Category: Race/Ethnicity

OPINION: The U.S. Is NO Melting Pot

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The Amish are just one of the sub cultures of the United States
OPINION: The U.S. Is NO Melting Pot

By Trevor K. McNeil

White Like Me

Every nation has it’s own mythology, some of them more literal than others. Cultures such as the Greeks and the Norse largely outsourced in terms of national mythology to celestial deities. Younger nations like, say America, to pick a name out of a hat, tend to mythologize themselves, having no real history to speak of before the Industrial Age. Seriously, Norway has trees that are older than the nation of America. One of the first myths perpetrated by the new nation was they had the right to lay claim to a name applying to no less than two continents, namely North and South America.

Silly Myths

Other myths of the ‘American Nation,’ aside from the silly ones like being discovered by Christopher Columbus, despite him getting close, Leif Erickson actually beat him by about a thousand years and the Polynesians may have beat him to the Southern Hemisphere by 10,000 years. And what about this American democracy “thing?” The U. S. “democracy” everyone ballyhoos has never actually been a democracy at all. If in fact, America was a democracy or even intended to be one, there would not have been every effort, imaginable to methodically deny suffrage to women, immigrants, blacks, and Native American peoples. Other myths include the idea of America as a melting pot.

My Definition Is This

There is some disagreement about what the term melting pot actually means. The general idea is that America has cultural identity that is not only distinctly identifiable but also consistent across all individuals. This holistic, and frankly absolutist, notion implies that anyone born or naturalized into the ‘American Culture’ will be speaking English, playing baseball, and eating apple pie within a couple of months. A somewhat odd claim considering the massive cultural difference between many of the states, in part thanks to states rights, that lead to a literal war in the 19th century. Any Yankee who thinks ‘Rebel Pride’ isn’t still a thing is just wrong. Southern Americans, of all races, are an example of cultural diversity in America. There still being hardliners who identify as ‘Confederates’ or ‘Southern’ before even ‘American.’

Pardon My French

Another primarily southern group, mostly ignored and dismissed by the melting pot idea are the over one million Acadians living within America’s borders. Known variably as ‘Acadians,’ ‘Cajuns,’ and sometimes ‘Louisiana French,’ the Acadians are a distinct cultural group, originating in both France and Eastern Canada. They speak a dialect of French. Often it is the first language. The largest population of Acadians reside in Louisiana. In Louisiana they constitute a major voting block and have a major influence on the culture of the state. Famous Cajuns in popular culture include Gambit from the X-Men universe, Marg Simpson [nee Bouvier] in The Simpsons and Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar Named Desire. The first major acknowledgement of the Louisiana French, that I know of in national politics, recognizing them as distinct voting group came when then candidate Joe Biden acknowledged their voting impact when campaigning in Louisiana.

Father Land

Take a look at the Pennsylvania Dutch. Generally a sub-group of the Amish break-away sect of the Mennonite religion. The term refers both to the Amish of the Pennsylvania community in Pennsylvania, made famous in the Harrison Ford vehicle Witness, and the language spoken by them and other Amish groups. In terms of ethnic groups in America and cultural diversity the Pennsylvania Dutch are a sterling example. Not only do they have a clearly distinct culture they also have a unique language officially recognized as a sub-set of the German language family, often used in place of English unless they are addressing an English speaker. I’ve read that the Amish refer to American non-Amish as ‘English.’

More Not Less

Some would say a few examples don’t matter and they are the exception that proves the rule. Usually they would be right. Except in cases of absolutism, one exception brings down the entire notion. Despite the oft repeated idea that America is a melting pot, just look around. There is much more cultural diversity in America than most people would like to admit or even understand.

Salad Bowl Theory

Many are suggesting the term “melting pot” needs to be replaced by the more sociological correct “salad bowl.” We are all together, as one, but we also all have distinct cultures. Chinese-American citizens still celebrate the Chinese New Year, Mexican-Americans  celebrate Cinco de Mayo and Day of the Dead. They are American, but they still celebrate elements of their own culture.

