Charlottesville Part II - It's Up to Us

I must be slow to the draw, because I’m still having a problem with people standing up for the protesters in Charlottesville on Saturday.  If I understand correctly, some still think this is all about statues.  Really?

Let me tell you what this is about.  This is about a large group of white (mostly) men who believe that they should rule the world.  They want to ethnically cleanse the human race by getting rid of anyone different than themselves: Jews, Blacks, Hispanics, Gays, etc.  They believe that slavery was okay, that Hitler was right, and that no government should tell them what to do.  They were not in Charlottesville to protest the removal of a confederate statue, although that’s how they obtained a permit to assemble.  They were there, in their own words, to take back Charlottesville.  To take it back from the Jews and the Blacks.  This was NEVER about statues.

I know people are upset about the removal (or non-removal) of confederate statues.  Personally, I don’t care.  Statues are THINGS.  I’m more interested in PEOPLE.  I care more that there are still groups in the world who want ethnic cleansing.  I care that there are still NAZIS!! Think about it, people.  We were at war for over four years trying to defeat the Nazis and now we should stand back and watch them rise again?? Hell, no!!!

Please think about this. Think about what is more important to you. Is it your house or your family? Your car or your grandchildren?  Saving a bronze statue or saving a human from discrimination, injury, or even death?  THAT is what Charlottesville was about.  Not statues or protests or history or first amendment rights or even politics.  People.  Human beings.  God’s children.

Which do you choose?

Charlottesville

I haven’t published a blog entry in quite a while.  It gets hard to keep coming up with topics that I think you’ll find interesting that aren’t controversial.  I’m one who avoids conflict like the plague.  Which is good in some situations, but also limits my ability to make changes in life.

But sometimes, something happens that crushes my heart, inflames my anger, and assaults my faith in the human race.  Today, that “thing” can be summed up in one word – “Charlottesville.”

Some will ask why I’m writing about this, but not about other incidents of race or discrimination.  And honestly, I’m not sure.  Every incident angers and saddens me, but this one more so.  Maybe because it is in a town I’ve visited, or because it seemed especially horrific; or maybe it’s because of the lack of proper response by our president.  In any case, I feel compelled to share with you.
I grew up in the South.  I was born in the middle of the Equal Rights Movement that included protests, marches, the Clinton 12, and Martin Luther King, Jr.  We had very few children of color in our school, so my life was considerably “white.”

My parents, both born and raised in Tennessee, probably saw discrimination all around them growing up.  I’m sure they heard the “N” word many times.  However, when raising my two sisters and me, they made sure we knew this word was NEVER allowed in our home.  We didn’t discriminate.  People were people, no matter their skin color.  Again, living in an area of few minorities, I didn’t have to use this life lesson until later in life.

Now, I’m not a flaming lefty; I don’t usually march in protests or even agree with every cause.  A registered Democrat, I’ve probably voted for as many Republicans as members of my own party.  I tend to vote for the person whom I feel has the public’s best interest at heart.  But one area where I disagree with the majority of conservatives is that of human rights.

We all know the phrase, “All men are created equal…”.  I disagree with this statement, but not in the way you think.  There are Caucasians, African-Americans, Hispanics, Jews, Christians, Muslims, Asians, Gays, Straights, and many other groups of people who are created equal.  And then there are those men and women in Charlottesville.   The ones who carried weapons, shields, and signs; those who wore hoods or what is apparently their new uniform, khakis and polos.  Those who shouted hate and bile and disgusting, useless words at innocent people.  Those who beat up African-American men just because of their skin.  That poor excuse of a human who killed a woman just because she was standing up for what she believed, JUST LIKE HE WAS!  These people…these evil creatures…these men are NOT created equal.

Why do we hate each other so much?  Have we become so self-centered that we think of ourselves better than everyone?  Have we lost our faith to the point that we don’t believe in anything anymore?  Have we lost the ability to love and to just be kind?  How does the color of someone’s skin, or their sexuality, or their gender, or their religion…how do these things make us different?  Don’t we all have the same blood and bones and muscles and tissues?  Don’t we all breathe and eat and sleep?

I hate to tell you protesters in Charlottesville, but the color of your skin is pure luck.  God decided to put you in a white family.  You could just have easily had a different skin color.  Then how would you feel?  Would you still think the white race is the only race?  Take a moment and just think about what your life would be like if you had been born with brown skin…

All people have a right to their beliefs.  They have a right to let those beliefs be known.  But they have NO right to hate.  No right to condemn, to curse, to injure, to kill, to spit on, to yell at, or engage in any other manner of hate toward another human being.

What happened this weekend in Charlottesville was disgusting.  I am deeply angered by the events.  I’m angered that it was allowed to escalate to the point of murder.  I’m angered that our Administration refuses to take a bigger stand against these acts.  I’m angered that we are still fighting these fights in 2017.  And I’m ashamed.  Ashamed of my fellow man.  Ashamed that we sit back while these horrible people continue to spread their hate.  And ashamed of myself; that I’ve watched from a distance and silently protested these horrendous acts, but never helped to stop it.

No more.  Today, I begin to fight.  I begin to fight for my daughter’s future.  For everyone’s future.  Because if we don’t stand up, who will?