COMMENTARY: Dirty democracy, the racial divide in America that the GOP is towing
By Mona Austin
American news reports bode a nation on the verge of a possible racial implosion. Headlines speak of racially rooted, hypertensive tumult that is 100% made in America. At the same time, the nation remains the target of external threats, creating a climate of stress and anxiety. As racial upheaval increases during an election season political polarization along racial lines threatens democracy itself. GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump is a common thread in the hate that is brewing in America.
The American system of government has shifted from its fundamental ideals to being a government focused of the government that was designed to serve the people to both citizens and politicians losing sightof this goal. The overwhelming issue of gun control is an area where we can see many citizens placing a higher stake on politics as opposed to the people. As mass shootings occur, the gun control debate I divided along partisan lines and proponents are more interested in protecting gun rights than saving lives. It would seem that minimizing the loss of life can not be categorized along party lines, but when it came time for vote on the issue of gun control reform there was Congressional gridlock. House Democrats held a sit in led by Elijah Cummings for nearly 26 hours in a protest over inaction on gun control legislation.
The Framers wrote the Constitution as the guide post for governance and everyday it appears the principles are becoing more lucid. America is a Constitutional Republic governed by a democratic process. It is defined as a government for the people, by the people. Throughout American history this definition has only been practical for a portion of the populace as systematic discriminatory practices left out racial minorities. In America, the rules are different for Blacks and Whites. Our founding fathers never intended to place the slaves they owned on a level playing field and the soverign document has never been changed to address this need.
This reality led Andrew Hacker to author the book "Two Nations: White Black, Spearate, Hostile and Unequal."
hacker argues that black are marginlaized from insitutionalized racism, the stigma form slavery and all other minrity groups can assimilate into the white category so there are two groups of poeple in America, Black and White. He received death threast asthe book was nt favored among cncseravtive.
White supremacy is a system of seprating races The Republic is embroiled in election year politics that has Black America asking, which candidate is gong to protect us and White America seeking a leader who will allow the to regain control. Since the election of the first black president, Barack Obama, race relations have not been as strained sincethe 1960, At a time in our history when there are more blacks in governmental leadership than ever before.
How can Americans face the clear and present danger of terrorists if in the way we practice democracy, we are our own worst enemy? "How can we heal the wounds of the world if we can not heal our own?," vocalist Rachelle Farrell once asked in a song. The answer is simple. We can't. Unless and until the righteous arise in unity to address her racist ills the nation is prone to self-destruct. More importantly, unless and until democracy itself becomes fair, America will pay for her systematically imposed infractions against minorities.
All the warning signs are there. The unraveling of our nation is not going to happen. It is happening right before our eyes. Here are just a few examples in the media reflecting how America is engorged with divisive racial tension that may eventually lead to its demise:
Too many Americans will deny the thread of racism is woven into every one of these stories or that racism has America in a choke hold. The nation is at the mercy of evil doers who are willing to either control, brainwash or annihilate others to preserve a hierarchy of White supremacy.
There is a sense of desperation permeating this democracy in these headlines. They show the ramifications of systematic White dominance and racism.
But, erasing racism can't mean erasing race. It can't mean African Americans shoulder the responsibility of reconciling race and ethnic conflict alone. I heard a white astor say t's not askin issue, it's a sin issue. It can be both. Resolution can never mean conformity of acqiescing to the In this election season, Democratic candidates or minorities can't be the only ones addressinI cism. Whites must also admit that racism is the cause of the tension between races
When we are cut as a nation, economic downturn and state side terrorism as taught us, we all bleed American blood. Yet our nation operates like one big dysfunctional family with prejudice and racism permeating everyday life. It is the responsibility of every race to confront racism for the common enemy it is -- as a societal construct that keeps the nation divided.
President Barack Obama has attempted to quell the rising fear in the country saying, “Fear can feed our most selfish impulses and erode the bonds of community. It is a primal emotion–fear–one that we all experience, and it can be contagious, spreading through societies, and through nations, and if we let it consume us, the consequences of that fear can be worse than any outward threat."
He's right.
America, let us heal before all the healers are gone.
