Tag Archives: prejudice

Animal Issues

We’ve got Michael Moore parked in Animal Issues!

From filmmaker Michael Moore:

michael
Moore vs Trump

Yesterday I went and stood in front of Trump Tower; held a sign until the police came. Then I went home; wrote Donald a letter. Here it is:

Dear Donald Trump:

You may remember (you do, after all, have a “perfect memory!”), that we met back in November of 1998 in the green room of a talk show where we were both scheduled to appear one afternoon. But just before going on, I was pulled aside by a producer from the show who said that you were “nervous” about being on the set with me. She said you didn’t want to be “ripped apart” and you wanted to be reassured I wouldn’t “go after you.”

“Does he think I’m going to tackle him and put him in a choke hold?” I asked, bewildered.

“No,” the producer replied, “he just seems all jittery about you.”

“Huh. I’ve never met the guy. There’s no reason for him to be scared,” I said. “I really don’t know much about him other than he seems to like his name on stuff. I’ll talk to him if you want me to.”

And so, as you may remember, I did. I went up and introduced myself to you. “The producer says you’re worried I might say or do something to you during the show. Hey, no offense, but I barely know who you are. I’m from Michigan. Please don’t worry — we’re gonna get along just fine!”

You seemed relieved, then leaned in and said to me, “I just didn’t want any trouble out there and I just wanted to make sure that, you know, you and I got along. That you weren’t going to pick on me for something ridiculous.”

“Pick on” you? I thought, where are we, in 3rd grade? I was struck by how you, a self-described tough guy from Queens, seemed like such a fraidey-cat.

You and I went on to do the show. Nothing untoward happened between us. I didn’t pull on your hair, didn’t put gum on your seat. “What a wuss,” was all I remember thinking as I left the set.

And now, here we are in 2015 and, like many other angry white guys, you are frightened by a bogeyman who is out to get you. That bogeyman, in your mind, are all Muslims. Not just the ones who have killed, but ALL MUSLIMS.

Fortunately, Donald, you and your supporters no longer look like what America actually is today. We are not a country of angry white guys. Here’s a statistic that is going to make your hair spin: Eighty-one percent of the electorate who will pick the president next year are either female, people of color, or young people between the ages of 18 and 35. In other words, not you. And not the people who want you leading their country.

So, in desperation and insanity, you call for a ban on all Muslims entering this country. I was raised to believe that we are all each other’s brother and sister, regardless of race, creed or color. That means if you want to ban Muslims, you are first going to have to ban me. And everyone else.

We are all Muslim.

Just as we are all Mexican, we are all Catholic and Jewish and white and black and every shade in between. We are all children of God (or nature or whatever you believe in), part of the human family, and nothing you say or do can change that fact one iota. If you don’t like living by these American rules, then you need to go to the time-out room in any one of your Towers, sit there, and think about what you’ve said.

And then leave the rest of us alone so we can elect a real president who is both compassionate and strong – at least strong enough not to be all whiny and scared of some guy in a ballcap from Michigan sitting next to him on a talk show couch. You’re not so tough, Donny, and I’m glad I got to see the real you up close and personal all those years ago.

We are all Muslim. Deal with it.

All my best,

Michael Moore

P.S. I’m asking everyone who reads this letter to go here (http://michaelmoore.com/weareallmuslim) and sign the following statement: “WE ARE ALL MUSLIM” — and then post a photo of yourself holding a homemade sign saying “WE ARE ALL MUSLIM” on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram using the hashtag #WeAreAllMuslim. I will post all the photos on my site and send them to you, Mr. Trump. Feel free to join us.

P.P.S. To sign my statement for #WeAreAllMuslim, go here on my website: http://michaelmoore.com/weareallmuslim

InCity Voices

Martin Luther King, Jr. and the story of a boycott that changed the world

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By William S. Coleman III

He never held a public office, he was never appointed ambassador to the United Nations, and he was not the bishop of his church. The world knew him as a Southern Baptist preacher who was thrust into the national limelight because he saw things that were wrong and he tried to make them right.
The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. was an educated man who like his father preached the word of God as an ordained minister. He could have been assigned to a middle class neighborhood where he could have conducted weddings, baptisms, funerals and local fund raisers for its church and its congregations.

He could have lived a simple life, not challenging the local status quo or political leaders. He could have just preached tranquilize to his congregants and gradualism to those wanting to live in a community where people felt they had the right to live free. Dr. King, as he was known after he received his Doctorate of Philosophy degree from Boston University, was very happy enjoying family life with his wife Coretta and their children. Continue reading Martin Luther King, Jr. and the story of a boycott that changed the world →

Green Island Grrrl, Rosalie's Blog, Uncategorized

Obama was right! The Cambridge cops DID act “stupidly”

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By Rosalie Tirella

The “Skip” Gates debacle was just that – a debacle. And President Barack Obama was correct in labeling the Cambridge cops’ behavior as stupid. And when Governor Deval Patrick weighed in with an equally accurate description, decrying the way this country treats Black Americans, he was right, too.

Both guys – African Americans first, elected leaders second – were on target. America DOES relegate blacks to second-class status even though the laws have changed and the “no colored” signs have been ripped off every diner door in the South. Both know that many black guys fear for their lives if stopped by cops, if acting too “uppity” (which Professor, in Officer Crowley’s eyes, did). Heaven forbid you should be black and proud and know the score – just the way First Lady Michelle Obama was when she said, after the presidential nomination of her husband: for the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country. She knows first hand, based on living in the South Side of Chicago, being the daughter of a public works guy and stay at home mom, that life is dangerous in America if you are black and you step over the line, say too much.

It is, in many ways, the same things for women.  As the owner/editor/publisher of InCity Times, we’ve got lots of supporters – but some detractors, too. Most of these folks are male politiicians (white), male biz owners (white) who have always enjoyed unquestioned power in this town. But because I dare to “run with the big dogs” they try to thwart me at every turn. Which only strengthens my resolve tenfold. I will speak out.

And so should Professor Gates. C’mon, a frail old guy who walks with a cane telling three big burly cops – in their prime – ‘yo mama” – in his OWN home – does not need to be handcuffed, booked and have “mug shots” taken of him. How degrading. Which is exactly what that asshole Crowley and the Cambridge Police Department were going for. “Know your place feisty old black man,” they seemed to be saying to Professor Gates.

Well, his place is WAY ABOVE these blue collar pin-heads. He has written books, edited books; he has been interviewed hundreds of times on news shows, he teaches at Harvard. He knows the President of the United States.

He is a brilliant man.

Crowley was/is your basic dope.

If the colors had been switched, the apologies and back pedalling and beer summit would never have happened.