The Julian Assange Show...

Think what you want - I am more than pleased, to see/hear a news program, that is literally, far and away from the pablum fed to us on a daily basis from our alleged Fourth Estate.  Let's face it, we can hardly call ourselves - "global" - if we don't know jack-shit about what's going on,  in the globe!

Here's an example of the WikiLeaks founder's new show on RT (Episode 4).  I promise you, we'll certainly never get to see anything like this in our MSM:



On my trips to West Africa, I was amazed at CNN's coverage of us (Yes, CNN!).  My favorite show was "Black Voices," a weekly, Sunday installment about our Black brothers and sisters in the diaspora who were "doing the damned thing," in Africa, and elsewhere - their way!  It was there that I learned about an IT, African brother in DC, who was refurbishing donated computers and providing them to village children in Ghana with the help of his employer. It so excited me, I sent him this email on January 15, 2012 from the hotel (as I said somewhere before - I save everything!):

Mr. O----,
My name is Deb--- C------ and I am a Black American living in Texas, currently on my third trip to The Gambia.  I just wanted to touch bases with you to say that I watched CNN’s “African Voices” this morning and I was blown away that what you have been doing for some time, is exactly what I had been trying to figure out how to do on this trip (I don’t know why I’d not seen this on CNN in America before, or why I’d not heard of your absolutely wonderful endeavor!  Wait a minute, that’s a lie. I have my own ideas why I haven’t – but I digress.

I don’t believe in coincidences. I believe I was meant to see that show this morning.

I will be here for another two weeks gathering information. Thanks to you, I have a better focus. When I get back home, if you don’t mind, I would like to talk to you further about the hows and whys of doing something like your program in The Gambia. I’m no computer wonk, but I’m certain I can find one to help me out - there’s a (business name withheld) right around the corner from my house!
I am so proud of you and what you are doing! Your philosophy of an effort not having to be “BIG” truly inspires…

Sincerely,
Deb

He never responded.  To date, I've refurbished one laptop at my expense, and mailed it to a wonderfully ambitious young man who's going to University for nursing.  He helped my pack-a-day smokin', COPD sufferin' ass through a very bad cold while I was there.  I know he'll appreciate my keeping my word.  I know I sure do.

My point in sharing is not about me.  It's about the fact that there's so much we don't know about the world around us.  I think Julian Assange and his new show  (despite the fact that it's on RT, as critics have so vociferously pointed out ) can help us learn wa-a-y more than our MSM can -  or is willing to  - teach us.

And this is why the NAACP can stop sending me solicitations...

NAACP Statement on the resignation of Shirley Sherrod:

With regard to the initial media coverage of the resignation of USDA Official Shirley Sherrod, we have come to the conclusion we were snookered by Fox News and Tea Party Activist Andrew Breitbart into believing she had harmed white farmers because of racial bias. 

Having reviewed the full tape, spoken to Ms. Sherrod, and most importantly heard the testimony of the white farmers mentioned in this story, we now believe the organization that edited the documents did so with the intention of deceiving millions of Americans. (emphasis mine)

When they start acting, instead of reacting - maybe I'll take them seriously.  "Snookered??"  Really??    (Who says that?)  Besides, shouldn't you have done all that shit in the second paragraph, BEFORE you put this out???

NAACP Slams Shirley Sherrod's Actions as 'Shameful':

"We are appalled by her actions, just as we are with abuses of power against farmers of color and female farmers. 

"Her actions were shameful. While she went on to explain in the story that she ultimately realized her mistake, as well as the common predicament of working people of all races, she gave no indication she had attempted to right the wrong she had done to this man."

First of all, let's just call it what it really is - Fox News just made a big, damn fool of you guys! And you fell for it - hook, line and sinker, tripping all over yourselves trying to look all Changeling-decreed "post-racial" with that knee-jerk, slamming of this sister for being honest about how she felt. You guys were in such a damn hurry to distance yourselves from this woman, that you initially MISSED the "teachable moment" she was trying to share!

Hell, if more of our people were truly honest about how they felt, maybe we could have a real conversation about race in this country!  But no-o-o, most of us just keep wearing that damn mask, tilting at windmills Don Quixote-style (instead of resolving to address the real issues with which our community struggles), being twisted in the wind by white folk, hell-bent on keeping that foot-on-neck scenario firmly in place by any means necessary. {smdh}

What she admitted feeling, was nothing short of what I, and I'm certain, plenty other Black folk would have felt - if we're honest.  And what she did, after feeling that, was again, nothing short of what I, and I'm certain, plenty other Black folk would have done in the end - the right damn thing.  It just blows my mind, that after damn-near 400 years (and counting) of white supremacy in this country, not only do plenty white folk still think that we don't have a right to our feelings - plenty of us do too!

Second of all, isn't this JULY?  This NAACP banquet (That's right - NAACP banquet!) happened in March!?!  But Mr. Jealous only got appalled, and felt all this shame about it now?   Please.  He should be appalled and ashamed that he got suckered into that knee-jerk statement.

There was no excuse for that attack.  None.  And they shouldn't have fired her (because we all know - that's what "agreeing to accept a resignation" really means).  Even though the tape had been edited, they still (I'm convinced, unwittingly - because that's not what they were looking for in the first place) left in the "teachable moment!":




It's obvious from the video, that she felt she was among "her own," having one of those conversations a lot of Black folk never have in "mixed company" (and never admit to having at all!). But c'mon ya'll - she had to know the cameras were rolling! Apparently, she didn't care to keep "wearing the damn mask" - preferring instead, to share an important, personal and necessary "teachable moment" with her people, in a way she was sure they'd feel and understand.  She was probably confident that if the shit hit the fan, her president, the NAACP and her kinfolk - at the very least - would "get it" and stand with her. As it turns out - that last part was her real mistake.

I've pretty much stopped watching the news in general, and CNN in particular but, I just had to put this video here:



See why I stopped watching CNN?  Have they no real researchers on staff? Look at how they killed the man while he was riding around on his Peterbilt!!

A-a-anyway, I posted the video because: 1) her, "if the staff were free to tell you" around the :58 click provides - despite all their blather about transparency - a very telling peek into how the Changeling's administration is no different than Shrub's or anybody else's, and 2) Eloise Spooner's call illustrates the importance of the "teachable moment" that Mr. Jealous, et al initially missed - because they chose to immediately believe the "lying eyes" of racist white men before even talking to the sister (patriarchy, after all is patriarchy) and they were too quick to "rush to judgement."

Instead of all these resolutions decreeing the obvious, young Mr. Jealous would do well to take a step back and stop - as the beautiful, "young, gifted and Black" Sunni Patterson says in the video below - "mistaking mimicry for mastery, or pretending for knowing."  Stop, as she says, giving "in to the empty threats and scare tactics of the powerless ones" and learn to "be faithful, strategic, victorious and free."  Maybe then, I'll actually open one of those solicitations for membership that keep coming in the mail - and respond.




UPDATE I:  Sherrod has her say!  Reminds me of another "Shirley" sister-warrior - Ms. Chisholm would be proud!

UPDATE II:  Yeah, the Changeling would have you believe it's the lunatics running the asylum.  Please!  As Jason Linkins so succinctly points out here - he's the HLIC (Head Lunatic In Charge)!:  Shirley Sherrod Scandal: How The White House Is Backing Away From The Decision To Fire Her.

"13/30" - The Damaged within - Part 2

UPDATE:  Covering their ass is what Congress does best,  This just in:  S1963: Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010 - a bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide assistance to caregivers of veterans, to improve the provision of health care to veterans, and for other purposes - was passed in the Senate 12 days after the Ft. Hood killings.  Would those 12 day have mad a difference for Mahor Hassan?

