[CUADPUpdate] Hatred in our midst

[Abraham J. Bonowitz]

Sent first to CUADPUpdate, and then to a few 
others.  Please excuse cross-posts...


Greetings All,

My friend Ron Keine read a message I copied to my 
list because it was an on-the-ground report from 
one of the protesters in Texas in the wake of the 
recent commutation there.  He asked if I would 
consider sending out his thoughts on something 
that was said in that message.  I have to admit 
that the following is not quite what I 
expected.  I'm used to Ron's rants, and I always 
appreciate and enjoy them, but I have never seen 
him be so eloquent and so SPOT ON.  I hope you 
take a few minutes to read this.  And while he 
did not mention it, I want to add a group that is 
also often demonized by some abolitionists - 
prison workers and other government employees, 
including politicians.  The following message really applies to all of us.

Here's wishing a peaceful and meaningful holiday 
season to our Muslim and Jewish brothers and 
sisters, with Ramadan starting up last week, at 
the same time as Rosh Hashana - the Jewish New 
Year.  May we all be sealed in the book of life....

paz!

--abe


HATRED IN OUR MIDST
a message from Ron Keine
<ronkeine at yahoo.com>
http://www.ronkeine.org/

Sometimes I am amazed by some of the things I 
have heard come out of the mouths of my brother and sister abolitionists.

It was a wonderful but stressful morning. I had 
given a short welcome speech to the general 
assembly at UCLA. The subject of the speech was 
how happy I was to see so many concerned people 
in attendance joining together to stop government 
killing. Later I poured my heart out telling my 
story of how I was wrongfully convicted and sent 
to Death Row.  As many of my fellow exonorees can 
tell you, this is not easy­especially for a then 
fledgling speaker like me. After the speech, you 
are both physically and emotionally drained.  The 
question-and-answer period was pure torture as 
the audience touched on some of the very subjects 
I did not want to talk about. Some of the aspects 
of my ordeal are still very sensitive to me. Still I complied.

As I walked outside to the patio for lunch, I saw 
many large tables full of people. One group 
beaconed to me the availability of an open seat.

The table chat was friendly until a man said that 
he had read a news article about me and wanted to 
know if I was indeed the past Chairman of my 
local Republican party. “Yes” I proudly replied. 
“Are you still a Republican?” he queried, to which I again said, “Indeed.”

The woman sitting next to me blurted out loudly 
that she hated Republicans. I politely thanked her for that information.

She again reiterated her statement but louder this time.

She went on to say that she couldn’t believe that 
she was even sitting at the table with Republican 
scum. She looked at me with a face that blared of 
hate and anger.  This woman was not only a lawyer 
but also the wife of a prominent doctor who had 
authored books speaking out against the death penalty.

I was floored. I said, “ Ma’am, I come from 
Michigan, and in Michigan it is the Republicans 
that keep the death penalty off the law books.”

She then said that she couldn’t eat any more with 
a Republican at the table. In fact she might be 
getting sick if she stayed any longer. I said “No 
problem,” and I left the table. This is not the 
way an honored guest and exonoree should be treated.

As I stood by the building, finishing my lunch, I 
felt devastated. I had come all the way to 
California, with no pay, to help fight the death 
penalty. We are all here for a common cause­a 
cause I have dedicated my life to. I had received 
a standing ovation for my speech. Now I just wanted to go somewhere and hide.

I then spotted my fellow exonoree, Shujaa Graham, 
and went over to talk to him. I told him what had 
happened. Those of you who know Shujaa know that 
it didn’t take long for him to talk me into a lighter mood.

Another time I was in Chicago at a North Western 
Wrongful Conviction seminar. Sitting at the 
breakfast table I witnessed a lady bad mouthing 
Catholics as the Catholics at the table sat 
flabbergasted. This woman is a devout Christian 
but hates Catholics. I couldn’t help wonder, 
“What kind of religion is this that teaches her 
to hate other Christians?” She went on to say 
that Catholics worship plaster idols which 
finally got a verbal war going at the table.

These are all abolitionists. They are all there 
for a noble cause: a humanitarian effort to rid 
our land of its worst atrocity. Where does all this hate come from?

At that same meeting in Chicago, I and several of 
our exonorees  gave a speech in a standing room 
only auditorium. The last speaker was Jesse 
Jackson Jr. I was totally horrified at what he 
said. He talked about many troubles in the world 
today and blamed them all on Republicans and 
white people. It was supposed to be a speech 
against capital punishment (which he did 
mention), but it was a campaign speech instead.

I followed him off stage. As I approached him, in 
anger, his security thugs stepped up to make sure 
I didn’t violate him. As I looked around, it 
reminded me of what comedian Ron White said. “I 
didn’t know how many of these bouncers it would 
take to kick my ass but I could see how many they were going to use.”

Being careful not to transgress the line, I stood 
two feet in front of the Reverend and told him 
that I have never, in my life, heard such racism, 
bigotry and hate spewing from the mouth of a man 
of the cloth, especially a congressman with a 
master’s in Theology. “You were supposed to be 
here to help our cause. Instead, you set us back.”

He just looked at me. He was speechless. He 
turned and walked away with his entourage in tow.

While lobbying in New Mexico I was able to talk 
to several Republican house legislators whose 
votes were crucial. They refused to even listen 
to coalition people because they were “fuzzy 
headed liberals.”  We won that vote, but the bill 
was shot down in the senate committee.

One woman recently published a letter proclaiming 
her distaste for rich people. Rich people give a 
lot of money to our anti-death-penalty coalitions.

I was at the fast and vigil at the U.S. Supreme 
Court last year. Among our own peace loving, 
understanding and humanitarian anti-death- 
penalty activists there was all too much of this 
bigotry going around. When I gave a private 
speech to this group I dumped my planned oration 
to address this problem. I might have hurt a few 
feelings, but most agreed with me.
Not wanting to let this simple letter become a tome, I’ll cut to the chase.

I have seen so many instances of this bigotry, 
racism, bias and hate among our own abolitionists 
that it makes me sick. Democrats hating 
republicans, Republicans hating Democrats. People 
hating other people because of their religious or 
political preference, ethnic origin, race, and human status in life.

This kind of behavior does not belong in our 
midst. This may be the status quo to many groups 
of people in this world.  This may be commonplace 
to the pro death penalty vultures, but it should 
NOT be evident in our abolitionist movement.

We are a unique people. We are all working to 
better this world and end the killing of our 
citizens. Why can’t we all just get along? Why 
can’t we accept that other people may have 
differing opinions without hating them for it? 
Remember that WE are supposed to be the good 
guys.  We can expect this kind of treatment from 
our foes, but when it comes from within our own midst, it is truly shocking.

What we must remember is that whatever we do, 
however we act, reflects directly on our fellow 
abolitionists and the groups or coalitions we 
represent.  We must stand out as an example of 
what is right. We cannot let a few bad apples 
tarnish our image and circumvent our credibility

The following is what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Had to say on the subject.

“Our loyalties must transcend our race, our 
tribe, our class, and our nation; and this means 
we must develop a world perspective.
All labour that uplifts humanity has dignity and 
importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.

"An individual has not started living until he 
can rise above the narrow confines of his 
individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.

"Hatred paralyses life; love releases it. Hatred 
confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”

--Ron Keine

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SENT BY:  abe at cuadp.org