The murder of a California business owner is the latest killing by either a close-minded conservative, far-right extremist or just plain evil. Laura Carleton, the Mag Pi clothing store owner in San Bernardino, was gunned down not because she tossed out a would-be customer or refused to refund some money but because she dared exercise her 1st Amendment right to fly an LGBTQ+ flag outside her private business. Recently, a Texas woman called U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan and allegedly hurled a bevy of racial insults ending with a death threat. A Columbus, Ohio, man attacked the FBI headquarters in Cincinnati last year, armed with an AR-15 rifle and a nail gun and wearing body armor. The list is too long to name all the unhinged wannabees, White Nationalists, or Trump acolytes. Liberal thinkers have not been entirely innocent, but this is primarily a conservative phenomenon.
The incidents are becoming so unremarkable we need to be reminded of Trump minion Cesar Sayoc, who was caught with bomb-making material in his van. Fortunately, his inept explosives skill saved the lives of the people he had previously mailed bombs. Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. were found guilty of conspiring to blow up a bridge as part of the plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. One question seldom asked or solved; is why these people were so angry. Is it the slavish devotion to the cult of Trump, or is the fear of losing a racial majority the far more insidious answer? It is a fact the Constitution was not written to include black(s), brown(s), yellow(s), reds, or women. Most of the signers of the Constitution were enslavers and did not intend to share their country.
Part of the anger at school board meetings, where threats to members’ homes, children, and safety were yelled at educators and reasonable parents, centered around the thought that the truth of America’s racist history would be taught to little white kids. As the public learned that CRT was a ruse, states like Arkansas and Florida have either eliminated or made moves to remove AP African American history. Florida has gone as far as to include Prager University’s videos to explain the essence of slavery. For those who may not be familiar with Prager University, it is not an institution; it is a website started by Dennis Prager and his radio program producer Allen Estrin. Most were five-minute feel-good unaccredited videos bastardizing American history. Ron DeSantis chose to lie to the students of Florida than arm them with the truth. As a black parent, I cannot tell you how offensive it is that anyone would teach black or white children that Frederick Douglass thought that compromising on slavery had a positive effect on America.
The exposing of silly videos to make a real problem disappear is a symptom of why Conservatives are so angry. While the world points and laughs and leaves them and their ideas behind, white nationalists realize their old tricks are being scrutinized. Growing up, I was always told as a child that a black man with a gun was threatening, but a black man with an education was dangerous. The easiest way to anger people is by telling them they are not unique, first, or always right. Doing that levels the playing field and makes the game fairer, and if you have fixed the game for so long, losing that advantage sets off all kinds of anger and death.
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