  Watching the early stages of CNN's coverage of the shooting at Ft. Hood with my son and husband, I asked aloud - already knowing the answer, "Why's it gotta be a terrorist attack, or possible gang activity before they even know what the hell is going on???"

And when the "lone" shooter was identified - with that "funny-sounding" Middle Eastern name and they began the "terrorist" speculation in earnest (still not knowing what the hell was going on!) - I asked, again already knowing the answer, "Why can't it be that this guy - a CARE-DAMN-GIVER for the legions of soldiers returning from war zones, suffering the effects of having seen some horrific shit - be suffering some PTSD of his own??"  Or, "Why can't it be that some people (military troops ARE people) are just damned tired of fighting, killing, dying, losing limbs and worse - for wars in which there are no rational explanations!!"

The answers to my first questions are pretty clear: - He is Muslim.  And the MSM puts more stock in "being first with a story" way more than they do in being first with facts.  Such is the current mindset of America's Fourth Estate.  And the answers to the second set of questions?  He is Muslim.  And the MSM has long been in bed with politicians who'd rather fan the persistent fears of the "other" upon which this country was founded.  But more importantly, this country is a patriarchy, immersed in the language of manliness - Real soldiers can't be broken.

Though we, as a country, are doing a little better (and that's VERY little!) with domestic violence, violence against women, child abuse and sexual abuse, we - and that includes some of the "experts" - are a terribly long way from understanding a simple, yet important fact - TRAUMA IS TRAUMA no matter its origins and if its effects are left untreated, it not only threatens those sharing the sphere with the perpetrators - but the perpetrators themselves.  As a country, we just can't seem to get that through our, I'm-okay-so-you-must-be-okay consciousness, even though the manifestations of that bass-ackward thinking have been swirling around us from 1619 to today.

We function as if our branches of government, our corporations, our banking industry, our churches and certainly our military services - all those seats of perceived power - are not all bastions of "manliness" and intolerance - still.  And if we're honest, that women have managed to break into them and/or advance up any of those chains-of-command has not made one bit of difference over all.  Conversely, the complicit female presence has pretty much maintained the status quo, or made it worse - all in the name of feeling powerful themselves.  So where do the "damaged within" go for real help?

Chris Hedges explains where, in Stop Begging Obama and Get Mad:

"The soldiers and Marines who return from Iraq and Afghanistan are often traumatized and then shipped back a few months later to be traumatized again. This was less frequent in Vietnam. Veterans, when they get out, search for the usual escape routes of alienation, addictions and medication. But there is also the escape route of violence. We risk creating a homegrown Freikorps, the demobilized German soldiers from World War I who violently tore down the edifice of the Weimar Republic and helped open the way to Nazism.

The Afghanistan and Iraq wars have unloaded hundreds of thousands of combat troops, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or major depression, back into society. According to joint Veterans Affairs Department - University of San Francisco study published in July, 418,000 of the roughly 1.9 million service members who have fought in or supported the wars suffer from PTSD.

 
As of August 2008, the latest data available, about a quarter-million military veterans were imprisoned on any given day-about 9.4 percent of the total daily imprisoned population, according to the National GAINS Center Forum on Combat Veterans, Trauma and the Justice System. There are 223,000 veterans in jail or prison cells on an average day, and an unknown number among the 4 million Americans on probation. They don't have much to look forward to upon release. And if any of these incarcerated vets do not have PTSD when they are arrested, our corrections system will probably rectify the deficiency. Throw in the cocktail of unemployment, powerlessness, depression, alienation, anger, alcohol and drugs and you create thousands, if not tens of thousands, who will seek out violence the way an addict seeks out a bag of heroin." (emphasis mine) All of you, screaming that Maj. Hasan had never been deployed so he couldn't possibly be suffering PTSD, need to re-read the highlighted portion above.  Are we so blinded by his Muslim-ness, or too caught up in that "Real soldiers can't be broken" manliness, or that, "I'm-okay-so-you-must-be-okay" craziness to put two and two together and come up with four?

According to Hedges (and I concur), the answer is a resounding Yes!:

"There is a yawning indifference at home about what is happening in Iraq and Afghanistan. The hollow language of heroism and glory, used by the war makers and often aped by those in the media, allows the nation to feel good about war, about "service." But it is also a way of muzzling the voices that attempt to tell us the truth about war. And when these men and women do find the moral courage to speak, they often find that many fellow Americans turn away in disgust or attack them for shattering the myth. The myth of war is too enjoyable, and too profitable, to be punctured by reality. And so these veterans nurse their fantasies of power. They begin to hate those who sent them as much as they hate those they fought. Some cannot distinguish one from the other."  (emphasis mine)

In what little the media did get right about the major, it seems the Army, through the use of a "bad performance review," could have been doing some "muzzling" of it's own while he was stationed at Walter Reed, the facility about which the lack of real treatment and, in some instances, abusive treatment have been copiously reported.  But of course, that's not how it's being spun.

Without even knowing what was in the review, I challenge - any of you - to make some damn sense of what was just said in that video!  If the review was so bad, why didn't it affect Maj. Hasan's promotion and subsequent transfer to Ft. Hood?  Was it a toe-the-line-and-shut-the-hell-up-you-ungrateful-bastard-or-you'll-lose-everything warning (muzzling) to the major?  What was it's purpose??

If he was unable or unwilling to continue to provide poor, or no treatment to his patients after hearing, for the last six or so years, what they had been, and continued to go through, why was he still there?  Even Greta seemed to be sidling up to that question!  Call me stupid, but that twisted logic, along with that pesky Stop-loss policy Congress created, is nothing but a recipe for the disaster that happened at Ft. Hood.

Fort Hood, written on the body,  by Mary Elizabeth Williams at Salon, is an interesting and prescient piece about the soon to be aired documentary about our "fighting men" - at Ft. Hood, set to begin airing on PBS starting November 8 at 9:30 p.m.:

"Much will be written in the days to come of the mind-set of the alleged Fort Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a psychiatrist who counseled military personnel and was reportedly distressed over his own imminent deployment. Though Schiesari's film predates the horrifying violence at the fort yesterday, it reveals a military culture rarely seen. By following both returning and deployment-bound young soldiers and the stories told on their bodies, she gets under their skin." (emphasis mine)

The trailer alone is, or should be, enlightening:

This is something with which I am intimately familiar.  My youngest was deployed to Iraq for a year as soon as he went into the Army in search of a better life - in his own control - at 21 years old.  Yeah, as young kids increasingly do these days, he had a couple tattoos already (my husband's and my name among a couple others).  But he got this rosary tattoed around his neck during his MOS training before deploying overseas.----->

Because I try, everyday, to live in the light of truth,  I had to ask his permission to tell this part of his story - I thought it only fair.  He gave it.

Since stop-loss was catching so much flack during the time he was in, the Army instead convinced many kids to reenlist while in-country with the lure of "the bonus."  The  son certainly could already see the new car he planned to buy.  But, as soon as they set foot back on U.S.terra firma., he and some of his buddies in his platoon sought out some of that "medication" Hedges talked about above, not realizing that they'd be tested the next day.  The "sting" (for lack of a better word) netted quite a few of them.  But he wanted to stay, and I resolved to help him because the choice was his, not mine.  After a lot of back and forth between me, his female commander and his First Sergeant, in writing and by telephone, it was decided he could. 

