"Blowback" from U.S. Gov't Policy

During the Republican debates, Ron Paul referred to the CIA concept of "Blowback," the unanticipated consequences of U.S. policy decisions abroad.  He was, of course, referring to the Middle East, and how fifty years of meddling (e.g., overthrowing governments, supporting despots, and inducing wars) MAY have led to resentment in the Middle East regarding America.

I see the Reverend Wright issue in much the same way.

The bile that spewed from Wright’s lips is simply "Blowback" from decades of discrimination, degradation, and occasionally outright inhumane treatment of Blacks by the U.S. government domestically.

Sadly for America’s conversation on race (which Obama hopes to catalyze and elevate), Whites have long forgotten these blips in the news.

Blacks, however, have never forgotten....

In fact, for Blacks, many of these stories have become tied to their identity as "Black."  

Every time a Black man hears quiet whispers when he climbs onto an elevator, that identity is reinforced.  

Every time a Black man is discriminated against in an active or passive fashion, that identity is reinforced.

And every time a Black man is questioned whether he got into college based on preferential treatment rather than merit, that identity is reinforced.

How could Blacks forget?

How many White Americans, so upset with Wrights inflammatory remarks, remember Bill Clinton’s apology to the victims of the Tuskegee Trials?

Not many, I am sure....

"At the start of the study, there was no proven treatment for syphilis. But even after penicillin became a standard cure for the disease in 1947, the medicine was withheld from the men. The Tuskegee scientists wanted to continue to study how the disease spreads and kills. The experiment lasted four decades, until public health workers leaked the story to the media."

How many White Americans, so upset with Wright’s remarks, remember the series of articles in the San Jose (CA) Mercury News about the connection between the CIA and crack cocaine in South LA?

Not many, I am sure....

"The evidence shows that for nearly 10 years a Central Intelligence Agency operation sold crack cocaine by the ton along with sophisticated assault weapons to two Los Angeles youth gangs, the Crips and the Bloods. The CIA then funneled millions of dollars in drug profits to U.S.-trained terrorists in an effort to oust the Sandinista government in Nicaragua during the 1980s. The Sandinistas had overthrown the U.S.-backed Somoza dictatorship in 1979 in a mass-based revolution."

But for Black America, these instances of wrongdoing have been seared into the group psyche.

They illustrate that there have been concerted efforts by members of "the Establishment" (however it is defined) to mistreat or hinder Blacks as a people.

Americans everywhere should be offended that these atrocities ever happened at the hands of their Government, rather than be offended that a Black preacher raised his voice in anger that they happened.

Frankly, it's more disturbing to me that more Americans are not pounding their kitchen tables (rather than their pulpits) and taking their anger to the streets over such atrocities....

These issues are historical facts, documented in court cases throughout the decades.

Americans would be wise to learn their nation's history, including the "darker" stuff.

It just may help prevent more "Blowback" in the future.