I don’t understand today’s Social Justice Movement

Let me start by saying, I will not respond, reply, acknowledge hateful comments. You will be deleted and blocked.

The death of George Floyd sparked angry protests and riots all over our country in late May. It’s now late September and they haven’t stopped.

They’ve been fueled by other conflicts and shootings between cops and suspected criminals, suspected criminals who happen to be black.

DO YOU SEE WHAT I DID THERE? I didn’t called George Floyds death murder, I called the protests protests and riots riots. I correctly pointed out that all the news stories about so-called police brutality involved cops and suspected criminals.

Many have called for defunding the police to diminish the incidents of conflict between the men and women in blue and criminal detainees. Many cities like Seattle, and Minneapolis have city councils that have already voted to eliminate the police or significantly cut their budgets; obviously having carefully studied the matter and examined the consequences of such an unprecedented move.

You see what I did there? I sarcastically suggested that these city councils had a rush to judgement on the defunding question. Because clearly there was no study or legitimate debate on the subject.

I believe racism exists. It’s real. And its unquestionably bad and deserves to be dealt with harshly every time it rears its ugly head, on an individual basis.

But, you may ask, what knowledge and experience do I have as a white guy in American, raised in the white suburbs outside Seattle to comment on race and racism. I’d like to address that two ways.

First, it doesn’t matter that I’m white and it doesn’t matter the ethnicity of anyone else who wants to comment on this subject. We are all humans. And I’m guessing those reading this are all Americans, which is to say United States citizens or legal residents. We’ve all been scared by the leftist screaming crowd that we aren’t entitled to talk about race or racism unless you are black and unless you completely agree with the Black Lives Matter agenda as it currently stands. As a result many scared people who don’t agree with BLM are intimidated into keeping their mouths shut. So we lose voices in this important conversation. And when you are told that your opinion doesn’t matter because of your race or ethnicity, isn’t that racism too? We’re allowed to speak our peace because we’re the ones assumed to all be racist and practitioners of a systemic racism problem in our country. Since we’re the problem, supposedly, you might want to listen.

Second, I have as much knowledge and experience on this subject as any white suburban, middle class, public school educated baby boomer alive. I suppose others could surpass my expertise under these qualifications. But they would be few and their experiences are not my own.

In 1985 I started living with a black woman. We were subsequently married and had three child, all of whom are and identify as black. I was completely embedded in my ex-wife’s black family for the whole time we were married. After 30 years we were divorced in 2015. I have since happily married another woman. She is Mexican.

SO HERE IS THE BIG QUESTION: Having lived with a woman of minority status for 35 years, and having raised three black kids to adulthood and being thoroughly active in their lives you would think I would have a story or two or twenty of all the incidents of racial discrimination, hatred, and bigotry that I or someone in my family experienced. Given how this is supposedly a racist culture with systemic racism in every corner of our nation there is no way I could escape the vile acts of a racist or the road blocks imposed.

The fact is I don’t have one story. I don’t have a single anecdote. I can’t even share with you any single incident in which my kids or either of my wives expressed to me the sense of having been targeted by racist activity. Quite simply, it never happened. I’m not a small man nor am I a shy one. Were any loved one of mine hurt by racism I would be fighting somebody.

Oh, there was one time where I suffered tremendously from an act of racial discrimination. It occurred in about 1990 when I was about 26 years old when I was passed over for a very lucrative, high paying job with the Washington State Department of Transportation due to their affirmative action policies. I was told by the Director that after three interviews I was the highest scoring applicant, but that I wouldn’t get the job because a black man and a woman were each awarded points for their race and sex that I wasn’t entitled to, and those points were enough to give each a higher score than me.

This is why I struggle with today’s Social Justice argument. Seemingly everyone has drank the Kool-Aid. All walks of life, businesses, entertainers, athletes…they are all on board with the belief that our country is inherently systemically racist.

All we have to do is look at the incident that prompted these riots and protests to understand my internal conflict. Like absolutely everyone (seemingly) I saw the video of the death of George Floyd and I was outraged. It looked like Floyd was murdered. But, I only saw the video of him already on the ground with the police officer keeping him there with his knee on the back of Mr. Floyd’s neck. Since that initial video and reaction more video has come out and more news. Quite simply the police did not murder George Floyd. The medical examiner says there was no evidence of asphyxiation. At worst the cops should be convicted of failing to provide him needed medical attention.

