Building Bridges

”Unless there is some additional symbolism to building the mosque [near the World Trade Center location commonly referred to as ground zero], this group would understand the geographic sensitivity of the location and decide on their own to build the mosque elsewhere. Certainly under the circumstances, if their objective is to “build bridges” with the non-Muslim community, then they’re off to a very bad start…” – justinwashingtontheblogger

I have been going round and round with a visitor to my blog about the Islamic cultural center and mosque planned to be built about two city blocks away from the famous World Trade Center location made infamous by the horrendous happenings that occurred on September 11th. I had written an article a few days ago expressing my frustration with the majority of my fellow Americans who believe that they are entitled to dictate where Muslims should not be allowed to put their religious institutions. So much political posturing against Muslims has been made from all kinds of people simply because the hijackers on that fateful day were radical Muslim extremist.

Now, people like this commenter are content to label all Muslims as hateful radicals programmed to commit acts of suicide at the first opportunity to murder as many nonbelievers as possible. This supposition requires little support or evidence and relies on nothing but people’s prejudice and bigotry. Many of us feel justified to judge all Muslims as radicals because of the crimes of a few. A few Muslims in other places of the world are making the choice to blowing themselves up so it makes perfect sense that Muslims here want to do the same. We can stroke all Muslims with a very broad, condemning brush and demand that they prove their allegiance to the rest of America by requiring them to build a conciliatory bridge to us. Muslims can prove their desire to be part of our collective by submitting to the will of the majority by submitting to our intolerance for the Islamic community.

It’s pretty much the same thinking that was commonly applied to black people once upon a time. Black people were not allowed to live where they wanted. Black people had to prove their allegiance to the dominant community by submitting to the rule that black people were not welcome. Black people who respected white people’s desire to keep black people out of their neighborhoods were good. Black people who pushed against orthodox thinking and fought for the right to live where they choose, regardless of how others felt, were considered radical trouble makers who refused to recognize the natural order.

We recognized that rhetoric for what it was, and that was bullshit. While it might be true that some people still refuse to recognize black people’s right to live wherever they might be able to afford, we don’t allow people to blatantly say that black people aren’t welcome or advertise that housing is strictly for whites only. We proudly stand together and say such discrimination is unacceptable in the land of the free and the home of the brave. But we are quick to throw these high minded principles out the window when we it suits us to do so.

However, all is not lost. Muslims can become a welcome part of the American collective if they would just do the heavy lifting of building the bridge to our sensibilities. But in the immortal words of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, that’s a bridge to nowhere. We don’t require people to gain acceptance in America by surrendering their freedoms. That’s just plain stupid. America isn’t built on the principle of people giving up and acquiescing to the whole. America is built on the principle that all men are created equal with inalienable rights such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. So why do so many of us continue to insist that Muslims tread softly down a different path of submission?

The people who want to build the Islamic cultural center two blocks from the World Trade Center location are not criminals. As far as I know, nobody there is making the suggestion that Muslims should don exploding vest and go out hunting for infidels to blow up. As far as I know, nobody associated with that organization has done any anything that requires the entire organization to submit to a condition that tries to deny these people the right to the property of their choice because of what somebody else may have done.

We don’t require other Americans to build bridges to all of America by surrendering their rights. I know that if I was part of the leadership of this organization, I would not care if the rest of America, an America that is known for its penchant for discriminating against certain groups of people who are obviously different, disagreed with my organization’s right to buy land and build on it according to the established law. My thinking would be more like, why doesn’t America build a bridge to me by recognizing the fact that the people in my organization has the some rights and privileges that other Americans enjoy.

The rest of America can build a bridge to the Muslim community, on a local, national, and even a global perspective, this community of people that we’ve been accused of unfairly attacking in our so called war on terror, by standing up for those American principles we like to say that we’re all about. We’re supposed to be about letting individuals practice their freedoms without the interference from others. We need to recognize the hypocrisy of this whole affair for what it truly is. Hypocrisy!

