RACISM AND BIGOTRY LIVES : AMERICA STILL DIVIDED

I'M SICK OF IT, SICK OF HEARING THE DENIALS, SICK OF HEARING, "OH, IT'S NOT ABOUT RACE ANYMORE, NOT IN AMERICA! WE HAVE A BLACK PRESIDENT!"
REALLY?
IF IT'S NOT ABOUT RACE, WHY QUALIFY THE PRESIDENT WITH THE WORD "BLACK"?
IF IT'S NOT ABOUT RACE, WHY CALL HIM BLACK WHEN HIS MOTHER WAS WHITER THAN THE DRIVEN SNOW?
WHEN YOU SEE SOMEONE, WHAT'S THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE?
"COLOR"?
IT'S THAT PERSON'S RACE, ISN'T IT?
THEN MAYBE WHETHER THEY ARE MALE OR FEMALE, RIGHT?

THAT ESTABLISHED, HERE IS HOW I DETERMINED THAT AMERICA IS ONE OF THE MOST RACIST AND BIGOTED NATIONS ON THE PLANET.
THESE ARE THINGS I HEAR EVERY DAY, THINGS YOU HEAR EVERY DAY, THINGS WE SEE IN PRINT, ON TV, IN WHATEVER CIRCLE WE MOVE IN ~ ELITIST, LOW-INCOME, PROTESTANT, CATHOLIC, BLACK, WHITE, RED, YELLOW, OR PURPLE WITH ORANGE POLKA DOTS...
WE MAY CHOOSE TO IGNORE, DENY, OR EXCUSE SUCH THINGS, BUT THEY ARE ALL AROUND US AND WE ALL KNOW THAT WE ARE A NATION FOREVER DIVIDED, SOMEWHERE WITHIN OUR MINDS WE DO KNOW THAT.

FIRST, THE HEADLINES
June 13, 2013
The Tragic Fall of the White Race in America
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2013/06/lets_not_mince_words_its.php
<<It starts with the news that among the people 5 years old and younger in America whites are now a minority. It’s worth noting that that’s a pretty small part of the population. And all it really means is that white people are no longer a bigger slice of the population than everyone else combined. But it does put the trajectory of American demographics and life in sharp relief. If you figure that it was a big, big deal that the percentage of the white vote was 72% in 2012 and had fallen from 88% in 1980, you can see that the fact that in 20 years that percentage, among young voters, will be 50/50, it’s actually a very big deal.
Then there was this story of Rep. Steve King (R-IA), well-known crazy person and tireless driver of TPM audience numbers, going on Twitter to complain that because of President Obama’s climate of lawlessness a group of “illegal aliens have just invaded my DC office.” TPM’s Perry Stein caught up with the horde of illegals/aka ‘Dreamers’ to get their side of the story here.
And then just after noon, we heard about the story of 11-year-old Sebastien De La Cruz, who sang the national anthem at Tuesday nights NBA Finals game and then got deluged by racist tweets telling him to go back to Mexico and that he’d probably just snuck into the country hours before and other good stuff. De La Cruz was born in San Antonio. >>

March 13, 2013
RACISM HAS INCREASED IN AMERICA
A HARVARD STUDY
http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/bobo/files/2012_real_record_on_racial_attitudes_social_trends_in_american_life_0.pdf

February 6, 2013
The Persistence of Racial Resentment
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/06/the-persistence-of-racial-resentment/?smid=fb-share&_r=0
In the 16 presidential elections between 1952 and 2012, only one Democratic candidate, Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, won a majority of the white vote.
There have been nine Democratic presidential nominees who received a smaller percentage of the white vote than Obama did in 2008 (when he got 43% of white votes) and four who received less white support than Obama did in 2012 (when he got 39% of white votes). Jimmy Carter got 33% of white votes,
In 2008, Josh Pasek and his collaborators from Universities of Michigan, Chicago, and Stanford noted that the proportion of people expressing anti-Black attitudes was 31 percent among Democrats, 49 percent among independents, and 71 percent among Republicans. By 2012, the numbers had gone up. “The proportion of people expressing anti-Black attitudes,” they write, “was 32 percent among Democrats, 48 percent among independents, and 79 percent among Republicans.”
How can the percentage of people holding anti-black attitudes have increased from 2006 to 2008 at a time when Obama performed better among white voters than the two previous white Democratic nominees, and then again from 2008 to 2012 when Obama won a second term?

12/10/12
Hate Crimes Accounting
http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2012/december/annual-hate-crimes-report-released/annual-hate-crimes-report-released
In 2011, U.S. law enforcement agencies reported 6,222 hate crime incidents involving 7,254 offenses, according to our just-released Hate Crime Statistics, 2011 report.
Of the 6,222 reported hate crimes, 6,216 were single-bias incidents—46.9 percent were racially motivated, 20.8 percent resulted from sexual orientation bias, 19.8 percent were motivated by religious bias, 11.6 stemmed from ethnicity/national origin bias, and 0.9 percent were prompted by disability bias.

October 28, 2012
http://www.pressherald.com/news/nationworld/in-focus-racism-in-america_2012-10-28.html?pagenum=full
Racism in America: Poll finds rise in prejudice since 2008
A majority of Americans now express anti-black attitudes.
Racial attitudes have not improved in the four years since the United States elected its first black president, an Associated Press poll finds, as a slight majority of Americans now express prejudice toward blacks whether they recognize those feelings or not.
Fifty-one percent of Americans now express explicit anti-black attitudes, compared with 48 percent in a similar 2008 survey. When measured by an implicit racial attitudes test, the number of Americans with anti-black sentiments jumped to 56 percent, up from 49 percent during the last presidential election. In both tests, the share of Americans expressing pro-black attitudes fell.

