Photo: Saurabh Das / Associated Press
The New York Times reports that Henry Cejudo the son of illegal immigrants from Mexico wins the Gold Medal for the United States in wrestling. Congratulations Henry!
The American flag landed on the scorer’s table, launched by a family member with exceptional aim. Henry Cejudo grabbed it from his coach and draped it around his body. He stood there for the longest time, fighting back tears, the son of illegal immigrants wrapped in stars and stripes.
“I think it is great that you wish the world peace with this theory of banishing all group identity”
Sounds like the Borg.
Diversity Gal, a well thought out and pleasant response, I appreciate it.
My main point is this…One I wish some of you would understand better and understand the wisdom of.
All of you seem to want everyone to stop “negative” actions on people who are identified (by themselves) as members of specific “minority groups”. All of you seem to think the problem is with some “majority” group that is in some way making the “minority groups” lives miserable. So you “defend” the “minority” group, and attack the “majority” group. When the “majority” group has to deal with “negative” actions on people who are (and often NOT) identified by themselves as members of specfic “majority” groups, all of you seem to think there is NO PROBLEM with any “minority” group making the “majority” group’s lives miserable. SO YOU DO NOT DEFEND the “majority group” and PRAISE the “minority” group. You are consistant in this approach regardless of the issues or the facts because you feel that “minority groups” never do anything wrong even if their actions are by definition of law “illegal”.
In the same breath you claim that all of us need to join the “great humanity” and treat every one with respect, when in practice you only treat your favored “minority” group with respect, and maliciously attack the “majority” group as in-humane, racist, bigoted and ignorant, because the “majority group” wants to have “law” enforced, their financial rights protected, their safety protected, their jobs protected, their communities protected, their national identity protected, their national culture protected, and their general welfare protected from the effects imposed on the “majority” community by a “minority” community breaking the law…
On one hand you want all people to treat everyone the same, to join the “common humanity” and at the same time claim that you only want to “associate” with who you please, only those you ethnically, or racially or religiously, or as a gender align with, especially when it comes to political power, and law enforcement.
I am telling all of you this stubbornness to cling to self-identity ONLY as an ETHNIC, RACIAL, GENDER, or RELIGIOUS POLITICAL element of power, does not make you a member of a common humanity, but a member of politically DIVIDED humanity that cannot and will not operate without hatred toward others not in the same POLITICAL and SOCIAL power group. PEACE does not work that way, especially in history.
Most of you cling to this because you have never been in a war over your class, culture, religion or ethnicity.
The only reason Germans, and Poles, and Jews, and Irish, and English, and French cultures are getting along NOW in that little town in Shenandoah, PA is because they have forgotten and RE-NOUNCED their ethnic and religious POLITICAL IDENTITY, and think of themselves as ONLY Americans, living in peaceful coexistence. IF they had NOT renounced this, AS THEY HAVE NOT IN BRITAIN, and STILL CLAIM IRISH, SCOTT, and “WELSH” political identity (they insist on speaking a different language), and maintaining a different political culture, they STILL have an IRA army, and still fight wars in their communities between CATHOLICS and PROTESTANTS.
NOW a new Ethnic-Centric political element comes into Shenandoah, PA and DOES NOT re-nounce its POLITICAL ETHNIC IDENTITY, but PROCLAIMS a right to a DIFFERENT POLITICAL CULTURE and a right to speak a different language, and as a result, those “blended” Americans, RE-CLAIM their “EUROPEAN” Culture AS A POLITICAL entity (because they forgot what they were), and an ETHNIC conflict and a social undercurrent that WILL lead to greater atrocity and possibly war breaks out, between these two ETHNICALLY aligned POLITICAL GROUPS. ONE you HATE when one of the “minority” people in the newly created ETHNIC struggle gets killed, and one you LOVE when one of the GANG MEMBERS, or “illegal” people of the “Minority Ethnic culture” kills one of the “majority” ETHNIC group members.
What kind of law is that? Ethnic Group centric law, something we banned in the 1950s and 60s.
What I am trying to tell all of you, is IF you want conflict to stop, and IF you want peace to prevail and IF you want to be well respected by not only your own “minority” community, but also the “majority” of Americans, YOU MUST RENOUNCE your obsession with identify yourself only with an ETHNIC, RACIAL, GENDER or RELIGIOUS GROUP POLITICAL POWER. BecauseIF you refuse to and CANNOT, you WILL cause others, who do not feel they are a member of your SELF-SEGREGATING POLITICAL CULTURE, to feel they do not belong to you nor you to them as members of a “COMMON HUMANITY”. You will cause separation in social ideas, political ideas, language ideas, financial ideas and LEGAL ideas. You will then be just like the SUNNIS who REFUSE to abandon their POLITICAL power as SUNNIS, and who will always hate SHIITES, who REFUSE to abandon their POLITICAL power as SHIITES, and you WILL fight in the streets killing each other, just like in Lenanon (ISREALIS and PALESTNIANS), and BOSNIA (Christians and Muslims), and in that little town in Shenandoah, PA where no-one thinks the wars of the other side of the world can possibly come to this Nation.
