In contemporary times every time the current administration proposes some draconian policy or commits some amoral reprehensible action (such as at the southern border separating migrant children from their parents and placing them in cages under horrific conditions) people scream, "This isn't America! This isn't who we are!"
But, it is.
*Gasp* How can I say such a thing I'm quite certain someone is saying right now. Well, I can say it easily because it is the truth.
One of the most destructive and annoying things we do in this country is promote this flawed ideal of American exceptionalism.
Now, before some folks get all in their feelings allow me to be clear. America is my country and I love it dearly. For all its flaws there is no other place I would rather be.
However, that doesn't mean it is perfect or infallible or hasn't been home to some of the world's most treacherous human rights violations. Because, it has. That is just an empirical irrefutable fact.
I love this country, but let's keep it real about what it has been in the past and is currently.
If you can't understand that, I am really saddened and depressed by your lack of nuance and insufferable stupidity. Moving on...
Since before this country's inception it has committed atrocities and human rights violations.
Slavery is always called America's original sin. But, I would argue our original sin is how this land became colonized.
Some people like to parse history and be flippant by saying Europeans were just savvier than the Natives they "acquired" the land from. The reality is Europeans (who later became Americans) pretended to befriend the Natives. Then, they not "acquired" but stole the land. They did it by literally intentionally infecting Native populations with diseases. They murdered people including children. They raped the women.
This vile activity continued well after the country's origins. The American government isolated Native Americans on reservations denying them access to adequate education and healthcare. And, they separated children from parents.
The same atrocities happened with slavery. It was not enough to enslave an entire group of people. Blacks were denied education. They were basically treated like cattle. And, families were constantly separated.
Look at how this country treated the Irish, Italians and the Chinese in the mid to late 1800s.
Let's remember World War II. Initially America had no interest in getting involved in the war even though we knew what Hitler was doing to the Jews. Hell, in the late 1930s there was an "America First" (sound familiar) campaign running strong that ostensibly was an apologist and empathizer for Hitler and fascism.
Then, after we entered the war the American government placed all Japanese Americans in internment camps.
Oh, we certainly can't forget the 1950s and early 1960s with the despicable way Civil Rights protesters were treated. Bull Connor having his deputies sic dogs on and spray high powered water hose toward protesters with little rebuke from the United States government.
I mean we can discuss Jim Crow, which lasted 100 years after slavery ended. Some disingenuous folks love to pretend all was well after Lincoln freed the slaves but nothing could be further from the truth.
I would be remised if I didn't mention the rampant misogyny and sexism that held women down in this country decade after decade. They were viewed as second class citizens whose only useful purposes were to cook, clean, give birth and dish up pussy whenever demanded. Women couldn't possess credit cards until 1974. 1974!!! Let that shit sink in!
Rape wasn't necessarily seen as criminal unless it was a black man raping a white woman. By the way it was routine for black men to be convicted of rapes that white men committed or never happened at all.
So, my entire point with this trip down memory lane is that what we're seeing now with child separation, trans women being murdered with little retribution, the LGBTQ community writ large being discriminated against and marginalized, racism seemingly being normalized and rape culture being coddled if not fully embraced is nothing new.
Many say, "We're better than this!" We should be! But, are we?
Look, the truth is a pesky bish sometimes. It certainly can be uncomfortable.
Fact is this country has a long infamous history of mistreating certain groups of people. We love to "otherize" folks.
A certain pattern has existed since this country's origins and before. People of color and marginalized communities are constantly dehumanized. Native Americans were labeled savages. Slaves were labeled animals. Irish and Italians were labeled "anomalys". Today African-Americans are labeled thugs and animals. Hispanics are called rapists, murderers, vermin and infestations. The LGBTQ community is smeared with being called perversions, child molesters and abominations.
All of these labels and stigmas are employed to dehumanize. The purpose of these attacks is to marginalized and demean these people as much as possible.
Why? If you make someone seem less than human it is easier to belittle, abuse and mistreat them. It is easier for others to accept the mistreatment because they don't seem legitimate. What I find ironic about all of this is many of the same cretins who have no problem dehumanizing other human beings and treating them like animals lose their fucking minds anytime an actual animal is mistreated.
Kind of let's you know how folks of this ilk view people of color and LGBTQ.
The next time someone laments or cries, "This isn't who we are" ask them,"Then, who are we?"
I will close with this. A segment of this country (at times larger than others and pertains to people of all races, genders and sexual orientations) has always been just fine with the cruelty and depravity. People must understand for many folks the current administration's reprehensible actions aren't the bug but the feature and they love it! They must also accept there is another swath (and there always has been) of people who are somewhat uncomfortable with the dehumanizing actions but largely stay silent because they don't wanna rock the boat and on some level feel the same way about the marginalized. They're just not as virulent.
It was that way regarding the treatment Native Americans, during slavery, Jim Crow, Japanese internment camps, treatment of LGBTQ people and on and on and on.
