Prejudice 2.0

Lest we forget “Among those who despised them the most were the second-generation Irish, whose fathers had been guilty of the same crimes. Irish kids pulled the beards of old Jews and knocked them down. They upended the pushcarts of Italian peddlers.” E.L. Doctorow writing about immigrants from Western and Eastern Europe circa 1905.

People are always afraid of those different from themselves. That fear grows into an ingrained prejudice passed on to other generation until someone is smart enough to recognize that fear and prejudice of perceived differences is ignorant. 

Embrace those differences. Do you eat spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna, croissants, curry dishes, Collard greens, Chinese food, guacamole, burritos, tortillas? All American foods or do you actually like something from other cultures? There are people and cultures associated with those foods. It’s not just about the food. 

Like generations before, all ethnicities experienced and still do experience prejudices. I remember what it was like growing up different from my peers. Sometimes it’s words, all too often it becomes threats that incite violence. Just ask the Native Americans of their treatment over the years. 

It has been made very obvious these past 2+ years that it has become socially acceptable to show prejudice with pride, because after all White Nationalists, aka Nazis, are good people too. 

America is the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave, E Pluribus Unum (out of many, one: the motto of the United States). You are a good American as long as you can hide behind Social Media or the President. Allow yourself to believe the lies told by Fox Opinion hosts and conservative newsletters and websites, go to Church on Sunday to show the world what a good person you are on the outside. As the catch phrase of the 30’s and 40’s put it, you’re “Free, white and 21.”

The Media Master had them chanting “Lock her up” long after the election and far into his Presidency. He needed a new catch phrase and ignorantly told people who were born here to go back where they came from! 

It really saddens me to hear chants of “Send her back”, with a 13 second pause to let it sink in and make sure it sticks. Check into your own ethnic background and history. It wasn’t  that long ago when your parents, grandparents, great grandparents, etc. heard those same words.

Voting for Trump - You Don't Get It Do you?

A friend of mine posted this meme on facebook:

A back and forth response started with one friend telling the person who posted this: "Lmao.You just don't get it"

He wouldn't say what he meant, but he was obviously a Trump supporter.

I post things from time to time about this and other elections. This year I have tried to usually post articles with facts about one side or the other. That is something that has been sorely missing in this election - but also blatantly ignored. I could say it's a mystery, but it's not really such a mystery to me.

People are caught up by their emotions. Their emotions are being fanned by an entertainer who has been taught by professionals how to act on camera. That's not all Trump on his TV shows. He's an actor being directed how to look, act, respond and get reactions on camera as every TV actor told is by their Director.

He is also stirring up what many folks have kept silently hidden from the public and themselves. I bit of bigotry, small or big, but there non the less.

I know what it was like to live in the 50"s. I know how many of our elders spoke and thought about people not like themselves. It was as blatant in my family as my mother not trusting an Italian who was not from Naples!!! That's like not trusting a person because they are from Montana and not the state they are from! It didn't have to make sense, it was how they were brought up. And guess what, many of us were exposed to that!

Now some of that history and memories are coming out. It's fueled by the fire of speeches filled with promises but not filled with plans on how to accomplish those promises. It's like saying "I'm going to cure cancer if you elect me!" He has no frigging idea how to do that but if he says it, on TV, it must be right. Our elders thought if you read it in the newspapers, it must be right. Some people read it on the internet and think the same thing.

Take the emotion out of the elections to date and look at the facts in front of you. That's what I did when I read the response, "You don't get it." Guess I got emotional and here was my response:

"No YOU don't get it. We don't have to make America Great Again. It's already pretty darn awesome. 
He wants to take us back 70 years where white men ruled, women were subservient, blacks were called the "N" word and ethnic jokes were just SO funny. 
Those are FACTS posted here, not lies made up to make his supporters feel good. 
I'm retired and have spent a lot of time watching all channels, reading articles and fact checking. Hillary may not be my 1st choice, but she is the most qualified candidate to continue to put us on a track of recovery.
Obama isn't to blame for all of the whining out there. He took over a stupendous mess that Bush got us into after taking over a country in great shape" Obama did his best "to continue to move forward. 
Is everything perfect like Obamacare, no, but it can be fixed. Remember both Dems and Reps spent a lot of time mucking it up. 
So if you want manufacturing jobs to come back to the USA and not keep them overseas where Trump makes all of his clothes, if you want to continue with the atmosphere of bigotry and hate that Trump has continued to poke like poking a bear with a stick, then God help us for your ignorance, bigotry and hatred of what is good and right".

Was I over the top with my response?  I don't think so. Was I a little overemotional? Probably. But then, why not? It seems that emotions may be what makes people vote during this election, not facts.

I just hope someone reads this or something else containing facts and finally "Gets it" and makes the right choice when they cast their vote.


Submitted by Linda Vola