Responding to Representative Jasmine Crockett’s and Jamal Bowman’s Comments About 'Oppression'

Among the many recent examples of racism directed against both our nation and white people in particular, three examples prominently stand out. On November 20th Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (TX-D) retorted during a debate on DEI on the House floor, “You tell me which white man was dragged out of their homes! You tell me which one of them got dragged all the way across an ocean and told that you’re gunna go to work!  We’re gunna steal your wives—we’re gunna rape your wives. That didn’t happen—that is oppression!”  More recently, Rep. Jamal Bowman argued in his “Dear white people” letter that white supremacy led to a jury’s finding Daniel Perry innocent of criminal charges in the death of Jordan Neely. He additionally hurled other false charges against the “white people” of America. Finally, on December 13th Duke rape accuser Crystal Mangum finally admitted 18 years after ruining many lives that she fabricated the rape accusation she leveled at several white male students. Although she asked the young men to forgive her, she admitted, “I don’t have any regrets.”

All of these racially incendiary examples stem from the false historical narrative put forth in DEI and CRT initiatives. Despite the billions spent to create the false image of Western Civilization and the U.S. being unique in bearing the responsibility for slavery and for oppressing non-whites, a lingering historical reality contradicts this simplistic view. Such racist opinions, now thoroughly ingrained in higher education and the federal government, require a detailed response. Several historians have recently responded to the plight of an estimated 3 to 4 million white Christian slaves who were seized by non-Western people of color for over 1,200 years. Unfortunately, these responses have neglected a more complete societal comparison between Anglo-America and Africa. In response to Rep. Crockett’s charges, in particular, it’s important to remember that: 

– African kingdoms aided and abetted the enslavement of both Africans and Europeans for almost 1,200 years. Anglo-America enslaved Africans for less than 250 years—the United States for less than 100 years. Despite the international African slave trade being eventually stopped by Europeans, Africa today has the most slaves of any continent. 

– For 1200 years, European women were openly trafficked as sex slaves in Africa’s Muslim city-states on both its Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts. Contrary to DEI and CRT teaching, Biblical and societal norms in British North America worked to discourage such sexual relationships. For example, there is no African equivalent to our colonial anti-miscegenation laws. Moreover, African Muslim leaders openly kept large harems of Christian women for sexual purposes. Although at times there were so many Christian slaves in Algiers that one could be purchased for the cost of an onion, the ransom price established to free Christian women and men showed their actual value. When Edmund Cason was sent by England in 1646 to purchase the freedom of as many slaves as possible, he spent over £1,000 each for many of the freed English women vs only £38 for men.

– Although CRT argues that the conditions faced by African slaves in America were unprecedented, European slaves in Africa faced far worse. African slaves in America saw no equivalent to the conditions faced by tens of thousands of European galley slaves—chained to their oars for the duration of their short lives. 

-- The greatest threat to slavery in America was the written word. The Bible, the Declaration of Independence, and many legal ‘freedom suits’ all served to win freedom for countless slaves. Where are the African equivalents to our Abolitionist Societies and to our documents and lawsuits opposing the enslavement of Christians? There are none. There simply are no African equivalents to U.S. v Claiments of the Amistad (1841) or “Mum” Bett v Ashley (1791) and countless other freedom suits. Nor did any African city-state ever pass the equivalent of the ‘Personal Liberty Laws’ that many northern states enacted in opposition to the federal Fugitive Slave Law of 1850.

– Before the end of slavery in America, there were many white martyrs who willingly gave their lives, their fortunes, or who were severely punished for their efforts to abolish slavery. Elijah Lovejoy died for freedom of the press. Robert Carter III—the richest man in America at the time—gave away his entire fortune to free Africans from slavery in Virginia. (He died poor, and his grave is unknown today.)  Cassius M. Clay, Charles Sumner, and John Brown risked their lives or personal well-being in the struggle. Sherman Booth and John Hossack were among the many whites found guilty of harboring slaves in violation of the Fugitive Slave Act. Where is the list of African or Muslim martyrs who struggled to free any of the millions of white slaves held in Africa?

-- Whereas Islam has many different sects within the faith–similar to Christianity–not one single African or Islamic sect argued for an end to the enslavement of Europeans. Within Christianity, however, Quakers, Congregationalists, Unitarians, and other powerful Christian voices opposed African slavery. Moreover, hundreds of thousands of white American Christians signed petitions to Congress urging the abolition of African slavey.

– Americans so opposed slavery that they fought THREE wars against the institution–two to free white Americans enslaved in Africa and one to free Blacks enslaved in America. What African or Muslim nation can boast of such a record?

– Whereas there are many examples of prominent individuals of the “oppressive race” working to end slavery in America (John Brown, Theodore Weld, Lewis Tappan, William L. Garrison, etc.) it’s difficult to find a single African or Islamic leader who devoted his life to the betterment of European slaves. Eighteenth and nineteenth-century America produced many authors, poets, educators, clerics, editors, and politicians who worked diligently to develop an anti-slavery culture in our nation before the Civil War. There is simply no cultural equivalent to Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” Garrison’s “The Liberator,” or Longfellow’s ”Poems on Slavery” in Africa over the 1,200 years of European enslavement.

– Often, American slaves could simply run away from their condition. In doing so, they were protected by northern antislavery citizens of both races. Unfortunately, the typical U.S. History textbook fails to mention that the same men who formed the Republican Party in 1854 in Ripon, Wisconsin, were part of a 5,000 strong band of white males who freed an escaped slave from jail only days earlier. European slaves in Africa had no such opportunities for freedom. They were trapped by deserts, the Mediterranean Sea or the Atlantic Ocean, and a population that mostly regarded them as ‘dogs’ and ‘beasts.’ There are no examples of thousands of African males organizing to free white Christian slaves such as what happened in Ripon, Boston, and elsewhere.

--Anglo-American society often celebrated the successful escapes of Africans from slavery within our nation. The Amistad freedom fighters became celebrities in New England where collections were taken up to pay for their education and legal costs. Frederick Douglass, Phyllis Wheatly, Sojourner Truth, Harriett Tubman, Benjamin Banneker, William Wells Brown, and numerous other African American slaves became both successful and prominent within the white dominated culture of their time. The ‘white oppressive’ society permitted their establishing newspapers, operating successful businesses, petitioning authorities for redress, and allowed for their filing of lawsuits—often with results in their favor. African slave states tolerated no such activities on the part of their European slaves.

– It’s commonly agreed the worst experience for African slaves was the “Middle Passage” across the Atlantic. Slaves that died enroute from unsanitary, crowded conditions were simply thrown overboard. This, however, is not unlike the thousands of European slaves who died for centuries while being chained for life to an oar in an Islamic galley or who worked on building the massive breakwaters for African harbors. These unfortunates were beaten daily to get the very last ounce of work from them, then simply cast into the Mediterranean when they died. To replace them only required attacking any defenseless Christian coastal town or ship to obtain more.

– Many prominent Americans joined the American Colonial Society, an organization charged with purchasing the freedom of slaves and returning them to their homeland in Africa. Americans purchased land in Liberia, Africa, and supported missionary and educational efforts to improve the lives of Africans. No Africans ever bought land in Christendom for the sole purpose of returning Christian slaves to their homeland.

– Many states in both the North and South passed “manumission laws” to encourage freedom. No African or Islamic city-state ever passed laws to encourage non-white masters to free their white slaves. 

--Due to many of the reasons above, it’s no surprise that among all nations in the Western Hemisphere, the fewest number of African slaves were brought to what is now the United States. It’s also notable that only in the U.S. were slaves able to augment their numbers through natural childbirth—thanks to a longer life expectancy than in Latin America.