But his commander went on maternity leave before he got the official all-clear, replaced by yet another female.  And  he was caught "disobeying a lawful order from a Superior Commissioned Officer" (I shit you not, that is the exact wording in the letter she sent in response to our bullshit congressman's inquiry).  His crime?  He was caught operating a motor vehicle on post after his on-post driving privileges had been suspended - pending determination of a disputed charge levied by the Ft. Bragg police department who had jurisdiction over open roadways leading into, and out of the post.  He was sent home with a General Under Honorable Conditions discharge, and a bill to repay the Army for the bonus he'd received - both of which continue to wreak havoc on his life as he tries to move forward.

Trust me, he understands how he got here from there and beats himself up about it way more than he needs to.

Am I excusing what he did?  Nope.  I'm understanding how he got there.  That being said however, it all changed him - though he continues to swear up-and-down that it didn't.  He's gone from being the sweetest, most compassionate, helpful, loving, grateful kid (I save everything!  He was in middle and high school respectively when he wrote and left these notes for me) - to this angry, often hostile and short with me (and many others), young man, that I rarely recognize a lot of the time.  And it  hurts - deep in my heart.

But like many of us, considered "collateral damage" by the government and the military, we "soldier on" (no pun intented), hoping that eventually, we'll get it right.  We're still soldiering.

Like everybody else, I'm waiting to see what the major has to say about the whys and wherefores.  But unlike most who wait, I wait with discernment.

"13/30" - The Damaged within - Part 1

Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a 39 year-old Army psychiatry resident  - tasked with helping soldiers suffering the debilitating psychiatric effects of having been deployed to a war zone, at both Walter Reed Army Hospital in DC and later at Ft. Hood -  has been identified as the alleged lone perpetrator of the latest incident of violence against U.S. military troops - on U.S. soil.

Will this Democratic POTUS, with his Democratic Congress in the majority, finally take a stand against War?

According to the Army Times piece, "Major named as Fort Hood shooter:" 

Greg Schannep, an aide to Rep. John Carter, R-Texas, told the Austin American-Statesman that he was on the Army post to attend a graduation service. He said that as he neared the entrance of a building where the service was being held, a soldier with blood on his uniform ran past him and said a man was shooting.

Per news reports, this could have been a whole lot worse than it was - seeing as the building directly adjacent to the the graduation service is where the "killing fields" were.

*******************

I've pretty much sworn off watching the "celebrity news" on television - especially CNN!  Once I get caught up in all their s'posed-to-be news, my blood pressure tends to shoot right through the damn roof!  But, raised blood pressure notwithstanding, I watched the coverage of the shooting pretty much non-stop and what I saw unfolding was tragic in more ways than one.

Why is the fact that this happened on U.S. soil so amazing to everyone.  Because Ft. Hood is a closed military post?  Because this was an act of "terrorism," on American soil as CNN and others first tried to imply? Because there has been, according to CNN, a lot of reported "gang activity" on Ft. Hood?  I don't think it's amazing at all, given we've been involved in two wars - of our own making- for the last eight years on someone else's soil.  Anyway you slice it, this has brought the war home in a way that pictures of flag-draped caskets arriving at Dover never could.

I was watching this exchange on Larry King live and thought, "What the Hell!!" This is clearly illustrative of the dichotomy in this country surrounding the discussion of what are now, Obama's wars, that makes this so decidedly "un-amazing" to me:



I know Dr. Phil was the purported "expert" on the panel, but there was no better expert among them than sister, Shoshana Johnson, former Army Specialist and POW (tried to upload a photo of her when she was released from captivity but apparently, due to the upcoming release of her book, all the photos I could find have been copyrighted and I couldn't). 

And yes, I'm so very proud of her for calling former JAG Officer, Tom Kenniff out on his racism, elitism and sheer ignorance (did this guy learn to pronounce terror and terrorism from Shrub or something?).  Props to Dr. Phil for his two cents, but he's never been to war, never been shot in both ankles, never been captured and held for some 22 days.  This sister of Panamanian descent did what has heretofore been taboo in both Black and white society - she stood up, speaking her truth - out loud (and yeah, there was some neck-workin' going on) - to one who can definitely be considered a poster boy for the White Supremacist Capitalist Patriarchy.  Good for her, and Blacks/Browns (had to add the "Browns" here.  I don't want any of my people in the diaspora to think I intentionally forgot them.)  in general - but for sisters in particular.

Other military members have died ON POST in this country - at the hands of fellow military members:

- From a July 2009 cbsnews.com piece, Was Navy Sailor Killed For Being Gay?

The 29-year-old Houston native was found dead Tuesday at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, north of San Diego. Roy said the family was told that Provost was shot three times, had his hands and feet bound, his mouth gagged, and body burned.

- From an October 2009 hamptonroads.com piece, Family of sailor slain in Newport News seeks court-martial:

In February, in a new apartment complex for Navy sailors, Mackie, a sailor on the amphibious assault ship, Kearsarge, put a gun to the back of Trask's head and pulled the trigger.

- From an October 2008 NY Daily News piece, Army to probe five slayings linked to Colorado Brigade:

Three other members of the unit were accused in the slaying of two soldiers.

- From a July 19 ABC News piece, Reports Clears Army in Gay Soldier's Death:

At Glover’s trial, soldiers testified that Winchell had been relentlessly taunted with anti-gay slurs in the months leading up to his slaying.

- From the 1956 St. Petersburg Times piece Sailor Killed in Race Fight at Naval Base:

A Navy spokesman said the riot broke out Friday night outside the recreation hall at Ford Island, the naval air station in the middle of Pearl Harbor.

And I would certainly be remiss, particularly as a Black Navy veteran, if I didn't list the 1944 Port Chicago Mutiny:

...many black divisions were being bet upon by the whites commanding them.  White officers were wagering whose division could load the most ammunition in the least amount of time. This atmosphere of speed-above-safety put the loaders in further peril.

 Probably the best source I've seen on the type of killing that happened at Ft. Hood,  is Salon's excellent and  in-depth, Coming Home series.  Check it out.  It's definitely worth the read.  Also, here's a short list of Some other military slayings from the Austin-American Statesman.

It just boggles the mind the way people are acting like Ft. Hood is some kind of anomaly, initially blaming it on terrorism, or some possible gang activity.  This is totally irresponsible on the part of what passes for media in this country, particularly because it allows the military, Obama & Co. and the rest of the country to continue burying their heads in the sand regarding what war does to people - deployed or not.

Man in the Mirror's final curtain call - Michael Jackson, gone at 50

I was asleep on the couch today when my youngest son called at 6:23 p.m. to ask had I heard that Michael Jackson had died. I thought I was dreaming. I turned on CNN and there was Wolf Blitzer saying they couldn't confirm it. I switched to CBS - and there was Katie Couric saying it was so. I started to cry.



My oldest son, who just celebrated his 28th birthday a week ago, was just a year-old when Thriller came out. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was still in the Navy, we were living in beautiful Key West and yes, I was still clubbin' - dancing the night away to that album (think what you like, I don't front). He was still "Black and Beautiful" then, but his appearance was starting to change. That didn't matter much to me though because, IMHO, he was a musical genius with magic feet - and he was OURS.

I absolutely loathe Jeffrey Toobin. I don't think there's a person on this earth that doesn't know, or have their own opinion about, the child molestation trial, the settlements - all of it. But, among all the panelists on CNN talking about Michael's CAREER, Toobin was the only one who continuously marginalized the MAN, talking only of his "unhealthy relationships with children" and the fact that the money Michael had made was not necessarily due to his talent, but because he'd bought the Beatles catalogue! Ass-wipe!