Here is what we know: Floyd resisted arrest for something like 10-15 minutes. He was acting very strange. Toxicology tests revealed that he had four different illegal drugs in his system including cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine, and a lethal dose of fentanyl. He was complaining that he couldn’t breath long before he was pinned to the ground. And respiratory distress is a symptom of fentanyl overdose.

And Dear God! Why is nobody reporting that this man was huge! He was 6-foot, 6-inches tall and clearly physically strong. Couldn’t that have played a part? You think the police may have been physically intimidated? You think they might have needed to use considerable force to subdue this man? And when you are high, acting strange and fighting with police while resisting arrest what does skin color have to do with any of this?

I know incidents of racial discrimination occur. I would never stand for it personally or where it affected my loved ones who happen to be minorities. But it’s long past time that we realize that a lot of people make an awful lot of money by jumping up and down and screaming racism wherever they see conflict. It’s also long past time that we stop blaming society for the bad decisions of single individuals. It’s also long past time that we recognize that those who live by the sword will die by the sword. If you commit crimes, at some point you are going to meet police officers. And if you resist arrest with those police officers you may end up dead. Police are humans too. They have a right to self-defense. And your criminal butt who puts the cops lives in danger will suffer the consequences for doing so.

Lastly, this is not the final word on this matter. Evidence I haven’t and you haven’t seen will still come forward in the George Floyd case. And if there is a trial a verdict will determine guilt or innocence of the four cops charged. God help us if they are acquitted, as I’m sure some of them will be. It’ll be another occasion for protesting/rioting. And just like the current riots, it won’t accomplish a damn thing.

Thanks for visiting. Comments are welcome…to a point.

 

 

 

September 17, 2020
Categories: National Politics, parenting, Washington State . Tags: , , , , , , . Author: Michael Schuett . Comments: Comments Off on I don’t understand today’s Social Justice Movement

Democrats Perpetrating Presidential Hoax’s is Nothing New.

We’re placing this video from the January 2012 Republican Presidential debate here for you to watch to be reminded that Democrats perpetrating a hoax on the American people in Presidential election years is nothing new.

In this clip you see former Bill Clinton staffer, ABC News corespondent George Stephanopoulos grill eventual Republican nominee Mitt Romney about the Constitutionality of birth control. In watching the video it should be obvious Romney’s utter confusion as to why the question was being asked. You also see Stephanopoulos refusing to let Romney get away from the question without the ardent Democrat extracting from Romney an admission that the right-to-privacy, as determined by the Supreme Court’s Roe vs. Wade abortion decision should be overturned.

Stephanopoulos was on a mission. And only in viewing that which followed in the national press does it become clear what his mission was.

It should be noted that not at that time or since has there ever been an effort by Republicans or anyone else to take away a woman’s right to contraception medicines or devices. Which explains why Romney was so stumped by the question and by Stephanopoulos’ ardent pursuit of an answer.

What this question spawned was the Democrats claim of a “War on Women”, which became the overriding theme of President Obama’s campaign against Romney in general and Republicans specifically. It was a lie. It was never true that Republicans were waging a war on women. But the effects of the campaign undoubtedly turned many female voters into Romney haters and helped secure four more years in the White House for a Democratic President that had done very little to deserve re-election.

Fast forward seven years to 2019. At the dawning of the 2020 Presidential campaign Democrats were in high gear touting the alleged conspiracy President Trump and his campaign had partaken in with Russia to win the 2016 campaign against Hillary Clinton. To listen to Democrats and the mainstream media (MSM) Trump’s impeachment was inevitable. He was treasonous, they claimed. Then the Mueller report came out and some air was let out of their balloon. The Mueller report completely exonerated Trump and his campaign on any claim of Russian collusion and said insufficient evidence existed to charge obstruction of justice for a crime it said never took place.

What remaining air was left in their collusion/impeachment balloon disappeared entirely when the report’s author Robert Mueller appeared before Congress and testified in such a way as to make clear he had little hands on involvement in his own report. Subsequently, it became clear that the report exonerating Trump and his staff was put together by Mueller’s investigative staff which was assembled almost entirely of Democratic partisans. And still, they couldn’t pin anything on Trump.

So, the collusion conspiracy lie died suddenly. Its death being fully complete when during the Democratic Presidential debates on CNN not a single moderator asked, and not a single candidate spoke of the Russian allegations against Trump.

So, what’s dominating the news now? Trump is a racist! He’s not only a racist, he’s a white supremacist encouraging white supremacy groups all over the country. The claim is so pervasive that Trump is even being blamed for mass shootings that occurred over this past weekend. The fact is that mass shootings, mental illness and sometimes the hatred that triggers them is an American phenomena dating back decades before Trump ever entered the public eye.

