DO YOU STAND WITH RANCHER BUNDY?

There was a bit of a dust up: Clevin Bundy, the deadbeat rancher, reveled that he is a blatant racist; “blacks were better off as slaves”. Some of the media even acted as if they were surprised at the revelation; they should not have been any more than they should be surprised that Bundy rides on horseback around flying an American Flag. However, this post is more about the heavily armed supporters who have gathered from across Nevada and even the United States than it is about Bundy. One dedicated assault rifle toting bearded fellow claimed he drove 3,000 miles to be there to support the anti government movement. He boldly proclaimed—like the Columbine High School shooters—that the United States should be afraid of him because he was prepared to die. After all, buying a powerful rifle to cause fear is easier than working to gain the respect of their fellow Americans.

What do you think the answer anyone of those people in that Bundy pasture would be to questions about race, about owning assault weapons, about respecting the American flag, about paying taxes, or about replacing secular law with biblical law, or any other fundamental America value? Their answers would be the same. The Constitution only stands for law and order for them. The American flag does not stand for one-man-one-vote or one-women-one-vote. It stands for one-man one-vote; a women can vote if she votes the way her husband tell her; of course black people “rightly” should be slaves and slaves cannot vote or even be citizens of  “our” country; and people of Latino descent should treated as illegal until they prove they are American before they can vote. Of course, laws have no meaning unless “they” agree with them; then they will defend them to the death, as the man said he is prepared to die to defend what he believes—not what you believe.

All of this is the easy part. We know who they are because they are flying the American flag, are on horseback, and carry assault rifles and more ammunition then they can swim with, and are standing on their own land, that is government land. The problem is there are many people in society like them who we cannot so easily identify. When Thom Tillis, candidate in North Carolina senate race, says he stands for “good old North Carolina values”, what do you think he is saying? When Donald Trump says he would like to see Obama’s birth certificate what do you suppose he is truly saying? When Haley Barbour, ex Gov. of Mississippi, says he wasn’t aware of a race problem when he went to college, what is his real message? Reagan announced he was running for re-election in Philadelphia Mississippi; site of the murder of civil rights works; was there a message in that? None of these people are on horseback, or in what Bundy claims to be his pasture but you should ask them about the American Flag and their patriotism. They will be quick to tell you how patriotic they are! What was the objective of Thom Tillis when he ushered through the voter ID law in North Carolina? Are you naive enough to believe he did what he did to strengthen American democracy?  Perhaps, just perhaps,  he has malicious intent.

There is more to being a Bundy support then meets the eye. The telling question is, are you standing with Bundy now that we all know what he really stands for?    

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