One of these things is not like the other
Two of these things are kinda the same
One of these things is not like the other
Now it's time to play our game
Time to play our game:
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| Women in Dallas, TX protesting the child refugee problem at the border July, 2014 |
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| Hazel Massery, shouting at Elizabeth Eckford, one of the Little Rock Nine over integration Little Rock High School, 1957 |
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| President Franklin Roosevelt on the 50th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty "To the message of liberty which America sends to all the world, must be added her message of peace." October 28, 1936 |
The New Colossus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Emma Lazarus, 1883
the final lines inscribed on a plaque in the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty and installed in 1903
Oh my god.
ReplyDeleteHow have we come to this?
That first photo is astounding the looks of hatred on those screaming womens'faces. The second photo makes me cry. Nothing new under the sun.
ReplyDeleteLove
Rebecca
Everything is bigger in Texas including mouths!! I read Hope for a Sea Change last night . Wow!!
ReplyDeleteBest,
Bonnie
Such hatred. Makes me physically ill!
ReplyDeleteI watched Argo last night. They had some clips from news programs of the day that made me realize all the hostility currently being spewed by CERTAIN factions 24/7 is in fact not new. We just have 24/7 news channels now so it seems crazily magnified. Which makes it all no less sad.
ReplyDeleteJust because someone has a photo taken of them when they are angry does not mean that their anger is not justified, or that their anger is on the same level as an unjust expression of anger by someone else in the past. This isn't rocket science. Judge by the facts, not by emotion and not by a quick photosnap that captures only a millisecond in time does not necessarily provide context.
ReplyDeleteI for one am glad that nobody follows me around with a camera all day. I am sure they could grab some quick shots I would find embarrassing.
Anonymous: if I hadn't seen the string of vile comments you have on your FB page about immigration, abortion, Obama, etc., I'd find your comment interesting but not persuasive. They look angry , all right, like beasts, actually -- and are protesting the plight of tens of thousands of refugee CHILDREN whose countries have largely been sustainedcand corrupted by generations of drug policies in the US andcthe insatiable market for them here as well. Those women should be ashamed and embarrassed to have their raptor-like visages bared.
DeleteLa Liberte - a goddess of a woman - we saw her enshrined in every park, on every building, every plaque in Paris. Egalite, Liberte, Fraternite. She is not like the others.
ReplyDeleteChildren the world over are the worlds children. Let us be women with open arms.
ReplyDeleteI have always loved that poem and pretty much know it by heart. It's a good one to quote, ya know?
ReplyDeleteA brilliant reminder of when the USA aspired to better things.
ReplyDeleteThe juxtaposition of those photos might seem related. Photo journalism is a powerful tool and the "moment" is captured in order to place in the mind of the viewer an intent. I contend that the Texas photo is a manipulation and is offered in the void of some facts. Maybe the protesters are not protesting just the children, but rather the fact that there are more than just children coming across the border?
ReplyDeletehttp://dailycaller.com/2014/07/18/white-house-hid-huge-spike-of-families-crossing-border/
Elizabeth -
ReplyDeleteWhat string of "vile comments" are you referring to? Please provide a link so the readers can judge for themselves whether or not they are "vile", or you simply disagree with them.
And I was wondering - how many of these children do you plan to take in and foster or adopt?
Anonymous --
ReplyDeleteThe reason why I didn't provide a link to your Facebook page was out of respect for your privacy. You are, after all, choosing to remain Anonymous here. Given Facebook and the ways in which we are all connected, one to another, I was able to follow a thread to your actual page. The vile comments I referred to were those on your Facebook page that I am assuming you wrote. And yes, I find them vile. But as you insist, I'll quote you here and the readers can make their own judgement, although knowing my readers as I do (and they nearly ALL name themselves when they express their opinions), I imagine they'll refrain from the inflammatory language that you prefer. As for me, "vile" is as strong as it gets without cursing, and I save the cursing for what really matters to me. Comparing those who believe in women's right to govern their own bodies to terrorists, Nazis and murderers is not just something I disagree with but something I believe to be vile, particularly when it's coupled with a supposed belief in Christianity. Here you go, as quoted by yourself:
"As horrible, inexcusable and reprehensible as the Russian shootdown of MH17 is, there is another group of people who murder ten times that number of people every day - and no one makes much of a fuss about it.
I am talking about the American Democratic Party and those that support it, and the one million plus babies that are killed each year in the name of a "woman's right to choose".
The daily death toll from this American holocaust is the equivalent of shooting ten MH17 out of the sky. Ten a day, seven days a week, every week of the year. The total death toll since 1973 is nearly ten times the number of Jews killed during the holocaust. Yet, even some Christians support this party.
At least the Christians who lived in Germany in the 1930s who happened to support the Nazi Party had a bit of an excuse - the Nazi carnage had not yet materialized. Today's American Christians who support the Democratic Party? What is their excuse?"
Fran Simmler: Thank you for your thoughtful comment and for the link. As a resident of California and uniquely informed on some things related to immigration, the border and Guatemala, I'm going to answer your question with this word: Nah.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous: Oh, and I didn't answer your question about how many of these children I might foster or adopt. Given the opportunity, I very well might. I work quite steadily in the foster care world, here in Los Angeles, as an advocate with an agency that provides legal services to them. I am, above all, a mother whose arms are open to children no matter where they are from.
ReplyDelete