What Was And What Will Be: Where Do We Go From Here?

Last week I asked if Blacks were prepared to step it up a notch or be replaced. So much of our thinking has to do with looking back at events from the past. From freedom post-enslavement period through Civil Rights to now, the rules of engagement have changed. We are now in an era where far too many are resting, satisfied with themselves while enjoying the efforts of the ones that came before us. That's okay for a brief moment but it was never meant to become the norm. There's far more work yet to be done and things that need to be accomplished for some to start skipping along the path. There are those sharing that road who want to bump us off of it as well as others who want more space for themselves. 

True equality has not been achieved and cannot be assured will be available to a majority. In the fight against white male patriarchy lies the fight amongst ourselves over gender, orientation, religious freedom  - really anything and everything. The key here is to continue working towards goals and constantly reassessing our status. Other groups of people do this all the time, yet African-Americans seem to resist the idea of introspection. There are arguments about "not airing dirty laundry" or not liking the "tone of what was said"or "who said what when" that is damaging to the collective such that it is. 

It's the thinking that having a Black President means racism is done that is most damaging as of late. I've had conversations with Blacks who think we've "overcome", tying this to MLK where they're willing to trust whatever the President does with little scrutiny. I've also had to FIRMLY tell some non-Blacks that racism is alive and kicking. One action by a group of people (i.e the Nov election) does NOT wipe the slate clean or mean there's been a significant change. It just means the circumstances were ideal at a particular time for a particular person. 

In the United States African-Americans are not the largest "minority" group anymore. Still the amount of work and contributions made by previous individuals helped advance the collective. Those efforts also paved the way for other groups to advance and should be recognized. I hope somewhere people are taking notes because the "students" are now more prepared than the "teacher". They were led by example with such efforts as the Civil Rights movement and because they were a more cohesive bunch the observers have positioned themselves well.

What's going on now is an all-out effort to delegitimize the contributions of African-Americans by those who know better. Coupled with a certain laziness and misdirection on the part of Black leadership and many have forgotten who they are. Individual pursuit takes precedence over protecting the interests of the majority. That's why there's no cohesiveness. Once integration was available and Blacks didn't have to live amongst each other many decided to leave and took an entire infrastructure with them. Yet truth be told we can't be certain there was a group of like-minded individuals who chose to be together or a forced mingling of people based on external categories. Many were only interested in maintaining a certain status quo that benefitted them if they could be the exception.

Some would remove the "Black" from the Black Experience. There's a lot of (learned?) confusion about who is African-American. We all have class distinctions and personal viewpoints that inform our behavior. There's an ongoing argument about whether the person growing up in a majority Black environment determines ALL aspects of their outlook. I lived in all-Black neighborhood. It wasn't really by choice. The city I grew up in practiced blatant housing discrimination to keep separation of races intact. There were a few who managed to move into white neighborhoods. Race alone doesn't make it automatically better though. 

I sought a variety of activities and a variety of people in my social circle. I was determined to be my own person, but I wasn't ashamed of who I was. I found that far too many wanted to limit their interactions and deny their historical legacies in an effort to be like everyone else. Since when is "diversity" from a white hegemony a bad thing? 

It seems today there are far too many amongst us who are ashamed. Otherwise why do they mock others and engage in the lowest common denominator behavior? They may discuss freedom of choice in identifying their heritage but it's predicated on denying their "Blackness". There seems to be a discomfort and so many want to shrug it off as if it were a coat being worn in a warm climate. 

I'm going to use quotes from some who've been commenting as to what some of the core issues are:

From Khadija:

Self-determination; COUPLED & INTERTWINED WITH(b) self-esteem BASED UPON devaluing and distancing oneself from any "Black" identity (i.e., anti-Black racism). In short, modern anti-Black racism is cloaked in the language of choice and self-determination. And most of us are too confused to understand this.

From CDWriteMe:

Every person of color (even the sellouts) know that white don't look at "half-whites" as white. They may be nicer to them, but they still consider them "the other".

Regarding white people, predictable. They have tried every trick in the book, historically, to maintain domination. This is no different.

And, they will win if we don't stop them. Alot of whites in America could care less if we were all hung or put in jail. In this political climate, however, they have to come at us more subtly.

Take away recording of races you take away the statistics. Take away the statistics, you take away the evidence. Take away the evidence, you have nothing to fight the ever-predictable white denial with. Let the white denial win out and there is no compulsion for civil rights enforcement.

White people may be alot of things, but, they're not dumb. We need to educate each other and the biracials. We need to stay alert.

