Racism and LT. Gov. Andre Bauer of S.C.

In response to an email/rant from a friend. His message first, my response:

    .......I guess my rant/rave this week is about the comment Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer of South Carolina, who compared the poor to animals. This man is running for Gov. What he said needs to be quoted:

 "My grand mother was not a highly educated woman but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals. You know why? Because they breed. You're facilitating the problem if you give an animal or person ample food supply. They will reproduce, especially ones that don't think too much further than that, And so what you've got to do is you've got to curtail that type of behavior. They don't know any better." 

Now what bothers me is that he obviously thinks this will bolster his candidacy. It is significant that South Carolina is one of the poorest states and I would speculate that there are many poor whites. Further, I think an African American President has surfaced (suffered?) racisim, the most classical denial of mankind. President Carter was right, a lifetime southerner who said there are many who don't believe an African American can be/should be the President of the United States of America. He was virtually lambasted for such a statement........Norma, you asked for it  and I have ranted and raved. 

I hear you and I agree.  What an outrage this guy is!  Let's hope the majority of people have evolved past the awful racism and hatred that existed back in the 50's and, of course, further back.

     It would be nice to think that we as a country have progressed socially and morally, but you and I know that there is still a lot, or a substantial segment of the population, that is not progressing.  They are stuck in a world of hatred which stems from fear and ignorance. People who have closed their minds and hearts to their fellow man and woman.

     Often the people who are the most bigoted and the loudest and the most hateful can't or won't listen to reason.  They are too afraid, under it all, to be open and affirming, so scared and protective of what they think is theirs that they can't listen, learn from others and open their hearts and minds to be compassionate and loving toward themselves and others.

     All we can do about them is to hope and pray they have an experience or some event in their life that opens their mind or their heart or both and changes them for the better.  In the meantime we have each other.  We can support what we know is morally correct.  What we know is the law.  We can support diversity. We can love our fellow man and woman no matter what the color of their skin, no matter what religion they believe or don't believe in, no matter what is their sexual preference, their sex, age, race, religion, etc.  Have I covered it all???

     Glad to hear your rant.  Rant on. Rave on.  Especially if it makes you feel better and it helps you to say what you think, feel what you feel and communicate it to others.  Yeah!!!  That's what I do on the blog I just started.  Perhaps I'll put some of this on the blog, minus your name, of course.

     Two weeks from today Skip and I will be in Sarasota, if all goes as planned.  Skip is well, working away, as usual.  Attending to last minute things at work.  He is executor of an estate that has a lot of details to attend to before we leave.

     So, glad to hear from you.  Glad to listen to you rave and/or rant.  I'll try to pay attention to what goes on in the Carolinas.  I'm afraid I have been paying attention to the Vineyard and now New Jersey, but haven't had time to follow the news much.

     See you soon.   Keep the sun shining in Florida.