These are only some examples of how Rep. Crockett was  wrong in her interpretation of the past. There are additional historical examples to prove her wrong—the indentured servitude of countless Anglo emigrants to British North America, the enslavement of the Irish who were sent to the Caribbean during Cromwell’s reign, the plight of over 25,000 British convicts who arrived in American in chains, the impressment of tens of thousands of Englishmen and Americans into virtual slavery by British naval press gangs, and the breakup of families and the sale of countless German “Redemptioners” in the colonies before the Revolution. Nor does this include the contemporary example of Western women being the victims of countless rapes or sexual assaults by “people of color”—often from Africa—in Scandinavia and other parts of Western Europe. One British paper declared the 1400 young girls who were sexually abused and traded amongst the foreign-born men in the city of Rotherham in recent years were the equivalent of their being sex-slaves.

The above examples are given as a partial answer to Rep. Crockett. Can it be that she and Jamal Bowman represent the two best examples of what’s wrong with DEI and CRT?

The writer has been a social studies educator, founder of Rho Kappa -- the National Social Studies Honor Society -- past president of the Florida Council for the Social Studies, and a former Elementary School Principal of the Year in Lee County, Florida. He may be reached at: jsbovee@aol.com. 

Identity Politics

A published version of this appeared in American Thinker and may be accessed "HERE".

     In 2020 The Simpson’s voice actor Hank Azaria (a Caucasian man) said he would no longer perform Apu’s voice (an Indian character). For nearly thirty years no one had a problem with this, but all of a sudden it became a cause for concern. Why is it that something which was perfectly acceptable by practically everyone for so long suddenly became verboten? It would seem, even to a casual observer, that doing accents is one of the primary trademarks of acting. 

This relatively recent trend in Hollywood has gone so far that on June 30, 2020 The Babylon Bee (a satirical website) ran a parody where Alyssa Milano began a new movement with the hashtag ‘#takethepledge.’ In the satire she states, “Actors should not act like people they are not.” Sadly, it was not as far fetched as the humorists had intended. 

In the 2019 movie “The Upside,” able-bodied actor Bryan Cranston received flak for playing a disabled man confined to a wheel chair. He defended himself by saying that he was entitled to play characters whose attributes and abilities differed from his own, "If I, as a straight, older person, and I'm wealthy, I'm very fortunate, does that mean I can't play a person who is not wealthy, does that mean I can't play a homosexual? I don't know, where does the restriction apply, where is the line for that?" he told the Press Association. 

Back in 2005, there was an uproar in the Deaf community over a New York adaptation of Carson McCuller's "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" in which the central character John Singer (who is deaf and mute) is played by a hearing actor. On October 18, 2009 “Curb Your Enthusiasm” Season 7 Episode 5 aired and Larry David came under fire for his use of not one but two actresses who can walk playing wheelchair users. Scarlett Johansson, Tilda Swinton, Jack Whitehall, Ed Skrein, Abigail Breslin, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Dwayne Johnson are among some other actors who have faced criticism for playing disabled characters.

In 2018 actor Darren Criss said he would no longer accept LGBT scripts because he did not want to be "another straight boy taking a gay man's role." Britain's Ben Whishaw (an openly gay actor) expressed sentiments similar to that of Bryan Cranston's after winning a Golden Globe for playing a gay man in A Very English Scandal. "I really believe that actors can embody and portray anything and we shouldn't be defined only by what we are. On the other hand, I think there needs to be greater equality," he continued. "I would like to see more gay actors playing straight roles. It should be an even playing field for everybody. That would be my ideal," he concluded.

It is interesting how this principle seems only to apply to straight, able-bodied, Caucasian men. For over 30 years a woman named Nancy Cartwright has performed Bart Simpson’s voice, and no one ever batted an eye. In 2022 Mark Ruffalo played a straight man in “The Adam Project,” and no one said a word about it. Sean Penn played gay activist Harvey Milk in 2008, but he has been grandfathered in due to his bona fides as a progressive warrior. Where was the outrage when Kevin Spacey was portraying non-pedophiles? In the current day age of absurd superhero movies, films about time travel and space exploration, and other such fantastical subjects, it seems odd to fixate so unbendingly on who exactly may be allowed to play certain specific roles. In any case, there was an actor who expressed a more sensible and preferable take. Actor Andrew Garfield said it best, “If we only let people play exactly who they are, it’ll be the death of imagination.”

Jean-Marc Bovee, PharmD retired
St. Louis, MO

    

Fabricating Division

In 2016, a YouTube movie review channel known as RedLetterMedia posted a video discussing the deceits surrounding, and controversy at the time regarding the new Ghostbusters movie featuring four female protagonists in replacement of the original all-male cast. The nature of their video could be used as an example to illustrate how much our current day politics suffers from the same types of deceptions vis-à-vis the Wag the Dog nature of them. It is a sad yet fascinating commentary on how propaganda can manipulate people’s perceptions and thus their view of reality. It also exposes the ‘monkey see monkey do’ nature of too many of us, and how easily we can succumb to groupthink.

For instance, the original Ghostbusters 2016 trailer had an inordinate number of downvotes (970,322), which Sony Entertainment and the entertainment media chalked up to a massive preponderance of sexism, misogyny, and, of course, racism (that ostensibly run rampant throughout our culture). What they failed to grasp was that the math did not add up to support this contention. The trailer had 38,045,852 total views meaning that only 2.5% of those who viewed it clicked the ‘dislike’ button. Also, there were only 279,282 comments posted, which means only 0.73% of people veined to leave a remark. In other words, 99.27% of people who saw the trailer did not bother to comment on it at all. 

In an effort to stoke the flames further, for increased publicity and thus interest presumably, Sony began deleting relatively benign and civil comments critical of the trailer and left only the more vile ones. This gave more notice to the hate-filled misogynistic comments, and thus the impression that they were par for the course. This would lead to articles such as that on May 2, 2016, by Tom Huddleston titled, ‘New Female Ghostbusters Trailer is Bringing Out the Misogynists.’ News stories were everywhere about man-children, their bigotry, and the injustice to what was, in all honesty, a very unfunny movie and its terrible trailer. The fellas at RedLetterMedia cited an article by The_Night_Rider on March 7, 2016, titled ‘Sony Rigging Ghostbusters Comments?’ It was concluded that these antics would presumably give Sony a review embargo of sorts and an angle with which to market the movie. 

Then Sony handpicked reviewers and bloggers to attend early screenings of the film. Apparently, they paid people to see the movie once it came out, and lie about how much they enjoyed it. On March 12, 2002, CBS News’ Bootie Cosgrove-Mather reported, ‘Sony Pays for Fake Reviews.’

So, one can begin to see how relatively simple it is to artificially create a narrative. Ultimately, there was an insignificant number of hateful comments posted and Sony, along with their accomplices in the entertainment media, exacerbated a relatively minuscule issue besmirching the American culture and society in the process. According to Mike Stoklasa at RedLetterMedia, “They were able to ignite a fraudulent movement based on a dumb, unfunny ‘comedy’ film.”  

Now, who is to say that our government and their lackeys in the mainstream media do not do the exact same sort of thing on a daily basis for the purpose of misleading the public on a whole host of issues. Remember when Nancy Pelosi besmirched the TEA Party (who merely felt they were being overtaxed) by claiming she saw swastikas at their rallies? There was no evidence of this, but it did not matter. It made it into the zeitgeist anyway. Same thing happened with the Michael Brown ‘Hands Up Don’t Shoot’ fiasco, which never happened. Who could forget how NBC News doctored George Zimmerman’s call regarding Trayvon Martin in an effort to make him look racist? I recall when a MSNBC reporter referred to Black Lives Matter protests in Minneapolis as “mostly peaceful” while buildings burned behind him. Look at how quickly people were willing to buy into Jussie Smollett’s bald-faced lie that he was assaulted by racist MAGA supporters. 

