Is the Goal Genecide?



Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:37-40, NRSV).

The above quote from the Gospel According to Matthew, should be a guiding ideal for those who profess to be Christian. However, current events and policies lead me to believe that many political leaders who claim to be followers of Jesus are actually followers of Jeffery Amherst, an 18th century proponent of using germ warfare against the Indigenous Peoples of North America. Amherst infamously wrote, “You will Do well to try to Innoculate [sic] the Indians by means of Blankets, as well as to try Every other method that can serve to Extirpate this Execrable Race”.1 The difference of modern day subscribers to the Amherst doctrine, is they have expanded the groups who are deemed “execrable.”

These days there seems to be a concerted attempt to jeopardize the lives of People of Colour, especially black lives. This effort isn't only demonstrated by the reluctance of the U.S. Senate to pass legislation that will reduce murders by police. Scientists and Medical experts have made it clear that covid-19 affects Black and Brown people at a higher rate than whites. They also know that most of the workforce that cannot work from home are People of Colour, yet Trumps is pressuring governors to reopen more businesses, despite the rise in the number of cases and deaths in 21 states.

It couldn't be achieved in the past by lynching and the war on poverty, that is, the draft. It isn't being achieved fast enough by mass incarceration, voter suppression, and police murder. So now, it seems, they are trying through policies that allow covid-19 to run rampant.

The lack of federal leadership and action during this pandemic has given the green light for states and municipalities, by political action or inaction, to traverse a road that will cost hundreds of African American lives.

On June 16, 2020, over the pleas of the city's medical experts, the City Council of Montgomery, Alabama, refused to enact a law that would make wearing masks mandatory. The council voted along racial lines (4 African American, 5 white). As is predictable, the white councillors prevailed, even though or perhaps especially, because the experts informed the councillors that currently 90 percent of the people in intensive care are African American and warned of the potential for the virus to spread if the law was not passed. So, I as, is the goal genocide?


If you are reading this and you support social, racial, environmental and economic justice, find out what organizations in your area are working for these issues and support them. Give them your time, your expertize and/or your financial support.

If you live in the greater Vancouver (BC) area, you may be interested in the Our Lady of Guadalupe Tonantzin Community which is the spiritual community that grew out of the Vancouver Catholic Worker. They work in tandem to provide anti-racist and educational correctives to the ahistorical foundation myths of the North American settler states and explorations of scripture informed by the experiences of colonized and racialized peoples.

1 Jeffery Amherst and Smallpox Blankets: Lord Jeffery Amherst's letters discussing germ warfare against American Indians. http://people.umass.edu/derrico/amherst/lord_jeff.html



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Homily on Mark 6:14-29 - for July 15, 2012

7 July 2013 – 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

24TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME