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Is there danger in the rhetoric going on in the country?

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Anonymous

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The dangers of revolutionary right-wing rhetoric
By Walter Rodgers Walter Rodgers – Fri Nov 27, 4:00 am ET
Wilmington, N.C. – Few places have deeper scars from violent invective and verbal incitement than this North Carolina city where people still speak in whispers, embarrassed by the events of Nov. 10, 1898. Wilmington is tragic testament to the fact that social progress is not inevitable and that, left unchallenged, hateful speech and words frequently morph into violence.

Today, talk of an antigovernment revolution has gone mainstream in America. One federal law-enforcement agency has discovered 50 new militia groups, including one made up of past and current police officers and soldiers. While in office, President Bush was the target of roughly 3,000 death threats a year. President Obama is on pace to quintuple that. In this environment, Americans might well reflect on Wilmington's experience 111 years ago.

In 1898, this city was years ahead of the rest of the American South, building an inclusive, interracial political culture. It had a burgeoning black middle class. A new era of hope dawned in North Carolina.

But the losers in the 1896 elections, the white Democrats, sulked on the margins, threatened by political irrelevance. Their sense of entitlement to governance had just been rejected by white progressives and black voters. "Take back the state," became their battle cry.

And they did just that. On Nov. 9, some Wilmington whites issued a White Declaration of Independence, proclaiming "that we will no longer be ruled ... by men of African origin."

The next day, a vigilante group of armed supremacists forcibly removed the Republican city leaders (both black and white) from office, and took control, burning buildings and shooting blacks. The official death toll was fewer than 20, though African-American oral tradition claims the Cape Fear River was choked with hundreds of bodies. There is no question that thousands of frightened blacks fled.

Neither President McKinley nor the governor of North Carolina (both Republicans) acted to stop or reverse what amounted to a coup and race riot. Soon thereafter, Jim Crow laws undermined basic rights for blacks for the next half century.

One gets a sense of déjà vu listening to today's right-wingers talk. In March, Fox News host Glenn Beck said: "If this country starts to spiral out of control ... there will be parts of the country that will rise up."

That's what happened in Wil­ming­ton in 1898. Those who lost power in elections launched a coup marked by terror. Such a revolutionary impulse resonates again.

This spring, covering an antitax "tea party" protest in Boston, Fox News Business anchor Cody Willard raged, "Guys, when are we going to wake up and start fighting the fascism that seems to be permeating this country?"

The Rev. William J. Barber, president of the North Carolina NAACP, recalls similar sentiment on Southern billboards during the civil-rights era, "painting Martin Luther King as a communist, a socialist, and anti-American."

As in 1898, a prominent black American's patriotism and legitimacy are questioned. Today, the radical, reactionary right asks whether Obama is really an American citizen. Mr. Barber warns of what he calls "a rebirth of dangerous rhetoric," reminding us that "all forms of violence are preceded by violent language."

Today, the hate barometer is climbing dangerously upward. In August, Steven Anderson of the Faithful Word Baptist church of Tempe, Ariz., told his congregants he prays for Obama's death. So, too, does the Rev. Wiley Drake in California.

The lesson is obvious: Healthy language produces healthy communities. Unhealthy language results in unhealthy communities. "The 1898 Wilmington violence laid the foundation for a one-party state, driving a wedge between peoples for political ends," says David Cecelski, a North Carolina historian. "It strikes me as immoral."

Wilmington still struggles with the legacy of these events more than a century later. Generations of black children were condemned to third-rate educations. Today, under the banner of "neighborhood schools," the city, like other municipalities nationwide, faces subtle efforts to resegregate classrooms. Perhaps the most tragic facet of white-hot rhetoric then and now is that democracy was betrayed; and trust, the linchpin of democracy, was destroyed.

A year ago, Wilmington community leaders such as District Attorney Ben David helped launch a reconciliation campaign to restore interracial trust and move beyond blame and defensiveness toward healing. It is a slow process.

Nationally, Americans need to have a similar conversation to avoid repeating the country's painful racial history. Today's fire-eaters and right-wing bloggers might consider the long-term human and social damage inflicted on Wilmington by an earlier generation of alienated politicians. Then they should tamp down their toxic brew of incitement, hateful language, and subtly disguised racism.

Walter Rodgers, a former senior international correspondent for CNN, writes a biweekly column for the Monitor's weekly print edition.
 

Steve

Well-known member
looks like another step back for the left,... instead of addressing the issues the TEA Party advocates they slap the racist label on US...

BTW Taxed Enough Already..

given that Obama has spent more and the tax increase are talked about daily.. he is the target of some of the disgust.. along with the other liberal leaders such as Pisslosi and Read on a spend fest...

the Tea Party attendees I met seem to be against both parties spending and in general most at the TEA parties attendees don't want either incumbent to return to D.C.

maybe once the left finally moves beyond racism as an excuse, we as Americans can finally get to the issues...
 

