I posted the following on Threads and want to share it here as well. Nearly 60 years ago I fervently hoped to see love conquer hate. It fueled my activity in the antiwar and antiracist movement during the 60s and 70s. I am deeply disappointed to see the U.S. going backwards, yet I take some solace in the phrase “The darkest hour is just before the dawn.” Here’s what I wrote:
I was prepared, and preparing, for a revolution as far back as the late 60s. I was a young man, full of piss, vinegar, and righteous indignation over a war of aggression by my country; a war that had already claimed the life of my best friend. Through my antiwar activities I had become aware of many of the realities of the U.S. that had been hidden from me, especially rampant racism and sexism.
I’m aware many of my fellow citizens have a hard time realizing just how bad things have been in this country. Consider this, and I believe this is pretty much common knowledge: most of the land that comprises the U.S. was already inhabited when the Pilgrims arrived here. Much of the infrastructure of our country was built by slaves or indentured servants, virtually all of whom were kept in appalling living conditions. The fucking White House was built with slave labor. Meanwhile, white people were building generational wealth while systematically preventing POC from doing the same.
Ever hear of Angel Island, where we kept Chinese immigrants from 1910 to 1940? I’m sure you’ve heard of the Japanese detention camps used during WWII. My in-laws were detained at the one in Colorado (Amache) for two years. Many of my wife’s relatives lost everything during those years. The number of horrendous things done by white people to POC is disgusting and worthy of retribution, certainly of derision and disgust. So, why am I bringing all of this up?
Well, As I said, I was prepared decades ago for a revolution in this country. We have been in a class war as long as we’ve existed. However, I came to realize as a straight, white man it wasn’t up to me to decide when and how such an event should be prosecuted. I am somewhat privileged and don’t believe I have the moral authority to ask for the kinds of sacrifice such an endeavor would require.
I am, however, ready to support an effort to free the working class from their servitude to the upper class. I believe capitalism has served whatever purpose it once had (moving us away from feudalism and slavery) and needs to be replaced by, at the very least, a form of democratic socialism. I don’t believe billionaires should be allowed to exist. Having that much money is immoral and should be illegal, IMO. All to say, I’m down with any attempt to upgrade this nation, by any means necessary. I prefer it to be peaceful, but people with far too much money are making that impossible.
Things most likely have to get a lot worse; some of the wealth has trickled down to us and too many of us are either comfortable or convinced wealth and privilege are just around the corner. I don’t believe we can continue along the path we’re following, and it’s not just maga or trump. Capitalism rewards greed and avarice. Money is god! Socialism, OTOH, at least attempts to put people first. That’s what I’d like to see. Who’s on board?
I encountered this photo on Twitter today. Call me crazy, but I think Tucker Carlson is the most powerful proof available that, when it comes to issues of meritocracy and fairness in employment, it only matters to a lot of white people when people of color are hired or appointed to positions of respect and value.
Look at how the entire leadership of the Republican Party—at least in the Senate which, ostensibly, is the more deliberative and balanced chamber in Congress—treated Ketanji Brown Jackson during her confirmation hearings for an appointment to the Supreme Court.
Despite her being the most qualified person EVER in the history of the Court, with the notable exception of three Republican Senators, the entire Republican Senate voted against her being confirmed.
Then we have Tuckums (my favorite name for him, thank you Joy Ann Reid) whose full, working class name is Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson. Tuckums would appear to only be qualified for his position at Fox News due to his bright, shiny whiteness. He’s done absolutely nothing other than bleat out the knuckle-dragging hatefulness that characterizes today’s so-called conservatives.
Comrade Tuckums
True to form for a group that has perfected the art of gaslighting and projection, it’s Comrade Tuckums who is the beneficiary of affirmative action; the same kind of affirmative action white folk have been complaining about for decades, all the while benefiting from its unfair application to them and theirs. I’m hopeful someday he will be seen for the fraud he is.
I’m not normally fond of using WordPress’s “Press This” function, because it only pulls a few words into my blog from the original post. It’s good because it means anyone wishing to read the article can see it in its entirety as originally published, but it also means I might have to copy some words over to make the post a little more intelligible and to provide some needed context.
Nevertheless, this article is one I consider extremely important . . . for white people to read. As I commented when posting it to Twitter and Facebook: “We may not have invented racism, but we sure as hell have benefited from it these last 3 or 4 centuries. It’s up to us to end it. That’s the real “White Man’s Burden!”