Apr 7, 2012
NEWSWEEK POLL
http://caffertyfile.blogs.cnn.com/2012/04/09/how-racially-divided-is-the-united-sates-today/?iref=allsearch
Majorities of both whites (72%) and blacks (89%) believe the country is divided by race, the poll finds. But twice as many blacks (40%) as whites (20%) say it is very divided.

I COULD GO ON FOR MONTHS, YEARS, BUT LET'S GET PERSONAL.
LET'S LOOK AT THINGS WE ALL HEAR, OR PERHAPS SAY OURSELVES ON A DAILY BASIS.
BECAUSE I HAVE LONG LIVED AND WAS BORN IN THE 'DEEP SOUTH', I'VE SEEN THE WORST RACISM DIRECTED AT BLACKS HERE, SO THAT WILL, I TRUST, EXPLAIN MY CHOICE OF EXAMPLES BELOW USUALLY BEGINNING WITH THE WORD "BLACK".
INSERT ANY "COLOR" YOU CHOOSE...

HOW OFTEN HAVE YOU HEARD OR READ...
~"I DON'T MIND BLACKS (OR ???) HAVING EQUALITY, BUT I DON'T WANT MY KID TO MARRY ONE."

~"THINGS WEREN'T SO BAD UNTIL BLACKS (ASIANS, AMERICAN INDIANS, INSERT YOUR CHOICE) GOT UPPITY. WE SHOULD HAVE NEVER ALLOWED THEM TO VOTE/COME TO THIS COUNTRY/STAY HERE."

~"BLACKS (OR ???) THINK THEY CAN PLAY THAT RACE CARD AND GET AWAY WITH MURDER."

~"BLACK (OR ???) WELFARE QUEENS MAKE ME SICK! THEY KEEP HAVING BABIES TO FEED OFF THE SYSTEM."

~" ILLEGAL MEXICANS ARE SUCKING THE LIFE'S BLOOD OUT OF THIS COUNTRY AND MULTIPLYING LIKE RABBITS!"

~" DAMNED INDIANS ("AMERICAN" ONES) THINK WE OUGHT TO GIVE BACK THE WHOLE COUNTRY! WHY DON'T THEY JUST GET OVER IT? THEY'RE A CONQUERED RACE SO LET 'EM ACT LIKE IT."

~"RAGHEADS (ANYONE OF ARABIC/MIDDLE EASTERN DESCENT) ARE BUYING UP AMERICA! BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, THEY'LL OWN THIS PLACE!"

~"CHINESE (OR OTHER ASIANS) PEOPLE ARE SO ARROGANT! THEY THINK THEY'RE SMARTER THAN US. I CAN'T STAND TO SEE "MADE IN CHINA" (OR JAPAN, OR???) ON A LABEL. WE SHOULD HAVE NUKED THAT WHOLE BUNCH WHEN WE HAD A CHANCE!"

~"JEWS RUN THE BANKS, AND IF WE AREN'T CAREFUL THEY'LL RUN WASHINGTON AND WALL STREET, TOO! LOOK AT ALL THE JEWS IN POLITICS! HITLER WAS RIGHT ABOUT THAT BUNCH!"

~"THIS COUNTRY WAS FINE UNTIL WE LET THOSE (INSERT ANY RACE BUT WHITE) IN! WE SHOULD CLOSE OUR BORDERS AND SEND EVERYBODY HOME THAT WE LET IN OVER THE PAST 100 YEARS!"

~"BLACKS (OR???) JUST LIVE DIFFERENTLY, THEY DON'T HAVE THE SAME MORALS WE DO. THEY ACT LIKE ANIMALS!"

~"MEXICANS (OR ???) COME HERE AS ILLEGALS, THEN HAVE THEMSELVES AN 'ANCHOR BABY' AND WE GET STUCK PAYING FOR THAT!"

~"WHITES HATE EVERYBODY EXCEPT OTHER WHITES. IT'S A SNOW-WHITE NATION."

~"(INSERT ANY RACE) CAN'T EVEN SPEAK ENGLISH! THEY WANT TO HOLD ON TO THEIR OLD WAYS. LET 'EM AMERICANIZE OR GET OUT!"

~"INDIAN TRIBES/AFRICANS (SLAVES) WERE HEATHEN SAVAGES. THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN EXTERMINATED TO THE LAST ONE! THEN WE WOULDN'T H AVE THESE PROBLEMS IN AMERICA!"

IS EVERY RACE GUILTY OF RACISM?
YES.
SOME CALL IT "RACIAL OR ETHNIC PRIDE".

OUR MEDIA INCITES US TO RIOT AGAINST ONE ANOTHER EVERY DAY.
THE HEADLINES SAY IT ALL...THE "QUALIFIERS"... LIKE "BLACK CROWD RIOTS IN MIAMI", "MUSLIM MOB BURNS AMERICAN FLAG", "WHITE SUPREMACISTS PICKET TRIAL", "ASIAN GANG ATTACKS STORE OWNER", "AFRICAN-AMERICAN WINS TEACHER OF THE YEAR", "MEXICAN MIGRANTS CLAIM RACIAL PROFILING"...
COME ON, SURELY YOU'VE NOTICED THAT!
WE HARDLY EVER READ ABOUT CRIME WITHOUT ALSO BEING HANDED THE RACE OF THE CRIMINAL.
WE ALMOST NEVER READ ABOUT VIOLENCE OF ANY TYPE WITHOUT A RACE LABEL.
WE SELDOM READ SO MUCH AS A 'GOSSIP COLUMN' WITHOUT ONE OR MORE INDIVIDUALS BEING 'PROPERLY IDENTIFIED' BY RACE OR ETHNICITY OR 'SEXUAL PREFERENCE'.
OUR MEDIA INSISTS ON LABELING EVERYONE AS SOMETHING TO 'DISTINGUISH' ALL THE 'THOSE' FROM ALL THE 'US'.

