Scare Tactics
When I read Jim Wooten's columns in the AJC, it is either the most painful part of my day, or a time when I get a hearty laugh at how ridiculous he is. You'd think they could get a reasonable conservative columnist, but they prefer someone who sensationalizes and doesn't rely on logic very often. In today's column, Jim makes the following statement:
"Tell children repeatedly that they are victims of discrimination, that 'the system' is arrayed against them, that their offenses will be punished more harshly because of their race, religion or national origin, and they will never be quite at home in America and, in the extreme, a Brian Nichols."
This made me cringe. I don't think he understands how harmful and divisive a statement like this really is. Essentially, if you think you might somehow be affected by a system that regularly discriminates because of any number of factors, you aren't really American (in the true sense of the word) and your anger at your treatment by this "system" might cause you to kill a bunch of people. Well, shit, I'd better ignore the fact that I'm not taken seriously in the workplace because I'm a woman, or just let it slide that an African-American man will get pulled over and searched while a Caucasian man speeds by. If I ignore that, I'll be a more content person, and I won't feel the need to shoot anyone.
Wooten would rather people be content with their lot in life. I was in a meeting at work earlier today in which a gentleman made a great analogy. He was talking about Georgia's laws regarding workers rights, and how the state claims to treat workers and employers equally (ie, workers can leave a job any time they like, and employers can fire an employee any time they like). He likened this situation to one where a poor man and a rich man both have equal opportunity to buy a loaf of bread. Yes, of course, they can both go to the store, pick up the loaf, bring it to the register, and pay for it, but one has the means to and the other doesn't. The conservative inherently makes this false assumption that everyone has the same chance, everyone is considered equally . . . but in reality they are not.
People make statements like the Wooten quote above and it makes me so angry that they don't get it. I have had so many more opportunities in my life than the homeless guy I see on the street every morning walking to work. Sure, we both have a chance to get an education. Sure, we both have equal chance to get jobs. But, I have had everything handed to me and he has had nothing handed to him. Can I really fault him for that? Can I fault him for being angry because he's more likely to be hassled by law enforcement than myself, the white woman? I can't.
The other issue brought up by this Brian Nichols case is that of the 51 year old deputy who he first attacked. I've heard so many people blaming her, the underpaid, overworked grandmother. How can it be her fault that she was assigned to escort Brian Nichols to his trial that morning? Is it her fault that it's policy for a deputy escorting an inmate to carry a gun? Is it her fault that even though extra security was requested by Judge Barnes, none was provided? She did the best she could, tried to fight him off before he nearly bludgeoned her to death, yet she is being blamed. She did not make the decisions that put her in that situation that morning, and changes should (and will) be made to better protect anyone coming to the Fulton County Courthouse. It's a real tragedy that so many circumstances allowed Brian Nichols to act out the way he did, and I feel so horribly for the four families affected. Hopefully this case will spur quick action to fix these seemingly common sense problems with courthouse security.
"Tell children repeatedly that they are victims of discrimination, that 'the system' is arrayed against them, that their offenses will be punished more harshly because of their race, religion or national origin, and they will never be quite at home in America and, in the extreme, a Brian Nichols."
This made me cringe. I don't think he understands how harmful and divisive a statement like this really is. Essentially, if you think you might somehow be affected by a system that regularly discriminates because of any number of factors, you aren't really American (in the true sense of the word) and your anger at your treatment by this "system" might cause you to kill a bunch of people. Well, shit, I'd better ignore the fact that I'm not taken seriously in the workplace because I'm a woman, or just let it slide that an African-American man will get pulled over and searched while a Caucasian man speeds by. If I ignore that, I'll be a more content person, and I won't feel the need to shoot anyone.
Wooten would rather people be content with their lot in life. I was in a meeting at work earlier today in which a gentleman made a great analogy. He was talking about Georgia's laws regarding workers rights, and how the state claims to treat workers and employers equally (ie, workers can leave a job any time they like, and employers can fire an employee any time they like). He likened this situation to one where a poor man and a rich man both have equal opportunity to buy a loaf of bread. Yes, of course, they can both go to the store, pick up the loaf, bring it to the register, and pay for it, but one has the means to and the other doesn't. The conservative inherently makes this false assumption that everyone has the same chance, everyone is considered equally . . . but in reality they are not.
People make statements like the Wooten quote above and it makes me so angry that they don't get it. I have had so many more opportunities in my life than the homeless guy I see on the street every morning walking to work. Sure, we both have a chance to get an education. Sure, we both have equal chance to get jobs. But, I have had everything handed to me and he has had nothing handed to him. Can I really fault him for that? Can I fault him for being angry because he's more likely to be hassled by law enforcement than myself, the white woman? I can't.
The other issue brought up by this Brian Nichols case is that of the 51 year old deputy who he first attacked. I've heard so many people blaming her, the underpaid, overworked grandmother. How can it be her fault that she was assigned to escort Brian Nichols to his trial that morning? Is it her fault that it's policy for a deputy escorting an inmate to carry a gun? Is it her fault that even though extra security was requested by Judge Barnes, none was provided? She did the best she could, tried to fight him off before he nearly bludgeoned her to death, yet she is being blamed. She did not make the decisions that put her in that situation that morning, and changes should (and will) be made to better protect anyone coming to the Fulton County Courthouse. It's a real tragedy that so many circumstances allowed Brian Nichols to act out the way he did, and I feel so horribly for the four families affected. Hopefully this case will spur quick action to fix these seemingly common sense problems with courthouse security.
posted by ash at 1:40 PM