My heart's been so heavy lately just thinking about my people and this surreal, allegedly post-racial age of the Changeling. I've been trying to write about it, but it's been difficult. Michael's death today has made it that much harder because for the second time in 52 years - mortality speaks. As I talked to my son, all I could do was cry. He kept asking me what was the matter. I tried to explain it to him, but there just - were no - words.

I'm still cryin' ya'll. Maybe I'll be able to 'splain it later on. For now, hoping the YouTube links still work...(Remember Alfonso Ribiero in this?)



And one of my favorites among many:



You can rest now Michael.

Shots fired, shots fired - Officer down!

UPDATE II: The link to von Brunn's biography I posted is broken, but this is what it said (he has many admirers who quote it online; cutting and pasting this from one of them):

From his biography: "James W. von Brunn holds a BachSci Journalism degree from a mid-Western university where he was president of SAE and played varsity football. During WWII he served as PT-Boat captain, Lt. USNR, receiving a Commendation and four battle stars. For twenty years he was an advertising executive and film-producer in New York City. He is a member of Mensa, the high-IQ society.In 1981 von Brunn attempted to place the treasonous Federal Reserve Board of Governors under legal, non-violent, citizens arrest. He was tried in a Washington, D.C. Superior Court; convicted by a Negro jury, Jew/Negro attorneys, and sentenced to prison for eleven years by a Jew judge. A Jew/Negro/White Court of Appeals denied his appeal. He served 6.5 years in federal prison. He is now an artist and author and lives on Maryland's Eastern Shore."

Now I don't know if all of this is true but, he is an artist, living in Maryland. And the bit of biographical information you can read without "joining," on that same AskArt site, is pretty interesting.

And Oh, Fenty said nothin'.

UPDATE I: 88 year-old, white man from the Eastern Shore! A domestic, dare I say it - Terrorist?

(Nah-h-h-h, Deb! He's just a crackpot - an isolated incident. Gir-r-r-l, where you been? Don't you know we're post-racial?!)

==================================

With all the security measures erected in DC since 9/11, somebody please tell me HOW a man - with a "LONG GUN" - walked up into the FRONT DOOR of the Holocaust Museum in DC - and started shooting at people????? Bo-o-o-o-y, I can just hear the many ways this will play out right now! M-m-m!

I'm sure there'll be a lot of political expediency (make that opportunism) involved in the crossfire! Particularly since, Eric Holder and friends were to attend the play, "Ann & Emmett," (a conversation between Emmett Till and Anne Frank) there at the museum later on tonight. And of course, the Changeling's recent trip to the Middle East and - "The Speech" - will provide plenty of fodder for everyone! I'm going to go listen to Fenty. When I know more, I'll write more.

And this is unbiased Journalism???

Though the video poster entitled this "CNN Reporter Harrassed at Chicago Tea Party," the reporter seems to be the one doing the harrassing in this clip (Correction: that was the title of the other, not-as-clear clip I first posted)

And as I watched, I kept hearing the voice of one of my Journalism instructors looping continuously in my head from the first day of class, talking about our job as reporters, "I don't care what you think, your job is to report the facts of whatever you are covering." I guess that only applies to some people.

And IMHO, this little outburst from a supposed, professional, unbiased journalist should really give the network and its viewers pause:

"It's anti-government, anti-CNN since this is highly promoted by the right-wing, conservative network Fox...and I think this is really not family viewing."

Really Susan, you should think about giving up this "reporting" gig and switch to Op-eds or something.

Upcoming Cheney interiew - more racial symbolism over substance

I saw a clip of Wolf Blitzer's upcoming interview with former Vice President Dick Cheney to air Sunday at 11 a.m. In it, Mr. Cheney spoke about how much we've progressed racially since he came to Washington in the 60s.

He said, "When I came to Washington, we'd had Kennedy assassinated, Martin Luther King assassinated and riots in the streets. Things have changed so dramatically that now, we're preparing to swear in Barack Obama as President of the United States. " (emphasis mine)

Let's be clear, I agree with him - things have changed racially in this country. But I'm not lying to myself that Obama's selection is a reflection of that. If you want to feel that way, go right ahead. But rather than showing how far we've come, I think the former Vice President's statement does more to starkly point out how far we still have to go.

The tragic irony of his statement is that, as I sit in Washington:

• It seems 22 year-old, Adolph Grimes III was assassinated on January 1, 2009 - shot by police, twice from the front and 12 times from the back (a total of 48 bullets were fired according to CNN). Grimes did have a gun - with a legal permit to carry. Now you have to ask yourself, what you would do if you're sitting in your car in New Orleans right after the New Year rolled in and plainclothes policemen pulled up in unmarked vehicles and surround your car with guns drawn - and you have a weapon with a permit to carry. Details are sketchy because the NOPD's not answering a lot of questions right now. Good idea since they've given two versions of what happened.
  
  
• It seems 22 year-old, Oscar Grant was assassinated on January 1, 2009 - shot by a Bay Area Transportation police officer in the back.
  
  
• 
  Witnesses say police handcuffed Grant after he'd been shot, but removed the cuffs right before news reporters arrived. The officer has resigned, is at home and will speak to no one on advice of legal counsel. And there was rioting in the streets.
  
  

No, neither of these men were political or spiritual leaders, but their lives mattered - to someone.
UPDATE: I just had to say this. Sitting here watching Don Lemon on CNN as they "focus" on these shootings (and that of Bobby Tolan) in their Special Investigations series. He starts out by saying, "What is going on with all these police shootings!" (emphasis his) as if they just started happening. It took his white guest, B.J. Bernstein (she was Genarlow Wilson's defense attorney), to say, "This is not new, it happens to 1 in 4 African-American males all the time." Then he switches to the Grimes shooting and asks her if given all the crime in New Orleans after Katrina, are the police a little touchy or are the shootings warranted! I guess he realized what he said, because then he added, "not that anybody's death is warranted." Christ!!! Just because CNN just started "focusing" on young Black men being gunned down by police, doesn't mean it just started happening. It's times like these that I just have to holler Zora's words: "All my skinfolks, ain't my kinfolks!!"

Pre-conditions?? Really??

Since we appear to be in kindergarten... Later, on The Hill...

(Pics courtesy of my sister-in-law Jan, not sure where she got them!)

"Okay, we'll seat you, but only for two years. You have to promise not to run in 2010." What the hell?? Does the Constitution say that??

Will Princess Caroline have those same conditions thrust upon her? How about Michael F. Bennet, appointed to fill the seat being vacated by Ken Salazar? Just because Edward "Ted" Kaufman, is comfortable with stepping down in 2010 after completing Biden's term, does that mean Burris should be "comfortable" with that too? He didn't sound like he was good with that idea today on CNN. I would hope he doesn't cave, but then again, man does have a way of crumbling in the face of 15 minutes (in his case - 2 years) of fame. We'll see.

And it's official...

I'd switched from CNN, deciding to wait until about 11 p.m. to see where the race stood. Outside my window, I heard fireworks going off so I switched back. With the tallying of the votes on the left coast, it is official - Barack Obama is the 44th president of the United States. Historical? Yes. As the first African-American president, "his story" has won the day. I'm listening to John McCain's concession speech right now. Though I didn't vote for him either, I have to say, what an apparently decent and gracious man he seems to be.

CNN's "Black in America" misses the mark

You know, I like Soledad O'Brien’s work. Since she’s joined CNN, she has at least made a concerted effort to give Black lives a seat at the network's heretofore unbalanced coverage table. So I really wanted to watch this special. However, I had no expectations or pre-conceived notions that it would be some groundbreaking, life-changing or particularly edifying commentary on our lives. After all, to quote Sugar over at Sugar-N-Spice, "I already know what it's like to be Black in America!"

