Parsing the R-word: The Gospel According to Jerry

Jerry Sternberg

BY JERRY STERNBERG

I was shocked and dismayed by the optics when, while watching the Michael Cohen congressional hearing, Mark Meadows, our own 11th District representative, paraded an African-American lady before the assemblage like a life-size cardboard cutout. The woman in question, Lynne Patton, stood silently before the House of Representatives as Meadows asserted, on her behalf, that she was empirical evidence that President Donald Trump could not be a racist, because she worked for him and she wouldn’t work for a racist.

I had an eerie vision of a scene like this taking place 170 years ago, when some unfortunate woman might have been standing in the public market while an auctioneer proclaimed, “Here we have a fine black wench who you can see is young, strong, has good bones and is fecund. She will be a good worker and will produce many valuable offspring.”

When Meadows was challenged over his obviously racist act, he declared in his defense that he couldn’t possibly be a racist because he has nieces and nephews who are people of color. I would remind the congressman that Sen. Strom Thurmond, who had a half-Strom/half-black daughter, was an avowed racist who defended our Jim Crow laws with every fiber of his being.

I go back far enough to remember when it was considered prestigious for certain white men to have their own “personal Negro” who would follow them around and ride with them, doing menial tasks, waiting on them hand and foot and agreeing with everything they said. At one of Trump’s rallies, he stood at the lectern, looking out over a sea of white faces, and said: “Look at my African-American over here. Look at him. Are you the greatest?”

I think Trump figured he merited respect because he had his own “personal African-American.”

I’ve admitted in previous columns that I am a recovering racist. I was born here in the South, and though my parents tried to instill in me tolerance and racial understanding, I was also schooled by our culture. I didn’t dare drink out of a black water fountain or sit in the back of the bus. I attended an all-white school, because black children were somehow not as good or as smart as we were, and I never questioned why black people couldn’t eat in a white restaurant. Even the churches were segregated, and some still are, because those dark-skinned folks are considered children of a lesser god.

Many people who have drug and alcohol issues eventually recognize how destructive their problem has become and wish to make a change. To help those folks control their impulses, we have Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-step programs. And although there is a 12-step program called Racists Anonymous, for the most part, we have to rely on our teachers, our parents and our political leaders to serve as examples, inform us and make us aware that racism is toxic, unpatriotic and serves neither ourselves nor our fellow Americans. To combat this evil, all of us — particularly white people — must unceasingly teach that just because many people are different from us, they still want to live and be respected, just the same as we do.

Sadly, however, what we currently have is the exact opposite situation: Some of our leaders have gone so far as to institute a two-step fear-and-hatred program. When our president demeans people from “shithole countries” and characterizes our brown brothers and sisters to the south as rapists, murderers and drug smugglers, we hear his dog whistle loud and clear. He believes that encouraging distrust and abhorrence is better than implementing reasonable border controls and a workable immigration program.

When Rep. Mark Meadows declares that we should send Barack Obama back to Kenya or wherever he came from, and when he blows his own dog whistle with a demeaning, ill-advised appearance at a congressional hearing, he isn’t doing a very good job of convincing us that he’s not a racist.

Congressman, we understand that you were elected from the artfully gerrymandered 11th District, which is more than 90 percent white. We understand that you have little fear of backlash from your minority constituency.

We also understand that you were elected to represent all of the people in your district, no matter their race or ethnicity.

I could take a page out of your own playbook and suggest that you be sent back to Kenya or Verdun or wherever it is that you came from, but I would rather see you rethink your current attitude, truly embrace people different from yourself (not just your nieces and nephews), and show your love for your dear friend Rep. Elijah Cummings by becoming an articulate spokesman for racial acceptance and diversity — not only in the 11th District but in our entire Great America.

Asheville native Jerry Sternberg, a longtime observer of the local scene, can be reached at gospeljerry@aol.com.

