Okay so for the last few days I've been Tweeting about my Black Friday shopping list, mostly because I've been working my ass off to be in a position to actually enjoy the holidays rather than siting in a corner desperately trying to avoid my family so I don't have to have an uncomfortable series of conversations about how my life is going this year,
But part of me feels that spending so much of my attention on that stuff when the world is turning makes me look like a jackass so here goes.
My feelings on Ferguson and Michael Brown are complicated. While it's barely relevant I actually was in St. Louis when the news of Brown's first hit for a family event and made it out just as the local news was picking it up. Part of me wants to say that colors my view but it 's more of an interesting fact that makes me think about it.
To sum up. I'm not angry but concerned and more than a bit forlorn.
First off all Michael Brown isn't a martyred saint. That's not to say he deserved to die but to me it looks as though his death was mostly an unfortunate accident. I suppose my point is that I have a problem seeing Michaal Brown as Emmett Till. In this specific case there is some gray and nuance and it rankles me that in pursuit of larger systemic societal issues people are ignoring that nuance.
Let me be clear. Racism exists. In the context of Ferguson many people have made that point, including The Atlantic's Ta-Nehisi Coates, but I feel a need to separate systemic racism and unfair resource allocation, both of which need to be discussed and remedied, and the individual case of Brown's death.
Part of that comes from where I live. I don't live in Detroit but not far from it. I have a reluctance to talk about the issues of the city because I am an outsider yet I can't ignore that it has severe economic and political problems, many of which are catch-22s that are incredibly difficult to solve regardless of coming out of bankruptcy.
Whenever I ponder these issues my mind keeps going back to one theory. That the 1967 Detroit race riot was a flashpoint.
The riots had causes and the racial tension that precipitated them shouldn't be ignored, but I think to myself of all the waste, the stores that were destroyed, the stores that left, the people and minds that not just left but were permanently darkened by the riots. I think of all that that was destroyed, looking at the closed schools, abandoned blocks and boarded up stores and say to myself.
"Damn. We did this."
You know. I've seen people who were angry. And thought they should be but I thought we were past the days of riots.
Showing posts with label Race. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Race. Show all posts
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Angry Black Man: Defending "People of Color" AKA Post -Stuctural Racial Issues AKA Fujiko Mine Strikes Again
In a recent post I made the mistake of saying colored peoples when I meant to say people of color. I apologize for that.
Anyway, because as anybody reading this blog knows I over-think EVERYTHING I started to consider even the use of the phrase "people of color" (I'm black by the way).
And you know what, it's the phrase we NEED.
Okay because "colored" has negative and I'll be honest exclusionary connotations people get offended by it, but I have a strong belief that the modern civil rights movement is too caught up in the baggage and struggles of the past. And this is a great example of what I've been talking about in past blog posts.
Too often is the discussion of race in America centered along black and white lines, but you also have Asians, Latinos, Middle-easterners a bunch of others as well as people who are mixed race. We need a way of discussing issues that involve all of these groups without exclusion.
Furthermore there are some people who are willing to admit that they are affected by white privileged but don't want want to identify with any particular group. This phrase gives them an out so they can participate in the discussion without having to choose a fixed racial identity.
I understand that due to historical differences we still need to have words to describe the experiences of Japanese-American internment, Native-American genocide, African-American slavery etc but all these groups even those that have no name yet have a stake in America's future and shouldn't be ignored by the political discourse because we refuse to change language or are scarred by it.
Furthermore my experience has been that in the attempt to find a racial identity we can assume that all members of a race have a shared experience and in some ways I suppose they do but often individual experiences and identities are glossed over.
I grew up in the burbs. I know next to nothing about drug dealers or gang violence. Yet I know a lot of people for whom that was an important part of their life's experience, their journey and story. I'm black and I want to talk about the black experience but that aspect of the black experience isn't MY experience. Urban violence is something important to discuss, sure. But in that discussion I don't want people to assume that I am an authority on it because it was part of my Black experience.
"People of color" gives enough distance from stereotypes and flexibility of identity that we can engage in more complex discussions about race and individual experiences with it, and right now that's what we need to be doing.
Anyway, because as anybody reading this blog knows I over-think EVERYTHING I started to consider even the use of the phrase "people of color" (I'm black by the way).
And you know what, it's the phrase we NEED.
Okay because "colored" has negative and I'll be honest exclusionary connotations people get offended by it, but I have a strong belief that the modern civil rights movement is too caught up in the baggage and struggles of the past. And this is a great example of what I've been talking about in past blog posts.
Too often is the discussion of race in America centered along black and white lines, but you also have Asians, Latinos, Middle-easterners a bunch of others as well as people who are mixed race. We need a way of discussing issues that involve all of these groups without exclusion.
Furthermore there are some people who are willing to admit that they are affected by white privileged but don't want want to identify with any particular group. This phrase gives them an out so they can participate in the discussion without having to choose a fixed racial identity.
I understand that due to historical differences we still need to have words to describe the experiences of Japanese-American internment, Native-American genocide, African-American slavery etc but all these groups even those that have no name yet have a stake in America's future and shouldn't be ignored by the political discourse because we refuse to change language or are scarred by it.
Furthermore my experience has been that in the attempt to find a racial identity we can assume that all members of a race have a shared experience and in some ways I suppose they do but often individual experiences and identities are glossed over.
I grew up in the burbs. I know next to nothing about drug dealers or gang violence. Yet I know a lot of people for whom that was an important part of their life's experience, their journey and story. I'm black and I want to talk about the black experience but that aspect of the black experience isn't MY experience. Urban violence is something important to discuss, sure. But in that discussion I don't want people to assume that I am an authority on it because it was part of my Black experience.
"People of color" gives enough distance from stereotypes and flexibility of identity that we can engage in more complex discussions about race and individual experiences with it, and right now that's what we need to be doing.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Angry Black Man: Beyond Overcoming
Okay something has been needling me. Mainly me and my father have a race based division. Oh we're both Black. No shit Sherlock, but more and more I am becoming disinterested in the sort of the movies he likes.
I made mention of this in my Night Catches Us review, but I feel it's a big enough and interesting enough topic to deserve a post in it's own right.
I know how stupid it would be of me to say that racism doesn't exist. I'm know how stupid that claim is but we as a society are in a place where at least the idea of racism is morally reprehensible. We're in a place where even almost saying the N-Word is a bomb to a political campaign and advertisers will walk if it's uttered on television.
These are not the days of George Wallace.
While I will fight that battle if I have to I think as a society at this moment what's more important is asking ourselves the tough questions. What is racism. How have I benefited from institutionalized racism? And yes that all too hard one, am I racist. As well as if any of those are true how do we fix it. Can we even?
When I was growing up there were a lot of people who would be disgusted by the idea of a teacher showing a film in class, thinking of it as a lazy cop out, but I don't. I have a fundamental belief in the power of narrative, the power of a story to convey abstract, but paramount ideas, to change not just our minds but the fabric of our souls.
And that power transcends the medium of the story.
Brief Aside: Cat's Don't Dance is a great, kid friendly, toe tapping allegory about discrimination in Hollywood.
But but just pointing at overt mustash twirling villainy, no matter how historically accurate we're able to distance ourselves from that and avoid asking those questions. We instinctively know that things have changed and need the context to connect that world to this one and analyze how the two relate.
How do the struggles of my parents relate to mine.
I've seen Men of Honor, Something the Lord Made, and The Tuskegee Airmen. Not to diminish what the people these films are based on did but most of them are the same movie. Don't get me wrong I like at least those three, but they are the same movie. They have the same characters and the same beats.
Despite my generation gap fist waving, I'm becoming a bit of an old goat, struggling to fight the growing cynicism of my heart. I'm starting to believe that these movies are being released less and less as a tribute and remembrance of our past but more and more because there is an older audience justifiably so enamored with any film that would paint racism in a negative context that they'll see it no, love it regardless of it's qualities as a film.
These are people who had to endure those times when the idea of racism didn't exist in popular consciousness let alone the idea it was a bad thing.
But that's not me. I was born after the civil rights movement. My experiences, and mindset are different. I can not change the color of my skin nor do I want to but the construct of my race has a different meaning to me than it did to those who marched with King.
Thus far in my life nobody has told me to my face I am a lesser man just because I'm a bit mocha. And because as a child nobody said that of me as a man I view the idea so ludicrous that deserves not even a thought let alone a fist even a metaphorical one. I am a free man born in a free country of laws due to the struggles of my parents, grand parents, and great-grandparents to be treated equally and fairly under those laws. As long as we mind and mine the law to make it righteous no one can take that from me, for the struggle for equality is in my eyes mostly the struggle for equality under the law as well as equality of opportunity. That's my struggle.
It shouldn't matter if you're Black, White, Gay, Straight, Latino, whatever. The law should treat you the same and you should get the same shot. And part of my beef is that by framing racism as merely a few loud knuckleheads we're ignoring that. I don't care if someone calls me the N-Word. I do on the other hand care if my kid's school doesn't get as much money as the whiter school down the road. I don't so much care if a lady crosses the street when I walk by but I do care if a cop pulls me over. I don't care of the big wigs don't like me because I'm black but I do care if they think I'm too "urban" to give me a job. Law and money. Law and money.
Hell, my narrative of The Civil Rights Movement is it started because trains were refusing service, juries were refusing justice, and school districts were refusing books. Bathrooms and water fountains were just the symbolic icing on the cake.
Anyway, a movie brokers no credit with me for reaffirming a belief I held not in question my entire life.
I must continually ask myself how racism affects my life knowing that it unquestionably does.