WHEN OUR LYING POLITICIANS RUN FOR OFFICE, EVEN THEN WE READ THINGS LIKE...
"REPUBLICANS TRY TO RECONNECT TO BLACK AMERICA", OR "CANDIDATE WOOS LATINOS", OR "DEMOCRATS COURT SENIOR CITIZENS"...
YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN, YOU SEE IT.
THERE IS ALWAYS A "DIVIDER", ALWAYS A TAG, ALWAYS SOMETHING THAT CREATES SOME SENSE OF "THOSE GUYS ARE NOT THE SAME AS THE REST OF US", AND I DON'T CARE WHICH GROUP IS DOING THE DIVIDING BECAUSE EVERY GROUP, EVERY SINGLE ONE DOES IT...WHITE, BLACK, LATINO, ASIAN, ALL OF US HAVE THAT "US VERSUS THEM" MENTALITY AND OUR MEDIA AND OUR GOVERNMENT USE THAT TO THE ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM TO KEEP US ALL PITTED AGAINST ONE ANOTHER.

AS LONG AS THERE IS DIVISION, THOSE WHO DIVIDE CAN CONQUER...ALL OF US.
AND ON BIGOTRY...
BIGOTRY IS DEFINED AS "EXTREME INTOLERANCE OF ANY CREED, BELIEF, OR OPINION THAT DIFFERS FROM ONE'S OWN."
SHOULD WE UNDERLINE 'EXTREME'?
HOW OFTEN DO ANY OF US GET ANGRY WHEN OTHERS 'RUB US THE WRONG WAY' WITH THEIR DIFFERENCES OF OPINION, THEIR CHOICE OF ANYTHING...POLITICAL AFFILIATION, RELIGION, THE STRESS OF ONE GENERATION DEALING WITH ANOTHER WHICH THEY JUST CAN'T UNDERSTAND, EVEN THE FOODS OR DRINKS WE PREFER, SO MANY THINGS IGNITE 'VOLATILE SITUATIONS' WHEREIN ONE OR BOTH PEOPLE, OR MANY PEOPLE AT THE SAME TIME, BECOME INCENSED TO THE POINT OF VIOLENCE, OR ALMOST RESORT TO VIOLENCE.

AMERICA HAD A CIVIL WAR BASED ON SUCH DIFFERENCES.
AMERICA IS STILL HAVING A CIVIL WAR.
TODAY, WE MIGHT CALL IT THE "BATTLE OF THE HAVES VERSUS THE HAVE-NOTS", OR "ECONOMICALLY STABLE VERSUS ECONOMICALLY CHALLENGED" (SEE HOW LUDICROUS THAT SOUNDS?), OR "THE 99% VERSUS THE 1%".
"IT IS ABOUT THE ECONOMY, STUPID!" APPLIES TO WHAT WE SEE SERIOUSLY DIVIDING AMERICA TODAY, BUT RELIGIOUS BELIEFS, (AS WELL AS NON-BELIEF), AND POLITICS BOTH CAUSE SOME SERIOUS INTERNAL BATTLES HERE IN AMERICA, AS DO SEXUAL PREFERENCES, "GAY OR STRAIGHT".

GO TO ANY PUBLIC FORUM, ANY NEWS SITE'S COMMENTS SECTION, GO TO SOCIAL NETWORKS LIKE FACEBOOK, OR EVEN A VIDEO ON YOUTUBE AND SEE HOW STRONGLY WE ARE PITTED AGAINST ONE ANOTHER.
THE MOST MUNDANE THINGS CAUSE ERUPTIONS OF TEMPERS.
I WAS INCREDULOUS NOT LONG AGO TO LOOK BENEATH A VIDEO ABOUT BRITAIN RELEASING ITS 'UFO' FILES AND SEE SEVERAL PEOPLE ENGAGED IN AN "ONLINE CUSS-FIGHT" ABOUT THE BIRTH COUNTRY OF OBAMA!
WHY?
WHO CAN SAY WHY?

WE TAKE EVERY OPPORTUNITY FOR ONE-UPMANSHIP IT SEEMS.
"MY PARTY IS BETTER THAN YOURS."
"MY RACE IS BETTER THAN YOURS."
"MY DOG IS BETTER THAN YOURS."
IT JUST GOES ON AND ON.

WE CAN LOOK IN ANY DIRECTION AND SEE SOMEONE OR SOME GROUP ATTACKING OTHERS. SURELY ALL REALIZE ATTACKS END IN NOWHERE, IN NO REAL CHANGE, IN NOTHING BEING ACCOMPLISHED, BUT STANDING BACK AND LOOKING IN, DON'T WE SEE THE EVER-BOILING, ON-THE-VERGE SHORT TEMPERS THAT HAVE MADE AMERICA NOTORIOUS ALL OVER THE WORLD?
WELL, IT ISN'T THAT WAY ONLY IN AMERICA, BUT THIS POST IS ABOUT AMERICA, SO...

