Dancing with the Racist in the Room

Mom always told me to never engage in a battle of wits with the unarmed.

In a recent post of mine some may have seen, Flag of Hatred - I commented on the confederate flag and the racist attitudes it is most often associated with.  I chose to not only write about it, but to do so in the brash, in-your-face manner which racists so frequently themselves like to employ.  A sort of social experiment which was inspired by watching news interviews with "typical" down home good ole boys from the deep south explaining how they aren't racists, but rather are just very proud of southern heritage, values and independence. 

I was aware going in, that no matter what I said or how I said it, I was in for some crisp feedback, because the first thing racists do when confronted with the ugliness of their hate is to attempt to change the focus away from that by any means possible.  The easy thing would have just been to keep my mouth shut (as some suggested) to avoid all the nastiness which was sure to follow, but you see; that is exactly what they want! 

A primary tactic of distraction employed by racists is the same tactic used successfully by infants and children.  Make enough unpleasant noise long enough and you'll get your way; and if you make it a lifestyle, pretty soon everyone will avoid you like they do rattlesnakes.  Tends to work quite well, if you don't mind being a social pariah.

The first and loudest voice of dissent and damnation came from a self described 'redneck' who goes by buelaman and hosts a website he calls B'mans Revolt somewhere in the south evidently.  First met this fellow a couple years back when he made a passably decent little video based on one of my posts he liked.  He asked if he could, I said yes, and was happy with the result.  Despite trying to keep in touch, I haven't heard anything at all from buelaman since that time; until I posted Flag of Hatred the other day.  As I said, his was the first response to the post, and it bothered me a bit that I'd offended him, so I replied by email that insulting him personally wasn't my intent and apologized for offending him.

Evidently, that wasn't good enough.

Within half an hour the blog post comments began flooding in as they never have before, and I mean there were actually 65 comments posted in the first few hours after the post was published on rense.com.  That many mostly negative comments so quickly means that someone got on the phone/email & twitter to rally his troops against me.  Their tactic is simple and so very easy; they bomb you with vile, disgusting and highly abusive comments knowing that if you moderate out all the filth they can accuse you of censorship, and if you post any of the comments they get to be obnoxious and drive readers from your blogsite.  Because I sought a dialogue on the issue of the cornerstone speech, to see if anyone would actually engage on that issue, (the central point to the post in question)...I published some of the less offensive comments, and flushed the blatantly abusive. 

It is worth noting at this point that on his own web site, buelaman requests that those commenting please keep their comments on topic - too bad he doesn't practice what he preaches, because the first thing the next morning, at the very top of a whole new raft of hateful, abusive comments, was buelaman himself strutting like a rooster, telling me to shut up because so many negative comments means I'm wrong. Now, just how did he know how many comments I'd received ?  He also said he took down the video he did from my post, but would put it back up once things between us were resolved!!

Told him I'd rather he delete the video forever than see him use it as some kind of hostage to the discussion going his way.  You see, the mentality average folks are up against here?

Nowhere in all those "comments" was there even a single person who wasn't afraid to discuss the cornerstone speech.  Not a one!  How about that.  Finally this morning, a reader from England not only addressed the speech in question, he even offered some insight I hadn't thought of, so thanks to Steven for that!  The point here is simple; haters never want to address the real issues, I think they just prefer to be left alone to stew in their own bigoted juices.

UPDATE:

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST

The trouble is here, that society simply cannot afford that kind of silence any more, not if we want even the smallest shot at evolving beyond pride and prejudice.  For over a century we have just shut up and let the rebels have their little pity party of private hatred and intolerance.  Just now, in a moment of clarity in the wake of the Charleston killings, we're coming to our senses as a nation and acknowledging that the stars & bars has to go!

Let's be very clear here.  The confederacy was never recognized as a sovereign state, not by a single world government at the time.  It was an illegitimate political entity which committed acts of treason against America, and started a war costing over 600,000 lives in total.  All because they refused to give up the practice of slavery.  That is the heritage these haters say they are so proud of.  They were wrong, they LOST the war they began, yet somehow we're supposed to allow them to continue intimidating all of us with their hate banner.  Ask any reasonable person what first comes to mind when they see the rebel flag, and see what they say!  Sore losers who would just as soon kill you!

These days it isn't enough to just speak truth to power, we must also speak truth to ignorance, bigotry and racism; because, clearly, keeping our silence hasn't worked out so well now has it?  In his address at the funeral of pastor/senator Clementa Pinckney this day, President Obama even said that "the confederate flag is a symbol of systemic oppression," and warned that we should not fall back into silence over this issue, the issue of racism and hatred perpetuated by a symbol on a flag. 

 Google racist symbols and guess what shows up together on the first row of results; the confederate flag and the Nazi swastika!  How about that??

The KKK was a group of southern racist haters; who felt the need to hide behind bed sheets despite their "superiority" to the negro - what were they afraid of, or ashamed of??  No different from today where our group of haters likes to hide behind false respectability, using words like heritage & honor.  How come all the haters only post as anonymous?  Because that is the modern equivalent to the klansman's bed sheet. 

