Promoting
peace through hate
Is anybody else getting a little tired of
being harassed while walking to class simply
because you chose to take the scenic route
past the campus bookstore? The story I am
about to describe has happened to practically
everyone here — you are walking to class
or some social gathering, minding your own
business, when, all of a sudden, a man in
a brown or black suit approaches you and
wants to shake your hand.
He begins ranting and raving about an item
of clothing you are wearing or some trinket
you are carrying as a way to initiate a
conversation in which the ultimate goal
is for you to join his organization. This
organization is none other than the hateful
organization led by Louis Farrakhan — the
Nation of Islam.
For those of you that do not know, the Nation
of Islam is an extremist group of predominantly
black Muslims who are famous for hosting
the Million Man March, which took place
in Washington, D.C. on October 16, 1995.
Millions of its members took to the streets
to promote “peace” and “understanding” in
all walks of life.
It is always interesting to me how groups
like this say that they are all about tolerance
and communication yet demonstrate quite
the opposite. Even worse, this intolerance
is demonstrated directly through their “spiritual”
and “honorable” leader, the minister Louis
Farrakhan.
Louis Farrakhan has been infamous for making
anti-Semitic and anti-white comments, yet,
unbelievably, most of his minions have not
lost any respect for the man, and the Nation
of Islam continues to grow to this day.
At the Million Man March, for instance,
when referring to the “hijacking” of the
black community, Farrakhan said, “Many of
the Jews who owned the homes, the apartments
in the black community, we considered them
bloodsuckers because they took from our
community and built their community.” Apparently
to Farrakhan, the promotion of peace and
unity is accomplished by comparing a Jew
to a bloodsucking leech. Interesting.
This is not the only example of anti-Semitism
demonstrated by the Nation of Islam’s fearless
leader, not by a long shot. When referring
to Senator Joe Lieberman, Farrakhan said,
“Mr. Lieberman, as an orthodox Jew, is also
a dual citizen of Israel,” insinuating that
Jews, no matter if they have lived in the
United States their entire lives, are really
“dual” citizens of their current country
and that of Israel. Using that same reasoning,
one could make the equally ridiculous statement
that blacks are also “dual” citizens of
Africa and whatever country they currently
happen to be residing in.
Even as far back as 1984, following Jesse
Jackson’s reference to New York as “Hymietown,”
Farrakhan came to his side by making the
disgusting and frightening statement, “Hitler
was a very great man.” As persuasive and
cunning as Hitler was, he was definitely
not great. Making a statement like this
would ruin anyone else’s career.
Jews are not Farrakhan’s only favorite targets;
he also enjoys bashing whites, as was demonstrated
in a March 2000 article in the Philadelphia
Inquirer, where Farrakhan was quoted as
saying, “White people are potential humans…they
haven’t evolved yet.” Farrakhan has
also been known to make numerous other ludicrous
statements, ranging from the “United States
conspiracy against the black man,” to hatred
of anyone gay, to the ridiculous accusation
of some blacks being “mainstream” blacks
who are, in his mind, slaves to the white
man and his organizations.
In this day and age, it is mind-boggling
to me how anyone would buy into rhetoric
and nonsense of this sort, but I suppose
it is inevitable, as long as people like
Louis Farrakhan and Jesse Jackson have a
chokehold on their subjects that is achieved
through fear and intimidation.
So, as a word to the wise — next time you
are walking past the bookstore and one of
these madmen approach you and begin to bombard
you with their agenda, do not give them
the satisfaction, just smile, nod and be
on your way.
Gerry Wachovsky is a business major
at Cal State Long Beach. He can be reached
at senorbucho@aol.com.
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