America is in Danger and We Are Laughing

“When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.”

                                                                        (Sinclair Lewis)

America, we sit and listen to the inane remarks of some of the Republican candidates and laugh. We post on Facebook and we joke about the [seemingly] lack of mental capacity they and their followers have.   At the end of the day, we are laughing at what has been dubbed “the clown car”, but America, we are in danger.

Have you not been paying attention to what has happened and is happening in states that Republicans control? We know that they have started and continue to take away voting rights of our fellow citizens and the rights of women to make decisions for their own body. Are these things funny?  Let me explain what kind of danger we’re in especially since their M.O. (modus operandi) is too frigging close to that of Hitler. 

First, the regurgitated lies.  Hitler said “Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it and eventually they will believe it.” Yes, they have done that with great success. Many Democrats are now calling themselves “Progressives” because the GOP has tarnished the term “Liberal”.  Many of us don’t have the backbone to embrace being a “Liberal” despite the many positive accomplishments for our country by the Liberal way of being.  I am not one; I am a Liberal and very blessed to be one.  That’s only one lie, there is so many I would need more pages to cover them all. Another well-known lie is that the government is too big when it comes to helping citizens that need help.  However, they don’t have a problem when their owners [big corporations] want legislation that benefits them.  [Former] Defense Sec. William Cohen said it well “Government is the enemy until you need a friend” and we all know that many Republicans made it to where they are via the same federal government they are attempting to destroy.

Second, Hitler said “All propaganda has to be popular and has to accommodate itself to the comprehension of the least intelligent of those whom it seeks to reach.”  Republicans have this covered like white on rice and we make fun of their supporters.  One of their propaganda is the gun rights issue and their alleged 2^nd Amendment right.  Albeit said Amendment speaks of a “well-regulated Militia” per state and that well-regulated militia is called the National Guards.  The NRA and their Republican flunkies have spun this propaganda as expertly as a spider spins a web. Their greatest propaganda is racism and those who believe it are truly less intelligent but this is applicable to those with degrees as well. This propaganda is also entrenched in the third M.O.

Third, Hitler said “Hate is more lasting than dislike.”  Racism never left, it just lurked in the deep dark recesses of our society until the election of Barack H. Obama and then it exploded like the bursting of a sewage drain.  We’ve all heard it and seen it. Many citizens were taken aback by it but for those who live it every day, there was no surprise.  The putrid verbal onslaught against our President is beyond vile. The bloviators, Black and White, did not leave it only to his policies; they went after the man and his family.   Demanding from him to “prove” who he is; something no other President has had to do.  They took it to the extreme by (1) inviting a man just as hateful, to speak before Congress; (2) writing a letter to Iran in an attempt to undermine our President; and finally, how can we forget the infamous words of Senator Mitch McConnell that their only job was to make him a one term President. While they did not succeed on that aspect, they have succeeded in blocking the many good things he wanted, needed to do for this country and its citizens.

Fourth, Hitler said “As a Christian, I have no duty to allow myself to be cheated, but I have the duty to be a fighter for truth and justice.”  This evil man, who murdered thousands, had the audacity to say this yet we hear and see Republicans following this pattern.  Republicans follow their own interpretation of Christianity and not as it was intended.  I found it interesting that [former] Speaker John Boehner spoke of “false prophets” (Matthew 7:15-16), as one who knew best yet Christian conservatives paid no heed to his words.  The issue of religion and Republicans is that “All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish [or Islam] appear to me no other than Human inventions set up to terrify and enslave mankind and monopolize power and profit” (Thomas Paine).  Republicans have nullified the 1^st Amendment and we let them.

America, if we want change it starts with us: “We, the people”.  A revolution means nothing if we don’t get off our derrières, as a collective, and say “enough”.  “If everyone howled at every injustice, every act of barbarism, every act of unkindness; then we would be taking the first step towards a real humanity” (Nelson DeMille). This is what we need to, have to do in order to change what is going on in our country. Why do Republican supporters have more determination than Democrats {Liberals and Progressives}? At the end of WWII, many German citizens said they did not know what was happening to Jews. We know what’s happening yet we laugh. Are we truly prepared for what may be coming?  Far too many have died for minorities, women, the disabled and the poor. Are we going to allow Republicans to erase it all? “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men [people] to do nothing” (Edmund Burke).