I was more interested in filtering out the noise of statistics and “expert” opinions to see if there’d be any signs of change in the coverage we ‘re afforded given our highly touted “post-racial” society. I wanted to see if we’d changed as well, given all this new found, rampant pride in the symbolism that is Obama. In both cases, I saw little if any change. And if we’re honest, in light of an Obama presidency, the possibility of any real change heading down the pike appears fleeting - at best.

Give a carefully crafted, media-hyped speech on race, channel MLK or JFK as appropriate, throw in a Father's Day lecture wherein he fronts like he knows what the Black experience in America is all about and all you end up with (to borrow a phrase from bell hooks at Portland, Oregon's, Lewis & Clark College back in 2006) is an eager audience of "unenlightened white people worshipping at the throne of Black mediocrity" joined by a group of Black folks for whom the shaming and blaming of their own has taken on an eerie, Stockholm Syndrome-like quality. Man! If he's selected to the Burning House, his presidency will only provide even more fodder for those who insist we “Quit whining!” because slavery’s over.

I'm no shrink, but I believe Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (in our case, Post Traumatic Slavery Disorder) is no less prevalent or debilitating to the souls and minds of our people as that suffered by returning war veterans, battered women, abused children or even - elephants, as it turns out. Yes, I said elephants! For all CNN’s questions and portrayals of dysfunction in the Black community and all the Black participants’ responses to those questions and portrayals, it seems not many people really get, or care to get that fact - which brings me back to the elephants.

20/20 did a segment tonight on elephants suffering PTSD. And, if as Stossel said, “It may change the way you look at elephants,” then why is it that the same disorder, brought about by the same kinds of brutal circumstances which manifest the same undesirable, anti-social behavior in elephants, has not been connected to what is going on in the Black community? Why doesn't it “change” the way white folks and even some Blacks look at the Black community?

Gay Bradshaw, director of The Kerulos Center, was featured in the segment, so I looked her up. I came across her very interesting essay entitled, "Elephant Breakdown" and based on what I read, she gets it! She sees how trauma causes depression, separation anxiety and anti-social, often violent behavior. Look, I know people don't want to be compared to animals, but I challenge you to read the essay and NOT find the distinct similarities, not only in the nature of the trauma, but in the response to it.

As I continued to watch, I thought I was losing my damn mind when the segment about paying 4th graders for good grades came on! I get the incentive thing, okay? And I even applaud Professor Fryar, who came from a crack-infested environment, trying to at least find a solution (Talk about pathology! Having a whole family of crack dealers might make one more inclined to understand the "dollar-bill" mentality - but in a legal way of course). I even agree wholeheartedly with his “meet people where they are approach.” To my mind, that is the only chance of getting through to anyone!

All that being said however, I just cannot believe I'm the only person concerned how this little, Black, poor, 4th grade boy is already equating his self-worth only to that dollar bill and what it can bring! Can I be the only person who saw how hard little man was working, trying to help his Dad keep them in their home only to be put out anyway? Can I be the only one cognizant of the lasting and damaging effects feeling helpless and not good enough can have on children? Not to mention fathers! Does nobody else see how our society is helping to perpetuate this cycle? I'm not mad at money, but isn't there something terribly askew here?

Even in the proud moments, I saw pain. The first thing Butch, the Little Rock superintendent wanted the cameras to get as they visited his office was the sign with his name on it saying he was the superintendent. He even said, “A lot of people wait a long time to get their name on a sign.” I don’t know about you, but that's not a lofty goal of mine. But that seemed more important than sharing what he'd been able to achieve in carrying on the legacy of the Little Rock Nine (but then again, after watching the documentary celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Little Rock Nine, I can see why he didn't want much made of that ).

Even as he talked about loving the view from his McMansion in that predominantly white, Little Rock suburb, the pain and anger of having white police question his even being in that neighborhood during the building of his home was evident. (That reminded me of an incident that happened when we put our Texas home, in an all-white neighborhood, up for sale. A white realtor brought a white prospective buyer to see the house while I was in the front yard gardening. She pulled into the driveway, came up to me and asked if she could speak to the owner. I said, "That'd be me and apparently my agent needs to emphasize that "By Appointment Only" stipulation in the listing." I have to admit, like Butch, I was pissed at her assumption, but I sure took great pleasure in debunking it!).

And again, more pain as he avoided the conversation about his middle son, who'd not followed in his prescribed, "I am somebody" footsteps - getting locked up, embarrassing his brother the prosecutor and the entire family. Of course there are kids who never get into any trouble (or never get caught!), but being a mother of two grown sons myself, I know that number is way less than some would have us believe. Yet when it comes to our children, perfection is demanded lest they draw the scorn of the larger society and the shame of their own people heaped upon them for making the same mistakes many children make in the course of growing up.

Our families are constantly measured against the white, "nuclear family" yardstick. And of course in the eyes of those who choose not to see, we'll always come up short - if for no other reason than the fact that, since the days of Kunte Kinte, someone else’s culture has informed what OUR families are supposed to look like, what OUR names should sound like, what OUR language should sound like, how WE should act, how WE should dress, what OUR hair should look like. Not only does the list go on and on, but the indoctrination continues. Really, how many of you have HOAs or Condo Associations to whom you PAY good money to tell you how to act like a grown-up in the house for which YOU ARE PAYING? How many of you have been turned down for jobs because of those dreads or braids? I know I can raise my hand to both of those! I swear, we seem to be the only minority for whom "ethnic cleansing" was 100% successful.

Unlike many people, I see all the huge occurrences in our community of single-parent households, increased HIV/AIDS cases, absentee fathers, disproportionate incarceration and drop-out rates among our youth as symptoms of much deeper, more pervasive problems which are rarely, if ever, addressed in any substantive way by anyone. Unless and until we truly begin to understand and seriously address the causation staring us all in the face, the symptoms will continue to destroy Black communities from within, while our lives continue to only be their “stories” without.

The rampant patriarchy in America only serves to further diminish our efforts to thrive as a people. And we not only have white men to thank for that, but Black men as well. I’m certainly sick and damn tired of whites constantly using Black single-mothers as whipping posts for the ills of this society, but trust me, I’ve also had my fill of people like Obama, the reverends Sharpton and Jackson, Bill Cosby, that Cosby-kid-by-marriage, Joseph C. Phillips and others jumping on that same bandwagon.

With the exception of Obama, I know the others should know better. Hell I’m a South Carolina girl from a large extended family held together by women, so I know Al and Jesse ought to know better! One of the most damning legacies of slavery is the resulting “village” kept together by Black women as their husbands, sons and fathers were sold off as chattel - or while they or their “girl chillun,”as my grandmother used to say, were left to be raped and brutalized undefended. Don’t talk to me about Black single mothers! Stop measuring my sisters against that white, “nuclear family” yardstick! I'm proud of the way our women have stepped up, stepped in and kept moving despite all the obstacles they’ve faced, so don't look for me to wield the overseer's lash.

Two parent families are great – if you have one. But unless both parents stand "whole" in who they are (and considering our PTSD, many do not, phenomenal financial success notwithstanding), abuse, neglect, abandonment and brokenness can be just as destructive in a two-parent home as in a single-parent home. Having a “man” in the house won’t change that.

In our discussion over at Sugar’s place, ea asked: "Is there any substantive or symbolic difference to a child who doesn't know his or her father whether money comes from him or from the state?" I answered, “Good question, but its answer is not a simple yes or no. I think there's a substantive, not symbolic difference to a child who doesn't know his/her father, but where the money comes from has little, if anything to do with it.” And I firmly believe that. To the kid, it’s not about the money, really it isn’t. It’s about filling that hole in his soul with love, acceptance and encouragement – no matter who’s giving it.

