Racism is the topic du jour. This is a topic that many Americans will do anything to avoid having a conversation about. There are those who are saying that the teabaggers' protests have no racist components. The republicans are in deep denial after fomenting hatred against a duly elected president. I will admit that not all of the protesters are acting out of racism, but they are reacting to manufactured fear. It is easy to deny that there may be fall-out as a result of all the thinly-veiled hate talk occurring 24/7 on conservative talk radio programs and on Fox News. Well, I beg to differ, and I believe we have had an incident here in GA that may be an effect of this type of discourse.
Georgia is conservative-media land. Rush Limbaugh is a god here, and most of his listeners hang onto his every word. Glen Beck is also revered here. In spite of the claims of many southerners that they love Jesus, their real idols are these two men, among many others. Go into almost any public place where there is a teevee on, and you get Fox News as the only choice for viewing. President Obama is not viewed as the legitimate leader of the country. Go to any online newspaper and read the comments. Most of them show a lack of respect for not only the POTUS, but for liberals/progressives, LGBT persons, immigrants, Hispanics/Latinos, etc.
An incident occurred at a Cracker Barrel in Morrow, GA, on September 9. Black Army reservist Tashawnea Hill and her daughter were trying to enter the Cracker Barrel restaurant when Troy D. West, 47, of Poulan came out of the door and nearly hit her daughter with the door. Hill made the mistake of asking West to be careful after nearly hitting her daughter with the door while he was existing the restaurant. West became enraged and began punching and kicking Hill in front of her daughter. West has stated that he became enraged when Hill spit on him after accusing him of trying to hit her daughter with the door. Witnesses at the scene say they never saw Hill spit on West.
The physical punishment was accompanied by racial slurs. Ms. Hill was taken to the hospital in shock. West was arrested, charged with battery, disorderly conduct, and cruelty to children. The cruelty to children charge was added because the crime was committed in front of Hill's minor child. West posted a $5,000 bond and was released. His hearing is set for September 24 in Clayton County.
After finding out about the case, FBI spokesman, Stephen Emmett, is reporting that the US Department of Justice civil rights division has begun a probe into the incident, and that the DOJ is investigating it as a hate crime.
The Clayton County DA weighed in on the incident.
Clayton County DA Tracy Lawson plans to present new charges
to the grand jury but didn't specify as to what they will be. DA Lawson did state the following at a recent press conference, "I don't normally get personally involved in cases, but I am going to personally prosecute Mr. West on behalf of that victim and the citizens of this county."
After being released from the hospital Ms. Hill's only concern is for the effect of the incident on her daughter who had to witness her mom being subjected to a beating accompanied by racial slurs.
Calls to West by the press have been ignored, but his mother finds it hard to believe that her son would hurt a mother, especially in front of a child. "That just doesn't sound right," said Johnny West from her Poulan home.
So Michael Steele and a lot of republicans are in denial of the existence of racism. Even Troy West's mother doesn't believe he is/was capable of the behavior he has been accused of. I'm sure that Ms. Hill would disagree.
Herein lies the problem involved with having frank discussions about racism: No one wants to talk about the highly visible sore that is so difficult to heal. No one wants to mention the slow drip of green pus that eases constantly from the wound and fouls the air, and when someone, like President Carter has the courage to begin the journey down the long road directed toward a process to heal this wound, he is told to put the scalpel away, this is not the time to excise the wound, maybe later.
incident<a</p>
Troy D. West
Thanks for putting this diary on the rec list! I published it because I felt that this incident is a rebuttal to the claims of some in America who want to declare that racism is dead.