I've seen Night Catches Us, Ghosts of Mississippi, Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X, and Boys in the Hood, Raisin in the Sun, (Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and Django Unchained, and 12 Years a Slave are on my List)
Not to mention documentaries like 4 Little Girls, Murder on a Sunday Morning, The Pruitt Igoe Myth and The Black Power Mixtap.
Movies that examine the ramifications and nature of race and racism exist and have for a while. Films that delve deeper than saying it's bad and try to reveal something about it and ourselves. Regardless of the race of the audience. The lives of me and of every generation after me are depending on us to be smarter and tougher. To demand and fight for not just our shot but theirs and right now that's not about yelling about the slights of the past but building bridges to tomorrow's dawn. I don't know how we do that but we need to have the stone cold courage to ask, how do we fix it. How do we make it fair?
I made mention of this in my Night Catches Us review, but I feel it's a big enough and interesting enough topic to deserve a post in it's own right.
I know how stupid it would be of me to say that racism doesn't exist. I'm know how stupid that claim is but we as a society are in a place where at least the idea of racism is morally reprehensible. We're in a place where even almost saying the N-Word is a bomb to a political campaign and advertisers will walk if it's uttered on television.
These are not the days of George Wallace.
While I will fight that battle if I have to I think as a society at this moment what's more important is asking ourselves the tough questions. What is racism. How have I benefited from institutionalized racism? And yes that all too hard one, am I racist. As well as if any of those are true how do we fix it. Can we even?
When I was growing up there were a lot of people who would be disgusted by the idea of a teacher showing a film in class, thinking of it as a lazy cop out, but I don't. I have a fundamental belief in the power of narrative, the power of a story to convey abstract, but paramount ideas, to change not just our minds but the fabric of our souls.
And that power transcends the medium of the story.
Brief Aside: Cat's Don't Dance is a great, kid friendly, toe tapping allegory about discrimination in Hollywood.
But but just pointing at overt mustash twirling villainy, no matter how historically accurate we're able to distance ourselves from that and avoid asking those questions. We instinctively know that things have changed and need the context to connect that world to this one and analyze how the two relate.
How do the struggles of my parents relate to mine.
I've seen Men of Honor, Something the Lord Made, and The Tuskegee Airmen. Not to diminish what the people these films are based on did but most of them are the same movie. Don't get me wrong I like at least those three, but they are the same movie. They have the same characters and the same beats.
Despite my generation gap fist waving, I'm becoming a bit of an old goat, struggling to fight the growing cynicism of my heart. I'm starting to believe that these movies are being released less and less as a tribute and remembrance of our past but more and more because there is an older audience justifiably so enamored with any film that would paint racism in a negative context that they'll see it no, love it regardless of it's qualities as a film.
These are people who had to endure those times when the idea of racism didn't exist in popular consciousness let alone the idea it was a bad thing.
But that's not me. I was born after the civil rights movement. My experiences, and mindset are different. I can not change the color of my skin nor do I want to but the construct of my race has a different meaning to me than it did to those who marched with King.
Thus far in my life nobody has told me to my face I am a lesser man just because I'm a bit mocha. And because as a child nobody said that of me as a man I view the idea so ludicrous that deserves not even a thought let alone a fist even a metaphorical one. I am a free man born in a free country of laws due to the struggles of my parents, grand parents, and great-grandparents to be treated equally and fairly under those laws. As long as we mind and mine the law to make it righteous no one can take that from me, for the struggle for equality is in my eyes mostly the struggle for equality under the law as well as equality of opportunity. That's my struggle.
It shouldn't matter if you're Black, White, Gay, Straight, Latino, whatever. The law should treat you the same and you should get the same shot. And part of my beef is that by framing racism as merely a few loud knuckleheads we're ignoring that. I don't care if someone calls me the N-Word. I do on the other hand care if my kid's school doesn't get as much money as the whiter school down the road. I don't so much care if a lady crosses the street when I walk by but I do care if a cop pulls me over. I don't care of the big wigs don't like me because I'm black but I do care if they think I'm too "urban" to give me a job. Law and money. Law and money.
Hell, my narrative of The Civil Rights Movement is it started because trains were refusing service, juries were refusing justice, and school districts were refusing books. Bathrooms and water fountains were just the symbolic icing on the cake.
Anyway, a movie brokers no credit with me for reaffirming a belief I held not in question my entire life.
I must continually ask myself how racism affects my life knowing that it unquestionably does.
I've seen Night Catches Us, Ghosts of Mississippi, Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X, and Boys in the Hood, Raisin in the Sun, (Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and Django Unchained, and 12 Years a Slave are on my List)
Not to mention documentaries like 4 Little Girls, Murder on a Sunday Morning, The Pruitt Igoe Myth and The Black Power Mixtap.
Movies that examine the ramifications and nature of race and racism exist and have for a while. Films that delve deeper than saying it's bad and try to reveal something about it and ourselves. Regardless of the race of the audience. The lives of me and of every generation after me are depending on us to be smarter and tougher. To demand and fight for not just our shot but theirs and right now that's not about yelling about the slights of the past but building bridges to tomorrow's dawn. I don't know how we do that but we need to have the stone cold courage to ask, how do we fix it. How do we make it fair?
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Angry Black Man: Do What You Feel
So my Facebook feed was hit up with a a picture of Dr. Bill Cosby with the caption "Bill Cosby has gone and done it again" along with a transcript of the famous Pound Cake Speech. Most of my feelings on that can be found here.
In a second I'm going to recap those thoughts but the post itself seems to be a demonstration of my point. This isn't again. This isn't new. The original caption was six months old and the speech is 10 years old. The only reason it's making the rounds is so that people who think that way can point and look at Bill Cosby and think they get a free pass. No you don't. Na uh. Sit down shut up and let me school you.
And I had almost forgiven him for that. Bill Cosby Himself was the first stand-up special I ever saw so the dissonance of my opinions regarding the man is mildly disconcerting.
At least I still have Bigger and Blacker
Anyway.
I am a young black man. I consider myself civilized. I'm a staunch pacifist, though I've been becoming more militant as of late feeling that if President Obama had militarily intervened in Syria two years agohundreds of thousands of lives over a hundred thousand lives could have been saved. Wasn't that the justification for the Libyan no-fly zone?! I have much more beef with Putin than just the Crimean Peninsula!
Down boy!
Yet there are some places where I will be called a thug just because I feel more comfortable in street shoes and flannel than anything else. You know what I'm a grown man and can dress myself! Thank you very much! It's Michigan, land of the cold and snow at least as far as the lower 48 is concerned. And the same could be said for choosing my diction.
And it infuriates me that people would make assumptions based on those choices without knowing anything else about me. I'm a complicated man and no one understands me but my woman. Eh I couldn't help myself on that one.
Alright but let's take this thing a piece at a time.
His speech harps on five main topics.
Do you know how long it took for me to admit to myself that I actually like rap.
Do what ya feel.
Urban Dress
If you are someone's boss, and are paying or considering paying them to represent you and present an image, then you can talk. Otherwise why do you care?
I whenever someone does the "how you dress tells people about you" thing I think, "So your telling me that people are going to make stupid assumptions about me based on how I dress. How is that my problem."
I am not going to lie there are times when I care about what other people think about me, but that is mostly about my character, Something that is impossible to observe at a glance.
I am whats I yam and that's all that's I yam. And I don't like playing games to convince people otherwise just for the sake of making them feel more comfortable unless actual currency is going to be exchanged in which case.
Cash moves everything around me, green, get the money dollar dollar bill y'all.
I just feel playing that whole game means playing into the belief system that you can accurately judge someone on sight which kind of offends me on a basic level.
Legally, i.e. the thing I would march for, regarding Michael Dunn and George Zimmerman is stand your ground, morally i.e. the thing I just have to live with is that they were making an unprovoked judgement on whether or not this kids presented a lethal threat based primarily on how they looked.
That's racism. I let it pass because I don't feel anybody should be the thought police, but I still am offended by it and refuse to live my life in fear of it. Rascism exists and people have a right to to think and feel however they want about, "young black men" but I shouldn't have to and absolutely refuse to live my life as dictated by those people. Screw that!
Do what you feel.
Lack of Parenting
I'm a little bit on weaker ground here as there are stats here, but I still have some arguments to make. Mainly that the criminal justice system isn't helping and that reforms need to be made.
Also I feel that Dr. Cosby was overstating the case. Parents can be a huge influence over their kids, but that influence is not absolute. After a certain age kids are going to do what they're going to do and the authoritarian sit down and shut up method is going to pretty much going to erode a good chunk of the trust, goodwill and respect they have.
"My parents told me so" to only works as a guiding light for so long. Especially when kids discover everybody including their parents are fallible. What happens when rather than the certainty of their word all they have is the calculus of their advice.
My view is that your training the kids, so when they get out there and your not around they have a decent head on their shoulders, so they do what they do not because their afraid of public shaming or the switch, but because that's what's in them. When given a choice, which all of life is, they will make it well.
So the phrase, "Mama didn't raise me to" actually has meaning.
But what do I know.
Do what you feel.
Lack of Community
If what Dr. Cosby is describing is a sense of fellowship and brotherhood around the block, I'm all for it. On the other hand I am opposed to public shaming in most of it's forms, and some of the speech sounds as of it's wistful for that. I have said it many times and many different ways that I am an enemy of "thou shall". I'll abide the law. But other than that I feel nobody has the right to tell another how to live their life. All of our rights, all of the marching, and fighting and you know that war that happened seven and a half score years ago amounts to idea that personal sovereignty is inalienable. All things being equal in a row between society/community and the individual I will side with the individual, for I believe that it is society's primary duty to protect the interests of the individual.
