The constitution was originally based on the English Magna Carta of 1215 and the first ten articles and are known as the “Bill of Rights” offering protection to individual freedoms. This progressive sounding constitution was/is all very well if you were/are a European white settler and not so applicable to the Native Americans, whose lands had been stolen by force, cunning and trickery, black people usually slaves, Hispanic peoples, Oriental immigrants who were at best treat very unequal indeed by comparison to the white Europeans.
When George Washington, the so-called “Father of Freedom” defeated the British commander, Lord Cornwallis ending the Siege of Yorktown which had lasted from September 28th 1781 to 19th October 1781, thus effectively ending the American revolutionary war, the hypocrisies began. It would not have been unreasonable to expect freedom and equality for everyone living in the new country, but this was not the case. Washington himself, a fighter for freedom from the British King, George III, was also a big believer in chattel slavery being an owner of black slaves himself. Indeed, just over 120 years later James Connolly remonstrated with Washington's descendants about their ongoing treatment of black people and support of the idea of slavery.
This trend of hypocrisy is ongoing to the present day, even though the days of slavery have long gone. The attitudes of many whites, like former President Donald Trump, towards black people leaves much to be desired. The language used by such high-profile people as Trump has, in more recent years, been much more guarded than yesteryear when “Jim Crow” ruled without exception. Even as recent as the 1960/70s people like the Governor of Alabama, George Wallace, still spouted such racist language. When Barrack Obama was elected President of the United States it should have heralded a new progressive era in the USA but, alas, fell short of many expectations. When Donald Trump was elected to the White House in 2016, he barely disguised his utter contempt, largely based on skin colour, for the outgoing President. There has been a trail of racism stretching back to the early days of the USA which is a great shame as it does that country much injustice.
During the Second World War the US, alongside the British, Free French, Free Poles, Free Czechs, the Soviet Union and many countries from the British Empire and Commonwealth, including India and Kenya fought against a group of the most-evil tyrannical and racist regimes imaginable. Yet, within the ranks of their own armed forces the USA practised a system of racial segregation. Black regiments were always commanded by white officers, often from the deep south of the country because it was felt men from the southern states were accustomed to handling blacks as second or third-class citizens. This was long after Abraham Lincolns Gettysburg Address in 1863 stating “that this nation under God, shall have a new birth of freedom”.
During the Second World War the US, alongside the British, Free French, Free Poles, Free Czechs, the Soviet Union and many countries from the British Empire and Commonwealth, including India and Kenya fought against a group of the most-evil tyrannical and racist regimes imaginable. Yet, within the ranks of their own armed forces the USA practised a system of racial segregation. Black regiments were always commanded by white officers, often from the deep south of the country because it was felt men from the southern states were accustomed to handling blacks as second or third-class citizens. This was long after Abraham Lincolns Gettysburg Address in 1863 stating “that this nation under God, shall have a new birth of freedom”.
Black officers, few and far between, were usually no higher than First Lieutenant as was the case with Vernon Baker towards the end of the war. Black soldiers were considered “cowards” by the white command of the United States Army. They did not have the “backbone” according to officers like Colonel Sheridan and, therefore, had to be led by whites. A black soldier’s life was considered less worthy to that of a white soldier which perhaps explains why these “cowards” were often put in unwinnable situations, instead of white soldiers, and often came out victorious, making a mockery of the false perception these men were “cowards”. On many occasions after these thought impossible victories achieved by black regiments these soldiers would be withdrawn and replaced by white troops to claim the spoils of victory which they had never won!
Vernon Baker was a Lieutenant in the US Army in the Second World War. He was a very brave soldier, and certainly no coward. In fact it turned out to be his commanding white officer who turned heels and ran. Who was really the coward? In 1997, fifty-two years after the war ended Baker was awarded the Medal of Honour by President Bill Clinton. He was the last surviving member of his platoon of black soldiers and accepted the medal on behalf of his now dead comrades. On April 5th 1945 Lieutenant Vernon Baker and his platoon, minus his brave white superior officer who had legged it, was ordered to attack a German occupied mountain stronghold, Castle Aghinolfi near Viareggio, Italy. Lieutenant Baker personally eliminated three enemy machineguns, an observation post and a dugout. During the attack 19 of the 25 men in Baker’s platoon were killed, not bad for a bunch of “cowards”! At the time Baker and the survivors of the attack were never awarded the medals they had won which, if they had been white the Medal of Honour would have been awarded immediately. Instead, they were awarded an inferior honour and made to feel grateful. In 1997 President Clinton righted this wrong, long overdue but better late than never and fair play to Clinton.
