‘America’ — A Nation of Hate

Posted on by under Law and justice, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

There is something seriously wrong in this country.  No, it isn’t only Donald Trump, though he is a sign, a manifestation of the disease that is destroying this nation.  No, the disease isn’t the coronavirus, though perhaps it has brought the other, deeper disease into the public arena.  The disease is … what?  It has many names, but they all point to one thing just as the saying goes that “all roads lead to Rome”.  And that one thing is blind hatred.

I’ve posted twice in the past week about the two white men who brutally murdered a young black man guilty only of being outdoors jogging.  The men, father and son, chased him down in their pickup truck and shot him to death. killersThe murder went unannounced for more than two months, then finally once it became public knowledge, the hue and cry was such that the two were arrested.  Most of us, I hope, were appalled by what happened to Ahmaud Arbery and hope the two killers will spend the rest of their lives paying for their actions.  However, there is a group that is growing in numbers, who seem to see the killers as ‘heroes’, want to put them on a pedestal and give them kudos.

It began when a group previously called “Christians Against Google” changed their name to “Justice for Gregory and Travis Michael”, the two killers.  In the “About” section of their Facebook page, they claim …

“These 2 God-fearing men were only trying to protect their neighborhood. This area has had a string of break-ins and this man fit the description and did not comply with simple commands. Our hearts go out to the McMichael family in their time of need. Amen.”

By “fit the description”, they mean that he was black.  If that doesn’t make your blood boil, then I don’t know what will.  Worse yet … you may think this group is comprised of only a few “good ol’ boys”, southern whites who haven’t yet realized that this is the 21st century and that skin colour is not a basis for judgment or discrimination.  But the fact is that at last count, there were reportedly some 104,000 people signed on for this hateful group.

I’m sure by now you’re probably tired of hearing me say that “racism is alive and well in America”, but the truth is that every damn day something happens to reinforce that notion.  Take this, for example …

Last week, an off-duty deputy sheriff (in uniform, nonetheless) and a group of all white men in New Hanover, North Carolina, knocked on the door of the home of Monica Shepard late Sunday night.  She was asleep, but her son, Dameon, a high school senior, was awake and playing video games and answered the door.  At least one member of the group was carrying an assault weapon, another a shotgun, and the group began pounding young Dameon with questions about a girl who had gone missing earlier that week.  When Dameon attempted to shut the door, members of the group forcibly kept him from doing so.

Dameon repeatedly told them he knew nothing about it, and finally, hearing the noise, Ms. Shepard was awakened and came to see what was afoot.  She immediately called the police, who came and disbursed the group, although no arrests were made that night, and the group was allowed to leave.

On Friday, five days after the incident and after Ms. Shepard hired an attorney who wrote a letter to Pender County Sheriff Alan Cutler, he announced that the deputy, J.T. Kita, has been fired from his position and is being charged with forcible trespass, breaking and entering, and willful failure to discharge duties, while another man, Austin Wood, is being charged with “going armed to the terror of the community.”  But only after an attorney got involved.  And only these two.

And these are just two incidents that occurred recently, just the ones that made headline news.  How many others take place on any given day?

My point, however, goes beyond these two incidents to the bigger picture.  Here in the U.S., there is a growing contingent of people who somehow feel that the colour of their pale skin makes them better than others.  It isn’t only racism of this sort, but hatred against religious groups, most notably Jews and Muslims.  It’s hatred against people who love someone of their own gender.  It’s hatred against women who believe we have a right to control our own body rather than being dictated to by a bunch of men who have no idea what we go through.

Any way you cut it, it’s hate, pure and simple.  And it is increasing here in the U.S. to the point that I foresee race wars in our future, likely this summer if this continues, and if the two ‘men’ who murdered Ahmaud Arbery are not convicted.  The case has shades of Trayvon Martin written all over it, and I fear those two excuses for human beings will walk free, as well.

