Well Thought Plan or Conspiracy, I'm Just Saying

I'd like to thank you for your well wishes as I worked through my health issues. They are not yet over but I'm on the mend and able to get back to writing.

Book TV (C-Span 2 on cable) had a panel discussion last night on ethnicity and race. The authors represented different communities of color: Bert Ashe, a Black man; Melody Moezzi, an Iranian-American woman; Wendy Ortiz, a Mexican-American woman; and Oksana Marafiotti, a Romani-American woman (otherwise known as Gypsy). Each talked about the difficulties they faced as marginalized people in the US.

Prof. Ashe spoke of the US as a country of diverse ethnicities but also related how often he hears White people at town hall meetings saying they want their country back. His immediate thought mirrored my own which was if you want your country back, you should go back to England, Ireland, Germany or your original country of origin. The only people in the US who should be wailing about wanting their country back are the Native Americans who have been silenced for centuries.

Ashe knows like me what White people mean when they bemoan the loss of "their country." They want us to go back to a time when the White man's word was law. There were few women in the workforce making advances or asking for equal pay or suing over sexual harassment. Women were quiet and subservient. People of color were subservient also, afraid to ask for better treatment out of fear of reprisal or worse. Big business was run by the Rockfellers, the Kennedys, the Vanderbilts - all well established White families. Television reflected the White ideal of servant mom, two obedient children and a well suited dad. Blacks and other minorities were in the background serving the family speaking only to say yes sir or no ma'am. The US was the big dog in the world. No country except Russia dared utter anti-US sentiment for fear our leaders would withhold all manner of aid. Having been born in the 1950's, I remember this US well.

Fast forward to 2015. The Civil Rights Movement ushered in a new age for not only Black people but other ethnic groups as well. The Feminist Movement catapulted women out of the kitchen and into the boardroom. Could you have imagined the US with a Black president? Could you imagine women sitting on the Supreme Court? Could you image a Hispanic-American Attorney General? Or an Indian-American Surgeon General. I never would have imagined it either were I not alive to see it. I rejoice at seeing the diversity of our nation and the heights to which people of my race and gender have reached. Yet I am disturbed by the silence of US citizens when another Black person is killed or when people are shot at a Planned Parenthood facility. It diminshes the accomplishments made by many, cheapens the sacrifices made by many and reminds me that many Americans are fine and even agree with these events.

Although I'm not given to conspiracy theories, I'm beginning to wonder if this targeting of young Black men for slaughter is not a plan for certain people to take back their country. At first thought, this may seem far-fetched or ridiculous but think about it for a moment. The majority of these crimes are committed by police officers, the people who are most likely to get away with murder because our society tells us the police are our protectors. So when the court upholds these shootings as justified, even when killing a young boy possessing a toy gun, is it so far fetched to believe there is a master plan here?

The same thought occurs to me when thinking about the battles being waged against women's reproductive rights. The rights of women to determine what should happen with their bodies is a battle to put women back in their imagined place. Consider the old adage "He who rocks the cradle rules the world." I would amend that to "He who rules the womb rules the world."

It's interesting to me, this convergence of violence again Black people and the government's interference with a woman's right to choose. It's interesting that the people who will benefit the most from these conflicts are White men. Regardless of the strides made by people of color and women, White males still rule this country in every aspect from business to entertainment to government. Even if you don't believe this particular conspiracy, you must admit it begs observation and serious thought. Remember that conspiracies like stereotypes have a kernel of truth.

Well thought out plan coming to fruition or conspiracy theory? I just saying.