Monday, August 14, 2017

Hate on Both Sides?

This weekend the President characterized the Charlottesville violence as a result of "hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides... on many sides."  He curiously felt the need to repeat "on many sides." This rationalization was parroted in social media by his followers.  This, as with most things the President says, is not entirely truthful nor accurate.

The untruth and inaccuracy was this: the "egregious display" of bigotry came from one side only.

 Granted, there certainly was hatred from both sides, but the bases of this hatred must be clarified.  One side hates people of darker skin color.  The other sides hates bigotry, racism, jingoism, etc.  I happily join the latter group.  It may be ironic, even ludicrous, to be intolerant of intolerance, but these are ludicrous times with ludicrous events unfolding.

What was basically a klan rally was very euphemistically titled, "Unite the Right."  Of course, "right" is intended to also mean right vs. wrong, not just right vs. left.  For those who claim this event was only an expression of freedom of speech to protest the removal a Confederate hero's statue, you are either lying to everyone, you are lying to yourself, or your worldview is severely astigmatic.

I tend to believe all of the above are true.  They were not there to peacefully protest, because they had pepper spray, clubs, shields, helmets, and semi-automatic weapons.  Civil rights protesters of the 50's and 60's marched peacefully and were unarmed, but then targeted with fire hoses and attack dogs.  The alt-right, neo-nazi protesters were in Charlottesville to intimidate and incite violence in pursuit of their political objectives; hence, to commit terrorism.

While the freedom of speech guaranteed us in the 1st Amendment isn't absolute, it does offer wide latitude, and I'm fine with that.  It's not unconstitutional to have or verbalize stupid, racist views.   Nor is it unconstitutional - should you choose to have or express racist, bigoted views - for me to believe that you are an infected, festering, puss-filled, bloody cyst on America's rear end that should be lanced and disinfected immediately.

No one admits to being a racist - even David Duke denies it.  And no one I saw on social media this weekend admitted this was a klan rally, despite the numerous swastikas and neo-nazi emblems being held, worn, or presented by attendees.  Nor would they ever admit to committing terrorism.

I must admit here and now, though, that I am prejudiced, intolerant, and hate-filled.  I am.

I'm prejudiced against anyone who believes they are  a superior person strictly because they get sunburned faster than others.

I'm intolerant of anyone that claims to be a patriotic, "real" American but averaged a C- or worse in American History and Government in school.

And I hate knuckle-dragging, swastika-wearing, inbred neanderthals, with the intellectual capacity and IQ of slime mold, and a worldview smaller than a pinhole, who have the nerve to think they love America more than I do.

Does that make me a bigot?

For all Trump supporters who agree with his immigration policies, please don't bother trying to rationalize your views.  "I don't hate those people," they say, "its about economics."  Those of us who disagree with you know better.

If you're a part of that group, ask yourself this: suppose that all the refugees and immigrants, legal and illegal, in the U.S. came from Canada, Iceland, and Scandinavia -- would you still focus on illegal immigration as an issue as much as you do now?  Would you still hate immigrants like you do?  If it were 12 million light-skinned Canadians harvesting our crops, would you feel the same about immigration?

American history is filled with racist acts and racist Presidents, but no President in modern history was so blatantly racist.  What makes his racism so obvious is that he is, at the drop of a hat, prone to immediately denouncing any person or group he doesn't like, launching now famous tirades on Twitter.  Attacks by non-whites on whites particularly draw his immediate, tweeted attention.  But a neo-nazi speeds a car through a crowd, killing one and severely injuring dozens more who openly disagree, and nothing from him for days.

Only this morning, after 3 days of pushing from his staff and criticism from both sides of the aisle, did he finally rebuke the white nationalists.  Only after.  And frankly, the insincerity was more than apparent.

Similarly, during the campaign when then candidate Trump received the endorsement of David Duke, for days he was asked if was doing to denounce it, which he didn't immediately do.  After several days, he finally did, but in passing.  "Alright, you want me to denounce it, I denounce it."

That was it.

He, like all bigots, can't admit it to himself or anyone else.  History will remember this President as the ignorant, bigoted racist he is, and his followers as the bigoted racists they are.  They are ignorant not only of the reality that all humans are created equal, but also of their own hatred and ignorance.

The fish isn't aware of the water until it's out of it.   The ecosystem this species of fish thrived in for a thousand years is disappearing, and they are unable to adapt to the changing environment.   As the water level drops, they flounder and writhe on the drying mud.  Eventually they will suffocate, so just let them.