ClydeStyle

Category: Bigotry

  • History — what goes around comes around

    President Donald Trump has a playbook. If we understood history better, we would have seen this coming. Trump has quoted Adolph Hitler and shown us that he is quite the fan of the dictator. At the end of his first term in office, he began to follow Hitlers actions to rise to power through the very system designed and created to keep people like Trump out.

    Never in the history of US presidents have we had one like Trump. In the modern era, no other republican president in the last 50 years would have even voted for him. There is no other time in America after the Civil Rights Movement that the country would have elected such a man.

    Hitler was quite radical in Germany, and his clear hatred of people labeled communists and Jews was apparent. Hitler was a part of the country that believed they lost World War I because of this group. There were three major events that led to the rise of Hitler, and there are also three major events that led to the rise of Trump.

    As recorded in the Holocaust Encyclopedia, these are the events that led to the rise of Hitler:

    June 28, 1919
    The Treaty of Versailles is signed
    Germany loses World War I in November 1918. Germans are shocked and horrified. Many people, including Adolf Hitler, refuse to believe that the loss is real. They falsely blame Jews and Communists for Germany’s defeat.

    This shock is intensified in June 1919, when Germany is forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty makes Germany accept responsibility for the war. Many Germans feel that the Treaty’s terms are too harsh. Germany has to make huge payments for damage caused by the war (known as war reparations). Also, according to the Treaty, the German army is limited to 100,000 troops. Finally, Germany is forced to transfer territory to its neighbors. The Nazi Party makes overturning the Treaty of Versailles a key part of its political platform. Many Germans welcome this Nazi promise.

    November 8–9, 1923
    The Beer Hall Putsch
    In the early 1920s, the Nazi Party is a small extremist group. They hope to seize power in Germany by force. On November 8–9, 1923, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party attempt to overthrow the government of the state of Bavaria. They begin at a beer hall in the city of Munich. The plotters hope to march on Berlin. But they fail miserably. The Munich police kill more than a dozen of Hitler’s supporters. Hitler and others are arrested, tried, and convicted of treason. This attempted coup d’état is called the Beer Hall Putsch.

    The failure of the Beer Hall Putsch encourages Nazi leaders to change their strategy. Instead of using force, the Nazis focus on winning elections.

    October 24 and 29, 1929
    The stock market crash in New York
    In October 1929, the stock market crashes in New York and sparks a worldwide economic crisis. This crisis is called the Great Depression. The stock market crash impacts Germany almost overnight because the American and German economies have become closely intertwined. This economic connection is a direct result of financial negotiations relating to World War I reparations payments. Unemployment becomes a major problem in German society. Joblessness, homelessness, and begging are commonplace. These economic conditions make Nazi promises more attractive to voters.

    In America, Trump was elected the first time for three major reasons: Many poor marginalized white Americans felt that they were forgotten by the establishment, and many benefits were going to blacks, Hispanics, and the LGBTQ communities; America was not ready for a female president; Hilary Clinton could not overcome her past and the perception the American people had of the Clinton’s overall.

    Despite Trump proving that he was not fit to be president of the free world, parts of America wanted him to “shake things up” in Washington, and that’s what he did. There are people who can point out some good that he did, but it is hard to overlook the tens of thousands who died monthly during the pandemic. Under Trumps leadership, America was not prepared to deal with the pandemic, and what’s worse is that a couple of months before Covid-19 hit America, Trump thought it was something the democrats made up.

    When Trump lost to Joe Biden, he attempted an insurrection just like Hitler in Nov. 1923, and it failed. The White Fear button was pressed during his second campaign as he began to prey on America’s prejudices. White people believed illegal immigrants were bringing drugs, particularly fentanyl, into our country as well as sending us all their worst prisoners. The democrats mishandled legislation regarding transgenders and some of their decisions were a bit ridiculous, particularly in how our tax dollars were being spent on transgender operations. Finally, the idea that DEI initiatives were unfair to white people. Add that to a very weak candidate in Kamala Harris and inflation, and Trump, the felon, returns to office.

    Trump now spends his days writing executive orders to dismantel America, alienate our allies and side with world dictators with the hope that he can become like them. It is a harsh history lesson for American citizens, but spoiler alert: Hitler ultimately is defeated — fyi.

  • TN lawmakers embrace racism, gay hate while banning song: Eve was Black

    Racism used to be a covert operation. Racist folks wanted to conceal their identity so as to not receive backlash from their choices. Now, it seems that it is fashionable to embrace racism just as the Tennessee lawmakers have done recently.

    It appears that Tennessee is the testing ground before policies go national. Recent focus has turned to the banning on a Grammy award winning song by Allison Russell titled Eve was Black. The song links all races together and challenges the hate that is demonstrated by some seemingly because of race. It is bold, honest, and challenging.

