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Alternative Spring Break in Austin

I wrote about it last year, and this year they’re back again — the Anti-Death Penalty Alternative Spring Break returns to Austin.

And I have the same advice this year as I did last year: Kids, you have the rest of your lives to waste standing around holding signs and chanting on public property. For just this one week, go act like normal college kids. Have some fun. Quit being so angry about everything. It’s not good for your complexion.

There are some changes this year though. For instance, last year’s schedule included Live From Death Row, which was billed as “a live phone call from Stanley “Tookie” Williams, a murderer on California’s Death Row in San Quentin Prison. ”

I noticed that the same time slot on this year’s schedule is listed as “TBD”. I guess Tookie couldn’t make it this year…

Also, this year MTV is getting involved:

MTV is interested in covering Anti-Death Penalty Alternative Spring Break. Here is what one of their producers wrote about their plans:

“When people think of Spring Break the vision of beaches, night clubs and drinking until you drop usually comes to mind. MTVU wants to put a new spin on the typical Spring Break stereotypes by showcasing college students from around the country with alternative plans.

The new Spring Break trend has students using their time away from school for more meaningful purposes — whether volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, helping restore properties affected by Hurricane Katrina or protesting a cause they believe in. We want to showcase these unique Spring Breaks by following students on their adventures. We’ll not only shoot the events they’re partaking in but also get the back stories for why these students chose their plans, how they feel throughout the trip and what they come away from the trip with. It’s time to put the spotlight on students who are getting more than a great tan out of their Spring Break!”

A commenter at PinkDome summed up my feelings pretty well:

Fuck. Must every group conspire to make March pure hell for Austinites?

We know we’ll have to deal with all the californicatorz in town for SXSW tying up the cell towers with their shitty convo’s (”I’m just checking in with the coast… “) in midtown and downtown. That’s a goddamn given. But to also load on a bunch of gooder kids who are too dumb to get to a beach, get drunk, and get laid?

I hope it rains on them during their latte-fueled protest day at the capitol.

***
UPDATE: These kids didn’t pick a good week for their anti-death penalty propaganda week. There are two executions scheduled this week while they’re here in Texas. The first execution will be Tony Ford (on 3/14), the second (which the students will participate in an actual protest at the prison in Huntsville) is Tommie Hughes (on 3/15). The students will get a first hand view of how ineffective their minority viewpoint is here in Texas — as they will go home on Friday, and those two inmates will have been executed despite their best intentions.

They might as well have gone to Padre Island.

Posted by Robbie Cooper on Friday, March 10th, 2006 | Trackback |

14 Responses to “Alternative Spring Break in Austin”

‘Unhinged’ is certainly the word I associate with people who’d rather do something they believe in rather than getting violently drunk.

Left by Preston on March 10th, 2006 at 12:36 pm

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Left by austinsnews.net | Calibrating for hype on March 10th, 2006 at 5:24 pm

I just want to let you know that Tony Ford got a stay of execution long time ago because of his strong claim of innocence. Also what is your problem with a group of concerned students trying to take action for what they believe rather than getting drunk at South Padre? Yes, we are against the death penalty and you are not. But please respect our cause and capacity to give up traveling to your favorite “Padre Island.”

Left by Hooman Hedayati on March 16th, 2006 at 1:15 am

By the way the weather was GREAT!

Left by Hooman Hedayati on March 16th, 2006 at 1:18 am

Yeah, stomping on minority opinions is really cool. And your generalization that they are “latte-fueled” is patently ridiculous. Why is it that people who bash liberals always try to paint them as elitist snobs. That generalization falls flat on its face in this instance. I met with the kids and found them to be down to earth and well groomed as far as liberal activists go.

I do have some support for the death penalty, but there is no question that the system in Texas is broke. We need some sort of independent commission to look at how the death penalty is applied and suggest ways that it could be improved. There is nothing wrong with a suspension of the death penalty in my opinion.

And South Padre? That is lame. I am from Corpus Christi and do the whole beach thing every year and it sucks. Awful people show up and rape girls and someone gets eaten by a shark at least once a year. Stay away from South Texas during Spring Break.

Left by Andrew Glass on March 16th, 2006 at 2:24 am

Awful people show up and rape girls…

And then you and your friends show up the following year in Austin and try to make sure that “awful person” who showed up and raped that girl doesn’t get executed for his crimes (if he also happened to kill the girl).

Left by Robbie on March 16th, 2006 at 7:42 am

Tony Ford got a stay of execution

Perhaps. For now. But his day is coming.

Two of the people that he shot but who survived during his killing spree picked his picture out of a lineup. I’m going to take the word of the person he shot in the head. After his picture was identified, he admitted to being at the scene of the crime, but that he “didn’t pull the trigger”.

Whatever. Out of a random group of pictures, the one picture they pick out of a lineup happens to be of the guy who “was sitting in the driveway”?

Well, at least we got Tommie Hughes.

