Wednesday, December 12, 2018
Sunday, December 9, 2018
Exposing the Israel Lobby Groups Behind the “Political Lynching” of Marc Lamont Hill
Exposing the Israel Lobby Groups Behind the “Political Lynching” of Marc Lamont Hill
The controversy that has resulted from Marc Lamont Hill’s speech is just the latest iteration of a larger effort to silence advocacy for Palestinian rights in the United States, at a time when the Trump administration is set to reveal its Israel-centric “peace plan” that is set to be a disaster for Palestinians.
HILADELPHIA – After his UN Speech marking the International Day of Solidarity with Palestine last week was twisted so as to smear him as an anti-Semite, Marc Lamont Hill was subjected to a “political lynching” that saw him fired from his role as a political commentator on CNN and will now see Temple University — his other employer — investigate whether and how to reprimand him for his statements.
During his speech, Hill had called for solidarity with Palestinians and drew on the history of African Americans’ struggle against slavery and apartheid in the United States as an inspiration for the solidarity. Hill then noted that “if we are to operate in true solidarity with Palestinian people, we must allow the Palestinian people the same range of opportunity and political possibility” that were afforded African Americans, including “self-defense” and other tactics that do not fit neatly with “non-violence.”
However, the part of Hill’s speech that has been deemed the most controversial was his concluding call for a “a free Palestine from the river to the sea,” which recognizes the reality that the area historically known as Palestine is, in fact, not free, as Palestinians in the territory are currently under siege from a decade-long blockade, under military occupation, or under an apartheid legal system. Yet Hill’s detractors have directed their outrage at that single line, twisting it to mean the destruction or “genocide” of the Israeli state, while also failing to recognize the genocide of Palestinians that accompanied the creation of the state of Israel in the first place.
Since he was dismissed from his role at CNN, many of the same voices that pressured the news organization to fire Hill are now pushing for Temple University to do the same. On Tuesday, Temple University’s newspaper — The Temple News — published a story reporting that the university is set to “investigate” Hill and is determining whether he can be “reprimanded” by the university for the statements that he had made at the United Nations. The university had previously stood by Hill. Notably, many of the strongest voices that have been calling for Hill to be fired first from CNN and now from Temple University have close ties to the Israeli government, top U.S. Israel lobby organizations, or pro-Israel stalwarts with ties to the U.S. political establishment.
Trouble at Temple
Last Friday, the Philadelphia Inquirer published an article in which it noted that one of the people pushing for Hill to be fired from Temple University was Leonard Barrack, who was described as a “Temple trustee and major donor to the university.” Barrack, who is also a Temple alumnus and former finance chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), was quoted as saying that “He [Hill] called for the destruction of the State of Israel in code words. I am very upset about it. I think it was anti-Semitic.”
However, the article fails to note that Leonard Barrack is also former president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia,which regularly hosts events in Philadelphia with American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), arguably the most influential Israel lobby group in the U.S., and StandWithUs, an Israel lobby group whose activities on U.S. college campuses were exposed in a recently leaked documentary.
Even though the article mentions the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia immediately below where it quotes Barrack, it does not mention this connection between the two nor does it note that the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia or the Israel lobby groups it collaborates with promote Israeli colonialism, the apartheid system imposed on Palestinians by the Israeli state ,and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from historical Palestine.
Barrack, given that he is a Temple trustee as well as a major donor who is also politically influential, clearly made his outrage heard, as evidenced by recent statements from the chairman of Temple’s board of trustees, Patrick O’Connor, who told the Inquirer, “the board’s not happy. The administration’s not happy. People wanted to fire him right away. We’re going to look at what remedies we have.” Both O’Connor and Barrack are prominent lawyers in Philadelphia in addition to being Temple trustees.
Another Temple University alumnus with connections to the Israel lobby pushing for Hill to be fired is the President of the Zionist Organization of American (ZOA), Morton Klein. Klein went even further than Barrack in expressing his outrage over Hill’s speech, calling for the university to fire Hill, whom he called a “Bigot Jew-hater.” Klein also condemns Hill for his past statements on Palestine, including voicing his support for Ahed Tamimi — whom Klein calls a “convicted Palestinian-Arab terrorist” — and for denouncing “settler encroachment” and the “systematic abuse of Palestinian children,” which Klein equated to “blood libel.”
