Race Hatred: THE Divisive Issue

I am compelled to write this not because of any recent event or publication, but because of the comment section for an article about melting snow in Detroit uncovering the frozen bodies of dogs. As reprehensible as it is to discover dozens of dead dogs, most of which were fighting dogs, dumped in a city's public park, that this story unleashed such a despicable and even more reprehensible tirade of unabashed race hatred is both illuminating and hopefully educational.

It is no secret that I believe America has devolved into a two party dictatorship which serves not the people but the elite. To give the illusion of a choice between two evils on any given ballot, certain "hot button" issues are constantly used to keep the People arguing amongst themselves over seemingly divisive issues. A short list of these issues include: abortion, religious intolerance, gun control, carbon taxes, crime and the greatest divisive issue of all, race hatred.

(Poster for the film, "The Birth Of A Nation")

It's 2014, folks, but reading the comments section of the "dead dogs" piece on the WWJ-TV, CBS affiliate website, will make you believe that it's 1915 and these people have just stepped out of a screening of "The Birth Of A Nation". How a story about dead dogs became a conduit for an outpouring of such vile race hatred I will leave for the reader to decide. Here is a small sampling of the comments (and there are over 500 of them at the time of this writing) because that is all that is necessary in this case. The comments range from the subtle to the explicit.

"It is the damn jungle with snow !!! The North American Pavement Ape is a wild feral animal !!! I'm not gonna say it again. This story would have been excellent if the melting snow revealed hundreds of these FERAL ANIMALS"

"13%. Dark skinned. Dumb. I like the dogs better, poor things. License these people (if indeed they are people); not the dogs."

"There are two types of black people. There are the respectable folks who are, LAW ABIDING, educated, mannerly, considerate, employed and who have legitimate children. This group is called Negros, but they seem to be few and far between. And then, there is the apparent majority of blacks who didn’t even finish high school, think the minimum wage should be a living wage, suck of the welfare system for generations, breed illegitimate children like rabbits, participate in flash mobs, steal, rape, are gang members, own illegal weapons, fight to buy expensive things they can’t afford, are very racist, play the “knockout game”, live in a dump, currently occupy OUR White House, “department of justice” and some seats in Congress.....these are the n i 99 e r s, most of whom never had a “daddy” to provide some guidance in life (includes “obama”)."

"This is Dee-troit. Animal Farm where savage primates murder and cause mayhem. They are the ones who should be "put down", not the dogs."

"Negroes doing what they do best."

We can pretend such vile hatred does not really exist or that it is merely the product of the anonymity that the internet provides, but we would only be fooling ourselves. Aside from the adroit use of this dividing issue on the American electorate by the politicians, we can at least be assured that race hatred is learned and often at a very young age, regardless of color. We can call out the politicians who use this issue and we can also call out the corporations and individuals who contribute to their campaigns as well. We must constantly be aware of such hatred and not hesitate for a moment to not only shame but perhaps educate. That may seem a bit pie-in-the-sky, but as compassionate human beings we have to start somewhere!