    The song holds the claim of the leading hypothesis among scholars in this area that the whole human race entered the world through the legs of a dark-skinned woman. Not Black, not Egyptian, not Hebrew, as there wasn’t a race back then, but the first humans were Black.

    This truth bothers some people enough to ban the song in the state. Until we deal with the sin of racism, we are doomed to keep recycling it in our society. The following is  the lyrics to Eve was Black.

    Allison Russell

    “Eve was Black, haven’t you heard?
    The Mother of All was Dark and Good
    Eve was Black, didn’t you know?
    Is that why you hate my Black Skin so?
    Is that why you hate my Black Skin so?

    Does it remind you of what you lost?
    Do you hate or do you lust?
    Do you despise or do you yearn?
    To return, to return, to return

    Back to the Motherland
    Back to the Garden
    Back to your Black Skin
    Back to the Innocence
    Back to the shine you lost
    When you enslaved your Kin

    Why do you try to touch my hair?
    Do you hope to find a blessing there?
    Why do you try to keep me down?
    Do you hope to sow this barren ground
    With my black blood, black magic blood
    With my black blood, black magic blood

    Do I remind you of what you lost?
    Do you hate or do you lust?
    Do you despise or do you yearn?
    To return, to return, to return

    Back to the Motherland
    Back to the Garden
    Back to your Black Skin
    Back to the Innocence
    Back to the shine you lost
    When you enslaved your Kin

    What do you hope for as you tie the rope?
    What do you hope for as you hoist me up?
    What do you hope for as you watch me swing?
    Will the Witness Tree Salvation bring?

    Do I remind you of what you lost?
    Do you hate or do you lust?
    Do you despise or do you yearn?
    To return, to return, to return

    Back to the Motherland
    Back to the Garden
    Back to your Black Skin
    Back to the Innocence
    Back to the shine you lost
    When you enslaved your Kin

    Oh, my Sister, oh, my Brother
    Oh, my Mother, oh, my Father
    Oh, my Cousin, all my pale Kin
    Can’t wash this sin
    Can’t wash this sin
    Can’t wash this sin
    With my Black Blood
    With my Black Blood”

  • Knowledge really is power

    The older I get, the more I learn what I didn’t know. So much information that was originally given to me is turning out to be false.

    The level of trust we give our original source is huge when they have not been vetted. Why would we trust like that? We trust as if no one has a reason to lead us astray.

    It seems that in America, our original history is so bad that we would be appalled if we knew the truth. That beautiful story about how the early settlers came over here seeking a better way of life, wrote the constitution, and started America didn’t quite happen like that. In fact, it was nothing like that. I won’t spoil the research for you, but you need to challenge everything.

    The most interesting part of all of this is that the truth is out there. It’s contained in resource books and professional journals. I read a professional journal that had an interview with Fredrick Douglas, and he was discussing the character of the man we know as Abe Lincoln. The title of the article says of Lincoln that he is a man, but not a brother.

    We were told he was this great emancipator who freed the slaves and strived to create an America where everyone was free. False! Not even close!

    Lincoln freed the slaves to win the Civil War and wanted to deport the slaves back to their homeland, knowing that they would never truly be free. He was always for the advancement of his race. He believed in reparations, and he made sure that every slave owner received $300 per slave for their troubles. That $300 in 1865 is the equivalent of $5626.21 today. Image how much that is if you had 50 slaves. Then, instead of taking your reparations and purchasing more land, these slaveowners kept the money and took the land the slaves had, and of course, the slaves couldn’t report this to authorities.

    Surely you have heard about the 40 acres and a mule phrase? Well, that was a reality for a few slaves until the white man showed up, seized the land and shot the mule, and burned your house down. No government intervention at all – thanks, Abe!

    So if knowledge is power, it is up to us to pick up a book, learn the truth, and act accordingly.

  • A thing that can’t happen

    I’m not sure if this will be a new series or not, but there are certain things that just can’t happen. It needs to happen, but by the way we are as a country, it would cause an even greater divide if it did.

    I’m specifically talking about a scientific discovery of longevity. Imagine the level of greed and covetousness that would ensue if we discovered a way to extend life by hundreds of years. I’m talking about a new life expectancy of 250 years.

    I would imagine that our biased country would want to decide who is worthy of this. It would not be something that everyone could experience. I’m not even sure what the price tag would be, but definitely, anyone lower than wealthy would not have access.

    There would be billionaires trying to corner the market on this gift. As the African proverb states: “When the elephants rumble, the grass suffers.” We are the grass.

    Imagine some of the world’s dictators living longer: Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump,Joe Biden, and Xi Jinping all live another 160 plus years. Would the world be a bitter place if that happened?

    Longevity would give us more time to be greedy and selfish. If it were available to everyone, then it would give the poor and downtrodden another 200-plus years of poverty, stress, sickness, and depression. Giving the world more time would not at all help the poor — it would extend their already horrible sentence.