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| Morton Klein, right, speaks with Benjamin Netanyahu, during a dinner at New York’s Roosevelt Hotel, Jan. 6, 2001. Robert Mecea | AP |
"As a Temple University alumnus from where I received two degrees, I am especially shocked, embarrassed and ashamed that Mr. Hill teaches at my alma mater and has a named Chair no less. His working at Temple can only hurt fundraising and support for the University.”
Like Barrack, Klein has considerable political pull in this situation, not because of his ties to Temple University necessarily, but because of his ties to the Trump administration and Trump’s largest political donor, Sheldon Adelson. Klein, who is also close to former Trump advisor Steve Bannon, was instrumental in installing John Bolton as National Security Adviser by leading the campaign to have Bolton’s predecessor, H.R. McMaster, fired over alleged “anti-Israel” beliefs. Bolton is a close confidant of Sheldon Adelson, the largest donor to Trump and the Republican Party. Adelson also funds the organization Klein leads, ZOA.
Hill’s head sought by pro-Israel right and left
In addition to ZOA, other notable Israel lobby groups, such as the American Jewish Committee (AJC), have been vocally calling for Hill to be fired. For instance, AJC’s “chief storyteller,” Avi Mayer claimed that Hill’s speech called for the “violent annihilation” of Israel and mischaracterized Hill as a Hamas supporter for opposing U.S. funding of Israel’s Iron Dome defense system. The U.S. gives Israel over $3 billion annually in military aid, which is set to top $3.8 billion this year.
On Tuesday @CNN aired a devastating report on antisemitism in Europe. Today CNN's @marclamonthill echoed Jihadist calls for Israel's violent annihilation, calling for "resist[ance]" to achieve "a free Palestine from the river to the sea." Not a great look. pic.twitter.com/r26Q1BU0lR— Avi Mayer (@AviMayer) November 29, 2018
Notably, prior to working for AJC, Mayer worked as a “foreign media liaison” for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). He has also worked in the Israeli embassy in Washington and for AIPAC.
AJC claims to be very different from ZOA in the sense that AJC seeks to cater to “liberals” while ZOA is focused more on Republicans and conservatives. However, both are equally committed to promoting Zionism. Indeed, AJC was instrumental in promoting the Israel-centric definition of anti-Semitism that seeks to define certain criticisms of the Israeli state as anti-Semitism. The group is exceptionally well-funded, with an annual income of over $49 million, most of which comes from private donors.
Notably, a subsidiary of AJC, UN Watch, has also been very vocal in its condemnation of Hill. UN Watch is frequently quoted by media outlets on a variety of issues related to the United Nations and its alleged bias towards Israel. However, the fact that it is a “wholly owned subsidiary” of AJC is rarely noted, with the outlets only sometimes noting that UN Watch is a “pro-Israel monitor.”
In crosshairs of “fiercely Zionistic” National Council of Young Israel
Another important and controversial Zionist organization pushing for Hill to be fired from Temple University is the National Council of Young Israel (NCYI). NCYI’s call to have Hill fired was widely quoted by both Israeli and U.S. media outlets.
The #NCYI is calling on @cnn @templeuniv to fire Marc Lamont Hill following his highly offensive & virulent anti-Semitism remarks. They're abhorrent, & his senseless promotion of violence against Israel is repugnant.— NCYI Young Israel (@NCYIYoungIsrael) November 29, 2018
He can't be given a platform to serve as a pundit or professor!
NCYI, essentially an umbrella group for over 100 smaller organizations spread throughout different areas of the United States, has a storied history, having been founded over 100 years ago.
As an example, NCYI boasts on its web page that, prior to Israel’s founding in 1948, it funneled weapons to Zionist terror groups like Irgun. Irgun, which NCYI calls a “defense force” on its website, began bombing and attacking Palestinian civilian targets in 1938, 10 years before Israel’s founding. It is best known for the bombing of the King David hotel in Jerusalem, which killed 91 people, as well as the Deir Yassin massacre, which killed over 100 Palestinian civilians as part of a self-described “cleansing” campaign.
