Juneteenth

 I was recently at a Yoga class in Florida when out of the blue, the instructor who is a white lady who appears to be in her early 70’s, stopped mid-sentence in her regular instructions, to apologize.

It was for comments she had made in a class on the previous Monday (which I never attended), she said.

She went on to explain that she did not know what Juneteenth was, so when she had grumbled that the regular Monday holidays were upsetting her schedules, she was being ignorant, not disrespectful. She said it was only when she went home and told her daughter what she said and was berated for not knowing that Juneteenth was a “Black Lives Matter” holiday, that she recognized that her remarks had been insensitive.

Realizing that clearly neither she nor her daughter really understood what Juneteenth is, (it has nothing to do with Black Lives Matter, as that’s only the name of an activist group), I decided to have a word with her after the class. Not to quarrel with her, but to educate her.

For she is just one of the millions of people in the USA who know nothing about the history of slavery/oppression of black people in America.

It was Winston Churchill who said ‘history is written by the victors,’ and that is ever so true.

In America, most of the original historians were white, so carefully avoided reference to white oppression/savagery and the role black people played for almost 250 years, in building America without any compensation.

This impression was reinforced was recently as I watched a discussion on CNN, in which a college-educated young man from Tulsa Oklahoma, said he knew nothing about the Tulsa Massacre until recently seeing a documentary about it on television. He added that nothing about slavery or the struggles and oppression of black people was ever taught in high school when he attended less than a decade ago.

For the benefit of the unlearned, the Tulsa Massacre was the most infamous of the many direct assaults on progressive black people by envious whites, in recent history.

It took place on May 31 and June 1, 1921, when mobs of white residents, some of whom had been deputized and given weapons by city officials, attacked wealthy black residents, looting/destroying homes and businesses of the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma, then known as Black Wall Street.

About 10,000 black people were left homeless, and property damage amounted to more than $1.5 million in real estate and $750,000 in personal property (equivalent to $34.18 million in 2021).

It is not until recently that information about many other wealthy black areas in the USA that were similarly looted by envious whites, has started to emerge!

In fact, I dare say that it was not until black history month started in 1970, that most Americans, both black and white, heard any history about the role of Afro Americans in the country, apart from them having been brought from Africa as slaves!

It took many more decades too for the history text books to start to record and teach snippets of black history in schools. Even so, older white Americans have held on to the myths about blacks being lazy, hangers on who were saved by the white man, which was taught to them when they were at school.

Those white supremacists are mostly the people who see former president Donald Trump as their hero, as for blacks to remain marginalized, the truth about their history cannot become common knowledge.

Prominent among those determined to hide the truth is Trump’s chief disciple, Ron  DeSantis governor of Florida. He has even taken direct interest in censoring what is being reported in text books at the schools in the state.

His motivation, he said, is that nothing should be taught in schools to make one race feel bad about their history or remind others about past oppression.

People like DeSantis and Trump who wish to hide the truth about how America became great at the expense of black slaves and Native Americans, clearly do not understand the depth of  Jean Racine's prophetic words; “There are no secrets that time do not reveal.”

So yes, it is taking a long time, but the truth is finally being revealed and soon, the real meaning of holidays like Juneteenth and the achievements of black people in America, will have to be acknowledged and appreciated, by the ignorant and even the most racist whites.

In the meantime, each of us has a responsibility to enlighten everyone with whom we come into contact, as I and two other students in the yoga class had to do recently.

Of guns and conservatism

I find most members of the Republican Party in the USA (aka conservatives) very dangerous indeed. For if their philosophy is to be believed, when young children who are raped or been the victim incest, they must be reminded of the horror every day by being forced to carry an unwanted child for nine months.

On the other hand, if anyone wants an assault weapon to murder innocent children or anyone, they must be allowed to get it.

For why else would a civilian want an assault weapon except to commit mass murder?

I am not at all anti-gun, for in my book if someone wants to have a gun to protect themselves or their family, or to go hunting, they should by all means be allowed to do so.

However, there are guns for various types of activities. So, for example, some people tell me that assault weapons should be allowed for hunting. But my understanding of hunting is that it is a sport, so shouldn't the poor animal have some kind of a chance of survival?

According to the U.S. Department of Justice (in a 1994 debate,) "assault weapons are semiautomatic firearms with a large magazine of ammunition that were designed and configured for rapid fire and combat use."

I think the most relevant word above is combat, for that is really what they are designed for.

That means war.

Is it this love for weapons of war among a significant proportion of the Republicans in my book, which have caused America to start so many wars against far less armed nations too. For example, recent incursions into places like Iraq, and Libya.

It seems to me too, that American philosophy is really built on bullyism....... I have better weapons so I will kill you and take what you have.

Wasn’t that the entire foundation of the nation as they tried to wipe out the native Americans? And they have carried on that tradition over the years with non-whites being the targets under Jim Crow and ever since. (Heard of the Tulsa Massacre etc?)

According to the National Library of Medicine, assault weapons and other high-capacity semiautomatics appear to be used in a higher share of firearm mass murders (up to 57% in total)"

Would you believe the majority of decent Americans oppose having assault weapons in civilian hands?

 According to Gallup, between 57-61% of persons polled in the USA think assault weapons should be banned, but the legislators have consistently ignored these facts.

So why are most Republican legislators opposed to the banning of assault weapons when their constituents want them to be.

Corruption it would appear.

 In the USA, there is a well-entrenched method of bribing legislators called lobbying.

This is how Wikipedia begins its description of lobbying;

“In politics, lobbying, bribery, persuasion or 'special' interest representation is the act of a legally sanctioned attempt at influencing the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies.”

Among the richest organizations which use lobbyists in the USA; are gun manufacturers and the NRA (National Rifle Association). Why you may very well ask? The answer lies in the piece published by the Huffington Post in 2017 entitled "Assault Weapons Sales Boom Fuels Gun Industry Profits, And Tragedy." (It is interesting to learn via the History Newsletter, that the NRA opposed access and carrying of weapons in the 1960's when the Black Panters were the propoonents and whites were scared out of their pants by them!The NRA Supported Gun Control When the Black Panthers Had the Weapons - HISTORY)

 It is therefore my view that until the USA addresses the corrupt system of lobbying, they will forever be shedding tears and saying prayers for victims of mass murders, be they mere infants, Texas May 24th, black people two weeks before in Buffalo, or people in churches, cinemas, malls etc.

Yes, every country suffers from crime with which violence is often associated. For humans will forever reach for weapons with which to harm others, be they sticks, cars, guns etc.

 But must the USA continue to make it easy for anyone with a grudge to kill people by the dozens in the flash of an eye, simply because that is what the NRA and gun manufacturers want?