 

The Tie That Binds

“Ignorance breeds monsters to fill up the soul that are unoccupied by the verities of knowledge” (Horace Mann)

Before I go into this article, I would like to define “verities”.  It is defined as (1) the state or quality of being true; accordance with fact or reality and (2) something that is true, as a principle, belief, idea, or statement[1].  I am currently watching “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)[2]” and although I recognized the binding ties of hate, it never became more explicit than today. Why today? Because of the hate mongers who gathered outside a Muslim mosque [with guns] under the guise of “Free Speech” to spew their hatred of fellow Americans who are Muslims[3]. I mulled over our fellow citizens who hold to this delusion that their way is the only way and realized just how much they are like those who have perverted the religion of Islam – the Muslim-jackers [albeit I already knew].

(Muslim-jackers are those who have hijacked the Muslim religion).

The antagonists in this movie are Koba (Ape) and Carver (Human) who hate the other’s species due to incorrect and/or ignorant ideas and beliefs. See Carver’s hatred is because he blames the Apes for a virus that man created that ultimately destroyed the Human race and gave greater intelligence to the Apes. Koba hates Humans because he was once in a lab and we all know what that entails but it causes him to believe that all Humans are to be hated.  They both refused to take the time to actually see the truth that there is good and bad in both species and thus their beliefs are based in ignorance. The only “truth” for them is through the lens of hate that their respective species is better than the other.  This is how I see the Muslim-jackers and the Muslim-haters; each in their corners, like boxers, under the false assumption that the other does not have the right to be in existence.  

The protagonists are Caesar (Ape) and Malcolm (Human) who both realized that they had to give the other a chance to prove their mettle.  They saw each other as equals in intelligence and the need for their species to survive despite the differences.  Some could say that Caesar had an advantage as he experienced both sides of the Human coin while Malcolm was uncertain. Their bond was cemented more in what they had in common than the differences; their bond was cemented in recognizing the good they saw in each other and holding to that despite obstacles. They made a choice to get past the stereotypes and fears; they made a choice not to give in to hate.

There is a point in the film where Caesar tells his oldest son, Blue Eyes, that he realized just how much Apes where like Humans.  Humans are at the top of the food chain and like our fellow mammals we connect via clans, families, etc. Unlike our fellow mammals though, we teach hate, we purposely choose to hate and we allow that hate to be the fuel in the way we discriminate against, demonize and kill each other.  Isn’t it interesting just how much Muslim-jackers and Muslim-haters are alike in their hatred?  It is in the differences that cause some to hate the American existence; it is the differences in religious beliefs that cause many to hate each other; it is the hatred of another’s skin color that fuels faux justifications in killing another Human being; and it is hatred of whom one loves that justifies pompous blowhards denial(s) of their sentient right to live in peace.  The [willful] choice to hate binds all those who lack the intelligence to find the truth; the [willful] choice to hate binds those who are actually weak.  Anyone who practices hate of another Human being is weak because it is easy to do bad/evil in thought(s) and deeds.  It takes real strength to do what is right; it takes real strength to choose not to hate especially if one is part of a group that assumes they have that right.  Yes, Muslim-haters and Muslim-jackers are tied by that bondage of hate.  The hatred that stews inside both groups goes beyond an immense dislike of another; it is a darkness that surpasses what makes us Humans; they are the monsters among us.  American society-at-large should be very afraid of the evil of hate that disguises it as a “right” and society acquiesces.  The monsters are among us nationally and at our door globally.

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[1] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/verities

[2] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2103281/

[3]http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/crowds-gather-for-anti-islam-demonstration-outside-phoenix-mosque/ar-BBkopVy?ocid=msnhomepage#image=1  

My Perspective on Muslims & Christians

“Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before GOD” (Romans 14:22)

“Faith in GOD’s revelation has nothing to do with an ideology which glorifies the status quo” (Karl Barth)

“No human race is superior; no religious faith is inferior. All collective judgments are wrong. Only racists make them” (Elie Wiesel)