Irgun’s leader, Menachem Begin, was called a terrorist and fascist by Albert Einstein and many other prominent Jewish American intellectuals in an open letter published in the New York Times in 1948. He went on to found the precursor to today’s Likud political party. Notably, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, which has strongly condemned Hill’s speech and smeared him as “anti-Semitic,” recently hosted an event celebrating Begin’s legacy, bizarrely likening Begin to Martin Luther King Jr.
In addition to considering its past support of terror groups as a point of pride, NCYI also led the effort to commute the sentence of convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard, who had given top-secret classified U.S. government information to Israel and other countries. Pollard was imprisoned in the late 1980s and released in 2015.
NCYI, which describes itself as “fiercely Zionistic,” now promotes anti-BDS initiatives on U.S. college campuses, including Temple University. Owing to its decentralized nature, there is little information on the group’s finances and donors.
A skirmish in a larger war to silence pro-Palestinian advocacy
The firestorm of criticism around Marc Lamont Hill’s speech was undeniably engineered, particularly given the fact that the outrage centered on a single phrase at the end of the lengthy speech and the fact that the subsequent campaign against Hill employed prominent figures and organizations in the Israel lobby, many of whom hold extremist positions and are openly racist.
Ultimately, the controversy that has resulted from Hill’s speech is just the latest iteration of a larger effort to silence advocacy for Palestinian rights in the United States, particularly at a time when Israel’s right-wing government is seeking to annex Palestine’s West Bank and when the Gaza Strip is approaching its breaking point as a result of the inhuman decade-long blockade of the enclave by Israel. It also comes at a time when the Trump administration is set to reveal its Israel-centric “peace plan” that is set to be a disaster for Palestinians and major give-away to Zionist interests.
The Israel lobby that represents extreme political Zionism in the United States is seeking to make an example of Hill in order to avoid having to discuss the important issues he brought up in his speech. These critics of Hill have claimed that he implicitly called for the destruction of Israel as a state. Though Hill did not make that claim, the alarm raised by these critics is ironic given that Israel is currently — and has been for decades — seeking to ethnically cleanse the historic land of Palestine of all of its indigenous inhabitants.
Top Photo | Activist, author, and now former CNN host Marc Lamont Hill gestures during an intreview with VladTV. YouTube | VladTV
Whitney Webb is a staff writer for MintPress News and a contributor to Ben Swann’s Truth in Media. Her work has appeared on Global Research, the Ron Paul Institute and 21st Century Wire, among others. She has also made radio and TV appearances on RT and Sputnik. She currently lives with her family in southern Chile.
Saturday, December 8, 2018
It's Christmas Time....Capitalism's ruin of children by sex trafficking
It's Christmas time....Capitalism ruin of children by sex trafficking
by Mark Maxey
"Capitalism ruins lives, as seen in the documentary on child sex trafficking, I AM JANE DOE," Mark Maxey, Movement 4 People's Democracy National Coordinator states. "Backpage owners make $71 Million in 2012, $112.7 Million in 2013, $134.9 Million in 2014, and $153 Million in 2015, the documentary states."
$471.6 Million in 4 years, almost half a billion dollars. Some of that profit was made by pimps selling 12-year-olds - 17-year-old abducted girls. "Don't tell me capitalism and the lure of wealth does not ruin peoples lives," Maxey reiterated. "The owners of Backpage got wealthy beyond imagination while the lives of the little girls were drugged, raped (some 20 times a day), through online sex ads."
Tonya spent night after night in different hotel rooms, with different men, all at the command of someone she once trusted. She was held against her will, beaten and made to feel like she had no other option at the time, all by the man she thought she loved.
When Tonya was 13, she met Eddie (a pseudonym) at the apartment she was living in with her mother in the Dallas, Texas, area. His estranged wife was the property manager. Tonya was classmates with Eddie’s stepdaughter, so the two would often see each other at the apartment and in the local grocery store. It was there that the two first exchanged numbers. This is how Tonya was first recruited for sex trafficking.
Rebecca Fairley Raney states in her story, Unseen Victims of Sex Trafficking, she says...
