The “Families Belong Together March” came six days after San Francisco’s Pride Day.
Your White Supremacy is Killing Me
Seen on a sign at Pride, 2018
Americans are a funny lot; we’ll give a pass to sexual and religious hypocrisy,
treat the theft of a SCOTUS Seat as if it was a gaming strategy, and wait for a savior as an obviously lawless and malignant GOP conspires with Vladimir Putin to hinder an investigation into an act of war against us. But the sight of a sadistic President gleefully using the federal government to abuse children works our very last nerve.
A federal policy of abusing immigrants and children is kindling for a growing sense that Trump’s government is alien to Americans and a threat to who
we are as a people; at Pride the response to this is we intend to fight back.
A speaker reminded the crowd that gays and feminists didn’t win rights by throwing parties:
At the Families Belong Together March, I heard it expressed as moral outrage:
Our Founders were clear which branch of government steps in when the other three branches are compromised:
On July 4, 1776, Thomas Jefferson explained why the colonies sought independence and why the colonials would fight and die for it:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.—
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. —
That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness… it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”
State Sanctioned child abuse is intolerable and the horror of a President who devises policies that allow him to indulge in it transcends all differences.
This is what democracy looks like:
I give Joan Baez the closing line:
“At some point it will become necessary to do Civil Disobedience.”
Joan Baez, June 30, 2018 Families Belong Together
(c) Rob Goldstein 2018
I really hope that this is indeed the American people’s final straw.
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I think the last straw will be when Americans comprehend that Mitch McConnell knew the 2016 election was rigged which is why he held that SCOTUS seat open in 2016. The GOP’s desperate bid for power was stacking our courts even if it meant turning our nation over to a Russian tyrant who makes money from trafficking abandoned and orphaned children. We are betrayed by selfish men who want power as a means of venting their cruelty.
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We have always been betrayed by powerful (white) men, going all the way back to this country’s earliest days. The difference now is that modern technology has given cruel, sociopathic men more power than ever before.
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Human beings betray each other and human beings inspire each other to be their best.
It’s imperative to remember, White Supremacists do not represent the white race. When we forget this we cut us ourselves off from a crucial piece of history: the people who gave us slavery also gave us a vision of a world without slavery.
The men who gave us American Democracy were educated men and members of the social elite (the Gentry) of their day ,but they had a vision of form of government in which
all people were treated equally before the law.
They wanted a world in which a king couldn’t seize your property and have you hanged because it amused him.
Everyone was the property of the King.
On 1865, less than hundred years later, another white man gave his life because he stood with abolitionists to rid our land of slavery.
Our democracy evolves and relapses as we fumbled toward a global social order that respects the humanity of all people.
And as more people gain access to the tools of education we see more people of all races adding to the debate and joining the long list of men and women of all races and creeds who struggle to bring a more perfect Union into the world.
The problem is not being white; the problem is a tribal mentality more suited to the jungles of our birth as a species.
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Well said Rob, I stand corrected. I occasionally find it hard to not give into cynicism.
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It helps me to remember that we may never be perfect at living up to our noble ideals and principles, but trying our best makes life better for everyone. It’s trying that distinguishes a great generations.
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You keep us honest, Robert!
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Nah—it’s being open to new information that keeps us honest. But I catch what you mean. 🙂
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“This is a gathering storm.”
~Nods agreement~
I used to think someone needed to send a copy of The Prince to George W. Bush because obviously, he’d never read it. Now I think someone needs to nick the page in it that says “don’t ever mess with a civilian population’s women or children” (loosely paraphrased) and nail it to Trump’s forehead. Or at least the Oval Office door.
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The Invasion of Iraq was the self inflicted wound that gave Putin his opening.
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Rob, this is a powerful post. Thank you for pulling it together.
I’m glad you included the words from Thomas Jefferson.
Hugs my friend.
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This was a magnifying glass of our society and we need to not just sit or stand by. A call to action is necessary. I liked the silence is not an option poster! 🕊️ 🌈
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I felt a joining of forces across political and cultural the 2017 Science and Tax Marches. I also hears it at last year’s Pride Rally This year there is more unity and the tone is more strident. This is a gathering storm.
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Yes, a gathering storm to heal, join together and help clear understanding. Changing perspectives to become united in love.
Rob across political and cultural differences would be wonderful and a true miracle! 💕
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I think many of us have. I’m a radical lefty who agrees with Morning Joe when it comes to an attack on our Nation and a President who rolls for the enemy. I know I’m not the only one.
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Silence, indeed, is not an option. How sad all this is.
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Yes and no. It really is up to the people. I have faith in our will to do what we must do.
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