THE VIRUS IN ALL OF US: Part Four, It was the mid 50’s in Pittsburgh, living in a predominately Jewish neighborhood we knew it was Christmas time because of the myriad of Christmas programs on television, the neighborhood merchants decorated banners with stars, mistletoe, and Santa’s sleigh on the light poles and across the street car wires, but the ability to see real hard core Christmas decorations on homes was just not found in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood in which we lived. So every year during the week before Christmas some of the parents would drive our neighborhood kids to the suburbs of Pittsburgh, for us in particular it was the communities of Mt Lebanon and Upper Saint Claire. I remember as we entered these neighborhoods one or two of the adults would whisper okay, we are Jewish and driving into streets where Jews, Catholics Colored People are not permitted to live. We were young and this sounded both quite shocking and very scary. Would someone actually stop our car and ask “Are you Jewish” and then arrest us? It was true in the early 1950’s there were deed restrictions to some communities where if you were Jewish, Catholic, of Color and at times Irish you could not purchase a home. THE VIRUS IS IN ALL OF US, and in Pittsburgh in those days the virus would appear as a legal document stating you if not of the appropriate Christian sect should not darken our fabulous door steps.
King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, assisted in the voyages of Christopher Columbus, thinking they were headed to the Indies, Columbus and his conquerers landed on the Isle of Hispaniola and eventually on the terra forma of North America. Upon his arrival Columbus met a native population, and indigenous group of people of a differing skin color and with no belief in the “Original Sin”. The Gods of these people was never crucified on a cross and no orange chapels were erected depicting HIS glory. Being a good Catholic, coming from a nation where the Inquisition assisted you in either converting to Catholicism or dying, Mr Columbus felt it his obligation to spread the Catholic religion.The indigenous tribes had a choice like the Jews and Muslims of Spain convert or die. The Puritan men of New England believed that their God had a special place in his heart for the male members of the species. Women were indeed chattel and were forever bound to the whims, fancies, and prejudices of their husbands, fathers or brothers. The Puritans believed that women should be seen but never heard. The Puritans became disoriented when a few women actually spoke up, spoke out about what they thought, about their treatment and in doing so pissed off the male elders of this religious cult.The women were called witches and burned. THE VIRUS IS IN ALL OF US and the Christians of early America became quite ill from it.
The state of South Carolina wanted to succeed from the Union because they believed it was the right of any good Christian household to partake in slavery, they were not happy that Abraham Lincoln was democratically elected president so on December 20, 1860 they succeeded. Church elders in most of the other Southern states at that time also agreed that a good Christian was actually called upon by God to own slaves. These preachers and ministers read passage and verse from their Holy Book in which they decided God made the White race to be leaders and created the black skinned folk to be slaves. George Wallace a good Christian Governor of Alabama had no time to waste on integrating his state colleges. The Negro was never meant to sit next to the white person and learn. If his water fountains, were segregated, if the Negro was to sit in the back of the bus, then by God’s will his universities would never be integrated. George Wallace has his Christian clergy back him up because they knew Jesus was also a religious bigot. Dawning white robes, most likely because they were cowards and afraid to show case their hatred a group men decided this was a White Christian nation and using religion as their guide and glory decided that God preferred the Colored to be hung, have their houses burned and of course treated as dirt. The KKK believed then as it does now that the Christian religion takes prescient in the democracy of this nation. THE VIRUS IS IN ALL OF US and it permeates from the gutless souls of men so terrified of truth. THE VIRUS IN US:Part Five follows