 

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

58 thoughts on “Parsing the R-word: The Gospel According to Jerry

  1. Mike

    Jerry, you just served up a serious insult to a very successful African American woman. I think it is pretty “deplorable” to imply that she is either such a dumb dupe that she cannot see she is being “used” by Meadows or that she is a fully aware “race traitor”. But maybe you agreed with your fellow democrats who called Sec State Rice an “Aunt Jemima” and President Bush’s “Personal African American” who they also portrayed her as a dumb dupe or race traitor.

    • GREGORY LENG

      Mike, remember this is a LIberal free local newspaper that has a very small following and a host of losers that contribute stories that are not worth reading!

      • Mike

        Jerry is 90+ years old and a long term resident (maybe lifelong) resident of Asheville.. His earlier “Gospel according to .. ” pieces were historical in nature and quite interesting. If he wants to manifest his TDD by trashing Meadows and Ms. Lynne Patton, its a free country. But it makes me sad that he has decide to turn his formerly generally apolitical and EXCELLENT “gospel according to” series into a political rant.

        (My favorite one of his old stories is the recounting of the events that transpired when criminals raided a high stakes poker game on Merrimon in which he was involved)

  2. GREGORY LENG

    The man that started a division among the races was Hussein Obama, not Trump. Certainly not the Republican’s. Your Democratic Socialist Liberal Party is digging such a deep hole for themselves, it’s only a matter of time when they all fall into it. Trump has done more for the minority than Obama ever did! Calling them African-American also crawls under my skin. They are black people. I do not label myself as Scottish-American. I am white, period. They call each other the “n-word” and that is OK. If we say it, we are racists. They call us white boy in songs and on TV, we do not complain about it. They have a whole month devoted to Black History. If we had a White History month, that would not go over too well. We are having to rename schools and roads, etc. named after Confederate hero’s of the South but in every city and small town including Hendersonville, roads are named after Martin Luther King. They want reparations for slavery. I guess I do too if they get. None of them are suffering from slavery today and never did. They are also better off than they would be if they went back to Africa. They have a TV show called Black-ish. If we had one called White-ish, they would all be crying racism. So while you state Mark Meadows and President Trump are racists and put forth your own liberal socialist racism, remember the facts I have stated above. Things in this world are as clear as black or white, NOT the grey areas you are trying to make up for your liberal free local newspaper. In 2020, there will be another outcry from your party and I cannot wait to watch the news and see those reactions once again. It just makes our victory lap all the larger! Trump & Meadows 2020! :)

    • Lulz

      I’m 1st generation American and white. Just wait til they demand reparations from me. The insanity of the cultist communists is appalling, The division and hate they sow and then blame others is disgusting.

    • DreaadT

      “I am white, period. They call each other the “n-word” and that is OK. If we say it, we are racists. They call us white boy in songs and on TV, we do not complain about it.”
      Wait….what?!?!? You’re white, but don’t want people to call you white? Or, you want to be called white and complain about being called white? Ok, got it! Great logic, like everything else you wrote

      • Gregory Leng

        Are you the most ignorant person in our mountains or just pretending to be? I am white and proud of it. If I was another race I would feel the same. I am not complaining if people call me white, white boy or anything else. Names do not hurt me. As far as being white and someone saying it, how can the truth hurt anyone? DUMB! Thanks my logic is based on facts and I appreciate your compliment. LOL! If you really can or could dispute logically what I wrote, you would have. The problem with too many people is they make statements but have no factual proof to back it up. You about as smart as you comment! ;)

    • bsummers

      Wait, what” Obama started a division among the races? BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!!!!!

      • Gregory Leng

        Another Democratic Liberal Socialist still crying over the election of 2016. Just wait for 2020! :) YES, Obama started it. Tell me what Obama did for black people during his full 8 year term??? I can response with a huge list of what Trump has done for black people that stands large above Obama petty actions for his race. You need to also understand that Trump has a large amount of blacks, minorities of other races and women that support him. If you believe only deplorable white men voted him into office, you are wrong. Also what have you done for a black person recently? Do you walk hand in hand with them since you appear to be white? I hope everyone does so but to not believe Obama started the discord is like saying he did not profit from the Uranium deal. Or maybe like saying he had nothing to do with the Russian Hoax against our innocent president. Either way Obama has tried and failed to get rid of a president that all you liberals have a hatred for that is unparalleled to any other historical person. I did not support Obama and his liberal agenda and all the dumb things he did like the Iranian deal but I prayed on a regular basis for him and his family. I believe there IS something much more EVIL than racism and that is PURE HATRED towards anyone and for any reason. I may not like the liberal agenda but I do not hate anyone. Bet all the liberals in our area and the rest of the USA cannot make this statement with a pure heart and soul.

