WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY...............

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……………