Written on February 9, 2016 IN MEMORY OF MARSHAWN MCCARREL.
American news reports bode a nation on the verge of a possible racial implosion. Headlines speak of racially rooted, hypertensive tumult that is 100% made in America. At the same time, the nation remains the target of external threats, creating a climate of stress and anxiety. As racial upheaval increases during an election season political polarization along racial lines threatens democracy itself. GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump is a common thread in the hate that is brewing in America.
The American system of government has shifted from its fundamental ideals to being a government focused of the government that was designed to serve the people to both citizens and politicians losing sightof this goal. The overwhelming issue of gun control is an area where we can see many citizens placing a higher stake on politics as opposed to the people. As mass shootings occur, the gun control debate I divided along partisan lines and proponents are more interested in protecting gun rights than saving lives. It would seem that minimizing the loss of life can not be categorized along party lines, but when it came time for vote on the issue of gun control reform there was Congressional gridlock. House Democrats held a sit in led by Elijah Cummings for nearly 26 hours in a protest over inaction on gun control legislation.
The Framers wrote the Constitution as the guide post for governance and everyday it appears the principles are becoing more lucid. America is a Constitutional Republic governed by a democratic process. It is defined as a government for the people, by the people. Throughout American history this definition has only been practical for a portion of the populace as systematic discriminatory practices left out racial minorities. In America, the rules are different for Blacks and Whites. Our founding fathers never intended to place the slaves they owned on a level playing field and the soverign document has never been changed to address this need.
This reality led Andrew Hacker to author the book "Two Nations: White Black, Spearate, Hostile and Unequal."
hacker argues that black are marginlaized from insitutionalized racism, the stigma form slavery and all other minrity groups can assimilate into the white category so there are two groups of poeple in America, Black and White. He received death threast asthe book was nt favored among cncseravtive.
White supremacy is a system of seprating races The Republic is embroiled in election year politics that has Black America asking, which candidate is gong to protect us and White America seeking a leader who will allow the to regain control. Since the election of the first black president, Barack Obama, race relations have not been as strained sincethe 1960, At a time in our history when there are more blacks in governmental leadership than ever before.
How can Americans face the clear and present danger of terrorists if in the way we practice democracy, we are our own worst enemy? "How can we heal the wounds of the world if we can not heal our own?," vocalist Rachelle Farrell once asked in a song. The answer is simple. We can't. Unless and until the righteous arise in unity to address her racist ills the nation is prone to self-destruct. More importantly, unless and until democracy itself becomes fair, America will pay for her systematically imposed infractions against minorities.
All the warning signs are there. The unraveling of our nation is not going to happen. It is happening right before our eyes. Here are just a few examples in the media reflecting how America is engorged with divisive racial tension that may eventually lead to its demise:
- Two presidential candidates with extreme ideals (Sanders the Democrat and Trump the Republican) captivated America, an indication of the paralyzing polarity that is keeping the country divided at a time when unity is essential. Consider the optics of their campaign gatherings. Color is a dividing line. Trump, the racist narcissist tends to draw an almost all white crowd. Sanders, a socialist with seemingly impossible-to-implement ideas, tends to appeal to a mixed audience, and is trailing his opponent Hillary Clinton with the African American vote. We are virtually looking at the formation of two pools of voters: one white, one "other."
- In Oregon. . .A stand off between citizens and the government at a wildlife refuge lasted over 40 days. If this faction were Black or another minority group, as history would inform us , there would be blood all over the plains and much sooner than in this encounter. The degree of patience the Feds have exercised over this situation in comparison to the trigger happy tendencies demonstrated in law enforcement encounters with unarmed Blacks is telling.(See: Waco, TX ranch Davidian standoff.)
- Conservatives, motivated by the outlandish claims of former NYC Mayor Rudy Guliani, are attacking Beyonce for artistically expressing righteous indignation over systematic racism during her Super Bowl performance and construing her self-pride as a threat to police. A Canadian politician has suggested the feds investigate Beyoncé before she enters their country. This is proof that the angst against African Americans is international and White superiority runs all around the globe.