People should be able to do what they feel.
In a second I'm going to recap those thoughts but the post itself seems to be a demonstration of my point. This isn't again. This isn't new. The original caption was six months old and the speech is 10 years old. The only reason it's making the rounds is so that people who think that way can point and look at Bill Cosby and think they get a free pass. No you don't. Na uh. Sit down shut up and let me school you.
And I had almost forgiven him for that. Bill Cosby Himself was the first stand-up special I ever saw so the dissonance of my opinions regarding the man is mildly disconcerting.
At least I still have Bigger and Blacker
Anyway.
I am a young black man. I consider myself civilized. I'm a staunch pacifist, though I've been becoming more militant as of late feeling that if President Obama had militarily intervened in Syria two years ago
Down boy!
Yet there are some places where I will be called a thug just because I feel more comfortable in street shoes and flannel than anything else. You know what I'm a grown man and can dress myself! Thank you very much! It's Michigan, land of the cold and snow at least as far as the lower 48 is concerned. And the same could be said for choosing my diction.
And it infuriates me that people would make assumptions based on those choices without knowing anything else about me. I'm a complicated man and no one understands me but my woman. Eh I couldn't help myself on that one.
Alright but let's take this thing a piece at a time.
His speech harps on five main topics.
- Lack of Appreciation of Education
- The Use of Ebonics
- Urban Dress
- Lack of Parenting
- Lack of Community
Let's go.
Education
Everything am about to say can be summed up thusly. Education is complex.
Cosby says it's not about money. Yes yes it is. I'm a part time substitute teacher. I don't sub as often as I should but I often notice kids using books from the classroom. When I was coming up the first day of class, especially in High School for the big four, Math Science, Social Studies and English, the teacher would take us to the school book depository and have us check out our books for the semester. It seems like something that's a no-brainer, give every kid a book so they can take it home and study from it. You want to know why that doesn't always happen? Money. 30 books is cheaper than 150. Growing up I had a computer in my house so even if I wasn't reading books, though I was, I still read something on the internet almost everyday. Now I know there are a lot of people out there will play up the internet as the doom of the English language.
But I can think of no fewer than 5 reasons of the top of my head why having a computer with internet access in the home is a huge advantage a kid growing up yet a lot of people can't afford it for their kids. For some even that cheap $300 laptop is a huge investment compared to $600 of rent $200 of groceries, and at least another $100 spread across utilities, and that's low-balling it, especially for a family
Also consider that these days a laptop is only designed to last maybe three years.
Having the money to have access to resources is a boon especially in the home and while yes personal effort can make up for some of the shortfall I feel it's just plain foolish to pretend like a kid with books a computer, and the money to get everything his teacher requests has the same chances as a kid without all of that.
So that get's us to resource battles. And I could spend this whole post talking about school funding, and public vs. private education, appropriations bills, and white flight out of urban school districts. But I'm kind of lazy so let's move on.
The Use of Ebonics
Colloquialism is a thing. Deal with it. Bing bang boom. We're done.
Damn it. Fine, fine.
I understand while young people not knowing when to turn it off and on may be a problem, but I feel to complain that informal language merely exists seems kind of backwards. Also there are times where the use of formal language seems inappropriate.
Formal language is the result of consideration, and there are times where that consideration clashes with sincerity.Talking to friends and family guess which one I put more value on?
And then there's the whole double consciousness thing. The understanding that other people are in fact judging you against racial stereotypes and the question of whether or not that's fair and should affect your normal patterns behavior.
Screw that.
Do you know how long it took for me to admit to myself that I actually like rap.
Do what ya feel.
Urban Dress
If you are someone's boss, and are paying or considering paying them to represent you and present an image, then you can talk. Otherwise why do you care?
I whenever someone does the "how you dress tells people about you" thing I think, "So your telling me that people are going to make stupid assumptions about me based on how I dress. How is that my problem."
I am not going to lie there are times when I care about what other people think about me, but that is mostly about my character, Something that is impossible to observe at a glance.
I am whats I yam and that's all that's I yam. And I don't like playing games to convince people otherwise just for the sake of making them feel more comfortable unless actual currency is going to be exchanged in which case.
Cash moves everything around me, green, get the money dollar dollar bill y'all.
I just feel playing that whole game means playing into the belief system that you can accurately judge someone on sight which kind of offends me on a basic level.
Legally, i.e. the thing I would march for, regarding Michael Dunn and George Zimmerman is stand your ground, morally i.e. the thing I just have to live with is that they were making an unprovoked judgement on whether or not this kids presented a lethal threat based primarily on how they looked.
That's racism. I let it pass because I don't feel anybody should be the thought police, but I still am offended by it and refuse to live my life in fear of it. Rascism exists and people have a right to to think and feel however they want about, "young black men" but I shouldn't have to and absolutely refuse to live my life as dictated by those people. Screw that!
Do what you feel.
Lack of Parenting
I'm a little bit on weaker ground here as there are stats here, but I still have some arguments to make. Mainly that the criminal justice system isn't helping and that reforms need to be made.
Also I feel that Dr. Cosby was overstating the case. Parents can be a huge influence over their kids, but that influence is not absolute. After a certain age kids are going to do what they're going to do and the authoritarian sit down and shut up method is going to pretty much going to erode a good chunk of the trust, goodwill and respect they have.
"My parents told me so" to only works as a guiding light for so long. Especially when kids discover everybody including their parents are fallible. What happens when rather than the certainty of their word all they have is the calculus of their advice.
My view is that your training the kids, so when they get out there and your not around they have a decent head on their shoulders, so they do what they do not because their afraid of public shaming or the switch, but because that's what's in them. When given a choice, which all of life is, they will make it well.
So the phrase, "Mama didn't raise me to" actually has meaning.
But what do I know.
Do what you feel.
Lack of Community
If what Dr. Cosby is describing is a sense of fellowship and brotherhood around the block, I'm all for it. On the other hand I am opposed to public shaming in most of it's forms, and some of the speech sounds as of it's wistful for that. I have said it many times and many different ways that I am an enemy of "thou shall". I'll abide the law. But other than that I feel nobody has the right to tell another how to live their life. All of our rights, all of the marching, and fighting and you know that war that happened seven and a half score years ago amounts to idea that personal sovereignty is inalienable. All things being equal in a row between society/community and the individual I will side with the individual, for I believe that it is society's primary duty to protect the interests of the individual.
People should be able to do what they feel.
Saturday, November 23, 2013
A Lefty's Defense of The Republican Party
I really don't like revealing my political ideology. I have aspirations of political reporting, and that requires at the very least an ability to be open-minded and fair. Just because I disagree with you does not mean that I am right and you are wrong. We have elections to determine collective action in the eventuality of disagreement and dissent. But me and my dad, a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat do the political back and forth and even though I consider myself generally a lefty I tend to defend the Republican Party.
And all of this leads to me spending quite a bit of brain power trying to reconcile the schisms in my political beliefs. At least right now that is the most interesting thing I have to write about in these post-election doldrums, at least until I figure how to cover the Senatorial and Congressional races coming next year.
If pushed I would say I'm a left leaning libertarian. People should be left alone to do what they will until or unless it hurts other folk.
After a great deal of ponderance my definition of "hurting people" means the infringement on the natural rights of life, limb, property, association, thought and liberty.
Even though I'm a lefty the Republican promises of small government appeal to me, the modern hippie who doesn't trust the man farther than he can throw him. But and this is the kicker I also see the government as the custodian of the rights I just described.
I am an African-American and am keenly aware that the right to property has been used to keep my people in bondage, and arguments of liberty not to associate with my kind were used to deprive children of educational resources to better their odds in a world set against them. The government guaranteed and continues to guarantee my ability to advance my own interests and exercise my will without fear, my right to liberty.
The Republican party has a reputation for being racially insensitive. And honestly it is true, but that insensitivity is not born out of malice, but rather disagreement. For to many, a government, the creator and enforcer of law, the enforcer of "thou shall" can not bestow or even guarantee liberty. They trust not the government to protect their interests.
And I can't blame them.
This is the same government that declared of my race.
And all of this leads to me spending quite a bit of brain power trying to reconcile the schisms in my political beliefs. At least right now that is the most interesting thing I have to write about in these post-election doldrums, at least until I figure how to cover the Senatorial and Congressional races coming next year.
If pushed I would say I'm a left leaning libertarian. People should be left alone to do what they will until or unless it hurts other folk.
After a great deal of ponderance my definition of "hurting people" means the infringement on the natural rights of life, limb, property, association, thought and liberty.
Even though I'm a lefty the Republican promises of small government appeal to me, the modern hippie who doesn't trust the man farther than he can throw him. But and this is the kicker I also see the government as the custodian of the rights I just described.
I am an African-American and am keenly aware that the right to property has been used to keep my people in bondage, and arguments of liberty not to associate with my kind were used to deprive children of educational resources to better their odds in a world set against them. The government guaranteed and continues to guarantee my ability to advance my own interests and exercise my will without fear, my right to liberty.
The Republican party has a reputation for being racially insensitive. And honestly it is true, but that insensitivity is not born out of malice, but rather disagreement. For to many, a government, the creator and enforcer of law, the enforcer of "thou shall" can not bestow or even guarantee liberty. They trust not the government to protect their interests.
And I can't blame them.
This is the same government that declared of my race.