Remember this when the powers that be try to tell you that there is a racist white supremacist behind every tree, or that there is a rape culture on college campuses, or that there are widespread weekly school shootings, or that there is an epidemic of police shooting unarmed black people, or that trans women are women (while Lia Thomas crushes the competition), or the current ‘Gay’ misinformation campaign regarding Florida’s recent bill is homophobic despite that fact that this word is nowhere within it), or that the ‘science’ declares for safety that we wear masks, lockdown for years, get a mandatory vaccine (or get fired), get mandatory booster after booster, et cetera, et cetera. The time has come to open our eyes, read between the lines, critically analyze the news, think for ourselves, and draw our own conclusions based on facts, stats, and wisdom. 

Jean-Marc Bovee, PharmD retired
St. Louis, MO

PRESS RELEASE - April 13, 2021 "In Defense of Robert E. Lee"

Re:  In Defense of Robert E. Lee 

Today, our nation struggles to recover from $2 billion dollars in destruction and countless lives lost over this past summer—much of it surrounding the destruction of monuments dedicated to important figures in our national past.  It is no surprise that with the decline in knowledge about our nation’s history that citizens have pressured the Ft. Myers City Council to remove the Memorial dedicated to the memory of the man for whom our county is named. Gone are the days when mayors and commissioners would pose for pictures at the base of the Robert E. Lee Memorial. Nor do many citizens recall that in recent years our County Commission has both officially recognized Confederate Memorial Day and passed a resolution to protect historical monuments within our county.  Unfortunately, with the march of today’s ‘cancel culture’ all that matters is to follow the dictates of an uninformed mob. Due to the blatantly erroneous statements that were made before the Ft. Myers City Council regarding the character of Robert E. Lee, we believe it’s necessary to set the record straight. 

It’s been falsely stated that Lee was a cruel slave owner who whipped his slaves and sold apart family members. The truth is Lee freed not only the slaves he inherited from his wife, but also all those from the Custis estate which were not owned by him.  He always stood in opposition to the institution. True, as executor he rented slaves from the Custis estate, but he did so in order to raise the funds to pay for their emancipation. He accomplished that goal. Those of his slaves who wished to remove to Liberia even had their transport paid by Lee.  

Nor was Lee a ‘traitor.’ He had already dedicated much of his life to the defense of our nation and risked his life in its war against Mexico. Lee always saw himself as following the steps of his Revolutionary War father, “Light-Horse Henry” Lee, and George Washington. He opposed secession but was forced by history to choose. Thank goodness none of us is faced with his choice—to take up arms against one’s one family and neighbors and to invade one’s own state or to hope for peace and vow to protect your loved ones from foreign invasion. Through Lee’s simple word and deed, a murderous guerrilla war following Appomattox was averted. He turned down opportunities to make a fortune off his name as he saw his own properties seized by the federal government, leaving him in dire poverty in 1865. Thanks to an offer from a bankrupt Washington College, he found a respectable home and comfort for his wife by assuming the presidency of the little school. For the next five years as thousands of his officers, former soldiers and southern citizens sought out his guidance, he always advised them that God had decided the contest and their duty now was to be loyal citizens of the United States. Without a doubt, he single-handedly did more than anyone to heal the wounds from a war that cost 750,000 dead and another hundred thousand maimed and disabled. For this he won the undying devotion of our nation and countless Presidents and world leaders. Hardly acts of a traitor!

Lee’s life is a lesson to us in troubled times. For that alone he should not be driven in disgrace from our public square. Drawing inspiration from his ordeal, he continues to inspire generations of Americans to enlist in an army that prides itself on duty, sacrifice, loyalty, and perseverance. We’ve forgotten that in 1964 President Johnson invoked the memory of Lee to successfully pass that year’s momentous Civil Rights Act into law. We’ve forgotten his memory was invoked again during the national turmoil over the Vietnam War. When his “lost” loyalty oath was rediscovered in the National Archives in 1970 there were over 400,000 draft dodgers who had fled to Canada or were in hiding out within America. Congress quickly rushed through a bill restoring Lee’s citizenship. Signed into law by Gerald Ford on July 22, 1975 it offered hope for our future. Shortly afterward, President Carter used this example to pardon hundreds of thousands of Vietnam draft dodgers. Once again Lee helped heal our wounds.

Today should be no different. Many of our members had ancestors who fought in the American Civil War. We respect the views of many Black citizens in Lee County who are offended by the local Robert E. Lee memorial.  We ask them to judge the entire man’s life, however, and not just the four years he chose to defend his family and state from what he considered foreign invasion. We ask that they remember that through his acts and deeds he opposed slavery and humanly freed his own slaves. We feel just as closely touched by Lee’s deeds as they—actions on his part freed their ancestors while they maimed and killed some of ours. 

Lee’s Christian heritage taught him to forgive his enemies and to forget the divisions of the past. He never drank, smoked, swore or was unkind to any person. He was always a faithful husband and loving father. He was a renowned educator—both at West Point and later at Washington College. We’d like to call upon the citizens of Lee County to remember Lee’s character and his entire life’s lesson—one that all our school children should be educated to.  Rather than remove this man from our collective memory, we need to strengthen our remembrance of him. 

With the same hope that Lee had for our nation’s future, we urge the collective elective officials of Ft Myers and Lee County to make the right decision for of our community.

WORDS 949

Sincerely,

 Brian Bailey, President, Southwest Florida Civil War Roundtable
Naples, FL   34117
Cell:     239-      

Defending a Great American from Cancel Culture

                                                                                         H.S. “Jack” Bovee     
                                                                                         19001 Cypress View Drive
                                                                                         Fort Myers, FL  33967

April 2, 2021

Mr. Kevin Ruane, Chair, Lee County Commission, dist1@leegov.com
Re: In Defense of General Robert E. Lee

Dear Mr. Ruane,

I am writing to you as a resident of Lee County for 50 years, a former U.S. History teacher at N. Ft. Myers High School in the 1970s, a former Social Studies Coordinator for the Lee County School District in the 1980s and 1990s, and afterward a former Lee County Elementary Principal of the Year. I’ve dedicated all of my adult life as to the education of youth. Among my most treasured achievements was to have taken an idea begun by Maureen Copeland at Fort Myers High School for establishing a rigorous Social Studies Honor Society for her students and promoting similar societies across Florida and eventually the nation.  I tell you this because I am passionate about the subject I wish to discuss with you: the need to preserve in Lee County the memorial dedicated to Robert E. Lee, for whom our county is named.

I am keenly aware of the toxic nature of many monuments to America’s past—especially those that pertain to anyone associated with the Confederacy. As an educator, however, I can’t help but believe there is an opportunity here that would benefit everyone in our community.  I need not tell you that the life and times of Robert E. Lee closely mirror our own.  Today, our nation has been divided almost to the extent it was 160 years ago when a tragic Civil War destroyed half the nation and took an estimated 750,000 lives.   Robert E. Lee’s personal efforts to reconcile the division in our nation won him the praise of countless U.S. Presidents and world leaders. He worked against what would have been a murderous guerrilla war following Appomattox, thereby saving the lives of countless Americans. After the war, he continually told his students and friends that he saw himself as an American and encouraged them to put aside their resentments and prejudices. His example has repeatedly served as a lesson to our nation in times of political and social division. Much later, when LBJ urged Congress to approve the Civil Rights Act of 1964, he reminded Southerners of the legacy of Lee.  He remarked to his fellow southerners, “If we are to heal our history and make this nation whole…opportunity must know no color line. Robert E Lee…a great leader of the South—and I assume no modern-day leader would question him or challenge him—Robert E. Lee counseled us well when he told us to cast off our animosities and raise our sons to be Americans.” Finally, for the record, Lee abhorred slavery. 

Without a doubt, Lee’s example and his character have guided Americans in turbulent times. Today is no different. 

