In the 80's, there was a massive change in tone and an expectation of Christians to become republicans and to support such slanted idiots as Rush Limbaugh and Jerry Fallwell / the Moral Majority. I hadn't really chosen a side until then but as I walked out of a Sunday School class, the teacher followed me to argue about me rolling my eyes at her praising of Ronald Reagan. She said that I was a Christian, so clearly I was a Republican and supported Reagan. I told her that My grandfather was a Democrat, my Father is a Democrat and I guess from now on, I will be an outspoken one. She got a case of the vapors and we never discussed again. In school, I went toe to toe with the Reagan heads and it seemed as though the world was against me. It also became glowingly obvious that these same folks tended to also be on the wrong side of racial issues and they'd often speak of welfare, people of color and women in horrible terms. Dog whistles and coded words were constant. Around this same time, I had a friend named Stanley (God rest his soul) who I became fast friends with. He was my first African American friend and an awesome person. He showed me a glimpse of the real world. We discussed struggles and shared more than a few malt liquors including my first which was hilarious because he told me it was a black version of beer.
As I evolved more and more, the typical people I had always hung out with became less and less accepting of my views and opinions. The church remained a constant and being Pentecostal made it even worse. In my lifetime, this church believed that women shouldn't cut their hair or wear makeup or even wear pants. We even had to wear our shorts over sweatpants in a basketball game because it was also a sin for men to wear shorts. We also were just over the time period of soda's being sinful. Til this day, women are treated as second class citizens and although technically, they aren't openly racist, you can bet your life that they privately remain so. Over the years, I have hardened my resolve and I know where I stand on pretty much every issue. This is also why I left the church. I will qualify that remark by saying that there are some churches who aren't guilty and are much more progressive and liberal minded. There is one in particular that I have attended since that never speaks political garbage during services and that's as it should be. The church used to be controlled by segregation and hate, then gender inequality, then abortion, then their stance on marriage equality and now, back to racism. It's entirely odd to watch religion change their stance on slavery and the KKK even though slavery is supported more than 100 times in the bible. The subjugation of Women remains a sore spot but the church changed their stances even though they believe biblical passages still apply that tell Women to submit to men and to remain quiet. Now, there needs to be a change because homosexuality is mentioned far less than the others. In fact there are only a few verses and hardly any in the new testament that even broach the subject and there are zero mentions of trans people. Can you see that we stand on shaky ground in our condemnation of others? As a result of the marriage of church and state...Republicanism, Nationalism, Christianity and right wing extremism, we find ourselves right back where we started, racist by default.
In many ways, racism never left it was just swept under the rug. There was plenty of company there including the Native American slaughter and the witches burned at the stake just to name a few. Let's get straight on point. A bunch of your are way to quick to jump on the back the blue band wagon and it's sadly predictable. Because of the societal pressure you've soaked in, you can't detach yourself for even a moment from your white privilege. When the hell did the white poor and working class become so chummy with the police anyway? I know I've had my fair share of run ins with them. See, I'm mot the guy who immediately says thank you for your service to anyone for any reason because some are assholes. Now before you start flipping out, I have plenty of friends and family who served in military, law enforcement and all walks of voluntary service and I know plenty who are deserving of respect but I also have been involved with many that suck. Take for instance my first traffic stop. I was cruising home in a 1963 Chevy II Nova that had been restored by my brother. I was oblivious to anyone else in the world being around me as I breezed though stop signs and exceeded the speed limit. By the time I hit 3rd gear (3 on the tree) I could barely make out some sort of lights far behind me. I made a right turn and sure enough, there was a patrol car that jetted by where I had come from. I turned around in a subdivision and by the time I got back to the main road, there were 3 patrol cars waiting. As I got out of the car, there were several young cops, some that I had even attended school with. They started in on me with the yelling and asking why I was running and did I have drugs? One even through in the ever popular "boy" after each accusation. The original officer told them to pipe down and grabbed my arm telling me to get in his car. He was the only African American on the force in our town and he proceeded to break it down for me. He said they could throw me in jail and call my Father but instead, he was going to let me go with a reckless driving ticket and 6 points. My Dad was not happy with any of it and was ready to go to war but I told him that thanks to officer Barney, nothing worse happened. Yes, you always should act calm and as respectful as possible but in my case, it wouldn't have mattered if the younger asshole cops had been allowed to continue with me. Good Cops, I love you and thank you but ya'll need to speak up and be willing to expose the bad apples. No more excuses. The blue wall of silence is over.
All lives matter? Yes, we know and you can stop yelling that now. All lives aren't being hunted down in the street and shot in broad daylight. All lives aren't being chocked to death for no reason. All lives don't have to have the talk with their children. All lives aren't worried each time they drive home or walk the street. No, Black Lives matter and should have always. Colin Kaepernick tried to tell us but we didn't listen. White America turned it's wrath toward him and the President called him a Son of a Bitch, very classy by the way. They turned their anger against him and burned jerseys because they were told to by their leaders and churches and political gods. Great job idiots. We can't have peaceful or silent protest that make us feel uncomfortable so now, we have actual protest. Make up your mind please. We are so deceived as a people and so blinded by our own beliefs that we can't even reason together. Where am I at? I'm with Black Lives Matter, I'm with Marriage equality, I'm with equal rights and the right for a women to control her own body. I'm for equality on all fronts. I'm for progression and forward thinking. Can I also ask one more question? Why in the hell would any African American allow the right wing and Republican Party to ever state that they are still being kept on the plantation by the Democratic Party. Get this one straight my friend. The Party of Lincoln died in the 60's. The Dixiecrats walked out of the Democratic convention over the issue of civil rights and joined the Republican Party which welcomed them with open arms. Since that time, one Party has stood up for civil and equal rights and the working man while the other has remained a safe harbor for the bigot and the corporations. Both parties are not the same and never have been. Are there still a few nasty racist holdovers in the Democratic Party? Sure but I have no problem denouncing them and telling them to kick bricks all day.
It's no longer acceptable to just remain quiet and not be racist. It's time to take a stand and to speak up for others. I once coached a basketball team. We had 1 African American and he was an instant All Star. The other team members and their Dads called a meeting to set me straight. They revolted and complained about the Black kid being a ball hog. They threw the word "colored" around and then asked me what I was going to do about it. I thought for a second and then I unloaded. I remarked that rest assured if I could find 4 more Black athletes, none of them would ever play again. I walked out of the room and we never discussed again but they got the point. I could continue to share story after story but in closing, you will eventually have to make a stand and choose a side. Make sure you aren't on the wrong side of history and that you always stand up for justice. I am so thoroughly blessed that my kids are now participating in Democracy and being politically active in the correct ways. The youth are smarter and more dedicated and that's why the Democratic Party will one day reclaim the South for Liberty and Fairness. The Southern Strategy of racism and bigotry by the Republican Party will end in our lifetimes.
Black Lives Matter
The Southern Donkey Blog
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