Check this article out. You might want to read more at The Root as well.
After a grueling 28 days of watching corporations, institutions and random white people pretend to care about the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman and that other Black guy with the big part in his afro (I think it’s Booker T. Douglass), we now return to our regularly scheduled program.
I still believe we are misusing the words “racism” and “racist.”
Racism is institutional, systemic, and structural. It’s insidious and buried deep in every aspect of our society and economy. Bigotry is right out in the open.
And this isn’t whitesplaining on my part. This is what I was taught by members of the Black Panther Party and the Brown Berets in 1973. I was, along with 49 of my closest friends, required to go through about 20 hours of cultural and racial sensitivity training before being allowed to travel to Cuba with the sixth contingent of the Venceremos Brigade.
I keep bringing this up because the public now conflates racism with bigotry and, by doing so, gives people an excuse for not looking closer at how they’ve unknowingly embraced or benefited from racism, by merely pointing out their lack of anger or visible anger/hatred toward people of color. “I don’t see color,” or “I have black friends/relatives.” All that means, at the most, is you’re not a bigot. It doesn’t change the centuries of economic and social injustice deeply baked into every aspect of our society.
We need to understand the differences if we’re going to erase racism and its insidious effects.
One other thing I learned from that education, and that has been reinforced in the intervening years, is that white people need to shut the fuck up and listen to people of color when it comes to understanding their lived reality. Because of racism, you don’t know squat about their experiences. Try it. You might be surprised.
I want . . . no, I need to share this thread. Although I have been an atheist for most of my adult life, I was born a Jew and am bar mitzvah. I feel it is incumbent upon me to stand not only with my fellow Jews, but also with all those who suffer oppression, prejudice, and hatred. I am not a public figure, so I have not been attacked like David, but if this keeps up (and, especially, if Trump is re-elected) we can expect things to get worse, perhaps a lot worse. Don’t think it can’t happen because this is America. As David points out, America is responsible for the slaughter of our native peoples and the enslavement of Africans for centuries. Our hands are hardly clean. We need to be prepared for the worse, all while working to bring about a better world for all.
Thread by @djrothkopf: “Just got this via text: “You are a retarded kike. You dont want to win 2020. You enjoy complaining about Trump.” It w by this and other anti-semitic art. This is Trumpism. The instances of this & worse happening in my life […]”
It is clear to me that racism in America will not go away if white people do not stand up and denounce it as the destructive force it is. In order to do so respectfully and honestly, white people need to listen to the voices of people of color. Only by listening to their authentic voices; to their stories and their life experiences, can we even begin to understand how racism affects their lives and why it needs to stop if we’re to progress as a race . . . a human race, that is. Here’s an interesting story that was shared with me on Facebook. Though I would share it here as well.
First Massive African American Protest in American History (July 28, 1917) were children in New York City participating in the Silent Protest Parade against the East St. Louis Riots. Between 8,000 and 10,000 African-Americans marched against lynching and anti-black violence in a protest. The march was precipitated by the East St. Louis Riot of May and July of that year, which was an outbreak of labor and race-related violence that caused up to 200 deaths and extensive property damage. The Parade was organized by famous civil rights activist and first African-American to earn a doctorate (from Harvard University) W. E. B. Du Bois and the NAACP. The protesters hoped to influence President Woodrow Wilson to carry through on his election promises to African-American voters to implement anti-lynching legislation and to promote black cases; to the great horror of civil rights activists across the country, Wilson repudiated his promises, and federal discrimination actually increased during his presidency. It was the first parade of its kind in New York and the second public civil rights demonstration of African-Americans.
The paraders assembled at Fifty-ninth Street and Fifth Avenue and marched thirty-six blocks downtown to Madison Square Park. They were led by about 800 children, some no older than six, dressed entirely in white. Following the children were white-clad women, then rows of men dressed in black. The marchers walked wordlessly to the sound of muffled drumbeats. Despite their silence, their concerns were articulated on neatly stenciled banners and signs.
The banners and signs read: “MOTHER, DO LYNCHERS GO TO HEAVEN?; “GIVE ME A CHANCE TO LIVE”; “TREAT US SO THAT WE MAY LOVE OUR COUNTRY”; “MR. PRESIDENT, WHY NOT MAKE AMERICA SAFE FOR DEMOCRACY?; AND “YOUR HANDS ARE FULL OF BLOOD.”
