Did you ever hear of the Golden Rule? “Treat others as you would be treated.” When asked which of the ten commandments Moses shared with the Israelites was the most important, Jesus advised questioners to “Love others as I have loved you.” In the 60s, even non-believers of any religion, or of even the existent of God, followed the precept “Lead with your heart.” “Flower children” believed in love, for everyone, at all times. And those were turbulent times. We watched freedom riders maimed and killed, their busses set on fire, their murdered bodies hidden and buried in shallow graves. We watched the perpetrators of violence go free; the Citizen Councils ( marketing change for KKK) often included law enforcement and local judges. This is the America currently referred to when Trump supporters urge us all to “Make America Great Again.” They no longer wear white robes nor hide their faces. They wear red ties, dark suits and sometimes red hats.They pretend to be news anchors on FOX News and elsewhere. They pretend to be president like Elon Musk. The delivery system of hate may have changed; the racism and sexism have not. We are experiencing a backlash to the progress made over the past 50 years. It took 50 years for it to grow this strong.
I was a resident student advisor (RA) at Lincoln Tower on the OSU campus in Columbus, Ohio in the late sixties and early 70s. I was also a student activist. I had to become one because I believed in the Golden Rule. I watched Black students, Jewish students and women students derided and demeaned. I was privy to racist commentary because white students assumed they could say them to my white face with my full agreement. White men also felt safe making sexist comments to me despite the fact I was a woman. As an Italian-American I was sometimes mistaken for Jewish and heard my share of anti-semitic remarks. Much of the time such hate-talk was passed off as a joke. Whenever I heard the joke I stopped the speaker and explained nothing they said was funny, nor factual. I demanded such language never be used while in my presence. Those who just joined in to feel safe in the crowd became serious and apologized. The bullies did not apologize. But they shut up. “Stand up to shut them up” became part of every day life on campus. That is activism at its core.
I had a few empty suites on my floor due to an on-going criminal investigation. A mentally ill student was on trial for arson, having set fire in a suite the year before. Once the case was resolved, those suites were re-opened and spaces filled, as were other vacancies on my floor. Who moved in to those spaces? Black women looking for a safe space. Some had repeatedly been locked out of their rooms by white roommates. Several had threatening notes nailed to their door; threats to rape or kill them because they were Black. Most were ostracized and demeaned daily by white roommates. Their complaint to Student Affairs fell on deaf ears. When the spaces opened on my floor, they found refuge there.
Our dorm was typical for OSU where Black students made up a tiny percentage of the student population. My floor was unique. I held floor meetings to discuss expectations that we would all follow the Golden Rule. When I saw or heard of a racial incident I immediately intervened. Soon, I was doing racial mediation on a regular basis. Black women entered the elevator and experienced white women moving close to the emergency call button, with hand hovering, ready to cry for help from women just like themselves returning exhausted from a day of classes ? Time for mediation! Call everyone together and talk it through. Day after day. Incident after incident. It was exhausting for the Black women, and the Black men who visited them, to face daily racial challenges and outright discrimination.
Another RA and two students worked with me to develop a racial mediation program in our dorm. Whenever the Student Judicial Council was handed a case involving a white student and a Black student in dispute, it was handed off to us to mediate the conflict. Our efforts were not always welcomed, but we persisted. Incidents of violence, write-ups to judiciary, and racial conflict decreased. Today, this program would be outlawed by the President who gleefully extorts OSU by threatening loss of education grants and federal funds for programs and research. OSU has caved to the bullies. OSU is not standing up to shut up the racism. It would cost money. And money is god in America, and on college campuses.
OSU is caving to racists and bullies again. And, not just OSU. Columbia University, indeed nearly all colleges and universities, if not all, are caving to racist bullies under the guise of following the law, accepting the lawless and illegal actions of the current administration. Following the law would require universities to protect the free speech rights of faculty and students, to abide by employment contracts and civil service laws to protect both administrative employees and faculty. Universities with law schools had readily-available experts to stand up, speak out and take action. I was an Associate Director of Law at Ohio University. There is a national organization of such attorneys. Why are they so silent? Why have university presidents and provosts not joined arms to defend their campuses against illegal searches and seizures of students? Why did Columbia University not come to the aid of Mahmoud Khalil and his family? If they did so in any way, it was neither apparent nor sufficient.