        • bsummers

          I’m sorry… I’m trying to think of a serious reply, but I can’t get over “Obama started it”.

          BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!!!

          • Gregory Leng

            Keep crying until the end of 2024! That will give you more than enough time to get your mind right! :) LOL!

          • bsummers

            Sorry to break it to you, but “BWA-HA-HA” is laughter, not crying.

            https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bwahaha

            See, the idea that our first African-American President was the cause of racism is a laughable thought, see, is the point of that… oh never mind.

        • Nancy Ms. Lee

          You are right on the money, Gregory, with everything you have said. The liberals have gone so far left they are unrecognizable from the Democratic Party of 50 years ago. Thank God for Trump. We were going down “ye ole rabbit hole” with record speed. The liberal Dems are putting their own noose around their neck day by day. NL

        • Mike

          Well they DID get a bunch of Obama-phones that Pres. Bush was too cheap to give them

          • Gregory Leng

            TOO FUNNY! The Obama free cell phones today over the period of a year are worth more than 40 acres & a mule so they have their reparations! LOL!

          • rayofsunshine

            Sorry, Mike,but the phones are “Reagan phones.” Obama just inherited them. You do need to keep up.

    • Jason W

      “They call each other the “n-word” and that is OK. If we say it, we are racists.”
      Why would you even want to use that term when you know it to be derogatory?

      “They have a whole month devoted to Black History. If we had a White History month, that would not go over too well.”
      They have one month where Black History is emphasized, Judeo-Christian European descendants history is highlighted the other eleven months.

      “They want reparations for slavery.”
      They were promised, “Forty Acres and a Mule” which refers to General Sherman’s Special Field Orders, No. 15, a promise made by the United States government for agrarian reform to aide former enslaved black farmers. Approved by President Abraham Lincoln, the field order was written by Union General William Tecumseh Sherman on January 16, 1865 and specifically allotted each family a plot of land no more than 40 acres. It was supposed to reimburse the freed slaves with land they had already put “sweat equity” into, but were denied from owning. Of course most former slaves never got any land, and almost all land allocated during the war was restored to its pre-war white owners. – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forty_acres_and_a_mule

      “None of them are suffering from slavery today and never did.”
      It’s called Systematic Inequality. At the median, non-retired African-Americans had $13,460 in wealth in 2016 or only 9.5% of the median wealth of $142,180 that whites had at that time. African Americans still have a hard time getting ahead, and earning wealth, even a century and a half later, because of the effects of slavery, racism, and Jim Crow laws.
      https://www.forbes.com/sites/christianweller/2019/02/14/african-americans-wealth-a-fraction-that-of-whites-due-to-systematic-inequality/#196046fe4554

      “They have a TV show called Black-ish. If we had one called White-ish, they would all be crying racism.”
      We’ve had years of television shows based around white Anglo-Saxon Protestant nuclear families.

