I don't even know what to say to Black people. I can say I'm sorry and I'm so ashamed of what happened. But those words are so inadequate and seem quite meaningless when these murders keep happening.
I do know what to say to my fellow White people. We own this. We created this and we must stop this. I can already hear the chorus of voices rising up and saying "not all White people" to which I say "not enough White people." Not enough White people are outraged enough to speak out. Not enough White people are saying these murders must end.
George Floyd, Breonna Tayler, Ahmed Aubrey and too many others have been killed. We White people must do something. No, we cannot always change the hearts and minds of those whose hatred is based on the color of a person's skin. Racism has been a part of our country since the first colonists arrived. But what we can do is say loudly and clearly that we do not and will not tolerate racist behavior. We can demand that people are held accountable for what they do. We can demand that our local, state and federal attorneys prosecute these crimes. We can be allies. We can say enough and finally mean enough and not rest until something is done. But my fellow White people, that will never happen and change will not come until enough of us make it happen. So don't say '"not all White people." Let's join together so there will be enough White people.
Friday, May 29, 2020
Monday, May 25, 2020
Memorial Day 2020
Today is Monday, May 25, 2020. Today is also Memorial Day. A day set aside to honor and remember the men and women of the Armed Forces who, as President Abraham Lincoln so eloquently said on November 19, 1863 in Gettysburg Pennsylvania, "gave the last full measure of devotion." In years past, there have been parades. I remember attending parades as a child then going to the cemetery. The graves of the fallen members of the Armed Forces were in the front. The tombstones were small and white. Each grave had an American Flag on the side of the tombstone. Flags were flown at half-staff until noon and then raised to full staff. The men and women of the Armed forces who are honored on Memorial Day lost their lives serving their country. Some died in combat. Some died as a result of suicide bombers, landmines, surprise attacks. Some died after they completed their duty and were unable to cope with horrors they saw during their military service. Some died from the indifference of a country that should have been grateful for their service, but wasn't and neglected them. Whether their lives were lost during or after their service, they are all deserving of our gratitude, respect and honor. For the families they left behind, this day must be difficult and they, too, deserve our gratitude, respect and honor.
This year is different. This year the United States, like so many countries, is dealing with COVID-19, more commonly known as Coronavirus. The flags have flown at half-staff through Memorial Day weekend per order of the President of the United States. There were no parades. This year, unlike past years, the flags flying at half-staff not only honor the fallen men and women of the Armed Forces, they also honor the lives lost to Coronavirus. As of today, nearly 98,000 lives have been lost. Among the lives lost as a result of this pandemic, are the essential workers. The doctors, nurses, and other hospital employees, the police officers firefighters and paramedics, the grocery store workers and all other workers who did their jobs despite the risk they faced. Like the brave men and women of the armed forces, they, too, "gave the last full measure of devotion." They are all deserving of our gratitude, respect and honor. For the families they left behind, this day must be difficult, especially since it comes so soon after the losses as well as while the losses are still happening and they, too, deserve our gratitude, respect and honor.
On November 21, 1864, a little over a year after delivering his speech at Gettysburg, President Lincoln wrote a letter to Mrs. Bixby. He had been told she had lost five sons. Although she not lost five sons, perhaps those who have lost loved ones as a result of military service or essential workers as a result of coronavirus can find some bit of solace in these words from President Lincoln. "I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save." At Gettysburg, President Lincoln called on the citizens of the United States to "take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion" and to "highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain." Are we not called to do the same?
Friday, April 24, 2020
And then I wept.
I have been recording episodes of Designing Women since they began airing on Antenna TV. I recently watched a two-part episode entiled "The First Day of the Last Decade of the Twentieth-Century" and parts one and two both originally aired January 1, 1990. Part one ended with Julia, Suzanne, Mary Jo, Anthony, Bernice and Anthony's girlfriend Vanessa counting down and then celebrating the New Year in the hospital waiting for Charlene to give birth.
