Since Obama has been in office, there have been a number of discussions about why certain events should not be perceived as racist, sexist, etc. Specifically, I'm thinking about the discussions about the Tea Party and their motivations and supporters as a prime example. I think, for the target group of any oppression, the oppressive society spends A LOT of time trying to convince you that the oppression isn't happening, no matter what the outward visible signals are. So the general explanations, lately, go something like this: the people carrying the signs with Obama looking like an African chief at health care rallies were just carried by a few wackos who do not characterize who is part of the Tea Party. Ron Paul is just a pure libertarian - it wasn't racist that he decried Civil Rights legislation. After all, it's bad economics to discriminate. So it's not racism. Fundamentally, what these explanations try to do is convince you that you're not seeing what you think you're seeing so the oppression isn't real. There's nothing to complain about, accept our democratic society the way it is. Do not challenge racism because it isn't there to challenge. The same goes for sexism, gay oppression (remember the youth that killed themselves because of gay oppression? Yep, I think that's connected and don't forget the hubbub about Don't Ask, Don't Tell) and, most relevant to this discussion about Tuscon, Jewish oppression.
So after the massacre on Saturday, the discussion became "don't make this a political matter. It was just one crazy guy and this has nothing to do with the surrounding politics." And I tried to buy that. Really. And then I saw the headline of the HuffingtonPost.com that started with assassinations are inherently political acts. After all, Loughner tried to kill a POLITICAL figure, a member of Congress. I got to thinking that crazy people do have politics. And NO, this massacre is not inseparable from the political world we inhabit. To deny the oppression (the anti-female, anti-Jewish nature of this act) requires us to dismiss Loughner as just crazy and to sever this act completely from the world we live in.
I'm sorry. It looks like a duck, it walks like a duck, and it talks like a duck - this was a political, anti-Jewish, anti-female act and I'm going to STOP pretending that the nonsense we have heard over the last two years has nothing to do with it. We have been so numbed by this anti-Black, anti-immigrant fervor that we cannot even see the ugly stuff being targeted at Jews and women. When Jews get targeted, I get particularly nervous because it starts to close the door to who is safe in this society ("And soon there was only me"). We are all being targeted by ugly oppressions in one way or another and we all have to have the guts to take a stand against it. It will not do to rail against Obama and call him racist anymore. It will not do to keep insisting that we build our fences to 'protect our borders'. It will not do to block the building of mosques. It will not do to harass kids and adults who are gender non-conforming and taunt them with anti-gay remarks. And it will not do to shoot Jewish members of Congress. Stop the madness.
Which brings us to Sarah Palin's most unfortunate comment today about "blood libel." Is her particular corner of America so numb, indifferent, or uncaring that she could do no better? Is she so isolated that she can't tell the impact of her words? How could she say this when a Jewish woman is fighting for her life in a hospital room in Tuscon. This is no longer who is politically for or against you. We are all Americans, like us or not and even if we weren't all Americans, as human beings we all deserve incredible respect, love and connection.
I'm not that interested in who's a racist or who is not. I only lay this out because I think we have to move beyond looking solely at people's intent and look at the impact of their actions. The IMPACT of all of this for two years now is anti-Black, anti-Jewish, anti-woman, anti-gay, anti-poor, and frankly, anti-American. It is creating a toxic environment for all Americans. We can't afford this anymore! Just sayin'.
