Made glorious summer by this sun of Windy City;
And all the clouds that lour’d upon our house
In the deep bosom of the ocean buried…
…for how long?
For some of us the inauguration of Barack Obama ushered in the potential for an era of liberal progress, of recovery from the dark clouds of George W. Bush… illegal wars, reactionary social policy, and economic destruction.
The republican party nomination process stimulated my presaging fear of tumult as I witnessed enthusiastic applause for the proposed destruction / elimination of women’s’ rights, civil and marriage rights, health care access, criminalized physical expressions of hate, and responsible stewardship of earth’s resources.
While I know that I am not alone in my liberal desires for a more progressive and better nation, it sure feels a lot lonelier.
As I contemplated my sense of alienation and just how far I am away from the American political norm, a battery of political spectrum tests proved that, indeed, I am a Liberal Elite in a right wing, conservative nation…and it is not a good feeling.
For the Liberal Elite contemplating the national mood, it may soon be another kind of Winter…the end (winter) of our contentment…
As more states continue the American obsession with codifying discrimination, pop-agit artist Ron English puts the issue graphically in front of Americans and Mexicans:
English played a witty, sarcastic, and marvelous April Fools joke at the US-Mexico border last week.
The bloggers at “Boing Boing” noted a downside to the in-your-face prank, however: “…this piece of sociopolitical satire is going to backfire because the Tea Party will find out about it and demand that it be permanently installed at every border crossing.”
Angry, Hateful Crowd Protests Muslim Fundraiser for Women’s Shelters (Video)
The Southern California chapter of a Muslim charity called Islamic Circle of North American Relief USA held an event in Orange County (Los Angeles) last month in hopes of raising about $350,000 for “women’s shelters, fighting hunger and homelessness in the area.” So, of course, hundreds of angry, mob-mentality citizens showed up to protest, chanting “go back home” and “Muhammad was a pervert.”
The video, below, shows all too clearly, an irrational, emotional danger percolating in America today.
The danger to such venting of American hatred — displayed here toward families of the islamic faith — is that it is subject to easily, emotionally, violently, suddenly redirecting toward new targets… to the new “them”… other human citizens being true to themselves, others with rights under our constitution… perhaps making you or me “them” and thus a new target.
When will America’s hatred come full force to the other “them?” The Fags, Dykes, Cripples, Diseased, Niggers, Spics, Heebs, Chinks, Ragheads, Artists, …
Whom do you hate America? Because these “identities” are all you.
Does America suffer from self-hatred? An ignorance of who an American is in reality?
Well, one thing is certain, group protests such as this should make us all feel embarrassment for America… feel that we have failed to properly educate our population in the basics of “Civics.” America feels as if it grows more and more ignorant every day… and more reactionary.
Is this the America for which our soldiers have placed their lives on the line? I certainly hope it is not.
Hate comes to Orange County
The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) released a video of a rally organized by anti-Muslim bigots to protest a February 2010 fundraising event held by an American Muslim relief group for relief work and charity in the U.S.
A few hundred protesters showed up to the rally, which was sponsored by groups such as:
“We Surround Them OC 912″ (a local Tea Party group),
Rabbi David Eliezrie of Chabad – Yorba Linda,
North Orange County Conservative Coalition,
ACT! for America, and
Pamela Geller (whose group “Stop the Islamization of America” has been designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center).
Elected officials Congressmen Ed Royce and Gary Miller, and Villa Park Councilwoman Deborah Pauly also attended and spoke at the protest rally.
The event — held at Yorba Linda Community Center, a facility that has been frequented by Muslim families and businesses over the years — first became a target of anti-Muslim bigots over two of the fundraiser’s speakers, who were to speak on the importance of charity in Islam.
Initial attempts of some groups to have the Yorba Linda Community Center and the Yorba Linda City Council cancel the fundraising event failed… followed by the protest.
In a statement, CAIR-LA said:
We support the First Amendment right of protest\ors anywhere in America to voice their concerns, dissent, and even hatred. However, when our nation’s foundational values of inclusiveness, pluralism and equality are attacked by some in favor of calls for advocating hate and violence, then all Americans have a responsibility to challenge and expose such bigotry and those who enable it.
As the video shows, the rhetoric of the protesters became increasingly venomous toward the families and children who came to attend the ICNA Relief fundraising dinner. Protesters shouted invective statements such as “Go home terrorist,” “Muhammad is a pervert, Muhammad is a child molester,” “Go home and beat your wife, she needs a good beating” at the event-goers.
