Note
the insensitivity. Note the righteous indignation. North Carolina’s Governor has resorted to
labeling the actions of protesters criminal.
300 have willingly gone to jail to show disdain over a series of laws
passed by the Republican controlled General Assembly. McCrory’s attack of demonstrators reflects a
broader negligence toward those in opposition.
McCrory
said he has no intent in meeting with members of the NAACP, student unions and
environmental groups to discuss their complaints with the GOP. McCrory told
WTVD the demonstrations were “unlawful” and therefore “unacceptable.”
So Gov., are you serious? Do you really believe
the 1,600 people who showed up last week for “Moral Monday” are criminals who
have no right to show up to attack legislation that makes it harder for the poor to survive? Do you really think it’s criminal to stand
against a voter ID law that will impact the poor and senior citizens? Are we supposed to bow at your moves to pave
the way for hydraulic fracking, cuts to education spending, rejection of
Medicaid expansion under Obamacare and cuts unemployment benefits?
Maybe,
just maybe, the Governor thinks he can get away with tagging protestors as a
gang of angry blacks and throw back hippies.
What better way to swing public opinion in his direction than to
challenge people to consider the illegitimate conduct of the mob? It’s just “those
people” complaining again.
Really?
All of them?
Maybe
it would help the Governors cause to fail to mention that most of those
arrested are not black. Many are older
citizens pissed off at how Republicans have systematically turned that clock
back to a time when the state was ruled by white men with no regard for equal
opportunity and social justice.
McCrory,
and his gang of legislators, are the anti-Obama. Seemingly,
the plan is to separate North Carolina from a national agenda. Sound familiar? The call for state rights makes you wonder
about a plan for secession from the union.
Read
Civil War 101.
The
movement back is reflected in a charter school agenda that has effectually
re-segregated public education. The
rhetoric of poor academic performance functions to electrify support among
disgruntled black parents and white parents in search of schools that offer an
academic advantage for their children.
Lingering beneath the language of public education is a social agenda
rooted in the hysteria stirred by race.
Policy
makers continue to play games with voters while burying their racism under the chatter
of accountability and budgetary restrictions.
McCrory
calls it criminal to expose the other side of social change. He calls it illegal to protest what many
consider heartless, immoral and reckless.
It’s called “Moral Monday” for a reason.
Those gathering each Monday are challenging the GOP to be guided by a
morality that supersedes a political agenda.
McCrory’s branding of the “Moral Monday” crowd fails to state the
obvious – that protesters are showing up because Republicans, in their minds,
are a gang of thugs devoid of moral integrity.
That
point is reflected in comments made during a Tuesday protest held Charlotte,
NC. Kojo Nantambu, president of Charlotte’s NAACP, called Gov. McCrory
"one of the most wicked people I’ve ever met."
McCroy’s
vilifying of ‘Moral Monday” protesters snubs the resolve of those willing to
make the trip to Raleigh each week. McCroy may consider their presence “illegal”
and “unacceptable”, but the actions of the GOP is worse.
Laws
passed by the GOP are immoral, wicked, dishonest, sinful, corrupt – pick the word
that best reflects the mean spirited actions of those who use the law to
enforce an old agenda. The actions of
protesters may be unlawful. Their
actions may be unacceptable to members of the GOP. That may be true.
But
if I’m one, what does that make you?
Insert playground taunting of youth.
What
is a moral law? Moral laws are rules of behavior an individual or a group may
follow out of personal conscience and that are not necessarily part of
legislated law in the United States. Moral law is a system of guidelines for
behavior. For me, moral law is tantamount
with the demands of my spirituality.
Some regard them as a set of universal laws that apply to everyone.
The
actions of the GOP violate moral law.
Acts of civil disobedience are designed to remind those in power of a
law greater than the laws they make. The
Governor calls their actions illegal.
His response, and the actions that preceded his response, are immoral.
The
GOP’s response is to send some to jail.
For many who have protested against the GOP, there is a place worse than
jail reserved for those who violate moral law.
I
call that unacceptable.
Others
call it Hell.
"We welcome feedback, we welcome lawful demonstrations, however, we don't welcome unlawful demonstrations, and that should not be accepted." Parse those words carefully instead of jumping to unwarranted conclusions. Nowhere in that statement is either insensitivity or righteous indignation expressed. Nowhere does it even imply that demonstrations against state legislative actions should not occur. In fact, it even welcomes demonstrations by those who feel the need to do so. It just says that some locations are illegal to demonstrate in.
ReplyDeleteIf the Klan were to demonstrate inside your home, Carl, that would be an unlawful demonstration. You neither asked for it nor is your domicile a legal place for others to demonstrate. If MoveOnOrg were to demonstrate inside Governor McCrory's mansion, that would be an unlawful demonstration. In other words, the law allows demonstrations to occur, but also restricts where they are allowed to occur in order to provide both public safety and keep business and government working. This means that there can be no lawful demonstrations within some public buildings where government business is occurring.
I'm just as unhappy with many things coming out of this Republican majority leadership in our state. I will react both by letter, speech, and demonstration. However, I won't proclaim my beliefs by interrupting normal government operations within proscribed government buildings. It's just plain ineffective and counterproductive. As Dr. Phil would say, "Is it workin' for ya?"
Besides, as a prior column noted, isn't the purpose of Moral Monday's for it's members to get arrested by illegally gathering and demonstrating within a government building and disrupting operations? That way you publicize your cause because news media will show your actions. So, you can't have it both ways. Demonstrate in designated areas or risk arrest by shouting your beliefs in illegal areas.
Cowardly, you say? Think of other scenarios where the minority objects to actions of the majority. Should the Evangelical Church invade government buildings demanding biblical retribution for failing to follow the Ten Commandments? Should the Klan demonstrate in the legislature to advance whatever crazy agenda they want? No, that's why we hold elections to let our representatives conduct government business. And, if we don't like it, we vote them out.
McCrory didn't make up the law that designated where demonstrations could or could not occur. Prior Democratic legislators did that. If you think your cause(s) merit civil disobedience, then act accordingly, but also accept the consequences without faux outrage.