Thursday, June 25, 2015

Heritage or hate?

I had planned on avoiding all things political, religious or controversial on this blog but that didn't last long. I have been watching the aftermath of the terrible tragedy in Charleston, SC and feel I must add my voice to the fray. I will try to be respectful and I ask you to do the same.

Being "Southern" is a complicated thing. It's more than a funny accent and a fondness for sweet tea. Southern people are for the most part kind, loving, funny, community-centered, family-oriented, generous, eccentric and often down right crazy. But there is also a dark side to being "Southern". There is grinding poverty, hopelessness, domestic and sexual abuse, lack of education, and a tendency to be an insular society. We really don't like to be told what to do...it puts our backs up so to speak. This leads to trouble and reinforcement of stereotypes.

I think everyone can agree that what happened in Charleston was horrific. There is no justification for it. It is repulsive and heart breaking. Did the Confederate flag cause this young man to commit this heinous act? Absolutely not. His hatred fueled his hand not a symbol. But this is where it gets tricky.

You can wax on and on about how the Civil War was fought over state's rights and not slavery. You can ignore the fact that part of the rights they wanted to protect were the rights to enslave other human beings for profit. I have no doubt that honorable men fought under that battle flag for what they believed to be an honorable cause. I disagree about the honorable cause part but I do not doubt their sincerity.

What I do object to is the use of that flag to spread hatred and fear. The KKK and other white power groups use that flag to sew dissent, spread their sickening hatred and cause others to be afraid. Just look at historic photos of Klan rallies and you will see it proudly displayed. Today people have forgotten just what the Klan was all about. It was not just about hating Black folks. They hated anyone of any color, Catholics, Jews, immigrants of all colors including the white folks who came from Ireland and other western European countries as well as gays, inter-racial couples and anyone else who didn't fit into their demented world view as deserving to be Americans.

If you want to celebrate your "Southern" heritage then love your family, support your community, be honest, have integrity, fight for what you believe is right, be funny, be eccentric, be crazy as shit, love God and do unto others what you would have done unto you. You do not need a symbol of hatred and divisiveness to do so. Stand up as "Southern" people and say we don't need a symbol of hatred to be ourselves and to be proud of who we are and where we came from. We do not need symbols of racism when we don't hold these views in our hearts. Be courageous for what is right! Violence, hatred and racism are not what is right. Be proud to be a caring and kind individual. And go have some sweet tea.

Namaste


1 comment:

  1. I too have struggled with the "political" aspect of Charleston. My heart is grateful if it raises awareness of how all - regardless of geographical location- can become blind to the suffering of all human beings as well as the earth. Our consumerism, feeling of privilege, and disregard of all that does not benefit "my needs" is a root of hatred, war, ecological disaster. To say that the Civil War was simply about slavery is wrong. Even Lincoln saw this. It was about "ignorance" that all humanity and the earth are interconnected. The politics has focused upon the slavery of the south yet we buy shoes, clothing and vast array of "needed" items from countries that do not pay the workers and enslave them just as much as the south enslaved African Americans. We have no problem with mothers unable to feed their children. The homeless. Mentally ill turned out into the streets. The elderly shoved away into nursing homes with care that would make One Flew over the Cuckoo's nest seem like a five star hotel. Then to add Japanese Americans incarcerated and stripped of their land during WWII, the Jewish Holocaust, and our own Native American enslavement. Women have been denigrated to pawns and skeleton trophies. Children are bullied into suicide. We see no problem with that. It is not the Confederate Flag that fuels murder. It is, in fact any flag - including the American Flag- that disregards the plight of all people suffering. Any flag that hangs that says "only this people" shall have privilege is wrong.

    I grew up during the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama. I saw what religion, politics, education, and hatred did to African Americans. It is something most of the country only reads about but cannot imagine. The acts make me shudder. But I saw good people who simply never questioned. I saw hateful people who used the Bible and fear to harm African Americans. I see the same today across our nation, our own political rhetoric, and the world. Before any judge "the south" I think we desperately need to look at ourselves and how our own "flags" of action are physically, spiritually, and emotionally "killing" others.... and the earth.

    Namaste.... and a toast of sweet tea.

    ReplyDelete

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