AMERICA, WHERE GANGS ARE FORMED FOR THE EXPRESS PURPOSE OF KILLING OR MAIMING OTHER GANGS...RACE VERSUS RACE.
AMERICA, WHERE ONE RACE VIEWS ANOTHER RACE'S SUCCESSES SUSPICIOUSLY.
"YEAH, HE'S RICH, BUT IS IT DRUG MONEY OR WELFARE CHECKS?"
"IF HE/SHE WASN'T WHITE (OR BROWN, OR TURQUOISE?) HE'D HAVE NEVER GOTTEN THAT POSITION."
"HE/SHE GOT THE PROMOTION. NOW WE SEE WHAT AFFIRMATIVE ACTION CAN GET FOR SOME!"
"THAT KID HAD TO CHEAT ON THAT TEST...I MEAN THAT KIND ISN'T KNOWN FOR SMARTS!"
"DID YOU SEE WHAT MOVED IN NEXT DOOR? HOW CAN THEY AFFORD TO LIVE HERE? THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD!"
"IT'S STARTING TO LOOK LIKE MEXICO CITY AROUND HERE! THAT BUNCH WILL ROB THIS PLACE BLIND! WE'RE MOVING!"

I WROTE A BLOG ABOUT HOW AMERICA HATES IT POOR, AND I MEANT EVERY WORD OF IT.
THE MAJORITY OF AMERICA REALLY, REALLY HATES ITS POOR!
WE MAY REFER TO THESE AS "UNDERPRIVILEGED", UNEMPLOYED, 'LOWER CLASS', OR WORSE, BUT WE ALL KNOW WHO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
"THOSE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE ECONOMIC LADDER", WHETHER THEY BE OLD, YOUNG, DISABLED, MINORITIES, 'DISPLACED' VETERANS, THE MENTALLY ILL, OR...WELL, ANYBODY WHOM WE MAY CONSIDER "ABNORMAL" OR "BENEATH US" IN ANY WAY.
HOW MANY OF YOU, IF YOU SEE SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T QUITE FIT "THE NORM" APPROACHING YOU WILL TRY TO AVOID EYE CONTACT?
HOW MANY OF YOU (NO MATTER WHAT RACE) MIGHT REACH FOR THE DOOR LOCK ON YOUR AUTOMOBILE IF YOU'RE DRIVING IN A NEIGHBORHOOD, STUCK IN TRAFFIC, ETC, WHERE YOU ARE THE RACIAL MINORITY?
WHAT ABOUT IF A PERSON WHO IS JUST VERY "DIFFERENT" FROM YOU COMES CLOSE TO YOUR PERSONAL SPACE, PERHAPS SOMEONE WHO IS OBVIOUSLY PHYSICALLY OR EMOTIONALLY UNLIKE YOU?
DO YOU CRINGE? DO YOU SIMPLY TRY TO AVOID CLOSE CONTACT, ANY CONTACT AT ALL?
DOES THE TINIEST BIT OF FEAR AND UNCERTAINTY OF YOUR SAFETY COME TO MIND?
WHEN YOU SEE THE HOMELESS, HOW DO THEY 'MAKE YOU FEEL'?

WHEN I WAS A CHILD I SAW IT, FELT IT, KNEW IT, THE VAST DIFFERENCES MADE BETWEEN 'MAINSTREAM AMERICANS' AND 'OTHERS', AND IT'S ONLY GOTTEN WORSE!
IN THE 1950s, A FEW 'ECONOMICALLY STABLE' AMERICANS STILL ROOTED FOR THE POOR PEOPLE, STILL SEEMED TO WANT THEM TO SUCCEED, TO DIG THEIR WAY OUT OF POVERTY...FEW, BUT SOME WERE WILLING TO GO TO BAT FOR THEIR LESS PRIVILEGED NEIGHBORS. SOME WHO WERE IN THE BANKING BUSINESS WOULD EVEN LOAN THE POOR IN OUR AREA MONEY BASED ON NOTHING BUT A HANDSHAKE. SOME WOULD EVEN GO HELP NEIGHBORS OUT WHEN THE BREADWINNER WAS DOWN. PEOPLE WOULD SHARE FREELY WITH OTHERS.
IT WAS COMMON IN OUR RURAL AREA TO PASS BY SOMEONE'S HOME AND SEE FRESH PRODUCE LAID OUT BESIDE THE ROAD WITH A SIGN THAT SAID "FREE, HELP YOURSELF!" SO THAT PASSERSBY COULD SHARE IN THE BOUNTIES OF HOME GARDENS, HAVE FOOD IF THEY HAD NONE. PEOPLE SHARED THE BOUNTY, THEY DIDN'T HOARD IT, DIDN'T BEGRUDGE THE "LESS FORTUNATE" A MEAL, A DIME, A HELPING HAND.

I CAN'T PINPOINT WHEN ALL THAT CHANGED, BUT THE 1960s BECAME A NIGHTMARE FOR RACIAL VIOLENCE AND GENERATIONAL CONFLICT THAT I WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO FORGET.
BY 1964 THERE WASN'T A DAY THAT PASSED WITHOUT SOME NEW EXPRESSION OF HATRED CARRIED OUT ON WHOMEVER HAPPENED TO BE AVAILABLE AS A "WHIPPING BOY", A "SCAPEGOAT", A TARGET FOR ANGER.