Gran Torino Is Better Left In The Past

Leonard Pitts of The Miami Herald wrote an article about Clint Eastwood’s latest flick Gran Torino.  Gran Torino is about Walt Kowalski, a regular guy who is a retired assembly line worker from one of the Ford assembly plants.  It’s a fair bet that judging from the title of the film Mr. Kowalski worked in the plant that used to make the Gran Torino and its Mercury counterpart, the Montego.  Mr. Kowalski is a man with as much racial sensitivity as a klan member at a klan rally.  He has no problem wearing his racism on his sleeve and holding it up for all to see.

Mr. Pitts appears to admire Mr. Kowalski for his natural talent to buck the trend for political correctness and public sensitivity.  Mr. Pitts remarks that “in the United States of the Aggrieved, there is no malady, mark, mannerism, mindset or malformation too miscellaneous to have its own support group, along with a cadre of lobbyists and lawyers hyper vigilant for any suggestion of mistreatment or actionable discrimination.”  And this is supposed to be a bad thing.

Reading the article I get the impression that Mr. Pitts, an African American, sometimes longs for the era where racial prejudice and discrimination was more in your face, openly practiced by more people.  In his article he told the story of how he showed a class of college students an episode of All in the Family featuring Carroll O’Conner as the over the top bigot Archie Bunker.  The classroom of students was offended.  I’m assuming that they didn’t find the episode the least bit funny.  Mr. Pitts admitted that his assertion that the show was hilarious and a satire of bigotry were unable to convince the students that the program had qualities of redemption.  To paraphrase Mr. Pitts, sometimes he thinks it is progress but other times it is something else entirely.

The movie features an exchange between Mr. Kowalski and his Italian barber.  The two trade insults about each other’s ancestry in a good natured slur exchange.  Black people have a history of doing the same thing with yo’ mama jokes and other insult exchanges done for jest.  There is nothing offensive here.  Mr. Kowalski will still come to his Italian barber friend for a haircut and the Italian barber would go to his friend Kowalski whenever he needs that which Mr. Kowalski can provide.  Mr. Pitts refers to this white on white banter as a nostalgic reference to a less touchy time where friendly insults helped to pass the time of day.

But I wonder how friendly those insults would be considered if they were uttered from a black man.  Would Mr. Kowalski be ready to look at a black man’s insulting his family with the same sense of humor?  Somehow I doubt it.  Like Mr. Pitts explained before these insults can be accepted as nothing more than jest there must be some reserve of trust and affection that makes the insult harmless and without malice.  How much malice would there be from a white person with a serious superiority complex over minorities in the heart or vice versa.  Imagine someone like Archie Bunker trading friendly insults with a black man.  Nothing humorous or satire like even comes close to mind.  All I can imagine is Mr. Bunker getting his buddies together and making some black person pay or a lot of black people pay for the crime of some uppity nigger having the audacity to think he’s as good as white people.

I used to love those cars.  My oldest brother had a white 1974 Gran Torino Elite two door coupe with a black vinyl top and a 5.7 liter Windsor V8.  And watching the most famous Torino of all, that red and white Gran Torino Sport weave through streets and chasing criminals in Starsky and Hutch was pretty cool to a young and impressionable adolescent whose mom drove a 1968 Pontiac Catalina Executive station wagon with a whopping 6.6 liter V8 but something like four tons of sheet metal to motivate into any semblance of locomotion while dad drove a 1972 Dodge Dart with a woefully underpowered straight six that would have trouble outracing a freshly napped five year old on a Big Wheel.  Other than that big engine on the wagon and air conditioning my parents’ cars were void of any factory options.  I lived vicariously through shows like Starsky and Hutch.

But that was more than thirty years ago.  Cars have gotten significantly better over the years.  Now that I have a more sophisticated appreciation for what makes an automobile great I can say without a doubt that the only thing a Torino would have for me is that it represent a time when I was much younger and dumber.  Would I like a classic Gran Torino in perfect condition sitting in my driveway?  Not really.  I’d prefer a nice little Honda Fit or a Honda Civic coupe.  I can feed my nostalgia for classic cars by going to an automobile museum or a car show.  A Gran Torino wouldn’t have much of a place in my life right now.

