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Hate crimes and misdemeanors
The race for the White House sheds new light on old issues of racial, gender and political self-loathing
By Nsenga Burton
Page 4 of 4
McCain's previously impeccable military record has even been attacked by members of his own party, all because he dares to think differently from those who have had a major influence on the party over the last decade.
Folks in his party hate him so much that they have released information about an "inappropriate" relationship with a lobbyist, just before he officially wins or accepts the Republican nomination. They will attempt to blame the Democrats, but it looks like an inside job. Who would bring up an alleged affair as a reason why McCain should not be president? Clinton certainly does not want to re-visit that issue and Obama does not want to make that an issue when there are so many others.
What is compelling about all of these candidates is that a climate exists in this country in which people feel that it is their right to express hate publicly and sometimes without any research or support. Harris states, "America does not have a fair or balanced view about anything. We don't read. We don't do our research. We are used to being sounding boards. A lot of the shows that we do have like Real Time with Bill Maher, Best Week Ever, Chelsea Lately, The O'Reilly Factor and The View are big on opinion and short on research."
"I hate u because I love u. But I can't love u, because I hate u." -- Prince, "I Hate U" The Gold Experience
Theoretically, we live in a free society and should be allowed to say what we want; that is the beauty of living in America. But, to go after one of your own raises many moral and ethical questions. Should we say what we want just because we can? Smith offers: "It is not necessarily the acts, it is the unintended consequences of those acts."
Just because someone is a minority or female does not mean that he or she is above reproach. It simply means that if you are a minority or female, or both for that matter, it is imperative to be mindful of how you represent yourself and others -- particularly when they have been historically misrepresented in such denigrating ways.
Is it right to smear McCain at this stage of the game, when there is so much to lose? That is the crime. Love and hate become complicated and confused, and static surfaces. The collective falls victim to the individual, similar to love falling victim to hate.
Harris suggests that we have moved into a voyeuristic and narcissistic way of thinking so much so that community responsibility has fallen by the wayside. "Our culture seems to thrive off of this nastiness," she says. "It is how we put people down. People make careers of it. Nancy Grace. Ann Coulter. Chelsea Handler. Sean Hannity. There are too many bloggers to even name. As a society, we eat it up and do not realize how sick it is and how much of a disease it is and how it affects our psyche and how we interact and communicate with others. We do not censor ourselves about what to say and when to say it. Everybody is a critic now, which is part of the problem."
"There's the devastating right [love] and hate is hurt. He's down. And ooh. Left hand hate KO'd by love." -- Radio Raheem
Critic or not, hating your own is a crime, and not realizing why is a misdemeanor. Perhaps one day love will win out over hate, and we will realize the damage that is done when we attack instead of critique each other from an informed perspective.
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