  3. GREGORY LENG

    It also works both ways Mr. Jerry, respect is earned. I try to give all people the benefit of the doubt and be forgiving too. I do not believe that racism is a major issue today. I would bend over backwards to help a person that is not white. I also know I can rely on the local blacks, hispanics, Indians and others from abroad that live in our area. When the FAKE news and Liberals start harping about racism, then yes it is a problem. The problem lies with the media that tries to ignite the issue of racism. The SHAME is on you all. We have the common sense to know how we should care for our fellow man/woman and child. God does not see color when He looks at His children and the majority of us feel the same way. Oh yes, blow off another comment about the fact 90% of Mark Meadows constituents are 90% white. Are you blaming him because we have less black people living in our mountains than big cities like Charlotte? I see more hispanic people everyday here than black people. So blaming Mark for the fact that our black population is lower here than the bigger cities is not legit. If everyone stops thinking about race/color and calling other’s a racist, then we all would be seen getting along just fine. No one knows the heart of another person. When someone clearly disputes and states they are NOT a racist, I believe them. Seeing the actions of President Trump and listening to him also makes me realize he is not racist. Mark Meadows certainly is not a racist! If you want to focus on racists, your Democratic Socialists Liberal Party would be the mirror you need to look into. Then report the truth to your readers! Racism is a word that ignites a fire and should NEVER be used so loosely. Therefore we have another one sided fueled false story to add to the list of most stories today by the media.

    • rayofsunshine

      Have you not read the racist comments here? There is no “Democratic Socialists Liberal Party,” so you MIGHT not be racist, but your attitude toward people to whom you DO NOT give “the benefit of the doubt” is right up there with the ignorance you show by denying racism. Pitiful.

    • Gregory Leng

      Thank-you! :) PS-Read the other responses I have posted to the evil thrown at me. Liberals take things so personal because they know that they are loosing the Sodom & Gomorrah rights Obama gave them. Other than San Francisco, no other U.S. city feels Trumps slap in their face than Asheville, NC. It shames me to know we had the most popular evangelist ever in world history as far as the number of people he preached to and out city is worst than Sodom & Gomorrah. Billy Graham preached against it, the bible states clearly what is sinful and most important Jesus Christ laid down His life for those that choose to follow Him. The path is narrow to Heaven and wide to Hell. I feel sorry for all those that turn a blind eye to the truth Christ preached on. My opinions will certainly not matter on judgement day. At that moment each person will be accountable whether they want to be or not. God is very liberal in forgiveness of our sins and grace. As far as what is in the bible and the way Jesus taught us all to live, well that is called being obedient and very conservative. Even those thrown into hell do not get to do what they want to anymore. Just food for thought!

      • rayofsunshine

        Well aren’t we lucky that “God” is liberal in forgiveness. Too bad you are making decisions for him as to what is forgivable and what is not. I’m sure he appreciates your help in spreading your version of the Word.

  4. Mike

    Thanks for having the strength to write this Jerry, well said. To some of the other posters; diversity should be celebrated and explored as an opportunity for learning, not vilified. And pretending that the atrocities of history don’t matter and/or don’t effect people today…that’s just foolish.

    • Gregory Leng

      WOW! It takes “strength” for a so called writer to make up a bunch of lies and spread hateful discord among the people. I do not have to go to the gym or get up any strength to write what I have over the past 43 years! Maybe they have writer’s vitamins at Walmart that can help poor Jerry out on his next story so it means something to a reader. :)

        • Gregory Leng

          Jason, when the Holy Spirit is my resource, yes indeed it comes with little effort and from the best source in the universe and beyond my friend. < Gregory

  5. C-Law

    Radical Republican “Reconcontruction” and a 12 year military occupation of the formerly free republic, the Confederate States of America, including goon squads like the Union League and racial hatred and incitement of the Freedmens’ Bureau will clue you in to much, but not all of the roots of the ongoing racial division and mistrust in the South. No area of America is immune though…Yankeeland is notoriously and viciously racist, more despicable due to the Yankee’s self-righteous hypocrisy.

    Point is, and ideally we would all generally agree that human life has value and is precious and that self-determination and consent should be foundational principles of a truly free society.