It’s time to make the Democrats pay for the lies that they perpetrate. Though Trump is guilty of incendiary language at times; and though he’s an egotist and a blow-hard his actions as President and long before prove decisively that he is not a racist or white supremacist.

It’s my fervent prayer that the lemmings who vote Democratic election after election will finally see that the party of the KKK and of Jim Crowe and of Socialism is a party hell-bent on power and control and that merely lying about a person’s character is but a small but necessary step in achieving their ultimate goals.

August 7, 2019
Categories: Uncategorized . Tags: , , , , , , , , , . Author: Michael Schuett . Comments: Comments Off on Democrats Perpetrating Presidential Hoax’s is Nothing New.

We Need More Racists for the Good of our Country

Dictionary Definition of Racist

It’s happened again. 😦

I’ve once again been called a racist. The person writing this hateful charge doesn’t know me, and we have never met. But he took exception to my opposition to the bias headlines of a news story that I felt demonstrated a clear one-sided explanation of a story/dispute. What the story is and the content of my comments are unimportant. I stand by them. They were made publicly on Facebook and Liked or Loved by a huge majority of the hundreds of those reacting to what I wrote.

Usually when this false charge of racism is directed at me I never defend myself by enunciating my life’s deeds or accomplishments. I feel to do so is akin to a true racist responding (as so many do) by saying, “I have lots of black friends”; a claim that is frequently sad and weak and doesn’t excuse a racist’s words or deeds.

But with our nation so politically divided and with claims of racism being thrown about at every little hostility or disagreement I think it might be instructive for all to see and read what this “racist” looks like (rhetorically speaking). If I’m a racist, I pray for our nation’s future that we have more and more racists going forward.

To see an interracial couple today, in 2018, is neither rare nor upsetting to most people. It’s common. And it’s properly accepted. But, in 1985 when I became engaged to a black woman and still in 1987 when we were wedded it was still rare and it was still looked-down upon by many; including my father and others in my family. But in spite of its rarity and the ignorant condemnation we received I married a black woman and remained mostly happily married to the mother of my three black children for 28 years. We lived together for 30 years.

During my first marriage I was fully involved with and accepted by my ex-wife’s immediate and extended family. In fact its true to say my black family was more involved in my and my children’s lives than my white family. We holiday’d together. We travelled together. We laughed and cried together. And sometimes we argued. In other words, we were a pretty typical family. Were it not for my ex’s severe personal failings we’d probably still be married today and I wouldn’t have divorced her. (BTW- these personal failings are sadly common among couples regardless of race. Duh!)

I love them all.

Though half their lineage is white (Caucasian if you prefer) my 3 adult children identify as black. I was always present in their lives. Coached them on various sports teams. Provided a stable home. Loved them, and tried to be the best dad I could be. I’m proud to say I taught them much and imposed strict discipline when necessary. One thing I didn’t and couldn’t teach them was how to be black in America. Individually I told them all this at times when their maturity called for it. I told them that racism still exists in our country, that it’s awful, and that to some degree it will always exist. But I also taught them there is no reason it should ever hold you back. I taught them it’s an obstacle that needs to be overcome and often ignored. The fact that its an obstacle that I never faced was immaterial to their lives. For the wise person understands that we all face different obstacles and we all must overcome our own obstacles in order to progress, be productive and be happy.

Recently I remarried a wonderful, smart, beautiful woman. Incidental to all her wonderful qualities is the fact that she is Mexican. She and her whole family were born in Mexico. While a naturalized United States citizen she remains proudly and defiantly Mexican. And I love her so very much.

In the nearly 4 years since we first met I’ve gained a lot of learning and respect about and for Hispanic people; their traditions, their nature. It’s been quite educational. It hasn’t change my view about illegal immigration, which I oppose. I support President Trump’s efforts to stem the flow of illegal immigration and to deport most violators. My wife has a different point of view on this subject. We don’t talk about this subject….anymore.

This may shock some but in my nearly four years of knowing my wife and her family and friends I have seen more racism and bigotry directed at her and other Hispanics than I ever saw in over 30 years with previous black family, ex-wife, and children. If you think skin color is a trigger for hatred; just watch the reaction to a group of Hispanics speaking Spanish amongst white or black strangers in a public setting. It’s like a magnet for their condemning eyes. And it is sad.