The Poster Boy President leading the racist mob of greedy Americans spoke at the DOJ recently. His racist and personal attacks on lawyers, prosecutors and judges, was accepted and even cheered. Racism and greed cross all boundaries and sexual preferences, exist within every profession, religion and community group. It is a constant and persistent threat to the principles of democracy. Those whose racism had been laid low, who crawled under rocks to hide their sins, have crawled back out, empowered by the greed for wealth and power, threatened by those they spurn who have finally found success on a more equal path, and undermined by their own sense of failure despite the promise of an American Dream. Instead of blaming the greedy power-brokers of industry, banking and finance, politics and education they blame their fellow victims. Their racism blinds them to truth, and they willingly embrace false-hoods and disinformation. They would not recognize a fact if it stared them in the face. They would prefer to attack the fact and the experts offering the truth of the fact.
As a lawyer, as an educator, as a writer, I am heart-broken over the loss of my country, my Constitution and its guarantees of personal freedom for all persons who are in this country…no matter where they came from, or how they got here. That is the promise of America. That is the American Dream. Shopping for cheap goods because your existence only matters if those power-brokers can make a buck off you cannot fill the place freedom once filled within the American heart and psyche. Woke? Woke is what is required to survive the on-slaught against a free people who simply want to find a good-paying job, buy a house, feed and educate their family. The power-brokers want us to stay asleep. Like children, we are angels in our sleep, causing them no discomfort, and quietly staying out of their way as they take over our economy, our government institutions, our military, our banking system, our educational systems and local/public schools…even our post office!
Wake up, my fellow lawyers, my fellow professors, my fellow school teachers, my fellow social workers, my fellow counselors, my fellow retail workers, my fellow waitresses and caterers, my fellow babysitters, my fellow students, my fellow Catholics and people of faith, my fellow Americans. Wake up and stay woke! We have work to do, if we can stay awake to do it loudly and persistently. This is no time to lie down and feign sleep. God knows, none of us sleep well theses days.
I just ate an entire bag of Milano double dark chocolate cookies. Better that than crying in outrage that separation of church and state has overcome our constitutional rights as white politicians within the Republican Party exploit the personal faith of voters to retain their control of government. Why? Because of their racism and sexism, and gender fears. And, to allow corporate and private wealth to stay in power through them, personally rewarding them financially and supporting filling their campaign chests.
These protagonists blocked the Equal Rights Amendment for women in my youth. Women finally got the right to vote but it and other civil rights have never explicitly been assured. This is one reason the privacy rights under the constitution was used to explain why women have a legal civil right to decide their health care rights and family planning rights.
This same reasoning was used to protect a couple’s right to use birth control. That right is now also facing elimination according to Justice Thomas’ dissent.
The Supreme Court is our greatest and final protector of our freedoms and civil rights. Today, the court threw women to the wolves. They invaded the privacy right of a woman to her own body. They destroyed a woman’s right to safeguard her mental and physical health. Her rights no longer belong to her. They belong to state legislatures. women no longer have rights equal to men in this nation.
We have been here before. Despite the end of enslavement of African-Americans recognition of their civil rights took another 100 years to secure. And, those rights, including the right to vote are again, still, under siege. The Voting Rights Act has been eviscerated. Will the supreme Court’s States Rights Rule now be applied to any individual’s right to equality and freedoms? This case opens that door. The decision today directs us through that door.
The violence and intimidation against women is now supported by our Supreme Court, using its judicial powers. I fear it will soon be the same for people of color, LGBTQT community … indeed any group the white supremacist leaders supported by our churches think they have a right to control.
Today’s decision is far worse than overturning abortion rights. It overturns equal rights. I fear it is not only women who are under threat. Our very identity as a free society , as an American society, was destroyed today.
I am out of cookies. Out of words. Only tears remain. Fascist Court? Not usually 2 words that go together. They do now!
