The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Election 2022, Environmental Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary, voting rights

I have only two snippets tonight … one is great news, the other a horrid example of man’s inhumanity to man.  One warms my heart, the other breaks it.

Let me begin with the good …

While Georgia Governor Brian Kemp was signing a bill into law that would effectively disenfranchise over half the population of Georgia so that they will find it almost impossible to vote in next year’s election, just two states to the north, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam was preparing to sign into law a bill that does the exact opposite … ensures that every person over the age of 18 is able to vote.

The Voting Rights Act of Virginia aims to eliminate voter suppression and intimidation in the state. Virginia is the first state to enact its own version of the federal Voting Rights Act, while 43 other states are working diligently to keep minorities and the poor away from the polls.  Says the governor …

“At a time when voting rights are under attack across our country, Virginia is expanding access to the ballot box, not restricting it. With the Voting Rights Act of Virginia, our Commonwealth is creating a model for how states can provide comprehensive voter protections that strengthen democracy and the integrity of our elections. I am proud to support this historic legislation, and I urge Congress to follow Virginia’s example.”

The legislation would require local election officials to get feedback through public comment or pre-approval from the attorney general’s office in order to make any changes in voting regulations, according to a release from Northam’s office.

It also requires that local election officials provide voting materials in foreign languages as needed. Individuals who experience voter suppression will also be allowed to sue, where any civil penalties awarded will go toward a newly established Voter Education and Outreach Fund.

The bill comes after Northam restored voting rights to 69,000 former felons through executive action earlier this month.  I realize this is a controversial topic, but in my view, the former felon has paid his dues with a prison sentence, and once he gets out, he is a taxpayer and a citizen just like you or me.  If he’s going to pay taxes in this country, then he must have a voice, a vote.

My hat is off to the Virginia State Legislature and to Governor Ralph Northam for doing everything they can to protect the U.S. Constitution and the people of Virginia.  THIS is a fine example of democratic principles at work.

Now for the bad and the ugly …

Byong Choi died on February 24th at the age of 83 as a result of bone marrow tuberculosis.  He had been a hard-working accountant and restauranteur in Orange Country, California for most of his life.  Due to coronavirus restrictions, his funeral was delayed until March 19th.

The following Monday, Byong Choi’s wife, Yong, 82, received a handwritten, cursive letter at her Leisure World Seal Beach retirement community home postmarked the same date as the funeral …

Read that letter again, please … go ahead, I’ll wait.  What do you feel when you read those hate-filled words?  Broken-hearted?  Enraged?  I felt both, as I’m sure most people with an ounce of human kindness did.

The Seal Beach Police Department in the county has launched an investigation into what it calls an anti-Asian hate crime, but I have doubts the letter-writer will be caught, and if he or she is, they’ll get naught more than a slap on the wrist.  I have no doubt that this was written by one of those white people with a false sense of entitlement who believes their ugly white skin makes them somehow superior, more deserving.

This letter came just days after the shooting in Atlanta, Georgia, where 8 people were murdered, six of them women of Asian descent.  And why … why all of a sudden have fat white people taken a dislike to those of Asian heritage?  Because one person called the coronavirus the “China virus” and the “Kung Flu”, thinking he was being cute or funny.  What he did with those words were to set off a chain of events that has targeted Asian-Americans such as the Choi family, the women in Atlanta, and many others.  What he did was criminal.

People … read the damn words on the plaque at the base of the Statue of Liberty …

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

And yet today, hate crimes against those of Asian, Hispanic, or Middle Eastern descent are at an all-time high.  Those people are vilified by a portion of the country’s white population.  Why?  What the hell makes them think they are better than the rest of us?  I regret to inform you that the United States is no longer the nation it once was, is no longer a port in the stormy sea for those seeking asylum or refuge.  It is time we send the Statue of Liberty back to France, for we no longer deserve it.

27 thoughts on “The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly”

  2. I am so sick and tired of democrats demonizing the new voting laws as if they harken back to the old Jim crow laws.
    Here’s the truth about the new voting law, and this person isn’t a right-wing nutjob either.

    Liked by 1 person

    • He leaves out a lot, and is flat out wrong on some things, like early voting being “expanded” to two weekends when it used to be far longer. I will rebut later … I don’t have time at this moment.

