"Even when the call us mad........"

[bobbolink]

"Even when they call us mad, when they call us subversives and communists and all the epithets they put on us, we know we only preach the subversive witness of the Beatitudes, which have turned everything upside down."
- Archbishop Oscar Romero, an advocate for the poor and marginalized, was assassinated thirty years ago today while giving Mass in El Salvador.


"Thirty years ago, Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador was assassinated while delivering Mass in the tiny country's most important church in San Salvador. Archbishop Romero had ended his sermon that day with words he directed at Salvadoran soldiers and police:

"I would like to make an appeal in a special way to the men of the army, to the police, to those in the barracks. Brothers, you are part of our own people. You kill your own campesino brothers and sisters. And before an order to kill that a man may give, the law of God must prevail that says: Thou shalt not kill! No soldier is obliged to obey an order against the law of God. No one has to fulfill an immoral law. It is time to recover your consciences and to obey your consciences rather than the orders of sin. The church, defender of the rights of God, of the law of God, of human dignity, the dignity of the person, cannot remain silent before such abomination. We want the government to take seriously that reforms are worth nothing when they come about stained with so much blood. In the name of God, and in the name of this suffering people whose laments rise to heaven each day more tumultuously, I beg you, I ask you, I order you in the name of God: Stop the repression!"

A single shot rang out and pierced Romero's heart. As he bled to death on the altar those around him knew exactly what elements of Salvadoran society were responsible for the crime. Church and human rights groups quickly recognized the killing as the familiar work of right-wing death squads. The Washington Post and other U.S. news outlets reported that Romero's assassination might have been the work of "leftist" rebels. These fictions continued to dominate the mainstream debate about U.S. policy in Central America despite the overwhelming evidence that the Salvadoran government was working hand-in-glove with the death squads.

Archbishop Romero had sent several letters to President Jimmy Carter pleading with him to stop all U.S. aid to what he considered a murderous regime. The day after Romero's funeral, which itself was marred by violence when Salvadoran soldiers fired into a crowd of mourners, Carter approved an increase in "non-lethal" U.S. aid to the Salvadoran government, which included cargo trucks, radar, riot control gear, and night-vision tracking equipment. Three days before he left office, Carter lifted the ban on U.S. arms sales to El Salvador. "

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-a-palermo/archbishop-oscar-romero-t_b_511399.html

"When I feed the hungry, I am called a saint. When I ask why they are hungry, I am called a Communist." ---Archbishop Oscar Romero

[EFerrari]

1. Over the weekend, the new moderate left president of El Salvador apologized

on behalf of the government for this grievous wrong. We will have to wait a much longer time for our own government to admit their complicity but, it was a step.

And as the granddaughter of the man who sentenced Farabundo Marti to death and as an activist who supported the FMLN throughout that terrible war that Ronald Reagan fueled, funded and lied about repeatedly, I felt a measure of peace that at last a great crime was acknowledged. Jimmy Carter's hands are not clean but his involvement pales next to the butchery of his successor.

Rest in peace, Oscar.

[gratuitous]

2. Non-violent reform of a corrupt system is always opposed by violence

It can be no other way. Realize that you will be targeted with violence, lethal and non-lethal, and count well the cost. Is your struggle worth injury or death? Do you have the strength to choose non-violence as a response to violence? Is what you're fighting for worth the further pain and anguish? Know for a fact that the present pain and anguish of the system as it is will not stop or ameliorate, but will instead escalate as surely as summer follows spring or the sun rises in the east.

[bobbolink]

3. You raise very iimportant questions we all need to ask ourselves.

I know that I have been asking myself the same things.

Even in my puny fight for justice for homeless people, yes, I have been targeted with violence, most notably from the police.

I expect it will not stop.

It may very well, as you say, escalate.

This is the one part of the "We shall overcome" song that I don't like, and won't sing..

"We are not afraid...." HAH!! That is dishonest. Of *course* we are afraid!

But, fools that we are, we do it anyway.

:hi:

[caseycoon]

6. I wish I could rec THIS post too! n/t

[bobbolink]

11. I will count your post as a rec! ^_^

From one fraidy cat to another...

:hug:

[gratuitous]

12. Fear comes with the territory

But are you more beholden to fear or to a vision of justice? Fear drives a lot of injustice. I think one of the reasons for the out-of-control reaction by so many conservatives and their know-nothing kindred is the fear that as they become the minority, they will be treated in the same manner as they treated minorities. That is surely something to fear. It's a fearsome prospect that you could be lynched, hanged from a tree, and have your killers, their families and friends have a picnic around your lifeless body. And then, as the festivities are winding down, someone cuts your fingers from your hands and doles them out as souvenirs of the day.

[bobbolink]

13. Please... this is why I'm actually afraid to be honest on DU.

"But are you more beholden to fear or to a vision of justice? "

If you have read my posts on DU, you KNOW where I am.

Please don't put me in a corner having to defend myself.

THAT is not the way of peace.

Those of us working for social justice get precious little acknowledgement.

It would be welcomed.

Thank you.

[gratuitous]

15. Sorry, I was just pontificating

I wasn't directing the question at anyone, necessarily. Merely expressing some of the questions that each person has to answer for himself or herself before setting out. It's good to revisit them from time to time, and to discuss them with others who share one's vision.

[bobbolink]

18. Your questions were fine... more than fine, they are IMPORTANT. I already said that.

This was what hurt:

"But are you more beholden to fear or to a vision of justice?"

As I said, I think I have shownn here on DU the answer to that for me, and I don't want to have to defend myself. If you have seen my posts, you know the attacks I get, and how often I am subject to the slings and arrows. Has it stopped me yet?

I need for you to be on my side, and I want to be on your side.

