For those who wonder why such issues matter to professionals or investors, the answer is simple. If self-proclaimed Marxists get their way, your business, beliefs, property, and your rights are in jeopardy. Health, safety, and life are in danger too. “Yes, I think the statues of the white European they claim is Jesus should also come down. They are a form of white supremacy. Always have been.” That tweet on 6.22.2020 from “Jeffery Shaun King,” who Wikipedia describes as follows “(born September 17, 1979) is an American writer, civil rights activist and co-founder of Real Justice PAC. King uses social media to promote social justice causes, including the Black Lives Matter movement.”
There have already been numerous instances of Christian symbols and churches attacked in the wake of peaceful protests turned violent. That should be set in the broader context of other forms of anti-religious behavior. The left-of-center New York Times reported on May 12, 2020 that “The Anti-Defamation League reported more than 2100 anti-Semitic incidents in the United States, a 12 percent jump…” While still troubling, the Voice of America (VOA) reported on July 30, 2019 that “The 28% decline in anti-Muslim incidents last year on top of a smaller decrease in 2017 followed three years during which attacks on Muslim Americans nearly doubled to levels not seen since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.” So, ironically to some, anti-Muslim hate crimes were higher during the Obama Administration than during the first years of the Trump Administration.
Shaun King’s tweet continued “In the Bible, when the family of Jesus wanted to hide, and blend in, guess where they went? EGYPT! Not Denmark. Tear them down.”
Even if King, or any other activist, was correct in their reading of Biblical history, what give him or others the right to “tear down” property – including art – that they don’t own, without due process? Furthermore, how could they possibly be correct to threaten or encourage violence, or to fail in offering to compensate for the destruction of the property of others?
While there are legitimate complaints about ‘the sins of the past,’ will news sins of the present that King’ suggests somehow make those past errors better? Or will new errors and injustices just further fuel the circle of violence and distrust?
What happens to the rights of those who treasure and support those artistic and religious images?
Shaun King ironically suggests the answer when he has since that tweet claimed that he has been threated ‘hundreds of times’ by those who find his comments offensive. Two wrongs have never made something right.
The headline for this report points to a broader attack on religion, including Christianity. While the Holocaust is often understandably recalled in discussions of religious persecution, the record reflects that there have been more Christian martyrs – people who died for their belief in Jesus – in the 20th century than all other previous ones combined.
That trend of killing Christian believers has continued in the 21st century, according to an article in Christianity. In “an editorial in Christianity Today, David Neff points out that American Christians do not lead typical Christian lives. “The typical Christian lives in a developing country, speaks a non-European language, and exists under the constant threat of persecution — of murder, imprisonment, torture, or rape,” he said.
These sobering facts and more belie the claims of those like Shaun King who right-of-center The Blaze argues fits the profile of race hustler for illegitimate profits. Per The Blaze, which pointed to the left-of-center source, The Daily Beast “King has been besieged by accusations from former activist partners and employees that he has been accepting much more money in donations than he is willing to account for publicly. He has denied the accusations.
He also made headlines during the Democratic primary as the campaign surrogate for the presidential campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) after he misrepresented a report by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow and she responded negatively.”
“Yes.” King’s twitter thread cited earlier continued, “All murals and stained glass windows of white Jesus, and his European mother, and their white friends should also come down. They are a gross form white supremacy. Created as tools of oppression. Racist propaganda. They should all come down.”
That’s peaceful protest? Or is that an incitement to more racial tensions and violence? Should King’s propaganda be forcibly removed?
Snopes says it is “unproven” that “Mark Twain said that it’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.” Barbara Schmidt, who operates TwainQuotes.com told Snopes that Samuel Clemens, a.k.a. Mark Twain did say “How easy it is to make people believe a lie, and how hard it is to undo that work again!” That reference by Schmidt may be a better quote in the first place, as it applies to so many false claims being made over the years.
Shaun King’s claims ignore the fact that among the famous Christian artworks are the image of the Black Madonna. Jesus Biblical mother Mary holds a dark-skinned Jesus. In an undated article The University of Texas at San Antonio College of Liberal and Fine Arts (UTSA) says “Thousands of Black Madonnas in the form of paintings and statues are venerated in countries like Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, and Russia, their shrines representing the world’s most famous and frequented Marian (that is, centered around the Virgin Mary) sites. While most of the icons are concentrated in Europe – and particularly in the Mediterranean – they are also found in the Americas. Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico is one such example that, like the Black Madonna in Poland, serves as a vital aspect of the country’s religious pulse.”
Rephrased, that belies Kind’s claim that Jesus and His mother Mary were always depicted as Europeans as a symbol of oppression. The Christian message is one of liberation from the most powerful form of all slavery, the chains of sin. Indeed, slavery – and all other personal evils – existed due to human sin.
Christian beliefs are meant to be universal. Art depicts Jesus and the Virgin Mother Mary (the Madonna) in a variety of cultural ways.
For example, left-of-center NBC News in a report dated Dec. 12, 2016 by Raul A. Reyes writes, “…it was a winter’s day in 1531 when the Virgin Mary first appeared to Juan Diego, a peasant, as he was crossing a hillside near present-day Mexico City. She appeared as a dark-skinned woman who spoke Nahuatl, Juan Diego’s native language.”
