People Of Color Are Showing Us The Way Again

While flying halfway across the country immediately following the election, I had a conversation with a Trump voter. While commenting on activism, this voter claimed that conservative activists behaved better than nonconservative activists because they are conservative. 

Of course, that is what this person wanted to believe about their group and why not? Such a belief rather flattering because it means means that this person's group is superior to others. But I really wonder about that. For example, how would conservative protesters who defend their notion of the 2nd Amendment respond to the dog attacks and the fire hoses that were unleashed on both Martin Luther King's followers as well as the water protectors who are protesting  DAPL? Would they use their guns at the next protest to protect themselves? And how would they respond to the selective law enforcement and shootings by the police which too many minority individuals must face in today's America? How many conservatives would not shoot back at those who represented either the pipeline company or the authorities who used mace or rubber bullets? How many would use their guns during the next protest if after being arrested, they were incarcerated for several hours in dog kennels? And how many would tolerate the spraying that those protesting DAPL allegedly experienced by crop duster planes with an unknown substance?

Or we could even include, though to a lesser degree, how people of color are leading the way in the Black Lives Matter Movement. Even though there has been some violence during their protests as well as verbal abuse of the police, we should note that those practicing the violence were not really representing the Black Lives Matter Movement and those using verbal abuse were not all or even the majority of those in the movement. In addition, the use of verbal abuse is not part of the tenets of the movement.  However, because many of us Whites are sensitive about charges that we still have a racist society, we prefer to attribute to the whole movement the actions and words of some. And if the movement we were attributing the words and action of a few to was a particular race, we would rightly be called racists.

This is what we need to realize. Whether we are talking about Native Americans or Blacks who are taking part in activism today or those who took part in the past, they have and still are showing us how to speak out in the right way. And they seem to be able to do that without having to be conservative.  This brings me back to the beginning of this article. The proud conservative with whom I was conversing was claiming a position of moral superiority over those outside their group. And as long as any of us try to claim moral superiority over others, not only do we deceive ourselves as the Pharisee from the parable of the two men praying deceived himself, we will prolong conflicts with others until we are either defeated or we conquer the other side. And it is this idea of having to conquer others which is causing so much  injustice and pain in the world.

ONIM For October 31, 2016

Presidential Election

• List of Presidential Candidates
• Republican Platform
• Democratic Platform 
• Constitution Party Platform
• Green Party Platform
• Libertarian Party Platform
• America's Party/American Independent Party
• American Freedom Party Platform
• American Solidarity Party Platform
• Constitution Party Website
• Party Of Socialism And Liberation Website
• Socialist Party USA Platform
• Peace And Freedom Party
• Prohibition Party Platform
• Reform Party USA Platform
• Socialist Equality Party Program
• Socialist Workers Party Platform
• Veterans Party Of America Platform
• Workers World Party Program

Christian News

• Three Places That Need Your Prayers This Weekend -- Christian Today (UK)
• Church Raps Austria's Far-Right Presidential Candidate For Invoking God  -- Christian Today (UK)
• Why Evangelicals, Protestants, Everybody Should Mark All Saints Day -- Christian Today (UK)
• Why Do People Stop Going To Church? The Church Of England Fails To Halt Decline -- Christian Today (UK)
• Cradle Christians: Protestants Keep The Faith Better Than Catholics Or Nones -- Christianity Today
• Trump Ends Evangelicals And Catholics Together -- Christianity Today
• Jesus, A Friend Of "All" Kinds Of Sinners -- Reformed African American Network
• Glorifying God In Your Marriage -- Reformed African American Network
• Whitewashed Christianity -- Reformed African American Network
• Jesus And Your Political Party -- Reformed African American Network
• 12 Lies American Evangelicals Believe -- PJ Media
• Is God Really Dead? How Britain Lost Faith In The Church -- UPI
• Can The Religious Right Be Saved -- Russell Moore
• Rev. Graham: Media Do Not Want The Political Corruption To Change -- CNS News
• Gen. Boykin: Radical Muslims Plan 'To Infiltrate Every Of Our Society, Including The Church' -- CNS News
• Christians Martyred By ISIS: 1,131 -- CNS News
• This Evangelical Leader Gave The Most The Most Important Speech About The Religious Right In The Age Of Trump -- The Week
• Lifeway's Curious Doctrinal Guidelines -- Mortification Of Spin