She went on to ask: “Is there some "vicious cycle" in which the lack of a parental male role model leads to more young men not having any notion of what it is to be responsible for anything, much less a child? If one suggests that answer to this question is the affirmative, does that mean that women are inadequate, or better, incomplete as roles models for male children?” To which I replied: “And my answer to your other question about the "vicious cycle" is also yes. But that doesn't mean women are inadequate role models for male children, just different - with different sensibilities (a reason a woman president would have been a great thing!). The noted paradigm however, requires that the socially acceptable, dyed-in-the-wool sensibilities of "men" be different than those under which most women operate.” I stand by that statement as well, because this is a both/and, not an either/or situation. We've got to consider the whole pot of greens, not just the neckbones!

I’d been invited to participate in an online/call-in discussion to be held after the special ended by a sister-blogger. I was interested in hearing the feedback and offering some of my own. Once we were all connected though, the call was hijacked by one of the most racist white men I’ve heard in a very long time. I cannot even repeat some of the things he said here, though I did record it to play for my husband when he gets back into town. Gotta to let him know his “post-racial” candidate’s still got a lot of work to do!

I was startled at my first gut feeling of rage mixed with pain. Immediately I felt like I’d been hurled back into mid-60s, early 70s South Carolina. It was a feeling of which I thought I’d long since disposed. But old wounds die hard. The moderator ended the call and everyone else hung up - but I didn’t. It took me a few seconds to get past the rage and pain, then I composed myself and calmly asked him, “Why are you so afraid?”

Peppered with "cunts", "bitches" and a lot of "niggers", he railed about how he hated us and was not afraid of us and we would see. After about a half-minute or so, I just laughed and told him, “It must really suck to be you with all that misdirected anger boiling in the pit of your stomach. I’m going to hang up now and you should really go and see somebody about that because it’ll kill you one day if you don’t. Bye-bye now!”

A “post-racial” society we are definitely not, don’t let Obama fool you. That caller is not alone, trust me. There are plenty angry, fearful, hateful people out there just like him and we would do well not to forget that. But, as we hold onto that thought, let’s not forget to hold onto each other and those who aren’t anything like him. Let’s purposefully acknowledge (apologies are nice but my grandmother always said, “It ain’t what you say, it’s what you do!”) and seriously address how we got to this place in all our lives. And please Lord! Let’s stop doing the same things and expecting different results - particularly since that’s not been working for any of us up to this point, if the truth be told.

Nigger - the red herring in an honest dialogue about race

Before I even address the video, I need to know. Am I the only one hearing strains of "The Signifyin' Monkey" (Oscar Brown, Jr.'s version or Dolemite's - depending on your sensitivities) in the background of this Rev. Jackson/Sen. Obama thing? I mean, saying what he really feels up in the tree where he's "safe" is one thing (I promise you, he's not alone up there. Talking "amongst themselves," you can be sure there are others. SMDH).

But talking to the brother like he wasn't even on the damn ground, seems oddly akin to that monkey falling out of his tree while jumping up and down gloating, giving Lion a chance to trap him. And trap him he did, resulting in a mainstream media apology and a very public, classless and totally disrespectful admonishment from his own son. Opportunism is a soul-murdering enterprise isn't it?

So Rev. Jackson, what now?

Now, the conversation on this video is a prime example of why the issue of race in this country will continue to be mired in bullshit. I don't care how evolved Elisabeth Hasselbeck or Barbara Walters profess to be, they are not one iota removed from the culture of white privilege that not only gave birth to racism in this country, but continues to sustain it.

Elisabeth, in case you hadn't noticed, it is 2000-and-damn-8! You don't get to tell us anymore what we can and cannot say, when we can and cannot say it, what it should and should not mean. Nor should you expect we will always agree with you in an enthusiastic, "Yass'm Miss Ann, you sho' is right!" Truth be told, even back then, that "Yass'm Miss Ann" wasn't always the deference it appeared to be. After all, "twoness" was, and for many remains, a means for survival.

In the absence of anybody else giving a damn about the trauma slavery and Jim Crow inflicted upon a whole race of people, that race of people developed their own kinds of "therapy" to deal with the psyche-crushing horror that was verbal, physical, sexual and emotional abuse suffered at the hands of whites. Whether you, or anybody else for that matter, approve or not, using the word nigger - taking the sting out of it, was one of them.

But if you and Barbara must continue this feigned "I don't understand" shtick, here's a quick word usage refresher for you:

1. Main Entry: de·no·ta·tion: meaning; especially: a direct specific meaning as distinct from an implied or associated idea.
2. Main Entry: con·no·ta·tion: the suggesting of a meaning by a word apart from the thing it explicitly names or describes

Black people using the word to each other? CONNOTATION (as defined by US). White people using the word to us? DENOTATION (as defined by over 400 years of foot-on-the-neck YOU).  But quit playin', you knew that didn't you? All this noise about our use of the "N" WORD - to each other - is so you don't have to seriously talk about those pesky little institutionalized issues that disproportionately affect Black people now isn't it?

You want to know how we ever move forward Elisabeth?? Well, let's start with meaningfully addressing that woefully inadequate "E"ducation WORD. Or how about a couple substandard "H" WORDS, like Housing and Healthcare? Oh, let's not leave out those inheritance-robbing "P"redatory "L"ending WORDS, or that lack of comprehensive, innovative "T"reatment WORD (not only for the white meth-addicted crowd, but for the Black crack-addicted crowd as well).
We could also debate the shortcomings of some of those bias-based "J" WORDS, you know, Jobs, Jails, Juvenile Justice. And just to round it out, let's throw in a few arbitrary-decision-making "C"ourts WORDS (local, state, federal take your pick). Let's have a conversation about both the "A"ccountability WORD and the "R"esponsibility WORD - all around - not just in the Black community. Let's be clear Elisabeth, your tears over our use of the word nigger, in whatever form, among ourselves has absolutely no bearing at all on any kind of "moving forward."

And Sherri Shepherd, Don Lemon on CNN might think Rev. Jackson got a pass for using this "racist" word, particularly in light of the mock funeral and burial (more an obtuse display of patriarchy, than any racist hypocrisy in my book), but you know damn well he was using the word the same way you said you use it.

Inherent racism betrays itself often in the language and attitudes of white privilege, much like internalized white racism turned self-hatred manifests itself in the shaming, blaming and looking down of noses readily perpetrated by some Blacks against their own (Adolph Caesar's, Sgt. Waters character in "A Soldier's Story" comes to mind). These two elephants, along with their offspring - pain, fear, anger, disillusionment, disenfranchisement and classism, all sit in the corners of lives in this country bleeding our humanity dry. And no conversation, about if, or why, Blacks should use the "N" WORD, can stop that kind of flow.