Symbols of Faith and Freedom are Under Attack, So Freedom Itself is Besieged
During the French Revolution, it wasn’t just the French Government that was toppled. The Jacobins executed Christians too. Fast-forward to 21st century socialist supporters of Senator Bernie Sanders, a two-time former candidate for the Democratic nomination for president and a self-described socialist. A pro-Sanders “progressive” publication on the political left is called “The Jacobin.”
Coincidence?
Names have meanings. Authentic history tells a story for those who are willing to learn them.
But there are key differences between authentic and weaponized history.
The New York Times 1619 Project is an example of truth mixed with a narrative that is agenda driven and uses or ignores information that helps or harms their argument.
As was reported previously, most of the world’s history includes slavery.
There was black on black slavery, white on white, and interracial and inter-ethnic slavery too for centuries. There was also serfdom, indentured servitude, and other forms of human trafficking. As was previously reported, the BBC identified the point that many African slaves where captured by other blacks, who then sold them to Europeans that brought them to the U.S.
Why are such significant details of history left out? Twain’s statement arguably fits, “How easy it is to make people believe a lie, and how hard it is to undo that work again!” Or Guy Benson’s point that propaganda is used because it works on most people.
A genuine history, by contrast, will consider the full story which should not ignore uncomfortable or inconvenient realities or truths. In 2014, while he was still with Fox News, Bill O’Reilly wrote that “The grievance industry basically says that America is not a fair nation that the deck is stacked against minorities, women, the poor, gays, atheists, Muslims — you name it. And the bad guys are white males, the Republican Party and anybody who doesn’t buy into the grievance industry.”
The Wall Street Journal and others have taken a similar slant. A bestselling book on Amazon published in June of 2016, “Black Lies Matter: Why Lies Matter to the Race Grievance Industry” by Taleeb Starkes shed light on the topic.
Starkes’ teaser on Amazon says that “In Chicago a.k.a “Chiraq,” the first ten days of 2016 yielded 120 people shot. Baltimore’s 2015 ended as its bloodiest and deadliest year — on a per-capita basis. In 2014, Detroit’s police chief called upon law-abiding citizens to take arms against its burgeoning, violent, criminal subculture.
Unfortunately, these cities aren’t anomalies. Year after year, a seemingly unshakable reality of violence plagues black communities nationwide.
In fact, since 1980, blacks have routinely accounted for almost half of America’s annual homicide victims, and more than half of the perpetrators — all while being a minor thirteen percent of the national populace.
Yet, a certain black-based industry — which specializes in nurturing comfortable lies while burying uncomfortable truths — propagates a notion that “racism” is the foremost issue facing black Americans, and white cops are blood-thirsty enforcers.
Moreover, this cunning, race-peddling entity knows that it’s easier to lie to blacks than to convince blacks that they’ve been lied to.
Thus, black “lies” are good for business… black “lives” are good for nothing (except exploitation).
And presently, business is booming.”
B7 contrast, the Real Justice PAC website says that “Shaun [King] was recently listed by Time Magazine as one of the 25 most influential people in the world on the internet. He is a co-founder of Real Justice PAC, The North Star, and the host of the popular daily news podcast, The Breakdown.”
That website says about their strategy that “The Bernie Sanders presidential campaign pioneered a new approach to mass participation electoral campaigns called “big organizing.””
As with George Soros’ initiatives to elect local prosecutors, Real Justice PAC says their goal is to “Elect prosecutors who will make a material impact on people’s lives by helping end discriminatory policing, eliminating money bail, and rolling back practices that lead to mass incarceration.” Their “tactics” include, “We train and deploy volunteers in distributed field programs (door knocking, mass site, phone, and peer to peer text message).”
That’s community organizing, ala the Saul Alinsky and the pro-Marxist model used for decades.
“Led by internationally known justice activist Shaun King, social media platforms will be used to educate and mobilize mass audiences of volunteers and donors to take action both nationally and locally. Digital will be managed in partnership with Middle Seat, a consulting firm created by former top Bernie Sanders campaign staffers.”
Conservative black radio, tv personality and producer of “Uncle Tom,” a new movie, Larry Elder tweeted this on June 27, after King’s call to tear down Jesus. “At a time in America when one’s race has never been less important, the left has taught a generation to view the world through race-tinted glasses.”
Other recent tweets by Elder:
- In 2017, over 60,000 cops were assaulted. More cops are killed by suspects in the line of duty each year than are unarmed blacks killed by cops.
- Elder retweeted: America is on fire and the Democrats are empowering the anarchists and pulling the strings. Both them and the #MSM would like to continue tearing America apart until the elections. The Dems are so naïve to believe they can control the radical Marxist mob they are energizing now.