- In Washington, DC. . .Congress continues its disrespect of Pres. Barack Obama with the outright rejection of his budget proposal. House Speaker Paul Ryan won't even look at it. The record reflects a history of Congress being more uncooperative with Obama on critical issues carrying over from one leader to the next . The gridlock was blamed on former House Speaker John Boehner, but the partisan divide is just as wide under Ryan's leadership. No other president in recent history has faced such a blockade That he is Black is not a foregone conclusion
- The devaluing of Black life is so volatile that championship boxer Floyd Mayweather showed up wearing a traditional Muslim headpiece at a Trump rally, presumably to take justice into his own hands after a White man was caught on camera sucker punching a Black man as he was leaving a Trump rally in North Carolina. The video also capture the police unneccessisarily roughing up the black man..
- In Anaheim, CA the Klan and ordinary citizens clashed leaving three injured. One counter protestor was in critical condition after a Klansman stabbed him with a flag pole.
- On the eve of Donald Trump winning Super Tuesday primaries a black female college student in Kentucky was shoved by a small mob of angry White men while being escorted out of the rally. The scene was reminiscent of segregation.
- In Ohio. . .A 23-year-old #blacklivesmatter activist Marshawn McCarrel, II, who Radio One recognized as a "Hometown Hero" allegedly shot himself on the steps of the Ohio statehouse. He attended the NAACP Image Awards during the week before this death. The last words posted on Facebook were, "My demons won today. I'm sorry." One parting tweet read, “If we don’t have to live through hell just to get to heaven. I’ma (sic) stay right here with you.” The last tweet posted on his feed shows he felt hell and American were one in the same: “Let the record show that I pissed on the state house before I left.” McCarrel had every reason to believe life in America for a Black man would be a living hell. He was a captive slaves that jumped ship during the Middle Passage of modern day slavery He did not die a martyr. He died as a depressed, battle weary freedom fighter, a life consumed by fighting against hate.
- Samuel Dubose, a black man, was shot and killed by a University of Cincinnati police officer in September of 2015.
- Police on opposite ends of the country killed two black men within days of each other sparking national outrae. A black Charlotte man was killed in an officer involved shooting just days after an Okalahma man, Terence CLutcher was illed by plice on Tulsa Oklahoma. The police officer who killed Clutcher was charged with manslaughter. In Charlotte however, conflicting accounts of what ld to the shotting form the family of the victim and police led to a protest. National outrage reached a fever pitch when Atlanta joined the protest to demad accountability for police over reach. A week earlier a Muslim man set off a bomb in New York Cty, but lived to etell of his affiliation with ISIS. Most Black were angerd by a known terrorist getting better treatment when the black victims hurt no one. There was a clear distintion that police have a shorter fuse when it comes to black susepcts and a prone to shoot to kill.
Too many Americans will deny the thread of racism is woven into every one of these stories or that racism has America in a choke hold. The nation is at the mercy of evil doers who are willing to either control, brainwash or annihilate others to preserve a hierarchy of White supremacy.
There is a sense of desperation permeating this democracy in these headlines. They show the ramifications of systematic White dominance and racism.
But, erasing racism can't mean erasing race. It can't mean African Americans shoulder the responsibility of reconciling race and ethnic conflict alone. I heard a white astor say t's not askin issue, it's a sin issue. It can be both. Resolution can never mean conformity of acqiescing to the In this election season, Democratic candidates or minorities can't be the only ones addressinI cism. Whites must also admit that racism is the cause of the tension between races
When we are cut as a nation, economic downturn and state side terrorism as taught us, we all bleed American blood. Yet our nation operates like one big dysfunctional family with prejudice and racism permeating everyday life. It is the responsibility of every race to confront racism for the common enemy it is -- as a societal construct that keeps the nation divided.
President Barack Obama has attempted to quell the rising fear in the country saying, “Fear can feed our most selfish impulses and erode the bonds of community. It is a primal emotion–fear–one that we all experience, and it can be contagious, spreading through societies, and through nations, and if we let it consume us, the consequences of that fear can be worse than any outward threat."
He's right.
America, let us heal before all the healers are gone.
Written on February 9, 2016 IN MEMORY OF MARSHAWN MCCARREL.
