Getting Back To It

It has been a while but I have not abandoned my space here. I have just been taking the time to live and take care of health and to be completely present in the life of the most glorious person in the world. The darling love has graduated from high school with honors and will begin her next phase in life as a college freshman this fall!  Truly blessed and grateful.

I have big plans for this blog to continue. Shining a light on the world that Black people have to navigate is a major part of that plan. There has been so much that has happened since I have been away and I have to say that I have been left with feelings of anger, fatigue and disgust. Why do people have to make themselves so unnecessary to a sane existence? Ugh.

My plan is to begin a regular weekly posting schedule beginning September 2. Weekend postings may happen but they will not be a regular part of my schedule. There are other things that I am excited about and working on as well that coincide with my LOVE for Black people! I just want us to be great and some of y'all jokers are making it seem impossible but I am still on the side of Team Black People for life.

See you'll soon.

    

Shaking Off A Whiteness Defined World

A whiteness defined world establishing itself as the norm perceives other races as lesser or insignificant in comparison.  This is the world in which we live.  A whiteness defined narrative is what makes it difficult for non-white people and white people to see and effectively challenge the truth about America and the world as we know it.

We live in and condone a world built on lies, degradation and the destruction of all things counter to the whiteness narrative.

Word choice has been an integral part of  marketing and propelling the whiteness narrative.  For example colonialism or colonization are the words that have been used to define what happened during the time that Europeans invaded other countries and instituted means of control through mass murder, demonization and then appropriation. The use of the words colonialism/colonization allowed for the white narrative to be molded into one of heroism instead of terrorism.

Imagine for a moment if more accurate words (invade, kidnap, torture, murder) had defined the atrocities that took place in order for white people to ascend to a position of power.  There would have been little chance of white people being able to adopt the position that what they inflicted around the globe could be labeled as "progress".  It has been difficult to fight against that which too many sees as a positive.  I have heard people say "Well our lives are probably better off here than we probably would have been in Africa if not for the slave trade."  That is a colonized mind speaking and because the Europeans saw fit to take away our ancestors options we will never know.

What more could the continent of Africa have been by now if some of its most precious resources had not been taken forcibly (many dying en route) to enrich other lands?  How might Africans have enriched the continent with fair trade deals in place? 

With terms like colonialism/colonization being used whiteness had it's narrative foundation allowing for white people to be portrayed as "hero" or "savior".   Those words allowed the re-imagining (read: fairy tales) by covering the atrocities that took place with a veil of lies that stated colonialism/colonization was a necessity.  The choosing of these words was intentional because these words are benign compared to more specific, more accurate words that really define the actions that took place and those seemingly benign words are every bit of the problem with our history and our present.

"Progress" didn't include all people and to continue to see and portray it as a greater good for everyone is the problem that continues to plague this world.  Colonialism/Colonization created a white defined violent laden society that would ultimately need to be maintained through more violence.

There hasn't been any good that has come from minimizing the magnitude of the devastation caused by the idea and consequently the indoctrination of a white defined world.  Why are so many people (non-whites especially) still on board with it?  Placating a narrative that has done nothing but destroy the lives of millions of people has been no less than a declaration of defeat..

Another Black Male Accountability Fail

In modern usage a scapegoat may be a child, employee, peer, ethnic or religious group, or country singled out for unmerited negative treatment or blame. (wikipedia)

I am sick and tired of hearing people defend completely indefensible actions.  When other Black men use terms like scapegoat to absolve other men of destructive and irresponsible behavior we get a two-fer in the Black Male Accountability problem.

Too Short (on intelligence) continues his "It wasn't my fault" and "I am a victim of the system" rounds with yet another interview.  Explaining that if it wasn't for "the man" making the money so good on degradation towards his own community then he and others wouldn't have done those type of albums.

I wanted to do a whole album of positive Too Short songs, just to keep that balance. I had made a verbal deal with Barry Weiss, where he was like, “Right now would be the perfect time, you should do like the raunchiest Too Short album ever – the album cover, the songs, just do a dirty f***in’ Too Short album.” This is the executive running the company advising me to put out an entire album of just cursing and sex.