SUDDENLY, IT SEEMED LIKE IT HAPPENED OVERNIGHT, BESIDES THE RACIAL TENSION, THE POOR, THE ELDERLY, THE UNDER-EDUCATED, THE DISABLED, THE HUNGRY ALL BECAME PART OF "THE ENEMY", THE UNWANTED, THE 'GARBAGE' THAT NO ONE WANTED TO CLAIM.
PEOPLE BECAME "MILLSTONES", "BURDENS TO SOCIETY", "TAKERS", "LEECHES". AMERICA FOUND A WHOLE NEW BAG OF LABELS...
WHEREAS ONCE, SEEMED LIKE YESTERDAY, FAMILIES WERE PROUD OF THEIR ELDERLY MEMBERS, PROTECTIVE OF THEIR PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED, CONCERNED FOR THEIR HUNGRY, HELPFUL TO THE UNEDUCATED, THE TIDE TURNED AND A TSUNAMI WAS UNLEASHED ON THE VERY PEOPLE WE HAD ONCE CARED FOR, A WAVE OF DISGUST, OF DISDAIN SO ENORMOUS IT WAS TERRIFYING.

NEW GROUPS WERE DISCOVERED AND PROMPTLY ISOLATED FOR STONE-THROWING PURPOSES. I LEARNED THE NEW WORDS: HIPPIES, FAGS, POT-HEADS, FLOWER CHILDREN, PEACENIKS, TREE-HUGGERS, FREEDOM-RIDERS, PINKOS, SPICS, CHINKS, SLOPES, RAGHEADS, KIKES, SENILE, GUMMERS, RETARDS, DROOLERS, CRIPS (OR CRIPPLES), LOONY, SCHIZO (OR SCHIZOID)...SO MANY NEW WORDS EVOLVED THAT I COULDN'T KEEP UP.
WHEN I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT A CLASSMATE MEANT WHEN SHE SAID SOMEONE CAME TO SCHOOL ON THE "SHORT BUS" I WAS DUBBED THE 'MORON' FOR THE DAY.

NO ONE WANTED TO CARE FOR GRANDMA AND GRANDPA ANYMORE.
NURSING HOMES APPEARED ALL OVER OUR MOSTLY RURAL COUNTY.
"OLD FOLKS HOMES" BECAME THE DREAD, THE FEAR OF ALL OVER THE AGE OF 60. FAMILIES WERE TORN APART BY SIBLINGS WHO FOUGHT OVER WHO 'MOM AND DAD'S' SOCIAL SECURITY CHECK SHOULD GO TO, AND MOM AND DAD WERE FREQUENTLY TOLD THEY WERE A 'HEAVY BURDEN TO CARRY'.
IT WAS A WORLD GONE MAD TO ME, EVEN THOUGH I HAD GROWN UP SEEING THE HATRED OF SOME FOR ONE PAIR OF MY GRANDPARENTS BECAUSE OF THEIR 'ETHNICITY'.
I HAD ALSO GROWN UP SEEING THE WORST FORM OF RACISM THERE IS AS APPLIED TO BLACK PEOPLE, SEEING ACTUAL DEAD BODIES HANGING FROM TREE LIMBS, SEEING THE GLOW FROM CROSSES BURNING AT NIGHT, SEEING DECAPITATED HEADS ON FENCE POSTS WITH SIGNS THAT READ "N___, STAY OFF THIS MOUNTAIN!".

BUT THE WORLD OF THE 1960s WAS WORSE TO ME.
THE HATRED SPREAD LIKE A PLAGUE. THE HATRED GREW.
IT BECAME A FIRE-BREATHING MONSTER.
THERE WAS NO MORE "PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE", NO MORE TOLERANCE, NO MORE 'LIVE-AND-LET-LIVE'.
THERE WAS NO MORE HUMANITY, EVERYTHING BECAME INHUMANE.

I BEGAN TO HEAR ABOUT YOUNG GIRLS AND EVEN A FEW YOUNG BOYS STOLEN FROM LOCAL ROADS, FROM BACKYARDS, KIDNAPPED, NEVER TO BE SEEN ALIVE AGAIN, AND HEARD THE WORDS 'INCEST' AND 'CHILD MOLESTATION' FOR THE FIRST TIME.
MY PARENTS NOT ONLY BEGAN TO LOCK OUR DOORS BUT INSTALLED MORE LOCKS.
WHERE ONCE WE COULD ROAM FREELY INTO WOODS AND BE GONE INTO THE NIGHT, WE WERE RESTRICTED TO "STAY WHERE I CAN SEE YOU" AND DUSK MEANT EVERYONE INSIDE, CLOSE THE DRAPES, CHAIN THE LOCKS.
WE BECAME PRISONERS OF FEAR.

ON A NEARBY RESERVATION, YOUNG GIRLS BECAME THE TARGETS OF WHAT LOCAL WHITES CALLED "QUAIL HUNTING"...SNATCHED OFF A COUNTRY ROAD, RAPED, BEATEN, LEFT FOR DEAD...THEIR NUMBERS GREW EVERY DAY. ADDED TO THAT, AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH, WE HEARD THAT ANOTHER 'INDIAN' WAS FOUND DEAD UP ON THE NATCHEZ TRACE. NO ONE WAS EVER ARRESTED FOR ANY OF THAT.
A LOCAL PHYSICIAN TOLD MY FATHER THAT ALMOST EVERY YOUNG BLACK GIRL OF CHILDBEARING AGE WAS HAVING "MIXED" BABIES BECAUSE OF RAPE. I HAD TO ASK SOMEONE ELSE WHAT THAT MEANT. NO RAPISTS EVER WENT ON TRIAL.

AND THEN ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE WHEN INTEGRATION BECAME MANDATORY.
IT WAS ALL-OUT WAR!

WAS IT THE OLD WOUND REOPENED HERE IN THE SOUTH THAT CAUSED SUCH A REACTION FROM THE WHITES?
WAS IT THAT THEY WERE REMINDED OF HOW THEY HAD BEEN FORCED TO GIVE UP THOSE SLAVES, BEATEN BY THE UNION ARMY, HOMES AND PROPERTY DESTROYED OR TAKEN BY FORCE?
FEW CAN HATE A CONQUEROR LIKE THE CONQUERED.
WHY DID SUCH A THING AS INTEGRATION CREATE SUCH A TERRIBLE REACTION AND SUCH GUT-WRENCHING VIOLENCE?