The morning-after is always a let-down, a moment of weary headache-ridden resignation that the panic held at bay can no longer be denied. This is my country in this moment. We had a grand time for too long, sipping the heady drink of equal rights for people of color who long had been in bondage; and for women who remained subject to men, and for non-heterosexuals who hid from everyone’s wrath. We celebrated the promise of the power and strength which comes through embracing diversity and equality; long promised, and too long denied. We danced to the tune of American exceptionalism. Our belief in ourselves coursed through our veins. We danced and we drank, then drank some more. Heedless of the obligation to take our achievements seriously, we failed to protect the values we had accumulated over so many years of struggle; and, after such hurtful sacrifices, often too painful to discuss openly. Blind drunk, we waited too long to sober up.
If we had not been drunk, would we have noticed the smirks and innuendos, the open plotting and strategies of those at the Tea Party in our midst? How could we have missed the sheer exuberance of their hate for us? Did our ascension in the world of science and technology numb us to the animal nature seeking power and control, and the fear engendered by an expanding universe of ideas? Did our celebration lead us on a merry chase through such vast fields of entertainment that we stopped to play too long for our own good?
Why did no one tell us to go home and get some rest; and, that tomorrow would be a long day? Or, perhaps they did; but we were too intent on our pleasure to acknowledge the alarm clock would soon go off. And perhaps, the alarm clock did go off, but we simply stopped it and went back to sleep. Why was this not news? Are some truths too difficult to comprehend, or simply too challenging to report? Or, maybe, those reporting stayed too long at the celebration, drank too much, and danced too long beside us.
So much of our American identity is defined by the Latin word aequus, equal. Not to be confused with the Latin word equus or equinus, a horse of a different color; although, there seems to be some connection between the two. Equipage refers to a completely outfitted carriage,ship,army or household; while equip means to supply whatever is needed,arrange,or put in order.
When our government was equipped, or put in order we used a simple equation in our Declaration ofIndependence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident,that all men are created equal,that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,that among these are Life,Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Our Constitution, which is the foundation of our laws and the ordering of our society must be interpreted using this equation. We fought a Civil War to assure this. Our Civil War and the subsequent amendments and equal protection laws were passed to drive home this fact. Still, we face a powerful opposition to the guiding principle and philosophy of equality.
The election of an African-American president, Barack Obama upset the equilibrium of the political order. Equality has always been America’s unattained goal. Those who are more equal and better equipped vs. those less equal and poorly equipped. Over the years, our two-party system provided the music for this balancing act; trading philosophies regarding equality. It was the first Republican president who signed the Emancipation Proclamation, and a Democratic president who signed the Civil Rights Act. Today the Republican budget and the Democratic budget proposals are equidistant from enactment, and and equation of equality.
In the past, presidents have been viewed as the meeting place for two equal and competing sides; the vice-president residing over the Senate, ready to break a tie vote. Today, filibuster rules the Senate. Few bills ever get to a vote. That one party obstructs the effort of the other is not new. What is new is that one party, in this instance the Republican Party, has announced it will, and in fact does, obstruct every effort of the president to create equity, mediate the disputes equably, and pass legislation.
The ship of state is under the president’s command. He has tried to equip it, provide all it needs to stay afloat and sail forward. The Republicans insist he fail, refusing to equip the ship of state and insisting it never leave port; or, that it sink if it does. This is something new. It is inequitable. It strays from the American political philosophy. It is open rebellion against the leader chosen by Americans in an open and free election; similar to the rebellion of American Englishman against their King George. It is unpatriotic.
And what is the reasoning for this denial of every American principle? President (they never use this titled appellation;they simply say “Obama”)Obama is a socialist,an aetheist, a Muslim, an apologist, a fascist, a communist, an empty suit (remember that one?),hates rich people,hates religion,hates white people…ooops! The cat is out of the bag, or maybe the horse has left the barn is more appropriate. President Obama is a person of color.
