Seen on a random wall: Bill Maher called Michael Brown a thug. Maher never met or had any interaction with anyone that have ever met or communicated with Michael Brown. The Friday night before the Treyvon Martin / George Zimmerman verdict, two of Maher’s white quest said they thought Zimmerman was justified in murdering the child he had stalked, one of Maher’s guest called Treyvon a “Thug Want To be “ without providing any personal knowledge of the young man’s character or mythical thuggish behavior. Bill Maher made a similar insensitive remarks when Black men, women and children were prevented from crossing a New Orleans bridge to Gretna Louisiana to find shelter and safety from the aftermath of Katrina. Police officers fired on the mostly black crowed to keep them out of the predominately white Gretna LA. Maher said he would hope the Los Angeles police would do the same if they saw a Black crowd coming toward his neighborhood. White privilege and white supremacy is a characteristic of the American Reich but it is also quite common in some who call themselves progressive. - - - Yes, thats the word for that kind of kneejerk depiction: white supremacy. Libertarian Bill Maher (Libertarian being a dogwhistle for white supremacy) is worse than OReilly, Hannity, Limbaugh, Coulter, et al, because he cloaks his bias with jokes and clever. Hes an attention seeker, and his comedy is nearly always at the expense of others - in a mean way. Simply ask yourself, Why is Ann Coulter his favorite guest? and you will see what I mean. He considers himself superior. White bigotry toward people of color... it boggles my mind that something so petty would predispose people against another human being, though I know it does. Ive understood that - and tried to express that clearly - since at least the age of 12 or 13, when the Muncie Star published a letter to the Editor from my mother about racial riots in Selma, and included a brief poem written by me about a wistful child in a window watching others play, and questioning the exclusion - in which she had judiciously edited the final line, which now read youre black and they are white. I had written, youre black and we are white. That difference, that - editing - that assumption of otherness, as perpetrator and as victim - IS racism. That difference IS blindness. Even in a socially liberal house where the records included Mahalia Jackson and Nat King Cole. That difference is all the difference between being asleep to prejudice and being awake to it, between treating people fairly and respectfully and mindful of their feelings and fears and their life situation - doing unto others as one would have done unto oneself - and automatic, kneejerk, assumptions about thugs. Racism seems to be RISING - not lowering. But then, its reinforced in nearly every crime show on television. Crack cocaine and weed birthed an entire entertainment dynasty - Law & Order - filled with black gangs, black robbers, black drug dealers, black thieves... while the epidemic of meth in America was made into an heroic saga about a beleaguered chemistry teacher... like Tony Soprano, a fleshed-out human being. White crime is Al Pacino firing off, say hello to my little friend. And Leonardo diCaprio awash in the bling of Wall Street. And the Koch Boys buying up Congress and paying off regulators faster than their pipeline can spew leaks. White crime is serialized and glorified; black crime is mugshots on TV and grainy, hard to see surveillance video, and obvious thugs. There is an assumption there which is rooted in one place only: racism. This is not the America to which I pledged my allegiance, nearly 60 years ago, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. This is something I dont recognize, and I dont want to.
Posted on: Wed, 03 Dec 2014 08:47:39 +0000
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