Reading the attack by Moveon.org on New York Councilman Charles Barron was a reminder of how little things change in America. The need to demonize Black leaders who are unrepentant in organizing a sphere of Black political power and in holding independent political positions is as alive today as it was during the Black Power era of the 1960’s. Since the destruction of that movement, white political elites are vigilant in guaranteeing that Black leaders who step outside the acceptable parameters of political thought gets knocked down. Liberals believe that they represent the cutting edge of a rational left discourse. Through their delusional fog of self-righteousness, they believe they should gut-check anyone who steps outside their artificial boundaries.
Leaving the showmanship of a Charles Barron aside, it is quite obvious that the attacks against him from liberals (and the right wing) are because of his independent thinking. He won’t subvert his beliefs to fall in line with the dominant liberal narrative of what it means to be “progressive.” According to Move-On, his clear view that U.S. foreign policy is about controlling resources for the West and destabilizing any nation or land mass that does not heed to that authority makes him a “tea-partier.” Not supporting Israel – a state created by the West on the land of the indigenous Palestinan population through genocidal practices including killings, mass expulsions and apartheid practices (hmm…does that sound familiar to anyone in terms of U.S. history?) – makes him anti-Semitic in the eyes of liberals. Apparently, to be a good “progressive” – the new buzz word for liberals today – apparently you have to be down for a little European land-grab and you have to uphold the U.S. State Department’s and corporate media’s pronouncements about the enemy-of-the-week who is “trying to take away our freedoms.”
On gay marriage, Mr. Barron says that he won’t block any legislation, but that does not agree with the idea of same-sex marriage because of his religion. He also says that he won’t compare the struggle for marriage equality to the civil rights or human rights struggle of the formally enslaved population of this nation. Is this really the most backwards position on this issue? According to Move-On this position is a primary reason why Mr. Barron, a three-time New York City Councilman, should not hold office.
Finally, he is opposed to the idea of charter schools becoming the new education paradigm because they are mostly profit-driven entities with strong corporate backing that feed off public funds. The charter school industry has yet to produce any evidence of their vast superiority over public schools in test scores or academic achievement. In fact, most studies rank them below public schools in academic achievement. But these issues are at the heart of the MoveOn attack; they are the reasons why his opponent is receiving so much support from liberal and corporate pay-masters. (For more infomraiton on that, you can read Juan Gonzales’ story in the NY Daily News.)