung off bridges by anyone eating a chicken sandwich.

Although the War on Drugs in the states is something I'd like to see end, I think the idea of it ending incarcerations for all victimless crimes isn't a realistic view. Even if marijuana were legalized to be sold at dispensaries at the choice of the states, and other drugs decriminalized, I can't see any American businesses being able to compete with the cartels. Especially if they'll be selling it for way more than it would cost to get it off the street, which is pretty much a guarantee will happen. You can't sell pecan pie to your neighbors or have a garage sell without a permit, selling local weed legally wouldn't be any easier. Businesses will still piss test people. Cops with an authoritative complex will still be checking your breath and car for drugs you don't have a prescription for or wasn't approved by the FDA. Ending the War on Drugs won't end anything but the use of it's title. Which brings me to a question: Are Americans who live in economically repressed parts of the country that are involved in gangs that have to resort to violent ends to distribute drugs to make money oppressed? Does their choice to deviate from finding low-paying legal work implicate that they're just lazy or trying to get by financially any way they can?

This thread isn't to patronize anyone. I just wanted to hear everyone's experiences of what they consider oppression in comparison to others, be they American or from elsewhere. I made the distinction between private vs. state/federal because I feel people confuse the actions of law or leaders as something outside of their control when really the only reason they exist is because of a majority in their state electing them into office. If legalizing drugs were put to a vote in all states, I believe drugs would still be chosen to stay illegal in the majority of them by popular vote. I also believe if it were put to a vote, sodomy would also still be illegal. From the responses by a lot of the people in this thread, it seems a lot of you are more angry about things your state did/state allowed a business or school to do than anything the result of federal law. Even the drug war varies from state to state. I could light a joint in front of a cop in San Francisco without attracting trouble, while in San Antonio I'd probably arrested if I gave off the scent of weed.

Bush did win his second election. The Iraq and Afghanistan wars were approved by Congress, by officials Americans voted into office by each state county, and those were more damaging and long wars than Obama getting us involved in Libya for a brief time without Congressional approval. If you love making the distinction about Obama Administration leading a secret (well it used to be), unapproved war in Pakistan killing people who never provoked us while not particularly giving thought the money you paid for your cocaine has been paying for the deaths of thousands long before 9/11, be my guest. Tell me how one is morally worse than the other. Tell me how you're different. Is our system the problem or are we the problem? Are we enabling the system to keep doing what it does to us or is it totally beyond our control?