*The USA continued to practice these forms of segregation after the war, practices not dissimilar to those practiced against Jewish people in the early days of the Third Reich. In Germany Jews were not allowed in certain public places, they were no longer allowed to practice as doctors or lawyers or teachers under the Nazis. In the USA black people had to sit in segregated areas on the bus and even then, were expected to vacate their seat for white passengers. Black people had their own enforced segregated areas in cafes, their own schools. In fact the US differed to early Nazi Germany in extremities only. In principle they were very similar.
Vernon Baker was a Lieutenant in the US Army in the Second World War. He was a very brave soldier, and certainly no coward. In fact it turned out to be his commanding white officer who turned heels and ran. Who was really the coward? In 1997, fifty-two years after the war ended Baker was awarded the Medal of Honour by President Bill Clinton. He was the last surviving member of his platoon of black soldiers and accepted the medal on behalf of his now dead comrades. On April 5th 1945 Lieutenant Vernon Baker and his platoon, minus his brave white superior officer who had legged it, was ordered to attack a German occupied mountain stronghold, Castle Aghinolfi near Viareggio, Italy. Lieutenant Baker personally eliminated three enemy machineguns, an observation post and a dugout. During the attack 19 of the 25 men in Baker’s platoon were killed, not bad for a bunch of “cowards”! At the time Baker and the survivors of the attack were never awarded the medals they had won which, if they had been white the Medal of Honour would have been awarded immediately. Instead, they were awarded an inferior honour and made to feel grateful. In 1997 President Clinton righted this wrong, long overdue but better late than never and fair play to Clinton.
*The USA continued to practice these forms of segregation after the war, practices not dissimilar to those practiced against Jewish people in the early days of the Third Reich. In Germany Jews were not allowed in certain public places, they were no longer allowed to practice as doctors or lawyers or teachers under the Nazis. In the USA black people had to sit in segregated areas on the bus and even then, were expected to vacate their seat for white passengers. Black people had their own enforced segregated areas in cafes, their own schools. In fact the US differed to early Nazi Germany in extremities only. In principle they were very similar.
In 1955 a young black woman, Rosa Parks, made a stance against this racism and the “Montgomery Bus Boycott” began. It was triggered when Rosa, sat in the “coloured section” was expected to give up her seat for a white passenger who was standing because the all-white seats were full. Rosa refused, rightly so, and the boycott began until the Bus Company backed down. The fight for civil rights by American black population began and continued through the sixties and seventies even the eighties. The struggle in many ways continues to this day and this is despite the election of the USA's first black President, Barack Obama, in 2009 who held office until January 2017 when Donald Tump assumed office. In 1968 black civil rights organiser and orator, Dr Martin Luther King, was gunned down as were many lesser-known civil rights organisers. The Actress Jane Fonda was involved around the civil rights movement and the anti-Vietnam War protests as were many sports people like Mohammed Ali the former world heavy weight boxing champion who had his title removed and boxing licence revoked as a result of him refusing the draft into the army for service in Vietnam.
In 1970 the US National Guard, the paramilitary domestic armed force (similar to the B. Specials/UDR/RIR/ in the six counties) shot and killed four anti-Vietnam war protestors. The protestors were students from Kent University who opposed US actions and involvement in the Vietnam War. They also shot and wounded another nine students on the same demonstration. Imagine the human cry if this had occurred in the Soviet Union?
The USA have also conducted many illegal acts of war in other countries, acts they condemn Russia for doing right now. They, the USA, bombed Iraq using depleted uranium bombs, banned under international law yet nothing was done or said. Their condemnation of Russia is well founded, if Western reports are to be believed, but also hypocritical at the highest level. Any other country bar the USA and their chief allies, Britain, would have faced sanctions for their activities in Iraq. Had the British done this without US backing they would have been sanctioned, but not the USA!
