There is a saying in the black community that blacks cannot improve as a people because like crabs in a barrel whenever one tries to climb out of the barrel the other ones will pull him back down. The reaction of some of the so-called black leaders to the success of Senator Barack Obama seems to bear out this analogy. It seems like the closer he gets to making history the more the “haters” try to sabotage him. The sad part about this whole episode is that the same leaders who are critical of the Senator today, should he get elected will be at the White House the day after the inauguration looking for handouts.
The latest perpetrator in the series of “crab mentality” is Jesse Jackson’s and his comments being aired on Fox News about Senator Obama.. Now I have written extensively about the exploits of Mr. Jackson. From his reshaping of his relationship to Dr. King, to his corporate boycotts that seem to benefit his family, to his love child exploits; Mr. Jackson has demonstrated a lack of personal integrity in my opinion. His recent comments caught on a hot mic during an interview concerning health care policy where he appeared to be promoting the castration of Senator Obama is just the latest in a long line of comments that Mr. Jackson has been allowing to “slip” since it became clear that Senator Obama was going to make a serious run at the nomination.
Jesse Jackson reportedly ripped presidential candidate Barack Obama for "acting like he's white," according to The State newspaper in South Carolina, but the civil rights leader says he doesn't recall making any such comment...He later told the newspaper that he did not remember making the remark, but State reporter Roddie Burris told FOX News that Jackson's "acting like he's white" comment came during a 45-minute, one-on-one interview Tuesday after an hour-long speech at Benedict College in Columbia, S.C. Burris said he stands by his report.[1]
These comments were made back in September of 2007, when the Senator would not bring attention to a rally Mr. Jackson and Al Sharpton were holding for the Jena Six. While the Senator wanted to draw attention to the larger role of race in America, according to Mr. Jackson because Senator Obama didn’t follow his lead then he was acting white. When did Jesse Jackson become the barometer of blackness in America? The comments made by Jackson then and echoed today are representative of more than their generational differences, but also represent the envy and jealously that is being barely contained on the part of Mr. Jackson.
There are two aspects to the cause of the continued “slips of the tongue” that has plagued Mr. Jackson the first is the generational gap between the two and how it plays out in their views of America. Mr. Jackson wants Senator Obama to be a black man who is running for President, while for Senator Obama he views himself as a man who happens to be black running for office. Those seemingly subtle differences in language bridge decades of black life in America. Senator Obama can not win running as a black candidate, just as Jesse Jackson could not win. Why Mr. Jackson would want to insure the defeat of Senator Obama is beyond me. Mr. Jackson still views the nation in terms of the old struggles with the old answers.
According to the article, Jackson called the incident in Jena "a defining moment, just like Selma was a defining moment," and said Obama's failure to seize the opportunity to highlight what he describes as a disparate approach to prosecuting whites and blacks demonstrates his weaknesses as a candidate.
“If I were a candidate, I’d be all over Jena,” Jackson said at the historically black college.[2]
Is there still racism in America? Of course there is, but it’s forms have changed over the years and so it’s alleviation will require new tactics. Tactics Mr. Jackson is either unwilling or unable to grasp. By standing by the old methods of delivering money to urban organizations to mete out to the uneducated masses of poor inner-city people, Mr. Jackson stands to fill his coffers at the expense of his less fortunate brothers and sisters. It is no wonder he is opposed to any new concepts for attacking the problems of the inner-city.
Senator Obama will be our next President not because of people like Jesse Jackson, Jeremiah Wright, or the many new “black” commentators who have suddenly been discovered by the MSM, but in spite of them. There is a train leaving the station in America and there will be some folks that don’t get aboard for various reasons, but the train will leave with or without them.
Richard Pryor had a joke he told that encapsulates the current state of black support for Senator Obama from the old guard of the civil rights movement. He is not one of them and so he isn’t beholden to any of them. Richard said he use to go home and when his old friends seen him they would say, “Man you ain’t nothing, you wasn’t ever nothing, you was telling them same ole jokes back then, loan me a dollar."
