The Furious Spinner

I think I've fallen into a trap. An old trap. I've been fooled. I've been manipulated. I've been tricked. I've seen it happen before, so I should have known better. Years ago when I lived in small town logging community, logging was slowed in some parts of the forest because the spotted owl was endangered. It was endangered because of loss of habitat. This occurred because of clearcutting, essentially, which was done by greedy logging companies who didn't care about the land or the people who worked it. If they had not clearcutted and had instead employed sustainable logging practices, the trees would have lasted and the loggers would have had work for decades. But they didn't do that. Mill workers and loggers were laid off. At the mill the bosses told the men that they had lost their jobs because of the spotted owl and environmentalists. People went out and killed spotted owls and attacked campers, screaming at them as they did so, calling them "environmentalists" as if it were a dirty word. By telling the workers that the environmentalists were the problem and not their business practices, the business owners diverted the anger of the workers from those who were truly responsible. I remember wondering at the time how people could be so stupid.

But now it's happened to me—and many others. Since the election, I haven't been angry with the Bushies who may have stolen the election, I've been angry at the right wingers who voted for him. I've had nightmares of them taking over the country. I've envisioned witch hunts, writers in prison, pagans put on trial. How was I going to protect myself from THEM? Those believers in God?

Today I took a deep breath. Apparently, statistically, the Christian right really hasn't grown much—maybe in perceived power but not in numbers. The United States isn't overrun with religious fundamentalists. Most people are troubled by the same things that trouble me. (According to recent polls.) I realized I had allowed myself to fall into that trap the powerful often use: pit the masses against one another so they don't see how we're robbing them blind.

I have more in common with the people going to church on Sunday than I thought. Many Christians care about the environment and are not trying to take away my reproductive rights. Many Christians follows Christ's teachings to help the poor. Most Christians don't care what my spiritual or religious practices are. And on the other hand, I'm not trying to make anyone get an abortion or become gay. By manipulating the right to hate the left and the left to hate the right, the Emperor and his boys and girls are free to do whatever they want.

So I'm going to try to not be manipulated so easily. I'm going to try and avoid being paranoid about the religious right and instead see what the W wrongs are up to. 0 comments

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