During Part two, Julia introduced Suzanne, Mary Jo, Anthony, Bernice and Anthony's girlfriend Vanessa to Miss Minnie Bell Ward, an African-American woman who was 103 years old, having been born in 1887. The following is what Miss Minnie said:
"Oh, I'm just a thread, a little thread in the tapestry, but I had a good time. Everybody has troubles, and as the saying goes: ain't nobody nowhere living no dream life. I thought as I got older, the bold outlines of truth would be revealed to me, but it hasn't happened. When I was young, I was in such a hurry, and now I've been here a hundred years. And, it seems like only yesterday I held my babies in my arms. I'm glad to be going home, its been a long time since I've seen my family. And I wish for all of you all the love and happiness I had in my life. And I hope the world keeps going toward freedom. And I hope that people everywhere can learn to live together in peace. As my papa used to say, 'We ain't what we should be, we ain't what we gonna be, but at least we ain't what we was.'"
After she finished speaking, Miss Minnie rested her head on the pillow, closed her eyes and passed away and I wept. The tears had been falling from my eyes as Miss Minnie spoke, but after her passing I wept.
I did not weep for Miss Minnie. I wept for my country. I wept because on January 1, 1990, Miss Minnie spoke about her "hope the world keeps going toward freedom" and her "hope that people everywhere can learn to live together in peace." I wept because her "papa used to say 'we ain't what we should be, we ain't what we're gonna be, but at least we ain't what we was.'" I wept because since 2015 our country has taken so many steps backward that "we are what we was" and "what we was" is not something of which we should be proud.
During Part two, Julia introduced Suzanne, Mary Jo, Anthony, Bernice and Anthony's girlfriend Vanessa to Miss Minnie Bell Ward, an African-American woman who was 103 years old, having been born in 1887. The following is what Miss Minnie said:
"Oh, I'm just a thread, a little thread in the tapestry, but I had a good time. Everybody has troubles, and as the saying goes: ain't nobody nowhere living no dream life. I thought as I got older, the bold outlines of truth would be revealed to me, but it hasn't happened. When I was young, I was in such a hurry, and now I've been here a hundred years. And, it seems like only yesterday I held my babies in my arms. I'm glad to be going home, its been a long time since I've seen my family. And I wish for all of you all the love and happiness I had in my life. And I hope the world keeps going toward freedom. And I hope that people everywhere can learn to live together in peace. As my papa used to say, 'We ain't what we should be, we ain't what we gonna be, but at least we ain't what we was.'"
After she finished speaking, Miss Minnie rested her head on the pillow, closed her eyes and passed away and I wept. The tears had been falling from my eyes as Miss Minnie spoke, but after her passing I wept.
I did not weep for Miss Minnie. I wept for my country. I wept because on January 1, 1990, Miss Minnie spoke about her "hope the world keeps going toward freedom" and her "hope that people everywhere can learn to live together in peace." I wept because her "papa used to say 'we ain't what we should be, we ain't what we're gonna be, but at least we ain't what we was.'" I wept because since 2015 our country has taken so many steps backward that "we are what we was" and "what we was" is not something of which we should be proud.
Monday, August 5, 2019
Six minutes and twenty-four seconds
Twenty-four seconds. According to the Mayor of Dayton, Ohio, that is how long it took to kill nine people and injure fourteen people early Sunday morning, August 4, 2019. Just twenty-four seconds, less than half a minute. Thirteen hours earlier, on Saturday morning, August 3, 2019, in El Paso, Texas, a gunman killed twenty people and injured twenty-six people before police arrived six minutes after the shooting started. In six minutes (El Paso) and twenty-four seconds (Dayton) twenty-nine people died and fifty-three people were injured. On Monday, the death toll from the El Paso shooting increased to twenty-two when two of the wounded died at the hospital. Just one week earlier, three people were killed and thirteen people were injured early Sunday evening, July 28, 2019, in Gilroy, California.
