More Sunny….

I addressed the fact that Sunny Schubert kept her affiliation with WPRI to herself here, and she addressed it here. Looking between the lines we see that she must be ashamed of many of her co-workers because all she seems to associate with are the “liberals” who also write for WPRI ignoring her right wing colleagues.  In all fairness I would not want to be associated with Charlie Sykes either.

In the midst of the spirited and informative debate we had over this subject, we got this gem from Sunny:

However, I do believe that teachers unions are the single biggest impediment to improving our school system.

Which leads us to this weeks column.

A friend of mine who is a state employee sent me a picture from Tuesday’s rally at the State Capitol to protest Gov. Scott Walker proposed changes to public employee bargaining rights in Wisconsin.

The picture shows a young woman holding a sign that reads “First Walker came for the unionists.” She is smiling.

The sign is abominable. “First Walker came for the unionists” is a corruption of a line from a famous poem by Pastor Martin Niemoller. The poem is about the failure of German intellectuals to stand up to Adolph Hitler.

It is inscribed in the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. It reads:

“First they came for the communists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew.

Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.”

To compare Walker to Hitler is an affront to the memories of all the people who died as a result of Hitler’s actions.

Hitler murdered 12 million people in the concentration camps and started World War II, which led to more millions of deaths. Making thousands of fairly well-paid government employees contribute to their health insurance and retirement benefits is not the same as Hitler’s horrific crimes against humanity. The young woman carrying that sign should, at the very least, be forced to retake 20th Century History 101.

Shame on her.

Really the sign is abominable? Why is that? Because tens of thousands of people came to the Capitol to defend their basic human right to collectively bargain? Because people stood up and said enough? Is it abominable because this uprising has sparked a movement?

I get it that you think the corporations should run the show and that people having power scares you, but why must the right wing always distort to make their point? While Sunny is right he poem is about the failure of German intellectuals to stand up to Adolph Hitler it is more widely accepted as describing the effects of political apathy. There is a reason that Hitler (and I am not comparing Walker to Hitler) “came for the Trade Unionists” because the power of the people is too strong to overcome(spend a few minutes at the capitol this week and tell me I am wrong)!

We all know this “budget repair” bill is aimed solely at busting the unions(Sunny’s and the WPRI’s dream bill). The question is if Scott Walker and the Republicans successfully bust the unions in WI what is next? All unions in all states? private sector unions? right to work state? Sell all of our power plants to the Koch Brothers? end Badgercare? privatize Sociali security? the list goes on and on…

The working people of Wisconsin(and the world), saw this, and realized the answer.  The working class people  have drawn their line and said NO more!

Then they came for the trade unionists and I did speak out because we have had enough…

PS:  Minor point, but that is not exactly how it appears @ the Holocaust Museum.

Maybe the woman carrying the sign should, at the very least, be accompanied by Ms. Schubert during her retake of 20th Century History 101.  They can even cover the Labor Movement in America and how important it is to today’s society!