EURweb.com - THOUSANDS SHOW UP FOR HATE CRIMES MARCH: Sharpton-led effort surrounded Justice Department
A crowd of over 20,000 strong surrounded the Justice Department on Nov. 19th to demand tougher, more consistent prosecution of hate crimes. Spurred by recent "noose" incidents around the country, the prosecution of the Jena Six and the brutal kidnapping, rape and torture of Megan Williams and led by race hustler in chief Al Sharpton, the crowd marched around the Justice Department seven times. So impressive was the tumult that the newly minted head of the Justice Department Michael Mukasey actually issued a statement expressing solidarity with the concerns of the marchers.
The whole thing just makes me shiver. Not a shiver of excitement, but more like the hypothermic like shakes of the crack addict suffering the early stages of withdrawal and is going on their 50th retching dry heave.
After all that ruckus in D.C.....So What? I mean, by now, everybody should know that black folks are the undisputed marching champions of the world. 10,000 in Jena, 20,000 in D.C. just a few short months later. You can't tell us nothing bout no marching. Sharpton and Jesse have a network that can put people in the street. By now, the savvy white folks should be ginning up preparations to receive these massive visits with t-shirt productions (I went to the Justice Department march and all I got was this lousy t-shirt) sales of water on site (the Justice Department is big, those people got tired and thirsty), hotel accommodations and an ad campaign maybe.
To what end this marching? People came from all over the US. There were some young college brothers interviewed on CNN that drove over 400 miles all night long to be there. But for all that, are they any more enlightened or really any more activist? Showing up for the march is easy. But we are a one trick pony. Million Man, Jena, Justice Dept. What has come out of these marches? Where is the concerted followup? Because here is the dirty little secret of all this marching foolishness: we're good for a day of marching, but too many of us won't move our butts to vote. We'll support Sharpton the Charlatan to march on DC, but we won't support Barack in his run to the White House. We're marching on Justice like its Jericho, but ain't nobody marching around Dunbar Village.
The bankrupt nature of the National Action Network and PUSH is exposed for everyone to see. Their activism is good for marches, but little else. They can't stir people to action unless they have something to whip the flames with and when they do move, its meaningless and lacking in moral critique. Down in Jena, for all the 10,000 that showed up, ain't a damn thing changed. In D.C. you got a statement. Wow. Imagine if that same 20,000 that showed up in D.C. wrote 20,000 letters to Congress on the issues of concern to us. Or what if they each gave $10 to support capable candidates locally and nationally that support policy that is good for black America? What if they figured out how to mobilize those 20,000 to do more than just follow in a meaningless march like lemmings, but rather to lead real efforts for change? When will we get a new play in the book?