BUT IT WASN'T JUST IN THE SOUTH THAT RACISM LIVED AND FLOURISHED, NOR ONLY SOUTH OF THE MASON-DIXON LINE WHERE BIGOTRY THRIVED.
THE NORTH LOOKED DOWN ON "CRACKERS", ON "REBELS", ON "WHITE TRASH OF THE SOUTH", ON "RED NECKS" AND "HILLBILLIES".
WHEN MY GRADUATING CLASS TOURED WASHINGTON D.C. AND NEW YORK CITY, ONCE OUR SOUTHERN ACCENTS WERE HEARD, WE FACED SITUATIONS LIKE BEING REFUSED SERVICE AT TWO RESTAURANTS, BEING BARRED FROM SHOPPING IN FIVE UPSCALE SHOPS, WERE BANNED FROM AN AMUSEMENT PARK, AND TOLD NOT TO USE THE POOL AT ONE HOTEL. SOME OF US HAD A VERY RATTLING EXPERIENCE ON THE NEW YORK SUBWAY WHEN PEOPLE BEGAN TO MIMIC OUR 'DRAWLS' AND SOME OF THE STUDENTS TOOK OFFENSE. NO MATTER WHERE WE WENT WE HAD SOME TYPE OF 'ENCOUNTER' ABOUT WHERE WE WERE FROM.

RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE MAY BE WORSE TODAY THAN IN THE 1960s, BUT WHEN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH WAS ESTABLISHED IN MY SMALL HOMETOWN, THERE WAS A LOUD PUBLIC OUTCRY. NO ONE WAS GOING TO PUT UP WITH THOSE %$#!@#$%^& "MACKEREL SNAPPERS" BUILDING THERE, NO WAY!
WHEN JOHN KENNEDY WON THE MAJORITY AT THE DEMOCRAT'S NATIONAL CONVENTION, MEETINGS WERE CALLED TO DISCUSS HOW TO KEEP DEMOCRATS FROM VOTING THAT ELECTION.
ALL OVER THAT SOUTHERN STATE AND EVEN UP NORTH, OUT WEST, EVERYWHERE, MEN FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE BANDED TOGETHER TO STOP THE CATHOLIC FROM WINNING.

IF YOU THINK THOSE DAYS ARE GONE, LET ME POINT TO THE 2008 CAMPAIGN, AND THE 2012 AS WELL.
HOW MANY OF YOU HEARD PEOPLE FREAKING COMPLETELY OUT ABOUT OBAMA PERHAPS WINNING THOSE?
HERE, IT WAS SPOKEN ALOUD EVERYWHERE I WENT, INCESSANT WORRYING, DREAD, FEAR THAT A BLACK MAN WAS GOING TO 'RULE OVER WHITE AMERICA', THAT AN 'AFRICAN' WAS GOING TO 'LORD IT OVER US' THAT HE WON, 'GRIND THE WHITE RACE INTO POWDER'.
HONESTLY, HOW MANY OF YOU WERE SHOCKED WHEN THE DEMOCRATS ANNOUNCED THEIR CANDIDATE?
HOW MANY OF YOU JUMPED ON THAT BANDWAGON THAT WE HAD TO 'STOP THAT MUSLIM-KENYAN' FROM GETTING ELECTED?
HOW MANY HEARD THE SLUR "UPPITY N___" USED?
HOW MANY HAVE PERHAPS REFERRED TO HIM AS AN "ARROGANT N___"?
HOW MANY TIMES DID WE READ THAT EVERY BLACK IN AMERICA WOULD CHANGE PARTIES IF THEY HAD TO IN ORDER TO VOTE FOR "ONE OF THEIR OWN"?
HOW MANY AGREED TO CHANGING THE VOTING LAWS TO EXCLUDE THOSE WHO MIGHT VOTE FOR OBAMA?
HOW MANY 'DIRTY TRICKS' DID WE READ ABOUT THAT WERE USED TO MAKE SURE OBAMA DID NOT GET A FIRST OR SECOND TERM?
NOR THAT "OLD MAN", RON PAUL?