    • Gregory Leng

      If human life has so much value why is it that blacks that make tons of money rapping (music???) are killed by other blacks in cold blood??? I believe in our country more whites are killed by blacks and other minorities than other white people. I agree no one should be treated less than a child of God. The problem is you have people that would choose being savage over loving. The people you are preaching too, will never even read these words. Yes, I have been to New York and even the white people up there do not like the white people of the South! Try walking through Harlem or the Bronx one day by yourself. Maybe take a long ride alone on the subways. Walk through Shiloh in Asheville or another community like it and see how loving the people that do not hate, really are to a white person. On the flip side if a white neighborhood has a black man walking through it, they probably would call the police. So until you can be honest and say that the REAL MINORITY has NOTHING to do with the color of skin but with IGNORANCE & PURE HATRED, none of this matters. No matter what is done, racism will always exist. It is also NOT a black/white issue only! The problem that is BIGGER than this is that Liberal pure hate for a duly elected president called Trump. I do not think he is God’s gift to the world but I do believe he was chosen for a reason. #1 He has made our Supreme Court lean to the conservative side. VERY GOOD! #2 He has recognized Israel in ways that will advance history very quick with God’s people. I could go on and on bu these are the 2 big things. The bible states that those countries which stand with Israel will be spared the wrath of God. The countries that do not will fall and be destroyed. Trump is very wise to push Israel forward in the best interest of their country and ours. Trump also does what he is lead to do and does not care about winning approval. He is doing the right things now because his heart is directing him. Personally it makes me feel great to hear him talk about Jesus and God & include them in his decisions and the way he is living currently. Obama NEVER did this! He blasphemed God in so many things that his judgement will come one day soon for it. It already has started because Trump has erased much of Obama’s policy with a stroke of his executive pen! YES! So Republican’s are very stable mentally understanding the big issues and overall picture here. We also include God in this process and He has done the same by letting us know His will in the scriptures. OK, enough..my book I have wrote is far better than Jerry’s misguided column. I probably could have a new position if this was a conservative outlet! LOL! :)

  6. NFB

    Interesting how many of the comments here just prove Mr. Sternber’s point.

      • Gregory Leng

        Peter, you must live on this web site. I have not been here for a year and same old Peter Robbins with little to say is here too. No, Republican’s are tired of being used as prop’s, thus the reason the executive pen has been used swiftly to overturn the Obama regime’s disastrous policies. It takes very little effort and a mind that is shallow to personally attack the right without being factual. Liberals are all just a big hot puff of smoke with no fire. When you take the time to do your research, make a valid argument and do it in a respectful way, than “us props or deplorables” can move and allow your behind to fall and hit the floor! Get a life man.

        • bsummers

          Get a life man.

          Says the guy who posted 2765 words in reply to an 800 word essay.

          • Gregory Leng

            I hardly call his opinion a essay. If you counted every word I wrote and Jerry’s too, you need to find a job. Your posts are not factual in response to the piece he wrote. You just have a person grudge against me, like all you liberals have with Trump. If you have something to say in relationship to his words or mine, then do it. Oh yes, you are probably going to have to spend time counting these words from me too. That leaves no time for a valid point of view from you.

        • Peter Robbins

          What are you fussing at me for, Gregory? I didn’t write this commentary. I just wish I did.

    • Gregory Leng

      At least spell his name correct. It’s called respect and getting your facts right too! LOL! :)

    • rayofsunshine

      Ditto. By their words ye shall know them. Seems my grand-daddy told me that back in the last century.

  7. James Cassara

    Excellent column. None of us want to think of ourselves as racist but we exist and benefit from a white privilege that is deeply rooted in our society. Pretending we are immune to institutionalized racism would be like claiming to walk through a rainstorm and not get wet.