I have a solution and it echoes the solution of the GREEKS, when they create a NATION out of warring citi-states of ATHENS, SPARTA and MACEDONIA. Create this think called democracy where regardless of what ETHNIC or RELIGIOUS group you belong to (ATHENIAN, SPARTAN, or MACEDONIAN), you can join together to fight the PERSIANS and prevent fighting anfd killing between yourselves, by creating something called a DEMOCRACY, which RENOUNCES your athenian, spaqrtan and macedonian RIGHTS under a common GREEK NATION law, a common senate (representing ALL), and a single VOTE by each of you that means nothing regarding your athenian, spartan, macedonian POLITICAL IDENTITY, and only an IDENTITY as an INDIVIDUAL member of a COMMON HUMANITY and COMMON LAW. THEN YOU CAN LIVE IN PEACE (until Persia attacks you).
And yes Diversity GAL it was not perfect, because it gave slaves half a vote and women none, BUT IT CREATED PEACED THAT LASTED for 150 YEARS, when wars happened typically every 10 years otherwise.
I am simply saying that DEMOCRACY renounces GROUP IDENTITY, and Claims only ONE HUMANITY, which is the individual (ELENA understands this).
If all of you do this, you can live in peace for 150 years or more, because the US nation who adopted this and who UP TO THIS point (except the time it took to abolish the financial dependence on slavery), RENOUCED the right to HAVE ETHNIC identity (A black race and a White race), and two different sets of legal laws based on race, and CHOSE to claim a single humanity with a single border called the US, under a concept called DEMOCRACY (One individual, one vote, regardless of race, religion, gender or ethnicity), NOT Socialism (ONLY the STATE owns property, and control is by the POLITBORO of ETHNIC-CENTRIC power, NOT FACISM (ONLY the ONE RACE, ONE ETHNIC, GENDER, RELIGIOUS GROUP has total power and that POWER IS IN THE STATE), NOT AUTOCRACY (ONLY ONE PERSON has total power and that power is in the DICTATORSHIP or KINGSHIP, and everyomnen else is a SERF with no land rights), BUT DEMOCRACY (WERE the POWER IS ONLY in THE INDIVIDUAL, the property is in the individual and the POWER is in INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS, NOT GROUP POLITICAL RIGHTS).
I am simply asking all of you why you want to promote greater conflict between ETHNIC, GENDER, RELIGIOUS, and RACIAL groups BY NOT RENOUNCING your obsession with your minority group’s POLITICAL POWER, and Joining a COMMON HUMANITY of AMERICANS under a US national identity called DEMOCRACY).
IN a DEMOCRACT, the “MAJORITY” is NOT AN ETHNIC GROUP, it is a massed vote of the will of all INDIVIDUALS, voting for what is best for them as an INDIVIDUAL.
In a DEMOCRACY the “MINORITY” is NOT AN ETHNIC GROUP, it is the group of INDIVIDUALS who lost the vote to have the LAW THEIR WAY, BECAUSE THAT LAW HURTS THE MAJORITY, who deserve that right more.
That is why in a DEMOCRACY, the ONLY criteria that separates good from bad is the LAW. Those that are “illegal” and who commit “illegal” acts oppose the will of the MAJORITY in the DEMOCRACY and harm the majority, and endanger the majority, and those who remain with in the law are BENEFICIAL MEMBERS of the COMMON GOOD. ONLY DICTATORS and FACISTS get to HARM the MAJORITY, with MINORITY GROUP BENEFICIAL LAW.
Why do so many of you not seem to understand this? Where where you in HIGH SCHOOL Social Studies?
Leila, I totally disagree with you. Any group that looks out only for its own interests, does not function as a democractic political element. They form a political group because they are trying to bypass the democratic process (by purchased political influence), taking POWER FROM the PEOPLE and putting it in the hads of a few powerful women that run LWV, to gain special advantage over the majority will. The LVW does this all the time, because they do not represent the common interests of ALL humanity, ONLY FEMALE humanity. Just because its become the norm in the last 20 years does not mean it is right.
Michael,
I read your post at 20:07,
And my first thought was “nice guys(gals) finish last” I have a SEVERE case of ( self diagnosed) A.D.D and tried to read the responses back and forth up until this point.
Other thoughts that come to mind: “sh#t happens”, “life is not fair”, etc.
I maybe WAY of target with the conversations (from your post and responses) but I do believe life is what we make it and EVERYDAY it is a LEARNING experience, NO MATTER what AGE or circumstance.
The VICTORY will be declared when there is NO revenge/retaliation/or preconceived notions that linger, passed down and grow.
I think I am getting your point about being in a group etc., but I feel that you are missing the point that at ONE time OR another EVERYONE will fit in one or more groups BUT that does not define who they are as they evolve.