It should be noted that Robert E. Lee is today a great AMERICAN citizen. He sought and posthumously received restoration of his citizenship and civil rights by nearly unanimous votes in both Houses of Congress not that long ago. In the historic presidential signing ceremony marking that event, Gerald Ford spoke to the nation: General Lee's character has been an example to succeeding generations, making the restoration of his citizenship an event in which every American can take pride. . . .As a soldier, Gen. Lee left his mark on military strategy. As a man, he stood as the symbol of valor and of duty. As an educator, he appealed to reason and learning to achieve understanding and to build a stronger nation. The course he chose after the war became a symbol to all…     

The fact that Lee devoted 4 years of his life toward the defense of his state, family, and neighbors in a cause that he believed was constitutional should be no reason to erase a memorial to his honor in the county that bears his name. The toxicity of the current situation threatens the very historical legacy of both the City of Ft. Myers and Lee County. Are we next to rename the city because it honors another Confederate? Will we rename the many roads, parks, schools, buildings, businesses and even our county name itself because these pay tribute to the man that so many of our presidents and world leaders have praised? Where will the cancel culture end? Why not deal with it now? If Lee cannot be respected, who can? If this monument is removed, what other tributes to the man should remain?

I submit that there is an alternative route that the County Commission and City Council may wish to explore. It is to follow the time-honored tradition of political compromise. I respectfully suggest that the City and County each nominate such stakeholders and distinguished local citizens to a committee that would be charged with establishing a common-sense solution to our current dilemma. Nominees might come from prominent local educators, the Bar Association, historical museums, and perhaps even from the Board of Lee Memorial Hospital—whose very existence owes a debt to this man. Nominees could be from stakeholder groups such as the NAACP, the Sons of Confederate Veterans, possibly the Lee County Visitors/Convention Center, one or more of our university Presidents, or representatives from our many elective bodies. The possibilities are endless and as an optimist, I believe there are enough people of goodwill that a satisfactory agreement could be made. A committee report with representation from all stakeholders would hopefully provide a firm foundation for any decision by elective bodies.

I’d further suggest any such group charged with arriving at a solution should meet basic criteria. Among these might be:

      -- that the location of the memorial be appropriate (this might mean county property instead of city property or that it be removed to a historical museum or another appropriate venue. (Are the various historic busts by sculptor Don Wilkins still housed in the City convention center?)   
     -- that it be made available to the public for historical and educational purpose
     -- that it be in a secure location to protect it from further vandalism or destruction 
     -- that educational background be provided as part of the monument to give context to all sides
     -- that some final clarification of ownership be established for the future 

Among other possibilities, it might be possible to create a short educational video (that could be produced by WGCU, the school system or a local news network) that could briefly cover the life of Lee as well as the controversy surrounding this historical legacy. This could be used to educate and better inform Lee County citizens, visiting tourists, and local school children about the man and would help to answer the question as to why this county continues to bear his name.

The above scenario of an advisory committee is only one suggestion and I’m aware that such a move would entail legal obligations under Florida’s Sunshine Law. Another idea would be to submit something of a solution to the voters of Lee County for their input or approval. 

As a member of the Southwest Florida Civil War Roundtable, I’m aware of the desire of the Sons of Confederate Veterans to possibly remove the Lee Memorial to a location outside of Lee County. Doing so, however, would not end these controversies.  We’d still have a hospital, roads, banks, schools, parks, businesses, portraits and more to protest and agitate over.  As a community, we have a choice. We can deal with our past history today or kick the can down the road for our children to solve. Personally, I’d hate to see this memorial to the man removed from the public square in Lee County when having it present provides such wonderful educational opportunities for our residents and students.

I’d welcome the chance to discuss this with you further. I’m copying your colleagues and Major Kevin Anderson on the matter in the hope of getting some common-sense discussions going between your two local governing agencies.  

With best wishes for a workable solution to all,

Most sincerely,

Jack Bovee            Email:  jsbovee@aol.com       Cell:  239-272-3508

Cc: 

Mr. Cecil Pendergrass, Commissioner, Dist. 2   dist2@leegov.com
Mr. Ray Sandelli, Commissioner, Dist. 3  dist3@leegov.com
Mr. Brian Hamman, Commissioner, Dist. 4  dist4@leegov.com
Mr. Frank Mann, Commissioner, Dist. 5   dist5@leegov.com 
Mr. Kevin Anderson, Mayor, City of Ft. Myers    mayoranderson@cityftmyers.com

Pick the Issue, Democrats Prove Themselves to be Traitors: Fraud & Malfeasance

Today’s Democratic Party bears no resemblance to the party of JFK, LBJ or even Bill Clinton. This is unmistakable.  Regardless of issue—whether it’s immigration, health-care, First or Second Amendment Rights, civil rights, government spending, education, electoral integrity, foreign affairs, fiscal responsibility, national defense, trade or anything else—today’s Leftist Democratic Party can be depended upon to take positions contrary to the best interests of the American people.  This week’s case in point: the so-called ‘Covid Relief Bill.’  

The passage of the unparalleled $1.9 trillion dollar measure, signed into law this week with not one Republican vote, is only the most recent indication of how Leftists are seeking to destroy the nation. Moreover, the mainstream media—now solidly in league with the Left—applauds the fact that over 90% of the funds have nothing to do with Covid relief. The vast majority of funds are literally bribe payments to far-Left constituencies. Republican arguments that there is right now $1 trillion still left to fund Covid relief fell upon deaf ears. Average Americans agree that with the impact of such funding still to be made, why spend another $2 trillion?  The reason, of course, is that it is necessary to take money from the Red States with fiscally sound economies to pay for Blue State incompetence and malfeasance! For example, for decades Democrats have voted to give public employees salaries and pensions that were knowingly unsustainable. Rather than tax their own citizens, however, to pay for these costs, they’ve turned to Washington. As a result, hundreds of billions of dollars from American taxpayers will now be sent to fund the bloated pensions of overpaid governmental employees in Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. Thus, Red State southerners who have played by the rules and have balanced their budgets and who have lower than national average salaries will now be forced to bail out northern states with higher salaries and pensions. “Never let a crisis go to waste” is the Democratic mantra. Lest we forget, civil wars have been fought over such regional exploitation and oppression. 

Despite the fact that some southerners are once again making the argument of “Northern aggression,” it’s an even easier argument to accuse today’s Democratic party of deliberately planning for our nation’s collapse. A good example is their plan to tax citizens so that “stimulus money” may be given to non-citizens who are here illegally. This is, of course, a deliberate affront to law-abiding American citizens and will only serve to increase the flow of illegals into the country—one of the key goals of the Democrat Party. Similarly, Democrats are using the so-called Covid-Relief Bill to punish conservative regions of the nation so that they may continue to reward (read ‘bribe’) their Leftist, “Tammy-Hall-like” minions. Americans in conservative states will now be taxed to cover for the blatant incompetence of Democratic-one-party states like California and Washington that have lost hundreds of billions of dollars in unemployment fraud.  In December 2020—just one month—21,000 prisoners, including 100 on death row, helped CA lose a staggering $400 million in welfare fraud. It’s gotten so bad that CA is now funding criminal gangs in Russia and Nigeria—both of whom have reaped hundreds of millions from the lunacy of liberal state welfare policies.  

    CA isn’t alone. The Leftist bureaucracy in Washington, D.C. is no different. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has estimated that in 2020 alone, improper payments amounted to 23.5% of those receiving Earned Income Tax Credits ($14.2 billion) and 21.3 % of Medicaid expenditures ($95.3 billion). The list of federally wasted funds due to fraud and mismanagement contributed to over $129 Billion in losses for just the year 2020 alone! Heaven only knows how much of the $1.9 trillion will be going to criminals here or in China, Nigeria, or Russia. 