[1] http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297332,00.html
[2] http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297332,00.html
Monday, July 14, 2008
Crabs In A Barrel
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Al Sharpton; Racist Redeemer
Every time I think he can’t stoop any lower, the Reverend Al Sharpton shows me how wrong I am. Why is it that white America has to have a symbolic racial redeemer for their overt sins of racism when they become public? If someone publically offends a Jew, they bring out the Jewish redeemer. If they offend an Arab, they roll-out the Arab redeemer and so on and so on. It is as if this redeemer will provide them with a collective act of contrition and then we can all go back to being friends again, until the next “slip of the tongue”. For the black community, the self-appointed and media accepted redeemers are the Reverend Jesse Jackson and the Reverend Al Sharpton.
My question is who in the black community appointed either one of these gentlemen to these roles? Was there a referendum that I missed or some memo that I failed to open or what? It is precisely because of these two and those “so-called leaders” that the state of racial conversation in this country has not progressed past Dr. King. There has been no one articulate enough, not for whites, but someone who could communicate the black experience in any meaningful way for blacks. The black experience in this country has changed so much and now is so diverse that it is ridiculous for anyone to promote a single person as speaking for an entire race of people. Even when Dr. King was alive, there were other voices articulating the diversity that is our community.
The latest racist needing redemption and confessional time from the good Reverend is Duane "Dog" Chapman, a minor celebrity who has parlayed a grimy career in the bounty hunter business into a “reality show” on the A&E network. It seems that the “Dog” was very upset with his son for dating a black woman and had a few choice words for him in that regard. In a racially charged tirade Mr. Chapman let his displeasure be known. In a story that was broken by the National Enquirer, that’s right, the conversation was posted on line at their website. It seems Mr. Chapman thought his son’s girlfriend was trying to record him using the N-word and it turns out his son was the culprit. Kids, huh!
DUANE “DOG” CHAPMAN is the latest celebrity begging for forgiveness and promising to meet with “black leaders” to “make things right again” for using a racial slur during a taped private conversation with his son that was later leaked to the National Enquirer. The star of A&E’s “Dog the Bounty Hunter” issued a statement the other day apologizing for using the n-word in reference to his son’s girlfriend, who is black. Apologizing, Chapman insists the clip, posted on the Enquirer’s Web site, was taken out of context.[1]
Now here is where the story gets crazy, Mr. Chapman has asked Al Sharpton for help in rehabilitating his image, aka Don Imus, Bill O’Reilly, and whoever else feels compelled to voice their true racial feelings publically and then need to institute damage control. To me this is what has to change for any meaningful conversations about race in this country to take place, the practice of honesty followed by denial. If these are your true feelings be man enough to state them and stand behind them. As long as we continue to pretend that there is racial harmony and tolerance when we know there isn’t we will never get past the hypocrisy.
This blanket immunity and forgiveness bestowed by Jesse or Al must stop. How any self-respecting black man, let alone a “preacher” could allow himself to be compromised by these self-gratifying displays of remorse are beyond my comprehension. How arrogant and presumptuous of them to think they can assuage the outrage of a race of people by “counseling” the offender for a small fee is insulting to all blacks.
The issue here for me is the not the use of the N-word by a bigot who obviously uses it with great regularity or the fact that he feels compelled to do so, to me he is at least being honest. What bothers me more is the dishonesty of these two “so-called” black leaders continued self-aggrandizement at the expense of the rest of us. We cannot afford to have the establishment and the media define for us who will represent our outrage or who will lead us. We should collectively begin a writing campaign to CNN, NY Times, and all of the other media outlets who continue to use these charlatans as spokespersons. As long as we passively accept the de facto arrangement it will continue and these two will continue to line their pockets at the expense of any real progress in racial matters.
Does it bother me that another white man in the public eye has found it necessary to use the N-word? Of course it does, but what bothers me more is when I am walking, standing, or riding on the bus and hear other young black men shouting it out to each other. I may be a dreamer, but I believe that if we had had any true leadership on a national level a lot of these conversations wouldn’t even be taking place. That hopefully we would have begun the long overdue national conversation about race and would have made some progress or at least come to some sort of truce. Instead we are left with the remnants of days gone by and the old reliable: I make racial slurs, but I am not a racist argument. I understand the lines of racial tolerance and sensitivity are forever shifting. What was acceptable yesterday is not today. Sort of like the dilemma of how blacks want to be referred to: black, African-American, or what.
