In the wake of the Charleston, South
Carolina Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church shootings on June
18, 2015, Governor Nikki Haley called for the removal of the Confederate
Battle Flag from the State capital’s flagpole. Regrettably, even if her
call for action is successful, it would do no more to change the
reasons behind the hatred that drives one human to kill others than
legislation to ban the “N” word would go towards closing the
inaccurately named “racial” divide.
Many people
look at the behavior of the rioters in Ferguson, Missouri in August,
2014 and in Baltimore, Maryland in April, 2015 and make excuses for them
such as, “They are angry and have no other way of expressing their
anger.” But, the same people look at the illicit behavior of white
supremacists and say, “They are bigots and they have no excuse.”
In
their sentiments towards the white supremacists, they are absolutely
correct, but they need to apply the same standard equally to people of
every skin color. Bad behavior is bad behavior no matter who does it or
for what reason it is done.
Despite the unequal application of a
standard, there is another relevant point one can extract from these
observations. When people are unjustly treated and when they have no
viable means to address their grievances, they often turn to hatred and
violence as an outlet.
The United States has much to atone for
in its history and two of the most divisive matters in need of atonement
are the treatment of African Americans in our nation, especially after
the institution of slavery ended, and Lincoln’s War against the South
which is commonly and inaccurately known as the “Civil War”. These two
breaches of justice are closely related, but not as most people in
America today believe they are.
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