On The Other Hand

Some would still argue the metaphor “melting pot” is applicable. Most immigrant families celebrate traditional American holidays, even if it is not part of their own culture.  The most common measurement of assimilation into the American culture is the adoption of the English language. Being non-English speaking in the United States is costly in every avenue of life. There seems to be little tolerance for the non-English speaker. So, in this case there is extreme social pressure to become English speaking as if the language would bind the society into one monolithic culture.

https://www.calamitypolitics.com/2020/01/27/minority-identity-representation-mainstream-art-culture11689/

A Look Back at AIM and Russell Means

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A Look Back at AIM and Russell Means
The Dream Catcher symbolizes Native American Culture

EDITORIAL: A Look Back

AIM and “Modern Day Warrior” Russell Means

D.S. Mitchell

*November is Native American Heritage Month. It is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the various cultures, art, religions, languages, music, and traditions of America’s Native peoples. It is also a good time to look back at the American Indian Movement (AIM) and its fearless warrior Russell Means.*
Introduction

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the U.S. Department of the Interior. It is responsible for the administration and management of 55,700,000 acres of land held in trust by the United States for American Indians, Indian Tribes and Alaska Natives. Sadly the Bureau often seems to be working against the indigenous people of the United States.  The actions of the Bureau and other federal departments are often operating in direct opposition to the people that they are supposed to be protecting.

Champion For Native American Rights

History may view AIM as a militant group, but AIM saw itself as a spiritual movement. AIM encouraged participation in age old religious ceremonies that had been outlawed by the federal government after the Wounded Knee Massacre (December 29, 1890). AIM members actively and publicly participated in Sun Dances, sweat lodges and other long hidden ceremonies, hoping to re-ignite the spirit and the culture of Native Americans by bringing the long outlawed practices out of the shadows. Russell Means was an early leader of the group. Above all he was a champion of Native American civil rights. Means drew public attention to the mistreatment of native people according to biographer Michael Ray, “with audacious and controversial actions that were equal parts protest and theater.”

Charismatic Leader 

From the 1970’s thru the early 2000’s Russell Means was the face of AIM. He was as famous as Sitting Bull. Means, was tall and ruggedly handsome with long traditional braids. He often seemed bigger than life. He had a forceful and charismatic personality. He was a Native American activist, actor, painter, politician, musician and writer. Means was born in 1939 on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation. His Lakota name “Wanbli Ohitika” means “Brave Eagle.” His mother was a Yankton Dakota Sioux and his father an Oglala Lakota Sioux.

A Harsh Life

In 1942 his parents left the reservation, in an effort to escape the poverty and depression of the reservation. They settled in the San Francisco Bay Area where his father worked in the shipyards during WWII. In his 1995 autobiography Russell Means described living with his alcoholic father and abused mother. It was a harsh life. In his biography he describes how he fell into “years of truancy, crime and drugs”, before finding purpose and direction in the American Indian Movement.

1964 Alcatraz Occupation

In 1964 Russell and his father joined a protest occupation of Alcatraz Island, in San Francisco Bay, CA.  The protest lasted a mere 24 hours. Native Americans were protesting against the U.S. government for its long history of treaty violations. He later remembered the 1964 Alcatraz event as the catalyst for a life time of activism for protecting the rights of Native Americans. Alcatraz was in AIM’s view a legitimate symbol of the federal government’s rejection of treaty agreements. A 1868 treaty provision guaranteed that Native people had the right to appropriate surplus federal land. Reclaiming “the abandoned Rock” became a rallying cry for Indians, many of whom viewed the island as a symbol of government indifference toward the treaties with our indigenous population.

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EDITORIAL: The Ugly Face Of RACISM

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The Ugly Face Of RACISM 

By Trevor K. McNeil

Dark History

America has an ugly history of racism, on both the systemic and individual level. Even the Irish, who are known to crackle audibly in the sun, were not considered “White” in the capital W social-economic sense in America until the late 19th century. One of the most diverse places in American cities during the Victorian era were the ghettos. Irish, Scots, Pols, Blacks and Asians all lived side by side, often in close quarters with little animosity between them.   A grouping galvanized by their common enemy. The White Anglo-Saxon Protestant elites who thought they owned the land because their families fended off the British after stealing it from the natives. It wasn’t until after the Civil War and enforcement of Jim Crow Laws that black and white separation was solidified.

Not Exceptional

This situation is not, of course unique to America. There have been many instances of the intentional segregation of “othered” minority groups throughout the history of the world.  Two groups often targeted for exclusion are the Jews and the Roma. The oppression of Africans, while mostly limited to nations involved in the trans-Atlantic slave trade, primarily Britain (who abolished it in 1833), the United States of America, and the islands of the Caribbean, have been among some of the longest lasting and most brutal.

