WHITE SUPREMACIST IN AMERICA

Sep 05, 2017 Editorial, Features / Columnists

After almost a decade since the United States elected its first black president, Barack Obama, not much has changed despite his message of unity, change and hope. Today, the United States remains as divided as ever, as recent events in Charlottesville, Virginia, have dramatically shown, Virginia where the first set of black slaves arrived in 1619, has over the years become the lynchpin for some of the most racist and white supremacist group activities in the US.
It was in Virginia that some of the most racist and barbaric acts occurred against the slaves and sparked, in 1831, the largest and deadliest slave rebellion led by Nat Turner in the US. The chasm that divides America today is not just about race, it is about the very ideals that underpin its society.
Putting aside for a moment the alleged Russian interference in last year’s presidential election process, the support that Obama’s successor Donald Trump today commands among some sections of the electorate is a sign that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
President Trump’s first executive order to ban Muslims from six Arab states from entering the US was the first sign that racism was alive in the US and that it was supported from the highest office. The people should not be surprised at his initial failure to denounce, explicitly, the actions of white supremacists who gathered in Charlottesville, Virginia to protest the removal of the statue of confederate general, Robert E Lee.
In fact, it has only served to highlight an atmosphere of dread and danger in the nation over which he presides.
His refusal to condemn the hateful violence that saw a white supremacist driver plow his car into a crowd of innocent and harmless civilians and murdering a woman in the process is a stark reminder of his campaign rhetoric in which he refused to denounce white supremacists hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) in America.
This is in stark contrast to his swift condemnation last November of the claims by Democrats that the Russians had interfered with the US presidential elections. Back then, Trump minced no words when he called democrats and Hillary Clinton sore losers.
However, some very strong criticisms against his stance from within his party, including several senators, have forced him to back away from his initial statement. Speaking from the Diplomatic Reception Room in the White House on Monday, Trump said that racism is evil and that “members of the KKK, neo Nazis and white supremacists are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans. No matter the color of our skin, we all live under the same laws, we all salute the same great flag, and we are all made by the same Almighty God.”
Lest we forget, it was only a few weeks ago that President Trump unilaterally signed into law a ban on transgender persons from serving openly in the US military. It was a very dangerous move in the sense that it not only sanctioned discrimination in the military but it also undermined his authority as commander-in-chief by going counter to the wishes of top members of the military.
When an environment exists in which racist groups feel emboldened to commit violence against others in society this is a direct threat to all who come into contact with that environment. It seems that America is unable to heal its ugly racial divide.
We have good reasons to be concerned because the US is home to thousands of Guyanese. And thousands more transit through the US for work, business or vacation.
Dr. Martin Luther King said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

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