  8. Gregory Leng

    The part about the white men having their own “personal Negro” is another thing worth commenting on. When I grew up a bit later than Mr. Jerry, we had a “personal White woman,” that jumped every time my dad said something. She cleaned the house, our clothes, kept us 4 boys clean, did the shopping, repaired holes in our clothing, taught us our school work when students really had homework, she ran errands, took us to the doctor and dentist, school, she taught us manners, took us to church, was involved with all our school and scouting activities and she even had time to play with us too.
    We all called her mom or mother! So the only thing that changed was a family member the color of our own skin became the new slave living in bondage. The results, women’s liberation. Now the gender roles are so confused no one knows how to behave anymore. Women wanted the pants and now they have it. The divorce rate skyrocketed, men lost jobs and their wages went down. Today it takes both the man and woman to work to just make ends meet. So the real losers are because of “cause & effect.” Slavery is wrong period according to God. In the end, we all have received just punishment for not being good stewards and living life as God defined it in the beginning. While mentioning slavery, if this bothers you, than watch out. Today more people are living in bondage than in the history of our world. 30 MILLION to be factual with you. So if slavery bothers blacks, whites or anyone else, let’s talk about this issue! The sex trade business has many women and even men in bondage and is going on in the USA as well the rest of our world. Forced labor is also still happening. Do we learn from our mistakes, NO! Did we learn from the Nazi concentration camps, NO! Syria and other countries have gassed their own people and the world has turned a blind eye to it. Actually, my heart tells me Jerry you still have a bit of racism in you. We need to build up our world rather than tear it down. I do not use the “N-word” out of respect, but according to the dictionary it means a shiftless lazy person. This means there are a lot of different races that fit that classification including whites. I also find it hard to believe you remember white men having “personal Negro’s”. If so I would I see it no different than the way my dad treated my own mother. I would like to thank Mountain Xpress for allowing the few reader’s that see this junk, to have an option to respond and show that their really is another side to the Liberal one sided point of opinion. Thank God, people have been waking up to the real world of propaganda and false stories in our news. Opinions like this one from Jerry with baseless facts are like all the one sided editorials that I used to see in newspapers when I actually wasted my money buying them. Now I can just glace at the Internet and laugh my way through this propaganda and find something better to do. :)

    • rayofsunshine

      The difference in circumstances is that Mom chose the role she played in family life. Just as dad chose the “slavery” of going out into the world every day and earning the money to support all those people he lived with in his house–the family he chose to create. Just as his daughter now goes out t o work instead of staying home and caring for her children. Neither situation equates to the race that had no choice in how they lived or died under the racist slavery system. Basic recognition of the facts, rather than fiercely insecurely preaching hate of others –rather than just accepting them and reaching out a hand in peace.

  9. Gregory Leng

    My comments on this are over. No more responses. When I get paid for intelligent reviews and news reporting like Jerry, I will continue to speak the truth. In the meantime, read all my posts. They are not overly ugly even for a Liberal reader. I stated the facts and even expanded on things. If you do nothing but write a column on something, that will never make the world better. You have to take action and do something to make the world better, especially for the children. I am doing that and will continue too. God has allowed me to work with many different people and not let anything stand in the way of progress. If you live for Christ, who died for YOU, then none of us will have to be concerned about any of this mess. God bless you all, G. <

  10. bsummers

    So to sum up, Jerry. you’re the racist for imploring the rest of us to recognize and release the racist feelings within ourselves; Barack Obama (who was once called “Obongo” by one of the righteously indignant commenters on this page), is the real cause of racism in America today, and white Christian males are the only real victims here.

    Sigh. This is going to take a while longer…

    • Gregory Leng

      We do not need Jerry to help us realize racism exists in our world. We do not need anyone to say it. It’s a sad fact. It also works both ways. Not just whites against blacks. White Christian males are not victims and I am certainly NOT stating this. So you need to also refrain from putting untruths in your posts! I am sure Jerry appreciates your show of support. What you both need to realize is that Christians, people of all religions, white, blacks, hispanics, men, women, young and old all voted for Donald J. Trump to be our president. He was duly elected and you need to get over the fact that Hillary lost the election. Obama had his 8 years and created a mess for our country. He did more for the gays than the black population. When you are challenged by a Christian, you show your hatred even more openly because you do not like people that are believers in Christ. Rather than protecting Jerry or attacking me, pick his story apart and argue your beliefs and the facts. You cannot do it!

      • bsummers

        Can’t do it, bro. Gotta find a job.

        But just remember that Trump lost the popular vote. More Americans of all races and creeds preferred Hilary Clinton (as dis-likable as she was), to the Orange One. You need to get over that. We’ll survive Trump, and we’ll survive that minority of racist Americans who support him.

