Thursday, March 29, 2012

An Irony of Epic Proportions



I almost hesitate to start this post because no matter how carefully I craft it, I know some will only look at the pictures.

I was raised in the deep South and I am very well acquainted with what went on there from the middle fifties, into the sixties, and beyond.  I was old enough to start questioning why some things were the way they were.  I got the standard answers that parents gave their children to explain why whites and blacks were separated in some areas and together in others.  I'm sure that black children asked the same questions.  I would imagine there were also answers given to them by their parents.  I was surprised to learn in later life that my mother also asked the same innocent childlike questions when she was a young girl during the thirties.  Life in the deep South during my youth was not totally segregated and people of all races formed bonds of friendship despite the tacit social barriers.  Just as my mother sought to do something as a teen, and was told to let it go, so were many of us who later had the same thoughts and ideas.  The problems were complex and so would be the solutions.  Change is never easy and it always meets with resistance.

The truth is, there was a great chasm, and no solution was going to please everyone.  In the middle sixties, the old barriers were struck down by the courts and people were forced to face and deal with the problems.  Those on both sides, who were educated and at least marginally successful, managed a more peaceful dialog and genuinely worked to make things work.  Those who couldn't articulate the injustices they felt, or perceived, formed groups of like minded individuals and lashed out at those they saw as causing the problem.  It was a time of great tumult in the South.  However, when I was older and traveled extensively in the North and North East, I found out that their racial problems were as bad if not worse than those we encountered in the South.  It made sense to me then that some of the resistance I witnessed was not racial, but rather resistance to people from outside the South who came down to tell us how to solve the problems we had while ignoring their own.  Segments of people on both sides reinforced negative stereotypes by their behaviors and further complicated the arguments being proffered.

The laws and safeguards that were mandated and followed by those who were law abiding, had an impact and helped to bridge the educational and economic chasm.  However, it is human nature to take a good thing and exploit it to the point that it becomes a bad thing.  The government, (that's us) did just that.  For when things got back on an even keel and even started to lean in the opposite direction we failed to adjust the steerage.  In doing so, we increased the injustice in the opposite direction and instead of helping those in need we created a segment of the population that is totally dependent on government for everything they have.  We were forced by government (our elected representatives) to choose from a mixed bag of choices what category we fit into.  By its very nature, this type of pigeon holing is divisive.  We should never have to mark these boxes again.  We are all citizens of the United States of America.  I wish someone in the legislature would move to have all reference to race, skin color, national origin, language, or any other arbitrary and unnecessary classification removed from all government documents.

The great irony here, as I see it, is that people who were once singled out by their skin color, and in some cases persecuted and prosecuted unjustly, have taken to using the same tactics to further a racially biased agenda.  They above all people should be the keenly sensitive as to how wrong this is.  The New Black Panther Party, Jessie Jackson, Al Sharpton, and others are deriving their livelihoods from stirring up trouble and acting outside the law.  They are no different than any trouble maker the KKK ever had, and they should be dealt with as severely.  It is not about hoodies folks.  It is about letting our legal system work.  The case in Florida involves two individuals and only two individuals.  When the investigation is done and all the available evidence gathered, the case will be presented to a jury and a decision will be rendered.  Until that time, the president of the United States, talking heads from all our media services, neighbors, friends, schoolmates, legislators, sports figures, and law enforcement should refrain from speculating and commenting on what happened.

14 comments:

  1. Being a born and bred Southerner, I don't know what else to add. Your comments are right on target. There should be no trying of individuals in the news media or by politicians. Let the law determine what happened that night.

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  2. Thanks for reading. I hope someone in authority seeks indictments against the New Black Power Party members who are responsible for the bounty on the alleged shooter in this case. Regardless of the circumstances, private citizens can't participate legally in a vigilante actions against other private citizens. It is a felony violation on both the State and Federal level. I don't think ignoring these thugs is an answer to anything. They have already gotten a "get out of jail free" card from Attorney General Eric Holder for their actions in harassing and assaulting voters.

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  3. Excellent piece of writing,
    I appreciate it very much.

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  4. Thanks for coming by Joy. I'm glad you liked the post.

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  5. Thanks Sparky. Hope all is well in your little corner of the swamp.

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  6. As usual, Cuz, you nailed it! Becky

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  7. DAY-UM, Pappy! That's FANTASTIC!
    «Louis» grew up in Texas and has many of the same memories you wrote of.
    You are so right, the pendulum has swung the other way.
    «Louis» also appreciates the fact that you don't put the word "Reverend" in the same sentence that contains the names "Sharpton" or "Jackson." There is nothing reverend about either of those race baiters!

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  8. I agree Louis. Jackson and Sharpton are dependent on stirring up those who have never developed the ability to think for themselves in order to insure their (Jackson, Sharpton, et. al.) continued financial success. Apparently there are quite a few who have managed, through amassing great wealth in sports achievement, to gain an audience without having anything of significance to say.

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  9. It takes so long for that pendulum to stop swinging. I continue to be discouraged by a corrupt media. (There are worse things I could call them, but we'll keep your blog family friendly.) Why do they continue to try cases in the court of public opinion? The public is not privy to all the information and the media does not report all the information so it is a lose-lose situation no matter how one looks at it. Keep telling it like it is. You're one of the few who dares.

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  10. Being from the northeast corner of the United States, I appreciate your commentary on this issue. You are right, there is prejudice everywhere, and then there are those who like to stir up a bit where there wasn't any to start with. Thank you for a fresh take on the issue.

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  11. Pappy is Carey doing ok? I checked his blog
    and it is gone.

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  12. Hi Martha None of us are spared the failings of the human condition. Thanks for coming by. Pappy

    Joy, Carey is fine. He is no longer blogging. Pappy

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