Nearly 5 years ago I met a pretty black woman at a business networking event. My marriage was dissolving and I wanted to get to know her. This was before I met my current wife. Though no romantic relationship ever developed, I learned of the charity for which she worked, became involved, and for three years have served on its Board of Directors. While not specifically targeting blacks or minorities with the food service it provides, black and other minorities are the primary beneficiaries of our service work. African-Americans also make up the largest majority of this organizations workers, donors, and volunteers. It’s a 30-year-old organization that is the 2nd Largest food-distributorship to needy in the state of Washington.

I could go on and on. But what I’ve written are just some of the highlights of a life that is dominated by being-with, loving, serving and living with blacks and now other minorities. So, I’m a racist? Well, being self-confident and proud I would say…I want more of me out there.

President Trump is a racist too, or haven’t you read that? He presides over an economy with the lowest recorded black unemployment and hispanic unemployment ever recorded. And he touts that fact at nearly every opportunity. As everyone knows He was the star of The Apprentice which aired for 15 years on easily the most Liberal television network, NBC. Trump received recognition and awards from many black leaders like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. He was in the public eye most of the past 40 years. And prior to choosing to run for President no one called him a racist.

I didn’t support Trump in the GOP Primaries in 2016. Out of the 16 legitimate Republican Presidential candidates that ran in 2016 he was probably my 13th favorite. I didn’t vote for him in the Primary in my state. I never posted support for him in my social media activity. I wasn’t a supporter. I am now.

Of course, if you watch CNN or MSNBC frequently you now know that those who support our President are all racists too. Known proudly as “Deplorables”, so named by Hillary Clinton, we are all said to be hateful and intolerant of blacks and other minorities. And according to the Left we hate immigrants…particularly those with brown skin.

The facts that are lost in all this name-calling by the Left is that these “Deplorables” on average attend church more frequently than do Trump’s opposition and give a higher percentage of their incomes to charity. With both sides lamenting the destruction of families and of family values in our country…based on these FACTS all I can say is we need more Deplorables. We need more racists.

Clarification: For those too moronic or hateful to understand that the title and repeated theme of this blog is intentionally provocative and sarcastic, I feel sorry for you. Yes, this author hates and condemns true racism. It’s an ignorant scourge on people and our society in general. True racism needs to be condemned whenever it rears its ugly face. Additionally, the common and repeated and false charges of racism that we all see and hear today I condemn equally. In most cases its leveled by ignorant people who simply don’t understand another person’s thoughts and actions. But when wielded by powerful elected officials it is simply evil. It’s presumed such people are intelligent enough to know what true racism is. So their use of such a charge on the President and so many others in this country must be interpreted as merely selfish acts designed to hurt their political opponents and to divide the people of this country. It’s working. And it needs to be stopped. All who agree with this post need to Share it.

For evil to succeed, all it needs is for good men to do nothing.

—Martin Luther King Jr.

August 17, 2018
Categories: National Politics, Washington State . Tags: , , , , , , , , , . Author: Michael Schuett . Comments: Comments Off on We Need More Racists for the Good of our Country

The Left and the Masses – Thomas Sowell

The greatest moral claim of the political left is that they are for the masses in general and the poor in particular. That is also their greatest fraud. It even fools many leftists themselves.

Source: The Left and the Masses – Thomas Sowell

October 19, 2016
Categories: Business, National Politics, Washington State . Tags: , , , , , . Author: Michael Schuett . Comments: Comments Off on The Left and the Masses – Thomas Sowell

Black or Blue, Lives Matter

cops

This morning I heard a news pundit on CNN commenting on the horrible attacks on police in Dallas and the police shooting of a driver in Minnesota during which he referred to the “African American/Hispanic” community. He said it as if they are one and the same. This got me thinking. They are not the same. We are a nation divided by numerous cultures. And these cultures are increasingly at each other’s throats.

News of yesterday’s shooting of police in Dallas, Texas left me feeling pretty numb this morning as I prepared for a work day. Five brave men were killed and seven others were shot apparently by a 25 year old black man who claimed to be acting alone because he was upset at white people. Before being killed by police trying to apprehend him, he said he wanted to kill white people, especially cops.

This young man lived in a Dallas suburb and had served six years in the Army Reserves. Sadly there is little doubt he was influenced by the hateful, and ignorant comments made in recent years by many including our President, the Democratic Presidential nominee and the organization Black Lives Matter. They’ve all given voice to the myth that there is a systematic (as Obama has said) or systemic (as Clinton has said) racist problem among America’s police forces.