    With such a track record as this, it’s no wonder why Americans are increasingly distrustful of big government. The history of the Democratic Party has always found success relying upon the ignorance of illiterate voters—whether it was the Klan in the South or Tammany-Hall-like political machines in the urban cities of the North.  The only difference between the graft and incompetence of the old days and that of today is the role of the media. Back in the early 1900s, a “Progressive” reform-minded media exposed such graft and incompetence to the American electorate. Upton Sinclair, Ida Tarbell, and Ray Stannard Baker—among others—led the charge of journalists to clean up the corruption and educate Americans to that need. Today’s mainstream media and our Schools of Journalism, however, seem only to want to provide continued cover for it and their Democratic Tammany-Hall-like leaders.

Jack Bovee
Fort Myers, FL

The writer has been a social studies educator, founder of Rho Kappa—the National Social Studies Honor Society, and a former elementary school principal.  He may be reached at JSBovee@aol.com.   

Letter to a "Woke" Northern School Superintendent

The following letter was sent to the Superintendent and members of the School Board for Burlington, VT following news that all schools were flying the Black Lives Matter flag underneath the U.S. flag at all school locations.  To download the actual PDF copy of the letter, complete with supporting photographs, click HERE. 

 December 18, 2020

Dr. Tom Flanagan, Superintendent
Burlington School District                                                                          150 Colchester Ave.    
Burlington, VT  05401     

Dear Superintendent Flanagan and Board Members,

     I am writing to you as a one-time AP US History Teacher, a Social Studies Coordinator for two separately large school districts with combined student populations of approximately 175,000 students, and a former School Principal. My educational career spans over 45 years. As a former educator, I am concerned with the recent decision by BSD to fly the Black Lives Matter flag prominently at all your schools. I am heartened by your comments that in doing so, your school district is attempting to value “all its students.” In doing so, you stressed that raising the BLM flag at all your schools was "symbolically" committing the district to “anti-racist practices, diversity, inclusion [and] justice…”  Having attempted to live my own life subscribing to the dissenting opinion of SCOTUS Justice John Marshall Harlan that “our Constitution is color-blind,” allow me to share a few brief observations that you and your Board members may wish to consider.

    First, I hope you recognize that the hoisting of the BLM banner underneath our nation’s own flag—which has not always been treated with dignity by this group—constitutes a controversial act. If there are no individuals within your community that feel this way, I would recommend they read Racism and anti-Racism in the World Before and After 1945 [2020] by Kathleen Brush. As a former educator charged with the responsibility of teaching controversial subjects to students, I understood I had the responsibility of presenting alternative points of view. Your district alludes to this in your own documents related to this topic. Unfortunately, your flying the BLM flag so prominently only serves to inform young impressionable minds that there is only ONE view to be taken about the merits and beliefs of this very multi-faceted group. Moreover, it affirms that their view of our nation’s past or the current state of police relations in minority communities is beyond discussion or debate.  

    Secondly, I would humbly submit that the documents posted on the BSD website by your Diversity Department [“Black Lives Matter FAQ” and the “six metaphors” analogy] neither comport to known facts nor present your district in a positive light.  As a result, your entire program and intent is based upon a false premise and you perpetuate the very ills you wish to correct. For example, nothing is said in these documents of the Marxist connections and extreme opinions held by the three original founders of the group. Moreover, the “victims” of systemic racism cited in paragraph one of the FAG document represent—in the minds of many American citizens—less than sympathetic persons. (See Candace Owens’ & Larry Elders' commentaries)  The FAQ comment that “as our nation grapples with anti-Black violence and the recent killings of Black people, we recognize that racism has persisted in our nation for centuries and we acknowledge the part that schools play in perpetuating institutional racism” perpetuates that false narrative that the police and most schools either exhibit or perpetuate racism and cause harm to African-Americans. On the contrary, a recent Gallup Poll has revealed the vast majority of Black residents in our cities want to see the same or even an increased police presence in their communities. The call of BLM to ‘defund’ or even eliminate law enforcement agencies has already led to huge increases in crime in many cities. Such claims and actions have long ago been debunked by Heather MacDonald “Does the Truth Matter?” She is now refuting the arguments that “activists and their media allies are marshaling over a more sweeping (false) set of facts to “prove” the dominance of white supremacy—the absence of a proportional representation of blacks in a range of organizations. This insufficient diversity in such groups results from racial bias, claim the activists…” (See MacDonald’s “The Biased Fallacy” for why there is ‘disparate impact” in many professions.)  

For other examples of how the materials used or recommended by your district serves to perpetuate ‘falsehoods’ see the appendix.

    Third, I would argue that the false narrative that BLM holds that our nation is systemically racist and that “fundamental change” is required to eliminate ‘whiteness’ in our society, is un-American and inherently racist in itself. This can be exposed with a few undeniable facts. The extensive list of Black politicians in the modern era who were elected by white-majority electorates should illustrate the falsehood of charging systemic racism against Blacks. Senator Edward Brooke, David Dinkins, Doug Wilder, Tom Bradley, Maynard Jackson, Andrew Young, Andrew Gillum, Richard Hatcher, Howard Nathaniel Lee, Carl Stokes, James Everett Chase, Henry Gantt, and, of course, Barak Obama—just to mention a few—were all elected with white majorities. This past year, eight Black Congressmen were elected by non-minority majority districts. Additionally, white voters historically have voted less on the issue of race than has the Black electorate as a whole. 

    It appears that your school district espouses the false BLM narrative that our nation is systemically racist. One wonders whether your teachers are using BLM or NY Times 1619 Project materials which have been cited by leading historians and even the NY Times ‘fact checker’ as historically inaccurate. Hannah Nikole-Jones—Nobel Prize-winning author for being instrumental in the 1619 Project and now NY Times Editor—has never recanted her vehemently racist rant against white people as a student at Notre Dame many years ago. Why should she when her overt racism has seen so little pushback? (For an alternative view, I’d recommend Brush’s book above--a short book under 100 pages that I would recommend be added as an instructional resource in your high school libraries and history classrooms.) That millions of non-white citizens chose to come to America despite the BLM claim that our nation is racist against persons of color lends further evident to the BLM false claim. So do facts concerning average family income disprove the BLM belief in ‘white privilege’. Census statistics reporting average household income by American ethnic group for 2018 revealed that the average income of English Americans ranked 85th out of 98 ethnicities at $47, 663.  The median income of all white households was $65,777. Many minority groups consisting of ‘people of color’ did far better. For example, Indian Americans ($123,453), Taiwanese-Americans ($102,328), Filipino-Americans ($92,328), Iranian-Americans ($75,905), Lebanese-Americans ($75,337), and Ghanaian-Americans ($66,571) all exceeded the income of the average white family. So did Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Pakistanis, Peruvians, and many other ethnic groups. These groups did far better than those identified as English-Americans. Even Haitian-Americans ($47,990) earned one spot higher than white English-Americans ($47,663) in 2018. And the white English-Americans were not alone. Scots-Irish Americans and French Americans also earned less than the average for all white Americans.  

      It is important to note that many people of color object to the false narratives being put forth by BLM activists and leaders. For example, Black Catholic Leader Louis Brown has argued, “the BLM organization itself, is seriously flawed…It’s agenda will cause harm to Black families.”  Muhammad Ali’s son has called the group ‘racist.’ Jason Riley, Larry Elder, Candace Owens, Burgess Owens, Ben Carson, and Jason Whitlock, among others, have argued against the narrative that America is inherently racist and discriminates against people of color. BLM leaders and activists within their ranks, on the other hand, espouse virulently racist attacks against whites and with false charges of systemic racism against our nation. Kevin Peterson, a BLM activist with a long criminal history tweeted in June, “F--- white people, I’m as racist as F—“ before being shot for refusing to drop his gun while confronting police in Portland. Toronto BLM founder Yusra Khogali tweeted that whites were “subhuman" and should be “wiped out.” (See the appendix for many other examples.)  