Without communication on a national level by those who are willing to be honest and not looking for self promotion, we will have little chance of making any inroads into this issue. An issue that in itself is an enigma, while most blacks think it is an important issue in everyday life, most whites think the opposite. So enough of the racist redeemers and let’s have a real conversation.
[1] http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2007-11-01-chapman-tape_N.htm?csp=34 Read more!
Thursday, September 20, 2007
On “Acting White”
I recently read a report that Jesse Jackson had taken a shot at Senator Barack Obama concerning the current situation in Jena, LA. It appears that Mr. Jackson in an interview said that Senator Obama was “acting white” because he is not outraged enough publically about the situation in Jena for Mr. Jackson’s taste. It is no secret that I am not a fan of Mr. Jackson. I have written on a few occasions about my feelings for him and Mr. Sharpton. However, this to me elucidates why Mr. Jackson was never a serious contender for President, ever.
He later told the newspaper that he did not remember making the remark, but State reporter Roddie Burris told FOX News that Jackson's "acting like he's white" comment came during a 45-minute, one-on-one interview Tuesday after an hour-long speech at Benedict College in Columbia, S.C. Burris said he stands by his report.[1]I have two problems with this report. First, is the fact that Mr. Jackson would make such a statement clearly pandering to a Black audience, as if to gain some credibility for himself and his failed attempts at being a viable candidate for President. Mr. Jackson was always seen as a Black candidate and was never given serious consideration, precisely because of these types of statements. What Mr. Jackson fails to understand is that Senator Obama is a viable candidate because he is not allowing anyone to label him as the “Black” candidate; he is a candidate that happens to be black. This is a very important distinction for anyone trying to become President of all of the United States. While, it makes good copy and may gain him some “street cred” by becoming embroiled in the Jena 6 incident, it would also define him as the “Black” candidate.
This is just another attempt by Mr. Jackson to stroke his enormous ego at the expense of another Blackman; something Mr. Jackson has a history of doing. I don’t think he has gotten over the remark of Senator Biden that Obama is the first mainstream Black contender for President and he continues to take little shots at Senator Obama as being “too white”. Now let’s remember that Mr. Jackson is a supporter of Senator Obama, man with friends like these, huh?
According to the article, Jackson called the incident in Jena "a defining moment, just like Selma was a defining moment," and said Obama's failure to seize the opportunity to highlight what he describes as a disparate approach to prosecuting whites and blacks demonstrates his weaknesses as a candidate.
“If I were a candidate, I’d be all over Jena,” Jackson said at the historically black college.[2]
This statement typifies why Mr. Jackson was never taken seriously as a candidate for anything, he was never trying to win. All he was trying to do was broker himself into a position to be “the Black spokesman” for financial and personal gain. By allowing himself to be defined by these types of issues, you may bring attention to the situation, but at the same time you allow others to pigeon hole you. Mr. Jackson never understood the subtleties of politics and race in America and it appears he still hasn’t. What this statement demonstrates Mr. Jackson is your weakness as a candidate and as a “so-called” supporter. If you had ever been a truly viable candidate you would not have allowed your campaign to be sidetracked by grandstanding opportunities, but you were never one to pass up a chance to grandstand. To my knowledge Mr. Jackson has never been elected to any office, so what gives him credibility in how to win elections?
While I support speaking out against the racial implications presenting by the situation in Jena, (I am wearing my black today to show solidarity) it would be foolish for Senator Obama to try and turn it into a campaign issue. What Mr. Jackson fails to understand is you have to win in order to govern, there is no moral victory; just ask Al Gore. Fortunately, there is already a groundswell of moral outrage at the situation in Jena. Now, if the situation in Jena had been completely ignored by the MSM that would be one thing and would require all Black leaders to speak out, but this is not the case. I believe that the Senator has made it clear that he decries the situation in Jena has made this public statement. As a national candidate I think the Senator should continue to keep his eye on the larger picture and not be sidetracked, situations like Jena have been happening for many years and will continue to happen. Senator Obama turning it into a campaign issue will not change that fact, but will only go to help limit his appeal during a critical time in the campaign.