"They had for more than a century before been regarded as beings of an inferior order, and altogether unfit to associate with the white race either in social or political relations, and so far inferior that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect, and that the negro might justly and lawfully be reduced to slavery for his benefit."
Majority U.S. Supreme Court Opinion of Scott v Sandford
Written by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney
Despite my reservations of having such a government, that for so long denied my people's rights, hold them in stewardship, I must say that there is many a time when an individual can not defend himself. Times where without a higher authority looking after his interests he would be coerced, robbed, imprisoned, mutilated, or even killed.
Furthermore in order for such an individual to defend himself and advance his own interests he must have the tools and resources to do so. Knowledge of the law for instance, granted through proper communal education. How can one defend the rights laid forth in the constitution if one does not know of the rights laid forth in the constitution?
I disagree with the Republican Party. But as a whole the party is not evil, or stupid. They just have conviction.
Conviction that any institution as powerful as the United States Government will eventually abuse that power. I fully agree. But that power can also be used as a tool to let those who know not of a world where their determination sets the course of their lives, become the rudder for the fist time.
Friday, August 16, 2013
Again With The N-Word and Cursing
Alright this is going to be a combination/ re-examination of a couple of my old posts. Namely I'm going back and looking at how I feel about the N-Word and by extension cursing itself.
Recently Oprah has has expressed her opinion and she's kind of an agenda setter. When the O speaks people listen. But at the same time I feel that Oprah is one of those monolythic figures in Black culture that people mistakenly believe represents everybody. Or to put it as South Park would. Oprah is not the queen of Black people.
One of my personal grouses about African-American representation in the media is that there is generally a lack of diversity. Yeah I know how that sounds but hear me out. There are a lot of ideas, opinions, and backgrounds and we generally get only two variates. Elder statesmen who are the epitome of class, or well various shades of Nino Brown, without a lot of room in the middle.
Anyway that's not the point. When I first started commentating on my blog about race my opinion on the matter was if your white don't use it. I still kind of feel that way. But here is the thing, personally the use of the N-word doesn't bother me so much as much as I understood why it does other people.
Alright first off let me say my parents read this blog and yes they do comment about the cursing, but here is the thing when I curse I typically do it for a reason. For instance I use the mild curse bastard, when I'm trying to evoke a sense of old school John Wayne, cleft jaw, machismo suggesting that this is an issue or topic I would, even though I totally wouldn't, get into a physical fight over.
I use hell and damned when I'm trying to either sound folksy and/or about 30-50 years older than I actually am.
And I use the phrases dickmove, jackass, and asshole to ironically enough refer to what my parents would call, classless behavior, largely because a 20 something male talking about "grace and class" especially when my concepts of those things differs significantly from that of the people who would probably talk about that stuff regularly, sounds kind of like a jackass.
Hell on occasion I'll even break out "fuck" and "cunt" because they're so rarely used breaking them out is a way to signal that I'm pissed and the gloves are off. Do not run. Do not hide. For those things will not save you from the verbal trouncing you are about to receive. The restraining bolt has officially been deactivated and I'm tired of acting like the nice guy I'm not, so sit down and take your damned medicine!
My point is that when I curse I do it to generally invoke something contextually. Language in general, but adjectives and exclamations especially are really flexible largely because what the words mean depends the context surrounding them. For instance, "That was fucking awesome!" is probably one of the best compliments I could ever hear. Please someone utter that sentence to me. Please I am desperate for your approval. Anyway in this case "fucking" is being used as an adjective to extenuate it's object "awesome". And I really really want to awesome enough that people need to add "fucking" to get across just how awesome I am.
So why is the N-word different. Well because context can also be caused by the way in which a word has been used in the past. For instance in my previous example the reason why I use "bastard" is because in my mind the ur usage of the word would be George C. Scott's Patton. So when I use it I am trying to associate the image of a don't care about appearances or politics, just kick ass and get it done WWII general to whatever I'm saying.
The in the case of the of the N-word the ur usage would be... do I even need to say it.
That said, I'm Mr. Free Speech so yeah go nuts.
(By the way the Niggers With Attitude over here were using the word to say that they did not have the submissiveness that the word was used to enforce.)
My position on that is what I consider to be a more interesting thing. See I am a lot more socially liberal than my parents. My general experience is that even historical most young people are. Literally the stuff that turns their heads and raises their eyebrows is stuff I couldn't care less about.
Is that permanent. My "do what you feel"ness is an aspect of my personality that is so central to my identity that I kind of think it is. At the same time well I am eventually going to turn into an old man, and I already know just by my current oldmanness that I am going to be a bit of a curmudgeonly codger.
Recently Oprah has has expressed her opinion and she's kind of an agenda setter. When the O speaks people listen. But at the same time I feel that Oprah is one of those monolythic figures in Black culture that people mistakenly believe represents everybody. Or to put it as South Park would. Oprah is not the queen of Black people.
One of my personal grouses about African-American representation in the media is that there is generally a lack of diversity. Yeah I know how that sounds but hear me out. There are a lot of ideas, opinions, and backgrounds and we generally get only two variates. Elder statesmen who are the epitome of class, or well various shades of Nino Brown, without a lot of room in the middle.
Anyway that's not the point. When I first started commentating on my blog about race my opinion on the matter was if your white don't use it. I still kind of feel that way. But here is the thing, personally the use of the N-word doesn't bother me so much as much as I understood why it does other people.
Alright first off let me say my parents read this blog and yes they do comment about the cursing, but here is the thing when I curse I typically do it for a reason. For instance I use the mild curse bastard, when I'm trying to evoke a sense of old school John Wayne, cleft jaw, machismo suggesting that this is an issue or topic I would, even though I totally wouldn't, get into a physical fight over.
I use hell and damned when I'm trying to either sound folksy and/or about 30-50 years older than I actually am.
And I use the phrases dickmove, jackass, and asshole to ironically enough refer to what my parents would call, classless behavior, largely because a 20 something male talking about "grace and class" especially when my concepts of those things differs significantly from that of the people who would probably talk about that stuff regularly, sounds kind of like a jackass.
Hell on occasion I'll even break out "fuck" and "cunt" because they're so rarely used breaking them out is a way to signal that I'm pissed and the gloves are off. Do not run. Do not hide. For those things will not save you from the verbal trouncing you are about to receive. The restraining bolt has officially been deactivated and I'm tired of acting like the nice guy I'm not, so sit down and take your damned medicine!
My point is that when I curse I do it to generally invoke something contextually. Language in general, but adjectives and exclamations especially are really flexible largely because what the words mean depends the context surrounding them. For instance, "That was fucking awesome!" is probably one of the best compliments I could ever hear. Please someone utter that sentence to me. Please I am desperate for your approval. Anyway in this case "fucking" is being used as an adjective to extenuate it's object "awesome". And I really really want to awesome enough that people need to add "fucking" to get across just how awesome I am.
So why is the N-word different. Well because context can also be caused by the way in which a word has been used in the past. For instance in my previous example the reason why I use "bastard" is because in my mind the ur usage of the word would be George C. Scott's Patton. So when I use it I am trying to associate the image of a don't care about appearances or politics, just kick ass and get it done WWII general to whatever I'm saying.
The in the case of the of the N-word the ur usage would be... do I even need to say it.
That said, I'm Mr. Free Speech so yeah go nuts.
(By the way the Niggers With Attitude over here were using the word to say that they did not have the submissiveness that the word was used to enforce.)
My position on that is what I consider to be a more interesting thing. See I am a lot more socially liberal than my parents. My general experience is that even historical most young people are. Literally the stuff that turns their heads and raises their eyebrows is stuff I couldn't care less about.
Is that permanent. My "do what you feel"ness is an aspect of my personality that is so central to my identity that I kind of think it is. At the same time well I am eventually going to turn into an old man, and I already know just by my current oldmanness that I am going to be a bit of a curmudgeonly codger.
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Angry Black Man: The Civil Rights Movement Is Over And We Need A New One
Okay, I read an articles from Ann Coulter and the Wall Street Journal that I ...
I don't agree with but they make arguments similar to my own that make me uncomfortable so I wanted to take this opportunity to clarify my argument.
Racism exists. White privilege exists. But the causes for both of these things are different than they were even a generation ago. I want to believe we've turned the corner and most folks are on board the racism is wrong train. But when white supremacy was ingrained into the cement foundation of this country it's harder than removing a brick or two.
Whenever I hear the elders discuss racism it's within the context of deliberate disenfranchisement and segregation. Which makes sense considering that a lot of these people were around prior to the Civil Rights movement and even then there is a gray are up until roughly the 1980's where certain types of attitudes were tolerated.
That said for the most, part we as a society again we're on the equality good, racism bad bandwagon, I hope anyway. Sure when systematic race based discrimination occurs yes that's it's a fight worth having, but at least from where I'm sitting, (I grew up in the suburbs so I might be talking out of my ass) we're fighting the battle we already won while ignoring the war.
Continuing to frame African-American rights (Note: I'm not saying LGBT or Latino rights. There, the argument that basic human dignity should not be a privilege still needs to be made.) in the context of the 1960's Civil Rights movement weakens several arguments I feel are worth having. Nobody is going to take my discussion of modern disproportionate drug prosecutions, declining urban tax bases, the re-segregation of American schools, or stereotyping seriously when I start talking about the Birmingham bombing, which by the way happened before I was born.
Why? Because my ideological opposition is not saying it's okay to kill little girls at Sunday school, and framing the conversation that way ceases the conversation as they circle the wagons to defend themselves. That rhetoric creates the false impression that there are no more true political fights to be had in regards to African-American equality, which, in case you haven't guessed my thesis, is something I strongly disagree with.
