Anyone
fortunate enough to be able to remember Walt Kelly’s Pogo Possum cartoons will
know this quote well:
“We have met the enemy, and he is us.”
The
history of the quote is pretty cool. It was first used on an Earth Day poster
in 1970:
Although this quote was created to lament the fact that we
are killing the environment, it very much can be applied to race relations,
LGBT rights and the culture of hate that so permeates society today.
After the brutal attacks this week in Charleston, many have
tried to blame this attack on the “lone wolf” or on a mentally deranged
individual or even as an attack on Christianity (another Faux News
absurdity). However, the assailant
himself declared that the attack was meant to start a race war and was
specifically done because of his fears the blacks were “taking over” the
country.
But, I have news for you.
Dylann Roof is not an isolated racist punk. White Americans are the biggest
terror threat in the United States,
according to a study by the New America Foundation. The Washington-based
research organization did a review of “terror” attacks on US soil since Sept.
11, 2001 and found that most of them
were carried out by radical anti-government groups
or white supremacists.
Almost
twice as many people have died in attacks by right-wing groups in America than
have died in attacks by Muslim extremists. Of the 26 attacks since 9/11 that
the group defined as terror, 19 were carried out by non-Muslims. Yet there are
no white Americans languishing inside the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay.
And there are no drones dropping bombs on
gatherings of military-age
males in the country's lawless
border regions. So, how will
the government respond…better, yet, how should WE respond?
The removal of
offensive symbols in this country is a very obvious good start. Sure, the Confederate battle flag (a symbol
of racial hatred) should be relegated to some nasty Confederate Museum and the
use of swastikas and white hooded KKK symbols should be eliminated from public
facilities. I, for one, am embarrassed
that the state I grew up in (Georgia) still depicts that symbol on its state
flag. But we should also examine other
racially and ethnically offensive symbols.
The Washington Redskins should have changed their name years ago…it is
as offensive to Native Americans as Washington Kikes or Washington N*****s
would be to Jews or Blacks.
However, removal of
these symbols should be viewed as only a start.
We have to change the culture of hatred in our society. Our leaders and media must be held
accountable for perpetuating stereotypes and must quit validating extreme
ideologies. We have leaders that
continue to deny racism, fail to condemn such grotesque brutality and attempt
to enact discriminatory legislation and inflame tensions. One Oklahoma legislator’s declaration that he
would not “tolerate something like Islam to come into the U.S.” simply fuels
violence against ALL Muslims or anyone that looks like a Muslim.
Since electing our
first African- American President in 2008, polls show that anti-black attitudes
have grown. I contend that the constant
bashing of our President by Right Wing extremist has added fuel to the fire and
has emboldened the Dylann Roof’s of our country to make sure that “these people
don’t take over our country.”
I will admit that
in my younger days, I have repeated stupid racially and even homophobic
offensive jokes. And if most of us are
honest, then I am sure that I am not alone.
But as I have grown and hopefully become somewhat wiser and more mature,
I have recognized how these despicable remarks are like pouring gasoline on a
slowly smoldering fire and have no place in our society.
Removing the
Confederate Battle flag is a good start, but it is simply symbolic. A massive change in our culture has to be
priority one. It starts with us not
accepting the recent wave of voting restrictions that the right wing
legislatures and crooked politicians such as Governor Scott are trying to
impose to limit those targeted populations of American citizens from
voting. It continues with us, as
citizens, standing up to politicians that are dedicated to gerrymandering the
districting, thus fixing congressional districts. It continues with all of us that believe in
equal rights and that truly believe that All Men Are Created Equal standing up
to the fear mongering, self-righteous bullying carried out under the guise of
“religious values.”
Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. wrote in April, 1963, in his Letter
from Birmingham Jail that “the
greatest obstacle to the advance of racial justice wasn’t the virulence of
white supremacist extremists, but the timidity of white moderates who
recognized the social injustices but remain silent in the face of them.”
Today’s Supreme
Court ruling that reaffirms the rights of gays to marry has caused much furor
among those self-righteous right wing wing-nuts. Their hatred has been spewed throughout the
news, internet and to anybody that will listen.
If you are not gay, exactly how is this going to affect you? Not at all!
Those that are continuing to scream negative sobriquets about this decision, foster a level
of hatred that can’t possibly be good for society. Understand, please, that this landmark decision
means that love has won….not hatred!
The final paragraph
of the decision says it all:
The change in our
culture also has to address the gun problem in our Country. Maybe if our politicians weren’t so damn
worried that the NRA might quit funding their campaigns, we would actually do
something to rid ourselves of the ability for criminals to easily obtain a
gun. But the shooting at Sandy Hook in
2012 or the nearly 100 school shootings since then or the Colorado movie
theatre shooting or even the Charleston shootings don’t seem to have any effect
on these twits. But that’s a subject for
another blog.
And The Journey Continues……………