I think I’d prefer the nostalgia for white people’s crassness the same way.  I suffer from no allusion that somehow things were better back in the day when white people were much freer to run roughshod over black people and their rights.  If I ever become nostalgic to see white people insult black people with impunity I’ll get a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird or watch Gone With the Wind or the virtually unlimited supply of movies where black people do nothing but cheesing for the camera or dancing a jig with Shirley Temple or getting a whip to their backside because some white person needed to release their frustration.  But to go back to a time when white people are free to insult black people without controversy?  I don’t need such strife in my life right now or ever.

Racially Oblivious People

More often than not, when someone says that they don’t notice the color of someone’s skin, that person is a liar.  Skin color is one of those things that are totally noticeable.  To walk up to someone and say that they don’t notice color is like walking up to someone and saying you didn’t notice their gender.  Nobody would think it’s cool not to notice that a person is a woman or a man.  Our gender helps to form our identity.  Why should it be different for skin tone?

But a lot of people claim that they are racial neutral and argue that black people should not want to change the status quo.  Everything is fine the way it is becomes the way things are developed naturally.  It is only natural that white people have a vast variety of white role models and white representation in their daily pursuits while black people are often considered racist or racial separatist for wanting more black oriented representation in our daily lives.  Often, someone defending the status quo will say something like, black people were well represented by some show with black characters either cancelled years ago or part of the BET or MTV network so that should be more than enough for impressionable black people to develop well rounded identities.  One black person in a crowd of a hundred is more than enough to be considered racially fair and equal.

When the absurdity of the argument from the person claiming to be racially oblivious is brought to light, it is only a matter of time before the bias of their true racial nature starts to manifest.  All it takes is just a paragraph or two to point out the inconsistencies of their argument and then their disdain for black people burst forth in all its fury.  All of sudden, the person who never sees issues of race is tired of seeing black people on the television.  The person who thought that the old black television shows were the exception because in general black people are immoral, have a propensity for violence, and/or have no decent work ethic.  People who claim to be racially generic will say that if black people want equal representation then black people need to do for black people what white people do for other white people.

A lot of people think they are racially neutral and support people regardless of their color.  But those are just flowery words with woefully little substance.  The same person that says the racial status quo is fine will turnaround and say if black people want jobs black people should get an education.  The racially prejudiced thinking is that the black person is not educated or does not have the experience for gainful employment.  There is an assumption that black people will always be unqualified or inherently inferior to their white counterparts.

Why is there an inherent belief that black people are unqualified and inferior?  Could there be a connection to the fact that we really don’t see very many images of qualified black people in a variety of well received role models?  True enough that the majority of the population is white and so it probably stands to reason that more characters in media will be white.  That’s a given.  But the scant few black characters in media do little to represent the black twelve point five percent of the population that is black.

White people make up seventy percent of our national population.  So it stands to reason that one in every seven professional characters in media is black.  It would stand to reason that one in every seven movie or television shows would be centered on the lives of black people.  It would stand to reason that one in seven of the pictures in magazines would feature black models or black subjects.

But instead of recognizing the racial disproportion for what it is, we have to assume that the deluge of white only images is an accident of the way things evolved naturally.  It is a natural evolution based on a foundation of racial discrimination that is part and parcel of America.

People who claim to be racially neutral are far from it.  All it takes is a brief exchange or two for the racist nature of their character to become evident.  These people protect their racial prejudices with the assertion that skin color simply doesn’t register in their psyche and that their racial discrimination is a happenstance of life.

But all it really means is that they are insensitive to issues of race and have yet to admit the depth of their racial animosity.  People who see and acknowledge a person’s skin color are about as racist as a person who recognizes and acknowledges a person’s gender is a sexist.  Racial obliviousness is not a virtue.  It is nothing more than an excuse to keep the racial status quo.

What Does It Mean To Be White In America

Hopefully, after reading this, everyone will have a better idea of what it means to be white in America.

Tim Donaghy

NBA referee Tim Donaghy is due back in court for sentencing today. He faces up to 33 months in prison. Last summer, on August 15, 2007, Mr. Donaghy stunned the league by pleading guilty to federal charges that he took payoffs from a professional gambler for inside tips on games, he conspired to engage in wire fraud and transmit betting information through interstate commerce. Since then, Mr. Donaghy has claimed corruption among referees runs deeper, drawing angry denials by the league and demands that he pay hefty restitution. Mr. Donaghy pleaded for leniancy citing a professional analysis that his defense could afford that discovered he would never have committed these offenses if he was not a pathological gambler.

