January 28, 2018
The Martin Luther King March overshadowed by racist profanity
It was cold, very cold, as it has been for weeks. On the other side of the world, superheated Pacific Ocean air that had been causing unprecedented fires and drought around the Pacific Rim had been pushing over the North Pole. shoving the normally frigid Arctic air over our heads. For a while Anchorage Alaska had warmer temperatures than Tampa Florida. We were freezing our butts off because of Global Warming.
But here in Albany the march in honor of Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King took place anyway, the short not at all grueling stroll from the doors of the State Plaza on Madison Avenue to the monument and statue of Dr. King right here in my own neighborhood. This little march is a symbolic acknowledgement of the original Freedom Marches during the 1960s in places like Birmingham Mississippi and Selma Alabama. Those brave marchers walked a lot further and faced angry hecklers and violent cops, but I doubt they ever had to face such intense cold.
The Marchers Enter Lincoln Park, Led By Cold Cops On Hot Horses
It was a bone chilling 15 degrees F at almost Noon when they set off, but the sun was shining and there was no wind. We had a boisterous crowd of well more than 300 people loudly singing We Shall Overcome winding through Lincoln Park, much different than last year’s subdued, strangely quiet and almost frightened crowd. Perhaps we are seeing the return of hope, certainly a revival of defiance and a greater understanding of the things that all of us are losing because of the onslaught of the anti-American radical right.
You Can Usually Spot The Public Officials Because They Don’t Wear Hats In The Cold
This year’s celebration of Dr. King was marked, overshadowed really, by a particularly vile comment uttered a few days earlier by that disgusting Brat squatting inside the White House, outstanding even for him. This was the apparently casual statement by the Filthy Boy to several of his equally filthy Re-pub senators and handlers, “Why are we having all these people from shithole countries coming here?” This comment in context was specifically directed at El Salvador, Haiti, and African countries.
Veterans For Peace
After initial denials some of the big Re-pub politicos present during this uttering of party policy by their role model claimed that they heard the word “shithouse” instead of “shithole.” How these people think that was less revealingly filthy or somehow made this admittedly honest expression of their core values more palatable escapes me. All it did was serve to confirm that the statement was made by their leader, and their excuses instead of condemnation demonstrated that they heartily approved of it.
Solidarity Committee Shoulder To Shoulder
The Corporate Media along with some Democratic Party politicians amplified the comment as nations across the world reacted angrily. Much of the media generated complaint inside this country was about the foul language, what sort of example is the so-called “president” setting for our children and such. Almost as an aside, and without any sort of detailed explanation, the Corporate Media mentioned that the comment is racist.
I don’t mind telling you that when I heard about this utterance by that foul Brat I became seriously angry. And while I am no longer shouting at the radio like I did the other morning, I am no less angry at the subsequent calculated media evasions surrounding the utter seriousness of this putrid statement, evasions which appear to have transformed it into another distraction. So as a public service for patriotic Americans I will lay out exactly what this statement means to a typical Re-pub politico and to their deluded fans so there is no confusion about it.
First, the graphic image employed, and I apologize in advance for offending anyone for what must be said. “Shithole” is a vernacular for “anus.” The word specifically brings to mind that feces, that is “shit,” comes out of the “hole” that is the anus. So Donald Pussygrabber is stating that the people of El Salvador, Haiti and Africa are actual pieces of shit emerging from countries that are themselves anal openings.
Marching Through The Cold
The graphic image does not stop there. Human feces are almost always dark colored, ranging from light brown to black. The people of El Salvador, Haiti and most of Africa are dark skinned, so the image is all about equating the color of their skin to feces. The heavy implication is that because of their skin color the people from these countries, and indeed all people with dark skin, are actual pieces of shit instead of human beings.
I know all too well that this last part is exactly what Pussygrabber had in mind. As a white working class man I have listened all my life to racist talk, spoken freely in my presence because those who don’t know me assume that I’m just as overtly racist as they are. And yes, that is “the base” that Pussygrabber was deliberately “playing to” with the comment, spoken to otherwise mostly decent people who have been systematically taught by their TV sets to despise themselves and to hate their neighbors.
I have often heard this graphic image applied literally, hearing white racists casually refer to black people as “shitheads” or “shit faces.” If you have led a sheltered life and have never heard anything like this before, try to imagine the depths of self hatred that would cause someone to think and talk like this. But don’t think for a moment that this attitude is confined to working class whites, I’ve heard the same exact attitude towards dark skinned people whispered in a much more “refined” manner plenty often by well-heeled and highly educated whites.
So Donald Pussygrabber, who apparently let drop the comment casually, understood exactly what it meant and who was meant to hear it, by both the deluded working class fools who support him and by the parasitic upper class welfare queens who are his real base. The racist minority is the core of the Re-pub Party, this is why hardly any Re-pub politico has come forward to condemn or distance themselves from the comment. Therefore, as it stands today, the comment reflects the official attitude of the Re-pub Party at all levels, it ought to become the party’s motto.
The Crowd Assembles Before The Public Officials
I came outside my house more than a half hour early, but not wanting to succumb to the cold I walked up to the State Plaza and waited inside the doors for the annual program that takes place in the dismal auditorium under The Egg to finish. Apparently the program was lively and upbeat this year, I watched a short performance of a rousing gospel chorus posted on Spacebook. And there was an actual marching band that came out of the auditorium marching and playing but they were not dressed for cold and stopped at the stairs before the doors. Which is too bad, they should have marched outside to honor my neighborhood along with everybody else.
