 I debated whether to even post this garbage, as I find it utterly revolting/sickening/disturbing/etc. So, my thinking at first was, why give it any publicity at all? On the other hand, this is something that really happened, just this past weekend, not far away (in Centreville, Virginia), and apparently it hasn't been reported on anywhere else. So, it seems that either I post the photos or they will likely never get out there for people to see. Anyway, here they are (one on the front, one on the "flip").A bit of background: these cell phone photos were taken by someone as they left the KORUS festival at Bull Run Park (why does this seem so appropriate?!?) this past Sunday. The photos were then forwarded to me, the lucky (???) blogger. As you can see, what the photos depict is a chair - apparently a reference to the bizarre, rambling Clint Eastwood "dialogue" with "President Obama" in an empty chair at the Republican Convention a few weeks ago - strung up in a tree by a rope. The chair features, ever-so-creatively, a sign that says "Nobama." Get it? No Obama="Nobama." Hahaha. In short, this appears to be a crude metaphor for the lynching of President Obama. Obviously, it's beyond grotesque (it also boggles my mind that this was allowed to be put up, let alone to stay up, at a festival presumably visited by thousands of people - wtf?). Also, I'm not sure if there's any real connection here, but the chair is right next to a very large "Allen for U.S. Senate" sign that you can't miss. Let me just emphasize: I wasn't there, don't know how long the Allen sign was sitting there, who put it there, whether or not they saw the metaphoric lynching tableaux, etc. So I definitely don't think we should leap to any conclusions here (even knowing about Allen's extensive history of racist behavior - the noose in his office, the severed deer head in a black man's mailbox, the apparently habitual use of the "n word", the infamous photo with the racist Council of Conservative Citizens, the "macaca" incident, etc., etc.) Anyway, I asked my friend Eric Byler, co-founder of the Coffee Party and director of superb film "9500 Liberty", who did such great work in the northern Viginia Korean-American community (along with his Korean-American partner Annabel Park) in 2006, what he thought of this. As always, Eric had some fascinating thoughts, which he told me to feel free to share. So, check out the "flip" for excerpts from our conversation, with bolding added by me for emphasis. |
...the Republican platform is a parasitic relationship between economic elites and social conservatives. Economic elites don't want to enter the 21st century because the 20th century was so lucrative for them. They prefer the old ways. Social conservatives don't want to enter the 21st century because the 20th century affording them white racial prestige, patriarchy, etc. They both prefer the previous century.But our job as Americans is not to play into the divisions that the ruling class scripts for us. The calamitous policies that have been enabled by this parasitic relationship (mistakenly seen as a symbiotic one) are hurting American families and hurting America's future competitiveness. These policies are hurting conservative families too...People who are insecure about their future can be bolstered with hope, or scapegoats. It's not just the political parties that vie to influence which that is. We the People also have a responsiblity.  |
Photos: Symbolic Lynching of "Nobama" at Bull Run Park This Weekend
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