Americans acceded to the appearance of racial equality post Civil War while imposing Jim Crow laws. When Jim Crow had to go Americans maintained a facade of equal rights while redlining neighborhoods, denying bank loans, and restricting business and education opportunities which would change the balance of America’s equality equation. But allowing the education, health, business, housing, environmental, agriculture and immigration activities of the nation to be managed and governed by a chief executive who is African-American is just too “scary”.
All that the Republican Tea Party opposes existed under the Bush administration; yet, its members failed to coalesce and rise up against President Bush and Vice-President Cheney. But, they had no hesitation to attack President Obama. Not with policy attacks but with ad hominem attacks against him and his supporters. He is the horse of a different color white,wealthy,empowered Americans have always feared. He is the horse of a different color who could upset the unbalance and inequity a competitive people fight to maintain. Yes, America’s flaw is that every American thinks he can do better than the next guy, deserves more than the next guy, make more money than the next guy. In order to justify getting “ahead” of every other American yet stay true to America’s vision of equality, we redefine other Americans as unequal. We cannot accept that every American IS equal. To do so , we would have to treat them equally. To do that would mean we might not get so far “ahead” of them.
This is why the first attack on President Obama was by “birthers”. If our president was not really American, not one of us, he could not threaten our superiority. He could fail; we could make him fail, and we would still be patriots. It is time to end this inequity. It is time to stand for American principles based on reality. What we hear from opposition candidates is not based in reality. We need to admit that.
President Obama is amazing in his ability to maintain equilibrium under such scurrilous and damaging attacks. He continually guides us back to the center, where equity prevails. He plays golf, eats lunch, shakes hands, smiles companionably with his attackers. His leadership style is equipotent; recognizing and honoring the power of “the people”. He is equipoised no matter what the other side throws at him. If we are honest, we will admit we could not behave with such decorum and dignity. This is a man born to lead a country of equals. This is a horse of a different color. Amen!
annarino writes 
A LETTER TO US ALL
Dear Us:
Did you ever hear of the Golden Rule? “Treat others as you would be treated.” When asked which of the ten commandments Moses shared with the Israelites was the most important, Jesus advised questioners to “Love others as I have loved you.” In the 60s, even non-believers of any religion, or of even the existent of God, followed the precept “Lead with your heart.” “Flower children” believed in love, for everyone, at all times. And those were turbulent times. We watched freedom riders maimed and killed, their busses set on fire, their murdered bodies hidden and buried in shallow graves. We watched the perpetrators of violence go free; the Citizen Councils ( marketing change for KKK) often included law enforcement and local judges. This is the America currently referred to when Trump supporters urge us all to “Make America Great Again.” They no longer wear white robes nor hide their faces. They wear red ties, dark suits and sometimes red hats.They pretend to be news anchors on FOX News and elsewhere. They pretend to be president like Elon Musk. The delivery system of hate may have changed; the racism and sexism have not. We are experiencing a backlash to the progress made over the past 50 years. It took 50 years for it to grow this strong.
I was a resident student advisor (RA) at Lincoln Tower on the OSU campus in Columbus, Ohio in the late sixties and early 70s. I was also a student activist. I had to become one because I believed in the Golden Rule. I watched Black students, Jewish students and women students derided and demeaned. I was privy to racist commentary because white students assumed they could say them to my white face with my full agreement. White men also felt safe making sexist comments to me despite the fact I was a woman. As an Italian-American I was sometimes mistaken for Jewish and heard my share of anti-semitic remarks. Much of the time such hate-talk was passed off as a joke. Whenever I heard the joke I stopped the speaker and explained nothing they said was funny, nor factual. I demanded such language never be used while in my presence. Those who just joined in to feel safe in the crowd became serious and apologized. The bullies did not apologize. But they shut up. “Stand up to shut them up” became part of every day life on campus. That is activism at its core.
I had a few empty suites on my floor due to an on-going criminal investigation. A mentally ill student was on trial for arson, having set fire in a suite the year before. Once the case was resolved, those suites were re-opened and spaces filled, as were other vacancies on my floor. Who moved in to those spaces? Black women looking for a safe space. Some had repeatedly been locked out of their rooms by white roommates. Several had threatening notes nailed to their door; threats to rape or kill them because they were Black. Most were ostracized and demeaned daily by white roommates. Their complaint to Student Affairs fell on deaf ears. When the spaces opened on my floor, they found refuge there.
