Bad stretch for some Black folks (and one similarly identified) lately! - Pt. 2

How I'm feelin' today:  “The greatest tool in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.”

Steve Biko

I know this is "old news" but, I did say I'd finish this (for posterity, if nothing else).  So, here's a continuation of those "distractions" and my thoughts on them  - quick and dirty like, so's I can move on to more timely matters:

Wednesday, September 9: Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) shouts out "You Lie!" during The Changeling's Healthcare speech.   My thoughts?  Though Joe didn't (really) lie - is it me, or did he (along with all the tweetin'-during-the-speech, etc.) deliver a direct salvo of disrespect for this society-identified Black man.  Call me a birther if you want to, I don't care.  SOMETHING in that milk ain't clean!

Friday, September 11: Michael Jordan inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Yahoo! Sports writer, Adrian Wojnarowski wrote this description of that night thusly:  Jordan’s night to remember turns petty.  Here are a few interesting excerpts:

• "Something unworthy of Jordan’s stature, something beneath him..."
• "Whatever, Michael. Everyone gets it. Truth be told, everyone got it years ago, but somehow he thinks this is a cleansing exercise. When basketball wanted to celebrate Jordan as the greatest player ever, wanted to honor him for changing basketball everywhere, he was petty and punitive..."
• "Yes, there was some wink-wink teasing with his beloved Dean Smith, but make no mistake: Jordan revealed himself to be strangely bitter..."

...as defined by the White Supremacist Capitalist Patriarchy?  Ever thought being "honored" and "celebrated" by the WSCP isn't the end all and the be all to MJ?  And is that a "you should be grateful dammit!" attitude I hear seeping through the commentary?  Too funny!

Obviously he felt he had a few things to be bitter about and decided to let ya'll have it - after he earned all that coin you paid him.  That's right, EARNED!  Quit acting like ya'll gave him something (he was the greatest player ever - even you said so!).  It would've been nice though (and IMHO, a helluva lot more manly) if he'd have let ya'll have it while he was earning the coin.  But we all know how that mask-wearing-for-money goes.

Saturday, September 12: Serena Williams lost the U.S. Open semifinal against Kim Clijsters. Here's an interesting Open Salon article (with videos) by Kathy Riordan: What Was Serena Thinking?  regarding the cussin' out Venus gave the line judge.  Really???  John McEnroe anyone?  Oops!  Wrong color, wrong gender.  And the judge was in fear of her life?  Oh, I forgot.  Angry Black Woman cussin' you out = life-threatening situation.

(I'd be remiss if I didn't offer this update - Serena says she 'loves' ESPN nude cover shot.

I have to admit, my immediate response when I saw the cover was, "Da-a-a-mn, what a beautiful picture of my chocolate Sister!  And it is, but the damn  "voices" just had to have their say:

Me:  Much hell as they raised about her cussin' that judge out, here she is gracin' the cover of ESPN Magazine!  Damn hypocrites!

Voice #1:  Truly!  All that really says is - in general - not much has changed.  Naked - we're fine.  Vocal, not so much.

Voice#2:  You feel like that?

Me:  In general?  Or in particular?

Voice #1 & #2:  Both!!

Me:  Let me get back to you on that.

First thought that came to mind after that little tète-à-tète, was some of "Black" John Howard Griffin's account of his observations of white men regarding Black women in his, ought-to-be-mandatory-reading-in-all-schools, "Black Like Me."  Once, he recounts his experience working at  a New Orleans shoe-shine stand with his Black friend, Sterling to whom he'd told his "secret":

Well-dressed tourists mingled with the derelicts of the quarter.  When we shined their shoes we talked.  The whites, especially the tourists, had no reticence before us, and no shame since we were Negroes.  Some wanted to know where they could find girls, wanted us to get Negro girls for them.  We learned to spot these from the moment they sat down, for they were immediately friendly and treated us with the warmth and courtesy of equals.  I mentioned this to Sterling.

"Yeah, when they want to sin, they're very democratic," he said.

And again, hitchhiking between Mobile and Montgomery, he caught a ride with a white man who expressed this:

"I'll tell you how it is here.  We'll do business with you people.  We'll sure as hell screw your women.  Other than that, you're just completely off the record as far as we're concerned.  And the quicker you people get that through your heads, the better off you'll be."

