Posted on 08/23/2003 6:23:59 PM PDT by nwrep
MLK Rally marked by Bush, Ashcroft bashing & absence of US flags; Speaker Praises Mugabe
The rally on the US Capitol today to mark the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech was broadcast live on C-SPAN. The event was attended by Democratic presidential contenders Howard Dean, Carol Moseley Braun and Al Sharpton. The following are my personal observations, facts hidden from you by puff-pieces appearing on the wire services.
The most stunning aspect of this rally was the almost complete, seemingly choreographed absence of the Old Glory throughout the vast crowd, estimated by organizers to number 50,000. The fact that not a single black person thought it proper to show appreciation to a country that freed his forefathers from the clutches of slavery by proudly flying her flag, seemed almost offensive to me. Seen among the crowd were various pro-Palestinian banners and others denigrating America, one calling it "The greatest purveyor of violence in the world".
The ceremony started with various songs and religious intonations, including one involving a beer bottle and a potted plant by a so-called "African" leader representing an "African religion", but the singing of the Star Spangled Banner was, alas, not deemed worthy of the effort by the organizers. I found this to be extraordinarily ungrateful, as if they were going out of their way to avoid any association with American symbols.
What followed this remarkable opening was a long flow of speaker after speaker, spewing anti-Bush, anti-Ashcroft and sometimes, anti-American screed. First up was Martin Luther King III, and he set the tone for the afternoon's speeches by attacking the war on Iraq and Afghanistan, and blaming the Bush administration and the US military for all ills under the sun. He listed "homophobia" as one of the greatest contemporary evils facing mankind.
Following him were an assortment of speakers sympathizing with the "Palestinian cause", including terrorist appeaser James Zogby, President of the Arab American Institute, and brother of the allegedly independent pollster John Zogby. Racism, discrimination and denial of civil rights were some of the things blamed by these individuals on the Bush administration. Ashcroft came in for several rounds of liberal criticism, particularly from Zogby and a young Arab woman dressed in a head-scarf, who levelled the usual charges against the administration, unhappy at our success in the war on terror.
The "Rev." Al Sharpton spoke and reeled off whatever DNC talking points might have been missed by the previous speakers, and he was followed by the "Rev." Jesse Jackson.
Following his rather long and boring speech, Jackson started soliciting donations, which were collected by the volunteers in what looked like paint buckets with slits. Jackson finished off with the obligatory phony prayer, which was well received by both the blacks and the guilty white liberals in the audience.
Rounding off this round of speakers dissociating themselves from the founding ideals of our Republic as well as Dr. King's color-blind vision were Kim Gandy, the NOW chief, and a representative of the National Gay and Lesbian Alliance. Only Corretta Scott King and Rep. John Lewis seemed to depart from the script which had turned this event into a defacto blame America outing.
As the afternoon started to wear, the crowd got restless and started to leave. The dark, depressing vision of America highlighted by the speakers did not help.
Towards the end, someone calling himself Obi Egbuna of the Pan-African Liberation Organization took the stand. What followed was virulent anti-western and anti-American rantings that even I was not prepared for. This gentleman, if you could call him that, placed the blame of all the problems facing the continent of Africa on the shoulders of President Bush.
Apparently in an effort to establish his credentials as even more radical than the previous speakers, he heaped lavish praise on Robert Mugabe for "reclaiming African lands from the colonialists", never mind the fact that this despicable tyrant has turned a once prosperous country into an ecological disaster by the systematic starvation of this people, while forcefully stealing farms from white farmers who had owned them for generations. In the twisted mind of this speaker, Mugabe was an example worth emulating across the continent.
The rally almost fizzled towards the end, as the dignitaries on stage started leaving in the middle of the speeches, walking past hundreds of empty chairs in the stands, a scene perfectly captured by C-SPAN.
This event raised a lot of questions in my mind: Why the almost enforced absence of US flags? Why no singing of the Star Spangled Banner? Why no mention of the greatness of America? Why no invitee from the right of the political spectrum? Why was this event not billed as a DNC rally, even though it appeared to be little more than that? Why the emphasis on "hip-hop", gay rights and Palestinian Liberation at a rally commemorating MLK's speech? What do these things have to do with civil rights, which, at this point in time, should be a non-issue?
Why does an Arab woman in a headscarf think she has the right to tell Americans that we have "a long way to go in our struggle for freedoms"? Why did the NAACP invite so many Arabs to speak at this rally? Why were there so many Palestinians at this rally? Why was someone from the more moderate civil rights groups (such as the Congress for Racial Equality) not invited to speak? And lastly, why the non-coverage by the media, with the notable exception of C-SPAN?
Just look at the photos at the top of the thread. Notice that they weren't even able to draw enough attendees to fill up the plaza directly in front of the steps. Then go back and look at the photos from the actual MLK speech from 1963, given on those same steps; there were so many people there that they extended all the way back to the other end of the Mall and beyond ... the photographers couldn't even capture them all in any one shot.
A lot of people at yesterday's rally may have gotten disillusioned and drifted away after only being able to take so much political BS, but the truth is that the people that believed in MLK's principles distanced themselves from this bunch in disgust years ago and wouldn't be caught dead at such a public gathering today.
One again, it's proven that Hate doesn't sell. Someday the RATS will learn this ... but not until after they learn to stop hating in the first place.
As long as blacks continue to so blindly support the Democratic Party that the RATS can take them for granted and ignore them, and they keep defecating on a GOP that has tried over and over to welcome them with open arms, they're going to get screwed at every election from now until the end of time.
What percentage of blacks are supporting Cruz "N*****!" Bustamante in California, just because he has a (D) after his name?
They didn't cover the Paul Wellstone memori-rally either, but New Media made sure they entire country knew about it, and it was the only thing we talked about for the entire final week leading up to the 2002 elections, where it played a major role in the GOP's nationwide annihilation of the RATS.
Word of this festival of hate will get out as well. The consequences won't be nearly as heavy, of course, since the only thing remarkable about yesterday's freak show was the intensity and quantity of their disgusting conduct. We all expected there to be at least some crap like this. We just didn't expect it to be almost ALL crap.
Especially considering that his own son was part of it.
But we can't speak out against them? You have confused people's comments with government prohibition. No one even said they had no right to speak!
Unless he disavows them, yes. Dean is now a tacit supporter of Robert Mugabe.
400 smelly losers is not a "massive" anything, Cherry Honky.
This event raised a lot of questions in my mind: Why the almost enforced absence of US flags? Why no singing of the Star Spangled Banner? Why no mention of the greatness of America? Why no invitee from the right of the political spectrum? Why was this event not billed as a DNC rally, even though it appeared to be little more than that? Why the emphasis on "hip-hop", gay rights and Palestinian Liberation at a rally commemorating MLK's speech? What do these things have to do with civil rights, which, at this point in time, should be a non-issue?
Why does an Arab woman in a headscarf think she has the right to tell Americans that we have "a long way to go in our struggle for freedoms"? Why did the NAACP invite so many Arabs to speak at this rally? Why were there so many Palestinians at this rally? Why was someone from the more moderate civil rights groups (such as the Congress for Racial Equality) not invited to speak? And lastly, why the non-coverage by the media, with the notable exception of C-SPAN?
The simplest answer?
This was a communist gathering, disguised as a racial event.
More specifically, liberalism is a mental illness rooted in narcism.
Then perhaps you should go back and read some of his writings - if you can find them. I suspect that the family has buried most of them.
Why was not a member of CORE invited to speak? This is what the media thinks of CORE's spokesman Niger Innis.
No more need be said on the matter.
And this is it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.