Cutting Off The Chain of Hate And Evil

I'm reading the Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr. and came across this passage last night:

“Along the way of life, someone must have sense enough and morality enough to cut off the chain of hate and evil."

Passionately supporting a candidate I truly believe in feels like working towards cutting off the chain. Bernie Sanders supporters really do believe that he's trustworthy and truthful and that the policies he proposes are America’s only chance of escaping the grip of corporate greed and of breathing life into the middle class again.

Hillary Clinton supporters really do believe that she and her polices are America’s only chance of building on what Barack Obama has started and doing it in a way that will last, that she hasn’t been bought by Wall Street or lobbyists, and that she understands the complexities of world leadership better than Bernie Sanders.

How wonderful that there’s so much passion. But, whether I’m supporting Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton, if I trash their opposition and invent stories about them which I spread around liberally to try and turn support for them into revulsion I'm not cutting off the chain; I'm strengthening it.

And let's face it, I'm not doing it for truth and social justice. I'm doing it because I've got unprocessed anger and it feels good to hurt somebody.

“History has thrust upon our generation an indescribably important destiny—to complete a process of democratization which our nation has too long developed too slowly, but which is our most powerful weapon for world respect and emulation. How we deal with this crucial situation will determine our moral health as individuals, our cultural health as a region, our political health as a nation, and our prestige as a leader of the free world.”

It’s still a work in progress, Mr. King.

Bernie Sanders Supporters Associate Hillary Clinton with Hitler

When I was in my early teens I learned about Hitler and the Nazis and the horror of it has stayed with me my whole life. Some years ago I discovered that I have Jewish ancestry. I've wondered if anybody I’m related to had to endure a concentration camp. I think about it a lot. 

Recently I visited the Holocaust museum in Cape Town. I’ve seen many photographs and international exhibitions of art exposing the brutality. I’ve been frightened and touched and moved and angered over and over again each time. But nothing prepared me for that day. The museum is constructed so that you move through sections representing different aspects of the Nazi atrocities. There are a lot of photographs of victims who are named and many more who are not. 

Except for a young girl I was alone. It was quiet and respectful and felt like a church. I moved from photograph to photograph of anguished men, women and children. I wept and wept and wept. I wanted to say I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I wanted to say to the nameless I saw you, I will remember you. I cried that humans could be so brutal.

At some point the girl came up to me quietly and put her arm around me. No words. Just love and kindness. It made cry even more. I didn't want consolation. I wanted them to have that love.

Today I was looking at what my Facebook friends have posted and I came across this. I’ve removed my friend’s name out of respect. It’s a video but I’m not going to provide the link. 

Anger me? No kidding. First off, the term Hillarynista is an insult, but much worse is the Hitler association. I didn't want to see any more, didn't watch the video. I don't care what Hillary said. It isn't funny. There's nothing good or entertaining or funny or profound or productive or remotely truthful about associating her with Hitler, no matter what she's done or said. It's not just the insult to her and her supporters that bothers me; in fact that's the least of it. It's the insult to Holocaust victims and their families of making a casual joke out of the cause of their terrible suffering.

I said as much in the comment section. I want to say more, not just to my friend, but to anybody who thinks comparing somebody to Hitler is a joke.

Do you think this is funny?

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Or this?

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How about this?

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I found another photo of piles of dead bodies with a doctor in the middle trampling over them. I couldn't embed it without paying $150 so take my word for it. By piles I mean hundreds and hundreds of people who surely lived through agony before their lives were snuffed out. And the doc casually strolling on them was the guy who had injected them with petrol. That one isn't funny either.

It's enough now. If you support Bernie Sanders then write about him. Don't kid yourself that you're promoting peace or solution or love when you casually share a joke that compares Hillary Clinton to Hitler. You're spreading hate.

The Strange Democratic Hatred For Hillary Clinton

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These days I'm seeing a lot of hatred for Hillary Clinton among Democrats who support Bernie Sanders. In fact some are shredding her as much as Republicans are. GOP strategists must be rubbing their hands with glee.

The hatred doesn’t make sense because Bernie Sanders has doggedly refused to play dirty. He’s all about love and respect, not hate, and building on truth and the positive. Which is what his followers seemed to admire him for in the beginning and still do. So it’s not a leap of logic to believe that they were and are sick of the dirt in politics, the negativity and the hate campaigns. And here some of them are, hating and smearing Hillary Clinton. Respect is nowhere on the horizon. Oh the irony.

Somebody pointed out the other day that these detractors are doing Sanders’ dirty work for him, and he’s not telling them not to. I don’t know if that’s true or not. Maybe he has said something but if he has, they aren't listening. Makes you wonder. 

In all the negative comments I’ve read about Clinton lately I've yet to see a specific example that illustrates the point being made; it's all just broad generalizations. She’s evil, she’s in bed with Wall Street, she flip-flops for political gain, she’s actually a Conservative, she’s too hawkish, she couldn’t please her husband so how could she please American citizens—yes, I actually saw that one. I wonder how many people who spread these generalizations could quote specific instances to justify their hate, and I’m talking about dates, times and individuals that have names. If they can, why aren’t they doing it?

If they can’t, what are they basing their opinion on? And how can they say that the reason they support Sanders is because he’s all about love, respect,truth, clean campaigning and everything that’s positive? They are making sure that that isn't true.

For years and years massive amounts of money, press coverage/media 'reports' aka opinion have gone into well-organized GOP campaigns to vilify Hillary Clinton while she's been giving her all, working for, among others, the very people who have manufactured opportunities to tear her to pieces, relishing the act every time. Very worrying is that the campaigns against her seem to have affected Democrats, just as those against Barack Obama have done. 

Worrying because in his case Democrats were so affected—or maybe infected is a better word—that they gave away the House. Can’t blame that on Obama, or on Republicans. Can’t blame it on politicians. Or on the media.

Most worrisome is that if Sanders doesn’t win the nomination Democrats will have contributed in no small way to the GOP smear campaign against Clinton and lessened her chances against the Republican nominee. Sanders might not be about hate—and I believe that he genuinely isn’t—but many of his followers are recklessly engaging in it ostensibly on his behalf.

Hate is like toxins that seep into the soil; it knows no fences or boundaries. And, to continue with that metaphor, suddenly you realize that your own crops are stunted and your own drinking water is poisoned.