There are many other passages regarding the whole Black-women-white-men thing (many with which I grew up, many about which I thought before, and post - "the husband"), but these illustrate best what I also think about the cover. Just sayin'.


Saturday, September 12: Alex Koppleman's Conservatives march on Washington is again, an interesting read, but HuffPos's 10 Most Offensive Tea Party Signs (PHOTOS) are even more interesting. The first set of ten are particularly illustrative of our post-racial nation heapin' all kinds of love on the Changeling.

Sunday, September 13: Kanye West bolts onstage, bogardin' 16 year-old Taylor Swift's moment in defense of Beyonce (I don't know why, everybody loves the "Put a ring on it" girl).  Rennie Dyball of Rolling Stone reported what happened here: Taylor Swift Wins Best Female Video – Upsetting Kanye West.  All I can say is this child really must miss his Mama!

Wednesday July 16:  Sorry, I know this wa-a-a-y old, but indulge me please.  After all, I never said a thing about "The Professor, The Policeman and The President."  I was on the road when this happened.  I heard about the whole Gates thing after the husband and I'd found an Alabama hotel room - very, very late at night (I'm 53 and the idea of travelling through the Deep South with my, society-identified white husband still makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck).

When I heard his, "Why, because I am a Black man in America?'' thing, please know that I was - ROFFLMBAO!!  The-e-en, when I watched the Changeling's news conference (definitely a set-up, make-me-look-good question by "I-used-to-be-a-real-journalist," Lynn Sweet, if I ever saw one), all I could do was shake my damn head and say, "Oscar Grant and Adolph Grimes III." 

“Gates then turned to me and told me that I had no idea who I was ‘messing’ with and that I had not heard the last of it’’...When the officer repeatedly told Gates he would speak with him outside, the normally mild-mannered professor shouted, “Ya, I’ll speak with your mama outside,’’ according to the report.

Why the chuckle you ask? So, so many reasons!  A whole post worth really.  But, since I slept it, I'll just say a few things.

First of all, let's take a look at the Professor. While I have enjoyed his work, and even on occasion, used them for - "teachable moments" - during a bi-weekly dialogue on race relations that I founded and moderated for almost three years in South Florida, I am just astounded at the speed with which he went from, "Do you know who you're messing with?" to, "Why, because I’m a Black man in America?" (à la Clarence Thomas and his "high-tech lynching" shenanigans)!  Just amazing to watch!

Did he really think because he was a Harvard-educated/employed house fella that he'd not be treated like he was   - Oh horrors! Black? - by a, you-don't-know-your-place-OR-how-to-act-in-front-of-a-crowd-of-white-folk, WHITE, blue collar cop??  Another big PUH-L-E-E-EZ!!

For all he purportedly knew, he obviously didn't really know (thought he was all manner of  "free" cuz they said he was a "renowned" Harvard professor).  And isn't it funny how some Black folk always "go home" when the adopted family spurns them?

Really, was the goal of the struggle to "be like Mike?"  Damn, I didn't think so, but it seems so for the new (old) Black "elite."  The classism to which he resorted (as did his sister, Oprah during her interview with then-Sen. Barack Obama, "I don't think it's about race anymore, I think it's about class."), spoke volumes.  Yeah, Crowley knew exactly with whom he was "messing" - a Black man who, despite all his achievements, was simply - in his neck of the woods (in our post-racial nation) -  just an uppity, nigger over whom he had the "legal" power - to put in his place (asinine, no real-power-havin', not speakin' out on real police "acting stupidly," current resident of the Big House, notwithstanding).

And all I can say about the much-ado-about-nothin' "Beer Summit," is - Lawd have mercy!!  Bless his heart, he doesn't have any shame at all now does he?  Got to manufacture "acceptance!"  No, not even that - just tolerance!

The Fourth Estate...

"Power never concedes anything without a demand.

It never has and it never will."

