Can you be a bigot without being a racist? Sure, it also goes by the term, “ignoramus”

For those not paying attention, Mr. Cliven Bundy is a Nevada rancher whose cattle have been illegally grazing on government land.  For twenty years.  At a cost to Uncle Sam totaling over a million dollars and counting.  This is the same man who denies the existence of the United States, but uses the Internet as a personal sounding board.  Contradictory?  Perhaps.  Outrageous?  Definitely.  While there’s an argument to be made about the righteousness of the grazing law, defying the law while placing government officials at gunpoint will get you arrested at best or killed at worst.  Don't think so?  Watch the acclaimed film, “Fruitvale Station”.

 If you’re listening, Mr. Bundy, the “Fruitvale” reference is apropos.  When Uncle Sam attempted to (literally) repo your cattle, turning it into a 21^st century version of the showdown at O.K. Corral with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) was not wise, to say the least.  You won the battle, but I’m perplexed at how that in any way relates to subsequent comments you’ve made.  Your response in invoking the name of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks—note the “s”—in a recent interview with CNN only reinforces how ill-informed you are.  Suggesting that you have, “often wondered, are (African Americans/negroes) better off as slaves, picking cotton and having a family life and doing things, or are they better off under government subsidy?” is tantamount to saying that jewish people were better off being exterminated by the Germans, that native Americans were better off being placed on reservations, or that women are better off barefoot, pregnant, and out of the workplace!  Such “thoughts” are repugnant by any stretch of the imagination and best kept to one self.

To use your lingo, what really “chaps my hide” is that your statement perpetuates some radical belief that most (if not all) black folks are somehow taking government subsidies.  Yet, by not paying for your cattle grazing, you’re guilty of what you suggest others are doing.  And do you honestly believe that negro lives during the slavery era could be construed as some warped version of a wholesome “family life”?  Really???  If so, go ahead and take that boot you displayed for the camera during that interview and have a good meal.  To be clear: no one is infringing on your right to your use your (limited) vocabulary.  To wit, you are free to use the terms “negro”, “black boy”, “slave”, and “those people” however you wish.  That said, be advised that there are consequences for such free speech in the same manner that people who yell  “fire” in movie theaters (without cause) can attest.  Recall:  Freedom is not free.  It comes at (some) cost.

In conclusion, I want you to understand that I, for one, don’t believe you are racist, sir; however, I do believe that all of your synapses may not be firing on all cylinders if you don’t have enough good sense to self-censor in public.  For us mere mortals, we call that “ignorance.”  More important, though, you might consider taking inventory of your views and seeing things from others’ perspectives.  

Just food for thought…

Peace,

+THINKER