Even though he was fairly compensated by the NBA and enjoyed a truly unique opportunity to be involved with professional basketball without having anything in the way of talent, Mr. Donaghy marred the NBA finals by making fresh accusations that the league routinely encouraged refs to ring up bogus fouls to manipulate results. He also claimed that the league discouraged calling technical fouls on star players to keep them active in games and protect ticket sales and television ratings in order to make even more money for American corporations that already had a virtual monopoly on the ability to generate income from the games.

Court papers argued that Mr. Donaghy deserved leniency for voluntarily disclosing the alleged corruption even though he did not come clean until he was arrested. The documents also refer to one instance claiming referees rigged a 2002 playoff series to generate more revenue by forcing a seven game playoff. Although no teams were mentioned in the documents, only the Los Angeles Lakers and the Sacramento Kings series went to seven games during the 2002 playoffs.

NBA commissioner David Stern has called the allegations baseless since Mr. Donaghy cannot prove his allegations beyond a shadow of a doubt. Mr. Stern accused Mr. Donaghy of “singing” in order to get a lighter sentence. Mr. Stern is obviously implying that Mr. Donaghy should have followed a code of silence and kept the secrets of the league out of the public. Mr. Donaghy also implicated two of his former high school classmates. Mr. Dongahy named James Battista, the professional gambler who paid thousands of dollars for Donaghy’s tips, and Thomas Martino, who acted as a middleman. Both men pleaded guilty and were sentenced last week.

To date, 100% of NBA officials indicted and convicted for gambling have been white.

Fatal Shootings in Tennessee

Jim D. Adkisson, an unemployed trucker, is accused of killing two people and wounding six others during a children’s musical production of Annie at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church Sunday morning. A four page letter found in Mr. Adkisson’s truck indicated he picked the church for the attack because he hated the liberal movement of the congregation. The letter is proof positive that Mr. Adkisson made the choice to commit a hate crime. Mr. Adkisson was on welfare and was on the verge of losing his food stamps

The attack Sunday morning lasted only minutes. Mr. Adkisson entered the church during the children’s performance and fired three blasts from his semiautomatic shotgun. The anger behind this attack may have been building for quite a while. It appears his lack of being able to obtain a job combined with his hatred for the liberal movement are two contributing factors. He said that he had targeted the church because of its liberal teachings and his belief that all liberals should be killed because they were ruining the country. Mr. Adkisson was a loner who admitted that he hated blacks, gays and anyone different from him.

The Unitarian Universalist church advocates women’s rights and gay rights and has provided sanctuary for political refugees. The church also has fed the homeless and founded a chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, according to its Web site. The police chief said Mr. Adkisson bought the shotgun at a pawn shop about a month ago, and he wrote the letter in the last week or so. A .38-caliber handgun was found in his home.

To date, 100% of people accused or guilty of church shootings and bombings have been white according to the Cap the Steeple People foundation.

Record Breaking Federal Deficit

The United States government’s budget deficit will surge past a half trillion dollars next year, according to new estimates by the Bush administration. The deficit will hit $482 billion in the 2009 budget year. However, that figure will rise after adding the eighty billion dollars in additional Iraq war funding that is not included in the total. And the estimate could be higher yet if the economy fails to recover as the administration predicts. In a break from tradition, and in violation of new mandates from Congress, the White House did not include its full estimate of war costs. It will be the biggest deficit ever.

The deficit situation confronting the next President in early 2009 is reminiscent of that which Bill Clinton faced in 1993. Under financial pressure from Wall Street, Mr. Clinton abandoned promises of tax cuts and pushed an aggressive tax deficit reduction plan through Congress.

The Bush administration claims that the deficit was being driven to its all time high by the sagging economy and the stimulus payments being made to America’s households in an effort to keep the country from falling into a deep recession. The Bush administration refuses to connect the federal budget deficit to the tax breaks that were a tremendous benefit to wealthy Americans. Regardless, pressure is building to allow some tax cuts enacted early in Mr. Bush’s first term in 2001 and 2003 to expire as scheduled.