ALTHOUGH OBAMA HAS CONTINUED MANY OF THE SAME POLICIES/STRATEGIES THAT BUSH2 INSTITUTED, HAS EVEN TAKEN SOME OF THOSE TO THE 'HEIGHTS' THAT BUSH WAS UNABLE TO ATTAIN, ALTHOUGH HE HAS CARRIED ON THE SAME BASIC 'FOREIGN POLICY' AS BUSH (INVADE EVERYBODY, BUILD THE EMPIRE!) , HAVE YOU EVER SEEN OR READ OF ANY CONGRESS VOTING AGAINST ANY OTHER PRESIDENT LIKE THIS CONGRESS HAS? HAVE YOU EVER SEEN SUCH BRAZEN DISRESPECT OF ANYONE IN THE OVAL OFFICE THAT OBAMA HAS 'ENJOYED'?
I SPENT ABOUT 6 WEEKS RESEARCHING THAT, AND I'VE SEEN PRESIDENTS SINCE EISENHOWER GET TRASHED, BUT NOTHING LIKE OBAMA'S TRASHING. THE ONLY ONE WHO CAME CLOSE WAS OLD ANDREW JACKSON. HE HAD A LOT OF 'HATERS' DURING HIS TERMS.
WELL, OLD JACKSON WASN'T EXACTLY "AMERICAN ARISTOCRACY", AND HE WAS A SOUTHERNER...OF SORTS, BUT HE DID HATE THOSE "DAMNED SAVAGE REDSKINS", AND WOULD HAVE COMPLETELY ERADICATED EVERY ONE OF THEM IF HE'D HAD 4 MORE YEARS.
WHEN GRAYSON FROM FLORIDA SAID ON THE FLOOR OF CONGRESS THAT, IF OBAMA ORDERED A BLT SANDWICH, CONGRESS WOULD VOTE TO BAN PORK, HE WASN'T KIDDING!
WHY IS THAT, DO YOU THINK?
NOT BECAUSE OBAMA IS A 'SOCIALIST'! I MEAN, LOOK AT FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT! THAT MAN WAS WAY BEYOND SOCIALIST AND PEOPLE LOVED HIM!
NOT BECAUSE OBAMA IS ARROGANT...WE HAD THE TWO BUSHES AND NIXON, LYNDON JOHNSON AND CLINTON TO REDEFINE ARROGANCE!
NOT BECAUSE HE WRECKED THE ECONOMY. REAGAN AND BOTH BUSHES TOOK WRECKING THE ECONOMY TO ALL-TIME HIGHS, BUT OBAMA HAS SURELY NOT IMPROVED OURS, GRANTED.
SCANDALS? THINK ABOUT THAT! NEED WE DISCUSS WATERGATE, MARILYN MONROE, IRAN-CONTRA, WHITE HOUSE SEANCES, AFFAIRS WITH SECRETARIES, A FIRST LADY IN LOVE WITH ANOTHER LADY, OR CALL-BOYS IN THE WHITE HOUSE?
NO, IT'S NONE OF THOSE THINGS.
YOU KNOW AND I KNOW WHY OBAMA IS, TO MOST WHO ARE ASKED, THE MOST HATED PRESIDENT OF ALL TIME.
NOW, THE POLLS SAY DIFFERENTLY...THE POLLS SAY BUSH WAS MORE HATED, AND IN THE POLL RANKINGS OF BEST PRESIDENTS, OBAMA COMES IN STRONG, RATED AS THE 15TH BEST, YES, BEST PRESIDENT EVER TO HOLD OFFICE, WHILE BUSH IS AT #39, JUST 4 UP FROM BOTTOM!
SURPRISED?
IF YOU WERE SURPRISED, WHY WERE YOU?
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2010/07/02/survey-ranks-obama-15th-best-president-bush-among-worst
HERE'S THE TOP (OR BOTTOM, REALLY) 10 FOR WORST PRESIDENTS, AND, LOOK! NO OBAMA...
http://www.usnews.com/news/slideshows/10-worst-presidents
SO HOW IS "BIG O" THE MOST HATED?
NEED MORE THAN ONE GUESS?
LET'S EXAMINE, BRIEFLY, STEREOTYPING IN AMERICA.
AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN, GET A 'MENTAL PICTURE' OF A PERSON FOR EACH OF THE FOLLOWING, AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN READ EACH WORD, OR SET OF WORDS, AND MATCH A FACE TO IT.
~ATHLETE
~WELFARE RECIPIENT
~PRISONER
~MUGGER
~STUPID
~LAZY
~IMMORAL
~RAPIST
~POVERTY
~ELEGANT
~CLASSY
~TRUSTWORTHY
~BRAVE
~BEAUTIFUL
~SCARY
~LOVE

THINK ABOUT THAT.
REALLY GET IN TOUCH WITH WHAT YOUR MINDS JUST DID, NO MATTER WHAT YOUR ETHNICITY IS .
IT'S "AUTOMATIC"...WE SEE IN A GOOD LIGHT WHAT WE VALUE AND WE SEE WHAT ONLY WE CONCEIVE OF AS GOOD OR BAD IN EVERY CATEGORY.
IF WE'RE HONEST, WE ALSO SEE THE PROBLEM.
THE PROBLEM IS HOW WE CHOOSE TO SEE CERTAIN PEOPLE AS OPPOSED TO HOW WE SEE OTHERS.

IN MANY TOWNS AND CITIES IN AMERICA, THERE SEEMS TO BE AN INVISIBLE BORDER, A LINE DRAWN THAT SEPARATES THE "WRONG SIDE OF TOWN" FROM THE REST. THERE ARE AREAS WHERE YOU COULDN'T PAY A WHITE PERSON TO LIVE.
THERE ARE ALSO AREAS WHERE FEW NON-WHITE CITIZENS WOULD CHOOSE TO LIVE.
NOT RACIST?
MANY PEOPLE MOVE TO NEIGHBORHOODS FOR THE SCHOOLS THEIR KIDS WILL ATTEND.
NOT BIGOTED?
HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU STOOD IN LINE AT CHECKOUT AS SOMEONE PAID FOR THEIR FOOD WITH 'FOOD STAMPS', OR THE CARD THAT HAS REPLACED THOSE, AND THOUGHT GOOD THOUGHTS ABOUT THE PERSON CHECKING OUT?
HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU GONE TO SOME FEDERAL AGENCY OR LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICE AND FELT EVEN A LITTLE MIFFED THAT YOU HAD TO DEAL WITH A NON-YOUR RACE , OR NOT LIKE YOU EMPLOYEE?
HOW MANY TIMES HAS A STRANGE PERSON OF ANOTHER RACE DRIVEN SLOWLY THROUGH YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD THAT YOU DIDN'T THINK ABOUT CALLING THE POLICE?
HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU AVOIDED CERTAIN MEDICAL CLINICS BECAUSE THE MAJORITY IN THAT PRACTICE WERE NON-WHITE, OR NON-YOUR RACE, ESPECIALLY YOU LADIES SEEKING AN OB-GYN?
IF YOU'RE IN A RESTAURANT OR EVEN A DRIVE-THRU AND YOU "PERCEIVE" THAT WHOMEVER IS ATTENDING YOU IS 'GAY', DO YOU EVER THINK ABOUT HIV/AIDS?
DO YOU EVER WATCH A SPORTING EVENT AND WONDER, "WHAT HAPPENED TO ALL THE WHITE GUYS?"
YOU WHO ARE 'SOCIAL ANIMALS', WOULD YOU TAKE A SIP OUT OF SOMEONE ELSE'S DRINK OR A BITE OFF SOMEONE'S FORK, IF OFFERED, IF THAT PERSON IS NOT YOUR RACE, IF THAT PERSON IS GAY, OLD, OBESE?
NO MATTER WHAT YOUR RELIGIOUS PREFERENCE IS, WOULD YOU REALLY JUMP FOR JOY IF YOUR CHILD ANNOUNCED HE/SHE WAS MARRYING SOMEONE AT THE OTHER END OF THE RELIGIOUS SPECTRUM?

