By The Time Glenn Beck Got To Whitestock

"The price of hating other human beings is loving oneself less"--Eldridge Cleaver

Zach De La Rocha of Rage Against The Machine once claimed that "Anger is a gift." And for the most part, I agree with him. Anger, when well-harnessed and appropriately directed can be a great motivating force for change. But what of misplaced anger built upon hatred and misinformation?

What about the sort of anger and hatred that stems from poor economic times and people looking for a someone/thing to blame?

We live in these times, and the leader of this movement is named Glenn Beck.

While many were impressed by the large crowd Beck gathered on the mall in front of the Lincoln Memorial last Saturday, I think it's important to take a closer look at who these people are and who they are following.

Perhaps the easiest thing to take note of is the diversity within the crowd at last Saturday's event. Or rather, the lack thereof. It was white. Damn near all white. As Chris Rock once said years ago when he was covering the Republican Convention for Politically Incorrect: "It's so white that Joe Don Baker could open a movie in here." Of course, in and of itself, being white is not a bad thing. I myself have been white for a pretty long time.

No, the better question to ask is why doesn't this movement appeal to people of other races?

The answer is painfully obvious: This movement goes out of its way to marginalize and scapegoat those that aren't white, clean , and neat.

They fear that illegal immigrants (you know, Mexicans) are taking their jobs, so any law that might combat this influx of undocumented workers (Hello, Arizona!) is fine by them regardless of its constitutionality and whether it will violate the civil rights of legal Mexican-Americans.

Not only that, but let's repeal the 14th amendment that states that a child born here is automatically a citizen. They believe that immigrants are crossing the border en masse to have "anchor babies" here which will allow them to become citizens. Nevermind the fact that a child born here can't petition the U.S. Government on behalf of their parents for 21 years, why let facts get in the way of a little xenophobia?

And if you think Latinos have it bad with Beck's bunch, try being a Muslim. At Beck's rally, he positioned himself as a man of faith who wants to restore the vision of our forefathers. Fine. But what about that pesky "freedom of religion" thingy that these grand men placed into the constitution? It appears, because the writers of the document were mostly Christian, Beck and his zealots feel that religious freedom should only apply to their religion. Which of course, nullifies the whole idea of freedom of religion in the first place.

Case in point: The so-called "Ground Zero Mosque" that is neither a mosque nor located on "Ground Zero." This group is against the locating of a Muslim Community Center over 2 NYC blocks away from the former site of the World Trade Center. Why? Because Muslims are the ones who blew up the buildings. And by Muslim, they apparently mean all Muslims. Not just the crazed radicals who hijacked the planes on 9/11.

I wonder how these folks would feel if Christians could no longer build churches in the south because of the KKK (which considers itself a Christian organization). Or what if Christians were told that they couldn't build a church within 2 blocks of the Oklahoma City Building because an insane Christian fundamentalist by the name of Timothy McVeigh blew it up?

I've heard some say that the Muslims can have their mosque when the Saudi's start building synagogues in their country. So let's get this straight, we want to use the government of Saudi Arabia as our measuring stick? Is that really the best we can do? I think not.

Of course, that doesn't stop Mr. Beck from fanning the flames of Muslim hate. Beck has done everything in his power to classify the Imam who is behind the NYC Community Center as a radical. He does so in spite of the fact that this Imam not only advised the Bush Administration on the subject of radical Islam, but actually traveled with Karen Hughes whom Bush put in charge of Islamic outreach. Hell, after 9/11, Beck had Imam on his own show and proclaimed him a "Good Muslim" (which is offensive as all get out since it implies that "good" and "Muslim" are mutually exclusive except for in the rarest of cases. They used to say the same thing of blacks in the south only with a particularly nasty epithet following the word "good").

The fascinating thing about Beck and his minions is how often they throw up the word "constitution" to make their point. Their argument is based around the idea of getting back to the "intentions" of the founders. "Intentions" that they seem to be able to divine better than the rest of us. Which of course, allows them to advocate changing the parts they don't like. It's also worth remembering that our founders were made up of slave owners (this means you, Thomas Jefferson) who built up this country on the backs of displaced Africans after stealing it from the indigenous people whom Plymouth Rock landed on. This thought that our forefathers were so perfect that they can be used to punctuate any argument and turn the tide to the favor of the mouth that roars is an overreaching one at best.