Monday’s figures capped a remarkable deterioration in the United States’ budgetary health under Mr. Bush’s time in office. He inherited a budget seen as producing endless huge surpluses after four straight years in positive territory. That stretch of surpluses represented a period when the country’s finances had been bolstered by a ten year period of uninterrupted economic growth, the longest expansion in U.S. history. In his first year in office, helped by projections of continuing surpluses, Mr. Bush drove through a one point three trillion dollar package of tax cuts. On average, Wealthy tax payers received about two hundred forty thousand dollars in tax savings. However, most people’s savings barely passed a thousand dollars.

To date, 100% of the people who have run the executive branch of the United States government have been white.

Lawnmower Man

Keith Walendowski is accused of shooting his Lawn Boy lawn mower because it wouldn’t start. According to the criminal complaint, Mr. Walendowski said, “I can do that, it’s my lawn mower and my yard so I can shoot it if I want.” Mr. Walendowski has been charged with felony possession of a short barreled shotgun or rifle and misdemeanor disorderly conduct while armed. A woman who lives at Mr. Walendowski’s house reported the incident saying that he was intoxicated. Mr. Walendowski could face up to an $11,000 fine and six years and three months in prison if convicted.

White people are ninety hundred thirty two times more likely to shoot their lawnmower according to Lawnmower Shooters Monthly.

Poor Parenting Techniques

Dear Dr. Jan,

My wife and I have a loving marriage. We have been through more than our share of hard times. One problem that keeps coming up in our relationship is her eight year old son. He is Oedipal, extremely jealous of any attention his mother gets and inappropriate around her. He touches her breasts and her behind, and constantly tries to invade her space if she’s showering or changing clothes. He also walks nude into the room where she is and touches himself in front of her. I have been trying to tell her these are unnatural behaviors, but she says the boy is just more in touch than his contemporaries and doesn’t hide his curiosity. Who is right?

Stepfather

Dear Stepfather,

What this kid is in touch with is emotional disturbance. To think that the youngster is not hiding his curiosity suggests to me that the mother has oatmeal cookies for brains. Nothing you describe is in the realm of normal child development. You somehow have to get your wife to a session with a child specialist who can convince her that the kid is off the rails. It’s possible she is feeding his neurosis. Believe me, there is nothing customary about a boy who’s in the habit of touching his mother’s breasts and behind and taking every chance he gets to see her naked. Displaying himself and attempting what sounds like masturbation is a red flag for psychiatric intervention. That your wife thinks all this is normal means there are two people in your house who need help.

Dr. Jan

White eight year old boys are four million eighty two times more likely to masturbate in front of their mother without repercussions according to Choking the Monkey Monthly.

Dad Flees With Daughter by Yacht

A divorced father with a murky background snatched his seven year old daughter during a supervised weekend visit and may be trying to flee the country on a 72-foot yacht, police say. Boston police said Tuesday they had no new information on the whereabouts of Clark Rockefeller or his daughter Reigh Boss. Authorities alleged that Mr. Rockefeller, who they said has used several aliases, grabbed the girl Sunday during a visit supervised by a social worker and fled in a vehicle driven by another man. Massachusetts posted an Amber Alert for Reigh, but canceled it Monday after New York City police reported that Rockefeller had been seen the night before at the city’s Grand Central Terminal. Authorities said they believe he may be trying to flee with his daughter Reigh on the yacht, possibly to Bermuda. The New York Police Department Harbor Patrol, the Coast Guard and the FBI searched for the yacht Monday around New York City and Long Island.

Boston police issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Rockefeller on charges of custodial kidnapping. He was also charged with assault and battery and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon because the social worker was injured while trying to hold onto the vehicle. Reigh lives with her mother, Sandra Boss, who works in London as a partner in global management consulting firm McKinsey & Co. and who also is on the board of The Mount, Edith Wharton’s estate at Lenox, Massachusetts.

Little has been made public about Mr. Rockefeller’s background. Fraser Seitel, a spokesman for the descendants of John D. Rockefeller Sr., said Clark Rockefeller was not descended from that side of the wealthy family, and added there is no indication the fugitive was descended from William Rockefeller, John D. Rockefeller Sr.’s only sibling.

