One reason racism is alive and well is that it's a political and corporate agenda to keep it so
I've been asking myself why is it that the murder of Trayvon Martin has become such a political issue? We've become so desensitized to our present extreme divide over all issues along partisan lines that it just seems like this issue being handled in the same way feels almost normal.
Here we are having discussions about racism and how it's still widespread and alive and thriving as if it's groups of ordinary people like the teabaggers are keeping it savagely alive and rampant. Is it possible that those groups of people aren't really all that powerful and that it's still with us because it's a political football and a corporate moneymaker? President Obama is just the catalyst that let the monster out of the closet where it should have stayed cowering in the darkest corner the way it was before he came along. I remember clearly after Palin was unleashed on us and she used racist dog whistle language the teabaggers came to life like a deadly plague because politicians like Dick Armey, with the backing of corporatists like the Koch brothers started organizing, busing in and fanning the flames of racist fear and hate that teabaggers have.
What I remember about Obama being elected is that he was actually elected by the great majority of people in this country. That means that one hell of a lot of white Americans cast the vote to make him our President, yet almost immediately the media, and especially FOX started giving credence to the teabaggers and driving that racist wedge into the American consciousness. Hell, Hannity and Beck actually personally lead the mobs at times, becoming the rallying point of insane marches and events. The teabaggers were led by the nose to do the political bidding of their new masters. They were happy to finally vent their rage.
I can't help asking myself why this criminal case is splitting down political lines. Why are the usual suspects, like Hannity and Limbaugh aligning themselves exactly like we knew they would. Surely the shocked reaction to the murder of any child crosses the political divide doesn't it? Yes, but not if it's a black child being murdered? My answer is yes, even then. The very same majority that elected President Obama will have the same shocked and disgusted reaction to this murder.
Part of the issue is the law that allows people like Zimmerman to get away with this crime. This law is a politically motivated law which is a darling of the NRA agenda. They want it, paid for it and will fight to keep it alive, and part of how the NRA fights to expand their sales is to buy politicians who make it law. This isn't racism. This is corporate standard operating procedure to further their power and their bottom line. They use their power over the media and the politicians they've bought and paid for to muddy the waters and make it look like the racism is coming from the population, when in reality it's something they've carefully cultivated for generations.
It's not realistic to believe that the same people who voted for the first Black President have suddenly awakened to what they did and are now against him because he's Black. That's nuts. And I think it's also completely false. I also think that if we pay close attention to the overall picture without getting bogged down in the details of this story we can see that this issue is being manipulated to keep us divided and fighting along racial lines. I believe George Zimmerman is racist, but his actions are those of a coward who is scared shitless of black people acting out because there's a law that protects him now. The story of our reaction should start with that and end with that as far as condemning it. And everyone, Republican or Democrat should be reacting in the same way. This is a crime.
The fact that the reactions have fallen along political lines give it all away in my opinion. It's just too obvious to ignore, because the facts are all right there, staring us in the face.
We either waste time fighting each other as they want us to, or we see the truth and fight the real enemy. I believe the majority of the people in this country are not racists. That they may have some racial stereotype ideas is plausible, but in general I believe most Americans, regardless of their misguided feelings about race aren't violent deranged racists who want to kill children or who want to defend that murder. And I think we need to stand up and say so in this latest tragic opportunity for a dialogue about race.
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