A few weeks ago I shared an article written by the Guardian's USA correspondent Ed Pilkington on Facebook.
A couple of people noticed and nobody commented.
Being cynical, if it had been about an Iranian poet persecuted for his writing, the result may well have been different.
With the US elections upon us ( well, them) and the choice between a bullying bigot and Wall Street wangler, it is sad to reflect on paltry changes Obama has made.
With the use of drones to attack people in countries which the US are not at war with, his use of stealth warfare caused many innocent casualties with minimal condemnation.
He might've railed against gun laws, but has done nothing to disturb the NRA's grip on a society where they are often as available as candy ( notice appropriate Americanisms).
As police killings of unarmed blacks increased, he seemed totally helpless.
Guantanamo remains functioning, with many innocent inmates awaiting release and, above all, the gap between rich and poor in the US remains as wide as ever.
However, Pilkington described one case alone in his excellent feature, that of Puerto Rican activist Oscar Lopez Rivera, who still awaits a presidential pardon and is looking unlikely to get one.
He is the world's longest serving political prisoner and the article exposed just how appalling his treatment has been.
He is now 73 , having spent over half his life behind bars.
He killed no-one, yet was sentenced, in 1981, to 55 years in prison. At that time, the average sentence for murder was 10.3 years!
He is still a Puerto Rican nationalist, desiring independence for what he calls a 'US colony', a state where the people cannot vote in this presidential election despite paying taxes.
'No taxation without representation' - doesn't that slogan sound familiar?
Two decades ago he and fellow freedom-fighters renounced all forms of violence, even though they only ever carried out bombings against properties ( much like Meibion Glyndwr).
His sentence stretches until 2023, when he will be 80.
He's left wondering if Obama will act, but is not optimistic.
Pilkington's article is full of the righteous indignation of Rivera, but is also poetic.
It describes how Rivera recalls the beautiful monarch butterflies of his younger days and how they made the long and arduous journey thousands of miles from Canada to Mexico.
Rivera has said that one day, when he is free, he'd love to follow that migration southwards ; but for now, it only lives in his memory.
In his cell he paints avidly, bringing colours into a grey world.
He has support from many diverse sources, including Desmond Tutu and Jimmy Carter and, interestingly, compares himself to Mandela, though the latter never renounced violence on his release.
What changed his life and made him join the FALN ( Puerto Rican freedom-fighters) were his experiences in Vietnam.
He went there with a similar view to Wilfred Owen when he joined up to fight in the 1st World War ; he believed it was a crusade for democracy and a better way of life. He rapidly realised that the US were the aggressors and he was instrumental in carrying out their brutal oppression of the Vietnamese.
He made that vital connection between this imperialism and the same one that kept his people subjugated.
Such a brave man , he states - ' Hope, that is one thing we can never lose.'
If Obama fails to pardon Oscar Lopez Rivera it will be another US crime against humanity.
OSCAR LOPEZ RIVERA
When I was a child
they settled on my hands,
the swarms of monarchs
travelled south to the warm.
They had waited for the drop,
for that particular angle of light
and followed the pollen trail
thousands of miles south.
One day I want to fly
with them and away
from this cell where colours
disappeared into grey.
Puerto Rico, fragile, leaf-veined
but bright orange winged ;
I found you in Vietnam jungles,
a people they would pin.
Now I bring the colours in,
cut out landscapes from magazines
and try to find the mixing :
still cannot see that migration.
My island itself a butterfly :
small yet remarkable
and one day making that journey
across America, into history.
A couple of people noticed and nobody commented.
Being cynical, if it had been about an Iranian poet persecuted for his writing, the result may well have been different.
With the US elections upon us ( well, them) and the choice between a bullying bigot and Wall Street wangler, it is sad to reflect on paltry changes Obama has made.
With the use of drones to attack people in countries which the US are not at war with, his use of stealth warfare caused many innocent casualties with minimal condemnation.
He might've railed against gun laws, but has done nothing to disturb the NRA's grip on a society where they are often as available as candy ( notice appropriate Americanisms).
As police killings of unarmed blacks increased, he seemed totally helpless.
Guantanamo remains functioning, with many innocent inmates awaiting release and, above all, the gap between rich and poor in the US remains as wide as ever.
However, Pilkington described one case alone in his excellent feature, that of Puerto Rican activist Oscar Lopez Rivera, who still awaits a presidential pardon and is looking unlikely to get one.
He is the world's longest serving political prisoner and the article exposed just how appalling his treatment has been.
He is now 73 , having spent over half his life behind bars.
He killed no-one, yet was sentenced, in 1981, to 55 years in prison. At that time, the average sentence for murder was 10.3 years!
He is still a Puerto Rican nationalist, desiring independence for what he calls a 'US colony', a state where the people cannot vote in this presidential election despite paying taxes.
'No taxation without representation' - doesn't that slogan sound familiar?
Two decades ago he and fellow freedom-fighters renounced all forms of violence, even though they only ever carried out bombings against properties ( much like Meibion Glyndwr).
His sentence stretches until 2023, when he will be 80.
He's left wondering if Obama will act, but is not optimistic.
Pilkington's article is full of the righteous indignation of Rivera, but is also poetic.
It describes how Rivera recalls the beautiful monarch butterflies of his younger days and how they made the long and arduous journey thousands of miles from Canada to Mexico.
Rivera has said that one day, when he is free, he'd love to follow that migration southwards ; but for now, it only lives in his memory.
In his cell he paints avidly, bringing colours into a grey world.
He has support from many diverse sources, including Desmond Tutu and Jimmy Carter and, interestingly, compares himself to Mandela, though the latter never renounced violence on his release.
What changed his life and made him join the FALN ( Puerto Rican freedom-fighters) were his experiences in Vietnam.
He went there with a similar view to Wilfred Owen when he joined up to fight in the 1st World War ; he believed it was a crusade for democracy and a better way of life. He rapidly realised that the US were the aggressors and he was instrumental in carrying out their brutal oppression of the Vietnamese.
He made that vital connection between this imperialism and the same one that kept his people subjugated.
Such a brave man , he states - ' Hope, that is one thing we can never lose.'
If Obama fails to pardon Oscar Lopez Rivera it will be another US crime against humanity.
OSCAR LOPEZ RIVERA
When I was a child
they settled on my hands,
the swarms of monarchs
travelled south to the warm.
They had waited for the drop,
for that particular angle of light
and followed the pollen trail
thousands of miles south.
One day I want to fly
with them and away
from this cell where colours
disappeared into grey.
Puerto Rico, fragile, leaf-veined
but bright orange winged ;
I found you in Vietnam jungles,
a people they would pin.
Now I bring the colours in,
cut out landscapes from magazines
and try to find the mixing :
still cannot see that migration.
My island itself a butterfly :
small yet remarkable
and one day making that journey
across America, into history.
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