Shockingly Similar

An example of colonialism on Africans in Africa, is South Africa. Despite constituting roughly 8% of the overall population, the Dutch and British settlers in the southern tip of Africa managed to dominate the entire area. At least that is the simplest description of what happened.  The white colonialists created the segregated state that the Republic of South Africa was to become. A long history of separation of the races in South Africa was perpetuated after the Boar War which ended in 1902.  The National Party election in 1948 led to enforcing policies of formalized segregation.  Control allowed them to push through the notorious Apartheid doctrine.

South Africa

Change would eventually come to both America and South Africa, though it would come in very different ways at different times. Both nations have gone through years of unrest. Many black groups including the African National Congress battled against the government of South Africa and the apartheid model.  The world took notice and placed paralyzing sanctions on South Africa.

Facing the Truth

The Apartheid era in South Africa was deeply and openly racist. No one denied it, least of all white South Africans. Though it is easy to forget that the end of the Afrikaans Party was spelled by the party itself. First came the release of Nelson Mandela form prison in 1990 and then the opening of the 1994 general election to the native population for the first time since colonization in 1652. The election ended in a historic moment of poetic justice, when Nelson Mandela became the nation’s first black president. There is still a long way to go to repair the damage of hundreds of years of colonialism but they are at least aware of this and taking the first steps.

Denial

The general belief by white Americans has been that systemic racism ended with the Emancipation Proclamation and went away entirely, including on the personal level, some time in the late 1960s. The names changed but the situation hasn’t. The policy of segregation turned to red-lining, voter suppression, mass incarceration and veiled police brutality.

Civil Rights

In America the Civil Rights movement fought for change with aggressive activities in the 1960’s. Two factions evolved. One militant and one peaceable, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King occupying opposite ends of the spectrum. MLK and Malcolm bravely stood  up against government oppression, most clearly represented by the segregation doctrine of Jim Crow.  This era of activism peaked with the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

 Devils In the Details

Recent events have shown racism is alive and well in America.  Numerous high profile murders of African Americans by the police or individuals claiming to be making citizen’s arrests on the behalf of the police have inflamed activists. George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and Rayshard Brooks have spotlighted police brutality. These murders have slapped complacent white America in the face. Nearly nine minutes with a police officer’s knee on a black man’s neck caught on video shook up the American psyche. White America for the first time has been shaken to its core. Black Lives Matter activists have filled the streets with protesters. For the first time, protesters are as much white as black.  Hopefully, America is finally looking racism in the eye and is willing and ready to do something about it. The demand for a multi-racial democracy is louder in the United States than ever before.

 

World On Fire

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firefighters working to put out fires started during protests

WORLD ON FIRE

Trevor K. McNeil & D. S. Mitchell

Better Angels

Humans are complex. Neither angels nor devils, but something in between. As with many things it is a continuum. Abraham Lincoln understood this perfectly and touched on it when he referred to “the better angels of our nature.” As with human nature, so with human action. Which assists in understanding our history of civil disobedience. Particularly when it happens to turn ugly. Such as when legitimate protests based on genuine grievances turn into deadly riots.

Rebels With A Cause

Henry David Thoreau was a vocal abolitionist, anti-expansionist and a  conductor of the underground railroad. In 1849, Thoreau, an infamous proto-anarchist, published his essay “Resistance to Civil Government”.  “Anarchist” in this case meaning classical Anarchism. A political ideology that accepts rules, but opposes the notion of rules in a top-down coercive system, where using lethal violence, or the threat thereof, to keep the populace under control.  Thoreau advocated “resistance to an unjust state.” He said, “I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government”.  Thoreau said “the government that governs best is that which governs least.” Though notice the phraseology. Government. To govern. There being a vital difference between a government and an administration.

 Historical Perspective

America has a long, rich history of civil disobedience. “Fight the Power” being the unofficial national motto. Setting the American Revolution aside, one of the places this first came into focus was in lower Manhattan in 1863. From July 13th to July 16th, during the throes of the American Civil War, hundreds of citizens, many of them immigrants took to the streets to protest the draft that would send them to fight the Confederacy. What started out relatively peacefully soon grew into a large violent, three-day riot. In the end an estimated 120 people lay dead.

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Guilt By Association

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Guilt By Association

By Trevor K. McNeil

A Little Bit of History Repeating

History is more of a cycle than a straight line. Those who have looked at it closely recognize trends have a tendency to repeat. Themes and progress ebb and flow in the oceans of time. Sadly, there are some areas where the water is darker than others. One such dark spot in the ocean of time is the anti-Chinese sentiment in North America.