More recently we hear the United States Government banning Tic Toc from official sites and computers. They say the Chinese Government have too much access to information about people in the US on Tik Tok. The company who own Tik Tok deny this, as would be expected, but by the same token how do we know how much access the US Government have to Google? If the argument is good for the Chinese, it must also be applicable to the USA, surely? I do not trust governments, they are committees to run the affairs of the rich, elected by the poor. This rule of thumb applies to all of them, US, British, Chinese, Russian, Ukrainian and our own in the twenty-six counties. They, governments, preside over a corrupt system, capitalism, and therefore cannot afford to be honest. On BBC2's daily politics programme; Politics UK, a labour politician, Jamie Driscoll Mayor of North of Tyne in England’s North East, when asked a question by presenter, Jo Coburn, he firstly said “are you asking me are politicians dishonest?” Then he answered, “I’m avoiding that question” which should tell even the least agile minded something!
Very recently the US state of Florida under the right-wing governor Ron De Santis was looking to “expand its ban on teaching young children about sexual orientation and gender identity issues to include all students in its public schools under a new rule set for a vote by the state Board of Education next (now this) month”. This is a clear attack on the LGBT community and is opposed by President Joe Biden (who is not the worst President), showing that although the US President may be a very powerful man on the world stage, at home he has only limited powers. Ron De Santis is expected to stand for Presidential candidacy on the republican right-wing ticket for the next election. He is an expansion of the discredited crook, Donal Trump, who is still ranting about being the real President. Ironically De Santis may be Trump's opponent for the republican nomination.
The United States are very good at telling other countries how to clean up their own back garden, root out the corrupt weeds, but not too clever at weeding out their own corrupt establishment. Sometimes if the offending other country do not bow to US diplomatic pressure to clean up their act, and are militarily weak by comparison, the good old USA invade them and install their own puppet regime. When the former Soviet Union did similar they were branded criminals, but not the USA, why could that be? Often, as was the case in Iraq, the deposed despot, like Saddam Hussein, was assisted in gaining power in the first place clandestinely by the US under the auspicious guidance of the CIA.
In 1970 the US National Guard, the paramilitary domestic armed force (similar to the B. Specials/UDR/RIR/ in the six counties) shot and killed four anti-Vietnam war protestors. The protestors were students from Kent University who opposed US actions and involvement in the Vietnam War. They also shot and wounded another nine students on the same demonstration. Imagine the human cry if this had occurred in the Soviet Union?
The USA have also conducted many illegal acts of war in other countries, acts they condemn Russia for doing right now. They, the USA, bombed Iraq using depleted uranium bombs, banned under international law yet nothing was done or said. Their condemnation of Russia is well founded, if Western reports are to be believed, but also hypocritical at the highest level. Any other country bar the USA and their chief allies, Britain, would have faced sanctions for their activities in Iraq. Had the British done this without US backing they would have been sanctioned, but not the USA!
More recently we hear the United States Government banning Tic Toc from official sites and computers. They say the Chinese Government have too much access to information about people in the US on Tik Tok. The company who own Tik Tok deny this, as would be expected, but by the same token how do we know how much access the US Government have to Google? If the argument is good for the Chinese, it must also be applicable to the USA, surely? I do not trust governments, they are committees to run the affairs of the rich, elected by the poor. This rule of thumb applies to all of them, US, British, Chinese, Russian, Ukrainian and our own in the twenty-six counties. They, governments, preside over a corrupt system, capitalism, and therefore cannot afford to be honest. On BBC2's daily politics programme; Politics UK, a labour politician, Jamie Driscoll Mayor of North of Tyne in England’s North East, when asked a question by presenter, Jo Coburn, he firstly said “are you asking me are politicians dishonest?” Then he answered, “I’m avoiding that question” which should tell even the least agile minded something!
Very recently the US state of Florida under the right-wing governor Ron De Santis was looking to “expand its ban on teaching young children about sexual orientation and gender identity issues to include all students in its public schools under a new rule set for a vote by the state Board of Education next (now this) month”. This is a clear attack on the LGBT community and is opposed by President Joe Biden (who is not the worst President), showing that although the US President may be a very powerful man on the world stage, at home he has only limited powers. Ron De Santis is expected to stand for Presidential candidacy on the republican right-wing ticket for the next election. He is an expansion of the discredited crook, Donal Trump, who is still ranting about being the real President. Ironically De Santis may be Trump's opponent for the republican nomination.
