Pelican Feed

I have sat down on three separate occasions this week to write this blog; each time I found myself getting mired down in the politics of the recent events in Charlottesville, Virginia. It is so easy to waylay myself by engaging in the political rhetoric that accompanies a horrific event. The darkness of hate blinds me to the truth. I become confused, allowing this blindness to circumvent truth. Truth is truly what I seek when confronted by a reality of hate. As I see it, Americans have an ideological division in how we interpret social and economic class. This division has a base along racial lines, but it is no longer dependent on the actual race of individuals, except for white supremacist. White supremacists are partially what they claim to be, that is, white. As for supreme, I seriously question their self-interpretation as protectors of “white” culture and supremacy as a part of their blood lineage. As far as I know white does not possess an ethnic culture. I am white and I am an American. My heritage is known because I am privileged to not have had it stolen from me. On the other hand, my husband’s lineage is Acadian. The British attempted to steal their identity by sending them throughout the British Colonies as indentured servants and slaves. The French and Spanish, who ruled over the Louisiana territory, helped these Acadians as they found their way out of bondage. Spain offered a sanctuary in south Louisiana to bring farmers to help produce food necessary for an increasing population. Aided by these imperial governments, they developed family registries to connect and reestablish families as well as their culture. These efforts resulted in a flourishing community. While yes, something was stolen, something too was offered. I do not believe that the same can be said for descendants of slavery in the United States and Caribbean. Generations of people and family disappeared and heritage lost. The moral development of all Americans today is tied to this theft of personal freedom. This has effected every aspect of American cultural development. Oppression has existed in the United States of America from the beginning of our country. Following the Civil War oppression was race and economically based. It continued through the Civil Rights movement, and even today as is evident through in the Black Lives Matter movement. Yes, all lives matter, but that is not the conversation; that is a distraction from the truth. Black lives are at risk daily. Suppressing the truth of inequality and opportunity subverts and exacerbates progress for greater opportunities for us all.

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