Do I have to state the obvious? Race is not racism. All Blacks aren't African-American, but AAs are Black. White Africans who emigrate to the United States can NEVER be AA. They can never be BLACK. The day the entire white collective allows for all Blacks with any white ancestry to be considered WHITE then we can talk. It would be best for all those concerned to be able to draw a line in the sand, pick a side and stop straddling the fence. When it's no longer convenient then we find out who our true allies are.

You're So Lame Award of Shame - Kate Gosselin

What is with these women who CHOOSE to get pregnant, conduct expensive experiments with their fertility, have multiple births and beg for public attention and financial recompense? There is no "motherhood gene"!!! It's all a choice and if you chose it don't make a career complaining about it!! Nadya Suleman has only now just taken a small backseat while the original Octo-Mom, Kate Gosselin tries to keep her family's gravy train from running out. In case you don't watch tv or have cable or care, there's a reality tv show called Jon & Kate Plus 8 about a couple with 2 sets of kids who were multi-births. 

They claim to have no outside help and to be completely financially self-sufficient. Now their network signed another family with 12 kids. So between all the press shared by Suleman and these other people, their new season was in jeopardy of being DOA. So what do you do when you think you might become irrelevant? You create controversy! As if that's something that should be rewarded. 

An article from US magazine as featured on the OMG! site paints a slightly different picture: 

The Gosselins make up to $75,000 per episode on their TLC hit, Jon & Kate Plus 8, for a 20-episode season -- and that's not even counting all their freebies! For the Gosselin clan, it's not just their show -- but their lifestyle -- that hang in the balance. Kate, who grew up in a trailer park and didn't go on her first airplane ride until her honeymoon to Disney World, now flies only first class for speaking engagements (mostly paid for by churches), sells signed photos of her kids for $20 a pop at appearances, and received a free tummy tuck after giving birth (Jon received a free hair transplant). Jon, now a stay-at-home dad, was fired from his job at Style Craft Corp in 2004 after "spending much more time" on a "quest" for freebies than working, the company's owner, David Rothermel, tells Us.

Having children is expensive, time-consuming and difficult - which is why I don't have any. Being a parent should be held in high regard and carefully considered. Often it is not. The Gosselins have been on a media blitz amid allegations they're both having extra-marital relations and hawking Kate's new book. This is being given the same amount and more coverage than the President's negotiations for health care in certain media circles. This further proves corporate media is a joke. 

I was deciding whether to give out an Award of Shame this week at all. It was going to go the Republicans for obfuscating the torture they allowed but that will be an ongoing saga. I think parents who exploit their race and class privileges for further financial reward and attention deserve to be smacked down. 

I was going to add the husband to this, but I have a funny feeling this is being led at the discretion of the wife. He deserves some blame of course but again, I think she's calling the shots. If your husband was cheating on you would you deny it while using it for media coverage? To me this is just more of the usual display and reinforcement of white woman privilege. There's even discussion about whether feminists and moms can be one in the same. For if this had been about a woman who wasn't young, thin, white and blond she would've been completely eviscerated or laughed at - not celebrated in gossip weeklies and given blanket legitimacy. 

Weekend Wine Country Excursion

I wanted to post some photos from my trip to Saratoga, various wineries, the Redwoods and other areas in the vicinity. They've been loaded to my Flickr page as well. Enjoy.

  

 

 

Why Do These Politicians Insist On Lying?

If this was a soap opera this latest saga between Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the CIA and the Republican obfuscation agenda would be called: The Lying Liars and the Lies. If you believe that Pelosi didn't know the methods of interrogation being used by the CIA and others in the government I've got a nice padded cell to recommend to you because you must be crazy! Now having said that, I am fairly certain ALL the elected officials who were in office during the Bush administration had some inkling of the shadiness that went down. It wouldn't be too far fetched to think many of them were directly involved, profited from it in some way or turned a blind eye to it just to get by. 

This is why the President is not going to bring former President Bush, Vice President Cheney or the other war profiteers to justice. The Democrats are up to their eyeballs in the mud just like the Republicans. Perhaps they weren't giving the orders but collectively they did nothing to stop it either. We know the typical politician's first rule of thumb is to self-protect and Pelosi has been at this for a very long time. The art of negotiation and strategizing can be a slippery slope where hanging on may be...difficult. Trying to fight the good fight may mean doing it alone. 

We can look to how Cynthia McKinney has been treated unfairly and hung out to dry as an example of someone who stuck out their neck and got nicked. Had she been cozying up to lobbyists and doing harm to her former constituents she'd still be in Congress and a member of the Democratic party. Nancy don't play that! She had some rather harsh words about how the CIA "mislead" Congress but has since adopted a more conciliatory tone. 

