The Undoing of Everything We Fought For

This Facebook post echoes my thought last night when I saw Rep. Lewis on the news. Sixty years of work, undone by 5 thoughtless, careless, heartless political hacks.

From: We Demand That Democrats Fight Back

(E) I don't know how many of you have had the privilege of seeing and meeting Congressman John Lewis. I have and the first time I saw him was a few years before he ran for Congress sitting on the stage of the King Chapel at Morehouse College during my freshman year in 1983-84. I was sitting during an assembly in the third or fourth row and I remember Mr. Lewis sitting on stage with his feet crossed in front of him and his head bowed slightly forward as he studied the program.
He was already bald by that time and the lights made his head fairly glow yet I noticed something odd as I looked at Mr. Lewis and what I noticed were thin shadows on his head caused by the light being unable to get completely through. I was flummoxed at first at what I saw and then it dawned on me just what I was seeing. These shadows I saw on John Lewis's head were literally dents in the man's skull made by lead pipes and billy clubs from the countless beatings he took for having dared to march for civil rights.

Now think about it. John Lewis received dents in his skull so people like me could vote and sit at a lunch counter so when it comes to determining who is right on whether or not the Republican Party is engaged in voter suppression of African Americans, who am I going to listen to; the man who received dents in his head so we people of color could secure that right or some Conservative who argues that I'm misreading the situation; that the Republican Party is not racist and not trying to turn back the clock on race relations some fifty years? Hell, that's an easy answer.

John Lewis paid the price to secure these rights. These Conservatives who are arguing that racism is no longer relevant either have no clue or are lying their asses off (I think it's the latter). Anyway, I trust the John Lewis's of the world because they literally put their lives on the line to secure our rights so if they say these Republicans are racist and trying to return us to the days of Jim Crow through voter suppression you'd better believe they're telling the truth for unlike the Republicans who would have us ignore the obvious, people like Congressman Lewis have credibility and their credibility is in the form of the scars on their bodies and the dents in their heads.
Now think about it. John Lewis received dents in his skull so people like me could vote and sit at a lunch counter so when it comes to determining who is right on whether or not the Republican Party is engaged in voter suppression of African Americans, who am I going to listen to; the man who received dents in his head so we people of color could secure that right or some Conservative who argues that I'm misreading the situation; that the Republican Party is not racist and not trying to turn back the clock on race relations some fifty years? Hell, that's an easy answer.
John Lewis paid the price to secure these rights. These Conservatives who are arguing that racism is no longer relevant either have no clue or are lying their asses off (I think it's the latter). Anyway, I trust the John Lewis's of the world because they literally put their lives on the line to secure our rights so if they say these Republicans are racist and trying to return us to the days of Jim Crow through voter suppression you'd better believe they're telling the truth for unlike the Republicans who would have us ignore the obvious, people like Congressman Lewis have credibility and their credibility is in the form of the scars on their bodies and the dents in their heads.