Nobody’s chattel

White youngsters waving Confederate flags greet Meredith marchers on the outskirts of Greenwood, June 17, 1966, as the march wound its way down Highway 7. (AP Photo)

We spend far too much time and money researching and analyzing the motives, plans and actions of foreign organizations. I only wish we spent as much effort studying our homeland terrorist groups. You can write me off as being a complete Looney tune, call me crazy or ill-informed, but I firmly believe, without doubt, that we should be far more worried about the neo-nazi / white supremacists in this country than ISIS.

Be honest – what comes to mind when you hear the term “terrorist”? Don’t have, or want to answer that question? Well, ask a group of young middle-schoolers what a terrorist looks like. Ask them to be specific. From skin color to traditional garbs, I’m sure that 9 times out of 10 they’ve identified someone of middle-eastern decent. And to be frank, their depiction of what terrorism is or what terrorists look like is fair. We’re taught to think that any group, outside of America, is a threat.

But there’s levels to this, B.

The only reason the country is in an uproar over race relations is because we refuse to allow it to be continuously swept under the rug. Social media gives us all of us international voices. We’re privy to insider-information that would have never been leaked, once upon a time. We break our own stories and no longer rely on “that one news site” to spill the tea. Why regress now?

We know what and who the real threats to this country are – far-right extremists. Not saying that we shouldn’t be aware of ISIS’s plans to blow us into oblivion, but I’d much rather study the patterns of our very active, homeland terrorists; Seeing as they have a long history of putting their money where their mouths are.

Two weeks ago I wrote about the Confederacy being homeland terrorists, and a few of ya’ll suggested that I may have “taken things too far”…

Terrorism (n.): the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims.

The Confederate States of America consisted of eleven southern states (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia), all of which seceded from the United States of America, antagonizing the Civil War.

In simpler terms, a group of (sevenout of the eleven) Southern, slave driven states banned together to create their own confederacy because they didn’t want to fall in line with what the majority saw fit. They were terrorists.

Terrorist (n.): a person who uses terrorism in the pursuit of political aims.

They started a war on American soil because they didn’t want to follow the rules. They cared more about their farms and livestock than the basic human rights of their free labor. They wanted to keep their superiority and refused to share their privileges with “the help”.

Ku Klux Klan (KKK) meeting, South Carolina, 1951.
© Heirs of W. Eugene Smith

You can only imagine the amount of bitterness these very Southerners had after losing the war. They insisted on keeping they’re superiority – which fast-forwards us into the Civil Right’s movement. Mobbing, lynching, beating and murdering anyone who didn’t agree with the “White is Right” mentality, and trying their hardest to keep an iron-fisted grasps on their status. Brutally, beaten colored folks and bombed places of worship are a little too candid. White-hooded robes, confederate and Nazi flags, and “The South Will Rise Again” tagline are easier to swallow – subtle reminders of the dark and twisted heritage of America.

Against popular belief, white supremacists are a threat to the citizens of this country. We don’t hear enough about these extremist organizations because they’re white, and white extremists are able to disguise themselves effortlessly in politics. What better position to be in if you’re sole mission is oppress or terrorize? You have top priority when it comes to the latest information, funneling what you choose to share with the public – ultimately, manipulating the thoughts, emotions and actions of those on the ground floor. Making us all believe that our biggest threat is the nation of Islam and not the clan of good ole boys next door.

Now that we have access to current events at our fingertips and boots on the ground in the midst of it all, we are starting to take some of that power back. We no longer depend merely on what’s reported in prime-time news. We’re waking up.

Let’s continue to stay woke. Ask yourself who / what are the real threats to this country. Is it the group of people praying in the mosque, or is it the gang of good ole boys equipped with machine guns protesting outside of that very mosque?

Election season is rapidly approaching us. I pray that we aren’t moved by the childish mudslinging of the moronic candidates and focus on what should be most important to our country – domestic terrorism.

I encourage everyone to pay attention to all of the candidates, ask tough questions and weed out the Klansmen. Don’t get intimated during talks of foreign affairs and the economic state of America; ASK ABOUT WHAT’S REALLY IMPORTANT!

Join me in taking a genuine stand against racism and discrimination. If a candidate doesn’t acknowledge domestic terrorism, make them.

Ashley Rey is a young, single mom residing in Los Angeles, by way of Detroit. She blogs about her life’s experiences on her personal site, bashinla.com, and is also a contributor for HipHopBattle.com where she writes on topics ranging from racism in America to Hip-Hop “Think” pieces. You can find her on instagram and twitter @bashinla, and keep up with she and her 2-year-old son by watching her weekly recap vlogs on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/bashinlavlog.