It is no coincidence that as Pelosi is working on a comprehensive health care plan for the country this attack occurs. That's a rabbit hole we'll never emerge from! This ties into why the President wasn't volunteering to release the latest round of photos showing "terror suspects" being tortured. The big picture here is that the Bush administration and its supporters violated terms of the Geneva Convention. Far too many of the general voting public went right along with it after the drum beats of war were sounded post-9/11. Remember that nonsense about changing the name of French fries to Freedom fries? 

So we are all somewhat responsible and we have to learn our lessons so we don't repeat them. We have to stop letting politicians attach a false morality to everything they do - and don't do. It would be so nice if these Republicans would spend as much time being constructive as they are at running these schemes. Some would rather see people in despair, ill, unemployed and left to fend for themselves than seek solutions to problems. From their blocking needle exchange programs in the 90's to slow the spread of AIDS to this latest bully pulpit, denial only makes things worse. 

As our current President seeks to rebuild goodwill around the world and rebuild the infrastructure in this country nothing's going to change unless we work for it. We have to uphold a minimum standard and block obstructionism from members of the political parties, corporations and individuals. Pelosi will more than likely emerge from this latest non-troversy unscathed but will we? 

California Statewide Special Election: More Disdain for the Little People

There are times when I think the only ideology separation between the Texas and California Governors is Maria Shriver hitting one of them upside their heads when they get too right wing. That and quite a few of us rabble-rousers keeping the illusion of a liberal State going. I've written quite a few blogs about the Governator and how some voters made a poor decision by sending him to Sacramento. I try not to rant anymore but honestly what else can I do? The state is in shambles and he PROMISED TO FIX IT NOT MAKE IT WORSE. He can't blame it ALL on the economy either. 

Regardless of political party affiliation it is a FACT the Republicans blocked ANY passage of the State budget that called for an increase in taxes for the rich and refused to cut spending on the Prison Industrial Complex.  The debt ballooned to $43B. After CA was on the verge of total collapse a budget was passed - in part thanks to the three (3) Republicans that broke ranks. Notice I said a budget not a good budget. Note all the teachers that got pink-slipped afterwards - and there was still a $9B shortage. If that wasn't bad enough there's now an additional $21B shortage for this year. What the HELL-O is going on? Please tell me why ANY of these politicians (barring Karen Bass and Debra Bowen) are in office?

If you'd like to read the Senate Bill the Governor signed calling for this ballot legislation you may read it in its entirety here. Propositions 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1F are up on the voting block this go-around as well as local issues. Now I'm not here to tell you how to vote, but the turnout is expected to be low for a reason. The governor is on his way out while pushing for 1A-1E hard. 1F calls for barring any raise for Legislators during a time of recession so I think the average CA resident will have NO problem supporting that one. So if you consider the piss-poor job that's been done by the same person asking for something it should give you pause. 

Here's an interesting take from writer/activist Jasmyne Cannick: 

Why is it that when Californian’s are threatened with early prisoner release, the government suddenly finds the money to avert the current crisis at hand? But when the same voters are threatened with the unexpected release of thousands of teachers from our public schools, it’s business as usual.

What could be scarier than another generation of undereducated young adults headed into the workforce? Where do you think they’re headed after graduation and the harsh reality sets in that they aren’t qualified to even clean toilet bowls? Newsflash—most people don’t commit crimes for the sake of committing crimes. I’m not in support of raising or extending taxes, let me make that clear. Too many of us are living without an income to tax in the first place due to the current economic crisis. 

If you ask me, before we’re forced to vote, especially where our public schools are concerned, we should demand a piece of legislation be passed that mandates that all state, city, and county elected officials with children put their kids in a public school in the district they represent. And if their kids are headed to college, they have to first attend a 2-year community college or 4-year State University before heading off to the Ivy Leagues. If it’s good for the gander, it’s good for the goose and their goslings. Maybe then, they’d take this crisis a bit more seriously and stop playing Russian Roulette with the future of California’s workforce.

Voter Guide which explains the Propositions. By the way Election Day is May 19th BUT YOU CAN VOTE EARLY!!! You can go to your local City Hall and vote NOW. Don't pass this opportunity up!

Old School Friday

This week's meme is Greatest One Of All. I had to think about this for a minute and decided to focus on party songs. Have a great day!!

Are Blacks Politically & Personally Prepared For the Multi-Racial Revolution?

So I've been sitting on this for nearly two months. With the conversations that have taken place the past week or so I feel I'm somewhat better able to articulate my thoughts on this. This is an exploration of ideas versus a set standard of do's and don'ts. There's a political component at stake where we must learn to navigate through another facet of an established infrastructure we may be vehemently opposed to. We may not have figured out how to make it work to our benefit yet. There's a personal component where we may wish to compete but may not be prepared and have to develop a winning strategy. Or we could just be mad about the whole thing. 

