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| Good ol' fashioned lynchin' | |
Much rejoicing tonight in the US as 80 year old preacher and KKK member Edgar
Ray Killen was finally convicted for the 1964 manslaughter of three civil
rights activists in America's Deep South. And the alleged Klan member ain't showing no remorse - taking swipes at cameramen
and reporters from his wheel chair as he gulped in oxygen. While only one of
the three murdered workers was actually black, it would be a pretty safe bet that
the preachin' man doesn't care much for his melanin-enriched fellow citizens,
and believes that thinking globally doesn't compare with acting locally to
achieve results. It's enough to give self respecting rednecks a bad name. 'We built this country is a popular cry of both white supremacists and
slave descendants alike. But who is the 'we'? People who are left handed?
People born on the 1st day of the month? People who's names begin with a vowel?
People who drink beer? People who like the color red? No? Oh, that's right -
people with a certain skin color. Why does someone have the right to share another's wealth, another's glory, or
another's credit simply because they share the same skin color, or the same
genetic makeup? Why are people are so willing to take credit for their
ancestor's achievements. And for that matter why are they so unwilling to take
responsibility for (or even admit to) their ancestor's crimes? The answer lies in insecurity and inadequacy. People who truly believe they are better that others don't feel the need to
use third parties to demonstrate their superiority - they just demonstrate by
achieving more. They invent a better mouse trap, develop new methodology which
can change people's lives or (more likely) just grow quietly wealthy and
disregard the sea of ignorance and bigotry around them. The surest sign of someone who is insecure is their need for the approval of
others. And the surest sign of inadequacy is someone using the achievements of
others to inflate their own self worth. Whether they claim credit for the
achievements of work colleagues, of their ancestors, or of others who happen to
have the same color skin is largely irrelevant. They are attempting to claim
credit for what someone else has done. And of course part of the trick in claiming credit for the achievements of others
is the refusal to accept responsibility for their wrongs. Everyone wants
rights, no-one wants responsibility. Denying the wrong-doings avoids any
responsibility which might come with the acquired rights. The white supremacists who claims the achievements of white ancestors as his own
is no better than the activist who claims to be owed compensation because of
sins committed against his ancestors by people who are long dead. Or the
feminist who claims a right to compensation because of supposed past injustices
committed by men against women. No-one is responsible for the actions of other people, nor are they owed
anything because of other's achievements. They have the right to what they have
acquired though consensual trade, gifts, or their own endeavors. Nothing more,
nothing less. And Killen? Whether he will serve time remains to be seen, but the ailing 80
year old is unlikely to spend much time behind bars. Some say that the only
real justice is that evil men eventually grow old and die.
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