As one of those old, kinda worn out beatnics, I think I should get off my duff and campaign for my personal issues. I thought they were all solved, and that I could go on with the party, unconcerned -- Long live the bliss of ignorance.
I thought we drove a stake into the very heart of racism in 1964, added to the funeral pyre for a two score and four years, and then elected a man of color to the WHITE House. It sort of looked that way to me, and I was cheered by the thought.
Well, I was WRONG. Instead of demonstrating that the USA had buried its racist past, the election of Barack Obama has squeezed the slime out of the cracks where it was hiding. I would hope that bringing the roaches out into the light would allow them to be stamped out. Maybe that is what’s happening, but I fear not.
There is a lot of speculation about, and denial of, racism in the political discourse of the day. And I will be the first to say it is speculation. Only the Racist knows what is in his heart. Some of the people I talk to have gotten defensive too. They preface comments with “I am not a racist, but . . . “ I am not willing to put a label on them, but they do have a real problem, and it is distorting the debates. It should be stopped. It becomes a case of “should be could be” turning into “shoulda been coulda been.” The final outcome is corrupted. Corrupting the debate with this kind of nonsense destroys the value of the end result. If you want to defeat Health Care Reform, or Voters Rights, or any other function of government bring reasoned argument to the table, not character assassination and distortions.
The latest is a Publicity Stunt, staged by biggovernment.com to launch their rabble rousing operation. It is a publicity stunt, and it is working. It also has the consequence of damaging, perhaps beyond repair, a community action group that has been serving the poor and working people of this country since 6 years after the passage of Lyndon Johnson’s civil rights initiative. Now, let’s see if biggovernment.com can use the interest gained by their trickery to get some action on ending the oppression that created the need for ACORN in the first place.
That’s right, if they are going to tear down an institution for their own gain, they should replace it with something that will do the work that institution was created to do. Swift Boating has become the order of the day for the tyrants who would deny basic human rights and the benefits of this great nation to others.
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Comments: 10
It, just like working in an old greasy spoon cafe of long ago, has built up its slime on the walls of our country with every fried hamburger, deep fried fish and southern fried chicken dinner. The filth of it never had been washed clean but only a wiping over the surface allowing the slime to hide under a layer of grease.
Everyday I see another nail pulled from the coffin of racism and slung out into the air letting even some who assumed it was buried know it is alive and kicking. Yes, my friend,
your fears are real. Racism is in the mixing bowl of public discourse and has reached a level as powerful as the Jim Crow years even affecting those who were not even alive in that dark time. There is no other explanation for some to compare our president to Hitler, to paint a black face on his image, to call him a witch doctor or any of the other myriad putrid names they can create. Since the day after his inauguration some groups found fault in anything he said or did. Ignoring that the conditions the economy was in was there when he took office. It has been a bevy of personal attacks and almost anything they could create in their minds to find fault in they did. I have lived through all sorts of hateful and disdainful situations but never anything close to the environment we have today. Normally sweet elderly Christian ladies have stepped up to call him the Antichrist. Hotheads of all sorts have allowed themselves to finally state that he is not qualified to lead the country. Others who normally had no public comment have been emboldened enough to pour more racist slime on him.
All decorum has been tossed out and even some of the elected officials have chimed in with their leadership spurring others on. I look at the republican party now as a sickness spreading lies and misinformation as if it were a hail storm reeking havoc and destruction in its path. Where are the so called decent people who preface many of their comments with "I am not racist, but" ? Where are the real Christian leaders? Where are the decent people who say this is such a wonderful country? No body is out there telling them this is all wrong. This is not the Christian way. Yes Karl, your fears are real and you can forget about them replacing an organization with one who will help those who need help. Once the mob rule crowd passes through they will leave nothing but the same old slime which has oozed from the cracks after saying, we are not racist, but".
You just made my day. You are seeing the advances AND the set backs. That metaphor of nails being pulled from the coffin hit a nerve. I was looking at this from the viewpoint that the bigots were involving only themselves, but from what you say I gather that the indoctrination in hatred is a big piece of what is passing for political debate.
Support Free Speech, and access to the opportunity to speak. The exchange of ideas is about the only tool available for turning a bright light on the rot of racism.
and it will still be here after our bones turn to dust
education, and kids who think for themselves
that's the solution
that's the solution."
Yeah, like those tens of thousands of parents who kept their kids home so Obama couldn't "Brainwash" them. :>(
Thanks. you get it. I agree, the election of Mr. Barack Hussain Obama is evidence that this great nation is generally open minded and willing to look past stereotypes to judge people on their character, not their color. And you get it, the bigots are still with us, despite decades of efforts to end the negative indoctrination. Thanks for the thoughtful comments.
"The ACORN Institute, a 501(c)(3) organization, is not involved in direct legislative lobbying and all contributions and donations made to the ACORN Institute are tax-deductible."
Given this legal standing they, like churches , are not allowed to be partisan in their official activities. This claim is patently false with ACORN. Why do they deserve and maintain this status?
2) The embezzlement of $1M from ACORN by one of the founders (who currently head SEIU) was not pursued by them. Why?
3) ACORN disallowed the board from viewing the financial records as part of their internal investigation of the organization. Why?
4) Why do they have literally dozens of legal entities through which they conduct business (whatever it is) and transfer around funds . If single-payer health care is good for all of America then why can't ACORN operate under a single legal entity?
5) They have received over $50M in taxpayer funds. Where and for what has this money been used?