Is this the beginning of the end? Some people want separate categorizations for biracial and multiracial children. The ones that can will be folded into the white masses (as they will make accommodations for their dwindling numbers to continue their dominance) while others will be rejected and not allowed to do so.  Is this a reliable scenario for banding together or a consolation prize tactic for retaining certain privileges?

From WAPO: Public schools in the Washington region and elsewhere are abandoning their check-one-box approach to gathering information about race and ethnicity in an effort to develop a more accurate portrait of classrooms transformed by immigration and interracial marriage. Next year, they will begin a separate count of students who are of more than one race.

I see this as a multi-layered scenario. There's genetics, culture, historical acumen, modern strategies and choice. One consideration is about needing to recognize diversity of thought, outlook, experience and birth. Another is about outside attempts at diversionary tactics and divisiveness. Finally there's the internal development we must do to advance. Some don't agree on tactics while others don't think certain efforts need to be made at all. This isn't about setting people apart, denying parentage or putting down some in favor of others. This is about having a reality check. 

Historically we can look at many people who were pioneers of the advancement of colored people who's appearance could've lent them to be viewed as white: Thurgood Marshall, Adam Clayton Powell, Lena Horne and plenty of others. There may have been less options but they chose to align with the "Black" categorization for the uplift of all.  I wonder how many people with their phenotype would willingly do so today when they could (rightfully) claim everything and the kitchen sink. I can understand why things that took place in the past no longer work today. I can also see where we need to stop playing old scripts. There have always been those who had a vested interest in establishing a hierarchy that they benefitted from (i.e paper bag test). I don't see that trend ending any time soon so we know why that expression about "skin folk not always kin folk" exists. 

There are those whose phenotype lends towards a Black categorization who do not want to be Black. They were taught to have disdain for the parts of their heritage deemed less than. They've continued to do so after the age of consent.  They're not going to be considered "white" under most circumstances when their biracial makeup includes any direct/recent African heritage. 

Since whites are supposedly diminishing numerically they've upped the ante to change the Census for their benefit. (Some) Blacks have always banded together in solidarity for political and social purposes when set in opposition to whites. Intra-racially it was a different story. Those who were seeking advancement for themselves fought to separate themselves from the masses. This practice began during the forced enslavement of Africans. Of course the irony is how whites were fighting for independence while keeping people hostage but that's why we need to really pay attention to our history and see how the few exert power over the masses. 

We need to have our own power tactics in place. The best and brightest want to ensure their survival. They will have laws enacted and other societal traditions that maximize growth. Groups of people who thrive are not allowed to be left to their own individual devices inasmuch as the majority don't do things that threaten the collective.  

Black political power has been divided, short-sighted and focused on short-term goals. Those that declared themselves the "elites" of the bunch used phenotype to deny inclusion of a majority. How were they ever truly allies and why would those belonging outside those groups be able to trust an alliance built of a lie? Individuals have found ways around it, but what of the base? Sometimes it's been more beneficial to work with those outside these groups.  Thomas Jefferson went to great efforts to ensure that his progeny with Sally Hemmings would get the maximum benefits allowed under miscegenation laws and for those whose phenotype lent itself to be considered "white". Why must we still discuss advancing like it was a new concept?

In a related argument you have Blacks with American Indian heritage who are being denied tribal membership so the majority can retain its leverage. Via Racewire:

Does affirming indigenous identity and sovereignty necessitate drawing boundaries? In excluding Blacks from nationhood, are the Cherokee replicating historical injustices they themselves suffered? Should a shared legacy of dispossession encourage unity, even if it means grappling with a historical blight?

There's a personal component at play here, an emotional tie. Then there's looking to the future and taking steps towards advancement. There's a few discussions going on a some blogs that seek to empower Black women about how to navigate that Blackness, what emphasis should be placed on it, how to move out of a narrow definition of it, how to accept all of our different life experiences and accepting our different heritages/legacies/ethnicities. How do you elevate yourself if you're stuck in the past? How do you catch up in the game of life when you didn't know the particular game to begin with? Who are you measuring yourself against? Is feeling frustrated appropriate? 

When you have a large portion of the "Black" population that doesn't know their legacy and full spectrum heritage how does analysis of embracing power tactics really take root without addressing it? Some people may be able to move forward onto the next phase of development but what of the masses? If they've fallen down and the minority decides to leave them do we just say "too bad"? Then why even present it as collective advancement when it's individual. 

Finally, how does one group who may not consider themselves a group work within that group as well as work with those completely outside that group, survive and thrive? Choosing to negotiate between cultures is one thing, having the government fragmenting it is another. I feel as if I may have presented this as a circle with no exit path for the majority. I can't say I believe that will be of benefit to us all, but it may lead to a more productive future. At least I hope so.