This post was originally published on Defender Network
STOP NEGOTIATING WITH TERRORISTS
“Karen” Colorado congresswoman Lauren Boebert recently referred to Ilhan Omar, a Black Muslim congresswoman from Minnesota, as a member of “the Jihad Squad.” Multiple videos have surfaced of Boebert making these comments, even saying that she and a staffer were once on an elevator with Omar, “but [Omar] didn’t have on a backpack, drop it and run away, so we were safe,” implying yet again that Omar is a terrorist. But please believe, there actually was a terrorist on that elevator, and it wasn’t Omar. It was Boebert’s homies who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 to overthrow a democratic election. Boebert’s GOP chums attack Black history (American history) and threaten to outlaw our books, classes and social commentary. Surveys show most Republicans, especially evangelicals, are cool with violence aimed at their “enemies.” And Biden and the Dems are, for some reason, still trying to negotiate with these people who don’t even recognize him as the legit POTUS. Folk who trash democracy and exalt as holy, their ideology of hate and violence. Again, there was a terrorist on Omar and Boebert’s elevator ride, and it wasn’t Omar.
NOT A QUESTION OF IF
Former U.S. Rep Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii) recently tweeted, “If America is a racist country, Arbery’s killers would not have been found guilty by a nearly all-white jury in Georgia.” She then goes onto quote MLK. They always quote MLK when trying to quiet our voices. And that’s exactly what Gabbard was doing—trying to demean us for speaking our truth. Never mind the fact that the color of Ahmaud Arbery’s skin, not the content of his character, moved those three thugs to chase him down and kill him. Never mind the fact that it’s the color of our skin that has folk suppressing our votes, gerrymandering our districts and demonizing our history. Never mind that it took a minor miracle (and global movement) for even a sniff of justice to whiff our way. Somebody tweet Gabbard that if America wasn’t a racist country, Ahmaud, Travon, Freddie, Sandra, Philando, Rekia, Tamir, Emmett and a gazillion others would still be alive. And Rittenhouse, Zimmerman, etc. would be under the jail.
CHICKENS COMING HOME TO ROOST
Most of the globe’s richest nations chose to horde COVID-19 vaccine shots instead of sharing them with the world. This small-minded, individualistic approach, had these big-ballin’ countries turning a blind eye to the suffering, potential and real, of others, simply because of geography. And race. Mainly race. The rationale? “We need to look out for our own. To hell with others.” But the funny thing about living in a global society is, it’s a global society. What happens in one corner of the world will certainly, in some way impact all others. Refusing to help African nations ravaged by COVID meant that karma, at some point, was going to come back around. Enter this omicron variant that’s scaring folk half to death and finding new life in those richer nations because viruses can’t be contained by lines drawn on a map. So, to quote Brother Malcolm, “the chickens have come home to roost.”