LOCAL GRASSROOT ACTIONS NOT TO BE OVERLOOKED

I'm guessing letter writer Anthony Bruno is unfamiliar with the
concept, "Think Global, Act Local." In the letter titled, "Protesters
Should be Rational Not Radical," printed on Nov. 20, Bruno was panning
a recent rally in support of common sense drug law reform. He rightly
points out that UCF has no direct control over policy in this matter
and suggests the demonstrators take it "somewhere relevant like,
Tallahassee or even D.C."

Where Bruno gets it wrong is his belief that local action is
irrelevant to the state and national debates. In fact, it requires
exactly these types of widespread local demonstrations of just this
sort seen at UCF to send the message to state and federal officials
that the people are fed up. Mass grassroots campaigns take place at,
well, the grassroots.

I challenge Bruno to name one mass movement for social justice that
began with "taking it somewhere" else. It is just as likely that his
unease with this matter is his gut knowledge that common sense drug
law reform will mean far fewer jobs in his chosen profession: criminal
justice.

Greg Francisco

Western Michigan University Alumnus