"Negroes are told, in a language they cannot possibly misunderstand, that their native land is not their own. And when they, acting upon impulses which they share with whites, try to assert a claim to their birthright, whites retaliate with terror...."
Richard Wright
Black Boy
Obviously "Negroes" is a term so dated that it is now unacceptable, but if you feel the need to correct Richard Wright, then your arms are longer than mine are. That said, it's stunning to me how topical these words...published in 1945...are today in 2019.
We have a president who has told four women of color to Go Back to Where They Came From--
--and we have a crowd of people who not only applaud him for it, but who take up a chant of "Send her back!" This with respect to three women who were born in the United States, and one who became a U.S. citizen when she was 17 years old.
I'm ashamed of our country right now. I am ashamed that over one third of my fellow citizens support a man who acts in such hateful ways to non-white people.
I don't like playing The Hitler Card, because hyperbole is a dangerous two-edged sword, but with the disclaimer that I do not think that Trump is a Hitler at this point, I do have to say this:
Many times I have thought about Nazi Germany and wondered, "How on earth did the people of Germany allow this to happen?" Well, Trump's presidency has given me the answer to that question. It happens in degrees, and it happens because regular folk either have no power or feel that they have no power. I'm inclined to think it's more of the latter than the former, especially when I see images of the protests in Hong Kong wherein millions of people took to the streets day after day, and refused to back down from confrontations with the police.
Where is our outrage?
I don't think that we can depend upon the justice system or the ballot box to fix this. I think we've got to do it ourselves.
I'm ashamed of our country right now. I am ashamed that over one third of my fellow citizens support a man who acts in such hateful ways to non-white people.
I don't like playing The Hitler Card, because hyperbole is a dangerous two-edged sword, but with the disclaimer that I do not think that Trump is a Hitler at this point, I do have to say this:
Many times I have thought about Nazi Germany and wondered, "How on earth did the people of Germany allow this to happen?" Well, Trump's presidency has given me the answer to that question. It happens in degrees, and it happens because regular folk either have no power or feel that they have no power. I'm inclined to think it's more of the latter than the former, especially when I see images of the protests in Hong Kong wherein millions of people took to the streets day after day, and refused to back down from confrontations with the police.
Where is our outrage?
I don't think that we can depend upon the justice system or the ballot box to fix this. I think we've got to do it ourselves.
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