      Like

    • One thing jumps out, Scott, that this guy got wrong. He said you could use even a social security number, electric bill or other form of ID, but that’s not true. Postal voting, if this law holds, will require a driver’s license or other form of government-issued PHOTO I.D. A hell of a lot of minorities, poor people, and seniors don’t have this.

      Like

  3. Jill, thanks for writing this. A couple of adds. It appears the business community is being forced to admit that what Georgia is doing to restrict the vote is not a good thing. It is needed notoriety.

    On the Asian heritage hating that has been building, let this old white man state a very obvious comment to white men who believe their rights are greater than those of others.

    IF YOU BELIEVE EVERY GOOD THING THAT HAS OCCURRED IN THE US RESULTED FROM WHITE MEN, THAT COULD NOT BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH. IF YOU BELIEVE HATING OTHER PEOPLE MAKES THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE, THAT COULD NOT BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH. HATING IS COUNTERPRODUCTIVE AND TAKES TOO MUCH ENERGY TO UPHOLD. SO CALLED LEADERS WHO TELL YOU TO HATE THE OTHER OUT OF FEAR, ARE NOT WORTH FOLLOWING.

    Keith

    Liked by 3 people

    • Thanks, Keith. Yes, the business community, a day late and dollar short, is taking a stand. The GOP, of course, is fighting back, but … there is strength in numbers. Nationwide, if businesses stand against the restrictive voting laws, their voice will be magnified and will make a difference. Fingers crossed.

      Good on you, Keith! Thank you for your excellent words from a white man to others! Let’s just hope they listen!

      Like

  5. Oh, I guess I should have had something nice to say about Virginia, but it just seemed so miniscule in comparison to the letter writer. So, way to go, Virginia. 1 down, 51 to go.

    Liked by 2 people

    • No, the Virginia law is HUGE … a southern state choosing to honour and expand our rights to vote. It is huge and I wish every state would follow suit. And, um, by the way … it’s 1 down 49 to go. Last I heard, there are only 50 states, though if approved, DC would make the 51st.

      Like

                • Yes … and no. Employers do pay federal taxes, people pay into the Social Security system, but individuals do not pay federal income taxes (with some exceptions). But you’re right … they are held to the laws of the United States, so they should be eligible to vote for the people who make and enforce those laws. At one time, there was talk about making Puerto Rico a state, but I think the country lost interest after being treated so poorly by the former guy.

                  Liked by 1 person

                    • I am sure they can work it out. They must have something to trade for, goods to sell, the knowhow to be somewhat self sufficient. They survived somehow before they became an American protectorate, or whatever they are called. As for an army, the United Nations tries to keep aggressive nations somewhat controlled. And if what you say is true, who would want to annex them. An army produces nothing, and costs a lot to maintain. Most nations have no use for armies anymore, especially poor nations.

                      Liked by 2 people

  6. OK as for hate mail I am going with another biblical quote out of the New Testament:
    Luke 16:15 And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God”
    OR:
    Matthew 41-46:
    41“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:
    42for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink;
    43I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
    44“Then they also will answer. Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’
    45Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’
    46And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

    So whoever you may be, you are not getting away with it, no matter where you try and hide.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Dearest Jill,
    I think we discussed hate letters in the past. Following are two incidents that happened in Edmonton suburbs, the first on Oct. 17th, 2018: https://globalnews.ca/news/4565993/racist-letter-st-albert-alberta-indigenous-condo/ and the second on Jan. 2, 3019: https://globalnews.ca/news/4809148/racist-letter-leduc-family-indigenous/ The senders of those letters were definitely related to the sender of the letter in tonight’s post. There are haters everywhere.
    To the best of my knowledge, no one was eve convicted of sending those letters. I am not so sure the Edmonton Police Service did due diligence in either investigation.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Sigh. Yes, there are haters and bigots everywhere, but until recently I hadn’t seen government officials egging them on, encouraging them to act on their bigotry. I really hope that doesn’t happen in Canada.

      Like

      • It’s been happening here for years, just below the surface. Conservatives are natural-raised bigots. The main targets of their hatred are First Nations people. They want the source of their historic guilt to disappear, then there will no reminder of their attempted, but failed, genocidal actions.

        Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.