Tragic Death Exploited to Smear Immigrants


 
It’s human nature, I suppose. Never let the truth interfere with a good story.

It happened half a century ago. Until recently, I missed some aspects of those days. Mostly I missed the clarity.

Clarity is all over us again now, and it comes to me that maybe clarity wasn’t all that great, even in those days. Immigration, religion, skin color are all reasons, once again, for some to hate those on the other side. The other side of the skin, the other side of the border, the other side of God Almighty.

The incident from 50 years ago was a minor one. A bit of vandalism by an anti-war group had led to arrests. A neighbor asked me for my opinion. He was a beefy hardworking plumber. I was with my folks, visiting his home. I mumbled something about vandalism being wrong. He pressed me. Those unpatriotic thugs had gone too far, he said. It wasn’t enough that they hated America. Now they were breaking laws, destroying property. I could see that, right?

It was clear he had not read the latest news. So I told him.
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