Skip to main content

Showing Their Colors

Seen in Howard County:





First off, I have no use for the term "Alt-right". Let's call it what it is: fascism. And it's flying it's ugly little flag over Route 70 in Howard County. (FYI: it's no longer there.)

And what about that slogan? "They will not replace us." It's easy to do a basic Google search. I found an interesting opinion piece in the New York Tines, entitled, "White 'Power' and the Fear of Replacement".  The words, "You will not replace us" and "Jews will not replace us" were chanted by white nationalists in Charlottesville. From the article:

While on some level the people who marched in Charlottesville were motivated by a perverse, exceptional hate, they were also, on another level, driven by a very ordinary desire for power. But that desire is based in an impoverished understanding of power as the replacement and domination of others.

It appears that these people have friends in Howard County, Maryland. I think that's something that everyone, both Democrat and Republican, should be concerned about. This is not a benign political viewpoint. It is poison that promotes violence. Denying its existence will not make it go away.

What is the appropriate response? Can we afford to shake our heads and say, "This is not us" and just move on? It's far easier for white people, comfortable in our own privilege, to "tut-tut" and then do nothing. It's a far more immediate threat to all those who are considered "other" by white supremacists.

I'm not in the habit of calling things un-American, but this, my friends, is it. Facsim and Democracy cannot co-exist. I doubt very sincerely that these people will come to a #OneHoward or #ChooseCivility event in the hope of "having dialogue" with anyone. If conventional wisdom holds true, they are probably home trolling people on the internet. 

This sign, though. Somebody left their home and risked losing anonymity to give these words of hate a place of prominence in our community. 

What will be next? And what do we do to protect our community and our neighbors?

Comments are welcome here:

https://www.facebook.com/VillageGreenTownSquared/?ref=bookmarks





Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else.  Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not  chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...