Left by Robbie on March 16th, 2006 at 7:52 am

He must not be one of the “cool” psycho killers in that ccrap didn’t go batshit over his execution.

Left by 2 on March 16th, 2006 at 9:30 am

. . . there is no question that the system in Texas is broke

No, the problem is that the death penalty works just fine in Texas. In fact, it should be the model for the rest of the country. The average in Texas is 10-11 years of appeals. That is more than enough time for review.

Left by 2 on March 16th, 2006 at 9:40 am

Andrew and Hooman — why do I ridicule you and your ideas? Why do I openly detest what it is that you are doing?

Last year, when looking over the schedule of events for the Alternative Spring Break in Austin it included a live teleconference with Stanley “Tookie” Williams. Instead of being revolted and disgusted with speaking live to a man as vile as Tookie, the group considered it an honor to have a man of Tookie’s “caliber” speaking to them.

If you want to be against the death penalty, fine. I really don’t have any problems with that at all. I can understand how and why people do oppose it. But when you don’t have the decency and humanity to denounce and be disgusted by a man like Tookie; when you openly worship and idolize (and apologize for) these brutal, inhumane monsters —- well, I lose all respect for you and your anti-stance.

I’m sure during last year’s Tookie conference call circle-jerk, not a single person asked Tookie how it felt to shoot someone in the back of the head. Or told him that he is vile and contemptible person for what he did. Instead they all applauded him for his “transformation” and pretended he wasn’t the vile murderer that he is.

If you were to stand up and say, “Hey, I oppose the death penalty because I believe any form of killing is wrong — but, I also recognize that people who brutally murder, rape, and kidnap young children, women, and other humans are the vilest sick-fucks on the face of this planet, and are completely deserving of our scorn. I’d rather they were locked away for the rest of their lives, to be ignored and forgotten by all of decent society” — if you could say that, then I’d be able to be on the same page as you are.

But most of you can’t say that. Because not only do you want to spare their lives, but you want to be their buddies, their pen pals, and some of you sick-perverts want to marry them after you meet them. Not only do you not want them dead, you often want them exonerated and released because they had “ineffective counsel”, or they had a “tough childhood”, or “they’ve changed”.

With that, I’ll never be on the same page, and I’ll mock and ridicule those who do espouse those views.

If you really wanted to do some good over spring break, you could have chosen to help storm ravaged communities rebuild their homes. Instead you went to cheerlead for a bunch of killers.

You would have been better off going to Padre. Seriously. You’re never to old to be an activist, but there is a definitely a point where you become too old to go to Spring Break (~23 years old).

Left by Robbie on March 16th, 2006 at 10:09 am

1. I am with the spring break right now, me and my friends drove from Kansas (the Kansas City area) to come here. Now if a bitchin’ Spring Break is not a road trip with your friends to Austin, Texas, a kick ass college town and even going to Galveston later, what is?

2. We do not “support” murderers, rapists, druggies and other horrible people like that. We never said that Tookie was a good person for what he had done, but we supported him being reformed and no matter how horrible of a person you were/are, you dont deserved to be murdered. Yes, Tookie’s victim’s (which he maintained he was innocent even as a needle full of poison was injected into him) didn’t deserve to be murdered, why make more grieving families and dead bodies.

3. So what if we dont get piss drunk or stoned off of our asses, we still spend a majority of our time messing around in Austin. Hell, SXSW is in town, and I would bet that a massive concert constitutes fun during Spring Break.

So before you criticize us, think about how you are spending your Spring break. Bashing a bunch of college kids on a blog because they are actually getting off of their computers for their Spring Break and doing something.

Left by Joel on March 16th, 2006 at 4:30 pm

First, Tookis was not reformed. It was a gimmick to avoid his lawful execution. Note: it was a lawful execution not murder. It was Tookie who murdered four innocent people and plotted to murder dozens more after he was sent to San Quentin.

Second, he never expressed remorse and therefore could never be reformed (and yes he was guilty and there was an overwhelming amount of evidence proving beyond a reasonable doubt he was ).

Third, he never wrote those dumbass kiddie books that nobody reads.

Fourth, he had no real influence on gangbangers. In fact, most had absolutely no idea who the hell he was.

Fifth, he never renounced his gang membership and cooperated with prison officials. Shithead wanted it both ways.

And last, seeing how little you know about a subject that received widespread coverage and your immature application of logic, you shouldn’t be partying at all. Go home and study.

Left by 2 on March 16th, 2006 at 6:47 pm

So before you criticize us, think about how you are spending your Spring break.

Ummm…I’m spending my “Spring Break” just like I spent my “summer Vacation”. At work. That’s how the real world works.

And that was part of the point of this post —- that you’ll have the rest of your lives for your activism. You won’t have the rest of your life to go back to Spring Break.

Left by Robbie on March 16th, 2006 at 8:12 pm

The information I found here was rather helpful. Thank you for this.

Left by uomo on February 26th, 2007 at 6:38 am

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