Liberty Belle

Well-known member
The right wing of the Republican party is not where you need to look if you want to find racism and you don't have to go back to the 1800s to find it. Take a look at the Chosen One and his coherts if you want a glimpse of racial profiling and hatred. Is Obama "acting stupidly", like his accusation against the Cambridge police? Some of us think so....

Obama's a Racist
By Kelly Anderson Wright

Yes, I said it: Obama is a racist. As the white, conservative mother of black/Mexican/white children, I know a racist when I hear one. So is his buddy, Henry Louis Gates. Don't let these two Ivy League-educated, erudite, distinguished black men convince you that only whites can be racists. Believe me, these two men are the worst kind of racists: black and elitist.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a racist is someone who believes "all members of each racial group possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially to distinguish it as being either superior or inferior to another racial group or racial groups." When Sgt. Crowley investigated a possible burglary at Prof. Gates' Cambridge home this week, Gates met a white cop at his door and evidently assumed Crowley was a bad cop, a rogue, a racist cop who would treat him differently than any other suspected perp, just because he was black. That's racism, folks! What did Gates do when faced with a police officer investigating a burglary in his home? Was Gates polite and courteous to the cop? Did he cooperate and step onto the porch out of the darkened home so Crowley could see his face and ID? Did he calmly explain why a passerby saw him breaking in, if, in fact, it was his own house? Did he speak or act like the esteemed scholar and professor his ID claimed him to be?

Nope. He was belligerent, accusatory, uncooperative, irrational and defamatory, throwing racial slurs at the white officer, even insulting the cop's mother (as in, "Yo momma is so..."). If ever a man did NOT act with Harvard professorial dignity and decorum, if ever a black man acted like a thug from the ‘hood, Gates did. Is it any wonder Officer Crowley asked for more ID, one that actually listed that house as his address, or asked for another person to corroborate Gates' identity? I would, wouldn't you?

And when Gates refused, and became so incensed and insulting to the Sergeant who was there to protect his property that a crowd grew around his house, was Crowley supposed to allow this kind of behavior, just because Gates was black? No. He arrested Gates for disorderly conduct, as he was trained to do. Last time I checked, police arrest people regardless of race when they act like crazy people in the presence of peace officers.

So why is President Obama a racist? Because he, like his friend Gates, automatically assumed the white police officer "acted stupidly." BO assumed it was the white officer's fault, because, of course, we all know white cops are racist, right? And later, when he slightly retracted his statement, he still felt the need to say, "It would have been better if cooler heads had prevailed." By now he knew the facts, that his friend Gates had lost his mind and acted like a fool, but he assumed that Sgt. Crowley similarly lost it and "got all up" in Gates' face, because, of course, that's what all white cops do.

But this white cop didn't, because he's not just any cop, he is an expert at managing racial incidents just like this one became, because of Gates' racism. Friends and fellow officers of all races say Sgt. James Crowley is calm and reliable in situations racially hostile situs, because he was hand-picked by a black police commissioner to teach recruits how to avoid racial profiling, and Crowley has apparently been doing a stellar job at it for 5 years.

But Gates and our esteemed president didn't know that, did they?

So, who are the racists in this story? Gates accused a decent, decorated, above-reproach police officer of being a racist rogue cop, just because he was white. What did our esteemed "black" president do? He immediately took Gates' side, because he's a friend and black! Um, Mr. President, I thought you were going to help erase the racial lines that divide us? Shame on you for taking sides on something you admitted you knew nothing about, for commenting nationally on a small, local issue well beneath your pay grade, and for showing us all that you are not that different that the racist Gates who believes all white cops are bad cops, just because of their skin color.

Mr. President, you are a racist. Shame on you.

Kelly Anderson Wright is a business owner, mother and writer in Reno, NV. She is a contributor to freshconservative.com. Her email is [email protected]

http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/07/obamas_a_racist.html
 

Tam

Well-known member
hurleyjd said:
But the losers in the 1896 elections, the white Democrats, sulked on the margins, threatened by political irrelevance. Their sense of entitlement to governance had just been rejected by white progressives and black voters. "Take back the state," became their battle cry.

And they did just that. On Nov. 9, some Wilmington whites issued a White Declaration of Independence, proclaiming "that we will no longer be ruled ... by men of African origin."

The next day, a vigilante group of armed supremacists forcibly removed the Republican city leaders (both black and white) from office, and took control, burning buildings and shooting blacks.
Can someone please explain to me why a Black person would support the Democratic party if this is what the DEMS DID TO THE BLACKS?

One gets a sense of déjà vu listening to today's right-wingers talk. In March, Fox News host Glenn Beck said: "If this country starts to spiral out of control ... there will be parts of the country that will rise up."