     The Black Lives Matter riots that pummeled a hundred or more cities across the nation this past summer resulted in over $2 billion in damages and the loss of many innocent lives. Experts estimate that 95% of the riots involved BLM activists. Its tactics mirror those of Chinese Communist Red Guards during that nation’s Cultural Revolution. Despite attempts by the media to hide their aggression and assault of innocent people on the streets of many cities as well as our nation’s capital, countless videos exist on Twitter and YOUTUBE that expose this fact. Instead of waging war against “capitalists” the BLM activists are waging war against the police, ICE, white people in general, and those who don’t subscribe to their narrative. A war against police officers has resulted in the assassination of many police officers around the nation. The release of hundreds of arrested felons who were detained on charges of aggravated assault, arson, grand theft, and the destruction of property during the riots by Leftist District Attorneys has led to the retirement of countless other policemen who believe their elected officials do not support them. Moreover, the ‘stand down’ orders from other elected officials which led to mobs deliberately desecrating thousands of our nation’s historic monuments that have nothing to do with white supremacy was almost entirely promulgated by BLM mobs. (See examples below)  Lastly, as a result of the billions in damage linked to the BLM movement, insurance companies are no longer writing policies in certain areas of Portland. 

      Surely, a school district that prides itself on ‘inclusion’ and the valuing of ‘all’ will find the ability to do justice to those who may not subscribe to the BLM view of our nation’s past or its current position on contemporary racial problems. I challenge your Curriculum and Diversity departments to cite on your district website the instructional resources that present an ‘alternative’ view to your adoption of the BLM narrative and the promotion of the BLM curriculum materials described below. 

Sincerely,

Jack Bovee

Past President, Florida Social Studies Supervisors Association
Past President, Florida Council for the Social Studies
Lee County Schools (FL) Elementary Principal of the Year 1998

APPENDIX

Examples of the false BLM narrative contained in the documents written by your Diversity Department

A) Related to “Black Lives Matter FRQ “ pamphlet created by your office of Diversity  

     The three BLM founders that are cited in paragraph one: Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi have all espoused racist and un-American values in their communications—some of which have since been scrubbed from the organization’s website.  

 the three founders celebrated the life of convicted cop-killer and fugitive to Cuba, the former Black Liberation Army member Assata Shakur.  (Source here) 

 One familiar chant of BLM activists is “It is our duty to fight for freedom…We have nothing to lose but our chains.”  (This last phrase taken from Marx’s “Communist Manifesto.”)    (Source here)

 In Dec. 2016, Patrisse Cullors tweeted “ICE = Gestapo.”  Thus, it's clear that she views those who risk their lives to protect America’s borders as genocidal murderers who totally disregard human rights. (Source here) 

 BLM leaders, many of whom were educated in private or elitist schools, oppose public charter schools, despite the fact these are very popular with minority parents and often provide the only opportunity for minority children to receive a quality education.  (Source here) 

 Despite the problem of fatherhood in the Black community (75% of Black children do not live with their natural father), BLM leaders and the BLM website call for the end of the nuclear family as a patriarchal and oppressive holdover from Western Civilization. This will, of course, only exacerbate problems within the Black community. (Source here) 

 Patrisse Cullors has authoritarian tendencies: she’s appointed herself “Executive Director” of BLM now that the organization has received over one half-billion dollars in corporate donations in the last six months. As a result of her authoritarian nature, 10 other BLM organizations have split away from her ‘leadership.’  (Source)  

B) From the BSD “BLM FRQ” document, paragraph 2 which calls for the end to ‘all forms of discrimination” and the end to all forms of “systemic injustice towards Black people” through “restorative solutions”.  How do race-based scholarships open only to specific minorities, separate standards for college admission, separate dorms, graduations, specific race-based set-asides for governmental contracts, and a whole multitude of other programs that majority students are not eligible for—help lead to “systemic discrimination against Blacks?” How does the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of ‘65, the ability to file discriminatory complaints with the federal Office of Civil Rights, and a multitude of other federal and state laws baring discrimination help “perpetuate” white racism? How does the argument that simple ‘disparate impact’ studies equate to prima facie evidence of racial discrimination—a basic tenet of BLM--when so many other variables are actually proven to be more responsible for such ‘gaps’ between the races?  That such factors are NOT described in your document, despite the fact federal law requires all schools and businesses—including your own—to post that they are “equal opportunity employers’ seems mystifying.

C) From the BSD “BLM FRQ” document third question: “But Don’t ‘All Lives Matter’?”  Both this paragraph and the related section in “Six Metaphors”—which helps the reader ‘understand’ this phrase—argue that the additional word “too” is intrinsic to the phrase “Black Lives Matter.”  The problem with this is several-fold. First, of the tens of thousands of signs held by protestors containing the words “Black Lives Matter”--there are none that I know of that contain this recent ‘addition’ to the phrase. Another problem is that BLM activists often demand acceptance of their view under threat of violence to those who do, in fact, counter with their own opinion that “all” lives matter. A woman was murdered and many students have been disciplined or suspended from college organizations over simply affirming their personal belief that “all lives matter.” Saying ‘all’ lives matter in today’s politically correct ‘woke’ society is now somehow racially “insensitive” whereas the threatening and disciplining of others for their opinion on this controversial topic is not.  Here are only a few examples: 

Student faces 50 day suspension for saying ‘All Lives Matter’ 

Student Claims She was Kicked out of Sorority After Posting ‘All Lives Matter’ 

Man Assaulted After Saying ‘All Lives Matter’ 

Jessica Whittaker Shot Dead After Saying ‘All Lives Matter’ 

NBA announcer Grant Napear fired over ‘All Lives Matter’ comment

People Cancelled, Silenced and Shot for saying, ‘All Lives Matter’ 

Gemma Collins slammed for Saying ‘All Lives Matter’

University of MASS Nursing Dean Fired After Saying ‘Every Life Matters’ 

Stan Wischnowski Forced to Resign after saying “Buildings Matter, too”

Reporter Forced to Step Down over “Black Lives Matter” comments

Catholic Teacher Fired for Criticizing Black Lives Matter movement 

Mayor Pete Buttigieg apologizes for saying ‘All Lives Matter’

Martin O’Malley (MD Governor) Apologizes for Saying ‘All Lives Matter’ 

PA Special Ed Teacher of 27 Yrs Service Fired for BLM comment 

Soccer Star Aleksandar Katai released after WIFE’S anti Black Lives Matter comments

VP Pence Savaged for Saying “Every Human Life is Precious” & “All Lives Matter”

Former Canadian Cabinet Minister Loses 3 Jobs for Saying “Canada is not racist” 

  Video examples here and here) 

What’s ironic is that a majority of Black people have no problem with the phrase “All Lives Matter”! 

D.  From the BSD “BLM FRQ” document fourth question:  “but isn’t the Black Lives Matter movement anti-police?” Contrary to your district’s view, many Americans believe that it is. For months, BLM has argued to defund police departments and has successfully attacked and destroyed several such precinct headquarters.  Again, BLM members are out of step with Black residents of inner cities who overwhelmingly—86% in a recent Gallup Poll—want the same or even an increased presence in their communities. Numerous calls by BLM leaders and activists for ‘dead cops’ and for ‘pigs to be fried like bacon’ are well documented. During the summer BLM riots, over one dozen officers were murdered and hundreds more injured by violent mobs that threw bricks, rocks, fireworks and bags of excrement at them. Just as the lie that Michael Brown had his ‘hands up’ and pleaded ‘don’t shoot’ was one of the falsehoods that led to the onset of the BLM movement, the argument claiming police racism against black men has been rejected by numerous studies and by even a cursory examination of the facts. Accounting for demographics, a higher percent of unarmed white men than Black men have been killed by aggressive police tactics. In one study, the “black officer kills a black felon at a rate more than double the rate at which white and Hispanic officers killed black felons.” Another study revealed that black officers were 67% more likely than their white colleagues to mistakenly shoot an unarmed suspect. Another study revealed that Black officers shoot Black suspects more often than white officers.  Roland Fryer, a Harvard researcher, found no racial bias in police interactions with Black males that that police were more likely to use force on white suspects than black. Heather Mac Donald, who has studied the problem for years has concluded, “if there is a bias in police shootings after crime rates are taken into account, it is against white civilians.”  A study by the National Academy of Sciences reported similar findings.  Another report revealed that Blacks were three times more likely to be struck by lightning than be killed by police.  It showed that in approximately 50 million police encounters, there were 14 deaths of unarmed Black men and 8 of these involved the suspect attacking or struggling with the police. 

