He claims he is a Democrat. I think he is a jackass.

At the local Democratic Party county convention yesterday, we said the pledge of allegiance. I mentioned after words that we are falling a bit short in the “liberty and justice for all” part. Just yesterday, I read about children now in jail because their parents are undocumented immigrants. These children do not have educational and play opportunities while in prison – and sometimes they are separated from their parents completely, sometimes just separated at night.

The guy at the convention who gave the invocation prayed for aliens. I didn’t know we had outer space visitors on our planet! He also prayed to keep our military safe and no mention of the rest of the world. TYPICIAL. The “aliens” he was referring to are undocumented immigrants – showing his racism!

Prior to the start of the meeting, I was handing out papers on an upcoming speech by an Iraqi American (now living in Najaf) at UNCA. This man is going to speak on what is really going on in Iraq. Some walking piece of shit at the convention said to me “Does he have a bomb in his pocket?” I nearly started crying. Just that morning I had heard that a car bomb went off in Karbala and that the locals there went crazy and started attacking the government offices and were so out of control they would not allow ambulances to get to the injured people. And of course, the Iraqi-American (Sami Rasouli) is risking his life to help the Iraqi people. He is part of the Muslim Peacemakers Team. To talk so disrespectfully about him really, really upset me.

I told this man that what he said was disgusting and that I did not want him talking to me EVER again. After I calmed down a bit, I thought about what I might do if he did come up to me to speak to me. I thought I would stand on a bench there in the court house room and yell at him what a walking, talking piece of garbage he is and that he should stop breathing and start his eternity in hell as soon as possible. Well, he never talked to me again, so I never did that drama bit.

But today, I started thinking about racism and what the appropriate response should be when people make such racist statements. It is of course, important to speak up, to let people know that what they said is not okay. But how do I take my hurt and outrage and open their eyes so that they can see? Because accusing a group of people of the violence that some of the group has exhibited is very sick and very racist – PARTICULARLY in light of the fact that this violence sprung from a total break down in their society caused by the illegal invasion and occupation coming from our own country.

I imagine this Democrat thinks that our society would never break down like that under similar circumstances. Based on the fact that every society breaks down when the whole population is put under such stress and violence themselves, this is a false belief. In light of the fact that we are the most violent developed country on the planet ALREADY, it is a sure thing that we would only get vastly more violent under a foreign occupation (that left us without electricity, water, safety, and all normal functions of government) than the Iraqis did. Put even a small part of our population through the violence that we have put Iraqis through over the past four years, and we would have total melt down of our society also.

While the media had a fit this week over what some old white guy said on the radio that was racist – what do we do about racism among our own circles? How do we open their eyes?

And what kind of world are we headed to if we fail to open their eyes?