        • Lulz

          LOL popular vote? LOL complains about Russian interference one day, demands popular votes but no voting standards the next. Jim Jones is jealous.

          How’s that collusion working out? Better yet, how’s that 16000 spent per a student at ACS turning out educated minorities? Oh I forgot people like you don’t want educated kids. You want indoctrinated ones. But the leftist agenda is so insane that it’ll continue on the same path until it runs out of scapegoats. And then everyone will be equal lulz.

  11. bobbamerch

    I cannot believe the amount of unadulterated trash talking evoked in response to a thoughtful, perceptive opinion piece reflecting a sobering view of our nation’s past and present history of racism. Jerry Sternberg’s writings deserve far better critiques than most of those that appear above. I hope there is a silent majority reading and appreciating his efforts and words of wisdom.

    • rayofsunshine

      I saved this column, found it today, re-read it, and thought I’d like to complement Jerry on his wise words. Did not realize it would bring the ignorant haters out with their mis-understandings, preconceived notions, hate of people who don’t agree with them. Lucky for us ,Jerry stands tall, telling it like it is in a rational way. Had no idea so many haters and politically illiterate and unknowledgeable people were in AVL spreading their venom. No wonder the Dominionist fascists in power are feeling so good lately.
      One can only hope the nation survives intact under the RW control of every facet of govt. Until…….all these powerful and accomplished dems were elected, despite the RW push to disenfranchise any who see through their takeover of the country for the good of the corporatists and good old boys. And Russia. And Saudi Arabia. North Korea. China.
      Who is this country supposed to be for anyway, I wonder, daily, as I slog through the mis-information, state tv crap, and foolish people who prove that it’s necessary for some to pass some sort of test in order to vote. And I don’t mean our dark-skinned people from anywhere in the world. Just to get succor here, they need to be literate and able to learn stuff.

  12. luther blissett

    To whom is Meadows accountable?

    Not to the people in his district: he can breezily ignore them because of the gerrymander. The counties out west, as we all know, have some of the worst poverty and health outcomes in the state, and it’s only thanks to the 2018 elections that he lacks the power to worsen that.

    He has earned no seniority during his time in office — unlike Charles Taylor or Patrick McHenry — spends most of his time on Fox News or on the phone with the debilitated president, and is a deeply incurious man convinced of his own brilliance. Impunity in politics is a bad thing regardless of party.

  13. Arthur Einstein

    Mr Sternberg is a 21st century realist. Mr Leng sounds like a 19th century southerner with 18th century values. His disconnection with the modern world makes me sad, not just for him, but for the Old North State. When I was born here, and went to school in Chapel Hill, North Carolina was the most forward-looking state in the south. It seems, now, to have become a haven for right-wing radical wing nuts. I don’t hate anybody of any shade or political persuasion.
    But I object to the hatred expressed by Mr Leng and his kind that stands in the way of friendship, cooperation, and progress

  14. cecil bothwell

    Great column, Jerry! As usual a dose of reality brings out the yahoos and the trolls. Ah well. Nothing like letting them prove your point!

    • Milton Ready

      Let me echo Cecil’s words . . . well done, well written, thoughtful and reasoned. The Leng’s of this world have proven your point or, as Shakespeare would have noted, they “doth protestest too much!”

      • Buncy

        Well, that’s not what the Great Bard said. And I’ve been reading here, shaking my head, and am more and more convinced that my vote for Donald Trump was the reasonable one. As for Meadows, he does just fine keeping us informed on the impeachment hysteria in the House. Moreover, the DEMS are the greatest scoundrels at both demagoguery and gerrymandering. And if you think the Republicans use blacks for props, ask Candace Owens, Tiger Woods, and Diamond and Silk if they feel like they are props.

        I saw a hokey prop not that long ago — an attractive black woman pictured beside the head of a law firm here in Buncombe County which is 100% dem and feeds gluttonously at the dem political trough. The silly contrived display was the first thing you saw when you opened up the law firm’s website.

Leave a Reply to Gregory Leng ×

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.