The El Paso shooter was taken alive. The Dayton shooter was killed. The Gilroy shooter killed himself. The El Paso shooter posted what many are referring to as a manifesto to explain his reasons for his actions before he started shooting. The Dayton shooter and the Gilroy shooter did post anything before they started shooting. One was driven by hate and bigotry. No one knows for certain what drove the other two. What all three have in common is that they legally obtained the guns and ammunition they used. This will be one of the arguments used to oppose stronger gun regulations. Another argument will be the Second Amendment guarantee that "the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." However, conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, in delivering the majority opinion in DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ET AL. v. HELLER, stated that
"It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose: For example, concealed weapons prohibitions have been upheld under the Amendment or state analogues. The Court’s opinion should not be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms. Miller’s holding that the sorts of weapons protected are those 'in common use at the time' finds support in the historical tradition of prohibiting the carrying of dangerous and unusual weapons. Pp. 54–56."
Assault weapons, while "in common use," now, are clearly "dangerous." A weapon that can be modified, as the Dayton shooter's was, to kill nine people and injure twenty-seven people in twenty-four seconds cannot possibly be considered a gun for "common use." Assault weapons are designed for one purpose and that purpose is to kill and injure as many people as possible in the shortest amount of time. In Dayton, Ohio, that amount of time was twenty-four seconds. Why does any civilian need a weapon which can kill nine people and injure twenty-seven people in twenty-four seconds? That is not a weapon for personal protection or hunting. That is a weapon for killing people.
Those against gun control are quick to blame mental health issues as the reason for mass shootings. But as many have pointed out, the United States is not the only country with people who have mental health issues. Nor, for that matter, is the United States the only country with people exposed to violent video games and movies. Other countries do not have the number of mass shootings that the United States does. The problem is easy access to assault weapons, ammunition and modifications to make those weapons even more deadly. The Dayton shooter modified his weapon so that he could shoot one hundred rounds of ammunition without reloading. He was not in a combat situation. He was not under attack. He was in Dayton, Ohio.
The El Paso shooter was taken alive. The Dayton shooter was killed. The Gilroy shooter killed himself. The El Paso shooter posted what many are referring to as a manifesto to explain his reasons for his actions before he started shooting. The Dayton shooter and the Gilroy shooter did post anything before they started shooting. One was driven by hate and bigotry. No one knows for certain what drove the other two. What all three have in common is that they legally obtained the guns and ammunition they used. This will be one of the arguments used to oppose stronger gun regulations. Another argument will be the Second Amendment guarantee that "the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." However, conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, in delivering the majority opinion in DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ET AL. v. HELLER, stated that
"It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose: For example, concealed weapons prohibitions have been upheld under the Amendment or state analogues. The Court’s opinion should not be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms. Miller’s holding that the sorts of weapons protected are those 'in common use at the time' finds support in the historical tradition of prohibiting the carrying of dangerous and unusual weapons. Pp. 54–56."
Assault weapons, while "in common use," now, are clearly "dangerous." A weapon that can be modified, as the Dayton shooter's was, to kill nine people and injure twenty-seven people in twenty-four seconds cannot possibly be considered a gun for "common use." Assault weapons are designed for one purpose and that purpose is to kill and injure as many people as possible in the shortest amount of time. In Dayton, Ohio, that amount of time was twenty-four seconds. Why does any civilian need a weapon which can kill nine people and injure twenty-seven people in twenty-four seconds? That is not a weapon for personal protection or hunting. That is a weapon for killing people.
Those against gun control are quick to blame mental health issues as the reason for mass shootings. But as many have pointed out, the United States is not the only country with people who have mental health issues. Nor, for that matter, is the United States the only country with people exposed to violent video games and movies. Other countries do not have the number of mass shootings that the United States does. The problem is easy access to assault weapons, ammunition and modifications to make those weapons even more deadly. The Dayton shooter modified his weapon so that he could shoot one hundred rounds of ammunition without reloading. He was not in a combat situation. He was not under attack. He was in Dayton, Ohio.
Monday, February 18, 2019
Celebrating Abraham Lincoln on President's Day 2019
Today is Monday, February 19, 2019. Today, here in the United States, we celebrate President's Day. The current president has called the press the enemy of the people. The current president has suggested that Saturday Night Live should "looked into" because he did not like the way he was portrayed on the show this past weekend. The current president declared a national emergency because Congress refused to let him use taxpayer money to build an unnecessary wall. Forty percent of those living in the United States are celebrating the current president today. I am not one of those people.