"A few years ago, social worker Steven Procopio was listening to a discussion among a group of middle-aged homeless men at a Boston health-care agency when he recognized that his group had a terrible secret in common: Many of these men, at some point in their lives, had been trafficked. For Procopio, the realization led to a wholesale shift in context for working with men and boys who suffer from complex trauma."
"Capitalism kills, and the by-products from Capitalism ruins people's lives," Maxey says. "We must in 2019 begin a revolution by CRUSHING CAPITALISM!"
Backpage at one time was owned by Village Voice Media. VVM had a long history of progressive anti-establishment reporting. When the owners of VVM were exposed as owners of Backpage what they did next, was typical of how capitalism corrupts people.
The owners sold VVM but kept Backpage. No wonder, making $471 Million profit in 4 years, while destroying the lives of young girls.
CRUSH CAPITALISM!
SUPPORT & RESEARCH below
https://www.newsweek.com/sex-ads-website-backpagecom-co-founder-charged-after-fbi-raid-876333
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/true-crime/wp/2018/04/13/backpage-ceo-carl-ferrer-pleads-guilty-in-three-states-agrees-to-testify-against-other-website-officials/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.f07d0ba33194
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backpage
Wednesday, December 5, 2018
It's Capitalism Part 2
It’s Capitalism – Part 2
by Mark Maxey
(PADEN, Okla.) Michael Roberts reports, the top 1% own 48% of all global personal wealth; 10% own 85%. He goes on to say, “This year’s report showed some interesting variations. In the report, personal wealth is measured by the value of the property and financial assets after deducting any debt held by adults. During the 12 months to mid-2018, aggregate global wealth rose by $14 trillion to $317 trillion, representing a growth rate of 4.6%. This was sufficient to outpace population growth, so that wealth per adult grew by 3.2%, raising the global mean average wealth to $63,100 per adult, a record high (but remember this in nominal dollar terms, before inflation).”
Now, honestly, do you as an adult have $63,100 at your hands to spend right now?
Probably like many working class citizen, you do not. This is wealth inequality. At the hands of the capitalists.
What does the term capitalist mean? In the past, it was synonymous with Industrial Owner, Elitist, Robber Barons. A definition of Robber Baron is a person who has become rich through ruthless and unscrupulous business practices. Remember the term in the 1920’s Shantytowns or Company towns.
One must watch the CORPORATION video to fully understand the negative impact corporations have on individual working class folks. You can listen also to the False Flag podcast on the same subject. Some research notes with links can be found here also.
Some may ask what a capitalist is. It is a wealthy person who uses the money to invest in trade and industry for profit in accordance with the principles of capitalism. True capitalism needs a competitive market. Without competition, monopolies exist, and instead of the market setting the prices, the seller is the price setter, which is against the conditions of capitalism.
Sounds good huh? But consider the report by Michael Roberts. If the top 1% own 48% of all global personal wealth; 10% own 85%, then obviously the “free” competitive market is held by either the top 1% or the top 10%. Not the working class.
Who are the working class you may ask. The working class (or labouring class) comprises the people employed for wages, especially in manual-labour occupations and industrial work. So the owners only desire profit. They do not even consider the risk to the environment for their profit. They easily move American Union held jobs overseas where the pay is much cheaper. And the “working class” especially the Union workers, are left with no jobs. The company owner does not care.
The wealth inequality gap has grown so much wider in the past forty years. CNN in 2017 reported, “while wages for low- and middle-income workers have begun to recover, wealth inequality has still climbed to new heights, according to a new survey from the Federal Reserve which conducts a checkup of the nation’s finances every three years.”
The income inequality gap is higher now in our society than any other generation in history. Jaffe says, “Of course, as Rebecca Burns writes, “it’s much easier to predict the future when you have the power and money to shape it.”” As long as this gap is huge, the worker remains in slavery with their CEO. Michael J. Moore in the Winter 2016 NEW POLITICS magazine speaks of this. “Of course, economic inequality raises concern among liberals, social democrats, and socialists alike. For all see in it an ethical problem, one of unfairness, of greed, of unequal control and power. But the new explosion of wealth inequality is much larger in scale than in the previous Gilded Age. It poses different questions with respect to the transformation of capitalism and the classical models and assumptions within which left politics typically operate.”
