The Blanket

The Blanket - A Journal of Protest & Dissent

An Invitation to My Neighborhood

 

Fred A. Wilcox • 18 July 2006

I live in a community where people are not concerned about their neighbor's skin color, sexual preference, religion, or ethnicity. Black, white, gay, straight, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Italian, Irish, German, Catholic, Protestant, Jew, Muslim, it makes no difference. We live in close proximity. Our children go to the same schools. We shop at the same stores. We don't have to live here. It's just that the melting pot is far more interesting, to us, than living in a world where everyone looks and talks and dresses and worships and thinks and hates alike.

I'm not claiming that the United States is a perfect society. In the richest nation in the world, children still go to bed hungry. In the most powerful empire the world has ever seen, nearly fifty million people lack health insurance. My government appears unable or unwilling to figure out how to feed the hungry, house the homeless, and build schools instead of bombs. After more than 2,500 American soldiers and 100,000 Iraqi civilians have died, Mr. Bush and friends still talk about "staying the course" in Iraq. When the Israeli military smashes houses and bridges and power plants, killing women and children in Gaza, and now Lebanon, Mr. Bush and friends praise Israel for waging war on terrorism.

In spite of all this, you'd have to look long and hard to find an American citizen who would openly celebrate the murder of an innocent 15-year-old kid. Yes, stalwart members of the Klu Klux Klan and their neo-Nazi friends might enjoy seeing a black woman raped, a black man lynched, or a Jew murdered. But I'm quite certain that even throwbacks like the KKK would avoid distributing a video celebrating their own hate crimes. Nor would they wear clothing imprinted with slogans celebrating the murder of a child.

So, when I learned that someone in Northern Ireland has produced a video that mocks the murder of Michael Mcllveen, I was more than shocked. To tell the truth, I felt a deep sadness for the person who appears in the video wearing a "F*ck Mickey Bo" Jersey. I'm sure the person sporting that sadistic jersey thinks that he or she is standing up for some noble cause. But I also suspect that beneath the macho posing this individual is terribly frightened. Beneath the bigoted bravado, this person is terrified of people who may not look or think or dress or worship the way they do.

I do know what it feels like to carry the burden of hating people because of their skin color, their race, religion, sexuality, or political beliefs. When I was boy, hatred of outsiders was the bond that held my family, my church, my neighbors and friends together. At some point, I discovered that the basis for our hatred was fear. I realized that we did not want to meet the people we hated because, at some deep level, we suspected that we might actually discover ourselves.

I would like to extend an invitation to the people who made the "Mickey Bo" video, and also the people who wear those jerseys scrawled with hateful slogans, to visit my neighborhood. I'll put you up, feed you, and take you on a tour of the multi-cultural city in which I live and work. I will introduce you to Vietnam Veterans who, conditioned to hate communists and "Orientals," fought in the jungles and rice paddies of Southeast Asia. If you care to do so, you can ask them to talk about the price they paid, and continue to pay, for embracing their nation's hateful rhetoric. If you are willing, I will invite Jews and Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists, Catholics and Protestants, to my home. You might find it interesting to see these people sitting together as friends. We could have a barbecue in my back yard and invite Chicanos, Indians, and African Americans to talk about the joys and difficulties of living, side by side. in a multi-cultural society.

I just returned from New York City, the most diverse metropolitan area in the world, where I spent several days interacting with more than one hundred people. We came from different walks of life, we represented all of the world's great religions, and we practiced different lifestyles. With the exception of African Americans and Native Americans in our group, our ancestors had immigrated to the United States, some long ago, others more recent. We talked and laughed. We shared our hopes and fears. And we experienced a wonderful joy because we accepted, and we embraced, our common humanity.

My invitation to people whose hatred compels them to ridicule and insult a grieving family is quite sincere. I know as much as you do, perhaps even more, about hatred. I won't go into that right now, except to say that I have paid, and forced others to pay, a terrible price for my own violent social conditioning.

If you are interested in exploring ways to create new possibilities for living, without enemies, I would very much like to begin that conversation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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The Blanket - A Journal of Protest & Dissent

 

 

There is no such thing as a dirty word. Nor is there a word so powerful, that it's going to send the listener to the lake of fire upon hearing it.
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Index: Current Articles



19 July 2006

Other Articles From This Issue:

Dupe Process
Anthony McIntyre

Heatwave Won't Affect Cold Storage
Dr John Coulter

Hanson's Handouts
John Kennedy

Israeli State Terror
Anthony McIntyre

Judgement Day
John Kennedy

Israel, US and the New Orientalism
M. Shahid Alam

The Right, the Need to Resist
Mick Hall

An Invitation to My Neighborhood
Fred A Wilcox

Prison Fast
RPAG

Death Brings Fr Faul
Anthony McIntyre

Risking the Death of Volunteers is Not the IRA Way
Brendan Hughes

Principles and Tactics
Liam O Ruairc

The Framing of Michael McKevitt: Preliminary Hearings Cont'd.
Marcella Sands

The Framing of Michael McKevitt: Rupert's Reward
Marcella Sands

The Framing of Michael McKevitt: Rupert's Inconsistencies
Marcella Sands

Blast from the Past
John Kennedy

An Elegant End
Seaghán Ó Murchú

West Belfast - The Past, the Present and the Future
Davy Carlin


9 July 2006

Father Faul Saved Many Lives
Richard O'Rawe

Richard O'Rawe, PSF, and Events in 1981
Gerard Foster

Looking Back on 1981
Anthony McIntyre

Haughey and the National Question
Maria McCann

Brits Not to Blame for Haughey
David Adams

Greenfest
John Kennedy

Euston Manifesto: Yesterday's News
Mick Hall

Considering A Multi-Faceted Approach to the Middle East
Mehdi Mozaffari

Book Better Than Its Title
Seaghán Ó Murchú

Crowning Mr Unionist
Dr John Coulter

Extra Time Will Not Be Decisive
David Adams

'Pretty Much a Busted Flush'
Anthony McIntyre

Orangefest
John Kennedy

Just Books Web-launch
Jason Brannigan

The Framing of Michael McKevitt: Omagh, David Rupert, MI5 & FBI Collusion
Marcella Sands

The Framing of Michael McKevitt
Marcella Sands

The Framing of Michael McKevitt: Preliminary Hearings
Marcella Sands

Jury Duty Free State
Dolours Price

Even the Obnoxious
Anthony McIntyre

 

 

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