As a very flawed Born-Again Christian, I find the hate from both sides of the religious issue of Muslims vs. Christians to be abhorrent.  The arrogance of non-Muslims to disrespect a revered figure of Islam is not only immature; it is a violation of rights accorded to all sentient beings.  The Muslims who resort to violence are weak pathetic beings who do not have the intelligence to prove or disprove the stereotypes heaped against them.  The non-Muslims who demean the Muslim faith are no better, especially those who have the audacity to call themselves “Christians”.   The word Christian means followers of Christ and there were many other religions when Jesus Christ walked this Earth yet there is no mention of Him demeaning any of those other religions in the four Gospels of the New Testament. Indeed, He oftentimes repudiated the conservative religious and political leaders of Israel regarding their hypocrisies.  Apologies, I digress.  We as Christians are taught to be peaceful, to live in peace and to treat all peoples the same because “in truth, I perceive that GOD shows no partiality” or more plainly, GOD is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34 & Romans 2:11). Specifically, we are told to “love your (our) enemies” (Matthew 5:44 & Luke 6:27-36).

I found this article[1] extremely interesting. The perspective that caught my eye was the author's statement that "People in the Muslim world place a higher value on their cultural identity, which is often defined by their religion."  I find the statement to be less than objective because if one examines the conservative Christian movement in the U.S.; one will find the very same. We hear at least once a week some Christian conservative bemoaning the faux attack on their religious and political ideologies while violating some of the legal aspects of the Constitution against certain groups of the citizenry. Conservative Christians place a very high value on their cultural identity and it is highlighted by the current slew of presidential hopefuls within the Republican Party.  Their hateful rhetoric defiles the Christian religion and are not representative of the religion just as violent Muslims are not representative of the religion of Islam.

Having said all of that, the words "respect" and “honor” are missing from the allowance of Free Speech. Be it in France or in the U.S., the perpetrators of disrespecting the holy man of the Islamic faith are predominately Caucasians. I don't know what “certain” White French citizens hold dear but in the U.S., if someone desecrates the American flag, those conservative Christians who choose to demean the Prophet Mohammad get violently upset. They also become violently upset to things that violate their religious beliefs [same sex marriage]. What gives them the right to be outraged at these things yet Muslims cannot become outraged at the defilement of their religion’s holy man? Free speech, as in everything else, [should] have boundaries and only the ignorant and hatemongers disregard the respect in the freedom allotted to many. Violence is never the answer or response to anything that inflames our sensitivity. Violence is the response of the weak, those who feel they have no control and like naughty little children, they do evil to be noticed. Religion has always been at the base of the most infamous wars of mankind; whether or not the religion was/is valid. The Crusades, Spanish Inquisition, the Catholic/Protestant issue of Ireland and even WWII are just some of the examples. Those who decry the fact that nonviolent Muslims say nothing forget that non-conservative Christians say nothing. Here in the U.S. those who say something against and/or about conservative Christians are demeaned and ridiculed. So even if nonviolent Muslims come out against the violence committed by those who have hijacked their religion, the conservative Christians would denounce such statements and that is what network news report on which gives conservative Christians a broader platform. Bottom line, conservative Christians are no different from extremist Muslims except for their religion and the language they speak. They are both cut from the same cloth of hubris and hate; their religion is just a vehicle to drive that hate. *Note: While conservative Christians don’t use violence like extremist Muslims, they use the laws to subjugate certain groups of the citizenry with violence being a component.

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[1] http://www.commdiginews.com/featured/muhammad-cartoons-free-speech-and-respect-for-religion-41284/

Line of Sight

“Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”  (Matthew 7:5 & Luke 6:42)

I have listened for the last few months as those who see themselves as some form of paradigm of religious and political virtue(s) are verbally [and in writing] attacking President Obama’s foreign policies with Cuba and Iran.  They stand in front of their ‘selected’ constituencies preening themselves like peacocks walking back and forth, opening their mouths, making noise but saying nothing. They demean both aforementioned countries with three words: human rights violations.  They have yet to address the human rights violations in their own back yard.  They try to hide behind their ideology of dehumanization because that is the only thing their ideology stands for and does, dehumanize.  The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines dehumanization as “to deprive of human qualities, personality, or spirit.”[1]  

 