So, of course, this not whom we should be. However, history and empirical evidence says, "It is though."
But, it is.
*Gasp* How can I say such a thing I'm quite certain someone is saying right now. Well, I can say it easily because it is the truth.
One of the most destructive and annoying things we do in this country is promote this flawed ideal of American exceptionalism.
Now, before some folks get all in their feelings allow me to be clear. America is my country and I love it dearly. For all its flaws there is no other place I would rather be.
However, that doesn't mean it is perfect or infallible or hasn't been home to some of the world's most treacherous human rights violations. Because, it has. That is just an empirical irrefutable fact.
I love this country, but let's keep it real about what it has been in the past and is currently.
If you can't understand that, I am really saddened and depressed by your lack of nuance and insufferable stupidity. Moving on...
Since before this country's inception it has committed atrocities and human rights violations.
Slavery is always called America's original sin. But, I would argue our original sin is how this land became colonized.
Some people like to parse history and be flippant by saying Europeans were just savvier than the Natives they "acquired" the land from. The reality is Europeans (who later became Americans) pretended to befriend the Natives. Then, they not "acquired" but stole the land. They did it by literally intentionally infecting Native populations with diseases. They murdered people including children. They raped the women.
This vile activity continued well after the country's origins. The American government isolated Native Americans on reservations denying them access to adequate education and healthcare. And, they separated children from parents.
The same atrocities happened with slavery. It was not enough to enslave an entire group of people. Blacks were denied education. They were basically treated like cattle. And, families were constantly separated.
Look at how this country treated the Irish, Italians and the Chinese in the mid to late 1800s.
Let's remember World War II. Initially America had no interest in getting involved in the war even though we knew what Hitler was doing to the Jews. Hell, in the late 1930s there was an "America First" (sound familiar) campaign running strong that ostensibly was an apologist and empathizer for Hitler and fascism.
Then, after we entered the war the American government placed all Japanese Americans in internment camps.
Oh, we certainly can't forget the 1950s and early 1960s with the despicable way Civil Rights protesters were treated. Bull Connor having his deputies sic dogs on and spray high powered water hose toward protesters with little rebuke from the United States government.
I mean we can discuss Jim Crow, which lasted 100 years after slavery ended. Some disingenuous folks love to pretend all was well after Lincoln freed the slaves but nothing could be further from the truth.
I would be remised if I didn't mention the rampant misogyny and sexism that held women down in this country decade after decade. They were viewed as second class citizens whose only useful purposes were to cook, clean, give birth and dish up pussy whenever demanded. Women couldn't possess credit cards until 1974. 1974!!! Let that shit sink in!
Rape wasn't necessarily seen as criminal unless it was a black man raping a white woman. By the way it was routine for black men to be convicted of rapes that white men committed or never happened at all.
So, my entire point with this trip down memory lane is that what we're seeing now with child separation, trans women being murdered with little retribution, the LGBTQ community writ large being discriminated against and marginalized, racism seemingly being normalized and rape culture being coddled if not fully embraced is nothing new.
Many say, "We're better than this!" We should be! But, are we?
Look, the truth is a pesky bish sometimes. It certainly can be uncomfortable.
Fact is this country has a long infamous history of mistreating certain groups of people. We love to "otherize" folks.
A certain pattern has existed since this country's origins and before. People of color and marginalized communities are constantly dehumanized. Native Americans were labeled savages. Slaves were labeled animals. Irish and Italians were labeled "anomalys". Today African-Americans are labeled thugs and animals. Hispanics are called rapists, murderers, vermin and infestations. The LGBTQ community is smeared with being called perversions, child molesters and abominations.
All of these labels and stigmas are employed to dehumanize. The purpose of these attacks is to marginalized and demean these people as much as possible.
Why? If you make someone seem less than human it is easier to belittle, abuse and mistreat them. It is easier for others to accept the mistreatment because they don't seem legitimate. What I find ironic about all of this is many of the same cretins who have no problem dehumanizing other human beings and treating them like animals lose their fucking minds anytime an actual animal is mistreated.
Kind of let's you know how folks of this ilk view people of color and LGBTQ.
The next time someone laments or cries, "This isn't who we are" ask them,"Then, who are we?"
I will close with this. A segment of this country (at times larger than others and pertains to people of all races, genders and sexual orientations) has always been just fine with the cruelty and depravity. People must understand for many folks the current administration's reprehensible actions aren't the bug but the feature and they love it! They must also accept there is another swath (and there always has been) of people who are somewhat uncomfortable with the dehumanizing actions but largely stay silent because they don't wanna rock the boat and on some level feel the same way about the marginalized. They're just not as virulent.
It was that way regarding the treatment Native Americans, during slavery, Jim Crow, Japanese internment camps, treatment of LGBTQ people and on and on and on.
So, of course, this not whom we should be. However, history and empirical evidence says, "It is though."