In 2016, Donald Trump claimed he would “make America great again” … is this what he meant?  Some 40% of the nation cheered him for saying that.  Is this what they wanted?  In my book, ‘America’ as it is called, is a sick nation … a nation where nearly half the people cheer for bigotry and racism.  A nation where those same people feel a need to carry a gun … a big gun … to prove their manhood, for they themselves realize they are lacking.  A nation where hate is ever-increasing, despite the claims of some 75% of the nation that they are “good Christians”.

Think about it.

69 thoughts on “‘America’ — A Nation of Hate”

  1. While I understand your commentary and think an exchange of ideas and dialogue is productive, I do not necessarily agree with your point of view.

    The hate you see in America is what is being indoctrinated into children rather than an appreciation and pride for what America has accomplished but apparently, that has not been taught in schools either. Everyone with pale skin does not hate blacks, browns, or others. It is criminal that the biased media chooses to fuel a race fire rather than focus on solutions and information that unites America. True, there is great room for improvement in this country but to paint it widespread as an overall hateful nation is untrue and as unjust as painting all blacks to be insignificant.

    Everyone needs to take personal responsibility which means stopping the victim mentality, learning to think for ourelves rather than regurgitate the hate that the media and BLM movement propagates, listening to rational blacks who understand what it is like to live in America and who work toward betterment of blacks and communities. Blacks need to stop killing each other and act like their own lives matter. Truthful but not hurtful dialogue needs to take place; only then can we work toward a reasonable and positive solution.

    A movement that is filled with hate only generates more hate. I refuse to paint anyone or anything as 100% bad or good. I did not vote for Trump but I can appreciate his true love of America and its accomplishments. If people would reach out a hand in understanding rather than continuing the polarity, we might actually get along. I support ALL lives matter and seek equality for everyone with an appreciation for each other’s uniqueness. I hope that rather than fire back an angry response, you will take time to consider this. Not necessarily agree but be willing to listen with an open mind.

    Warm wishes to you for peace.

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  2. I wish I could be where you are Mary, maybe to see first hand some of those good people, people just like you. Sadly, it is only here in the blogging world that I am able to find good hearted people. I don’t think it is about being Christian at all but about living a Christ minded life. These days the Christian community at large has appalled me. I don’t aspire to call myself by any religious term. There have been religious abusers throughout all of history, complete with several re writings of the ‘good book’ to have it bend to the will of men rather than work for the good of all. It’s like every horror story I ever heard about mass hypnotism of the weak minded is coming true. I, for one, am frightened for the survival of the world. I’ll be fine either way but I’m just not ready to let go of my life yet. My grandchildren deserve better than this.

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    • Thank you so much for sharing this! It is terrifying. Like you, I thought we had largely combated racism 50 years ago, but … boy was I ever wrong! And as for the guns … the gun culture in the U.S. is crazy … many value their guns more than their own children. Thanks again!

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  4. Thank you for sharing!!.. as I have said before, more often than not, it is the “foundation” one needs to work on, not the “roof”… 🙂

    “When we begin to build walls of prejudice, hatred, pride, and self-indulgence around ourselves, we are more surely imprisoned than any prisoner behind concrete walls and iron bars.” Mother Angelica

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  5. You look back down your history and you’ll find this kind of bigorty, ignorance and hate has always been there beneath and sometimes just on the surface.
    Sadly since the freak of 2016 took office the nastiness has felt it is now allowed to be respectable.

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  7. I’m old enough to remember the old south and west. My grandfather saw a black man hung in Ohio in the mid-1900s, not in the deep south. My mother and I were visiting my brother and his family in Virginia in then the late1940s and my mother was scolded by a bus driver for sitting in the colored section of the bus. My parents and I walked into a restaurant in Texas in the early 1960s. I had dark hair I wore in a bun of large curls. The manager asked my dad if I was Mexican. I had no doubt if I had been he would have told me to leave. I sent for an application for teaching in Texas in the late 1960s just to see if they needed teachers. I was asked to send a picture. I had no doubt what that meant. Prejudice has always been there simmering. The KKK who killed people and burned crosses in people’s yards always considered themselves good Christians. Trump has made those idiots braver but they’ve always been there. 😦 — Suzanne

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    • Yes, this is what I’ve come to realize of late, that the Civil Rights Era merely drove the bigots underground, hiding, waiting for their next opportunity to be free to bring their hatred back into the heart of society. I was a fool for thinking we had mostly eradicated that stupidity. Sigh. Humans will never, apparently, learn to just accept people as they are.

