Call her, Ms. Ross.
Colin Kaepernick made it a national issue.
The NAACP and Kaepernick associate the Betsy Ross flag with racism, slavery and white supremacy.
While searching for an explanation with what's wrong with Betsy? I came across the following story about Ms. Ross appearing to a gay writer to announce to the world that she was a lesbian. Holy crap - how does that work with the claims of white supremacy and racist ideology her flag represents?
Happy 4th of July.
“First I saw the colonial flag, then I saw this woman in old fashioned clothes, with a petticoat, then I saw the Betsy Ross house, and I knew it was her,” psychic medium Susan Lander explained. The author of Conversations with History: Inspiration, Reflections, and Advice from History-Makers and Celebrities on the Other Side, Lander is also a native of Philadelphia and says she had often visited the Betsy Ross house as a child. When Lander asked Ross why she contacted her, the American icon announced: “I am gay and I fly the flag of pride and liberty for all of us.”
"Betsy blew me away," Lander said. "I didn't see that coming. She dropped that statement down in 10 minutes. She had it all ready. She said it over and over: ‘I am gay, I am gay, I am gay.’ It was amazing." - Source
Happy 4th of July.
I don't see anything racist, white supermacy nor slavery about the flag. I could whine and cry foul too since so many of " mis hermanos" died fighting for my right to do so. But I refuse to play the victim card ... instead, I look to my father for inspiration. He was a hard working man, honest and faithful to God. He was dark skinned and proud to have served in the US Military. He did not use the color of his skin to denigrate anyone or anyrhing. I always do my best to remember his example.
ReplyDeleteGod bless America! May the Virgin Mary protect each and every one of us who have been given the grace to be born here. May we strive to help our neighbor in Thanksgiving to God Almighty.
Happy 4th of July to you Terry and to your readers.
And for the record, I am well aware many have suffered injustice because of the color of their skin. I was called "beaner and dirty Mexican" many times in my life but I didn't let the name callers ruin my desire to get ahead in life.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, sorry for the long winded post but I do sincerely hope we truly "all can become one" just as our Lord Jesus and the Father are one.
Thanks Yaya - thanks for adding to this. When I was little I wanted to be Mexican because of the Mexican devotions to Our Lady, and the saints. I used to hear bad things said about them, but everyone I knew befriended me and treated me well. In my school, there were a few Latino kids, so I never felt any difference at all. Anyway - we are all united who love God.
DeleteWell said, dear Yaya!
DeleteMy grandfather was a dark-skinned Sicilian immigrant who volunteered to fight for the US Army in WWI. He was naturalized while in boot camp at Camp Sherman in SC, and then sailed for France on a troop ship. Sadly (and predictably, in spite of his brave sacrifice), he (and my Irish immigrant grandmother) endured endless indignities because of their looks, their accents, and their Faith. Yes, even from Catholics, who should have known better.
When my great-grandfather was dying from the Spanish influenza after the war, my grandfather literally ran to 3 separate parishes to get a priest for Last Rites. The first two refused - the first priest because it was an Irish parish, and the next priest (at my current parish, as a matter of fact) refused and told him, "This is German-Austrian parish, and we do not serve Italians. Go find an Italian priest." (At this time - circa 1919 - the closest Italian-language parish was Holy Rosary in Cleveland - 40 miles away). At the final parish, the holy pastor, Msgr. Dowed (an Irish-American Yankee from Maine) told my grandfather to sit and rest while he got his sick kit, and then drove him in his Buick home, and offered the Sacraments to my great-grandfather just in time. It didn't matter that he did not know Italian - the Sacraments were in Latin, and sympathy and comfort know no language.
About 10 years later, after my grandparents married, their two oldest daughters were walking home from their parish school, wearing their starched uniforms. It started raining hard, so they waited under a bush in a front yard. They did not realize it was the HQ of the local KKK. The "men" swore at, intimidated, and humiliated these little girls for being Catholics. After that, my grandfather personally held their hands and walked them to and from school, even though he was exhausted from working the night shift at Goodyear.
But - he and my grandmother were endlessly proud of my father and uncles when they served America in the Army and Air Force (and when my father worked as a civil servant for local government). They were grateful to American, and taught all of us to be as well.
Sorry to bore you with my story, but your very interesting testimony reminded me that we all have decent predecessors somewhere in our backgrounds, who suffered for their Faith, their nationalities, and their appearance, and yet, they overcame because of their strength of character.
As our good Terry reminds us, maybe someday "we truly 'all can become one'" - especially those of us who are Catholic brothers and sisters. God bless and protect all here!
Quite a story Susan. I have Scottish/Irish roots and grew up in a hybrid parish with Croatians and Eastern European families never realizing that was of any note. Your story of a priest denying to administer last rites truly shocks me. I would not want to be that priest when he passes to face his creator. I can see your stron beautiful faith is, partly, a legacy past to you from generations past. How lovely that is.
DeleteYours is a wonderful story despite the many hardships your precious family endured. Thank you for sharing.
DeleteMay the Risen Lord grant your beloved elders eternal joy in heaven with Him
Thank you so much, dear Mr. H and Yaya. Sometimes I get carried away. Yaya, I am so proud to be the Godmother to a 10 year-old Mexican girl who is being raised by her aunt in our parish. She is lovely and devout, and routinely leads the Rosary and DM Chaplet en espanol y ingles, as well as being an altar server at our Spanish Mass. As you can see, things have certainly changed at the parish where 100 years ago, the priests refused Last Rites to an immigrant - thanks be to God! God bless and protect you both, and all here - Susan, OFS
DeleteThis is the latest fad. Project backward contemporary thinking. It is a parlor game of sorts. Hold us accountable today for the shortcomings of our ancestors. The Communists rewrote Russian history to support their political actions. We do not have to. Yes acknowledge their shortcomings which is different then glorifying them. As for the psychic, well on an airplane years ago I watched a TV show about an animal psychic. She was really charming. The pets adorable and full of messages and advise for their owners. Of course it was all nonsense. As is this!
ReplyDeleteYeah, psychics crack me up - I enjoy watching them when they come on a talk show or something. You mention the Communists re-writing Russian history - I think that is being attempted once again.
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DeleteI live in a small, isolated town. Our parish is like the United Nations because we only have one Catholic church to choose from. We have Portuguese, Philipinos, Dutch, French, Italian, Croatian, Korean, Indian, Japanese, Ethiopian, First Nations, Irish, English, Romanian and more. One of the things I love most about Sunday is walking out of the church and hearing all the languages. We are truly universal! As for Betsy Ross - apparently the story about her sewing the flag did not appear until around the 1876 centennial celebrations. Not to mention she was married to 3 different men and widowed each time. She eloped with her first husband and they married in a tavern! Shocking!
ReplyDeleteYour parish sounds like mine, Angela! Isn't it a wonder, and a beautiful thing! We are blessed indeed!
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