I CAN'T COUNT HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE MENTIONED THESE THINGS TO ME.
SEE THE SUBTLETIES? SEE HOW DEEPLY RACISM AND BIGOTRY IS ENTRENCHED IN EVERY CORNER OF OUR SOCIETY?
IT IS THE NORM, WE ACCEPT IT, BUT WE JUST DON'T WANT TO ADMIT IT.

HARVARD HAS AN ONLINE TEST NAMED "ARE YOU SECRETLY RACIST?" ...WANT TO TRY IT?
GO HERE https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/demo/featuredtask.html
I WAS REALLY AMAZED AT MY RESULTS. MAYBE IT'S NOT A FAIL-PROOF TEST?
YES, I CAN LAUGH ABOUT IT. I MAKE IT A POINT TO EXAMINE MYSELF UNDER A MICROSCOPE EVERY DAY...TWICE USUALLY.
SOMETIMES I WEEP, OTHER TIMES I LAUGH AND SHAKE MY HEAD.
THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE READ HERE SINCE IT ALL BEGAN UNDERSTAND WHY I SAY THAT, YOU'VE READ MY 'RANTS', AND THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE 'NEW' WILL JUST HAVE TO WONDER...

YOU SEE, IF WE CAN RECOGNIZE A PROBLEM WE CAN FIND A WAY TO FIX IT, IF, AND ONLY IF, A FIX IS WHAT WE REALLY WANT.
ANYONE WHO WORKS IN "REPAIR", WHETHER OF A HOUSE OR OF A MIND, CAN ASSURE YOU THAT FIXES/REPAIRS CAN BE BOTH CHALLENGING AND EXPENSIVE.
HOW MUCH WOULD ANY OF US "PAY" TO FIX WHAT'S KEEPING US ALL FROM FEELING LIKE EVERYONE IS SAFE AND EVERYONE IS "AS GOOD AS" EVERYONE ELSE?
HOW MUCH WOULD SOME OF US "PAY" TO HAVE NO DOUBT THAT, WHEN ANYONE LOOKS AT US, THEY JUST SEE ANOTHER HUMAN BEING, ANOTHER TRAVELER ON THIS WEE GLOBE THAT IS HURTLING THROUGH THE VASTNESS OF SPACE AND TIME, TAKING ALL OF US WITH IT?

ONE FINAL THING...
HOW ABOUT THIS...HOW ABOUT WE GET YOU, YES, YOU, MADE-UP LIKE A BLACK PERSON AND I DROP YOU OFF IN AN ALL-WHITE GATED COMMUNITY SOMEWHERE, AT NIGHT? WANT TO?
HOW ABOUT WE GET YOU MADE-UP TO PASS FOR A MEXICAN PERSON AND I LEAVE YOU JUST INSIDE THE BORDER ON A SPRAWLING TEXAS CATTLE RANCH?
COULD I INTEREST ANYONE WHO IS NON-WHITE IN GETTING MADE-UP AS A WHITE PERSON AND LEAVING YOU ANYWHERE YOU'D HATE TO BE?
ANY STRAIGHT PEOPLE WANT TO GO HAVE A DRINK AT A GAY BAR?
ANY OLDER PEOPLE WANT TO GO LINE UP FOR A ROCK CONCERT TICKET?
ANYONE WITHOUT "PROPER ATTIRE" WANT TO RUN UP TO THE 'PER SE' IN NEW YORK CITY AND SEE IF WE CAN GET IN?
HOW ABOUT WE RENAME A FEW SPORTS TEAMS?
MAYBE THE WASHINGTON PALEFACES? HOW ABOUT THE FLORIDA STATE U. SNOWBALLS? KANSAS CITY CLOWNS? GOLDEN STATE WIMPS? CHICAGO WHITE CHICKENS? MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE CHUMPS? SAN DIEGO STATE WHITE GUYS?
NO?
IS IT BECAUSE YOU JUST LOVE THOSE "INDIAN NAMES" ALL THOSE TEAMS HAVE?
YOU SEE WHERE I'M GOING WITH THIS...YES, RACISM AND BIGOTRY ARE ALIVE IN AMERICA...MORE'S THE PITY.



This image was distributed by a Republican organization in San Bernardino, California during the 2008 Presidential election. It went like hotcakes.....

http://prospect.org/article/rising-tide-anti-black-racism

STEREOTYPES MUCH?

WALK A MILE IN THEIR SHOES?