Posted on 04/04/2012 10:58:11 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
It’s high time we, the majority, take our country back:
When certain individuals began chanting their mantra of ‘take our country back’, the rest of us hoped that it wasn’t a subliminal message to strip away this nation’s advancements and take us back to some sort of Jim Crow era. But in such a short span of time in office, many conservative elected officials have proved that their goal is precisely to implement regressive measures that begin to chip away at the core of the fundamental constructs of the civil rights movement. The latest enactment of voter ID laws across the country are a prime example of how the right is attempting to wrong us all.
For those who like to pretend that racism never existed in our past, here’s another quick reminder: years after slavery was abolished, there were systematic ways to still deny African Americans civil liberties – not the least of which was a poll tax. After the 14th Amendment guaranteed equal protection for all, a poll tax was enacted as a prerequisite to voting. Because African Americans (and poor Whites for that matter) found it difficult to come up with the money required to vote, many were covertly disenfranchised from the process. It was a new measure, but it held the same underlying notion of racism and oppression of an entire group of citizenry that slavery itself did.
Today, thankfully, a poll tax does not exist, but as Republican leaders continue to champion and implement voter ID requirements, they are establishing a new form of voting prerequisites and voter suppression. When nearly 25% of African Americans lack ‘appropriate ID’ in order to vote, it’s clear who their target is. When college students are barred from voting in the state where they attend school and instead must return to their home state, it’s clear who their target is. And when the process of obtaining this ‘appropriate ID’ isn’t free by any measure, it’s distinctly clear who their target is.
Imagine you’re a hard-working American who holds two or three jobs just to put food on the table, and now you’re required to take a day (or more) off in order to obtain an ID. Not only does this person accrue lost work wages, but he/she also has to factor in the cost of traveling to obtain the ID, as well as fees associated with getting copies of documents like passports or birth certificates. For the individual enduring such difficult times as so many Americans today are, is all the hassle and extra expenses going to be worth it in their eyes? Or will they simply say, I wish I could vote, but I simply can’t afford it? And let’s not forget the long enduring lines, procedures and bureaucracy that will likely arise for folks in the process of receiving ID cards. It may not be a poll tax, but these new voter ID laws are just a polished version of the same oppressive measures designed to keep people of color and the poor out of the electoral process.
There are currently 13 states across the country that have adopted voter ID requirements, with more pushing for similar legislation. When so many Americans do not possess a driver’s license due to an inability to purchase a vehicle or because it’s simply not necessary in an urban environment, the amount of Americans without valid ID for the polls is staggering. Once again, African Americans, Latinos, the poor and other disenfranchised groups will clearly be impacted the most by these voting requirements. And it should come as no surprise that this sector of society votes Democratic a majority of the time.
If Republican officials and those who support them are so upset by the direction of the country and so insistent on the fact that we are a center-right nation, why don’t they prove it with fair elections? By conjuring up ridiculous requirements that are obviously designed to reduce the number of voters, they only validate the fact that their Party and their vision for the future is antiquated and the majority is not on their side. Instead of playing dirty politics, perhaps they should just run an election on the facts and allow everyone to freely vote. After all, what are they so afraid of?
Maybe it’s high time we, the majority, take our country back.
With militant black racists it is always a struggle to figure out what “our country “ means. Is he talking about Africa or the United States?
“When nearly 25% of African Americans lack ‘appropriate ID’ in order to vote, it’s clear who their target is”
So, with elections held on average every 18 months or so... there’s simply no way... none at all... for these poor, poor people to go to the DMV and obtain their “appropriate ID?” Really, Al... REALLY??
Then how do they:
-Purchase alcohol?
-Purchase cigarettes?
-Purchase drain cleaner?
-Cash a paycheck?
-Cash a welfare check?
-Open a bank account?
-Rent a house or apartment?
-Borrow money?
-Take an SAT exam?
-Apply for a job?
-Apply for unemployment?
-Board an AMTRAK train?
-Board an airline?
-Apply for a college course?
In wanting us to believe 25% of blacks in this country never do any of the aforementioned and are completely unable to board a bus and travel to the DMV to obtain a photo ID, he’s giving us a rather stark indictment of the lack of initiative of “Holder’s people.”
If Al Sharpton were to wake up one morning and find that he was unable to utter a lie or speak with outrageously false hyperbole (a la Jim Carrey in “Liar Liar”), the only remaining things that could come out of his mouth (other than the occasional drool) would be foolish babbling such as “resist we much”.
If you're a hard-working American, YOU'LL ALREADY HAVE THAT ID, you scum-sucking parasite!!!
In my opinion the Gov should force everyone to have ID you must identify yourself as an American! Oopps they would rather force everyone to have healthcare insurance first. Someone should ask big al how they expect to cover all the ‘poor’ people that do not have ID?? How are they going to ID them?? Hmmm.....Oh wait ya they have time to go collect unemployment, food stamps and all their entitlements but no time to go get an ID....lame excuse!
Uh, yeah, dumbsh*t... that's the point... FREELY.. not FRAUDULENTLY!
Come get some, Al. We’re waiting...
THE WRATH OF THE AWAKENED SAXON
by Rudyard Kipling
It was not part of their blood,
It came to them very late,
With long arrears to make good,
When the Saxon began to hate.
They were not easily moved,
They were icy — willing to wait
Till every count should be proved,
Ere the Saxon began to hate.
Their voices were even and low.
Their eyes were level and straight.
There was neither sign nor show
When the Saxon began to hate.
It was not preached to the crowd.
It was not taught by the state.
No man spoke it aloud
When the Saxon began to hate.
It was not suddenly bred.
It will not swiftly abate.
Through the chilled years ahead,
When Time shall count from the date
That the Saxon began to hate.
And then vote under each identity they they collect money under.
Who you calling ‘we’?
Al, wanna take your country back? Pick one, I have a donation toward your passage to Africa.
My state's one of them Al - and I'm so proud.
In order for African Americans, and pore Whites for that matter, to vote, they have to get out of bed and either walk to a polling place, rely on crowded public transportation, or ride a bicycle. Even if they make it to the polling place, they might be disenfranchised because they didn’t get out of bed in time to get a voter ID or a driver’s license.
Invariably, there will be those disadvantaged who accidentally fall out of bed on election day morning. Well, even if they happen to be lucky enough to have a polling place right next door, there will be those long enduring lines.
The only away to put an end to this ordeal would be to get rid of this ridiculous voter ID requirement. No longer will the poor and disadvantaged have to tear themselves away from their flat screen TV’s and play stations. Because, with no need for an ID, undocumented immigrants will be free to do the voting (multiple times), that others are unwilling to do.
Yes, AL DULLTON, we should take our country back from the current MORON in the WHite House and LIBERALS!!!
Reverend Al must be talking about Zimbabwe.
Or maybe Zimbabwe is his idea of what he wants America to be.
If actually took our country back, where is Sharpton’s followers going to get their welfare checks?
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