Madison Organizing in Strength, Equity, and Solidarity
for Criminal Legal System Reform

Organizer’s Corner: Finish the Story!

This issue, Organizer James Morgan is holding a contest! The challenge: Finish this story in one or two paragraphs. James’s granddaughter will judge the submissions. The prize for the winner will be an original piece of James’s artwork! Submit your concluding paragraphs to: 

 

As I sit in this room I silently watch, listen, and wait. It’s now four in the morning or at least that’s what the Babylonians who consciously created time would say. I watch the innocent flies dance together in unison, unaware that a bitter woman is watching them filled with nothing but angst. This is because she’s never had the opportunity to dance with a lover to call her own. She waits patiently for just the right moment to end their lives to feel some sort of relief, oblivious to the fact that her annoyed feelings are rooted in nothing but jealousy. It’s now 2 pm. I quietly sit at the dinner table that reeks of nothing but old grease. To distract myself from the putrid smell, I gape irrationally at the bowl of lumpy oatmeal drenched in rich honey to hide the fact that it expired 5 years ago. Breaking me from my ungrateful concentration I hear the calm and understanding voice that lingers in the right side of my brain asking me “Can you hear that?”

Like the flies I saw not too long ago, we listen to the sympathetic hummingbirds singing their sweet songs to the trees who feel trapped in their agony. Together, as one, in unison. 

Now, as I listen closer I can hear the white spruce trees talking amongst themselves. Watching as the strange-looking creatures called “humans” pass them by unappreciative of the life they give without cost. 

“How selfish,” They say, their words filled with hurt and shame. Unaware of the time that has swiftly passed me by, I realize that it’s now 6 o’clock. Woefully I walk back to the room that I can’t stand with a small dainty glass of vintage wine that I somehow found tightly curled in my hand.

 

Organizer’s Corner

Organizer’s Corner 

By James Morgan

Greetings, MOSES members! I’d like to first and once again thank each of you for your time, efforts, and dedication to our organization. We are at a unique time in our state and nation. It seems that at every turn events are occuring that tug at our hearts and minds in ways that perhaps, for some of us, are overwhelming. 

World, national, and local politics and politicians appear to be embroiled in a politically entrenched world of theater, ignoring the needs of the voting population that needs a focused and humane leadership. Here in Wisconsin, we are contending with having once again been the focus for the inhumane and detrimental treatment of those persons in our criminal justice system, receiving national attention from the New York Times and other media outlets. Our Mission Statement makes it incumbent upon us to stand in the gap as a united body and be the voice for those who have been rendered silent. 

On Oct. 10, over 200 of us rallied at the state Capitol to call for the end of the state prison lockdowns, including closing the Waupun and Green Bay correctional institutions, and to demand accountability from Gov. Evers and the Department of Corrections secretary to immediately implement corrective measures. There’s much more to be done! Our advocacy is necessary and needed! As we move forward on this and other issues and actions, please know that your participation and dedication are invaluable, making a significant impact for the humanitarian change we seek. 

In closing, I often use this reminder to help me remember why we must continue doing what we are doing: “There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.” 

– Elie Wiesel 

Peace and Blessings