Somebody told me very
recently that the one certain way to defeat a candidate for political
office is to somehow tie that candidate to me. Such was the strategy of
the Cloyd Garth/Alonzo Sykes camp in the last marathon election cycle.
Apparently it worked. With the help of chronic loud-mouth Leo Gibson, a
sufficient number of voters were evidently convinced that Wilchie Clay,
a man I barely know, was “working” for me and other white folks.
(Call me crazy, but I thought each of our black leaders was working for
ALL the citizens of
Aberdeen
, some of whom are white.) Those same voters apparently thought such an
alliance was unholy enough to disqualify Clay from office. I’m still
scratching my head over this phenomenon.
Given the fact that
Aberdeen
’s main malady seems to be racial division, how can a black man who
has the support of both black AND white voters be a bad thing? To me,
that in and of itself is a winning strategy. How else can we ever hope
to bring our community into some kind of harmony? We all know, though,
I’m not from around here and I’m not black. Too, I’m not Southern
and I’m not scared of my own shadow, therefore, I cannot possibly
understand this particular cultural dynamic. I do try, but I remain
mystified.
Ultimately, I suspect the root of the problem is fear. As long as
some devious leaders can inspire fear among the masses - fear of change,
fear of oppression, fear of the opportunity trap (a cunning device used
by white folks to capture and enslave people of color who might be bold
enough to want to improve their lot in life - which is usually baited
with irresistible goodies like home ownership, two-week vacations, 401K
plans and dreams of general prosperity) – they can continue to dupe
unsuspecting others into remaining disjointed, without unity and
completely unable to cope with the real world. How tragic is that? How
does it happen?
I’m told the breeding
ground for this kind of bigotry is often Sunday school. Having never
attended the
church
of
Alonzo Sykes
, I can only believe what I’m told by members of the congregation.
Sykes regularly uses his tax-free pulpit for political activities. (Tsk.
Tsk.) His habit is to instruct his parishioners when, where and for whom
they must vote and, unfortunately, they simply obey. He’s a man of
God, after all. (Shudder.) He doesn’t preach healing or unity. His
message is one of separation and hatred and it’s designed to fuel the
fires of racism. He puts me in mind of the now famous Reverend Jeremiah
Wright.
This sort of manipulation is nothing new. Take a quick look at
Adolph Hitler. He hated Jews nearly as much as he feared them. Hitler,
who was a powerful speaker and a charismatic man, used his “stage
presence” to poison the minds of his people against their own
neighbors. By infecting his country’s citizens with fear and loathing,
he was nearly able to accomplish genocide. The world still reels from
the horrors of the Holocaust.
Nevertheless, we blithely ignore the evidence that the seeds of
the same brand of hatred are germinating right here in
Aberdeen
,
Mississippi
.
Know this. If a man can make you afraid - if a mere mortal can
convince you that you are being victimized, he can convince you to
follow him anywhere. If he can make you fearful, he owns you. If he owns
you, he can do whatever he likes…oops. We seem to be back to the
junction of
Slavery Street
and
Freedom Boulevard
.
On the flip-side of the coin, if some other someone kindly offers
you an alternative route around the much heralded and most sinister
“problem,” your “leaders” are forced to work overtime in order
to keep you properly terrified. Some have even been known to call a
local and usually mild-mannered newspaper typhoon “the devil” and
send her figuratively off to hell. Sometimes they must go a step or two
farther in their brainwashing techniques. They may offer you a job or
they may give you money. Sometimes
they just give you services for which others must pay and your only
obligation is to “toe the line.”
And, to think that some
fear that nasty old opportunity trap!
(By the way, if you think this little rant is aimed only at
politicians in
Aberdeen
, you’re mistaken. If you listen to the national news, you’ll hear
all manner of promises of “free stuff.” National health care is just
another brand of bait for the old same trap. It’s simply another way
to separate you from your freedom. There are always strings attached. If
you don’t believe me, just ask a Canadian mother who can’t take her
child to the doctor because the infant’s fever is only 102 degrees and
not severe enough to warrant a visit to the clinic!)
In his “I have a dream” speech, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
envisioned little black children and little white children joining hands
as sisters and brothers. He said, “I have a dream that my four
children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by
the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. I have a dream
today.” In that same speech, Dr. King pointed hopefully toward to a
time when sons of former slaves and sons of former slaveholders could
sit together at the table of brotherhood.
“This hope is our hope,” he told us, “This is the faith that I go
back to the South with. And with this faith, we will be able to hew out
of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be
able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to stand
up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.”
What I want to know is
this: How did we get from the peaceful, proper and entirely possible
vision of Dr. King to “A vote for Wilchie Clay is a vote for white
folks?”