World News

• As Election Day Nears, Military Hawks Circle To Promote New Wave Of War -- Truthdig
• Clinton Campaign Email Highlights Study Finding US Dominated By 'Economic Elites' -- ABC News
• A Robbery Suspect Sued After An Officer's Kick Broke His Jaw. Does The Lawsuit Have Merit? -- Washington Post
• Donald Trump Rejects Polls As Inaccurate: 'All The Fair Polls Have Us Winning' -- Yahoo News
• Compare The Coverage Of Mosul And East Aleppo And It Tells You A Lot About The Propaganda We Consume -- ZNet
• The Perils Of Market-Driven Education -- ZNet
• Former Black Panther Party Member Elaine Brown Says Black Lives Matter Movement Has A "Plantation Mentality" -- Madame Noire
• Noose Put On Student, NAACP Seeks Federal Probe -- Yahoo News
• How One Drug Cartel Banked Its Cash In New York City -- Yahoo News
• Hannity Interviews Alien Conspiracy Theorist About Clinton Scandals -- Yahoo News
• Lawmakers To Pentagon: Stop Ordering Veterans To Repay Their Bonuses -- Yahoo News
• Iraqis Are the Most Generous To Strangers: Global Survey -- Reuters 
• Terrorists Have A Cheap New Weapon That Is Surprisingly Simple To Deploy -- Yahoo News
• Nalcor Gets Court Order To Arrest Muskrat Falls Protesters -- The Telegram
• Tom Hayden (1939-2016) On Vietnam War: We Must Challenge the Pentagon On The Battlefield Of Memory -- Democracy Now
• Liberty University Students: Trump Is The Antithesis Of Christian Values -- Washington Post
• Liberty United Against Trump -- Google
• US, Israel Condemn New UNESCO Resolution On Jerusalem -- Washington Post
• AP Explains: Why African States Have Started Leaving The ICC -- Washington Post
• Wisconsin Clerk Refused To Set Up Early Voting Site, Fearing It Would Help Democrats -- Chicago Tribune
• WHO Cancer Agency Asked Experts To Withhold Weedkiller Documents -- Yahoo News
• Scientists Say Signals From Certain Stars Are "Probably Aliens" -- Tech Crunch
• Apple Weighs In On Wall Street; Oil, Gold Prices Slip -- Yahoo News
• Russia Says Halt In Aleppo Bombing Will Be Extended -- Yahoo News
• Russia Unveils RS-28 Sarmat 'Satan 2'  Nuclear Missile -- NBC News
• NAFTA Lowered Wages, As It Was Suppose To Do -- New York Times
• Fox News Just Landed A Brutal, Clean Hit On Hillary Clinton's Campaign -- Huffington Post
• Donald Trump Has Nickel And Dimes Local Governments On Taxes, Too -- Huffington Post
• Business Needs To Let Government Lead On Education -- The Business Ethics Blog
• On The Unbearable Lightness Of Whiteness -- Counterpunch
• Two Corrupt Cops Joined Forces With Drug Dealers. Now, Dozens Of Criminal Cases Could Be In Jeopardy -- Los Angeles Times
• North Carolina Just Lost Out On Another 730 Jobs Because Of Its Anti-LGBT Law -- Think Progress 
• CNN's Pro-Trump Posse Clouds Its Journalism -- Columbia Journalism Review
• A daily's Loss In Court May Cause Journalists To Rethink How They Communicate -- Columbia Journalism Review
• Program Lifts Aspiring Writers From Poverty, Infuses Media With Fresh Voices -- Columbia Journalism Review
• Van Hollen And Szeliga Debate -- CBS
• 20 Years Of Data Reveals That Congress Doesn't Care What You Think -- Upworthy.com
• Amid Crackdowns On Mass Immigration, Central Americans Organize To Curb Violence -- Waging Nonviolence
• Israel: Settlers' Takeover Of Security Posts 'Alarming' -- Aljazeera
• He fought In World War II. He Died In 2014. And He Just Registered To Vote In Va. -- Washington Post
• Brave New Films: College And University Greed Is Driving Adjunct Professors Into Poverty Across America -- Alternet
• As Arctic Ocean Ice Disappears, The Global Climate Impacts Intensify -- ZNet
• Tom Hayden, Courageous Warrior For Peace -- ZNet
• Venezuela's Economic Crisis: Does It Mean That The Left Has Failed -- ZNet
• Boy's Family Sues Over His Fatal Shooting By Deputies -- ABC News
• The American Flag Is A Symbol Of Oppression -- Paste Magazine
• To Protest Racism, UC-Berkley Students Block White People From Using Campus Entrance -- Federalist
• Clinton Neutrality Over AT&T-Time Warner Merger Signals Corporate Takeover Of Dems -- Observer
• Hacked Emails Show Clinton Walking Fine Line Between Obama, Israel -- CNN
• Why Men Need To Stop Making This Joke About Women And Money -- Forbes
• UNESCO, France, Israel, Peace And Secularism -- Huffington Post
• North Carolina Faces Lawsuits Over Long Voting Lines And Last-Minute Voter Purges -- Think Progress
• Almost No Children In France Are Medicated For ADHD. Here's How They Define & Treat It -- Collective Evolution
• UN Expert To Examine Israeli Human Rights Groups -- ABC News
• FBI's October Surprise Complicates Race For Hillary Clinton -- Yahoo News