    It would do us no good to imagine the world as a better place because more time would increase the intensity of who we are today — and it’s not a pretty sight!

  • It’s all a plot: LGBTQ is becoming the new birth control

    Throughout my life, I have heard of White Fear, and I wondered what it was and was there really any validity to it.

    You see, there are some in America who fear the inevitable time when white people will lose their numerical majority. The fear is that they will be paid back for all the wrong they have done from slavery to Jim Crow to denying civil rights to police brutality to income disparities to incarceration. White guilt leads to white fear, and so since the 80s (or probably before that), there have been measures taken to slow the process. I thought it sounded too far-fetched, but then I started looking at some facts.

    In the late 80s, there was a book written by Ben Wattenberg called The Birth Dearth. I had learned of this book through some volunteers who were working with me during Jessie Jackson’s presidential run in 1988. This book outlined America’s problem, which was that white people were not having enough children. Whites were definitely not producing the number of children to equal the children of color who were being born.

    Back then, it was predicted that by 2035, White’s would lose their numerical majority. This prediction was also fueling the undercurrent of people who are hoping for another Civil War and are stockpiling assault weapons and ammo in anticipation of the opportunity to fight.

    In the book, Wattenberg cites three ways other countries have dealt with the population problem. In Finland, Japan, and Australia, they paid women to have children to increase their population. This would not work in America for two reasons: It costs far too much to raise children here as compared to these other countries, and America could not discriminate and only offer this option to whites.

    A second option would be to open the borders around the country. You will notice that in America, there is no talk of closing the Northern border because Canada is there. They want to close the southern border, build a wall, and all that jazz to keep out the Mexicans. A former president said it was because they had rapist, murderers and thieves coming from there, but what, in actuality, it was just people of color.

    Sadly, no matter what political party has the white house, the same is true. The Biden Administration put a policy in place last year to offer social security to Ukrainian refugees so they could stay here comfortably. However, this same administration sent Haitian refugees back home.

    The last solution listed in the book to solve the population problem is to eliminate abortion. We were told that this had something to do with Christianity, but it had more to do with the fact that 60 percent of all abortions in America are white babies. Therefore, ending abortion would preserve that number. All of this is an attempt to stop the growth of the minority populations while increasing the white population.

    Over the last five years, there has been increasing legislation to allow children to change their gender. Hormones can be prescribed without parents’ consent, and irreversible surgeries are taken place so that these young, confused kids can have their way and ruin who God created them to be. How can you increase the population by allowing same sex relationships?

    It looks like the “powers that be” have found another solution to solving their problem. Consequently, Wattenberg’s book will now cost you over $1,000 on Amazon. I wonder why?

  • Judges Thomas and Alito are just the tip of the iceberg

    Life constantly proves that we are flawed. As a part of our moral development, we should seek to excel in integrity, goodness, truth, and character, but we have lost our way.

    If we can no longer expect our Supreme Court justices to be honest, how can we expect it in other courts? It seems that there is always a problem when people don’t speak out against injustice. We made that a habit in our country, and it still hinders us today.

    The only thing needed to start a revolution after slavery ended would have been for whites to stand up and acknowledge wrongdoing. If some would have just called it as they saw it because never is it ok to make people property.

    During the Civil Rights movement, our legislative, judicial, and executive branches had a golden opportunity to move our country light years ahead by simply speaking up for what is right! Today, there are horrible police practices that many police, if they were not guilty themselves, could denounce as evil, but they stand silent. Some of the districts that our children are supposed to be educated in are failing. Some of that failure is “teacher failure,” but no one is saying that. Prison conditions in America are deplorable, and very little is being done to change it. Veterans still don’t have all of their promised benefits, but again, we are quiet.

    It’s hard to name an area of interest that isn’t corrupt. Pastors in churches are taking advantage, and some are even getting paid to sell a bad version of hope. And even in the presidency — from Trump to Biden — there are major struggles with integrity and truthfulness.

    Sadly, it seems that we declared independence from the wrong things. Where we should have set ourselves free from lies, laziness, selfishness, and bigotry, we embraced these and would go on to forsake fairness, honor, moral virtue, and serving others. Our freedoms are not for the better but the worse in America. We are free to dishonor our constitution and look out for number one — self!

    There are more justices guilty. We will see more police brutality, bad teachers, and corrupt politicians. And unless there is accountability being enforced, America will implode from within. We won’t have to worry about foreign enemies destroying us. We’re killing ourselves.

  • Accepted

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    This past week saw the taking down of the confederate flag in South Carolina and it was not without its controversies. Highlighted in that week was congressional sparring about the event and a much choosing of sides by political pundits.