Their first group of victims is the poor whom they choose to see as lazy and unworthy of getting any form of help.  They attempt to balance state and federal budgets off the back of the poor while providing the wealthy their own form of welfare. Mind you, one must remember that within that categorization of the poor are children and the elderly yet as pro-life as they feign to be; babies, toddlers, children and the elderly are not spared from the dehumanization. I find it quite interesting that they would quote the scripture of “if a man does not work, he does not eat” while forgetting the full context of that scripture but that’s for another article. Anywho, they forget that Jesus said “I desire mercy, not sacrifice”[2] and the Creator said “Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, who write misfortune, which they have prescribed to rob the needy of justice, and to take what is right from the poor of My people. That widows may be their prey and that they may rob the fatherless.”[3] Interesting that they are doing exactly what they are told not to do to the letter.

Their dehumanization continues in their attacks against those of the LGBT community.  Before I continue, for those who are not familiar with the Bible, in the New Testament there is a reference in Romans about homosexuality. Homosexuality is also referenced in the Old Testament via Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis. Here’s a kicker, there is a reason for the New Testament and the most interesting thing is that in the four Gospels that shares with us the life of Jesus Christ; one has to know that homosexuals existed during Jesus’ lifetime yet I don’t recall Him saying anything about that lifestyle or those who lived it.  Bottom line is that the alleged societal ills they bellyache about existed when Jesus walked this earth yet all He spoke of was compassion and forgiveness.  Then there is the omnipotent power of our Creator Whom they say they know yet denounce with their actions.  If, as they believe, the Creator is aware of all, then that same Creator knew of those who would become part of the LGBT community yet He created them nonetheless.  In legislating hate towards those of the LGBT community, how does that make them any different from those in Iran or the other ignorant nations who hang and persecute those of the LGBT community? Because we don’t hang them they assume that makes it better? Oh, let us not forget that while they decry same-sex marriages, they forget about the many heterosexual marriages that are falling apart due to adultery, some being committed by their own.  Or shows (My Five Wives – TLC) and people who celebrate polygamy and live as polygamists. We definitely can’t forget those who not only practice polygamy but pedophilia by marrying off little girls to adult males.  

The pièce de résistance in the dehumanization process though, is racial animus. Yes, I know there are minorities who share this twisted ideology but I just believe that they are ashamed of the race the Creator placed them in. As this group of conservative religious and political folks bemoan what’s going on in other countries and as those who profess pro-life beliefs; they have yet to come out and stand against the continued killings of Black men and boys.  They continue to remain silent yet secretly throwing their support behind those doing the killings under the guise of “the badge”. Why? Because they don’t recognize African Americans as human beings and/or they assume the murdered men and boys were complicit in their own execution. Here’s a bit of enlightenment – Russia, China and North Korea are countries where political rivals and citizen dissidents are imprisoned yet the U.S. of A. has more citizens incarcerated than those three countries combined. Why? Because this group of hatemongers see through some very twisted lens, holding on to the crude and evil thoughts of the past that “those” Blacks are inferior, lazy and animals. Yet again, they usurp their religion because the Creator made all mankind in His image. Not only that, the New Testament is very clear in that “GOD [Allah, Yahweh] is no respecter of persons.”[4]  They fail in their dehumanization process to see that “they have prescribed to rob the needy of justice” and continue to do so. Their ignorance to old stereotypes continue to be reinforced in the lack of opportunities to Black males who come out of prison leaving the responsibilities of raising a family to Black women; a continuance of slavery and Jim Crow.  The lack of investments in these communities ensures criminality and violence thus placing cops as modern day overseers. The only form of investment is via gentrification thus the continuance in the destabilization of the Black family especially poor families.  Many apply terrorism only to the global stage; however, terrorism is defined as “the use of violent acts to frighten the people in an area as a way of trying to achieve a political goal”[5] and this is going on in our own back yard.  Michael Brown died because a White cop didn’t like him walking in the street; John Crawford died because he was a Black young man with a toy gun in Walmart in an open-carry state; the list goes on. How is this not similar to how Jews were treated by the Gestapo, the Nazi police or when the KKK terrorized Black families after the Civil War on into the 1970s? When Black parents have to tell their sons how to be or not around cops, how is this not a state of terrorism? They are smug in their ideology of dehumanization but they “are those who justify themselves [yourselves] before men, but God knows their [your] hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.”[6]