We had two cops on horses this year. Usually they wait nearby to lead the march, but I became worried because I didn’t see them until the last minute when suddenly like magic they appeared at the ready. It’s fairly safe to assume that they stayed out of the intense cold while waiting. But as someone pointed out to me, “The horses can handle the weather fine, it’s the riders on top of them who can only sit for so long.”
Albany Police Honor Guard
Since I chronicle this march to my neighborhood every year, I walked back along the route looking for a good spot to shoot pictures. Despite the bright sun there seemed to be a lot of odd shadows of tree branches and such marring the photographic quality of first part of the route alongside the State Library. So I settled for a spot I’ve often used at the end of Lincoln Park by Park Avenue, remembering to keep my camera warm so it wouldn’t stop working.
Soon came the lead police car, an unmarked to my surprise, and the two cops on horses looking profoundly miserable from the cold despite sitting on steaming hot horses. But then came an honor guard of City of Albany police officers who seemed to be handling the cold well enough. I guess that’s the difference between sitting still and walking in such weather.
Mayor Kathy Sheehan Makes A Point
There were a number of groups with banners that seem to have taken a renewed interest in this march. The Solidarity Committee of the Capital District, which is the most forward thinking labor group in the region was well represented. Also with a banner was the City of Albany Commission on Human Rights, which looks into “incidents of tension and conflict among or between various racial, religious, and nationality groups” and tries to “resolve such conflicts.” Both groups grapple with the exact same sort of issues as Dr. King himself did.
Also we saw a small contingent of the Veterans for Peace, they have actually participated a few times over the years. In certain places in the past the Vets for Peace have been frantically banned from MLK marches by spineless politicians who were afraid that the Corporate Media would attack them for allowing veterans who demand an end to war for the sake of war to be seen in public. In certain backward places like Binghamton NY they are still banned from St. Patrick’s Day parades, but they were of course welcome here today.
Congressman Paul Tonko
And of course we had a whole herd of local politicians among the marchers. At the end of the march every single one of them as usual crowded onto the level monument around the statue of Dr. King to peer over the wall at the proletariat assembling on the icy, slippery slope beneath them. Consider that a metaphor. If you believe the Corporate Media then the economy is wonderful right now, but out here in the real world it sure feels like we are living the last moments before the planned economic collapse.
As usual mayor Kathy Sheehan presided, giving a strong speech about economic justice and equality, and referred heavily to the viciously inappropriate racism of the “shithole” remarks by the leader and role model of the Re-pub Party. Congressman Paul Tonko followed with an also strong speech, again focusing on Bratty Boy’s open racism. It should be noted that neither of them actually spoke the actual word, but of course they did not have to.
Albany County Executive Dan McCoy
And Albany County executive Dan McCoy gave a decent speech about opportunity and equality, again alluding to the vile statements by that pile of feces that plays a lot of golf and plays at being president. Mr. McCoy’s oratorical skills are not in the same league as the other two speakers, in past years his remarks have caused looks of baffled consternation on the faces of listeners. I’m happy to report that this year his speech was well considered and much better received all around.
Mr. McCoy grew up in the South End not far from my neighborhood. Talking to him after the ceremony he told me he originally lived near the bottom of Second Avenue, and when he was a little older he and his family moved further up the hill near Grandview Terrace. He likes to attend this ceremony because, as he told me, this is where he started.
The Reverend Offers A Strong Prayer (What Is His Name!)
After a prayer led by the reverend (forgot to jot down his name again) we had the laying of the wreath at the feet of Dr. King. The mayor presided over some little kids who did the job just fine as everybody looked on. This year I was alert enough to step in front of the Corporate Media picture snappers before they crowded me out so for once I was able to get a photo.
Mayor Sheehan Supervises The Kids Who Laid The Wreath
The Corporate Media presence was light this year and coverage in their outlets was marginal. I’m always ready to read political significance in how much the propaganda machine chooses to cover the MLK events, my interpretation this year is that the elites who support that Brat in the White House told them to downplay the holiday this year. Who knows.
But despite the well documented official snubbing of this holiday at the federal level, interest in the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King and his legacy seems to have become more prevalent. There has always been an undertone of grumbling about the holiday from quite a few whites, over the years I’ve heard quite a few sneering comments about refusing to observe the day. Outside of places like Albany, particularly in the outer suburbs and rural areas, there is usually a pointed tendency to not hold any sort of observance, which is a passive sort of statement in itself.
Afterwards Kids Crowded The Monument
The day before I was amused to see a circular from Boscov’s department store which is located in the suburb of Colonie advertising a MLK Day “I Have A Dream Sale” complete with Dr. King’s iconic profile and American flags. I’ve noted in the past that the corporate stores, which usually have big sales on major holidays, have pretty much ignored this day. Perhaps this was because the big retail corporations did not want to alienate the delicate sensibilities of racists? If that has been so, then this sale circular is a positive sign.
So as the ceremony ended the politicians and hangers on (like myself) stood around and talked for a bit and posed for photos. I observed that the only persons who did not wear some sort of headgear to keep their heads warm were the top politicians present, along with a few others who wanted to be seen and photographed with them. The rest of us were more concerned with not having our brains freeze than how we looked in photos.
Will there be a march to my neighborhood next year, will there still be a federal MLK Day holiday? Since Dr. King represents the best values of the American People that is no longer a certainty, the Re-pub Party societal cancer that is eating up this country heavily frowns upon American values and aspirations. The holiday may be repealed and observance outlawed by the elites who dictate to those people. Well, if that happens, we’ll just have to take our celebration of Dr. King underground.
A Common Criminal