An Apology Bereft of Meaning

Yesterday, the Senate apologized for failing to make lynching a federal crime.

The formal apology, adopted by voice vote, was issued decades after senators blocked antilynching bills by filibuster. The resolution is the first time that members of Congress, who have apologized to Japanese-Americans for their internment in World War II and to Hawaiians for the overthrow of their kingdom, have apologized to African-Americans for any reason, proponents of the measure said.

"The Senate failed you and your ancestors and our nation," Senator Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana, chief Democratic sponsor of the resolution, said at a luncheon attended by 200 family members and descendants of victims. They included 100 relatives of Anthony Crawford, as well as a 91-year-old man believed to be the only known survivor of an attempted lynching.

I suppose one could argue that a late apology is better than none at all but when you add context, this grandiose moment is revealed to be more of an empty gesture. Politics as usual.

For example, how can anyone forget how no Senator came forward to support the Congressional Black Caucus as they sought a Senate sponsor in order to conduct hearings into voting irregularities in the 2000 Florida election?

Even the manner in which the Senate addressed the apology leaves their motives suspect:

Of the 100 senators, 80 were co-sponsors of the resolution, and because it passed by voice vote, senators escaped putting themselves on record.

"It's a statement in itself that there aren't 100 co-sponsors," Senator John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, said. "It's a statement in itself that there's not an up-or-down vote."

Maybe 100 years from now, the Senate will once again apologize to African Americans for failing to look into efforts to disenfranchise their voting rights in the last few elections. I wouldn't hold my breath, though. And I'm not the only one who thinks so:

Mrs. Merriwether's aunt Magdalene Latimer, 84, was not so certain about the senators. "I have to let God be the judge," Ms. Latimer said, "because I don't know if they meant it out of their heart or they're just saying it out of their mouth."

Comments

[Foree White]

I have heard all of my adult life about the Holocaust, that fabrcated you people that made up that lie, you keep telling it over, and over. You made up that lie for this day, the same as you made up the story about that Jesus that you have the whole world worshipping. Just because you tell that lie, again, and again, does not make it true. I have seen the pictures of the world wars, and those pictures that you show being the Holocaust, are no different. All you did was just cut out some paper Stars, of David, and put on those bodies. There is no such thing, as a white Jew. You are Edomites, but you are still White people. The only way you are going to mass murder each other is for Supreme power.
According to the true history of the Jews, and the Bible is that true history. It is written in the book of Amos the 9th Chapter, the 7th verse that the Jews are as the Ethiopians. Webster Dictionary's account is Ethiopians, a native, or inhabitant of Ethiopia, are loosely called negroes, and that is what you White people called us, as a byword, and as long as we accepted it we got by. Every time a black man would make an attempt to wake up you would as white murderers kill him, or her. The same as we were when we were down in the land of Egypt. Under threat of Pharoah. I stand before you this day, by the power of the mighty God Israel to declare, that a greater than Moses is here. i am that Prophet that was promised to you by the mighty God Israel. Also The Prophet Israel, that you so eagerly, and freely changed his name to Jesus, the son of Joseph, and Mary promised you that I would come.
Truly I know who he really was according to the book of Matthews 2:13, and Hosea 11:1, read it.
St. John 16:7-13 Israel is the true name, and Jesus is the Prince of this world, whom the whole world is worshipping