Edwards endorses Obama: The "third person" decides not to -"Hold on"

Right after the Walmart left-hook and just before the Rezko upper-cut in the sandbox that was the South Carolina debate, this exchange occurred: CLINTON: Now, wait a minute. Wolf, wait a minute. Wait a minute. Just a minute. BLITZER: Senator Edwards, let them wrap up. Then I'm going to come to you. Yes? CLINTON: I just want -- I just to clarify -- I want to clarify the record. Wait a minute. EDWARDS: There's a third person in this debate. BLITZER: Wait a minute, Senator Edwards. Hold on. Guess Edwards decided not to wait for Wolf to come back to him. Let's be clear, the endorsement by John Edwards today in Michigan of all places (guess the boys wanted to kick some dirt in Hill's face) was just more political-strategy-as-usual by the Obama campaign. It was obviously pre-planned and perfectly timed to marginalize Sen. Clinton's huge win in West Virginia. Am I disappointed? Yes. Because he endorsed Obama? Absolutely not. As has been the case through this never-ending primary, I didn't care who would receive his endorsement. It was honorable enough for me that he was letting it run its course giving no weight to either side until the nominee was chosen. I'm disappointed he didn't keep his word after having done so for all this time. He'd just told Larry King, no less than 48 hours before delivering his rousing, 2o-minute "Yes We Can/He Picked My Plan" speech, he was going to hold his endorsement until the voters had their say! As I sat listening, all I could do was shake my head and say, "Is there anyone who can resist the lure of power, privilege, prestige and public adoration?" Immediately, as if in answer to my question, Lauryn Hill's "Mr. Intentional" popped into my head: "All their talk is seasoned to perfection/The road they walk commanding your affection/They need to be needed, deceived by motivation, an opportunity to further situation/Why they're so important is without explanation/Please don't patronize me, Mr. Intentional…" Two glaringly apparent reasons for his "pouring forth" NOW, come to mind:

1. Obama made an offer Edwards' male ego could not refuse ("an opportunity to further situation" maybe? - damn I love Lauryn Hill!). I don't know, but I could swear the "We" I heard every time he talked about what was going to happen in this country, was more of a "He and I we" and not an "All of us we." But I could be wrong.
2. This was his "I bet you'll pay attention to me now dammit!" moment - particularly since yesterday, he launched his "Half In Ten" anti-poverty campaign and with the exception of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the major mainstream media outlets gave it no coverage - ignoring it, pretty much as they'd ignored him during his campaign.

Oh well, can't always be the best judge of character.

The Wizard Emerges from Behind the Curtain, Pulling the Elephant Out of the Corner with him

I listened intently to Sen. Obama's speech this morning. And it was a great speech. He emerged from behind the curtain, a "whole man," as my grandmother used to say, finally expressing what I believe were HIS complete views on race.

He stood up like that whole man and SAID, "I cannot disown this man...." though he's, in his words, "already condemned in unequivocal terms the statements of Rev. Wright that have caused such controversy and in some cases, pain." (Okay, he's still got some truth to face!) He stood up like that whole man and SAID, "Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American foreign and domestic policy? Of course." "Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in the church? Yes." "Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely, just as I'm sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests or rabbis with which you've strongly disagreed." (Okay, he could have left that last part off, no need to qualify his disagreement by pairing it with that of others.). My point is - at least he stood up for a change.

That one paragraph above was all I expected from this Black man running for president confronted with a media-fueled firestorm such as this. And had I heard it when he wrote On My Faith and My Church." for The Huffington Post, my expectations would have been met. But he did the knee-jerk thing - first (no doubt on the advice of those "handlers" of his), denouncing the words of his mentor and denying he ever even heard him say anything like that.

That didn't sit well with me at all for a couple reasons. First of all, anybody with a few firing brain cells could figure out he'd lied about never hearing Rev. Wright's statements over the 20+ years he's sat in that church. And secondly, but most important for me, "denouncing" and distancing himself from somebody who'd had his back far longer than those "alleged kingmakers" he calls advisors for the sake of making history was unconscionable to me. It had me thinking, "Shit, if he'll do that to his mentor, what about me?"

And what do I think now? The jury's still out on that one, mainly because he was "forced" to do the right thing. I know, I know - he did the right thing regarding his pastor! But would he have? He's been campaigning for a little over a year and it sure didn't look like he would have.

If this had not become an issue, would he have continued his "change-train" without ever addressing the fundamental issue driving the inequity in this country? Was he planning to be the "undercover brotha," stealthily pulling the elephant out of the corner after he'd gotten the nomination, the seat? And if that was the plan, that ain't too cool either because plenty white folks would have felt bamboozled for sure - and rightfully so. I don't care how much they protest, many of them would not have been supporting him so vociferously had he come out at the bell with this speech. What happened to John Edwards is evidence of that.

I can't say for sure how this will all play out or how I will respond in November (I'm a "hold the feet to the fire kind of girl"). But this much I know is true, he has done today what needed to be done as a Black man running for president in my book - he stood up. Granted it was grudgingly, but he stood up. This speech allows him to really become the agent of "Change We Can Believe In." I hope he is being honest. And if he isn't? Well, at least he's raised the bar - a little, making race a topic his opponents will have to address.

Oh, and Rev. Wright, you can safely roll on out from under that bus now.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place - Sen. Obama Chooses

On the heels of the Geraldine Ferraro uproar, came the release of some videos yesterday, followed by a deluge of blog posts and comments regarding the words of Sen. Obama's pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. No need to post any of the videos here as they've more than made the rounds of network and cable television stations and the internet.

What amazed me was the number of people who vehemently expressed disgust, surprise and fear about the comments therein. I found much truth in the sermon, though I disagree with the characterization of Bill Clinton "riding us dirty like he did Monica Lewinski," since I, like most of the American middle class enjoyed, an economy unparalleled by the last seven years of Shrub (that's what having a "colonized mind"will do for you I guess).

There were Clinton supporters expressing some real schadenfreude at the senator's apparent comeuppance. There were Obama supporters staunchly defending their candidate saying he could not be held accountable for what others say - strange, since they just as rigorously and continuously held Sen. Clinton accountable for Ms. Ferraro's comments. But I digress. There were other Obama supporters who felt and said they had been "hoodwinked and bamboozled" by the senator's talk of "Change We Can Believe In." I came away from all this with a headache and a thought: America REALLY needs to talk openly, honestly and productively about race. If it took Ferraro's and Wright's comments to get us closer to that discussion - so be it.

Let's be clear. Communications between blacks and whites have historically been, and continue to be, difficult. Different cultural styles seem to play the most important role in that great divide. And, even though it is so important to bridge that chasm with acceptance and respect, I'm not so sure that many of us are willing or able to go there. There are obvious differences in the way we communicate. Blacks tend to be emotional when they discuss issues that are extremely important to them. Our voices often become louder and our speech more rapid. This is definitely reminiscent of those Sunday church services, where the minister's voice rises and falls and his sermon is peppered with exclamations and questions that could be felt in the pews. Much like the "call and response" of slavery days, the congregation would invariably throw in more than a few "Amens!" "Praise the Lords!" and "Preach Revs" to let the minister know that they were "feeling him," as my kids would say.

Conversely, when whites engage, it is the exact opposite. They seem to work very hard to deliver their message in calm, deliberate tones presumably to show that they are reasonable, proper and in control. So, when the two groups get together to discuss important issues, the result can be, and often is, miscommunication. The emotion blacks express tends to turn whites off, and the seeming indifference of whites infuriates blacks. What whites deem aggression, blacks call passion. What should have been constructive discourse, degenerates into name-calling or worse. Nothing is accomplished but bitter, hurt feelings and meaningful communication is non-existent.

I think Sen. Obama missed an excellent opportunity to become a real instrument of change that could, and would have guided the much needed dialogue about race in this country. Well, only if all who voted for him really believed in overall change, that is. Maybe if he had not distanced himself with his "change - speak" that so publicly seemed to ignore his associations in the Black community, many whites and others would not have inferred that "change" meant, "We don't have to talk about or deal with issues of racism - institutional or otherwise." Had he been honest about ALL his beliefs, to include the Black empowerment about which Trinity United Church of Christ preaches (definitely not a bad thing even though it frightens the bejeezus out of some white folks), Rev. Wright's sermons would not be the "bombshell" it is today. Granted, he may not have won as many states/delegates as he has, but you never know -- he may have. 