When civil rights leaders frame conversations this way they paint themselves as extremists and that makes it harder to bring in the moderates who they actually have a chance of winning over. But here's the thing they aren't trying to do that. They're playing to their bases who eat up the rhetoric because "sticking it to whitey" in the glory days was the yardstick to measure social progress. If there was an old white lady on TV complaining about interracial marriage or a new black couple moving into her neighborhood we knew we were doing something right. But as I said we've more or less won the battle on deliberate overt racism. What we need to focus on is covert racism i.e. stereotyping and profiling, as well as urban deterioration, and mechanisms for social mobility like political organization, education and entrepreneurship.
By the way if you want to know why I'm so jaded about Trayvon Martin and Al Sharpton, read The Bonfire of the Vanities. Or don't if you want to keep your faith in humanity.
All that said, yes, I am still pissed about slavery.
I don't agree with but they make arguments similar to my own that make me uncomfortable so I wanted to take this opportunity to clarify my argument.
Racism exists. White privilege exists. But the causes for both of these things are different than they were even a generation ago. I want to believe we've turned the corner and most folks are on board the racism is wrong train. But when white supremacy was ingrained into the cement foundation of this country it's harder than removing a brick or two.
Whenever I hear the elders discuss racism it's within the context of deliberate disenfranchisement and segregation. Which makes sense considering that a lot of these people were around prior to the Civil Rights movement and even then there is a gray are up until roughly the 1980's where certain types of attitudes were tolerated.
That said for the most, part we as a society again we're on the equality good, racism bad bandwagon, I hope anyway. Sure when systematic race based discrimination occurs yes that's it's a fight worth having, but at least from where I'm sitting, (I grew up in the suburbs so I might be talking out of my ass) we're fighting the battle we already won while ignoring the war.
Continuing to frame African-American rights (Note: I'm not saying LGBT or Latino rights. There, the argument that basic human dignity should not be a privilege still needs to be made.) in the context of the 1960's Civil Rights movement weakens several arguments I feel are worth having. Nobody is going to take my discussion of modern disproportionate drug prosecutions, declining urban tax bases, the re-segregation of American schools, or stereotyping seriously when I start talking about the Birmingham bombing, which by the way happened before I was born.
Why? Because my ideological opposition is not saying it's okay to kill little girls at Sunday school, and framing the conversation that way ceases the conversation as they circle the wagons to defend themselves. That rhetoric creates the false impression that there are no more true political fights to be had in regards to African-American equality, which, in case you haven't guessed my thesis, is something I strongly disagree with.
When civil rights leaders frame conversations this way they paint themselves as extremists and that makes it harder to bring in the moderates who they actually have a chance of winning over. But here's the thing they aren't trying to do that. They're playing to their bases who eat up the rhetoric because "sticking it to whitey" in the glory days was the yardstick to measure social progress. If there was an old white lady on TV complaining about interracial marriage or a new black couple moving into her neighborhood we knew we were doing something right. But as I said we've more or less won the battle on deliberate overt racism. What we need to focus on is covert racism i.e. stereotyping and profiling, as well as urban deterioration, and mechanisms for social mobility like political organization, education and entrepreneurship.
By the way if you want to know why I'm so jaded about Trayvon Martin and Al Sharpton, read The Bonfire of the Vanities. Or don't if you want to keep your faith in humanity.
All that said, yes, I am still pissed about slavery.
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Angry Black Man: You Want To Protest Something? Fine! (Okay so I'm a Hippie, Commie, Liberal Bastard Child of the 60's)
Okay, okay after this I'll shut up about it. Anyway the thing that always annoyed me about the indignation over the Zimmerman case was that it always appealed to emotion and I've always been of the opinion that that the reason we have law is so that the execution of administrative services and justice isn't determined by whether or not the guy hearing the case happens to be in a good or bad mood that day, and legally it always seemed like there was very little chance Zimmerman would be convicted.
Why? Because of the laws that could be applied to the case. But who made those laws? Us. My point is that people shouldn't be protesting the individual outcome of this case, especially considering that there can't be a do over without resorting to double jeopardy, but rather should be protesting for reforms in laws that intentionally or otherwise disenfranchise minorities.
So here's a list of those.
1. Budget Appropriations and Geographical Disenfranchisement
All over the country, but especially in my neck of the woods there has been a quasi-re-segregation, with people who can afford it getting as far away from the cities, in particular Detroit as they can. And yeah I could make an argument that race has something to do with it, especially when these trends first started showing up after the 1960s race riots, but that's not my argument.
My argument is that the people left are often minorities, but more importantly they are often poor. These are the people who do not have the resources to leave. With all of the money leaving these areas they there is a general downward spiral in social and civil services that hurt those left who again are often poor minorities.
This social trend has a tendency to hurt poor minorities moving the country backwards from social and economic progress of the civil rights movement.
And to me that seems like something we should at least make an attempt to fix. And there is a simple way to try to move in the right direction. Implement and fund programs aimed at rebuilding urban services. Fund education programs, housing programs, infrastructure programs.
Here are some of those
You know what? In the span of the last couple years of cut cut cut alot has been trimmed or axed complexly, locally, federally and statewide. Protest something, protest that.
2. Educational Reform
I am not an expert. I have no ideas to fix it. But of because the aforementioned re-segregation schools are starting to look like they did prior to Brown V. Board of Education.
3. Equal Protection Under The Law
As stated because of the downward spiral of social services caused by declining tax bases it might be a long wait for various social services depending on where you live, and since where you live is linked to how much money you have, which lets face it has a correlation to you skin tone... you get where I'm going. If you call EMS because your Mom had a heart attack an ambulance should come regardless of where you live, how much money you make, or what race you are.
4. Tough on Crime Laws
In the 90's there were a lot of judges, legislators and mayors who came to power by promising to be tough on crime. They trumpeted broken window theory. They instituted polices, like mandatory minimums, three strikes laws, and draconian drug policies that disproportionately incarcerate not just black folks but young folks, and poor folks.
The jails are overflowing to the point where we can't even use them anymore. And they're overflowing with the poor.
You know in a perfect world you're not supposed to be afraid of the cops. In a perfect world they should be your first call when things get really bad. This is not a perfect world. My view of what cops do is that they minimize damage. When there is no good ending they keep things from getting worse. But when the worse thing that can happen is getting locked up and that's almost a guarantee when you call the cops nobody wants to do that. So bad goes to worse to HOLY FUCK!
And we all know who lacks the resources to get out of "HOLY FUCK!"
5. The Privatization of Prison
I know why we do it. On a ledger government is squeezed and a good deal is a good deal, but it just seems wrong to me that people are profiting from and making a business out of what should be a necessary evil of the state. Especially when these prisons can use the labor of the incarcerated which can amount to slave labor. You shouldn't be able to make money from locking people up.
6. Equal Enforcement of the Law
You know all that other crap I said it amounts to this. There should be a number of black people in prison proportional to the general population. If you screw up, you go through the system. Race, class or wealth shouldn't have anything to do with it. For that to happen we have to look at how the factors that correlate to incarceration, education level, wealth, geography, and access to social services, are connected to race and incorporate them into our laws. .
7. Gerrymandering and Race Based Districting
The dirty little secret of politics is that if you draw the map right you can rig who wins, and the maps are always rigged. Both the Democrats and the Republicans want to minimize the number of contested fights. We know our guy is going to win here and your guy is going to win here. You get it. It's been suggested by writers wiser than I that this is why it's easier for minorities to win districted seats and harder to win national and statewide elections.
We, the black community in the know, mostly accepted this under the assumption that especially in the immediate aftermath of the civil rights movement the general populous was not going to vote for a black candidate so the map should be drawn so a concentration of Blacks could vote their guy in.
The trade off is that it's harder to vet and gauge how those candidates will perform in a general populous election like a statewide gubernatorial or a senate race reducing the chances of having a black governor, senator, or president, President Obama not withstanding.
And that kind of sucks. The system has built in a glass ceiling.
8. Campaign Finance Reform
Alright Black wealth is on the rise, but there is still a wealth gap. As a result a system where those with the most cash make the rules and those with the most cash are old white guys, that system is going to be old white guys make the rules.
Let's make that not the system.
Never going to happen because everyone is making too much money, and campaign ad time costs but a man can dream.
9. Redesign Civil Rights Legislation to Account For Poverty and Provide Equal Opportunity
Okay so less than a month ago the Supreme Court knocked down a big part of the Voting Rights act of 1965. I wrote a little ditty where I said Congress got complacent. Let me explain why without all the grandiose language. Over the past couple decades The Supreme Court has been generally ruling that using race any any law is unconstitutional. And you know what. I kind of agree with that. The reason why we sort of wink wink nudge nudge it is because the laws generally in question were created to undo a societal racial bias that had persisted for years and that racial bias was considered the worse of the two evils.
I'm Black and so I mostly harp on black issues. But, most of what I've described could be summed up as not stuff that keeps black people down, but stuff that punishes people for being born poor. Circumstances that are out of your control should have little to no impact on your lifetime earning potential, and you shouldn't have a harder time in life just because of where you happened to be born.
Today being poor caries the same social stigma and disenfranchisement as not being white did previously and oddly enough there is a pretty big overlap in those two circles on the Venn Diagram.
10. Stand Your Ground
I hinted at it previously but I'll say it here flat out. There is a societal prejudice against young urbanites who often happen to be not white. Yes it is kind of insulting for old women to cross the street at my passing. That said, I can't nor do I really want to fix what's in people's heads being the free will and by extension free speech cultist I am. At the end of the day I'm the guy who will defend to the death the Clan's right to march up and down Main Street.