The second issue I have with this report is how Mr. Jackson has tried to back away from the statement, further demonstrating that he is not to be trusted by anyone. You see the truth be told, Mr. Jackson was not that close of a confidant to Dr. King as he has for years cultivated in the media. He was an outsider, when the meeting was going on in the Lorraine Motel, Mr. Jackson was outside in the parking lot. Mr. Jackson if you are going to criticize your candidate for President in public, atleast have the balls to admit you did it. Obviously, you felt it was a big enough issue to reprimand him in a public forum why not step up and say this is where I have a problem with the Senator, let your concerns be known.
Of course, if you were truly on the inside you would have been able to register your concerns in person and not have to do it through a third party interview. As usual, Mr. Jackson is trying to portray himself as an insider when it appears he is an outsider.
Read more!Sunday, April 15, 2007
Where Are Our leaders?
The Don Imus incident once again illustrates our lack of “real” leadership. The real issue we should be discussing is not the comments of a white radio personality who has made a career of being offensive. The majority of black’s in
There are two issues that stick out in my mind that should be under consideration. The first is how we have allowed a few individuals to speak on our behalf for their personal enrichment and secondly, how we continue to depict ourselves in a degrading light for the same goal of personal enrichment.
To begin, let us start with our “so-called” leaders. It never fails that when there is opportunity for self-aggrandizement and personal gain our two favorite civil rights leaders show up to offer the offending party an opportunity for public penitence. Of course this opportunity comes at a cost to not only the offending party or “victim”, but also to our legitimate feelings of outrage. Any chance of the situation being taken seriously immediately disappears when Messer’s Jackson and Sharpton show up. Due to the past history of both men they bring baggage to any situation they intervene in. My initial question is who has appointed these two; spokesmen for anybody?
I recall in the 80’s and 90’s, two “so-called boycotts. One involved the Coca-Cola bottling company which was spearheaded by Mr. Jackson and his organization. For those who do not know, one of Mr. Jackson’s sons was rewarded with a Coca-Cola distributorship, a very lucrative business. Then of course there was the “boycott” of Anheuser-Busch again spearheaded by Mr. Jackson and his organization. And again, another of Mr. Jackson’s sons was rewarded with a Budweiser distributorship. Mr. Jackson has a history of using his organization and the threat of civil rights action for his own or his families personal gain. He has also demonstrated a lack of moral judgment in his own personal life and yet he continues to want to be the moral compass of others?
It now appears that Mr. Sharpton has recognized the profits in using threats and bullying tactics to gain personal rewards. Mr. Sharpton has a history of supporting fabrication and self-promotion.
The Imus affair will never be taken serious because it smacks of hypocrisy. We have an industry known as hip-hop that has made millions using worse language and depicting the lowest values of the black community. The excuse for allowing this to continue is that it is artistic freedom and that they are just speaking about street life in
It is time we stop allowing others to define who are or appoint themselves as, our leaders. It is time we hold our leaders accountable and put an end to those who enrich themselves at the expense of those less fortunate. Even during slavery, the darkest period of our history in this country you had blacks willing to sell out their brothers to live in the masters house.
We need leaders who are willing to tell the truth, not only about what others are doing to us but also about what we are doing to contribute to our own suffering. The biggest enemy to the Black man today is lies and ignorance, not Don Imus. We must be willing to stop being entertained and discuss those issues that continue to enslave us. Issues such as the drugs poisoning and turning our neighborhoods into war zones, our refusal to live morally, and our continual usage of language that demeans all of us. Over 50% of all unwed women bearing children are black, yet we only constitute about 12% of the population. This represents a breakdown in our moral fiber. The biggest threat against young Black men is not the Klan, but other young Black men. We buy our children the latest “
http://fornication-our-dark-little-secret.blogspot.com/
So again I ask, where are our leaders?
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