THE POWER OF SUGGESTION

THE POWER OF SUGGESTION
By Nicole Nichols
12/12/07

All those who deny that the pen is mightier than the sword have but to hide and watch those who have been felled by the ink or the keyboard. A mere suggestion placed strategically and straight-forwardly has the power to either invigorate or enervate an entire populace.

As the racist and pseudo-Nazi Bill White continues to threaten and harass others in Roanoke as well as members of the press, he may have just played his last trump card. Roanoke is fed up. The residents of Roanoke have had it. They are tired of White’s antics and attempts at intimidation – and they might have just found a way to fight back with a little help from the anti-racist crowd.

Yesterday, Floyd Cochran, of Eye On Hate Radio, made a suggestion. Today, that suggestion is rapidly becoming a reality much to the chagrin of those in the racist “movement.”

Floyd has suggested starting a “Neighborhood Watch” in Bill’s neighborhood – only this would be a “Bill White Watch.” In Floyd’s words…

“What I am proposing is that people/citizens of Roanoke with our help possibly - form themselves into neighborhood watch, a peoples militia - every time Bill White is in public, we film him, when he goes down the street we whip out our cell phone and snap pictures, I propose that we just don't film Bill White but also focus on his wife as she is part of his activities - everywhere they go ,we go - that way when Bill White is involved in something that could be criminal we have video footage and snapshots to support those Bill White has violated.

“Let me know what you think about this idea - I will be discussing it in greater detail Thursday night Dec 13 at 9pm est on Eye On Hate Radio.”

Given the fact that White has been given free rein to run roughshod over this community, brings nothing but embarrassment and threats to the City, and continuously places people in harms way, this might not be a bad idea.

Neighborhood watches have been quite successful all over the country. They have revitalized neighborhoods, taking them back from drug dealers and gangs and running unsavory characters out of town. Why wouldn’t this same concept work against Bill White?

Citizens Against Hate has been receiving favorable responses to Floyd’s idea from several Roanoke residents. One person who has resided in the area for 43 years told me that he would enjoy running the “damned asshole out of town,” claiming that White was a blight on Roanoke and the entire state of Virginia.

Another offered to provide the printing for flyers and handbills to “expose this hater” to the people living there. A Conscientious Community Coalition is in the works, I am told, and will be ready to roll against White and “any other idiot that wants to bring shame to our little corner of the world,” said a representative.

Bill White, it appears, has made himself quite the unwelcome racist and I really don’t much like his odds as people become more and more incensed by his bullying tactics.

Recently, White decided to bully and intimidate the Editorial Staff of the Roanoke Times by publishing their names, addresses, phone numbers and other personal information – including that of their family members. This is nothing new for White, who went after Leonard Pitts and the Editor of the Miami Herald in the same manner. Earlier this year, he did the same thing with the Jena 6 kids and Reverend Al Sharpton. He lost his website and blog over that one.

Roanoke residents aren’t the only ones who have been stirred by the idea of a Bill White Neighborhood Watch. As you can readily imagine, the racists among us have taken issue with this idea. Quickly portraying this entire suggestion as some sort of vigilante crusade, Bill White ran to what few friends he has over on VNN. Their response was predictable – Floyd Cochran smokes crack, Floyd Cochran is a drunk, Floyd’s son is retarded, etc. The same old lame accusations that don’t even merit a response were hurled. The one I couldn’t help but laugh at, however, was that Floyd had been listening to Hal Turner for too long.

It’s amazing how powerful a suggestion can be. Should Bill White even think about filing for the office of Mayor of Roanoke, as he has indicated that he might – I think the people there will eat him for lunch. As this “suggestion” continues to unfold, it will be interesting to see what kind of a precedent is set for anti-racist activism in the future. I can think of a number of communities that would welcome such an opportunity.

One thing for certain – the pen really is mightier than the sword, and the power of suggestion is Herculean.