But I draw a line at violence, so yeah. Any law that makes it okay to kill a black kid because you got paranoid is one we should think about knocking down.
Why? Because of the laws that could be applied to the case. But who made those laws? Us. My point is that people shouldn't be protesting the individual outcome of this case, especially considering that there can't be a do over without resorting to double jeopardy, but rather should be protesting for reforms in laws that intentionally or otherwise disenfranchise minorities.
So here's a list of those.
1. Budget Appropriations and Geographical Disenfranchisement
All over the country, but especially in my neck of the woods there has been a quasi-re-segregation, with people who can afford it getting as far away from the cities, in particular Detroit as they can. And yeah I could make an argument that race has something to do with it, especially when these trends first started showing up after the 1960s race riots, but that's not my argument.
My argument is that the people left are often minorities, but more importantly they are often poor. These are the people who do not have the resources to leave. With all of the money leaving these areas they there is a general downward spiral in social and civil services that hurt those left who again are often poor minorities.
This social trend has a tendency to hurt poor minorities moving the country backwards from social and economic progress of the civil rights movement.
And to me that seems like something we should at least make an attempt to fix. And there is a simple way to try to move in the right direction. Implement and fund programs aimed at rebuilding urban services. Fund education programs, housing programs, infrastructure programs.
Here are some of those
You know what? In the span of the last couple years of cut cut cut alot has been trimmed or axed complexly, locally, federally and statewide. Protest something, protest that.
2. Educational Reform
I am not an expert. I have no ideas to fix it. But of because the aforementioned re-segregation schools are starting to look like they did prior to Brown V. Board of Education.
Does segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical facilities and other "tangible" factors may be equal, deprive the children of the minority group of equal educational opportunities? We believe that it does... Segregation of white and colored children in public schools has a detrimental effect upon the colored children. The impact is greater when it has the sanction of the law, for the policy of separating the races is usually interpreted as denoting the inferiority of the negro group. A sense of inferiority affects the motivation of a child to learn. Segregation with the sanction of law, therefore, has a tendency to [retard] the educational and mental development of negro children and to deprive them of some of the benefits they would receive in a racial[ly] integrated school system... We conclude that, in the field of public education, the doctrine of "separate but equal" has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. Therefore, we hold that the plaintiffs and others similarly situated for whom the actions have been brought are, by reason of the segregation complained of, deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment.
3. Equal Protection Under The Law
As stated because of the downward spiral of social services caused by declining tax bases it might be a long wait for various social services depending on where you live, and since where you live is linked to how much money you have, which lets face it has a correlation to you skin tone... you get where I'm going. If you call EMS because your Mom had a heart attack an ambulance should come regardless of where you live, how much money you make, or what race you are.
4. Tough on Crime Laws
In the 90's there were a lot of judges, legislators and mayors who came to power by promising to be tough on crime. They trumpeted broken window theory. They instituted polices, like mandatory minimums, three strikes laws, and draconian drug policies that disproportionately incarcerate not just black folks but young folks, and poor folks.
The jails are overflowing to the point where we can't even use them anymore. And they're overflowing with the poor.
You know in a perfect world you're not supposed to be afraid of the cops. In a perfect world they should be your first call when things get really bad. This is not a perfect world. My view of what cops do is that they minimize damage. When there is no good ending they keep things from getting worse. But when the worse thing that can happen is getting locked up and that's almost a guarantee when you call the cops nobody wants to do that. So bad goes to worse to HOLY FUCK!
And we all know who lacks the resources to get out of "HOLY FUCK!"
5. The Privatization of Prison
I know why we do it. On a ledger government is squeezed and a good deal is a good deal, but it just seems wrong to me that people are profiting from and making a business out of what should be a necessary evil of the state. Especially when these prisons can use the labor of the incarcerated which can amount to slave labor. You shouldn't be able to make money from locking people up.
6. Equal Enforcement of the Law
You know all that other crap I said it amounts to this. There should be a number of black people in prison proportional to the general population. If you screw up, you go through the system. Race, class or wealth shouldn't have anything to do with it. For that to happen we have to look at how the factors that correlate to incarceration, education level, wealth, geography, and access to social services, are connected to race and incorporate them into our laws. .
7. Gerrymandering and Race Based Districting
The dirty little secret of politics is that if you draw the map right you can rig who wins, and the maps are always rigged. Both the Democrats and the Republicans want to minimize the number of contested fights. We know our guy is going to win here and your guy is going to win here. You get it. It's been suggested by writers wiser than I that this is why it's easier for minorities to win districted seats and harder to win national and statewide elections.
We, the black community in the know, mostly accepted this under the assumption that especially in the immediate aftermath of the civil rights movement the general populous was not going to vote for a black candidate so the map should be drawn so a concentration of Blacks could vote their guy in.
The trade off is that it's harder to vet and gauge how those candidates will perform in a general populous election like a statewide gubernatorial or a senate race reducing the chances of having a black governor, senator, or president, President Obama not withstanding.
And that kind of sucks. The system has built in a glass ceiling.
8. Campaign Finance Reform
Alright Black wealth is on the rise, but there is still a wealth gap. As a result a system where those with the most cash make the rules and those with the most cash are old white guys, that system is going to be old white guys make the rules.
Let's make that not the system.
Never going to happen because everyone is making too much money, and campaign ad time costs but a man can dream.
9. Redesign Civil Rights Legislation to Account For Poverty and Provide Equal Opportunity
Okay so less than a month ago the Supreme Court knocked down a big part of the Voting Rights act of 1965. I wrote a little ditty where I said Congress got complacent. Let me explain why without all the grandiose language. Over the past couple decades The Supreme Court has been generally ruling that using race any any law is unconstitutional. And you know what. I kind of agree with that. The reason why we sort of wink wink nudge nudge it is because the laws generally in question were created to undo a societal racial bias that had persisted for years and that racial bias was considered the worse of the two evils.
I'm Black and so I mostly harp on black issues. But, most of what I've described could be summed up as not stuff that keeps black people down, but stuff that punishes people for being born poor. Circumstances that are out of your control should have little to no impact on your lifetime earning potential, and you shouldn't have a harder time in life just because of where you happened to be born.
Today being poor caries the same social stigma and disenfranchisement as not being white did previously and oddly enough there is a pretty big overlap in those two circles on the Venn Diagram.
10. Stand Your Ground
I hinted at it previously but I'll say it here flat out. There is a societal prejudice against young urbanites who often happen to be not white. Yes it is kind of insulting for old women to cross the street at my passing. That said, I can't nor do I really want to fix what's in people's heads being the free will and by extension free speech cultist I am. At the end of the day I'm the guy who will defend to the death the Clan's right to march up and down Main Street.
But I draw a line at violence, so yeah. Any law that makes it okay to kill a black kid because you got paranoid is one we should think about knocking down.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Calm Down
Alright so once again everyone is loosing their mind over the Zimmerman trail and stop it. Stop it.
Everyone wants to use this trail as a litmus test on American race relations and at the end of the day I feel it is stupid stupid idea. Here is why.
5. NBC's Race Baiting
Every now and again I'll say something expressing my ire towards Al Sharpton. And this is why. It's vague if it was intentional but NBC edited the 911 call making it look as though Zimmerman brought up Martin's race unsolicited when actually the dispatcher asked about his race while trying to get a physical description. That first reporting especially Al Sharpton's soap boxing on the matter really stoked the fires based on at best an error and at worst a lie.
The first rule of journalism is if you don't know don't guess and boy did everyone guess. I'm not saying that race did not have a component in what happened but to determine that would require mind reading and Al Sharpton you are not clairvoyant.
4. Stand Your Ground
You know what kills people. Guns kill people. For a brief second between all the race stuff and the current media frenzy there was talk about changing Stand Your Ground Laws that allowed Zimmerman not to be arrested. (Michigan has one.)
You know with all the talk of gun law reform you would think that would be an aspect of the case that would stay fresh in folks minds.
3. Rule of Law
You know what it kind of pisses me off a little how politicized this case has gotten. We are or at least I hope we are not a country lead by mob rule. People should not be put in jail or tried out of fear of the poltics. There was a legal reason why Zimmerman was not arrested originally and it had nothing to do with race. The authorities were following the law in not arresting him. They legally couldn't.
2. It Changes Nothing
Okay. lets say everyone is right. This trial is a litmus test for how racist the United States is. After it ends guess what. Nothing changes. People who have an unconscious paranoia of Black folks will still have an unconscious paranoia of Black Folks, and because the focus has been taken off of the stupid law that allowed Zimmerman to not be arrested in the first place, nothing will have changed.
1. It Changes Nothing
You know what? For the family and those that have a personal stake in the case I get it. Thier kid died and to them something should happen as a result. But for everyone else, Trayvon Martin will still be dead regardless of the outcome of the trail. A tragedy occurred, but rather than trying to figure out why, we all want to blame one man so we can go home feeling happy that at least that monster paid. But life isn't that simple. Today, tomorrow maybe next year some other kid is going to get shot, and will we weep over him? No. Because it isn't Martin's death or even the possibility of another's that matters, but the thrill of our own petty conviction.
It's the story that matters not the truth. It's the pathos we tune into, the perverted glee of the tragedy. And that would be all fine and well if this were a play written for our entertainment, but it's not. This is real life, and bad things happen.
Everyone wants to use this trail as a litmus test on American race relations and at the end of the day I feel it is stupid stupid idea. Here is why.
