All:
Please speak softly and sweetly with honeyed words for you never know
when at some time in the future you will be required to eat them!
(An unoriginal saying which I have purloined and combined over a period
of years)
R. E. (Dick) Driscoll, Sr.
On 12/15/2015 5:48 AM, Frank Ventura wrote:
Senator Joe Mccarthy is laughing in his grave. I can just see it now “are you or have you ever been a member of the Muslim faith”. Flip that around and it would be clearly hate speech but to Trumpazoids there are no boundaries.
*From:*blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] *On Behalf Of *Bob Hachey
*Sent:* Tuesday, December 15, 2015 6:43 AM
*To:* blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
*Subject:* [blind-democracy] Re: Donald Trump's "Ban Muslims" Proposal Is Wildly Dangerous but Not Far Outside the US Mainstream
Hi alice, Miriam and all,
Well, just exactly what is considered mainstream? That’s a very complex question to ponder and also rather scary since 911 and probably going back much farther as in the internment camps of the 1940’s.
Let’s take a look at the horrid Patriot Act that was passed shortly after 911. AT the time, there was very little resistance to it and anyone who dared oppose it, (like many of us) were considered anti-American and soft on terrorism. That suggests to me that the number of Americans who we on this list would consider ignorant make up a much larger number of people than those who are well-read. Also, it is a small minority of Americans who bother to read newspapers like the Boston Globe and, even the New York Times.
By the time 2008 rolled around, some Americans were having second thoughts about the Patriot Act. But, it seems that the fear is back. Seems a majority of Americans have a very sensitive fear button and when that button is pushed by violent events like the recent shootings and bombings in Paris and San Bernardino, many of them are willing to condone horrible bigotry. Thus, I think the original headline of the article was on point.
Also, look at how bad things had to get for African Americans both in the 1950’s and 1960’s and in more recent times before police brutality got covered in the media.
I think that maybe part of the reason we have such a fearful mainstream either bigoted themselves or willing to condone bigotry is that we don’t have the free press outlined in the Bill of Rights unless you include all of the sites on the internet. Then again, some sites on the internet are purveyors of hate and bigotry that would make the mainstream blush.
Bob Hachey .