     Moreover, any examination of police brutality must take into consideration the number of criminal acts and the number of ‘encounters’ such groups have with the police. Black men who comprise approximately 6% of the population commit 50% of the homicides in the nation. In fact, Black males commit a significantly higher percent of ALL sorts of crime than whites, from driving through red lights and speeding to armed robberies or sexual assaults. As Larry Elder has argued, this false narrative is not only causing the murders of police (2 execution-style murders of police in New York City, 3 in Baton Rouge and 5 in Dallas, etc.), it is leading to more Black males being killed, who increasingly resist arrest because they believe all police are racists. Finally, when it comes to actual hate crimes, the FBI reports that hate crimes are more likely to be committed by minorities than white people. (More sources here, here, here, here, here, and here.) 

E. In your fifth Q&A--“Shouldn’t schools stay away from politics and be non-partisan?”—your district admits, “yes, schools should be non-partisan…” and “Schools need to help students learn how to discuss difficult topics with different perspectives.” Your unqualified support for the false BLM narratives, however, openly reveals that your district does not live up to its responsibility of providing students with “different perspectives.” Your policy amounts to adopting and endorsing racial bias and propaganda from an extremist, Marxist group that has committed unprecedented damage to our nation.  (See next section below.)

F. Your pamphlet ends with the statement that “the BSD strongly denounce racism in all its forms.” Really? How can you, when you examine the racist motives behind the BLM curriculum and many of its spokespersons? (See the next section below) 

Examples of Racism and Violence Espoused by Black Lives Matter Leaders and Activists

 Hawk Newsome, a prominent BLM leader defended last summer's violence and rioting resulting in  $2 billion in property damage during last summer’s riots.  (Source here) 

 In 2016, the FBI declared Black Identity Extremists a “serious violent threat to law and order.”  

 During the invasion of the nearby library at Dartmouth College (11-2015), 150 Black Lives Matter activists screamed racial obscenities and demanded recognition from white students who were studying there. White students were told to ‘stand’ in support of BLM and those who refused were verbally assaulted. For example, one seated white female who remained seated was berated with “you filthy white racist piece of shit,”  When another white female burst into tears after being threatened, she was told in her face “F--- your white tears.”  (Source here) 

 During a BLM protest in Dallas, Micah Johnson, a black-racist army veteran sympathetic to the false narrative of police oppression, assassinated five police officers and wounded nine others. 

 When a Black assailant shot two defenseless LA police officers seated in their car at point-blank range, many BLM activists showed up at the hospital to bar their being able to be admitted, shouting “We hope they die!” (Source here) 

 Black Lives Matter members stormed a news station that dared to report unfavorably on their violent actions in Seattle.  (Source here) On many other occasions, videos posted to Twitter showed BLM activists telling others to ‘film no violent acts’ delivered against innocent citizens.

 Your website reference to the ‘6 Metaphors’ parental resource reveals the following:

-- a statement by Ginna Green that “anti-Black racism is hardwired into America’s DNA”

-- the statement “Black lives are in danger!” implies the greatest dangers to the Black community arise from “systemic white privilege’ and ‘racism.’  It never discusses the leading cause of death among young Black males—homicide caused by other Black males. Nor does it discuss endemic rates of illegitimacy or the devastating abortion rates of Black females as factors negatively impacting Black lives.  Such facts are obviously not open for discussion.

-- the statement by Given Sharp, “until the day comes that Black Americans aren’t being shot in their homes, in the street, and in their cars, you CANNOT tell me that all lives matter in the eyes of our society. All lives won’t matter until black lives do” is reminiscent of the false claim LeBron James tweeted out to his 66 million followers, “We’re literally being hunted EVERY DAY/EVERY TIME we step outside the comfort of our homes!” Such comments—if not outright racist in their nature—are patently untrue. Neither whites nor police are shooting large numbers of Blacks “in their homes, in the street and in their cars…” They are being killed by other Black males. As a result of your district’s promoting this false narrative, one is left to wonder what curriculum resources does your district use or cite to dispel the incendiary statement by Given Sharp above?

-- the “Broken Bone” cartoon analogy in the ‘6 Metaphors’ resource uses cute gingerbread cartoon figures to promote the falsehood that the ‘crying full-figured’ cookie which reflects majority culture is selfish. On the contrary, there are countless programs by our ‘system’ seeking to redress the existing poverty and problems within minority communities. To be more accurate, the “Broken Bone” cartoons would need to have the injured gingerbread-man accuse the fully-limbed cookie of deliberately causing his leg to be broken. Isn’t this what BLM is saying when it accuses our nation of systemic racism and when they never acknowledge some of the results of disparate impact rests the consequences of individual choice? Again, does your district treat this ‘difficult subject’ with balance and accuracy?  I think not.

-- the statement by Aliza Garza that “Black lives, which are seen as without value within White supremacy…”  One is to assume, I guess, that the countless Affirmative Action programs--which ‘systemically discriminate against white males’--serve only to prove that whites as a group don’t ‘value’ Black lives. Although statistics abound about the disparate impact of police interactions within minority communities (most often with no mention of crime rates), you will search in vain to find any research study on the devastating impact that legally sanctioned ‘systemic discriminatory programs’ have upon white families. Garza also falsely asks, “are all races getting routinely killed by police for no reason?” The facts and many sources already cited above regarding police encounters and even those ‘victims’ identified by your Diversity Department in its BLM FAG proves the falsehood of Garza’s statement.

 At some BLM protest marches, members have chanted “Pigs in a Blanket--Fry ‘Em Like Bacon” and “What do we want--Dead Cops!” and “F--- the Police”  (sources here, here, here and here)  Such open calls for violence against the police and the many assaults and deadly attacks upon law enforcement officers by those linked to BLM exposes the fallacy of its claim that it seeks only to end police ‘brutality’ and that BLM does not favor violence. Moreover, the false narrative that BLM claims that police are murdering ‘unarmed’ innocent black men creates unfounded hatred toward our police. This only results in the likelihood of even more violence between an unjustified anger of young Black men towards the police. This false narrative is so widely accepted now, that one poll in 2018 revealed that Blacks felt the correct figure of unarmed Black men being killed by the police was from 1,000 to 1,400 innocent persons when the actual correct figure was 9.  

 Heather MacDonald’s research reveals, “The per capita rate of officers being feloniously killed is 45 times higher than the rate at which unarmed black males are killed by cops. And an officer’s chance of getting killed by a black assailant is 18.5 times higher than the chance of an unarmed black getting killed by a cop.”

 A revealing example of the above took place when the parents of two teens who were jailed after shooting at police blamed the BLM movement for brainwashing their sons into attempted murder. “They are in jail for doing what Black Lives Matter wanted them to do: shoot at cops,” they said. BLM spokesmen denied they favored violence, but the anti-police spray-paint invective, their many violent confrontations against the police, the burning of hundreds of police cars, and the injuries they inflicted upon law-enforcement officers by their members in over 557 riots that took place this past summer disprove such remarks.    

 Yet another example of the vicious propaganda that fuels violence and today’s ever-increasing executions of law enforcement personnel rests with the artwork so prominently displayed inside our nation’s capital by Rep. Lacy Clay that falsely depicted police as ‘pigs’ who were terrorizing Black communities.  