5. NBC's Race Baiting
Every now and again I'll say something expressing my ire towards Al Sharpton. And this is why. It's vague if it was intentional but NBC edited the 911 call making it look as though Zimmerman brought up Martin's race unsolicited when actually the dispatcher asked about his race while trying to get a physical description. That first reporting especially Al Sharpton's soap boxing on the matter really stoked the fires based on at best an error and at worst a lie.
The first rule of journalism is if you don't know don't guess and boy did everyone guess. I'm not saying that race did not have a component in what happened but to determine that would require mind reading and Al Sharpton you are not clairvoyant.
4. Stand Your Ground
You know what kills people. Guns kill people. For a brief second between all the race stuff and the current media frenzy there was talk about changing Stand Your Ground Laws that allowed Zimmerman not to be arrested. (Michigan has one.)
You know with all the talk of gun law reform you would think that would be an aspect of the case that would stay fresh in folks minds.
3. Rule of Law
You know what it kind of pisses me off a little how politicized this case has gotten. We are or at least I hope we are not a country lead by mob rule. People should not be put in jail or tried out of fear of the poltics. There was a legal reason why Zimmerman was not arrested originally and it had nothing to do with race. The authorities were following the law in not arresting him. They legally couldn't.
2. It Changes Nothing
Okay. lets say everyone is right. This trial is a litmus test for how racist the United States is. After it ends guess what. Nothing changes. People who have an unconscious paranoia of Black folks will still have an unconscious paranoia of Black Folks, and because the focus has been taken off of the stupid law that allowed Zimmerman to not be arrested in the first place, nothing will have changed.
1. It Changes Nothing
You know what? For the family and those that have a personal stake in the case I get it. Thier kid died and to them something should happen as a result. But for everyone else, Trayvon Martin will still be dead regardless of the outcome of the trail. A tragedy occurred, but rather than trying to figure out why, we all want to blame one man so we can go home feeling happy that at least that monster paid. But life isn't that simple. Today, tomorrow maybe next year some other kid is going to get shot, and will we weep over him? No. Because it isn't Martin's death or even the possibility of another's that matters, but the thrill of our own petty conviction.
It's the story that matters not the truth. It's the pathos we tune into, the perverted glee of the tragedy. And that would be all fine and well if this were a play written for our entertainment, but it's not. This is real life, and bad things happen.
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Editorial: Angry Black Man: The Pit of Tribalism
You know
what. Screw it. I guess I will write
that diatribe.
Alright
so over the past couple years I've been noticing an exclusionary attitude at
city council meetings. It's not quite flat out racism so I don't feel the moral
indignation I would if it were you know that.
But it is troubling. But every so
often I do feel myself groan on the inside.
It makes me feel all the weirder knowing that some of the people saying
this stuff are of the old guard who did experience real racism. Not the I "think
somebody doesn't like me because I'm black" racism the "they will run me out of
town on a rail" racism.
Who the
hell am I to call bullshit?
But I feel
certain comments about DWBs are forcing my hand. Okay all of that said I am
going to make multiple arguments so let me get started.
Racism, Tribalism, and the Other
After
much thought what is irking me has somewhat become apparent. My community is
starting to become a bit tribalistic in its fear of The Other.
People
relate to each other through the lenses of similarity. How much are you like
me? And conversely how different from me are you? It's not racism but it is the thing that
causes it and other types of persecution, yet it's also human nature so I don't
want to get into the morality of it but it is having effects.
Cultural and Economic Stagnation
Now to
make myself sound like a pompous ass. You know what made Rome, Persia, and New
York great. They incorporated
technology, ideas, and cultures from other peoples, leading to something great.
I might
be collegially obligated to venerate the Spartans, but compared to other
cultures at the time the Spartans were backwards. They stagnated because of all this Spartan
pride crap, which may make for badass movie catch phrases but in terms of
cultural, economic, and technological enlightenment fall a wee bit short.
I keep
hearing all this talk of artistic and economic development, but when people start talking brass
tacks it always ends up being "not that kind". And I can understand that from a
government sponsorship point of view, but I keep getting the feeling that a
good chunk of the community is starting to feel that way in general, and it's leading to
push back on anything conceived as different.
I have
this fear that we are starting to stagnate.
You can't build this because of the
unsavory types it will attract. You can't do this because of the unsavory types
it will attract.
The Defeatism of Black Social Conservatism
I will
grant that in an effort to appease, sometimes blending in is necessary, and I
am not telling anybody to mouth off to the cops. But I feel that there is a weird
sort of upside down racism implicit in black social conservatism. This idea
that rather than embracing aspects of black culture that are Other to the mainstream
we should be shunning them makes me feel a wee bit uncomfortable.
It makes
me feel as if we're saying yes, racism is right. Now I get for practical
purposes sometimes we have to play that game, but we shouldn't have to. If I
want to walk down the street in a hoodie I shouldn't have to fear getting shot
at. It's almost as if we've said oh it's fine being black as long as you don't
take part in black culture. That is wrong! And I think as a community rather
than just going with that we should stand up and say, "No. I like hip hop.
No Timberlands are practical streetwear. No. my hair grows up. I was not put on
this earth to make white people feel comfortable, but to live my life. "
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Angry Black Man: Law and Order Rage
Okay. It's no secret I hate Law and Order: SVU, but I thought original recipe was better. Then I started watching season 5 of "Original Recipe" and saw the slide into all the things I hate about SVU. My hatred crystallized into a loathing rage, when I saw the episode ... "Rage".
Original Recipe vs SVU
I liked the lawyers in early Law and Order. Ben Stone and Paul Robinette made it a point that their office was to ignore the political ramification of their cases and prosecute according to the law. The overall thesis of the show was that the law is to be blind, and that as flawed as the legal system is, its ordered collective justice protects us from the chaos of individuals' vengeance. The show would often have a morally reprehensible victim, but would say, "Look. The victims and the witnesses aren't on on trail. The jury, (and by extension the audience) is only to establish if the defendant committed the crime for which they are accused. Nothing more or less than that."
To make it clear
Order
In SVU things go like
Order
Law
My point is SVU does all of that normally to make some clumsy social statement. Normally I'd just call it bad writing but uh uh now their on my turf. The complicated muddled area of race relations, and racial justice. I'm not going to lie early L&O made social commentary as well but it did it competently. It was more nuanced largely because of Paul Robinette.
Paul Robinette: A Case Study on Post Civil Rights Racial Politics
He's black. It's a part of his character. A big part of his character, furthermore he has a job that does on occasion deal with race. Yet he and his views are complicated, creating nuanced portrait of how race affects this country.
In "Subterranean Homeboy Blues" he's visibly unnerved when doing background research on a possibly racially motivated shooting. He's struggling to reconcile the truths that yes some crimes are perpetrated by blacks and that people and "The People" have the right to reasonably defend themselves against criminals, but at the same time society and individuals should not assume and react to young black men as an immanent threat. He feels the defendant is a racist but as much as he hates to admit it, also somewhat sympathizes with her fear after learning the history of the victim.
The case is more complicated than saints and sinners.
In "Out of the Half-Light" when a Black congressman more or less calls him an Uncle Tom for squashing a flimsy case(hoax) he was using to up-heave the ... white legal system. Robinette's response is
Furthermore, he also represented the truth that law cannot affect people's thoughts, and in a modern context subtle, covert and subconscious racism may be more of a problem than the overt racism our fathers and grandfathers faced.
That Law and Order was smart. I liked that Law and Order.
Rage
What's worse than infantilizing my people is making the assumption we want to be infantilized. In the story a man commits two ... three crimes I find utterly repugnant.
His defense; the covert racism of his work environment neigh this entire society made him do it. Bull and shit. Don't get me wrong his coworkers are racist as hell, but come on. Furthermore it's written in a way that makes it seem like a black audience would buy that. It's damn near, no not damn near, it is, insulting. It's like saying my people literally want a magic get out jail free card by virtue of being Black. That we feel no matter what we, do it's excusable because society keeps the Black man down. Da fuck!
Look. Racism exists. The effects of racism exist. For a very long time in this country's history and even today in various geographical regions minorities are underprivileged. Raising your hand and saying these things doesn't mean that you're saying that African-Americans should abdicate all personal responsibility for their actions. And it pisses me off all the more because I know the show knows better.
I used to like you Dick Wolfe.
P.S. Why Wendell Pierce? You played in one of the most well written television shows to deal with racial politics ever. Hell you did it twice. Your dialogue here is painful.
Original Recipe vs SVU
I liked the lawyers in early Law and Order. Ben Stone and Paul Robinette made it a point that their office was to ignore the political ramification of their cases and prosecute according to the law. The overall thesis of the show was that the law is to be blind, and that as flawed as the legal system is, its ordered collective justice protects us from the chaos of individuals' vengeance. The show would often have a morally reprehensible victim, but would say, "Look. The victims and the witnesses aren't on on trail. The jury, (and by extension the audience) is only to establish if the defendant committed the crime for which they are accused. Nothing more or less than that."
To make it clear
Order
- Discover a Crime
- Interview Suspects and Gather Evidence As To Who Committed Said Crime
- Arrest and Accuse Prime Suspect
- Prosecute According to the Law
In SVU things go like
Order
- Discover a crime
- Interview Suspects and Gather Evidence As to Who Committed Said Crime
- Arrest and Accuse Prime Suspect
- Find Out a Tangential Thing That May or May Not have Indirectly Caused the Crime
- Declare There Should Be a Law
- Arrest Tangential Non-suspect
Law
- Offer Prime-suspect a Deal For Testifying Against Tangential Non-suspect
- In Lack of an Actual Law Do Legal Back-flips to Convict Tangential Non-suspect
My point is SVU does all of that normally to make some clumsy social statement. Normally I'd just call it bad writing but uh uh now their on my turf. The complicated muddled area of race relations, and racial justice. I'm not going to lie early L&O made social commentary as well but it did it competently. It was more nuanced largely because of Paul Robinette.