Frederick Douglass

I found this at once amusing and interesting today. I just wanted to share. Earlier, while reading through the list of blogs I follow, I read this headline at Lynn Sweet's blog:

Burris Enters Capitol peacefully; media hordes greet him." No comment had been posted yet, I left this: Hey Lynn, What did you expect a fight? You do Mr. Burris and Blacks a disservice by using these code-laden words. Just now, after signing in, I went back to Lynn's blog hoping to engage in some intelligent discussion. Instead I found my comment was never posted but now, the headline reads: "Burris Enters Capitol; media hordes greet him." The post is the same, only the headline changed. I left this: Lynn, Since you didn't print my comment (it was the very first one on this post too!) about your "FIRST" headline - "Burris Enters Capitol peacefully; media hordes greet him" - I probably shouldn't expect this one to printed either. But it's worth a shot. I see you DID delete the "peacefully." That's a start I guess. Now, we just have to work on owning our mistakes and asking ourselves why we did them in the first place. What do you think? I'm not telling anyone what they should, or should not do on their own blog, but I have to say -I'm disappointed. I've been reading Lynn Sweet at least since the Changeling threw his hat in ring. I read her because she seemed to be doing what journalists should be doing according to their code of ethics:

• Seek truth and report it
• Minimize harm
• Act independently
• Be accountable (includes admitting mistakes and correcting them promptly and invite dialogue with the public over journalistic conduct)

(Yes I was paying close attention in class!).

Lynn Sweet knew the territory better than anyone else I'd read out of Chicago. Often I would read background information about him in her columns that I hadn't seen anywhere else. She was fair, and gave the reader as balanced a look as possible no matter the player or the issue. And working in the land of Capone, I'm sure that was no mean feat. I liked the fact she'd been around for awhile - "seasoned" as it were.

But since the President-select was selected, I've seen a change and again, I have to say I'm disappointed. I will not stop reading her because of what happened today. It will just be with a more critical eye that I do so.

The "all-things-Obama" media love-fest continues: The Valerie Jarrett appointment

It's been exactly a week since Washington Post ombudsman, Deborah Howell wrote her piece admitting bias in the coverage of "all-things-Obama" during the campaign. This particular sentence elicited such a loud, "Ya think???" from me, I scared my damn self:

"But Obama deserved tougher scrutiny than he got, especially of his undergraduate years, his start in Chicago and his relationship with Antoin "Tony" Rezko, who was convicted this year of influence-peddling in Chicago."

And wonder of wonders, here we are with the mainstream media engaging in gushing, leg-tingling ObamaLove yet again, still not scrutinizing the President-elect's recent appointee. Lord! It feels like the Bush Administration/Iraq war, parrot-the-company-line coverage all over again!

At least the conservative, Judicial Watch is paying attention. Oh I'm sure some esteemed journalists will characterize them as conservative wing nuts or something, but through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, they've got documents backing up what they say in their November 14, Obama Advisor Valerie Jarrett Linked to Real Estate Scandals! (She reminds of another Black woman I know who sold a great idea of "revitalization and restoration" of the Black community and then used the cash to unjustly enrich herself and her family for years. The city council finally paid her off to bow the hell out this year as I recall.)

Even Lynn Sweet (whose work I followed because it always had the "balance" clearly missing from the corporate shills of the large print, radio and television media organizations), seems to have soft-pedaled on Valerie Jarrett. Her November 15 piece, The Valerie Jarrett Story. Named senior Obama White House advisor, was certainly not the kind of truth-telling I'd come to know and love. I mean, if you're going to tell "The Valerie Jarrett Story," shouldn't it be the whole story? Judging from the comments section, I'm not alone in my disappointment.

Were it not for Ms. Sweet's prior reporting on the Chicago crew, The Boston Globe's investigative piece to which I linked in my last post and Ryan Lizza's well-written and informative, "Making It, How Chicago shaped Obama" in The New Yorker last July which was swallowed up in the smoke-screen of outrage at the satirical cover - subjective hype and sketchy, yet masterfully presented voting records would've been all I had to begin trying to objectively quiet that nagging feeling of being worked by the man who looked Black like me.

At this point, I don't expect much from most mainstream media outlets. They've got too much invested in holding up this new administration as the "Second Coming" rather than holding them accountable.