Today I am celebrating President Abraham Lincoln who presided over not just a national emergency, but a threat to the very idea that a democratic-republic, a country without a monarchy or dictator or emperor, could actually survive. President Lincoln ended his First Inaugural Address with the words "We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."
President Lincoln ended his Second Annual Message to Congress with the words "Fellow-citizens, we can not escape history. We of this Congress and this Administration will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance or insignificance can spare one or another of us. The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor to the latest generation. We say we are for the Union. The world will not forget that we say this. We know how to save the Union. The world knows we do know how to save it. We, even we here, hold the power and bear the responsibility. In giving freedom to the slave we assure freedom to the free—honorable alike in what we give and what we preserve. We shall nobly save or meanly lose the last best hope of earth. Other means may succeed; this could not fail. The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just . . ."
President Lincoln ended the Gettysburg Address with the words "It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
President Lincoln ended his Second Inaugural Address with the words "With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."
Those words either spoken or written by the Sixteenth President of the United States are familiar to many people. What is perhaps less familiar are these words which President Lincoln, addressing those citizens in the States which had seceded from the Union, also said in his First Inaugural Address "You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the Government, while I shall have the most solemn one to 'preserve, protect, and defend it.'"
Abraham Lincoln believed that to "preserve, protect, and defend" the Constitution of the United States also meant to "preserve, protect, and defend" the Union, the United States, to not allow the country to be torn apart and the Union dissolved. President Lincoln understood that this new experiment in self-government was worth preserving not just for the moment, but for future generations and not just for the United States but for the world.
Today, February 19, 2019, as we in the United States celebrate Presidents Day and I celebrate Abraham Lincoln, I also celebrate the steps we have taken and progress we have made, slow though it may be, to becoming that "more perfect Union."
Monday, October 29, 2018
The deadliest mass shooting again . . .
What can I say to you who have just suffered such a tragic loss? I can say "my thoughts are with you." Or I can add my voice to the those who have sent their "thoughts and prayers." I could join with those who are saying "enough is enough." So what? What good will that do? "Thoughts and prayers" after Columbine did not prevent the shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, an outdoor concert venue in Las Vegas, Nevada, Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, a movie theater in Colorado, Virginia Tech University, Sandy Hook Elementary School, Mother Emmanuel AME Church, Umpqua Community College, a movie theater in Louisiana, or a parking lot where United States Representative Gabrielle Giffords met with her constituents.
So here we are, once again, mourning a tragic shooting. Once again, we are told that now is not the time to talk about enacting reasonable gun control laws. Once again, we hear that the problem is not too many guns, but not enough guns. "If only there had been armed security guards . . . " "If only some of the people inside had guns . . ." Why is the response that we need to turn public and private places into armed fortresses? Why is it that we are told we must return to the "wild, wild, West" mentality of everyone carrying a gun and engaging in shootouts? How is encouraging us to go backwards instead of forward either helpful or reasonable? How does that resolve the problem? How does that help all who have lost loved ones?
How many times will we hear the the words "the deadliest mass shooting . . ." before we decide that we can respect and honor the Second Amendment right to bear arms and still create reasonable gun control laws? When will we stop adding to the pain of all who have been touched by such tragedies because once again we failed to act and they relive their own pain while others experience such indescribable pain for the first time? When will we finally honor those who have died and not continue to let their deaths be in vain?
So here we are, once again, mourning a tragic shooting. Once again, we are told that now is not the time to talk about enacting reasonable gun control laws. Once again, we hear that the problem is not too many guns, but not enough guns. "If only there had been armed security guards . . . " "If only some of the people inside had guns . . ." Why is the response that we need to turn public and private places into armed fortresses? Why is it that we are told we must return to the "wild, wild, West" mentality of everyone carrying a gun and engaging in shootouts? How is encouraging us to go backwards instead of forward either helpful or reasonable? How does that resolve the problem? How does that help all who have lost loved ones?