Is there really anything happening on our southern border that’s surprising? If so, where have you been?
I want no prisoners. I wish you to kill and burn; the more you kill and burn, the better it will please me… The interior of Samar must be made a howling wilderness… — Gen. Jacob H. Smith
Slavery
Jim Crow
Wounded Knee
Trail of Tears
Chinese Exclusion Act
The Philippines
Manzanar, et al
Overthrow of Salvador Allende
My Lai
Abu Ghraib
(And dozens more . . .)
The United States is not a benign government and it is responsible for an awful lot of pain, suffering, and death. Especially for people of color. Don’t ever forget it.
The following is making its way through Facebook right now, and I want to share it here. These are not my words, but they track pretty closely to how I feel and what I’d like to see happen with respect to all the children being herded into what this Jew believes are accurately called concentration camps. They’re not death camps . . . yet. Actually, several children have died and, if we don’t somehow put a stop to this, it will only escalate. Here’s what is on FB:
Sharing (I am not the author)…
Here is what I want:
I want all 24 Democratic candidates for President to convene a joint press conference outside the worst of the facilities where toddlers are being held in their own filth with no blankets, no beds, no soap, no showers. I want all the candidates, with no exceptions, to demand the doors be opened. I want them to demand a tour.
I would like the candidates to show up with people from the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders and UNICEF. I want the candidates to personally render aid to the children — on camera. At the very least, I want it on camera when officials refuse entry to a federal facility by senators, congress people, governors and the national press. I want to see the guards showing their guns to block them.
I want this planned carefully. I want it publicized before, during and after. I want Fox News shamed into being there, then I want Fox News shamed into showing it. I want the candidates to agree to stand together, unified, and be prepared to stay for hours. I want them to only grant interviews in teams and I want them to keep on topic. I want no self promoting words from anyone. I want them to allow their actions to speak.
I want the DNC to set up everything necessary for a rally — refreshments, stands, shelter — and make sure this event is open to the public and well publicized beforehand. I want to see everyone unified in naming this part of the USA’s new Concentration Camp system. No equivocating. I don’t want any more lip service to outrage — I want us to SEE the outrage in such a way that anyone who is turning a blind eye to the outrage can no longer deny its existence.
The logistics for this would be hard, but you cannot convince me it cannot be done, if there really is a will to save these children, there is a way.
Would that be blatantly using children for political props? Maybe, but it would definitely be an attempt to rescue children who are already being used as political props.
I want someone to do something for those babies. Now.
A friend of mine on Facebook shared the following quote by Bertrand Russell, which was sent to Sir Oswald Mosely in response to a request by Mosely to debate the merits of fascism.
There is no doubt in my mind the Trump administration, and the bulk of the Republican Party that’s currently enabling him, are fascists. They have every intent of restricting our freedoms and keeping us in relative poverty and misery, all so a few may get wealthy at our expense. We must not allow this to happen. We must not give away those precious rights and freedoms we’ve won, and that so many have suffered to gain.
The original anti-fascist movement prepares to disrupt a large Nazi gathering
Dear Sir Oswald,
Thank you for your letter and for your enclosures. I have given some thought to our recent correspondence. It is always difficult to decide on how to respond to people whose ethos is so alien and, in fact, repellent to one’s own. It is not that I take exception to the general points made by you but that every ounce of my energy has been devoted to an active opposition to cruel bigotry, compulsive violence, and the sadistic persecution which has characterised the philosophy and practice of fascism.
I feel obliged to say that the emotional universes we inhabit are so distinct, and in deepest ways opposed, that nothing fruitful or sincere could ever emerge from association between us.
I should like you to understand the intensity of this conviction on my part. It is not out of any attempt to be rude that I say this but because of all that I value in human experience and human achievement.
Pro tip — You don’t have to know you’re making a racial slur for it to be offensive. If you didn’t intend it to be offensive, it just means you’re a fool, but not necessarily a bigot. Also, negligent is often worse than intentional.
The following is making its way through Facebook right now, and I want to share it here. These are not my words, but they track pretty closely to how I feel and what I’d like to see happen with respect to all the children being herded into what this Jew believes are accurately called concentration camps. They’re not death camps . . . yet. Actually, several children have died and, if we don’t somehow put a stop to this, it will only escalate. Here’s what is on FB:
Systems Savvy 