To date, 100% of people who try to kidnap their children by 72-foot yacht in America have been white according to federal yachting statistics.

Prejudice Hiring Practices

Former Justice Department officials broke the law by letting Bush administration politics dictate the hiring of prosecutors, immigration judges and other career government lawyers, according to an internal investigation. For nearly two years Monica Goodling, a top adviser to former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, discriminated against applicants for career jobs who weren’t Republican or conservative loyalists. At times, the search for GOP activists delayed filling judgeships and threatened to clog immigration courts. Ms. Goodling routinely asked career job applicants about politics.

Ms. Goodling would ask candidates things such as, what is it about George W. Bush that makes you want to serve him? Other questions to candidates were used to guage their conservative convictions on issues such as abortion or gay marriage.

The investigation was one of several examining accusations that White House political meddling drove prosecution, policy and employment decisions within the once fiercely independent Justice Department. Those charges were spurred initially by the firings of nine U.S. attorneys in 2006 and culminated with Mr. Gonzales’ resignation under fire as attorney general last September. Mr. Gonzales claims that he was unaware of the political hiring process outlined by Ms. Goodling and other Department of Justice officials.

The one hundred forty page report does not indicate whether Ms. Goodling or anyone else could face any charges. But congressional Democrats took aim, raising the possibility they would seek prosecution on a number of fronts, potentially including charges of lying to lawmakers for giving sworn testimony that contradicts Monday’s findings.

In one instance, investigators found that Ms. Goodling objected to hiring an assistant prosecutor in Washington because she said “judging from his resume, he appeared to be a liberal Democrat.” In another example, she rejected an experienced terror prosecutor to work on counterterror issues because of his wife’s political affiliations. She rejected at least one job applicant because of a rumor that she was a lesbian. Ms. Goodling is a former Republican National Committee researcher with little experience as a prosecutor. In her House Judiciary Committee testimony in May 2007, she admitted that she had crossed the lines while hiring career employees. She received immunity for her testimony and cannot be prosecuted unless proven that she lied while under oath.

White House spokesman Tony Fratto played down the report, saying, “There really is not a lot new here.”

Many are ready to believe that people in key positions to hire and fire people would rely on prejudiced political values when offering opportunities, but would never believe that people would offer hiring opportunities based on racial prejudices.

Lift Ev’ry Voice And Sing

At the Denver, Colorado State of the City address, singer Rene Marie was supposed to open the event with the National Anthem but instead sang Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing, commonly referred to as the Black National Anthem. Ms. Marie told a local news network that she kept her plans to switch songs quiet until the very last moment. Ms. Marie said she wanted to express her love of her country by mixing the lyrics of Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing with the melody of the Star-Spangled Banner. Said Ms. Marie, “When I decided to sing my version, what was going on in my head was, I want to express how I feel about living in the United States, as a black woman, as a black person.”

Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing is a beautiful song. It was originally a poem written by James Weldon Johnson and was later set to music by his brother John Rosamond Johnson. According to Wikipedia, it was first performed in public in Jacksonville, Florida as part of a celebration of Lincoln’s Birthday on February 12, 1900 by a choir of schoolchildren at the segregated Stanton School, where James Weldon Johnson was principal. The song became an expression of patriotism and hope for the future for black people. In 1919, the NAACP adopted the song as The Negro National Anthem. The song was entered into the Congressional Record as the official African American National Hymn.

Rob is the blogger behind Rob’s No Bull Zone on WOAI.com. According to his profile, all we know for sure about him is that he’s United States Air Force Retired. We should also note that he is another person who doesn’t tolerate racial diversity or black people who don’t know their place. In response to Ms. Marie, Rob wrote the following (click here to see his article in its entirety).

“I want to know why I have to know what it feels like to be a black person in America? Would it be right for me to force you to know what it is like to be Puerto Rican in America? No! So why does she think she has the right to do something as stupid as this? Why does she feel she has the right to disrespect this nation and impose her own opinions and views? Does everyone have to take notice of how she feels as a black woman? I am offended that she believes that I should be force fed her view of America.