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      • I told my daughter I read if Trump and Pence both became too ill to carry out the duties of their offices, the next qualified person would be Nancy Pelosi. That would be about like driving a nail in Trump’s coffin. 🙂 — Suzanne

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  8. Jill, you and I have both highlighted the hate rhetoric and racism that has come more to the surface. Domestic hate groups are on the rise and we have a president whose former attorney and fixer called “a racist” under oath to Congress.

    Yet, we should not lose sight of most Americans are getting along much better than indicated. They are coming together to help people during this virus. Good news stories do make the news, but they occur in greater number than indicated by coverage. This is a key reason your weekly Heroes post is appreciated.

    If it bleeds, it leads, so news tends to focus more on the bad stories, as does the president. The president looks for stories to exploit, as do many pseudo-news outlets. They make a story national to call attention to a point they want to make. That is why the president made such a big deal out of Colin Kaepernick, as he knew he could divide people with it.

    What we need more of is the silent many to condemn the actions of the newsmakers on the negative side. They need to be spotlighted. The words of a recent post ring true – “Mr. president, if you cannot add value, please stop talking.”
    The same goes for relatives spewing hate filled rhetoric.”Uncle Bob or Aunt Sally, I would appreciate you not condemning folks like that.” Or,” I am sorry you feel that way, as I do not” and leave the room. If we leave the room on enough folks citing a brief reason why, it might make them take notice.

    True story. My father-in-law lived in the country and kept a loaded rifle in his closet, which I did not know he had until my boys saw it. When I asked him if it was loaded, he said yes. I asked him if he would unload it, as we cannot allow his grandchildren to be around a loaded weapon. He did so. It was an earnest and respectful request that he heeded.

    Children learn bigotry from adults, so we can do the same when a relative or friend goes off on a group, as I did with the rifle. We just need to be straightforward and not chew anyone’s head off.

    So, yes we have hate and it seems to be more open, but we need to not tolerate it and tell people so. Keith

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    • All good points, my friend. If we allow the hate of others to instill in us our own hatred, then we’ve only made the problem worse. Sigh. Still, we cannot let the hatred, the bigotry & racism stay hidden in the dark corners, else it only breeds more of the same. I wonder if we need to have another MLK and an all new Civil Rights movement? We apparently didn’t learn much from the last one.

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        • I saw it pop up on my list, but haven’t gotten over there yet … still playing catch-up from two ‘sick days’. It’s on my list to visit, though. I just told another reader who asked, “What will it take to unite the people of this country?” that I thought it would take another leader ala MLK … once again, our minds are on the same track!

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    • Lately, my friend, I’m having more and more difficulty seeing much of value in the world, but … some friends like yourself always brighten my day just a bit! BIG Hugs back to you!!!

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  13. It’s a complex and hard-to-grasp phenomenon. The evangelical church I attended for 18 years was ethnically diverse and grateful for that diversity. I saw no evidence of racism there. So I was shocked when most of the white members there became Trump devotees in 2016. Neither the pastor nor I could get them to see the contradictions. Trump actively courted racists. How could my white evangelical friends support such a man? They loved their different-race fellow congregants, but they also wholeheartedly embraced a man who refused to condemn racism. A classic case of cognitive dissonance. As you know, Jill, I keep trying to get my white evangelical friends and relatives to see that they’ve aligned themselves with some very dark, evil people and philosophies. But, as you also know, I’ve had almost no success. I still hope and pray that those who have naively aligned themselves with these hateful racists will soon see the light. Sadly, though, I have my doubts. Cults are powerful.