How many times will we hear the the words "the deadliest mass shooting . . ." before we decide that we can respect and honor the Second Amendment right to bear arms and still create reasonable gun control laws? When will we stop adding to the pain of all who have been touched by such tragedies because once again we failed to act and they relive their own pain while others experience such indescribable pain for the first time? When will we finally honor those who have died and not continue to let their deaths be in vain?
Saturday, October 20, 2018
So what do you care about?
In the 2016 elections,you did not vote is because you did not like either presidential candidate. You might not vote in the midterm elections this. Why not?
Do you care about the environment? Does it matter to you that scientists, yes actual scientists, have stated that we will cause irreversible harm to our planet within thirty years if we do not take active measures now to save our planet? No? Why not? You might not be here in thirty years? You do not care about those who will be here? You do not care about the planet?
Women's rights, particularly the right to choose, are in danger of being eradicated. Does that matter to you? No? Why not? You are not a woman? You are a woman but you do not care about what happens to other women because it does not affect you?
The United States which has long tried to be the defender of democracy throughout the world, albeit imperfectly, now turns its back on its allies as its president embraces dictators and jokes about serving more than two terms and that one day our country may have a president for life. Do you care about our Constitution? Our democracy? The very foundations of our government? No? Why not? Do you think authoritarian all powerful rulers are better?
Free speech is under attack daily. Do you care about that? No? Why not? You really want to end free speech? You really believe that having a press controlled by the government is what is best?
Social Security and Medicare are in danger, as they have been off and on, for many years. Do you care? No? Why not? You will never need Social Security and Medicare? You believe that somehow, someway, your Social Security and Medicare will be okay. It will just be taken away from "those people", you know, the ones who abuse the system. Sorry to be the one to break the news to you, but when the cuts happen, they will happen to everyone, not the select few you think do not deserve it.
Social service programs will be cut. Do you care? No? Why not? You do not need them? You do not care about those who do? So it is okay for people to starve? That is not your problem?
Immigration is not your problem either, right? Your ancestors came here, but others should be prevented, right? Should we extinguish the light in Statue of Liberty's torch? Or just remove her from the harbor? Do you understand that people walking two thousand miles are not looking for a handout? Do you understand that they are willing to risk their lives on a difficult journey because life in their own countries is too dangerous and too deadly? I guess you do not care about that either.
So what do you care about?
Do you care about the environment? Does it matter to you that scientists, yes actual scientists, have stated that we will cause irreversible harm to our planet within thirty years if we do not take active measures now to save our planet? No? Why not? You might not be here in thirty years? You do not care about those who will be here? You do not care about the planet?
Women's rights, particularly the right to choose, are in danger of being eradicated. Does that matter to you? No? Why not? You are not a woman? You are a woman but you do not care about what happens to other women because it does not affect you?
The United States which has long tried to be the defender of democracy throughout the world, albeit imperfectly, now turns its back on its allies as its president embraces dictators and jokes about serving more than two terms and that one day our country may have a president for life. Do you care about our Constitution? Our democracy? The very foundations of our government? No? Why not? Do you think authoritarian all powerful rulers are better?
Free speech is under attack daily. Do you care about that? No? Why not? You really want to end free speech? You really believe that having a press controlled by the government is what is best?
Social Security and Medicare are in danger, as they have been off and on, for many years. Do you care? No? Why not? You will never need Social Security and Medicare? You believe that somehow, someway, your Social Security and Medicare will be okay. It will just be taken away from "those people", you know, the ones who abuse the system. Sorry to be the one to break the news to you, but when the cuts happen, they will happen to everyone, not the select few you think do not deserve it.
Social service programs will be cut. Do you care? No? Why not? You do not need them? You do not care about those who do? So it is okay for people to starve? That is not your problem?
Immigration is not your problem either, right? Your ancestors came here, but others should be prevented, right? Should we extinguish the light in Statue of Liberty's torch? Or just remove her from the harbor? Do you understand that people walking two thousand miles are not looking for a handout? Do you understand that they are willing to risk their lives on a difficult journey because life in their own countries is too dangerous and too deadly? I guess you do not care about that either.
So what do you care about?
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