An Ill Wind

One of the more damaging aspects of coronavirus, aside from the death toll, is the misinformation being spread about it. One being the Anti-Chinese sentiment, fostered and fueled by President Trump and his surrogates. Attempting to redirect blame from his colossal mismanagement of the pandemic response Trump continues his attacks on China. Our boneheaded and close to illiterate president regularly promotes the idea that the virus “came from China.”

Historical Reference

Did it spread through China first? Yes. Do we know for a fact that it is where the virus originated? Hell no. In fact, the Chinese point an angry finger to the United States military. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS–CoV-2) and coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is new and poorly understood. The prevailing theory is that the original carrier was a bat. I’m not sure if you’ve ever noticed, but bats fly. Over a fair bit of distance. As a historical reminder the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic did not originate in Spain, but rather Kansas and was spread by American soldiers.  Not that it matters anyway. The country of origin not nearly as important as how to stop the spread of SARS CoV-2 and cure the disease among those who contract it.

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Biden Metrics

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Biden Metrics

By D. S. Mitchell

The Breakfast Club

On Friday morning, May 22, 2020 Joe Biden ventured ‘virtually’ out of his basement to talk to well-known radio host, Charlamagne Tha God, on his nationally syndicated radio program, “The Breakfast Club”. Charlamagne is a Black man, with a large Black audience. That means he has a lot of power to influence Black voters, a great many of them younger voters. Joe Biden’s interview ruffled a lot of feathers. And now 48 hours later the cable television shows are filled with chest thumping Trump supporters, Democratic hand wringers, and Biden apologizers.

Who I Am

Who am I to weigh in on this issue? Some would call me an elderly White woman. I would describe myself as a writer-journalist. It is all about perspective. First, I want to make it clear that by writing this article I am in no way attempting to minimize or be dismissive of Black suffering in this country. I am in no way putting myself into the shoes of any Black or Brown person. But, I will say, that Black and Brown people are not alone in their struggle against discrimination, including economic and physical abuse. As a woman I want to say I have been denied equal pay. I have been denied credit. I have faced verbal and physical attack, including rape. This country, for all of its proclaimed “greatness” is far less than what it could and should be.

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EDITORIAL: The Curious Case of Gavin McInnes

Status

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EDITORIAL

The Curious Case of Gavin McInnes

By Trevor K. McNeil

Autocrats Abound

Many people are attracted to powerful leaders. A fact of life validated by the history books. From the leaders of Ancient Rome or China and codified, without a trace of irony, by Niccolo Machiavelli (the origin of the term “Machiavellian”) in the 16th century. There are, of course, more recent and terrible examples but it is best not to evoke the wrath of Godwin.

Distasteful and Corrupt

Distasteful as it might be to contemplate, Donald J. Trump is among the ranks of such leaders. It is really the only way to explain his continued support even in the face of a plethora of scandals that make the Targaryens look like the Rockefellers. Despite this, or maybe because of it, there has been a noticeable raise in the number of what might be called “traditionalist” groups since The Great Orange One’s gobsmacking ascension to the very heights of power.

Ugly Americans

One of the more confusing of the groups to come out of the pro-Trump frenzy was the so-called “Proud Boys”. A self-described “fraternal organization”.  The group was not actually as bad as some. At least when it came to terms of prejudice. While all such groups claim to have members who are LGBTQ or POCs, particularly in terms of deflecting claims of racial or hetero-normative prejudice, the Proud Boys actually do. The primary requirements for membership being that one be a male and “proudly” proclaim that “West is best”.

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Russell Means: Native American Warrior

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Russell Means-Native American Warrior

by D.S. Mitchell

Russell Means & Dennis Banks Prominent Militant Native American Activists Talk to Press

Champion of Native American Rights

Russell Means was a champion of Native American civil rights. Means drew public attention to the mistreatment of native people “with audacious and controversial actions that were equal parts protest and theater,” said biographer Michael Ray.

Charismatic Leader 

From the 1970’s thru the early 2000’s Russell Means was as famous as Sitting Bull. Means, tall and ruggedly  handsome with long traditional braids was a charismatic Native American actor, activist, painter, politician, musician and writer. Means was born in 1939 on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation. His Lakota name “Wanbli Ohitika” means “Brave Eagle.” His mother was a Yankton Dakota Sioux and his father an Oglala Lakota Sioux.

