ADL in Concert against Hate
ADL in Concert against Hate.
Living in Washington can indeed be fun and interesting … from time to time. When I’m not, that is, stumbling over crazy fishwives with bullhorns shouting squeaky inanities in front of the White House. At times I do manage to avoid all that and take in some of the really positive offerings on display in DC.
They do exist.
Tonight was one of those real treats and an opportunity to rub shoulders with honest History, both from the past and in-the-making.
Tonight was the annual “ADL in Concert Against Hate” at the Kennedy Center. My wife, Julia, and I were privileged to attend. Tonight the ADL honored four people with their annual Ina Kay Award, recognizing “individuals for extraordinary acts of courage in confronting intolerance and injustice, extremism and terrorism.”
I was extremely honored to meet once again with Simon Deng and thank him … again … for speaking out against the Muslim Jihad of Racial and Religious Extermination currently underway in the Sudan against both blacks and Christians … especially Christian blacks, but the odd Muslim black is often thrown into the fire as well. Islam is, as we are all constantly reminded after all, an egalitarian religion.
He gave me a hug. A good one.
At the age of 9, Simon was kidnapped and sold as a slave to an Arab Muslim family in northern Sudan. Yes, this still happens.
His first day with his new “family” he was shown a photograph of a man who had his hands and feet chopped off. His masters explained to him that that was what was in store for him if he escaped. Yep. 9 years old. “Religion of Peace”.
Through a fortuitous coincidence, and after many years in captivity, he managed to make his plight known to a traveler from a village near to where he was born. The traveler found his family, who were naturally astonished to discover their son still alive. A cousin managed to help him escape.
Simon has since become an American citizen and has dedicated his life to fighting slavery and bringing awareness to the rest of the world of the genocidal Jihad happening to his people today. Tomorrow, too. His story is one we should all remember.
Another recipient of the Award was Ruth Halimi, the mother of Ilan Halimi who, you may remember, was brutally murdered by a gang of Muslim thugs in Paris, February 2006. Here she is pictured [right] with her daughter.
Ilan was kidnapped and tortured for weeks merely because he was a Jew.
His body was left on the roadside, naked and severely burned by, among other things, acid. He was found, but died on the way to the hospital. He was 23.
Ruth Halimi has become a forceful voice in France against anti-Semitism and terrorism.
In that environment among the growing hordes of the coming Eurabia, hers is an example of truly undaunted courage.
Ruby Bridges was another of tonight’s honorees. Perhaps you remember her from the famous Norman Rockwell painting “The Problem We All Live With“, pictured here.
In 1960, a Ruby Bridges was 6 years old and became the first black child to integrate the New Orleans public school system. I myself was but a wee nip of 5 … but I remember clearly the turmoil of those heady days … and this situation in particular. We were both starting school at about the same time, after all.
Ruby [pictured here, center] was not well received her first year. In fact, all 500 of the school’s white parents withdrew their children rather than have them endure the unendurable … and actually attend Elementary school [sing songs, listen to stories, paste, and draw and color flowers and rainbows and horseys] with a girl sporting her skin color. Hard to believe now, but 46 years make a lot of difference at times.
Additionally, all the school’s teachers resigned rather than face the appalling task of actually teaching her … all except one. Mrs. Barbara Henry [left, in the floral dress] who remained with Ruby, and taught her for the entire year, just the two of them alone in her classroom. Alone in the entire building as it turns out. The entire school year.
I had the honor of speaking with both and shaking their hands. How often does one get the chance to do that?
A further honoree, not pictured here [I couldn't for the life of me get a decent photo of the woman who was there to represent him, Stephanie Chang] was Vincent Chin who was brutally murdered in June of 1982 in Detroit because he was an Asian.
At the time, the US car industry was going through one of its periodic depressions due to forced unprofitability because of insane Union [UAW] demands; and Japanese car makers … and by extension Asians as a whole … were the community scape-goats — a perception encouraged by the United Auto Workers union itself. The UAW, in their zeal, in fact organized “official” anti-Japanese “PR events” like the smashing of Japanese-made cars with sledge-hammers and baseball bats. The UAW distributed bumper-stickers with slant-eyed smiley faces on them. The list goes on.
Vincent was killed by two unemployed UAW autoworker thugs, Ronald Ebens and Michael Nitz. They beat him to death with a baseball bat, crushing his skull. Probably a left-over from a “PR event”. One witness said that they swung the bat like a major-league player going for a home run. Oh, and … not that it makes much difference, but just for the record … Vincent’s parents were Chinese. And he worked for GM.
For a variety of reasons, the court system was unable to bring the murderers to justice. Ooops … I’m sorry, I forgot … as I recall they were fined something like $3700 and given 3 years probation in the initial trial. Quoth the judge: “These aren’t the kind of men you send to jail . You fit the punishment to the criminal, not the crime.” I think they also had to pay court-costs. My guess, close to $700 more … give or take.
His mother, a legal immigrant, became a tireless voice against bigotry and formed the American Citizens for Justice.
Following the aquittal of Ebens and Nitz from Federal charges on a technicality after years of court battles, she moved back to China … yes, China … in disgust and dispair.
Bravo, UAW … bravo.