Even more disturbing was the participation and encouragement of elected officials in promoting the hateful protest rally. Villa Park Councilwoman, Deborah Pauly, while addressing the crowd at the rally, appeared to threaten Muslim event-goers. Congressman Ed Royce (R-40), in a troubling trend of disparaging Islam and its followers, added fuel to the fire by encouraging protesters to continue on with their hate-mongering. The attendance of Congressman Gary Miller (R-42) was a clear surprise, since he previously has engaged with all constituents, including Muslims, toward a better America.
We strongly urge all elected officials in attendance to distance themselves from such an exhibition of hate and bigotry. We further ask residents and elected officials of Yorba Linda, Orange County and other parts of our nation to speak out against such hateful rhetoric and the continued Islamophobia that plagues our nation.
A Tea Party Patriot tries to explain how our freedoms are in jeopardy.
VOTE as if your very Freedoms depend upon it and are threatened!
Because American Freedoms are threatened… by Ignorance and Basic American Apathy.
________________________
You know, all kidding aside, the danger from the Tea Party and Tea Baggers themselves… comes not from the fact that they have a different opinion than I and other progressives (Who cares? Diversity of opinion is valuable and fun)…
The threat to American Freedoms is the very lack of inquisitiveness (I know… big word for most) in the Tea Bagger character and the seemingly absolute disregard for fact-based thought.*
The threat of the Tea Bagging movement is the validation of ignorance as a character-builder.*
The threat of Tea Partying is “lack-of-knowledge” as a point of American Pride.*
The rather large number of serious conversations I have had with Tea Baggers and Libertarians who spoke, advocated, and debated much like this political cartoon is nothing short of profoundly shocking.
And the sad thing is… it’s generally my generation that seems most enmeshed in the movement and its emotional appeal. I know we were taught to think better than this… I know because I was there with them… learning to think, not just to react and parrot back a party line. What the hell happened to us?
We will be the generation that fails the nation and the youth. Sad.
* Yes, I would say I can be labeled a Proud Member of the Intellectual Elite
Before you head to D.C. for the Rally of a lifetime — or at least a weekend — download the official Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert-approved Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear application today for free in the iPhone App Store.
View maps, upload photos, share comments, and check in on Foursquare to earn one-of-a-kind badges! WooHoo!
Android phone lovers, your app is on its way, as well!
My friend Tom emailed me this morning asking, “What’s your opinion of the new Arizona law?”
Good question, Tom. here’s my response:
Republicans finally honest about motives - support Arizona Immigration Law
————————————————
Republican Governor(wow, what a surprise) Jan Brewer yesterday signed into law a bill that requires police to question people about their immigration status — including asking for identification — if they suspect someone is in the country illegally. It has sparked fears among Hispanics — including legal immigrants and U.S. citizens — that they will be hassled by police because of their race.
Earlier Friday, President Barack Obama called the Arizona bill “misguided” and instructed the Justice Department to examine it to see if it’s legal.
Obama also said the “federal government must enact immigration reform at the national level — or leave the door open to irresponsibility by others — that includes, for example, the efforts in Arizona, which threaten to undermine basic notions of fairness… as well as the trust between police and their communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe.”
The new law makes it a crime under state law to be in the country illegally. Immigrants unable to produce documents showing they are allowed to be in the U.S. could be arrested, jailed for up to six months and fined $2,500.
It also allows lawsuits against government agencies that hinder enforcement of immigration laws and toughens restrictions on hiring illegal immigrants for day labor and knowingly transporting them.
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund said it plans a legal challenge to the law, which it said “launches Arizona into a spiral of pervasive fear, community distrust, increased crime and costly litigation, with nationwide repercussions.”
Many of the demonstrators at the Capitol complex booed when Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox announced that “the governor did not listen to our prayers.”
“It’s going to change our lives,” said Emilio Almodovar, a 13-year-old American citizen from Phoenix. “We can’t walk to school any more. We can’t be in the streets anymore without the pigs thinking we’re illegal immigrants.”
Mexico warned the proposal could affect cross-border relations, with Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa saying her country would have to “consider whether the cooperation agreements that have been developed with Arizona are viable and useful.”
On Thursday, Mexico’s Senate unanimously passed a resolution urging Arizona’s governor to veto the law.
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