 In Indianapolis a Black man who purportedly wore a BLM T-Shirt with ‘F--- the police” on one side was arrested for firing 17 shots into a police officer’s home and shouting obscenities.  

 In May 2016, Dawud Abdulwali deliberately burned down an apartment complex in a cocaine-induced fit causing $100 million in damages, then bragged about it one week later when admitting he was upset over the death of Michael Brown.  

Examples Supporting Marxism or Authoritarianism by BLM leaders

 Patrisse Cullors has unapologetically stated: “Myself and Alicia in particular, we’re trained organizers. We are trained Marxists. We are super-versed on ideological theories.”  (Source) 

 When Cuban dictator and human-rights abuser Fidel Castro died on November 25, 2016, the Black Lives Matter leadership published an article titled, “Lessons from Fidel: Black Lives Matter and the Transition of El Comandante.” It advocated the many “lessons that we take from Fidel.”  (Source) 

 In January 2015, Patrisse Cullors joined others for a 10-day trip to the Palestinian Territories in the West Bank. Her hope was to publicly draw a parallel between what they portrayed as Israeli oppression of Palestinians and police violence against blacks in the United States. The following August, Cullors allied BLM with the Hamas terrorists who ruled the Gaza strip. Both groups share the common goal of destroying Israel, hoping to see the decline of capitalist America, and the successful take-over of the nation by radical, Marxist groups.   (Source) 

 BLM is tied intrinsically to Black Liberation Theology with its heavily Marxist, anti-American overtones. 

 “BLM & Hamas: A Marriage Made in Hell” cites other examples -   https://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/19482 

Tactics of BLM Demonstrators to Desecrate Our National Monuments and to Deconstruct Traditional American History and Values Reflect Tools Employed by Authoritarians

 A complete list of the dozens historical monuments that have been desecrated this past year by BLM activists and their allies is too long to be explored here. Suffice to say, the aims of the BLM movement to desecrate federal buildings, courthouses and historical monuments goes far beyond those linked to ‘white supremacy’ and seek to deconstruct our national heritage. Leftist curriculum, which has dominated our public schools for the past several decades, has succeeded in creating a sizeable percent of young Americans who seek to remove our historical legacy through illegal and mob-like means. Among those desecrated monuments were many of individuals who were instrumental in the fight to end slavery, were leaders in the struggle for equality or who otherwise made positive contributions to our nation. The list includes, but is not limited to, the desecration of the Lincoln and World War II Memorials in our nation’s capitol as well as other symbolic group monuments such as those dedicated to the 54th Mass. Infantry Regiment (Boston), the likeness of Norse explorers (Philadelphia), Texas Rangers (Dallas), western pioneers (University of Oregon), gold rush prospectors (Cal State-Long Beach), and Social Progress (U of WI, Madison).  

 In addition to these, the desecration of the individual likenesses of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Francis Scott Key, Ulysses S. Grant, Christopher Columbus, William McKinley, David Farragut, Mohandas Gandhi, Miguel de Cervantes, Frank Rizzo, John Sutter, Phillip Schuyler, William Clark, Albert Pike, John Sutter, George Rogers Clark, Caesar Rodney, Thaddeaus Kosciuszko, Stand Waite, Junipero Serra, Mathias Baldwin, Hans Christian Heg, Woodrow Wilson, as well many others cannot be ignored. 

 Nor should law-abiding Americans tolerate the illegal and criminal destruction of hundreds of monuments dedicated to the preservation of Southern Heritage. 

 By cherry-picking historical events to create a false historical narrative of America, BLM leaders have put forth a revisionist history akin to the flawed Howard Zinn approach to our past. They have succeeded in creating a huge segment of our youth who now despise our nation’s history, its Founders and Presidents, and much of our legislative history, domestic policy, and our nation’s role in international affairs. This is clearly evident when—for example—a statue of Lincoln, Franklin, Washington, or Thomas Jefferson is desecrated for one or more personal ‘sins’ (according to contemporary standards) while ignoring the totality of each person’s much more significant contributions. Interestingly, statues of leftists or communists such as those dedicated to Vladimir Lenin, Karl Marx, and others have remained untouched and the role extremists (including cop killers and the Puerto Rican terrorists who shot up Congress) have been treated favorably.

 The illegal tactics of BLM activists and their allies mirror the attempts of totalitarian societies and dictators to change history. They employ the methods of Stalin, the Taliban, Mao, Pol Pot, Hitler, Mussolini, Franco, Castro and others to destroy the historical legacy of the past along the lines George Orwell described in 1984.

 BLM Leader Shaun King; Statues of Christ represent ‘White Supremacy’ & Should be Torn Down – https://www.foxnews.com/media/shaun-king-jesus-christ-statues-white-supremacy   

 Bishop Who Knelt to BLM Has Church Statue of Jesus Later Decapitated  https://thefederalist.com/2020/09/23/after-bishop-knelt-to-black-lives-matter-a-vandal-decapitated-a-statue-of-jesus-in-his-church/ 

 BLM Organizer Defends and Encourages Looting ‘as reparations’--refuses to recant  https://nypost.com/2020/08/13/blm-organizer-who-called-looting-reparations-doubles-down/ 

 BLM activists resort to illegal, criminal means to accomplish this goal because they know the vast majority of American citizens would nnot support the destruction of these monuments or their revisionist interpretation of our nation’s past. 

 The criminal and illegal methods of the  BLM movement and its allies should NOT be celebrated by flying its flag underneath the American flag!

False Narratives Against the Police have led to not only acts of violence and their execution-style murders, but the injury of hundreds of officers, a loss of police morale [in the face of repeated media attacks and the lack of support by elected officials] mass resignations, and the wrongful dehumanization of those who risk their lives to protect the public.  (See below for a short list of examples)

 In New York, Criminals get gift cards while police are spit upon

 In Cleveland area, police receive ‘spit masks’ to protect from Covid 

 95% of 2020 Riots linked to BLM https://thefederalist.com/2020/09/16/study-up-to-95-percent-of-2020-u-s-riots-are-linked-to-black-lives-matter/  

 Man Fires 17 Shots into Officer’s Patrol Car and Home, Screams He Hates Police   http://fox59.com/2016/07/12/police-man-fires-more-than-a-dozen-shots-into-home-car-of-impd-officer/ 

 Mom and Children Arrested After Officers Attacked in Port Barre, Officers Hospitalized  http://www.wbrz.com/news/mom-and-children-arrested-after-officers-attacked-in-port-barre-officers-hospitalized 

 Man suspected in death of officer, woman dies    https://www.foxnews.com/us/man-suspected-in-death-of-officer-woman-dies  

 Officer killed   https://www.unz.com/sbpdl/his-name-is-joseph-bullock-white-florida-highway-patrol-trooper-murdered-by-black-male-angry-over-his-car-being-towed/ 

 Painting of Cops as Pigs Hung Proudly in US Capitol    http://ijr.com/2016/12/766256-painting-of-cops-as-pigs-hung-proudly-in-u-s-capitol/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social 

 Parents of Teenagers Jailed for Opening Fire on Police Officers Blame Black Lives Matter    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3721572/Parents-teenagers-jailed-opening-fire-police-officers-blame-Black-Lives-Matter-saying-movement-WANTS-people-shoot-police.html 

 Rochester Restaurant BLM Confrontation Turns Violent - https://heavy.com/news/2020/09/rochester-restaurant-protest-riot-video/ 

 Police Attacked by Swarms of BLM Protestors   https://www.dailymail.co.uk/video/news/video-2185064/Video-Police-officers-attacked-swarms-angry-BLM-protestors.html  

 BLM activists attack policeman with bat, hit from behind    https://twitter.com/i/status/1309064626756345860   

 Black Dallas Police Officer Sues BLM for Damages & Preaching “We Want . . . Dead Cops” - https://www.foxnews.com/us/dallas-cop-files-lawsuit-against-black-lives-matter-obama