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    • You are so right about that … it is beyond my comprehension how anybody can believe that skin colour or language can make a person of less value than another. It is, I think, the biggest failure of the human species that they judge and even kill based on such superficial differences. Lately I’ve come to the conclusion that if we haven’t learned in thousands of years, we aren’t ever likely to. You’re right … cults are powerful, and their members indoctrinate their own children at a very young age to make sure the hate never dies out. Sigh.

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    • Yes, I thought we had risen above all that, but … apparently it was still out there in strength, hiding, just waiting for the right moment to come out in force. I hate this country right now … it’s never been what I once thought it was. Sigh.

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  15. If Trump weren’t so forgiving of ‘These are nice folks’ people would stick more to the law.but this is like a dog and it’s fleas. The dog get’s his back scratched, and the fleas get a ride.Of the 65% who say they are Christians 40% are lying, they’re evangelists and not good Christians at all as they support the two murderers.America must find a new way of acting if it doesn’t want to lose relations with it’s previous allies.So you need to be sure that a Democrat system will prosecute to the fullest any cases of racism like this.
    Cwtch

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    • I like your analogy of the dog and fleas. I once thought racism had all but gone from our society and I’m still stunned to see just how prevalent it really is. All it took to bring it out into the open was first, an African-American president, and then a hater who said, in essence, that black people, Hispanics and Muslims are ‘bad hombres’ and that white “Christians” are somehow superior. This is a nation full of bigots and haters. Like you, I hope for a turnaround, hope the perpetrators of race crimes are prosecuted and given life sentences. But, I’m not holding my breath anymore.
      Cwtch

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  16. Hypothetical question: How many white racists commit crimes in white areas, BnEs, robbery, arson, etc., then tell the police they witnessed a black person committing their crimes? That gives them permission to “Stand-Their-Ground” and openly shoot those they hate.
    2nd question, not hypothetical: How could the Dynastic Duo above been standing their ground when they were chasing their victim in a moving truck, so that they were not on any kind of ground at all, especially their own? This crime was out and out murder, probably premeditated, having had their loaded rifles either already in their truck, or at the very least within easy and quick grabbing distance. So many things here do not add up to people protecting themselves and their home. This sounds like a planned situation.
    Am I wrong to suggest this?

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    • Hypothetical 1. Goes without saying.

      Non Hypothetical 2.Their story-probably well practiced- is that they chased him to talk believing he was a thief= yeah right.But when they caught up he tied to snatch Juniors weapon from his hands. How much the film will confirm I don’t know,But it will show they’re cold blooded killers and they should be punished accordingly.

      Cwtch

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        • After three days of sleeping more than being awake, I woke feeling considerably better this morning, but by early afternoon the fever and shakes had returned. No, I promise you it’s not the coronavirus … probably the cumulative effect of too many sleepless nights and really poor eating habits of late. In other words, Trumpitis! Do not worry … I’ll bounce back … promise.

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  18. Another great take Jill. Here’s something I learned from my brother who lives in Ohio. There’s a local political talk show that he sometimes listens to. Most of their programming is right-wing to the max but he listens just to see what their talking about. Sure enough, the two yahoos are being defended for what they did to Ahmaud. I knew it would happen. Some things these days are just too damn predictable. Thanks again Jill. Reblogged a few moments ago.

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    • It is a sick culture we have, where people uphold the murder of another based solely on skin colour. Sigh. I wish I had a magic wand I could wave to just make people value others for who they are, not what they look like, not what religion the ascribe to, and not who they choose to love. It seems to me now, though, that we have passed the point where there is hope for people to learn these lessons. Once, I thought we had all learned, but apparently some in this nation are dyslexic and cannot understand. Sigh. Thanks again for the re-blog!