    There was also a huge buzz on social media where some felt South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley made a decision that would make or break her political career. There was talk about this event thrusting her into the national political scene and perhaps even a vice president bid. Others felt that she had ruined her career and she even received cowardly death threats.

    I was not that vested into whether the flag stayed up or came down and I did not even watch it. What turned me off was this: Our country has an acceptance problem. Many of our troubles and struggles come from our inability to accept one another.

    So, in our initial relationship with our heavenly Father, we were separated from the commonwealth of God by our sins. It is impossible for us to be accepted by God on our own. Despite many failed attempts over thousands of years, we only proved that we are sinners and lost forever in darkness.

    Then, Jesus comes and dies for the sins of the world so that we have the opportunity to be “accepted in the Beloved.” Now, empowered by the Holy Spirit, we who believe live to bring this joyous occasion to others. Acceptance not only says that you belong, but it also says that you belong just the way you are. Acceptance is the bridge that allows the sinner in darkness to fellowship with the light. Without acceptance a connection cannot be made. And it’s in that fellowship that the magic happens. The apostle John wrote that if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanses us from all sin — that’s a pretty powerful fellowship! But if I am not accepting, it’s all for naught!

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    Have you ever felt like you did not belong? Have you ever been in a situation where others have made you to feel that way? It’s a horrible feeling, but do you know we do that whenever we decide that another person does not matter. I don’t have to conform to the way you think to accept you. You don’t have to look like me, live like me or eat the same things I do for me to accept you. I accept you because I have been accepted. And the thought of me cheapening my acceptance or taking it for granted because I don’t accept you, is not an option for me. My acceptance of you is my judgment of you and as for me and my house, we choose to accept.

  • Our hypocrisy

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    I struggle with the evils of this world. But I’m struggling more with the hypocrisy of America.

    Only in America does it matter how you were killed and the circumstances around your death play a factor in who even gets involved.

    Yesterday’s shooting was a huge tragedy and I can relate in so many ways. I can relate as a member and as a pastor. I have thought about what I would have done as the pastor. I attempt to change shoes with the deceased. I’m thankful that no one ran background checks on the victims or attempted to somehow blame them for what happen.

    Think I’m crazy? Is this going too far?!?

    I watched the press conference at noon today and heard how many government agencies came together to assist in this tragedy. I watched as Charleston’s Mayor, police chief and the Governor of the state got choked up over what happened. They spoke of bringing everyone together to heal.

    Then I thought about Walter “Lamar” Scott who was gunned down by a police officer in the same city. Someone please tell me what is the difference in these two incidents?

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    Are we to believe that it matters who pulls the trigger? In each shooting, those who died won’t come home. Are my feelings supposed to understand the difference?

    I can relate to Mr. Scott as a Black man who has been pulled over by police. I share his same fear whether or not I will survive the encounter. I have to consider if I have fostered enough respect, credentials and support in my life to withstand the criticism left for my family to hear. The criticism that argues what I may have done wrong to justify my murder or how it could somehow be my fault that I was gunned down.

    There were lots of prayer vigils tonight and not nearly the amount for Mr. Scott. I’m  saddened that this is our reality. My heart goes out to ALL who have suffered loss. I repent for my part in the hypocrisy and I pray that God heals our land.

  • No middle ground

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    We are a society of extremes — and it doesn’t have to be that way. The way things are going we will of course destroy our planet and ourselves.

    There seems to be no middle ground that anyone wants to choose. Think about it? We live in a world where people actual starve to death. And then on the other side of the world there are people so obese that they struggle through their lives suffering from degenerative diseases until they die.

    We have generations of people in poverty living in conditions that are deplorable and then just a few days journey away, there are people so wealthy that it would take 4 generations to spend it all.

    This crazy world has Christians that practice hate, record keeping of wrongdoing and feel murder can be justified, while there are atheist seeking to live in peace and harmony.

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    There are workoholics who hold down two and three jobs at a time while others can’t seem to find one job.

    The question today is what will it take to move us to the center? Get rid of the media? Seek Jesus for real? Eliminate big business? I want to raise our conscious level higher so that we are more sensitive to our fellow man.

    Did it work? I would love to hear your feedback.

  • Some day at Christmas

    Some day at Christmas

    Some day at Christmas we won’t be farmerry-christmas

    from making friends no matter what color they are.

    We will be color blind and our hearts will see

    that God made you and me.

     

    Some day at Christmas we won’t be rude

    and pass out to everyone who has a need for food.

    We will not covet all the things that we see

    because we live for him who died on that tree.

     

    3142505786_793baeb9a7Some day at Christmas all wars will cease.

    Our heart’s desire will be to seek peace.

    We’ll take responsibility for all that we do

    and make this world better for me and you.

     

    Some day at Christmas the deed will be done.

    Our lives will be judged by God’s only son.

    We lived our lives for Christ and stood in his Grace

    and spread love thoughout the human race.