Standing Rock Sioux - DAPL News

• As Stakes Rise, 83 Dakota Pipeline Protesters Are Maced And Arrested -- Truthdig
• Episcopal Church Formerly Asserts Its Support Of Pipeline Protesters -- Episcopal Café
• AP News Guide: New Phase For Dakota Access Pipeline Protests -- Washington Post
• 220 'Significant' Pipeline Spills Already This Year Exposes Troubling Record -- Eco Watch
• Over 120 Arrested At North Dakota Pipeline Protests, Including Journalists -- Guardian
• Dakota Access Pipeline Protests Reflect A Nationwide Search For Justice -- Truthdig
• How To Contact 17 Banks Funding The Dakota Access Pipeline -- Yes Magazine
• Dakota Access Pipeline Battle Also Playing Out In Court -- Seattle Times
• Clear Evidence Emerges Of Outrageous Militarized Police Collaboration With Oil Companies At Standing Rock Against Protectors -- Alternet
• Dakota Access Pipeline: Police Remove Protesters; Scores Arrested -- CNN
• No-Fly Zone Declared As Militarized Police Prep For Assault On 'Front-Line Camp' At Standing Rock -- Free Thought Project
• Bernie Sanders & Others Demand Obama Permanently Halt Dakota Access Pipeline -- Native History Online
• 'Sad Day For America': Internet Furious About #OregonStandoff Verdict Vs. Treatment Of #BlackLivesMatter And #StandingRock -- Raw Story
• Anger Boils Over As Oregon Occupiers Acquitted While Standing Rock Protesters Are Tear-Gassed -- Dead State
• North Dakota Pipeline Activists Say Arrested Protesters Were Kept In Dog Kennels -- Los Angeles Times
• How To Talk About #NoDAPL: A Native Perspective -- Transformative Spaces
• 12 Ways You Can Support The Dakota Pipeline Protesters At Sacred Stone Camp -- Gozamos.com
• The United Nations Just Made A Major Announcement On The Dakota Access Pipeline -- U.S. Uncut
• The United Nations Is Headed To Standing Rock -- Indigenous Americans

Pick(s) Of The Litter

• How Power Works -- Truthdig
• Palestinian Villages 'Get Two Hours Of Water A Week' -- Aljazeera
• The Other (Invisible) Refugees -- ZNet
• Germany Warns Of The Danger Of War -- Huffington Post
• Russia Is Preparing For Nuclear War -- Business Insider
• Russia Will Attack The West If Provoked In Syria, Warns Form UK Ambassador To Moscow -- International Business Times
• Rights Group: Torture Report After Failed Coup In Turkey -- Washington Post
• No Matter Who Wins The Election, Military Spending Is Here To Stay -- The Nation
• Aleppo: Russia Under Fire At Human Rights Council -- Aljazeera
• Indiana Officials Are Trying To Block Almost 45,000 Black Citizens From Voting -- Think Progress
• A Courageous Syrian Collective Challenges Both ISIS And Assad In Raqqa -- Waging Nonviolence
• Noam Chomsky On Syria: A "Grim" Set Of Alternatives --  Truthout
• The Most Dangerous Place In The World: US Pours In Money, As Blood Flows In Honduras -- ZNet
• 'This Is Slavery': U.S. Inmates Strike In What Activists Call One Of The Biggest Prison Protests In Modern History -- Los Angeles Times