A Harsh Life

His parents left the reservation in 1942 at the beginning of WWII to escape the poverty and depression of the reservation. They settled in the San Francisco Bay Area where his father worked in the shipyards. In his 1995 autobiography Russell Means described a harsh life with his alcoholic father and abused mother. He himself describes how he fell into “years of truancy, crime and drugs”, before finding purpose in the American Indian Movement.

In 1964 Means Joined His Father And Other Indians To Occupy Alcatraz for 24 hours

1964 Alcatraz Occupation

Means and his father joined a protest occupation of Alcatraz Island, in San Francisco Bay, CA. in 1964. The protest lasted a mere 24 hours. Native Americans were protesting against the U.S. government for treaty violations. In his autobiography Russell Means remembered the 1964 Alcatraz event as the catalyst for a life time of activism for protecting the rights of Native Americans.

The American Indian Movement

In 1968 Dennis Banks, Clyde Bellecourt, Eddie Benton Banai, and George Mitchell came together to form the American Indian Movement. AIM was a militant American Indian civil rights organization.  The goals expanded quickly, broadening to “turn the attention of Indian people toward a renewal of spirituality which would impart the strength of resolve needed to reverse the ruinous policies of the United States, Canada, and other colonialist governments of Central and South America.” AIM’s goals were economic independence, revitalization of traditional culture, protection of legal rights, and most especially, autonomy over tribal areas and the restoration of lands that they believed had been seized illegally.

Dennis Banks, Russell Means, and Clyde Bellecourt in 1971 the Heart of AIM

Dennis Banks, Russell Means, and Clyde Bellecourt in 1971 the Heart of AIM

A New Voice
Into a violent and turbulent times Russell Means emerged as the voice of AIM. In 1970 he became the first National Director of the American Indian Movement. Aim became involved in many violent and highly publicized protests in reaction to abhorrent government policies toward American Indians during this time.

Modern Day Warriors

Means’ and other AIM members cultivated a tough persona which they felt was necessary to face the “dark violence of police brutality and the voiceless despair of Indian people.” The view of these activists as “warriors” was essential to the movement.

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Trump Racism Is Bad For America-Part II

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TRUMP RACISM IS BAD FOR AMERICA-PART ll

The Dark Jester

By T.K. McNeil

Trump Racism is Bad for America. I ended Part I of Trump Racism Is Bad For America by wondering aloud if we were about to return to the dark days of death squads, concentration camps, and gas ovens. Trump racism is obvious for anyone with eyes, ears, or a Twitter account. We are rocked out of our beds daily by angry and racially inflammatory 6 a.m. Tweets. Trump uses a practiced, coded language of dog whistles and red meat taunts that he pitches regularity to his MAGA hatted support base. The intent, an obviously planned effort to keep them agitated and ready for action. If nothing else, Trump’s base seems willfully ignorant and obsessed by fear. If Trump senses any ebbing in support he orders an extra rally, or maybe two; re-news attacks on the press; berates his pathetic Attorney General; but most notably, he intensifies attacks against immigrants, NFL players, and women. That’s how Trump racism works.

George H.W. Bus Approved Vicious Race Fear Attack Ads Against His Democratic Opponent Michael Dukakis

George H.W. Approved Race Fear Attack Ads Against His Democratic Opponent Michael Dukakis

Trump racism dressed as law and order. Have people forgotten Trump opened his campaign with an unprecedented tirade against Mexican “criminal, drug mules and rapists?” Trump has revived nativist themes that have not been heard aloud since George H.W. Bush. In 1988 HW supporters used the image of a black killer/rapist Willie Horton to effectively sabotage his opponent Michael Dukakis. Until now, that ad campaign was considered a true low point in political racist tactics.

Jump to today. In a similar tact Trump is replacing the face of black man Willie Horton with the brown face of illegal immigrant, and convicted cop killer, Luis Bracamontes. Hammering the anti-immigrant theme Trump claims that Democrats will open the country to criminals. Trump’s vitriol is toxic, but Trump is convinced that it was just such rhetoric that secured him the presidency. Instinctively, he keeps pushing the limits of what passes for barely acceptable political discourse toward an ever-darkening place.

More evidence of Trump racism keeps emerging.  Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal attorney for over a decade opens up about Trump racism. On Friday 11-2-2018 Vanity Fair published a damning portrait of the president. According to Cohen, Trump made frequent racist comments, most particularly against blacks. Cohen claimed that Trump frequently used the N word and other demeaning statements made about black people, their intellect, their abilities, their communities and even their countries. Cohen confirmed to Vanity Fair writer Emily Jane Fox that language reported by Omarosa Manigault Newman in her book, “Unhinged An Insider’s Account of the Trump White House” was typically Trump. So, Trump doesn’t limit his hate; he hates everybody that isn’t orange.