Life, thoughts, convictions are EVER changing 🙂
People come and go, grow and regress.It takes the true self to learn the lessons of what ever comes and make it more POSTITIVE 🙂
Red Dawn, I’m glad you are starting to get it. I do feel like I fit into a group, but ONLY socially. That is a group of people who like the sciences and like to talk about history, while drinking a beer or wine together over a barbecue. I simply just do not take this group approach when it comes to politcal identity, because I know from history and my military service how dangerous it is. IF I began to “associate” myself with only one racial or ethnic group politically and began to advocate as a single GROUP politically aligned along racial, religious, gender or ethnic group lines of political power, I would soon be at war and in conflict with everone who I claimed did not belong to my POLITICALLY powerful group.
You might as well go buy yourself an AK-47 when this happens, because the nation has just lost its Democracy, if I and 300 million other people like me, aligned politically against 20 and 35 million others who refuse to join my “common humanity”, and that I choose not to “associate” with and politically fight because of it.
What some people are doing on this blog is nothing short of that and undermining Democracy. I’m trying to re-educate them, before 300 million people see we have an ethnic class struggle, and class war starting.
WE can eliminate this problem by simply enforcing the law, legal people are legal and illegal people are “illegal”.
Michael,
“I simply just do not take this group approach when it comes to politcal identity, because I know from history and my military service how dangerous it is. IF I began to “associate” myself with only one racial or ethnic group politically and began to advocate as a single GROUP politically aligned along racial, religious, gender or ethnic group lines of political power, I would soon be at war and in conflict with everone who I claimed did not belong to my POLITICALLY powerful group.”
GOT IT!!!!!! The bell has rung!!!!!!!!!!!
I don’t want ti single HSM out with me saying this BUT it is the ONLY example I can use. This is the reason( because it was the FIRST)that I ever engaged in such a manner and started to see that when you cannot control people, places or things and tied to a group, it ONLY takes ONE person to bring down everyone regardless if you have your own thoughts.
I know I also fit into another group and that would be that I believe in Jesus Christ as my savior BUT I do not ( anymore) go to church to prove it or as some will do,”PLAY church” as it is a PERSONAL relationship that no one can touch as it is PERSONAL. I believe in faith not acts, as it is in the heart and NOBODY knows ANYONE’S heart.
(belief in God or not)
Michael,
Why do you think all the presidents up till now have been white males?
Could it be they formed their own group and placed themselves at the top of the food chain?
Calm down. The majority has little to fear from the minority. The the reverse is not true…as we have seen these past few years…and here on our own county doorstep.
Michael,
You inherited that luxury. You’re not under attack.
Not true. You would not be at war with others for not being part of your group. However, you would be at war with those who attacked your group and used the nonsensical immigration law as their weapon.
The 2nd amendment guarantees us the right to keep and bear arms in order to preserve a ‘free state’ of existence.
Michael, I have this feeling you have never actually looked at what the League of Women Voters does. Their name is historical from the time when women first got the vote, in the 20s. They are not a group centered on women’s issues, not remotely. Just look at their agenda. They are centered on increasing civic participation for *everyone* and voting for *everyone.* It is as though you are totally making things up without ever having looked at the LWV, despite the fact that all their goals are easily found out.
It is just bizarre. You really show you have never looked at their activities or projects even though it would take about 10 seconds to find their website and a matter of a couple of minutes to find their emphatically NOT women-centered agenda.
But you also totally dodge every issue and question. Women were not allowed to vote in national elections in this country. It hasn’t even been 100 years since women got the right to vote.They were half the population but they were categorically denied access to the democratic process. They banded together to demand the right to vote. It appears from your point of view, they had no right to organize and demand equality. The same thing could be said for black people in the Jim Crow South. But from your perspective, black people had no right to band together and demand full voting rights and an end to separate and unequal facilities. I could go on, but it appears you are oblivious. What is especially ironic is that you don’t see how your own group acted to preserve its interests.
Leila, I simply do not understand why Michael thinks that LWV has some agenda other than full voting participation by everyone.
My grandmother was over 30 years old before she could vote in a national election. I was appalled that this didn’t seem to bother her. Oddly enough, she always worked the polls in later years.
I don’t think Michael’s plan for everyone to give up celebrating their heritage, race, culture, nationality, gender etc is going to work. We are all creatures of habit. Planet of the Apes illustrated that there are certain conditions amongst thinking beings that transcend all else….yes I know I am speaking of fiction but there sure were some common denominators. I believe Michael’s plan only works in a utopian world.
Let’s talk about the history of tyranny of the majority in ancient Greek democracy. Also, I think that it is important to note that the Greek democracy that produced 150 years of peace (for those who in positions of power) was a very different type of democracy than the one we have in the modern US. Thus, I don’t think that its perceived benefits would automatically apply in a vastly different era, society, and type of democratic government.