My unique persepctive: I’m a 50+ year old white man. Thirty-two years ago I met and later married a black woman. We were married 28 years and lived together over 30. I have three kids, 2 are adults, all of whom identify as black. After my divorce I was fortunate to meet and get into a relationship with a beautiful Mexican woman who came to the U.S. at age 13 and became a legal citizen in her 20s. For most of the past year we’ve seen each other 5-6 days per week.

The black community in the very liberal Seattle area where I live is distinct and separate from the white community and certainly from the Hispanic community. Generally speaking they live lives much different, with much different views, different interests, different celebrities, and different heroes than the nearly all-white suburban Seattle community in which I grew up.

It’s no different in the Hispanic community. Though my Mexican-American girlfriend was smart and professionally accomplished and had lived in both Seattle and San Diego, California for her entire adult life her knowledge of most pop or celebrity or sports personalities, events or history that I and many others take for granted was close to zero. And the same was true of many of her Hispanic friends from work and church. Hispanic people, at least in the Seattle-Tacoma area, associate with and live amongst themselves having little interaction with whites, or black either.

I’m confident were I to embed myself as thoroughly in the Asian or Gay communities I would be writing the same thing about them.

These different and diverse communities are not talking to one another. At best they’re talking at each other. At worst, they’re yelling at each other.

The Black Lives Matter movement was established on a lie that continues to be perpetrated and continues to harden the hearts of African-Americans across the country. If you’re black and you’re raised to believe that police are racist and that they WILL shoot you; of course you’re going to defend yourself and shoot back, or fight, or resist arrest. The same is true of Hispanics. Black Lives Matter, Barrack Obama, Hillary Clinton and much of the news media nationwide fed the beast that said Michael Brown of Ferguson, Missouri was an innocent and sweet little teenager who was gunned down by a cop for no good reason while Brown had his hands raised, essentially giving himself up. It’s a myth, but a widely believed myth.

Here are the facts: Little to no evidence exists that Brown had his hands raised and was humbly subjugating himself to a police officer. Witnesses who initially made such claims, recanted them when interviewed by police. There is clear evidence that Brown robbed a convenience store just prior to his confrontation with police. He assaulted the store clerk. He assaulted the police officer and tried to take his gun. And upon withdrawing from an initial scuffle charged the police officer before being shot. And Michael Brown was 6-foot 5-inches tall and weighed 289 pounds. Not a little guy.

While not to the same extent these myths or exaggerations have also been forwarded in numerous other police shootings and in the Travon Martin case. It’s a narrative that has infected the black community, the separate and at times isolated black community. It’s also permeated the Hispanic community. How many people think Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump hates Mexicans because he called them all rapists and drug dealers? He never said that. NEVER. But you believe he did because its been so reported on social media and even some mainstream media. What Trump said was a reference to illegal immigrants NOT all Mexicans or Hispanics. And he didn’t say all of them were rapists and drug dealers. He actually and accurately said, “Many of them are nice people” in the sort-of off the cuff manner that has endeared him with many and caused rancor with his opponents (It should be pointed out that these opponents wouldn’t support Trump if he had a halo above his head and angel’s wings on his back).

While the United States remains approximately 63% white that number has been decreasing for decades and is not likely to reverse course. Nor is it likely to reverse course that these divided communities will come together when we continue to elect leaders who repeatedly and strategically divide us with their rhetoric and activities.

I love the differences in the people and communities in which I have been in indoctrinated. And I love that I have almost always been eagerly welcomed in those communities. But when you’re the only white guy or gringo in the room, as has been my case many, many, many times over the past 30+ years you notice. And so do they.

What has always worked for me is to be curious and interested in the people with whom I’m around. And when difference come up I’m not afraid to talk about them. I think its helped me many times over the years.

We’re all Americans. We’re not “us” and “them”. Having separate racial, or cultural communities is fine. But lets not act like one is better than the other…as the whites, the black, the hispanics and I suppose others have done too often in recent years. Cops are NOT trying to kill black people. Those bad ones who make mistakes should justly be punished. But treat each case individually and please, please, please reject the demigods who claim systemic or systematic racism that simply doesn’t exist. Read the meaning of the words if you don’t know what it means…Hillary.

In the infamous words of another bad guy who was portrayed as a victim, “Can’t we all just get along”?

Your thoughts are welcome. Thanks for visiting.

 

Call for Video Production Services: 425-687-0100

July 8, 2016
Categories: National Politics, Uncategorized . Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Author: Michael Schuett . Comments: Comments Off on Black or Blue, Lives Matter

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