http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.html?242024-Paypal-Acting-Fraudulently-Huge-Fraud-Ongoing

…so I guess there’s reason to believe there’s an “arrogance of power” situation at Paypal. One can sneer at “bottom feeders” — check-cashing/loan-dealing storefronts and the like — unless and until one has lived at the bottom of the economy, and one knows the helpless feeling of having no defense against the rapaciousness of those whom one must “trust” in order to eat. Creating that helpless feeling is part of the bottom-feeding game; the fatalism thus induced in the customers is good for business.

It is not difficult to see a connection between the arrogance of power in the “bottom feeding” game, and the arrogance of power exercised in discriminating against certain specific transactions, such as contributions to Manning’s defense. The “little people” don’t deserve respect; their purpose is to be abused. Bottom feeders believe the little people should respect the powers that be. If the powerful have put Manning in jail, it must be for a Very Good Reason. After all, the main purpose of law enforcement is to protect the property of those who have property.

As one of the little people myself, I can only agree with R. Crumb’s famous observation, “We are all niggers, now.” For me, these words are liberating and overflowing with optimism. We will know things have changed when those words have become a proud slogan for people of all colors. We could all do much worse than to emulate the immense fortitude, spiritual indefatigability, and righteous nonviolence of generations of African Americans. And we can always use more leadership of that rare quality, too.

In any case, what is being done to require better treatment of Bradley Manning? I am very worried about his sanity — if I’d been held under the conditions he’s been held under, I’d have been insane long before 276 days.

Free Bradley Manning!