Through the Eyes of Hate

"I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.
Martin Luther King, Jr.


We truly have come a very long way since these words were spoken by Dr. King, but, I submit that we still have a whole lot of steppin' to do before we arrive at that final word. As I found myself gripped by the horror that we have all been feeling over the situation in Haiti, I was struck by the outpouring of love and assistance that has been emanating from across the globe. Unfortunately, at the same time however, I have also been witness to the evil side of humanity, as well.

Just as we have all emerged from the celebrations of Dr. King's birthday and still warm in the glow of his powerful words being reverberated throughout our country and a renewed hopeful outlook, the cold, icy fingers of hate have been busy throughout the world wide web demonstrating how much work remains and just how vile and contemptuous the racists among us can be.

Nevermind the Pat Robertson's and the Rush Limbaugh's with their pulpits and microphones, these are the internet warriors who sow their seeds of hatred throughout the cyberworld in the hopes that they may reach the tiny, warped or undeveloped minds of others more vulnerable or more twisted. As we believe ourselves to be, indeed, pride ourselves on being, a civilized society there are those who would expose themselves as the true underbelly of a subculture of monsters and demons only to prove us liars.

As CNN and MSNBC, et.al., continue their coverage of the heroism of the first responders and the valiant spirit of the surviors, there are those who applaud, not the courage or the saving of lives, but the carnage and the destruction and the death of a people. They relish each new death toll and rail against all efforts and all compassion forthcoming. On one of the more prominent racist message boards it was only a matter of minutes after the quake before the true nature of the beasts among us raised its' head and spewed its' vomit:


"Why must we accept monkeys as humans?

"Is that an insane question? Or a sane question in an insane world?

"The politically correct world that the jews have built up in America over the past 50+ years is a madhouse, full of fun house mirrors that distort everything into its opposite shape.

"These vile coons should have died out long ago, by nature. Only White aid - perfectly senseless and criminally wasteful - has been keeping them alive, why? So that they can suffer revolutions and natural disasters and be "rescued" again and again and again? You call that sane?"


And that is simply the tip of the iceberg and is one of the least pernicious comments. There are 456 comments in that one thread - most being far too despicable to cite here and there are several threads devoted to the devastation in Haiti.

As many of the human race rushes to do what they can in this time of great confusion and need - sending money, food, and supplies, rendering services, adopting children, setting up shelters, digging through the rubble, burying the dead there are those so broken, and so repugnant as to wish nothing more than to exploit this catastrophe for their own iniquitous agendas.

Certainly, it is a time for us to help rebuild lives and to provide hope for others. It is a time for us to maintain positives and negate negatives. It is a time for us to unite in the face of catastrophe. It is also a time to stand united against those who prosper through exploitation and abhorrent acts.

We may be able to dismiss the Pat Robertson's and the Rush Limbaugh's of this world as nothing more than rabble-rousing nutjobs as we continue our benevolence, but it is incumbent upon us to understand that they are the fuel for the fire, the stokers of the flames that feed this egregious hatred. Their words and their messages are latched onto by those among us - and make no mistake, they DO walk among us - who want nothing less than genocide and a white's only society. These individuals use the messages of right-wing extremist evangelicals and talk-show hosts as a means to validate their very existence and their twisted ideas.

Consequently, as we are united in our efforts to provide safety and security and hope for our Haitian neighbors and others who experience such hardships, so should we be united in our efforts to confront those whose sole purpose is to further victimize through their hate-filled agendas. Any way you cut it, silence equals acceptance. And if we desire the fruition of Dr. King's dream, whereby unarmed truth and unconditional love really do have the final word, we're going to have to speak - loudly, firmly, and clearly.