Yes, This is Racism
August 13, 2017 by
| When you move that far right, past humanity, past decency, past goodness—you’re something else. |
As a writer and pastor, my job is to weave together words so that those words will hopefully reach people in their deepest places; to frame the experience of this life in a way that is somehow compelling or creative or interesting, causing them to engage with the world differently than before.
But there are times when to do this would actually be a disservice to reality, when any clever wordplay would only soften the jagged, sickening truth; when clever turns of phrase might succeed in obscuring the horrid ugliness in front of us.
What we’ve watched unfolding in Charlottesville, with hundreds of white people bearing torches and chanting about the value of white lives and shouting slurs, is not a “far Right” protest.
You’re not a supremacist, you’re not a nationalist, and you’re not alt-Right.
This is racism.
This is domestic terrorism.
This is religious extremism.
This is bigotry.
It is blind hatred of the most vile kind.
It doesn’t represent America.
It doesn’t represent Jesus.
It doesn’t speak for the majority of white Americans.
It’s a cancerous, terrible, putrid sickness that represents the absolute worst of who we are.
No, naming it won’t change it, but naming it is necessary nonetheless. It’s necessary for us to say it—especially when the media won’t, when our elected leaders won’t, when our President won’t. It’s necessary to condemn it so that we do not become complicit in it.
White people especially need to name racism in this hour, because somewhere in that crowd of sweaty, dead-eyed, raw throated white men—are our brothers and cousins and husbands and fathers and children; those we go to church with and see at Little League and in our neighborhoods. They need to be made accountable by those they deem their “own kind.” They need to know that this is not who we are, that we don’t bless or support or respect this. They need white faces speaking directly into their white faces, loudly on behalf of love. More.
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This is racism, plain and simple y'all! It is high time we hear voices like Pastor John Pavlovitz.giving full vent to church frustration with the wretched violence bigotry wroughts in the community-at-large.
Speak Pastor!
100% spot on! Yes, this is racism!
Bravo for a good sermon, Pastor, and a good seed, Calbab.
Now... will we see anything similar from the Christianity Today folks??
I am not familiar with this site, however, on their homepage (today) there are two links to strongly worded articles supporting the quelling of racism and the Alt-Right. Good on them! Here is a link to one story:
Good article.
''So you can kiss our diverse, unified, multi-colored behinds because your racism and your terrorism will not win the day.
Believe it.''
To this you can add my royal red Indian ass.
Okay! Kavika, may I know who your quote is from?
It's from me Calbab...And it's meant to join the quote above it as an addition.
Kavika - I think perhaps if we had a picture ( royal red ass ) to go with the quote it would be helpful.
This is the only glance your going to get. I'm pushing the terms of service for the site..No Swooning
Okay! If I have to be the one to stand up for the silence in the room. Here goes: Es Rico!
LOL, delicious huh calbab.
Rico Sauve
Thank you for a moment of. . . disturbing,. . .distraction. We'll need you to leave that up for the duration. Okay? Now then, where were we?
The last time I checked you were drooling calbab...
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: My kingdom for that blanket he's holding.
LOL pete and repeter sister.
Hahahahaha - You got that right Sister!
I looked like that once.*
*in a dream I had
Actually that is a photo of me as a much younger man, much much younger. About a century ago....True story.
Amazing! Just. . .awesome.
08/14/17 08:05:24 AM "So you can kiss our diverse, unified, multi-colored behinds because your racism and your terrorism will not win the day/" ''Believe it.''
__________________________________________________________________________
Kavika, I ain't trying to start anything but, DONALD'S AT IT AGAIN!!
So you can kiss our diverse, unified, multi-colored behinds because your racism and your terrorism will not win the day. — John Pavlovitz.
Thank you, Kavika. I lend myself to this cause also!
Me, too!
Thanks Calbab and Dowser.
@calbab: But there are times when to do this would actually be a disservice to reality, when any clever wordplay would only soften the jagged, sickening truth; when clever turns of phrase might succeed in obscuring the horrid ugliness in front of us.
Figurative expression:
Wikipedia: To "call a spade a spade" is a figurative expression which refers to calling something "as it is", that is, by its right or proper name, without "beating about the bush"—being outspoken about it, truthfully, frankly, and directly, even to the point of being blunt or rude, and even if the subject is considered coarse, ...
Sometimes it's best to drop the "clever wordplay".
Sometimes it's best to not use the "Figurative expressions."
Sometimes ...
... most of the time it is best to speak truth plainly and unambiguously so that it will be clearly understood by all.
All people of all colors must reject racism at all times. Racists are evil!
So true. So important. So relevant.
Okay! President Trump after much coaxing finally called out the Alt-right racists this morning. Do you think he means it? And more to this article, how about the church? Has the evangelical-right conservatives finally called for separation from pure bigotry such as the Alt-Right is?
Man in Hostage Video Forced to Recite Words Not His Own
A disturbing hostage video surfaced on Monday showing an American man woodenly reciting words that were not his own.
The video, which was broadcast on all the major news networks, raised concerns for the man, whose robotic performance indicated that he was reading a prepared statement under duress.
While the man appeared well fed and, to a certain extent, healthy, his facial expressions and body language convinced experts that the act of reciting the prepared text was an extraordinary ordeal for him.
Harland Dorrinson, a forensic psychologist, compared the man’s performance with hours of earlier footage of him and said that the man had “never expressed these sentiments before.”
“He did not seem to understand what he was saying,” the psychologist said. “At times, he appeared to be reading these words phonetically.”
Additionally, Dorrinson said, the man’s speech patterns in the hostage video were strikingly different from those in earlier videos of him. “From the moment he began speaking, the subjects in his sentences agreed with the verbs,” he said. “That set off alarm bells.”
Borowitz Report
President Trump is at it again today! It is hard to tell what it is with this man. Is it his life of being an unmolested thinker? Is it his money? Could it be a lifetime of privilege? He simply refuses steering into any mode of the presidency that looks, well, normal.
Humility is not in "the Donald."
It is reported that on last Friday and Saturday, the Alt-Right and other affiliated white radical group, showed up with weapons, and get this: A former congressman last night in an interview discussed water bottles containing a mixture of pepper spray and mace were being flung on people!
Say what you will, but keep your hands (and water) to yourself!!
>>>
NEXT: What, if anything, do you know about ANTIFA?
Trump rarely understands what is being said or what he is reading.
It has been fairly well confirmed that Trump's essentially illiterate.
I thought this video was pretty interesting when it released, and it only seems to have been further confirmed since then.
I'm speechless too, now!
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump verbally exposed himself as a defender of bigotry. Today, his presidency implosion begins in earnest. The defections are underway. . . .
President Trump's shame! See it for yourself in its entirety!!
Charlottesville: Race and Terror – VICE News Tonight on HBO
1. Did you notice the main white nationalist in this video is behaving and possibly playing the role of "victim"?
2. Did you notice the main white nationalist in this video is loaded down with guns and a bullet-proof vest?
3. Who is attempting to mislead who?
MORE! (Must see!)
Neo-Nazi Christopher Cantwell Cries After Learning He’s Wanted For Arrest
Great catch, calbab!
08/18/17 02:14:52AM @ bob-nelson.
Is this man for real? I see him being certainly tender-hearted and honestly I think this is someone who makes me go "hmm."