All I'm saying is, you cannot heal wounds whose existence you ignore - and the wounds of racism run deep. It permeates all of our institutions which materially affects the lives of Blacks in this country. He chose to straddle that line (a political strategy maybe?) instead of being 100% honest and now it seems to be exploding in his face - at least right now.

I remember listening to Rev. Sharpton's radio show last year on the day designated for Rev. Wright's daughter's segment. She expressed her concern that Sen. Obama's "handlers" had convinced him it wasn't a good idea to have Rev. Wright fully participate in his announcement ceremony in February on the Old State Capitol steps -- "where Lincoln once called on a divided house to stand together" (Rev was there, though not in the capacity they all originally thought he would be).

So in some part of the campaign, they saw the presence of Rev. Wright as a liability and tried to contain it.  Guess they could have been right. Last night I was thinking out loud, "He still has an opportunity to be totally honest to the American people, his church and himself , but not by dodging this as a non-issue, because it obviously IS an issue to a lot of people.   It may not be politically expedient, but it may be the only thing that turns this one around." 


Well, this afternoon, with the groundswell of dissenting opinions about what he should or should not do regarding Rev. Wright, Sen. Obama released a statement to CNN and ran this post echoing the statement, in The Huffington Post: On My Faith and My Church." After listening to it on CNN and reading the actual words on The Huffington Post, this quote immediately jumped in my head: "True self is the part of us that does not change when circumstances do." -- Mason Cooley.  Seems he chose the hard place of the presidency over the rock, that was his pastor, mentor and spiritual advisor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

MLK's Words Unfortunately Illustrate Our Return to Normalcy

I watched Soledad O'Brien's piece, MLK Papers: Words that Changed a Nation on CNN and as is always the case when I am visually reminded of how we've had to live in this country, the sights and sounds stirred up four of the five usual suspects: pain, anger, disgust, and resolve. But this time cynicism, the new kid on the block that had long been vying for the fifth spot in the suspects’ line-up, was firmly planted where hope used to dwell. Notwithstanding the "Normalcy - Never Again" working title of the "I Have a Dream" speech, there's overwhelming evidence of a return to normalcy for a lot of Blacks. In 1963, Dr. King was invited to lend his very visible and strategic support to marchers trying to desegregate businesses in Birmingham. Arrested and put in solitary confinement for “his defiance” (read – “Let’s put the uppity nigger in his place”), Dr. King read a newspaper article in which eight white Alabama clergymen published a statement asking the citizens of Birmingham to wait on the law to deal with the problems of racial inequity in the city. They warned citizens not to be led to demonstrate for change by outsiders saying, "We recognize the natural impatience of people who feel that their hopes are slow in being realized. But we are convinced that these demonstrations are unwise and untimely." In his quite lengthy April 16, 1963 response, "Letter from Birmingham Jail," Dr. King clearly made the case for the wise and timely demonstrations fueled by an impatience of a people tired of the rhetoric and inaction of whites regarding the leveling of the playing field. The reason my hope has been supplanted by cynicism can be summed up in this excerpt which is as relevant today as it was more than 40 years ago: "Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say, 'Wait.' But…when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters with impunity; when you see the vast majority of your 20 million Negro brothers smothering in an air-tight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society;…when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, never quite knowing what to expect next, and you are plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of 'nobodiness." And before you get your panties in a bunch asking "What about Obama, Oprah, Cosby, etc.?" - let me ask you, "What about them?" It seems, even then, Dr. King had a clear understanding of the “what” about them as further down in his letter he said: “I began thinking about the fact that I stand in the middle of two opposing forces in the Negro community. One is a force of complacency, made up in part of Negroes who, as a result of long years of oppression, are so drained of self-respect and a sense of "somebodiness" that they have adjusted to segregation; and in part of a few middle class Negroes who, because of a degree of academic and economic security and because in some ways they profit by segregation, have become insensitive to the problems of the masses The other force is one of bitterness and hatred, and it comes perilously close to advocating violence. It is expressed in the various black nationalist groups that are springing up across the nation, the largest and best-known being Elijah Muhammad's Muslim movement. Nourished by the Negro's frustration over the continued existence of racial discrimination, this movement is made up of people who have lost faith in America, who have absolutely repudiated Christianity, and who have concluded that the white man is an incorrigible "devil.” Had he lived to see 2008, his “middle class Negroes” would have been the now-upper class Negroes Obama, Winfrey, Cosby, et al who seem to have chosen the “burning house” game over the dream in my humble opinion. But then again, had he lived to see 2008, he may well have been the first Black president who could honestly represent a real change in America because he was not a bargainer for justice. His message was not dependent upon the group to which he was speaking at any given time. Could be my imagination, but when I hear Sen. Obama speak to a predominantly Black crowd, he seems to channel Dr. King for effect – very annoying. When the crowd is predominantly white, John F. Kennedy’s ghost seems to take over – also very annoying. Instead of channeling King for effect, he should take a page out of his book and speak to ALL of us as Dr. King spoke to those clergymen from his jail cell in Birmingham back in 1963 because it is just as necessary today as it was then. Anything less is a return to the “normalcy” of the two Americas against which Dr. King fought and for which he lost his life.

Kyra Phillips Validates Lynching?

Kyra Phillips is a pretty smart cookie. She's found her niche and she knows it. I remember being in Alexandria, LA listening to her interview Michael Baisden. She was talking about CNN being "all over this story" and I couldn't help but laugh out loud as I drove back to my hotel. Neither she nor CNN were "all over" anything. But once the story could not be ignored, then she and CNN jumped on the bandwagon. And she's at it again. "Without Sanctuary," the exhibit she featured in her story tonight first toured in New York back in 2000. I remember reading about it opening to much consternation from both the white and Black communities. The late Warren Spears, a former dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, produced a theater-ballet based on it in 2003. Tavis Smiley, someone I consider a Black leader (if we must have one), not a leading Black, featured it back in 2004 when he had his own show at NPR. And contrary to Ms. Phillips representation that the collection is rarely shown, it has been exhibited all across this country. Colleges here and abroad use it and/or the accompanying book to clear up the revisionist history that's been taught for so long. It had such an enduring impact on me that I've had it posted at the top of my blog since I created it. It's important we not forget the history which informs how we all still live our lives. I guess what gets under my skin is the sense of co-opting I always feel when some whites in general and the white media in particular finally decide to tell our stories. But it's not just the telling of our stories it's the co-opting of our culture (a culture they had long belittled or just not cared anything about) for material gain or to advance certain agendas that gets me. I got the same feeling when Hillary Clinton's "It Takes A Village" was published. That's probably why I cringe every time a white woman calls me "girlfriend." Black people have been telling our stories and pointing out racism, discrimination and bigotry ever since I've known myself. With the exception of the days of the Civil Rights Movement, we've pretty much always been accused of "whining" or not being satisfied or being paranoid. Nooses as pranks please! Our concerns are rarely taken seriously unless and until they are validated by somebody white. See, it's that type of institutional, internalized racism that nobody wants to address. That great, big old pink elephant of white privilege that looms in the corner of every room in this country. I'm just not convinced that Ms. Phillips is that concerned about racism in America other than a means to an advantageous personal end. Before Jena, all I knew about her was her infamous, still-had-her-microphone-on, bathroom conversation about her control freak sister-in-law during CNN's live coverage of the presidents comments on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina in 2006. But who knows, there maybe an "Edwina R. Murrow" lurking in there somewhere! We'll see.