Economic inequality leads to broader, more general forms of power and control. Despite the dynamic nature of capitalism, the persistence of oligarchy and elite control should still be seen as the central, salient feature of modern society. To successfully fight this oligarchy is to move more LEFT, such as Democratic Socialism. As well common workers have an ally with one of the original workers union in America. The International Workers of the World, IWW (www.iww.org ) can assist in organizing, As well grassroots organizations, Our Revolution (Sen. Bernie Sanders spin off group) Our Democracy, The Young Turks, Black Lives Matter, and MPD (www.movement4peoplesdemocracy.org ) are all groups which can help amass and organize with breaking up these oligarchies, The early muckrakers left a formidable change for investigative journalists,
Economic inequality leads to broader, more general forms of power and control. Despite the dynamic nature of capitalism, the persistence of oligarchy and elite control should still be seen as the central, salient feature of modern society. To successfully fight this oligarchy is to move more LEFT, such as Democratic Socialism. As well common workers have an ally with one of the original workers union in America. The International Workers of the World, IWW (www.iww.org ) can assist in organizing, As well grassroots organizations, Our Revolution (Sen. Bernie Sanders spin off group) Our Democracy, The Young Turks, Black Lives Matter, and MPD (www.movement4peoplesdemocracy.org ) are all groups which can help amass and organize with breaking up these oligarchies, The early muckrakers left a formidable change for investigative journalists,
The model for current work places has changed from my own understanding as I learned in the mid to late 1970’s. The whole workplace model has evolved with a concise plan that has taken over 40 years to implement. Many younger so-called knowledge workers no longer toil nine to five in a regular office but spend days and nights in front of their laptops at home or in co-working spaces. Part of the economics of the business model began to change in the 1970’s with the work done by Milton Freidman. Milton was the new father of a new economic model in the 60’s through the 80’s which in turn set in motion a drastic change that totally tilted workers rights. You can read more on Milton here.
The America I knew, back in the late sixties and early seventies is not the America of today. “The change took place in the 1970s. There are a lot of reasons for it,” Noam Chomsky says. “One of the underlying factors, discussed mainly by economic historian Robert Brenner, was the falling rate of profit in manufacturing. There were other factors. It led to major changes in the economy — a reversal of several hundred years of progress towards industrialization and development that turned into a process of de-industrialization and de-development. Of course, manufacturing production continued overseas very profitably, but it’s no good for the workforce.”
Many of my peers nowhere come close to where their parents were financially at the same age. The economy has depleted their savings, no retirement funds. No vacation or weekend getaway property. Today’s Generation X and the Millennials are faced with a stark reality of being broke. It was in the 1970’s when Milton Friedman’s economic plan was put into place by the extreme fascist right-wing. This is the context I use fascism. Benito Mussolini consolidated control over the Fascist movement in 1919 with the founding of the Fasci italiani di combattimento, whose opposition to socialism he declared: We declare war against socialism, not because it is socialism, but because it has opposed nationalism.” Fascism further means a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism. Does this sound familiar? “But Friedman was more than an academic. He was an advocate for, and popularizer of, a radical right-wing economic ideology,” Bernie Sander said. “With all due respect to the late Milton Friedman, his economic program is nothing more than a wish list for the greediest, the most monied interests in our society. At the same time that this ideology is supported by the rich and powerful–except when they’re lining up in Washington for their welfare checks–this same ideology is almost unanimously opposed to working families and middle-class people across this country.”
The Republican right wing establishment has been dismantling our American dream. This has been going on for over forty years. Cold calculated robbing the working class of any opportunities. All the while lining their pockets from their corporate sponsors. Representing the corporations, capitalists, and not the citizens, the workers. Neither parties are the answer. It will have to be something new.
The lyrics from Jimmy Lafave poignantly says it best, a Worn Out American Dream. The changes to corporate America has caused this nightmare. Union busting tactics is another nightmare. The conglomeration of big business has caused it too. Toss in offshore accounts and overseas industrialization is a culprit too. Loss of jobs, reduced pay and diminishing benefits has decimated the working class. When the top Ten companies represent the retail market, I can tell you the workers don’t share in the profits.