“What this woman did was stupid and racist. I hope that no one ever makes the mistake of asking this so-called singer to EVER sing our National Anthem again.

“I am truly offended. We need to stop this type of assault on the values of our great country.”

Rob closed his article with a request for people to respond and voice their own opinion of this event. If anyone needed any confirmation of the racism and separatism that continues to exist in America they need only read this article and the train of comments that followed. The hatred many white people have for black people or anything that originates in the black community is evident with the way these good white folks responded. The first four comments follow in their entirety.

“I personally think that what she did was sick and disrespectful. She should be ashamed and punished for what she did.” – peakload

“I agree 1 million percent this a BS!!!!!!!!!!!! I work at a job where it is very new to me how racist black people are to everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!! It makes me mad and it actually breaks my heart. I never knew their was a black national anthem and so much hate for this country. Never in the the national anthem do we say anything about it only being for white people it is the national anthem not called the white national anthem. If you do not love this country and love all that it stands for leave. Do us all a favor and get the hell out of here. If all you want to do is bring hate and war here leave and take your trash a** somewhere else. I am sick of this pity pity me crap and being held responsible for crap that happen one hundred years ago or longer. Most of us were not even around and in control of it back then. Let it go and stop this bs and racist way of living. I hope this lady is never asked to sing for any event ever again.” – jessica

“she needs to assiimlate with americans-america is not about me-it is about we the people-herself,family and friends should be ashamed of her -total disrespect-she should have been stopped -im sure there are a lot of embarrassed and angered- friends-it just shows there are idiots of all races” – ROOOFR1

“Catch the next flight back to Africa! There is only one National Anthem of for the US….and it isn’t this disgraceful crap. If this country is so bad, so untenable…take advantage of another freedom we enjoy here and get the hell out! Go where ever it is that is so much better than here…believe me…it will be a great gesture to all of us.” – GI Joe

“What I can’t stand is people like this that think they are being anti-racist by clinging to the view that they are some how different from each other due to color of skin or culture and that they need to “stand up” against people trying to stifle it. Personally i don’t see any stifling going on except by the authorities when they’re display of protest get out of hand and then their rights are being oppressed. Constantly claiming that it is so different and so hard to be black, hispanic, white, or whatever is what keeps making it hard. It reinforces stereotypes instead of putting them aside. The Nation is not supposed to be one of cultures or race trying to gain prominence over each other. It’s supposed to be one of cultures and races working together for a common goal. Prosperity, freedom, and the ability to enhance our quality of life. Get over yourselves and quit trying to make others “feel your pain”. The only pain your showing is pain you bring on yourselves.” – Troll

If these responses are indicative of the way the majority of white people feel about the black community it is no wonder that the black community is in the despicable condition we find it today. Somebody wants the woman punished for singing a song. Somebody wants black people to assimilate. By assimilation we can only assume that this person wants black people to check our blackness at the door and become dark skinned doppelgangers of white people. Somebody else says black people need to go back to Africa. These hateful people never think that if they don’t like the fact that black people are entitled to express their right to free speech that they should go back to their caves in Europe.

Black people are always being accused of playing the race card. Black people should be happy to sing the National Anthem, a song written by white people, for white people, when black people were not even considered people but white people’s property. Do any of these people ever think to wonder how some black people may feel about these facts? Did black people ever get a chance to say whether or not we approved of the Star-Spangled Banner or did we have a choice in the matter?

For a brief moment Ms. Marie gave a small gathering of white people a sample of what it is like to be black in America. For a brief moment in time, white people were subjected to black culture being used to express unity and harmony and national pride. The song is called Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing. And for those who know little about poetic license, ev’ry is a poetic way of saying every. It is inclusive of all people. White people don’t like it because it is rooted in black culture. Where is all that bullshit about all of us being American? If a black American wrote it doesn’t it still apply to all people?

It is not just Ms. Marie who plays the race card. The race card is as American as the Stars and Stripes. For these white people, and the black people who think so little of themselves and their African ancestry, black culture is not acceptable as an expression of national pride. Black culture is too, for lack of a more appropriate word, un-American. Only white culture need apply to all Americans. It is safe to assume that white culture can be the voice of all Americans. But for too many people, black culture can never be the voice for white Americans.