Ugly Discrimination

An African-American man is being slurred by politicians and the media. I won’t allow this to stand.

The poor soul in question has been called out for an act of joy that has been interpreted by petty nitpickers as a gesture of hate — a Nazi salute.

His detractors, falling back on their Nazi dogwhistle tactics, seek to destroy this person’s reputation simply because he jumps around on stage at times and flails his arms wildly. It was exactly one of those occasions that prompted this attack.

Have they no compassion? The man suffers from autism spectrum disorder, commonly called Asperger’s Syndrome. Think of the movie “Rain Man.”

Would these people put the Dustin Hoffman character on trial for eccentric behavior such as immediately being able to tally the number of toothpicks spilled from a box in a diner? By the way, it was 246.

More to the point, would we as a populace tolerate such discrimination?

To ignore the mental irregularity germane to this case and then to focus on any action to which it contributes is judgmental and not what America should be about.

Having this happen on Day I of Trump II pretty much proves what all the naysayers have contended about him and his followers, right?

Garbage. Deplorables. Nazis.

Discrimination against African-Americans and the disabled is an unfortunate thread of our national tapestry.

Do you recall when critics of then-candidate John Fetterman were outed as ableists for thinking his stroke and subsequent incoherent campaign debate performance (sound familiar?) rendered him incapble of serving in the Senate?

Of course Fetterman was able. He was/is a Democrat, after all, the party that pledged allegiance to mentally limited president Joe Biden for most of his four years in office.

And, sure, some Democrats are getting nervous about Fetterman because he is willing to talk to Republicans – horrors – and even vote for common-sense legislation they might propose.

Bottom line, he beat the attempted discrimination and I’m hoping the African-American to whom I refer, Elon Musk, can do the same.

But I do wonder where are the usual suspects who rush to defend any African-American under attack?

ACLU? Rev. Al Sharpton?

OK, so they’ve been burned in the past leaping on the racial discrimination bus only to have the likes of Jussie Smollett, Crystal Mangum (Duke Lacrosse) and Tawana Brawley turn out to be race hucksters running hoaxes.

I’m confident the Musk salute is an innocent twitch having more to do with his mental situation than an allegiance to Hitler. We have the video, and supporting footage of people ranging from Kamala Harris, to the Village People, to any child looking to be called upon by a teacher in class, performing similar salutes.

I’d hate to think this was happening simply because Musk is African-American.

I’m just glad that, despite his disability, Musk has been able to find gainful employment and, fortunately for him, the boss isn’t going to fire him on the strength of false accusations.