That's what happened in Wil­ming­ton in 1898. Those who lost power in elections launched a coup marked by terror. Such a revolutionary impulse resonates again.
Where hurleyjd does it say Republicans and independants cause the deaths in 1898? It doesn't it was the Dems that shot the blacks and caused all the fear so many years ago and it is the Dems that are under fire for their policies now So thanks for warning everyone to what lenghts the Dems will go to protect "Their sense of entitlement to governance".
This whole article is nothing more than a fear mongering warning to those that dare speak up and vote Dems out in 2010.

The lesson is obvious: Healthy language produces healthy communities. Unhealthy language results in unhealthy communities. "The 1898 Wilmington violence laid the foundation for a one-party state, driving a wedge between peoples for political ends," says David Cecelski, a North Carolina historian. "It strikes me as immoral."
This statement is correct but who are the ones doing the name calling which is causing the unhealthy feelings. THE DEMS. Do we need to see videos of the hate filled speeches coming out of more than a few in the Dem bias MSM not to mention Pelosi calling hard working American tax payers Astroturf? How about the Black Panthers intimidating votes or SEIU members beating tea party attendings or maybe we should ask about the fear the father of the guy in the wheel chair felt when thugs came knocking on his door in the middle of the night. hurdeyjd why don't you take a good look at those who have done to insiting of violence within the US. Then come back and tell us it was the right wing rhetoric that caused the danger. The danger was caused by the Dems and Their sense of entitlement to governance just like it was in 1898.

Wilmington still struggles with the legacy of these events more than a century later. Generations of black children were condemned to third-rate educations. Today, under the banner of "neighborhood schools," the city, like other municipalities nationwide, faces subtle efforts to resegregate classrooms. Perhaps the most tragic facet of white-hot rhetoric then and now is that democracy was betrayed; and trust, the linchpin of democracy, was destroyed.
By who? THE DEMS. Again please explain to me why any black person would vote for a party with the legacy of these events? I guess the third rate liberal bias education these poor blacks are getting is forgetting to mention the Dems actions in Wilmington.


Nationally, Americans need to have a similar conversation to avoid repeating the country's painful racial history. Today's fire-eaters and right-wing bloggers might consider the long-term human and social damage inflicted on Wilmington by an earlier generation of alienated politicians. Then they should tamp down their toxic brew of incitement, hateful language, and subtly disguised racism.
Is this a WARNING to all rightwingers that the Dem s will repeat history if they loose power again?
Walter Rodgers, a former senior international correspondent for CNN, writes a biweekly column for the Monitor's weekly print edition.
Thanks Walter for the reminder and warning of how far the Dems are willing to go to protect "Their sense of entitlement to governance"
 

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
I was wondering why we were not hearing of more arrests, if threats were actually up by 400%. Turns out, they are NOT up.

Today, talk of an antigovernment revolution has gone mainstream in America. One federal law-enforcement agency has discovered 50 new militia groups, including one made up of past and current police officers and soldiers. While in office, President Bush was the target of roughly 3,000 death threats a year. President Obama is on pace to quintuple that. In this environment, Americans might well reflect on Wilmington's experience 111 years ago.

"...inappropriate threats are at the same level as the last 2 presidents."

Mark Sullivan, Director of Secret Service, DHS
House Homeland Security Cmte. Hearing on White House State Dinner Security

http://www.c-span.org/Watch/watch.aspx?MediaId=HP-A-26723
 

backhoeboogie

Well-known member
hypocritexposer said:
I was wondering why we were not hearing of more arrests, if threats were actually up by 400%. Turns out, they are NOT up.

Today, talk of an antigovernment revolution has gone mainstream in America. One federal law-enforcement agency has discovered 50 new militia groups, including one made up of past and current police officers and soldiers. While in office, President Bush was the target of roughly 3,000 death threats a year. President Obama is on pace to quintuple that. In this environment, Americans might well reflect on Wilmington's experience 111 years ago.

"...inappropriate threats are at the same level as the last 2 presidents."

Mark Sullivan, Director of Secret Service, DHS
House Homeland Security Cmte. Hearing on White House State Dinner Security

http://www.c-span.org/Watch/watch.aspx?MediaId=HP-A-26723

You shouldn't cloud the rhetoric with facts :D
 

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
While this is a disgusting poem, I have my doubts it is about President obama. It was written and posted in 2007.

Louisville, Ky. (WHAS11) - A poem has landed a Louisville man behind bars.


It’s a poem Secret Service agents say was about assassinating President Barack Obama.


Federal authorities say Johnny Logan Spencer junior posted it on a white supremacy website.

snip...

His attorney points out that if he was going to act on a threat, he would have by now.


“I think that it's vague. I think that there's absolutely no immediate ability to incite violence. The fact that this poem was written in 2007, posted in 2007, I this think this is a misunderstanding,” says Wyrosdick.

http://www.whas11.com/news/Poem-lands-Louisville-man-behind-bars-seen-as-threat-to-President-Obama-84808622.html
 
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