False equivalency and revisionist history are the haters favorite tactics to divert and distract attention away from the issue of their bigoted, prejudiced minds.  When out maneuvered by logic and truth; they quickly accuse opponents of being agents of the system, deluded, or just simple minded.  Those unwilling to acknowledge much less discuss the cornerstone speech are oh, so quick to point at Old Glory saying look at all the oppression of minorities that flag has flown over, and that may well be, however, we'll discuss that flag when it gets its own post, NOW we are, as a nation, discussing the confederate flag, and all it represents.  How about we all stay on topic here, eh?  Quit trying to change the subject!

As even a casual reader of this blog is aware, I am anything but a fan of the American government or its bloody history of injustice to minority people.  To accuse me of being a shill for the establishment just smacks of desperation by those who seek to silence any voice but their own. The haters have become experts at playing this evasive little mind game where no answer given is ever good enough, and like slippery eels they avoid actually addressing the salient points, but prefer to take personal cheap shots at the author, hoping if they piss him off, it will divert focus from the main point.  This then is the action of cowards who want all the rights in the world but are willing to respect nobody in return.

How come the haters can't just man up and own their hate?? 

For over a hundred years racist southerners have shoved the confederate battle flag in everyone's face in their arrogant attempt to feel superior, and intimidate their enemies but when someone shoves the truth in THEIR face, oh, they sure don't like it much.  Not at all.  Like most cowards, they can dish it out but they cannot take it. 

"I'm not a racist" they cry, then in the next breath admit to embracing the confederate flag for what it "really means".  You can't have it both ways, but then that's exactly what the haters want.  They want the right to do whatever they desire and then denounce any opposing opinion with distortions of history and utter lies, again,

  What are they afraid of ??

If one is not a racist, but yet loves their southern heritage so much, why not fly the original confederate flag, instead of the rebel battle flag?  How about that?  But we don't see the original flag much, perhaps because it doesn't deliver the desired message to those who see it. 

Intolerance is the watchword for these racists, and you see it the minute you say something they don't like; they verbally attack with clever tactics designed to distract and obfuscate from the central issue.  They know that their inner hatreds are wrong and ugly in every way, and they defend their hatreds the same way the do their ignorance, with angry abusive rhetoric - it's all they know, it's all they want to know! 

 Minds as rigidly locked as the confederate flag at the south Carolina state capitol. 

Sometimes ya have to speak on the only level someone can understand.  Seeing the predominantly abusive responses to Flag of Hatred it was clear to me that those who felt offended are unwilling or unable to engage in a rational, respectful discourse.  This is their primary tactic: to so overwhelm their opponents with vile and abusive rhetoric that those with opposing views throw up their hands in disgust and just give up.  That, is the problem, we just silently endure these haters rather than incur their vehement wrath.  Essentially the same way a child gets it's way, by crying and wailing so loudly and long that the parents give in.  They do this because they know they cannot prevail in any fact based discussion.  Just like bawling children who know nothing beyond self interest, these southern racists must be taught that such behavior will no longer be rewarded, or tolerated.

Of course, some of these southern racists have long ago found their way into the halls of power, you'll know them by their tantrums, like some of the gems that have fallen from the mouth of supreme court judge Antonin Scalia recently. By god, I thought the man's head was gonna explode today when same sex marriage was made the law of the land.

See how fast the haters are losing ground!!  They must be really stewing in their juices by now. 

As I've said, these racists are, at their core; cowards; by way of example I have only to point out that since the Charleston shootings there have been a total of seven black churches burned.  They can't all be bad wiring and lightning.  Who runs around under the cover of darkness and sets fire to churches?  The same bunch that ran around in bed sheets hanging black people - cowards, that's who!

The tide is turning people; and this moment right now might just be the best time in the world to roll bigotry and intolerance back a couple hundred years, hell its where they like it best, they'll be fine there without us.  Like that self absorbed child, southern haters must be taught where the boundaries are, and what lines they are not allowed to cross.

At the end of the day it's refreshing to know that everyone out there isn't the same as these bigots and haters.  They've always been a minority, and they act like it.  Here, now in this national waking moment of recognition all of us non-haters need to stand up, and just say no more!  Silence will only embolden those who hate; I doubt we'll ever get rid of that gene, but we can try, and till then we have to stand up to racists and haters, every time, and tell them their day is done.  Tell them they are free to think and feel however they want, but decent, moral society will no longer give you a pass on public displays of hatred.  Take your flag and go back home, we're already full up with crazy here!

© 2015 full re-post with permission only

May the Source be with You

Related Augureye Posts:

Flag of Hatred
Sweeping Changes and High Strangeness

Dancing With the Elephant in the Room

The Grand Masquerade

Group-Think & Social Masking

None So Blind

Breaking Free From Ego

The Face of Pernicious Evil

The Desolation of Smug

Don’t You Remember?

The 9^th Threshold

Roadside Attractions