Our dorm was typical for OSU where Black students made up a tiny percentage of the student population. My floor was unique. I held floor meetings to discuss expectations that we would all follow the Golden Rule. When I saw or heard of a racial incident I immediately intervened. Soon, I was doing racial mediation on a regular basis. Black women entered the elevator and experienced white women moving close to the emergency call button, with hand hovering, ready to cry for help from women just like themselves returning exhausted from a day of classes ? Time for mediation! Call everyone together and talk it through. Day after day. Incident after incident. It was exhausting for the Black women, and the Black men who visited them, to face daily racial challenges and outright discrimination.
Another RA and two students worked with me to develop a racial mediation program in our dorm. Whenever the Student Judicial Council was handed a case involving a white student and a Black student in dispute, it was handed off to us to mediate the conflict. Our efforts were not always welcomed, but we persisted. Incidents of violence, write-ups to judiciary, and racial conflict decreased. Today, this program would be outlawed by the President who gleefully extorts OSU by threatening loss of education grants and federal funds for programs and research. OSU has caved to the bullies. OSU is not standing up to shut up the racism. It would cost money. And money is god in America, and on college campuses.
OSU is caving to racists and bullies again. And, not just OSU. Columbia University, indeed nearly all colleges and universities, if not all, are caving to racist bullies under the guise of following the law, accepting the lawless and illegal actions of the current administration. Following the law would require universities to protect the free speech rights of faculty and students, to abide by employment contracts and civil service laws to protect both administrative employees and faculty. Universities with law schools had readily-available experts to stand up, speak out and take action. I was an Associate Director of Law at Ohio University. There is a national organization of such attorneys. Why are they so silent? Why have university presidents and provosts not joined arms to defend their campuses against illegal searches and seizures of students? Why did Columbia University not come to the aid of Mahmoud Khalil and his family? If they did so in any way, it was neither apparent nor sufficient.
The Poster Boy President leading the racist mob of greedy Americans spoke at the DOJ recently. His racist and personal attacks on lawyers, prosecutors and judges, was accepted and even cheered. Racism and greed cross all boundaries and sexual preferences, exist within every profession, religion and community group. It is a constant and persistent threat to the principles of democracy. Those whose racism had been laid low, who crawled under rocks to hide their sins, have crawled back out, empowered by the greed for wealth and power, threatened by those they spurn who have finally found success on a more equal path, and undermined by their own sense of failure despite the promise of an American Dream. Instead of blaming the greedy power-brokers of industry, banking and finance, politics and education they blame their fellow victims. Their racism blinds them to truth, and they willingly embrace false-hoods and disinformation. They would not recognize a fact if it stared them in the face. They would prefer to attack the fact and the experts offering the truth of the fact.
As a lawyer, as an educator, as a writer, I am heart-broken over the loss of my country, my Constitution and its guarantees of personal freedom for all persons who are in this country…no matter where they came from, or how they got here. That is the promise of America. That is the American Dream. Shopping for cheap goods because your existence only matters if those power-brokers can make a buck off you cannot fill the place freedom once filled within the American heart and psyche. Woke? Woke is what is required to survive the on-slaught against a free people who simply want to find a good-paying job, buy a house, feed and educate their family. The power-brokers want us to stay asleep. Like children, we are angels in our sleep, causing them no discomfort, and quietly staying out of their way as they take over our economy, our government institutions, our military, our banking system, our educational systems and local/public schools…even our post office!
Wake up, my fellow lawyers, my fellow professors, my fellow school teachers, my fellow social workers, my fellow counselors, my fellow retail workers, my fellow waitresses and caterers, my fellow babysitters, my fellow students, my fellow Catholics and people of faith, my fellow Americans. Wake up and stay woke! We have work to do, if we can stay awake to do it loudly and persistently. This is no time to lie down and feign sleep. God knows, none of us sleep well theses days.
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