It was pain she suppressed the twinge. It had come to her first a few years after they had left Italy to emigrate to America and settle at last in Sulaco after wandering from town to town, trying shopkeeping in a small way here and there; and once an organized enterprise of fishing—in Maldonado—for Giorgio, like the great Garibaldi, had been a sailor in his time.
It was pain she suppressed the twinge. It had come to her first a few years after they had left Italy to emigrate to America and settle at last in Sulaco after wandering from town to town, trying shopkeeping in a small way here and there; and once an organized enterprise of fishing—in Maldonado—for Giorgio, like the great Garibaldi, had been a sailor in his time.
The last 24 hours has been like a bitter time capsule. It takes me back to when I was 7 years old–the racial and socioeconomic tensions in the south during the late 1960’s were incredible.
I will never forget the night Martin Luther King was assassinated. It happened about 70 miles from my house. The Memphis sanitation workers were on strike–our whole part of the state was on edge–and everyone was fearing the strikes themselves (and now the assassination as a flash point) would spawn riots nationally.
That night was the first time (of just a few) I ever remember seeing my Dad “shaken.” He was a car repo-man at the time, working all over West Tennessee. I will never forget the look on his face when he came home early from work and looked at my Mom and told her, “I came straight home because they’re saying on the radio that some nut just shot Martin Luther King down in Memphis.” She cupped her hands to her face and was obviously frightened–and that scared me. They locked the doors (we never really did back then), turned the lights down and we moved to the back part of the house to eat. Well, my brother & I ate; my parents just kind of fidgeted with their forks over their plates, staring at the wall with the TV blaring in the background.
For the next few years, people continued to fear others “unlike them” on the streets. Anyone “different” was looked upon with suspicion. People tended to look down and not at each other’s faces. We got away from that for awhile in the 80’s & 90’s–but the tone of national politics over the last decade, replete with our first biracial President stoking the fires of racism–has thrust us right back into “tension mode.”
Under his administration, the unprecedented explosive growth of government regulations–supposedly to regulate and keep it in check–has actually exacerbated it. I say that because, when our “leaders” focus on providing special treatment based on what precedes our “hyphens” to differentiate us, we lose our sense of commonality. Unfounded claims of “assuring equality” actually ensure preferential treatment for some at the expense of others.
In every way, the greater the government, the lesser our independence. The lesser our independence, the lesser “character” matters. I see all kinds of comments on Facebook & Twitter regarding what is going on in Ferguson, Missouri, today. It pains me because parts of “reasoning” in arguments from BOTH sides actually make complete sense to me.
However, the name calling, the hate, the racial & political generalizations drive me nuts. No matter where you fall on the ubiquitous #Ferguson, please, please remember just one thing through all of this: “gang mentality” or “thug mentality” is a culture based on revenge & retribution for all things considered a slight–whether real, or imagined. As in: “You disrespect me, you dead.”
We’re seemingly at the point where all “special interests” refuse to accept that civility is the main component of a “civil” society. White / Black / Hispanic / Straight / Gay / Christian / Catholic / Buddhist / Agnostic / Atheist / Muslim / Hindu / Democrat / Republican / Libertarian / Independent / Patriotic (Whatever your personal “pre-hyphen identity” preference is), never forget:
Respect is EARNED, not DEMANDED. When you get it without expecting it, there is nothing more rewarding. When you demand it but don’t get it, you feel slighted and begin to fantasize about “well, I’ll show them…” In short, the way you treat others becomes, “all about YOU.” At that point, civility goes out the window and you begin to treat those unlike you as sub-human. Because, well, the whole world revolves around “you” and they’re just idiots for not realizing that, right?
Would #Ferguson even be a trending hashtag, had Michael Brown had not decided he was entitled to steal those cigars in the first place? Would the police have ever been called had he not acted as if they were “his” for the taking? Yes, things get taken out of context. Things get blown out of proportion and people get crazy. But looting and burning a city down–taking away the livelihoods and jobs of dozens in the process–in the name of “justice” is a domestic terrorist act unrivaled. Using the excuse “I hate cops” does nothing but hurt innocent people and help usher in a stronger police state. Perhaps that is the goal of these outsiders? Will we ever even know?
Not trying to be cynical, but these riots are not being coordinated and executed by locals. This has been orchestrated, inflamed and hyped by outside forces of evil. If you can ADD to the conversations about solutions, by all means, please step up. I’m perplexed and openly admit it. I want to help us seek solutions, but I don’t fall for partisan talking points. And neither should you…political parties consistently seek more power, not solutions.
Distressed to see all this talk of Obama’s imperial presidency wanting to “punish Assad.” Don’t read this wrongly; I think what happened in Syria was EVIL on every level and Assad should/will ultimately be held accountable. But wars, especially world wars, begin by unprovoked attacks that cross international borders. The whole world (except France, so really the whole world) is against US intervention at this point! Russia and China are Syrian allies. China holds most of U.S. debt. Tick them off and they can break our economy permanently.
Dare I say, “Duh?”
As a new week of partisan political planking (“Nuh-uh, the speck’s in YOUR eye”) gets going full swing through my timeline, it’s a good time to remember the words of Martin Niemöller: “First they came for the communists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist. Then they came for the socialists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me.”