To do that, we MUST acknowledge the efforts and the sorrows of each one's path. It is damned hard work, and, as I am posting about today, including the anniversary of Bishop Oscar Romero's death, it is damned scary at times. Just like the song I was talking about, discounting that fear doesn't make us stronger.

Are you ever afraid?

[maryf]

29. Courage under fire

Courage to continue despite all obstacles is true courage; to me you have proven this time and again Bobbie!! Being afraid has never precluded being courageous, in fact it often invokes compassion and makes one more conscious of the need for justice! Your tenacity to fight for justice despite your isolation and, at times, terror, leads me to call you a true hero for justice. :yourock:

[laughingliberal]

16. Courage is not the absence of fear but acting in spite of the fear

But you knew that. ;)

[bobbolink]

19. Yeah, I knew that. But that doesn't make me like it!

:hi:

Can't we just peacefully tiptoe through the tulips for a while?

sigh... yeah, I guess not. But it sounds good. ^_^

:pals:

[laughingliberal]

23. That does sound good...

but reality intrudes once again.

Sux

:pals:

[caseycoon]

4. Thanks for posting! K&R

"When I feed the hungry, I am called a saint. When I ask why they are hungry, I am called a Communist." ---Archbishop Oscar Romero

And ain't THAT the truth..

[bobbolink]

5. That quote was my guidepost for so long.... I need it up in neon!

:hug:

[blindpig]

7. k&r n/t

[bobbolink]

10. Thanks, bp!

:hi:

[Hannah Bell]

8. kick

[bobbolink]

21. Thanks!!

[PufPuf23]

9. Thank you! nt

[G_j]

14. K&R!

Bookmarked for later.
looks good
thanks!

[laughingliberal]

17. When I feed the hungry, I am called a saint. When I ask why they are hungry, I am called a Communist

Archbishop Oscar Romero


:cry:

[scarletwoman]

27. Actually, it wasn't Romero who said that, it was Helder Camara, a Brazilian Archbishop.

It's an excellent quote, I don't like to see it misattributed. See my post below which has links to Camara.

sw

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

20. K&R for Oscar Romero.

[truedelphi]

22. His legacy has inspired such groups as "Food Not Bombs"

And as they hand out food to the hungry in San Francisco, they are targeted for arrest, because various laws condemn their actions as illegal.

Archbishop Oscar Romero died but his spirit has lived on.

[bobbolink]

24. I didn't know that link...thank you for connecting these dots today.

"And as they hand out food to the hungry in San Francisco, they are targeted for arrest, because various laws condemn their actions as illegal."

Some things never change, eh? Persecution as a response to call for Justice... or even just charity.

Thank you......

[bobbolink]

25. Jon Stewart---how the RW disappeared Archbishop Romero the second time

Here is a segment Jon Stewart did on how Archbishop Oscar Romero was disappeared the second time by the RW:

http://blog.sojo.net/2010/03/19/jon-stewart-how-oscar-romero-got-disappeared-by-right-wingers-for-the-second-time/

(This is the only video I can find... if anyone else can find a better one, feel free to post it.)


From the original article:

Archbishop Oscar Romero gave his life trying to prevent a bloodbath in the country he loved. He tried to shield his people from the U.S.-backed repression, consistent with his mission as the top Catholic cleric in the country. Romero's liberation theology didn't arise from abstract ideological or canonical principles but was grounded in his seeing all around him the crushing poverty, hungry children, and innocent victims of class violence in El Salvador. Despite the actions of the mighty Texas Board of Education to erase his memory, Archbishop Romero will be long remembered as a friend of the oppressed, a champion of the poor, an advocate of peace, and a tribune for justice.

[truedelphi]

36. Jon is the apple of my eye. He makes us laugh and he keeps

Us informed.

[bobbolink]

37. Indeed.... this is a serious story, and he brought it to the attention of so many

who wouldn't have otherwise known about this.

His integrity impresses me!

:pals:

[scarletwoman]

26. Thank you for the rememberance of Archbishop Romero. However, the quote at the end of your post

isn't his. It's from Brazilian Archbishop Hélder Câmara. The reason I know this is because I've referenced that particular quote many times over the years.

Here is the actual quote: "When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why they are poor, they call me a Communist." (c.f. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%A9lder_C%C3%A2mara and http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/oct/13/brazil-helder-camara --among other available sources)

It's an excellent statement and deserves correct attribution. This is not to take anything away from Oscar Romero, who certainly needs no extra spin or incorrect information to highlight his personal courage and heroism.

sw

[bobbolink]

33. You are right! Mea culpa!

I KNEW that... thanks so much for the correction!

I especially appreciate the link.

Many thanks! :yourock:

[scarletwoman]

35. Thank you for being so gracious. The unfortunately brief era of Liberation Theology in LatAm was

an extraordinary development -- even though it's apparently been quite effectively crushed out by the conservative elites both in government and the Vatican. I do not hesitate to call down malediction on the patriarchal swine who protect child molestors and their corrupt exploitational heirarchy.

You're welcome for the links -- it's my hope that people learn more about the brave voices who, for a time, shone a bright light in the darkness of the murderous right-wing oppressions in those days.

Thank you again for your OP. :hug:

sw

[readmoreoften]

28. K&R

For Oscar Romero... Thanks for posting this.

[maryf]

30. K&R big time!!

Thanks for this Bobbie and for all you do!! :pals:

[Blue_Tires]

31. kick

thanks for this

[bobbolink]

34. Thanks!

Are your tires still blue? :hi:

[dajoki]

32. I do remember this...

but it was tucked somwhere back in the recesses of my mind, thank you for bringing it to the forefront. It is so very important to remember people like this!!

K&R