Wednesday, November 19, 2008

This One's For You


You know who you are. Yeah, you. Listen up and listen good. And pass this on to Tom Adkins and whomever else you think agrees with the bizarre notion that racism and hate are a thing of the past in this country. White guilt was not assuaged on November 4th. Unfortunately, just the opposite. The market's down but hate is on an upward spiral, spinning out of control. The feel-good election is being reacted to with the ugliest forms of prejudice and hatred.

An editorial ran in today's Oregonian. It was entitled, "A colorblind society? Not yet." Not by a long shot:

"... a bus full of schoolchildren from a conservative community in eastern Idaho got caught last week chanting "Assassinate Obama" during their ride. These children were too young to understand what they were saying, as the district spokeswoman pointed out. 'They only old enough to soak up whatever they hear.'"

The editorial also stated that, "Law enforcement around the United States is seeing an unprecedented number of threats against a president-elect, as The Associated Press reported this week. Referrals to the FBI and Secret Service are up. Supremacist propaganda is up. Web traffic to white nationalist sites is way up. The Southern Poverty Law Center has documented 200 hate-related incidents triggered by the election, including various cross burnings, and public incitements to hang Obama."

I am not going to belabor the point. Actually, I wanted to move on. Write about something else, like Fabio the rooster who is hell-bent on drawing blood every time I enter the poultry pen. But I can't. Not yet, anyway. Newsweeklies and pundits are drawing comparisons to our president-elect to Lincoln and FDR. A lot of what is coming to the surface feels like the 60's-- both in the best of ways and the worst of ways.

I want to move on. You should, too. I know how corny it sounded when Beatle John first sang it, but it needs to be sung again... and heard. "Give Peace a Chance."

Hate cannot exist in a vacuum.

3 comments:

Davaudian said...

Wow, there's a river in Egypt that comes to mind. Anyway, no group is more hateful than the left wingers.......what they and you did to Sarah is beyond decency and now you'll need to take a few on the chin. Sorry if the glass jaw is so obvious but don't dish it out if you can't take it.

barryshap said...

I beg to differ, on many counts. I'll leave most of it in the post-- which you may have missed. I am not dishing out hate. Far from it. I won't rehash it, but, suffice it to say, there's enough hate to go around.

As for what "they and I" did to Sarah as being "beyond decency"... you've got to be shittin' me. Sarah was thrown under the bus by her own people! To me, the only thing Sarah did wrong was not being bright enough to have seen her nomination for what it was. A scam. A sham. And a cheap shot at trying to tempt the knucklehead PUMA crowd who were sore that Hillary lost. She was never vetted and was never qualified. You could have been a better choice, for chrissake! She called herself a pitbull with lipstick and now you want her to be handled with kid gloves? Get over it. She's now back on the Tundra, raping and pillaging-- using the state's money to bring her kids to New York and her per diem for staying home. You really have to stop getting your news and views from FOX, et. al.

Hate is one thing, my friend, but when you add ignorance, masked by hubris, well... look out!

Davaudian said...

You're still doing it....."Blackened Soul Syndrome". Breathe......he's gone. Breathe.....1/20/09. Breathe....cure to all the worlds ills. Breathe....everyday and in every way we're getting better and better. Breathe.......

P.S. How did you know I hate my vacuum??