The lyrics from Jimmy Lafave poignantly says it best, a Worn Out American Dream. The changes to corporate America has caused this nightmare. Union busting tactics is another nightmare. The conglomeration of big business has caused it too. Toss in offshore accounts and overseas industrialization is a culprit too. Loss of jobs, reduced pay and diminishing benefits has decimated the working class. When the top Ten companies represent the retail market, I can tell you the workers don’t share in the profits.
Michael Yates, in Monthly Review said, “Wages have changed considerably along with the cost of living in the past forty years. Others are not so fortunate. In 2010, more than 7 million people had incomes less than 50 percent of the official poverty level of income, an amount equal to $11,245, which in hourly terms (2,000 hours of work per year) is $5.62. About one-quarter of all jobs in the United States pay an hourly wage rate that would not support a family of four at the official poverty level of income.”
Michael D. Yates wrote for Monthly Review: It is by now well known that significant and growing economic inequality is a central feature of the U.S. economy, as previous articles in Monthly Review have shown. However, the same is also the case for much of the rest of the world. Inequality arises in other countries for reasons similar to those in the United States, but each nation has its own history, along with widely divergent economic and political structures.
Michael D. Yates wrote for Monthly Review: It is by now well known that significant and growing economic inequality is a central feature of the U.S. economy, as previous articles in Monthly Review have shown. However, the same is also the case for much of the rest of the world. Inequality arises in other countries for reasons similar to those in the United States, but each nation has its own history, along with widely divergent economic and political structures.
TO BE CONTINUED…Part 3 next….
Tuesday, December 4, 2018
Fighting fascist ideology
Fighting fascist ideology
By John Gallo
Fascist ideology is once again in the open, spouting its racist, misogynist, genocidal ideas. In this article, I do not intend to discuss fascism per se. I want to address the views expressed by one Jared Taylor of the American Renaissance. These ideas are dangerous and must be vigorously refuted, especially to those who are unfamiliar with the fascism of the past century.
If you have a good stomach, you can watch his 8 minute video. I welcome your comments.
-------------------------
Taylor: Why is diversity better? How do 36 million Mexicans and 9 million Muslims make America better?Without racial diversity, there would be no race riots, no dangerous inner cities, no Black Lives Matter, no affirmative action,... no discrimination lawsuits, no diversity training. There would also be no white privilege, no white guilt, no racial conflict or tension at all. [We'd have] a peaceful, unified, care free America.
JG: No races, no race riots (great insight). But the mere existence of races does not cause the rare riots, et al. These come from racial discrimination and oppression, not by white people in general, but by those who have the economic power to do so, no matter their ethnicity. Without women, there would be no sexual abuse law suits, no mass demonstrations for equal rights. Without children, there would be no child abuse. Without poor people or people without jobs or with low paying jobs, there would be no economic inequality.
The idea that without race, we (meaning white people) would "have a peaceful, unified, care free America" is stupid, amoral and fascistic. It means removing every non-white person from the U.S., either to another country or to their graves. This is called ethnic cleansing. An individual may not agree with that solution, but logically there is no other possible solution.
Racial homogeneity has not prevented wars. Wars, human slaughter, rape, destruction of cities, looting and torture have been embedded in history. Ancient Romans against the Greeks; the Germanic "barbarians" sacked the Roman Empire. The German peasant uprisings against the feudal lords; the 100 years war (14th century) between France and England; the 30 years war in Europe (17th century); the civil war between Ireland and Britain, in the 20th century; World Wars I and II; Serbs vs. Croats; and many more. These were all white against white; no other races, but no peace. One could also mention the "dangerous cities" during prohibition like Chicago and other cities infested with white gangsters killing other white gangsters. Same in Asia (Japanese vs. Chinese and Koreans); Middle East (Iraq v. Iran, Saudi Arabia v. Yemen), Africa (Hutu v. Tutsi ), etc., etc. No different races involved, but also no peace.
Taylor: Robert Putnam of Harvard is one of many researchers to find that racial diversity destroys trust... People who live in a racial, ethnic mish-mash neighborhood, like Los Angeles, don't trust their neighbors, or politicians, have few close friends, don't get involved in their community or volunteer work and are less likely to vote. Only thing they do more is go on protest marches and watch Television.