Now, as a fervent student of history, you might think that Beck would have been a little more sensitive about holding "Whitestock" on the same day and location that Martin Luther King Jr. himself gave perhaps his greatest speech on the subject of civil rights. But Oh, how wrong you would be.

With all manner of faux humility, Beck not only claimed to be unaware of the anniversary (I got some swamp land...), but went so far as to say that he was reclaiming the civil rights movement because they were the ones who started it in the first place. First off, who the hell do they think they are? There are people of all races who marched with Dr. King and fought and died for the cause when Beck was naught but a tyke. The very idea that he would place himself in the same regard as these brave men and women is not only outlandish, but downright comical.

To stand on the same spot as the "I have a dream" speech and look out upon a sea of almost nothing but white people and make that statement? There are bulls in the rodeo who lack a set that size.

Earlier this week, I had this argument with a supporter of Beck who pointed out that by its strict definition, civil rights does not have to apply to race. And while that's true from a Webster's Dictionary perspective, it is completely disingenuous in this case. He said he was "reclaiming" the civil rights movement. If so, what civil rights movement was he referring to? Is there another movement that I'm unaware of in this country whose most sterling moment took place on the same steps as Dr. King's greatest words?

I also wonder what Dr. King would think of the man who uttered these words about our first black President:

"This president I think has exposed himself over and over again as a guy who has a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture....I'm not saying he doesn't like white people, I'm saying he has a problem. This guy is, I believe, a racist."

Forgetting the fact that I don't know what the hell he's talking about when he refers to President Obama as such, is he unaware of Obama's mixed parentage? That his mother and the grandparents who raised him were white people? A man whose Vice President is Catholic, his Chief Of Staff is Jewish, and his Secretary of State a waspy white woman? Racist? Really?

This coming from a guy who felt the need to tell his rally goers to not bring any signs, lest the liberal media showcase any that might be offensive/racist. If you have to ask that of your group, then what does that say about your message?

Now I know that not all members of the Tea Party are racist. I wouldn't even say that most of them are. But statistically speaking, when 31% of self-proclaimed Republicans think that the President is a Muslim and nearly the same percentage challenges his birthright despite all evidence to the contrary, I bet it's fair to say that many in his audience are, shall we say, insensitive?

And even if the Tea Party itself is not inherently racist, they sure don't seem to mind accepting the assistance of those who are. When have you ever heard of another Tea Party member taking one of their own to task when they are holding a sign of President Obama with a banana in his hand? I have yet to hear of such an occasion.

If the Tea Party wants to be a legitimate long term entity that believes in limited government, than that is more than fair. However, if they don't deal with the inherent racism that at minimum lines their edges, then their future is as bleak as the one they believe exists under the presidency of Barack Obama.

Glenn Beck believes that this movement, his movement, is not only a political one, but a religious one. In specific, a Christian one. At this point, it's worth mentioning that Beck is a Mormon. A religion that is often not accepted by mainstream Christians. Some of their beliefs are a bit odd (see Christ visiting the USA, multiple worlds and gods, polygamy--although not anymore, and magic underwear for starters), but you can find some strange stuff in any religion. What is more disturbing about modern Mormonism is that it only bestowed the full rights of membership upon black people in 1978. Before that, blacks were considered the "cursed children of Cain" and "less valiant" in the war in heaven.

Of course, that doesn't make Beck or any other Mormon a racist. It is, however, an interesting peek into the background of a man that has no trouble speaking to an audience lacking in almost any diversity. A man that can talk of "white culture" and the "reclaiming" of a movement that he had no part of. A man whom the leaders of his own faith did not allow the full participation of black members until ten years after Dr. King was assassinated? Hmmm...

There is that old saying that the finger that points is the one that has something to hide. So when Mr. Beck calls someone else a racist while swearing some sort of allegiance with the greatest civil rights leader this nation has ever known, me thinks he doth protest too much.

Regardless, there can be no denying that Beck is the leader of a movement. A movement that he is trying to equate with Christian faith. In a sense, he is establishing a church, with himself as it's minister.

Follow at your own peril.

Sumo-Pop
September 3, 2010