The United States are very good at telling other countries how to clean up their own back garden, root out the corrupt weeds, but not too clever at weeding out their own corrupt establishment. Sometimes if the offending other country do not bow to US diplomatic pressure to clean up their act, and are militarily weak by comparison, the good old USA invade them and install their own puppet regime. When the former Soviet Union did similar they were branded criminals, but not the USA, why could that be? Often, as was the case in Iraq, the deposed despot, like Saddam Hussein, was assisted in gaining power in the first place clandestinely by the US under the auspicious guidance of the CIA.
If the United States establishment, big business, CIA, FBI, National Guard, judiciary and Government which in some cases involves all six of the aforementioned, looked in the mirror you can bet your last dollar that mirror would crack! The word “hypocrisy” does not even begin to cut it!! Yet, our own twenty-six county administration are so far up the arse of the USA it beggars belief. The British are in a similar vein, creeping to the USA even allowing that country to dictate many aspects of UK foreign policy. Perhaps the USA should be replaced with the initials, USH, United States of Hypocrisy!!!
The United States are portrayed, certainly in the West, as a beacon of freedom and democracy. Only comparatively recently did a large section of the population in the USA, based on skin colour, get the vote. In the early years of the country's revolutionary war against the British that title of “freedom and democracy” relative to the times may have been well founded. However, that progressive land soon degenerated into a country of hypocrisies, lies and corruption, and allies such as Britain are forced to go along with these lies, like the weapons of mass destruction the US claimed Iraq had. No such weapons were found and British puppet Prime Minister, Tony Blair, was left looking stupid and exposed. I suppose that was one good thing which came out of the whole pack of lies!
As we in Ireland prepare for the visit of US President, Joe Biden, on 11th April and the expected tirade of “Irish Americanism” sweeps the land I for one will not be joining in. Joe Biden is far, far from the worst President the USA have had, that honour must fall to his predecessor, Donald Trump followed by Richard Nixon. As the President prepares for his visit the hype surrounding his Irishness is phenomenal, to say nothing of the expense at a time when housing is needed and the health service needs cash. For some reason because the President had relatives who left Ireland during the chalcolithic period, around 2,500- 2,200 BC, we are now told to believe he is in fact Irish, as well as American!! Perhaps the chalcolithic period is stretching it but Joe Biden’s connection to Ireland comes via his Great, Great Grandfather. If the President was young enough and resided in Ireland he would not be automatically granted Irish citizenship and would not be legible to play Association Football for the national side!! No doubt a very nice man, or he appears to be, but Irish? I’ll leave that one to the reader!
The United States are portrayed, certainly in the West, as a beacon of freedom and democracy. Only comparatively recently did a large section of the population in the USA, based on skin colour, get the vote. In the early years of the country's revolutionary war against the British that title of “freedom and democracy” relative to the times may have been well founded. However, that progressive land soon degenerated into a country of hypocrisies, lies and corruption, and allies such as Britain are forced to go along with these lies, like the weapons of mass destruction the US claimed Iraq had. No such weapons were found and British puppet Prime Minister, Tony Blair, was left looking stupid and exposed. I suppose that was one good thing which came out of the whole pack of lies!
As we in Ireland prepare for the visit of US President, Joe Biden, on 11th April and the expected tirade of “Irish Americanism” sweeps the land I for one will not be joining in. Joe Biden is far, far from the worst President the USA have had, that honour must fall to his predecessor, Donald Trump followed by Richard Nixon. As the President prepares for his visit the hype surrounding his Irishness is phenomenal, to say nothing of the expense at a time when housing is needed and the health service needs cash. For some reason because the President had relatives who left Ireland during the chalcolithic period, around 2,500- 2,200 BC, we are now told to believe he is in fact Irish, as well as American!! Perhaps the chalcolithic period is stretching it but Joe Biden’s connection to Ireland comes via his Great, Great Grandfather. If the President was young enough and resided in Ireland he would not be automatically granted Irish citizenship and would not be legible to play Association Football for the national side!! No doubt a very nice man, or he appears to be, but Irish? I’ll leave that one to the reader!
But consider one thing, could he be any more Irish than Che Guevara? Yet there was no hype for the revolutionary Che, despite the twenty-six-county Irish state itself being formed out of revolutionary struggle. Then again so was the land which became the USA.
🖼 Caoimhin O’Muraile is Independent Socialist Republican and Marxist.
Was talking to an American guy yesterday and he made the point that the invasion of Iraq was like ringing the fire brigade, sending them to a building to fire fight, letting them go inside to discover no fire but the building collapses on them and kills them.
ReplyDeleteHe got that vividly.