Paul Robinette: A Case Study on Post Civil Rights Racial Politics
He's black. It's a part of his character. A big part of his character, furthermore he has a job that does on occasion deal with race. Yet he and his views are complicated, creating nuanced portrait of how race affects this country.
In "Subterranean Homeboy Blues" he's visibly unnerved when doing background research on a possibly racially motivated shooting. He's struggling to reconcile the truths that yes some crimes are perpetrated by blacks and that people and "The People" have the right to reasonably defend themselves against criminals, but at the same time society and individuals should not assume and react to young black men as an immanent threat. He feels the defendant is a racist but as much as he hates to admit it, also somewhat sympathizes with her fear after learning the history of the victim.
The case is more complicated than saints and sinners.
In "Out of the Half-Light" when a Black congressman more or less calls him an Uncle Tom for squashing a flimsy case(hoax) he was using to up-heave the ... white legal system. Robinette's response is
At times the system stinks Eaton. I know that as well as you do, but don't for one damn minute tell me that your self-aggrandizing polarization is going to solve the problem. Don't tell me that tearing down a 200 year old justice system, no matter how flawed is going to alter the consciousness of a society.Paul Robinette represented a young black generation trying to come to terms with the fact that their lives were affected by a corrupt system of disenfranchisement that was slowly being abolished and that the injustices of that system could no longer be considered the sole cause for the plight of the black man. In order for there to be equality under the law, we had to take personal responsibility for our actions.
We're past the separate drinking fountain stage. We're past the legal discrimination stage. We're at the hearts and minds stage and believe me there's no quick fix. Your intentions might have been good but your execution stunk.
Furthermore, he also represented the truth that law cannot affect people's thoughts, and in a modern context subtle, covert and subconscious racism may be more of a problem than the overt racism our fathers and grandfathers faced.
That Law and Order was smart. I liked that Law and Order.
Rage
What's worse than infantilizing my people is making the assumption we want to be infantilized. In the story a man commits two ... three crimes I find utterly repugnant.
- Stock Market Fraud (Maybe it's because I'm living in a post '08 world, but damn I have some strong feelings on the matter.)
- Killing a Guy to Cover Up The Fraud
- Tampering With Evidence to Make It Look Like a Suicide
His defense; the covert racism of his work environment neigh this entire society made him do it. Bull and shit. Don't get me wrong his coworkers are racist as hell, but come on. Furthermore it's written in a way that makes it seem like a black audience would buy that. It's damn near, no not damn near, it is, insulting. It's like saying my people literally want a magic get out jail free card by virtue of being Black. That we feel no matter what we, do it's excusable because society keeps the Black man down. Da fuck!
Look. Racism exists. The effects of racism exist. For a very long time in this country's history and even today in various geographical regions minorities are underprivileged. Raising your hand and saying these things doesn't mean that you're saying that African-Americans should abdicate all personal responsibility for their actions. And it pisses me off all the more because I know the show knows better.
I used to like you Dick Wolfe.
P.S. Why Wendell Pierce? You played in one of the most well written television shows to deal with racial politics ever. Hell you did it twice. Your dialogue here is painful.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Angry Black Man: The Black Politic
Alright so as the Iowa caucus has passed it's one more milestone on the way to the election. And as usual folks are starting how race might factor in to it.
Often times I hear people describe the black vote as a singular entity and I can't blame them because let's face it traditionally over the last half century the democratic party has had it. But beyond that there are several different and competing political ideologies among African Americans. I want to touch upon some of them.
Social Conservatism
A while back I wrote a critique on black conservatism. I suppose that I should have specified black social conservatism. And furthermore I guess I should define it for the purposes of this paper. Social conservatism is a reluctance to accept social and cultural change and abnormality.
I don't remember where I read it so I apologize, but I once read that during the 1960's apart from racial issues Africa- American were becoming more socially conservative as the rest of the country was becoming more socially liberal. The explanation was simple. A white long haired hippie had more resources to survive than a black long haired hippie.
There is a belief amongst the African-American community that the societal standard for us is higher because of subtle prejudice. In order to make it to the same positions blacks have to be better. Part of that means matching society's expectation of what better is.
I disagree with the man on the point, but my father said it's the rich and powerful that get to change and buck the system. Everybody else has to toe the line, otherwise you look like a kook.
Furthermore, again I disagree; there are those who would say that individuals have a responsibility to represent the race, to show mainstream society the best of us.
In addition to all of that social conservatism in general has always been tied to the church and the church for at least the last has century has been an instrumental part of African-American society. I am a social liberal and when all the other social liberals complain about the church pushing a societal agenda I have to take a step back and cough civil rights moment.
Social Liberalism
As before allow me to define my take on social liberalism, a willingness to embrace social and cultural changes and abnormalities. Something I should have made a bit clearer earlier is that I want to stick to arguments dealing with race. I am tempted to get on my soapbox and describe all of the reasons why I feel social liberalism aligns itself with American core values. But I would be here all day and it would defeat the purpose of this post.
As an African American almost every opportunity I have I owe to societal change. If things were the same way they were in great great-grandfather's day I would be in chains, and in my grandfather's day in poverty.
Furthermore several injustices have been committed and ignored in the name of maintaining the status quo. How many politicians refused to take on slavery because they were afraid of change, refused to take on Jim Crow because they were afraid of change, refused to take on housing discrimination because they were afraid of change.
This isn't and never was a perfect world, but it only ever gets better because someone says we can't do things this way anymore.
Often times what permeates that status quo is the fear of Other. That same fear of other that created segregation.
Black Separatism
Everybody talks about the philosophical differences between Dr. King and Malcolm X. One of them was Black Separatism. Hell, screw it this one even goes back to the days of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Dubois.
In the days of Jim Crow things were separate but not equal. Throughout the civil rights movement there were attempts to make things more equal in terms of education and equality of opportunity. Where you stand on Black Separatism is going to lie in whether you believe those attempts were successful.
Even during reconstruction the American people have proven a short attention span to rectifying and participating in a sustained effort to eliminate racial injustice and inequality.
Sure every now and then you get an LBJ but eventually the American mainstream gets tired of it and abandons the effort.
Black separatism is basically the idea that the government or even mainstream society are not going to all of a sudden make Black people's lives better. It's going to happen through strengthening our own communities, institutions and businesses independently of mainstream America. Complete integration remains but a dream.
Furthermore though I am loath to admit it, there are occasions where the interests of the general population lay contrary to those of African Americans.
Black Integrationalism
On the other, more optimistic hand maybe the revolution has come. I have more opportunities than my parents. Many of the positive social changes in race relations have come about because there is more interaction between the races.
Black integrationalism is the concept that things can and have improved for the African-American community through mainstream institutions, and that actively shunning them does the black community a disservice.
Prosperity for African-Americans lies in integrating ourselves within the educational, governmental, and economic institutions that already exist and have historically had more resources than African-American ones.
Governmental Liberalism (One of the reasons why it's hard for Republicans to court the Black vote)
I'm going use Governmental Liberalism to describe the belief that the government does need to take a greater role in addressing economic inequality. I know there is a better word for it out there somewhere but I drew a blank. For more than half its existence the United States government implemented policies that in effect distributed wealth to WASPS from minorities. While not necessarily crying for 40 acres and a mule many believe that the government should seek to address the inequalities in education and wealth it created, largely through social programs and affirmative action.
Fiscal Conservatism
There is a growing Black Middle class. One of the concerns of the Black middle class is that they are being stereotyped. The African American community's insistence on the continuation of government programs may perpetuate the idea that all African Americans need those programs and by extension are poor. In other words some people are afraid that just because they support welfare people will believe they're on welfare and will be painted by stereotypes as a result of their support for it. .
Furthermore several African Americans believe that these programs are a crutch that is no longer needed. And believe the general arguments for less government regulation in the economy.
Reverse Racism
Let's just say it's an issue and leave it at that.
The Obama Factor
He's the first Black president and though I am loath to admit it gives brownie points (no pun intended). There are a lot of people who are loyal to him because he represents a new democratic experiment. Can a Black president be successful? Is the country ready for it? Are we at that point? We really don't want the answer to be no. We want to make this work. Oh my God I'm writing like I'm in a bad marriage.
He's a symbol of change and brought us hope and by god we don't want to lose that. We don't want to have to wait another 50 or 60 years for another Black president. We have one and despite everything else we want to support him. That's not to say we will, but we want to.
Political Solidarity
The African American community is filled with economic, geographic, cultural and philosophical diversity. At the same time we do comprise a group that has had a common struggle and still has common interests.
Though I couldn't vote yet in 2000 I supported Nader.
I now know the consequences of splitting the vote, but at the same time I really respect an individual's free will, free will of choice, free will of action and free will of thought. This is one of those issues all groups including African-Americans have to deal with. We have interests. We want our voice to be heard but it's hard as hell to hear 38,929,319 voices yelling at the same time.
You have to make some compromises in the interest of getting enough people on board with the letter, petition or campaign to express political power.
Otherwise your just a guy with some good ideas and a few crazy ones that nobody wants to jump on board with.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)