And I noticed that at a certain point in Hip Hop the major labels stopped signing and promoting the positive artists, the ones that was just really positive. Positive images were hard to get out there. So I’m just saying that at some point it wasn’t that Hip Hop changed on its own, it had a little push. I’m a real conspiracy theorist, and I just feel like there had to be a gathering of the major labels and somebody had to say like, “Look, we gotta keep this positive shit off the airwaves and let this booty-shaking shit take over. It’s time.” And after that it’s like the floodgates just opened with sex and violence.

Negro Please.  It just happened?  "The Man" made him do it?  Too Short and the others like him are NOT victims.  They are the predatory perpetrators that have continued to plague the black community destroying it from the inside!  I am a proponent of being accountable and responsible for your actions.  Too Short and those that support him apparently don't feel the same.

Psst.  By the way.  Slavery is over.

The Truth Shall Set Us Free: Updated

Here we go again with no one in MSM or on some blogs wanting to call what Joe Wilson did when he yelled "you lie", in the confines of Congress, during President Obama's speech to the nation an act of disrespect soaked in the racism of the Confederate flag that he loves and all that represents for his kind because he [Joe Wilson] grew up being swaddled and cuddled in it by those elders [you know the racists] growing up. I don't usually like to blame everything on racism but in this case I WILL because that is what I believe bore his strong tainted indignation to do what he did.

Anywho... this post is not dedicated to that fool Joe Wilson (who should lose his reelection bid if constituents know how to do right by themselves) but to all the Black journalists, Black bloggers and non-black bloggers who feel the need to remain politically correct when addressing ANYTHING that is racially or possibly racially tainted. Why??? We can have a discussion about what we may think, right. That is supposed to be the foundation of having a dialogue that benefits all points of view?!

Remaining PC in these situations means that you want me to remain silent thereby showing sensitivity to a culture, system or person that could give a damn about reciprocating by being sensitive to our culture, our system, our person. In my previous post I spoke on this very idea that some Black people feel gagged and bound and try and tiptoe around the actual TRUTH of the blatant and disparaging differences made when it comes to the discussion of racism by not choosing to blowing the lid off the topic in public.

Lately we have wingnuts, crackpots, racists being able to speak out and receive soft glove consideration because they are wingnuts and crackpots. Just one problem with that...these wingnuts and crackpots are raising children to be wingnuts and crackpots so this cycle of believing that you have the right to debase another human being because of race doesn't stop.

What these wingnuts and crackpots don't obviously understand [because they are wingnuts and crackpots] is the fact that to teach your children to disrespect authority means that you are teaching them that you will become 'fair game' in that thought mentality if it serves your child's purpose. "Duh", as my daughter says, "why would parents do that because it doesn't allow the kids to learn to think for themselves".

DING, DING, DING! "Pumpkin (yes that is what I call my beautiful baby) because to allow their children to learn to think for themselves would be too great a risk because the world is changing and it terrifies them that all of the unnecessary hatred based on race, culture and social standing that they were fed from generation to generation could disappear".

The world still has a long way to go but I do believe it is changing when I see my daughter and her friends of all racial, social and economic backgrounds! Black people need to do their part and stop thinking that they can sit back and wait for it to happen. How do we do that, you ask? We do that by taking control over our lives as individuals by getting and as a people by getting EDUCATED because knowledge really is power which will create fabulous opportunities for ourselves and our communities!

Black People!!! Look around you, find a mentor and read books [education doesn't have to be "formal" for everyone] because Black people have contributed a great deal to this world that we live in and can continue to do more but only if we know the history of greatness of what we did before we came to this country and what we did after coming to this country.

Unacceptable. Unacceptable. Unacceptable. There is no excuse to sit back on our asses to wait "our turn" trying to be a part of something that isn't automatically inclusive of us in a manner that doesn't require us to integrate and ASSimilate into "white culture" compromising our identities which most certainly leaves behind who we are and what we uniquely offer that can enrich ourselves, our communities and the world!