Redheads have always been accused of having a temper.  This blog is a journey into the mind of a redhead; decide for yourself if we have a temper or are just frustrated by what we see...

Laura Bramble

THE RED MENACE

Laura Bramble

How do you know when society is in the midst of a fundamental change in beliefs?  The lunatic fringe come out to play and cry out for attention.  This past week James van Brunn, an 88 year old white supremacist, entered the Holocaust Museum and started shooting.  This is a little more than a week after an abortion doctor got gunned down while acting as an usher at his church by a pro-life supporter.  Besides the fact that these men are obviously mentally unbalanced, their beliefs are being threatened to the point that they are able to justify murder as a means of striking back.  If you think they are alone in their vehemence, take a look at the pictures of the protesters at Dr. Tiller's funeral and at white supremacist websites.
 
     We have elected an African-American president, we are considering putting a Hispanic woman from the barrio on the Supreme Court, no less than 4 states have made same sex marriage legal though their legislatures, and federal funding for abortion has been made legal (indicative of federal support of abortion rights.)  Think about how scary these changes to our society, all within the last 8-9 months, must be to people who are opposed to change and choice and live their lives in protest of it.
 
     I hate to say it, but we have not seen the end of these types of acts and responses.  While these societal changes are long overdue, they go against the grain for many who feel that society should not have the right to rule itself.  Only a higher power, in their minds, has the right to determine how we should live.  They want to live in a country with guaranteed freedom of religion that also allows them the freedom to hold their own views and express them openly, no matter how backward they may be.  Yet these are the same people who want to remove those rights from others.  They wish to live under the banner of America, the many, with the ideals of the few.
 
     The fact that these extremists act from "principle" does not, and should not, excuse their actions.  They should be treated as anyone else would for breaking the law, no better or worse.  If they are acting in an organized manner, then they should be treated as the domestic terrorists they are- creating terror in order to publicize an agenda. 
 
     If they don't like how people are living here, they have the final freedom- the freedom to leave.

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