John Birch Society member and Oklahoma Conservative Political Action Committee (OCPAC) founder Charlie Meadows decided to weigh in on happenings in Ferguson to his newsletter subscribers, proving, of course that the John Birch Society clings tight to its racist roots.
His inflammatory words are also leading to protests by outraged Oklahomans who are planning to protest outside the weekly OCPAC meeting.
It’s important to note that these are not the ramblings of a KKK member hiding behind a hood or an anonymous pundit, but a man who meets with conservative leaders — from in and out of state — on a weekly basis. His newsletters often describe the varying ways local politicians have worked to win his endorsement, as well as a high conservative “rating” from his PAC.
Meadows, who is a lifetime John Birch Society member, has access to some of the most powerful conservatives in the country. But local conservatives were quick to throw him under a bus, according to KFOR-4:
“I’m on Charlie’s newsletter, e-mail list and it came out and I looked at it and I thought wow, this looks bad,” said Sooner Tea Party leader, Al Gerhart.
Gerhart says they immediately responded to the article with an e-mail of their own.
“We slammed him,” said Gerhart. “We called him Mastah Charlie and again playing upon the old racist stereotypes in reverse to make him, shock him, this is what you’re looking like Charlie, this is crazy.”
He frequently hosts out-of-state speakers with OCPAC, and often features prominent Oklahoma conservatives at his gatherings.
The newsletter article, titled, “Why Blacks Hate Cops & How Blacks Can Be Winners, Not Losers!”, explains that it was difficult for Meadows to hold his tongue on the events unfolding in Ferguson, Missouri.
He starts out with the standard racist disclaimer, explaining that he, a white conservative and member of the John Birch Society, has a message he is compelled to share because the “truth” isn’t being communicated by “black civil rights leaders” or “black pastors”:
“I have wanted to write this piece since trouble began to boil in Ferguson, but just couldn’t do so until now. First, I must state, NOT all black folks hate cops and MANY black people are already winners, they are not losers. This commentary is about that large number of black folks that do hate cops and are losers.
I will surely be called a “racist” and a “bigot” by some for even writing a word about the whole situation. But I take my old friend the Reverend Jesse Lee Peterson seriously when he pleads with white folks to overcome their fears of being labeled with these old clichés and speak up on issues of race as most of the civil rights leaders and too many of the black pastors are not telling black people the truth nor are they saying what needs to be heard by black folks to overcome their hatred and thus escape their sadness, poverty and loser status.”
“One more point before I begin. What two things would you guess the following people have in common: Alan Keys, Ward Connerley, the Reverend Jesse Lee Peterson, Jonathan Small, The Reverend Stevie Craft, Retired Major General Jerry Curry, Al Mertens, Arlie and Janice Ponds, the Berkley children, and Toby Pedford that come to mind at this time. The two things they all have in common is they are all black and they have all been a speaker at one or more OCPAC meetings sometime in the past. I personally respect all of these folks and even look up to some of them.In addition we have had numerous black folks attend our meetings, interviewed black candidates and even had former State Senator Connie Johnson speak at OCPAC, though there is little I agree with when it comes to Senator Johnson’s agenda and values. So call me racist if you wish, the record suggests otherwise. “
Meadows then proceeds to spin takes of what he believes is a vast conspiracy regarding the media coverage of Ferguson — explaining that black Americans are simply being taken for an emotional roller coaster to turn their attention away from the midterm elections.
But the problem is that black men are full of hate, he says — while never caring enough to spell Trayvon Martin’s name correctly:
“With all of that in mind, some of what I am about to say is not going to be ear tickling to some in the black community. Have you ever wondered why we have these flare ups, usually at a key time before an election? This election cycle it was the death of Michael Brown, prior to the previous election cycle it was the death of Treyvon Martin (sic), prior to one of the Bush elections it was the horrific death of a black man dragged behind a pick-up, never mind the perp or perps in that case had already been convicted and I believe sentenced to death.I suspect it not all that uncommon for a black man, particularly a young black person, to be shot by a cop, and perhaps killed, somewhere in America on a weekly basis, so why this shooting? If true, that statistic is in no way evidence of a crisis regarding blacks being shot by cops for the vast majority of those shootings are justified. Truth is, there are a lot of black males that are very angry and have allowed their hearts to be filled with hate. Just as love is a motivational force, so is hate and hate towards others almost always motivates people to do evil things. Hate causes people to walk around with a chip on their shoulder, be rebellious, sullen, arrogant and look for opportunities to get even with those they hate or surrogates of those hated. “
He then goes back to insulting the protestors, presumably the ones he believes are “black losers”:
From the beginning of the initial shooting of Michael Brown a mob gathered chanting for justice. I would suggest the mob mentality operates on great ignorance as they have little intellectual capability of understanding what justice is and probably wouldn’t recognize it if it hit them in the face. Justice is a serious request as it is blind and follows the evidence to render innocence or guilt and usually a severe punishment if not tempered by some mercy.
The fact that law enforcement has dealt gently with rioters in the past rather than put them down, hard if necessary, has just given more incentive to ever expand situations like this.
There’s more, if you can stomach it. You can read the full text here.
I don’t see racism in his remarks. I agree with him on the black leadership, or at least, the ones who are always putting themselves in the limelight like Sharpton. These people foster racial hatred in order to further their own agendas.