Yes, today is the day a number of us Alaskans who meet the requirements and put our applications in on time (and filled out the 'direct deposit') will find a Permanent Fund Dividend Check for $1,305.00 in our checking accounts. In my case, both my check and my daughter's is there.
This is also the day when Alaskans who rail against "socialism" happily collect these checks, especially those who have many children. After all, $1,305.00 multiplied by a family of 6+ is awfully attractive and can easily generate a strong denial system!
So, as I get ready to hit the stores when the open (otherwise it will be a nightmare) I have a couple of things to discuss.
First is The Bartlett Club Forum with Alison Weir happening today at noon at the Denny's on Bragaw and Debarr:
Alison is a a controversial figure brought up to Alaska by "Alaskans for Peace and Justice" and there has been quite a bit of behind-the-scenes controversy about her appearance at The Bartlett Democratic Club. I'm reserving judgment until I hear her speak this afternoon. I won't be able to stay afterwards, though, because I have to pick up Morrigan and take her to her birthday present...The Lion King.
Christian Congregation supports a rapist
This has been circulating in my email all week.
It's the story of Anchorage police officer Anthony Rollins who has been accused by six women of rape:
Rollins charged with four counts first-degree sexual assault, six counts of second-degree assault, four counts of criminal use of a computer and six counts of official misconduct
It seems that Rollins Church, The Lighthouse Fellowship has been supporting him to the point of extreme denial. Mudflats did a good write-up:
Yesterday, Rollins had his second bail hearing and the courtroom was packed. It was standing room only with those who had come to show their support. They had not, however, as Nancy Haag hoped, come to support the victims. They had come from a local Baptist church to support their fellow church-goer and indicted serial rapist, Anthony Rollins.
At least this time the victims that showed up for the hearing were able to sit in a chair. At the first hearing, according to a source at STAR, two victims were forced to fight their way through the mass of people and stand, "crushed against the back wall" by the crowds that had come to give moral support to the man they say sexually assaulted them. "They couldn't even see," she said. "The mood of the people who came was like it was some kind of social event. It was appalling."
When I saw the story one victim recounted in the Rollins case, it made me ill:
A woman who identified herself as one of the victims said in a telephone interview that Rollins picked her up in Mountain View on a cold December night and offered her a ride home. But instead of taking her to her home, he took her to the police substation and assaulted her.
I read this and had a weird feeling of deja vu.
20 years ago, a good friend of mine in recovery started on a path that took him deeper into his disease. He became an undercover cop in drug cases...a really bad idea for a recovering alcoholic-addict on shaky ground.
Unfortunately, we discovered that there was more to his disease than we realized. He started to prey on vulnerable women using his badge to gain their trust, mostly practicing addicts and alcoholics, usually women who were promiscuous or working as prostitutes. In other words, he would single-out the most vulnerable victims. He would bail them out of jail, promise to take them home only to bring them to his home where he raped and tortured them.
Does this sound familiar?
Realize, this officer and I had gotten sober together and I considered him to be a friend. However, he always put off certain "red flags" in his choice of humor, etc...sometimes to the point where I'd end up confronting him. When one of the victims (a woman in-and-out of recovery) searched me out and told me her story (and I then found out there had been women who'd come forward with similar stories in the past and had been ignored) I believed her. As a rape survivor and former "tainted woman alcoholic" myself, I knew what they risked by bringing this forward.
The Anchorage Police were firing this officer...but doing so quietly without bringing him up on charges. He had been a hero and a media darling so they didn't want the publicity. What surprised me was that among some in the recovering community, they took his side and pressured me to join in a letter-writing campaign to the APD to keep him on. Several male alcoholics asked how I could take the side of some women who could't stay sober...as if they would somehow benefit to bring these complaints against a police officer if they weren't true.
The officer in question was fired and "asked" to leave the state. I only wish there had been an actual punishment.
I haven't told this story publicly until now because of the "confidentiality" issues with 12-step programs. I share it now in hopes that supporters of Officer Rollins will open their minds to the possibility that six women are not lying. I ask them to think back on their relationship with him and remember past inappropriate comments, humor or boundary issues...they have leaked out somewhere, giving hints of his true nature.
And yes, I'll say it, this has (or at least should have) nothing to do with race, at least on the part of the people I know. This is a cop-turned-predator who needs to be off the streets. So far that is not the case. He's presently out on bail.
STAR--Standing Together Against Rape is encouraging people to show up at the courthouse Friday, 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM in support of the victims of Officer Rollins and in protest of his preferential treatment by the courts.
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