When I was a young girl I used to listen to my father and
his siblings talk about how they and their immigrant parents were treated in
the early part of the 20th Century.
It was a misbegotten belief among many Americans at the time that all
Italians, particularly poor and/or unemployed immigrants, were Anarchists. Loosely linked with the fledgling labor movement
– along with Communists, Socialists and anyone else who could be used to
discredit the working men trying to organize, Anarchists were some of the most
feared terrorists of the day. The Haymarket Riot of 1886 in Chicago and the
conviction and subsequent execution of Sacco and Vanzetti in 1927 for the
alleged murder of a paymaster in Boston served to cement the idea of swarthy
skinned, wild eyed Anarchists with bombs and guns running the streets of America. Just about any immigrant fit the bill, but
Italians were very often type cast in the role of radical terrorist. Let me say that after studying both cases I
remain unconvinced that the eight men convicted in the Chicago riot and Sacco
and Vanzetti were in anyway guilty. They
certainly did not receive justice or fair trials. Let me also say that my family members were
never Anarchist, or gangsters come to that.
They were simply hardworking people who fought their way through poverty
and bigotry to create a solid middle class life for us all. Those facts notwithstanding, my grandparents
and their offspring were, like so many other Italians, often tarred with the
Anarchist brush – a situation which the yellow journalist faction of the Free
Press and the Rightwing establishment gloried in and promoted for wealth and
power.
The press never talks about its yellow journalistic history,
maybe because most of them are yellow journalists today. The Rightwing, Republicans mostly, never takes
responsibility for having mistreated anyone in the past – or present for that
matter. For instance, not too long ago I had a Republican trying to convince me that the attack on the Bonus
Army of July 1932 was actually carried out under Franklin Roosevelt’s orders. FDR wasn’t inaugurated for his first term
until March of 1933. No that was the
handiwork of one Herbert Hoover, the Wall Street snuggling, business
worshiping, money grubbing, labor hating, 31st President who gave us
the Great Depression.
It is often the worst elements in journalism, which today is
the largest element in journalism, and the self aggrandizing, self promoting,
power hungry political hacks of both parties who turn the human tragedies of
riots, murders and assaults to their advantage. Today, the Italians are mainstream citizens. No one calls us Anarchists
anymore. Nobody accuses us of being
gangsters either. Hell, the FBI claims
that the mob is dead. Between you and
me, if they believe that, they probably aren’t smart to catch the
terrorists. The scapegoats of choice for
talking heads, news commentators, reporters, politicians and political pundits
frothing at the mouth with excitement at another international catastrophe are
the Muslims, members of the Islamic faith.
That’s right; all Muslims are terrorists either directly or through
enabling. All Muslims support terrorism
either financially or through prayer.
Chris Christie, arguably the biggest clown in the Republican presidential
clown car, has even linked the plot to three year-old children, Muslim refugees from
war ravaged Syria. How do you like that?
In politics there is a concept known as the Overton
Window. The developer of this theory,
Joseph Overton, contended that in any area of public policy a somewhat narrow
range of ideas are considered politically viable. This is not about truth, it is about
electability. The window doesn’t change because of the ideas of politicians, but because of the ideas of the
people who elect them.
I submit that the manipulation of the electorate – here is
where our duplicitous, loathsome and corrupt media comes into play – through fear,
rage, misinformation and outright deceit can substantially reconfigure, even
disfigure, the range of public policies that will be acceptable and render
their proponents electable. Consider:
most of the people involved in the Paris assault were French and Belgian
Nationals. Somehow, through media exploitation
and political manipulation this fact seems to be lost in the haze of hysteria
that is being pumped up hour to hour.
Suddenly, the issue is the Syrian refugees, not homegrown
terrorists. The assertion, although
lacking much proof, is that terrorists are hidden among the refugees in
overwhelming numbers and are threatening to swamp Europe and America with
growing waves of terror. Yesterday, Cruz
and Bush managed to maneuver themselves into position to insert religious
bigotry into the Overton Window by insisting that only Christian Syrians be
allowed to immigrate to the U.S. This
kind of religious litmus test is absolutely anathema to the principles of our constitutional
and secular Republic; and yet it is now within the realm of reasonable public
policy on the far Right, Cruz, and in the establishment middle, Bush.
We are in very dangerous times. Much of our government and most of our media
is not to be trusted. All Muslims are
not terrorists. All Italians are not
Anarchists with part-time jobs in the Mafia.
The greatest threats to our freedom today are the death of thought and
the murder of truth. We have a
choice. Will we be complicit either
through deliberate action or abdication of our responsibility; or will we stand
up and fight back on behalf of our Muslim brothers and sisters – on behalf of
all people?