In closing, no matter the religious belief, one cannot nor should they pick and choose what religious verse is amenable to their perspective. As a flawed Born-Again Christian, I do not have the right to beat others over the head with my belief, I am to live it.  Grant it, there is no perfection in the operations of mankind but for those who claim Christianity while divisive, derogatory and evil behavior is their cup of tea; I would be hard-pressed to stay silent.  I abhor both domestic and foreign policies built on dehumanization and cannot comprehend for the life of me why folks choose to be so blind.  The New Testament contradicts all that the party of dehumanizers stands for in their domestic and foreign policy ignorance.  In the foreign policy arena, be it with Palestine, Cuba or Iran, we are told “He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings”[7] and “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”[8]  In the domestic policy arena, I have shared one aspect from Isaiah. But in regards to personal favoritism, which they practice unabashedly in glorifying the wealthy while demeaning the poor,  James 2:4 closes with who they are in that “have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?” Oh, oh say can’t you see………….

 

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[1] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dehumanize

[2] Matthew 9:13

[3] Isaiah 10:1 & 2

[4] Acts 10:34, Romans 2:11 & James 2:1-13

[5] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/terrorism

[6] Luke 16:15

[7] Acts 17:26

[8] Romans 12:18

The Right to Life and to Live

I watched the Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell on MSNBC last night [13^th Jan. 2015], he addressed the fact that there are no “legitimate” national counts of citizens killed by law enforcement.  The piece is called “Tracking Deadly Force”[1] with Rep. Steve Cohen who is pushing legislation to track these fatal events taking the lives of many American citizens and more specifically, African Americans.

Many of us are armchair witnesses to these killings with some of us participating in peaceful protests.  In spite of and despite #Blacklivesmatter, the silence from those who are quick to tout and espouse the mantra of “right-to-life” is deafening.  Also deafening is the silence of the many ministers/pastors/priests that had no problem shouting about their immense dislike to all things of the LGBT community.  Here’s the kicker, both groups claim [faux] religious indignation when they pursue their alleged grievances.  While the hypocrisy of both groups is nothing new, they should be called out on it.  Well said is this quote by Edmund Burke “Nothing is so fatal to religion as indifference.”  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a man of the cloth who saw the injustices; not only for African Americans but for every poor citizen as well. The victory of the Civil Rights Movement was not only in the oratory skills of Dr. King and the determination of he and his supporters; it was also in the inclusion of religious leaders from every religion, race and ethnicity standing with him to let this country know that this man was not alone and they all stood on religious principles.  Many American citizens died attempting to bring some form of equality to the lives of African Americans. As a very flawed Born-Again Christian, it hurts me to realize that those who allege obedience to Christian values purposely deny the fact that we are told more than once in the New Testament that Heavenly Father is no respecter of persons.  If our Creator does not care about skin color or what is in one’s bank account, how dare anyone of us live contrary to that?  I don’t cry much but the death of Michael Brown caused a reaction in me that had the tears flowing. Is it because I am the mother of two African American males; because this is just a continued pattern in the emasculation of males of color; because so many Christians have said nothing of the injustices; or because it affected my spirit in a way that I had no control of? I don’t know, all I know is that it is an evil when we allow the lives of anyone to be arbitrarily determined by those who are supposed to enforce the law.  When this arbitration is focused on a particular racial group, this historically continued pattern borders on genocide. In the refusal to charge officers especially when the victim was unarmed and/or the criminal justice system; those who remain silent are supporting legally sanctioned killings and incarcerations. We have more citizens incarcerated than countries that imprison their political opponents and dissidents.  

Is crime an issue in African American communities? Of course it is but why? National and local politics do not take the time to invest in the communities who need it most due to wrong thinking.  The American society is Dr. Frankenstein creating (and re-creating) the ugliness they blame on the residents of these communities that border on Third World living.  “The world we have created is a product of our thinking; it cannot be changed without changing our thinking” (Albert Einstein) but far too many refuse to change their way of thinking. It’s easier to think in the terms that “those” people deserve what they get without taking responsibility for creating the environment.  This racial animus can be seen in the fact that within poorer communities, schools cannot afford new textbooks[2], teachers have to use other means to procure the necessary items to teach their students[3], and most disturbing is that teachers in these schools are paid less than their counterparts in the suburbs[4].  How can anyone stand up for “life” while quietly aiding in the denial of life and living to the descendants of the African slaves who helped many Caucasian families become wealthy? “At the heart of racism is the religious assertion that GOD made a creative mistake when He brought some people into being” (Frederich Otto Hertz) and this is the foundation for the total disregard of Black lives.