JG. Opinions, not evidence. Taylor's only named source is Robert Putnam, Harvard professor. But Putnam says Taylor is wrong. Putnam contends that his 2007 paper has been "twisted" to make a case against race-conscious diversity, asserting that, on the contrary, extensive research and experience confirm the substantial benefits of racial and ethnic diversity, to our society."
Here's a few nush-mash cities with low crime rates, no riots, with involved residents: Cleveland Hts. (50% white, 43% Black). Shaker Hts. (55% white, 34% Black, 6% Asian). Beachwood (white 77%, Black 14%, Asian 7$). There are very likely more examples. What is missing in these three cities is poverty and a lack of services. Could these be somewhat responsible for crime?
Taylor. Diversity destroys culture... Diversity means you have ti satisfy everyone. Diversity destroyed Oakland symphony because only whites and a few Asians listen to European music and Oakland became less white. It is responsible for all the violent movies because it's for the world market, the least common denominator.
JG. Diversity cannot destroy culture. All societies have culture, defined as the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a social group, the characteristic features of everyday existence; the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices. It's not just the arts and language. The U.S. has an overall culture as well as various ethnic cultures. Some aspects are positive and helpful to people, such as a commitment to democracy and empathy for people with difficulties. Others are negative and harmful, such as our fetish for guns, which has been part of our culture since the earliest colonies. Witness the the genocide against indigenous peoples and the wild west.
Most movies have been violent, when Hollywood was all white, as were most movie goers. Our history has been replete with military actions and conquests. Twelve of our Presidents were military generals. Every veteran (except those for peace) is honored and praised. Many people like action, violent movies, but the function of these movies is to make wars and violence normal and acceptable – and, of course, to make money. The purveyors of pop culture reduce the arts to the lowest common denominator to distract the people from thinking about who runs society and how to change it.
Taylor: Diversity is the destruction of everything that is rooted, that is authentic, that arises out of a shared heritage. Genuine diversity (?) means preserving what is rooted and authentic and the common heritage of a distinct people.... We (sic) are being swamped. Everything we love, everything we (sic) have built will be lost if we turn our (sic) country over to people who are not us. We will lose our very selves if non-white immigration continues, and every institution in the U.S. promotes inter-marriage, in 200 years there will be no more white people.
JG. Rolling back miscegenation. To follow Taylor's ideas to their logical conclusion – after the forced removal or genocide - the following would have to be done to fully restore our culture.
- Rename all MLK streets.
- Rename the 26 states with Indian names. https://thoughtcatalog.com/james-b-barnes/2014/10/26-states-that-were-named-by-native-americans-was-your-state/
- And the thousands of towns, cities, counties, rivers, lakes, mountains, cars, sports teams with Indian names.
- Stop eating Native American Indians foods introduced to Europeans: tomatoes, beans, potatoes, wild rice, salmon, pumpkins, squash, peppers, peanuts, chocolate, vanilla, blueberries, turkey, maple syrup, and corn, among other foods.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352618116300750
- Change the names of hundreds of cities with Spanish names (English only!), mostly in Texas and the south west ( lands that the U.S. took from Mexico).
- Close down Mexican, Indian, Chinese, African and middle east restaurants and eat only white food.
- No jazz, blues, Gospel or Salsa. Erase the enormous contributions, especially by African Americans, to the English language, literature, art and dance. And where would pro sports be without the mish-mash teams populated with whites, Blacks, Hispanics and even Asians?
Sounds stupid, right? But , genocide has been tried quite often, from the Inquisition to Columbus to W.W. II. I don't believe most white working people buy into this crap. But those that do are are facing the wrong way. It's not other working people, whether Blacks or Hispanics here or workers abroad, who are the enemy. It's their f...ing bosses, the corporations, bankers and their bipartisan corporate politicians –the entire capitalist system-- who are dividing us, exploiting and oppressing us and destroying our culture. Working people of all colors and genders, and their allies, must unite to fight not only the current crop of fascism but throw the entire system on the scrap heap of history. ###
White Culture. An interesting article.
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