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      • The character assassinations have already begun Jill. The nerve of the young man checking out a construction site. How dare he pique his curiosity? Doesn’t he know his place? I’m so disgusted. These people need to just go away. Can’t they all just move to Mississippi or some other southern state? Let them have their own little white utopia. And let Trump be their guiding light. Sound like a plan?

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        • The nerve of the young man checking out a construction site.

          How dare he!

          I used to do that when I was younger, and nobody seemed to have a problem with it. This is the face of racism in America — find any excuse to blame the black guy and exonerate the white criminals.

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          • So true Keith. Hell, I still check out construction sites. It’s the curiosity in me. Yes, it may technically be trespassing. But never once did I think I’d get chased down by anyone with a gun because of it. But I’m white so of course I wouldn’t think that. Such a tragic and senseless killing.

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            • Just like driving with, say, a busted taillight. If you or I got stopped at all, the officer would be polite, just let us know we needed to get that fixed, and we’d be on my way. A friend, who happens to be African American, was stopped for the same, jerked out of his car, a gun placed against his back, while another officer searched his car from top to bottom. He was then given a ticket for ‘insolence’ or some nonsense. Sigh.

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        • Sigh. I do so agree. Let the white racist misogynist homophobic Islamophobic bigots have the deep south, and let all those who care more about human values than superficial ones move north of the Mason-Dixon line. Trump can go be president of the south, we’ll find a new one. Sigh. Yes, the nerve of him stopping to check out a construction site. 😥

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  19. Reblogged this on It Is What It Is and commented:
    The ugly face of America has surfaced!! Was it always there? … I wonder! ‘Murica’ is sick!! … “No, the disease isn’t the coronavirus, though perhaps it has brought the other, deeper disease into the public arena. The disease is … what? It has many names, but they all point to one thing just as the saying goes that “all roads lead to Rome”. And that one thing is blind hatred.”

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  20. Reblogged this on On The Fence Voters and commented:
    On Thursday, I posted an article, Running While Black, in which I lamented the tragic slaughter of Ahmaud Arbery. Today, my good friend Jill weighs in with her usual spot-on take of not only that event, but also the searing and growing racism that has plagued the United States of America since the very beginning. It’s no surprise that in Trumpworld, the behavior of the two gentleman arrested for the killing of Arbery is already being praised in some circles. Does that shock anyone anymore?
    Thank you, Jill, for another wonderful and thought provoking post.

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  21. Those who say they are Christian, but subscribe to bigotry, hate, violence and murder, are not Christians. They are using that moniker to hide behind, they are using the name of God in vain, pure and simple. Unfortunately, there are pastors that are part of this group and that also ruins the church. As a Christian myself, I do my best to show what Jesus really wanted from us – to be kind, humble, honest, gracious, and to love others without exception.

    I agree, this country has this dark cloud of hate and anger over it at this point in time, but I hope that the majority of Americans are good people and that they can make their voices louder, with passion, to turn the tide and lead us to a gentler, compassionate country.

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    • Thank you! I share your hope that the majority in this country are good people who will rise above and drown out the bigots, but … it seems we’ve been trying to do that for many decades now, and those who dwell in hatred are not learning kindness, compassion and tolerance. What does it take, I wonder, to bring people together … this pandemic crisis hasn’t done it, but instead has driven people further apart.

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        • I think it takes a real leader, one with wisdom, intelligence, compassion, and a willingness to bend. The example that comes to mind first is Martin Luther King. Can you imagine if we had a man like him in the White House? A man willing to listen to all sides and find peaceful solutions. A man who did not spew hate every time he opened his mouth, but rather spoke calmly of love, of compassion? Sigh. I see no such person on the horizon, unfortunately.

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  22. Great post, Jill. Men (and women) who have lived in white, Protestant privilege their entire lives cannot process the changes that are happening in America. The changes will occur in spite of their intolerance and hatred. Have faith that goodness will ultimately prevail. 🙏

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    • Thanks Larry! I certainly hope that you are right, that goodness will ultimately prevail. I’m envisioning a summer of race riots if something doesn’t give soon.

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