Trump Racism Is Stoking Racial Fear And Hatred

Trump Racism Is Stoking Racial Fear And Hatred

Keeping the fire hot.  Trump has never stopped his campaigning. He has never become president of all the people. He is president of a core base and his goal is to keep them frightened and angry. He wants them fired up ready to attack whenever and wherever he points his accusatory finger. Trump racism is emerging more clearly as time progresses. Trump’s inflammatory language, reckless “otherism” and dehumanizing xenophobic attacks are clearly designed to divide the country.

Fear and Loathing is part of the performance.  It’s no surprise that we as a country have a scrubbed and shiny public face and a secret horrific Dorian Grey face.  That hidden-self, locked in the basement of our national identity is trying to come out of its imprisonment. All the while Trump, our Mad Hatter conductor, has had us on a head spinning ride of public debauchery, corruption and criminality. Trump careens from truth to delusion, to conspiracy theory, and back to racism all in blink of an eye.

Social Fears Are At The Root Of Trump’s Methodology.  That said, we all know that there is a portion of the American psyche that hates and fears immigration, that hates and fears the blacks, that hates and fears Jews, that hates and fears POC, that hates and fears the changing demographics of America, that hates and fears tomorrow, that hates and fears the unknown. Those societal fears are what Trump racism feeds on.

Donald Trump Uses The Flag And Other Symbols As Background Props For His Blatant Racism

Trump Uses The Flag And National Symbols As Background Props For His Blatant Racism

The foes of inclusiveness. The ability to whip the mentally susceptible and the White Supremacist extremist fringe into a frenzy of violence is easy to imagine. The increased racial and ethnic violence will become a growing problem as he continues to demonize the “others” in our society. This man has the biggest bully pulpit in the country and he is using it to inflame the worst elements of our society. He is using his position to promote fear and racial tensions as he divides the country with his Trump racist white supremacist agenda.

Ethnic and racial murder on the rise. The pipe bomb mailings, the synagogue massacre, the Kroger killings, the Portland light rail murders, the Heather Hyer murder are all separate crimes in separate geographical areas but with the same theme of racial and ethnic hatred.  There can be no doubt that Trump is pouring kerosene on the already raging flames of xenophobia and anti-immigrant sentiment that fueled his political rise. Violence is easy to stoke but the ability to tone it down is not likely to be found in Donald Trump. This should be of concern for all of us. Stability is what makes our great American life possible, and Trump with his firebrand demagoguery could potentially destroy that essential of our life.

The noise is so loud.  Since Trump’s election; historians, political scientists and psychologists have frantically been sounding alarm bells. How is it possible that after decades of progress the United States in the early part of the 21st century would become the epicenter of a growing firestorm of racial, ethnic and religious hate activity? It is important to remember that Hitler didn’t load the cattle cars and he didn’t personally switch on the ovens. He had his core of radicalized supporters to do that for him.

The Swastika was originally a geometrical symbol for divinity and the Nazi's turned it into a symbol of hate

The Nazi’s Took The Geometrical figure For Divinity And Morphed It Into The Most Terrifying Symbol On Earth

12,000 year old trinket. Twelve thousand years ago in a small Neolithic community in the Ukraine an early human carved a small ivory swastika and left it to be found by a modern team of archeologists. The swastika symbol has been found in archeological sites across the world from that cold Ukrainian dig to Celtic burial sites in Great Britain.

Pawns of a maniac. In a remarkable 15 year time span a geometrical figure representing  divinity and spirituality morphed into the symbol of the most murdering racist regime of the 20th century. A regime that was directly responsible for the murder of millions of human beings because they were religiously “different” than the majority. The six million dead; nothing more than pawns in a world shaped by racism and barbarism. A world where a demagogue manufactured an enemy through fiery hate-filled rhetoric.

Taking action.  A charismatic leader can point with raging illogical rants against racial, ethnic and religious targets making them the “enemies of the people.” Simply put the demagogue (Hitler in this case) convinced his followers that “his” enemies were “their” enemies. Sadly, Donald Trump incites similar reactions from his supporters. Wanting to help him, these angry, fearful, and malleable people begin to search for ways they can take action. Some will act as individuals, while others will join “militia groups.” Before long the supporters will turn the fiery hateful speech into hateful action. Getting people to hate “others” is all part of the Trump racism model.

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