- COVID-19 death rate is 75% lower in states that didn’t lock down: WSJ
- Black Fathers Matter
- MEDIA IGNORES 90% CORONAVIRUS DEATH COLLAPSE IN COUNTRY
NEW LARRY ELDER VIDEO: The ‘Systemic Racism and Police Brutality‘ Narrative is Getting People Killedhttps://t.co/E7U7RnDQWl#GeorgeFloyd#RayshardBrooks#BlackLivesMatter
— Larry Elder (@larryelder) June 24, 2020
“Terrell and @larryelder discuss activist Shaun King’s assertion that statues of Jesus Christ … [are] Straight out of the wicked Saul Alinsky playbook.”
So King isn’t a wannabe. He’s a somebody in the socialist-Alinsky-Sanders orbit, asserts Elder.
The Oxford Dictionaries says this about the Jacobins: “a member of a democratic club established in Paris in 1789. The Jacobins were the most radical and ruthless of the political groups formed in the wake of the French Revolution, and in association with Robespierre they instituted the Terror of 1793–4.”
Some of our reports below are directly connected to these hot-button current topics. When you follow the money trail, the dots often go back to Warren Buffett and his buddy, Bill Gates.
But there are more industry specific topics too. Don’t miss the closing thoughts and peek ahead near the end of this article.
With no further adieu, let’s check out the headlines for the week that was, 6.21. to 6.28.2020.
What’s New on MHLivingNews
The latest from Washington, D.C. from MHARR
The latest from the Masthead
What’s New on the Daily Business News on MHProNews
Saturday 6.27.2020
Friday 6.26.2020
Manufactured Home Community Tests Positive for Excessive Radioactive Contaminated Water
Thursday 6.25.2020
MHVillage, MHI Present 2020 Manufactured Housing Industry Trends, Statistics – Fact Check Part II
Wednesday 6.24.2020
Tuesday 6.23.2020
Monday 6.22.2020
7 Figure Manufactured Home Community Deal in LA “Opportunity Zone” Raises Questions
Sunday 6.21.2020
There are battling narratives. Some of those narratives contain elements of truth, mixed in with hype, spin or falsehood. That makes spotting deceptive and manipulative behavior more challenging.
Which begs the question. Who benefits from fostering division?
There are those who strongly disagreed with President Donald J. Trump’s walk across the White House grounds to St John’s Church. That Episcopalian house of worship had been torched the night before by what some in media and politics called ‘mostly peaceful protesters.’
Defacing public, private, nonprofit or religious property is not peaceful. It’s a form of violence and intimidation. These are Marxist or terrorist tactic, not that of someone peacefully trying to right one or more injustice.
Even members of the clergy connected to St. John’s Church objected to President Trump’s video and photo op there. Was it political? Sure. Did it also send a message that needs to be heard? For those with the eyes to see that churches and synagogues, or other houses of worship should not be attacked and defiled, it certainly did send a message.
The hardest edges of the political left are coming after believers.
Evil has many names. Among them Lucifer, the devil, Satan and so on. There are no doubt souls that have ‘sold themselves’ to the devil in some sense. Some may recover, others may not. Why battle the snake-like devil on the ground? Why not change the terrain of the battlefield?
We all need each other’s gifts.
- “Jesus said: “Watch out that no one deceives you.” (Mt. 24.4).
- “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” Hosea 4:6.
- “And do not argue on behalf of those who deceive themselves. Indeed, Allah loves not one who is a habitually sinful deceiver. [Quran, 4:107]” – according to the Understand Quran Academy.
- “All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.” ― Sun Tzu, The Art of War, per GoodReads.
- “Just because something isn’t a lie does not mean that it isn’t deceptive. A liar knows that he is a liar, but one who speaks mere portions of truth in order to deceive is a craftsman of destruction.”
― Criss Jami, per GoodReads.
Programming note. MHProNews is in the process of revamping our industry-leading x2 weekly emailed headline news updates. The revisions should be completed by late June or early July. Watch for it.
Facts are what they are. This publication is not a Johnny come lately to racial, economic, or social justice issues. But to fight the battles that need to be won, it only makes sense to fight on terrain that yields the highest prospect of victory. During wartime, presidents ask the people for prayer. There is a war underway. It has been so since the Garden of Eden. It will continue until the curtain falls. Which side will we count ourselves on?
Thousands of industry readers daily vote with their browsers, devices, and time to say that you’ve found the right place to do that here at your home for authentic “News Through the Lens of Manufactured Homes and Factory-Built Housing” © where “We Provide, You Decide.” © ## (Affordable housing, manufactured homes, reports, fact-checks, analysis, and commentary. Third-party images or content are provided under fair use guidelines for media.) (See Related Reports, further below. Text/image boxes often are hot-linked to other reports that can be access by clicking on them.)
By L.A. “Tony” Kovach – for MHLivingNews.com.
Tony earned a journalism scholarship and earned numerous awards in history and in manufactured housing. For example, he earned the prestigious Lottinville Award in history from the University of Oklahoma, where he studied history and business management. He’s a managing member and co-founder of LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC, the parent company to MHProNews, and MHLivingNews.com. This article reflects the LLC’s and/or the writer’s position, and may or may not reflect the views of sponsors or supporters.
Connect on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/latonykovach
Related References:
The text/image boxes below are linked to other reports, which can be accessed by clicking on them.
