I refuse to waste my time writing about the tragic mass shooting in Alabama. The hundreds of articles I have written in the past have been ignored by our government and this horrific event will receive the same lack of attention. Nobody cares. However, Republicans will send their “thoughts and prayers.”
A Racist Shooting in Kansas City
However, I will write about the senseless shooting of a young Black man in Kansas City. I must tell the story because Republicans and Fox News continue to deny that racism remains our nation’s biggest problem. White supremacists/Neo-Nazis are in control of most of our federal government. This is why they adamantly oppose the idea of Critical Race Theory being taught in our nation’s schools.
Ralph Yari, just 16 years of age, was asked to pick up his twin brothers from a friend’s home. He not only knocked on the wrong door, he nearly lost his life. The homeowner fired a weapon from inside the home. Yari was shot in the head and arm in what appears to be an act of pure racism. He is receiving treatment at a local hospital.
Fear, Anger, Hatred, and the Encouragement of Violence
Those who would destroy America are using a tactic as old as time itself. Whether they be politicians, military leaders, or leaders of a religious cult, they preach fear. When fear becomes stronger, hatred is born, and hatred promotes violence. The few moderate or even progressive Republicans remaining have surrendered to the growing number of racist, fascist extremists in what has become “The American Fascist Party.”
In 1619 the first slaves set foot in the New World. For more than 400 years their descendants fought for equality and the freedoms guaranteed them by the Constitution. Under the failed leadership of Donald John Trump, progress over the previous 60 years was destroyed. The result is one sad and destructive fact: the United States ranks last in the quality of life for its people in the world of developed nations.
Voter Suppression and Legal Abortion
Those who call themselves “Republicans” focus on two issues which are clearly the result of their beliefs in racism and bigotry: voting rights and women’s rights, most significantly the termination of an unwanted pregnancy.
After losses in the 2018, 2020, and 2022 elections, Republicans are eager to pass legislation focused on voter suppression. Red states are becoming less and less desirable for anyone who is not pure white and male. Fewer polling places, eliminating early voting and vote by mail, unnecessary identification laws and other efforts thinly disguised as necessary to prevent voter fraud, are in fact actions designed to prevent Democratic leaning voters to go to the polls.
On one of the darkest days in American history, June 24, 2022, a politically biased Supreme Court voted 6-3 to overturn a 49-year-old decision by a qualified and less prejudicial Court, removing a woman’s right to a legal abortion. This too was founded on racism combined with the obedience of right wing politicians to the Christian Religious Right. Many Black women residing in red states are living in poverty. Republicans have chosen to make it increasingly difficult for financially challenged Americans, while the wealthy and white will continue to have access to the best healthcare available.
Growing Up and Becoming Aware
For much of my life the extent of racism in America eluded me. In my junior year of high school, my eyes and my heart opened to the evil which existed around me. Then, while stationed in Texas and Mississippi in 1964 and 1965, while in the USAF, I witnessed racist hatred first handed. On one occasion, while on a day pass, myself and three other Airmen, one of them Black, had gunshots fly past our vehicle. This is what Black Americans fear each day.
The truth is, the more aware I become, and the fact that extremist Republicans like Ron DeSantis, Greg Abbott, Mike Lee, and others fear the teaching of facts contained in what has become known as “Critical Race Theory” proves that my country has become the most racist in the free world. I am becoming less and less “proud to be an American.”
Written by James Turnage
Find my nine novels on Amazon’s Kindle
Sources:
CNN: White homeowner accused of shooting Black teen who went to the wrong house in Kansas City will face 2 felony charges, officials announce
Pew Research Center: Black Americans Have a Clear Vision for Reducing Racism but Little Hope It Will Happen
Top and featured image courtesy of Kaje‘s Flickr page – Creative Commons License
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