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[1] http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word

[2] http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2014/07/why-poor-schools-cant-win-at-standardized-testing/374287/

[3] http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/crowdfunding-websites-help-donors-help-teachers/ar-BBhhIJD

[4] http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/teacherbeat/2011/09/teachers_paid_less_in_predomin.html

Obama and Ferguson: Why He Doesn’t Get It

 Since the murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson, I have heard voices from within the African American community commenting on what President Obama needs to be doing to “represent”.  I clearly remember that conservatives are waiting for an opportunity to impeach him, so from a political standpoint, not a smart move.  I also remember during his first win in 2008, that he vowed to be President to all of America, even those who did not vote for him.  Even though we know that conservatives have no such moral inclination to be fair; it would be detrimental if President Obama stooped to their level. 

However, I want to address this matter from a more personal perspective; I am a foreign born Black as are my parents. Initially we lived in a predominately White neighborhood where the best friend of one of my two brothers was Italian; my other brother’s best friend was Pakistani.  My friends were all White from church and Girl Scouts and my older sister’s best friend was also White.  Aside from his friends at the West Indian Club, Daddy’s best friend was a giant White man and Mommy’s extended family were a very much older African American couple as well as the two White families for whom she worked.  I share all of this to say that I never knew or understood the intense dislike and distrust of White people, especially law enforcement, by African American students I met from being bussed. I did not know because my family and I never had any experiences that would instill such distrust.  I understand that now only because I have four African American children, including two sons. I have lived in this community for 15 years where I have witnessed the mistreatment by the police. My sons, who do not hang out on the streets neither do they have criminal records, have both been stopped and questioned on their way to work and coming home.  The identifiable factors – the color of their skin and the community they live in.  President Obama did not grow up in urban mainland America and his mother and grandparents had no knowledge of what awaited their son and grandson so that they could “alert” him on how or who to be around law enforcement. Even if his biological dad had been in his life, the man was from another country and would have lacked the same form of knowledge for his son.  As a community activist, he saw the social and economic results of a system built on racial animus but he did not live it in the same context as those he helped.  Another way to look at this is the fact that there are many children of foreign born parents who may not know the language of their heritage.   I have a friend who is Latina and speaks Spanish yet neither one of her children can speak or even read the language. 

The fact that AG Holder went to Ferguson tells me that President Obama was very aware and concerned especially after identifying with Trayvon Martin. The difference was that the stark reality of Michael Brown’s death at the hands of a White police officer ripped away any fragments of mental and emotional restraint that many have used to ignore the racial oppression going on in certain communities.  The death of Eric Garner and the results of that grand jury was the salt into the wounds of a historically long festering and putrid cankerous sore.  What could President Obama have said that would have made this disease less malignant?  Is anyone forgetting the many times “certain” citizens set up shop outside the White House derailing and demeaning the President? Is anyone forgetting the fact that death threats to this President is far higher than any other? Or the fact that many open-carry laws have increased as did the sales of guns.  So, what could President Obama have said that would have eased the minds of those African Americans denouncing his lack of vocal participation?  Mayor Bill de Blasio is a White man with an African American son who spoke the truth of the real for his son. Look at the reaction of those with small minds who are charged with protecting citizens.  If this is how one group reacted to a truth, what do you think would happen if the first African American President spoke what he really felt?  I also find it incredulous that those calling out President Obama have not called out the many ministers who did not have a problem voicing their opinions on same sex marriages or a woman’s right to make decisions for her body and life.  Those ministers who are supposed to be representing the compassion of Jesus Christ and fighting for what is right and just.  What happened to the voices of all those who are pro-life?  So, lay off President Obama on this especially since no one seems to be calling out African American churches that used to be the backbone in urban communities on social justice.