Gov. Paterson Got This Right; Barbour Should Do Likewise

Personally, I don't think John Harris White should've been convicted in the first place. Perhaps NY Gov. David Paterson should've pardoned him, but at least he's free and out of prison. And rather than going around denying the experience of black Mississippians and campaigning for 2012, Gov Haley Barbour needs to pardon the Scott sisters.

And speaking of Barbour and his fond memories of his childhood - parched up on his upper-class white male privilege in Mississippi, I'm sure the Civil Rights era was anything but terrifying and violent. That doesn't mean that it wasn't hell for black folks, nor does it mean that he didn't contribute to problem of institutionalized racism.

Is This What You Mean by "Pro" Life?

h/t racismreview

The Tennessee report has discussed the comments of a Tennessee state representative thus:

Rep. Curry Todd remarked during a Fiscal Review Committee presentation this week that the idea of government-funded care for pregnant women [Mexican immigrants] who cannot prove they have United States government permission to be in this country struck him as not unlike inviting a rat infestation. The Collierville Republican made the comments after asking CoverKids program managers whether the state checks the citizenship status of care recipients. . . . [They] responded that CoverKids doesn’t provide medical coverage to pregnant women, but it does offer “unborn coverage …. ”Rep. Todd responded: “Well, they can go out there like rats and multiply, then, I guess.”

Health Insurance Whistleblower

Yeah, here's some more.

First up, Tim Wise. I thought I had already posted this clip, but I hadn't. Obviously. After him, a health insurance whistle-blower.

You're Still Here!

Oh, that's great!

A lot of things have been happening in my personal life. All good . . . and perfect, thankya Jesus! Hallelujah! For real.

I've finally been given a firm diagnosis - a mild narcolepsy - which explains my fatigue, but not the pain. Which, is okay since both are being treated. The new medication for fatigue hasn't yet made me feel "normal"; just not so week-old road-kill sick. And that's absolutely fabulous! Yeah, I still spend much of my day on the couch or online; but, like I said, I feel better. And that feels great.

Now, as for my continued inconsistency. First off, like I said, I still don't feel normal. And secondly, my brain has been some vacation of sorts for at least a couple of weeks now. I don't know why. It's not that I feel dumb; and trust, I do know that feeling. No, I'm just mentally tired. I mean, when I say a lot has been going on in my personal life, I do mean a lot. It's taking quite a bit of mental energy to keep things straight. So I don't have the usual zest for thinking out examples or implications or anything of the such of racism or sexism or anything in our current events.

In fact, I have a post on draft right now that I started last week, and just couldn't get my head to finish. Something about how the little racist "Obama chia pets" and "nappy-headed hos" comments are all part of a society that enables what amounts to essentially robbing the black community: Well's Fargo targeting the black community for sub-prime loans. I was gonna explain how all the seemingly harmless statements mount up to damage the black community. The whole circle made sense in my head, I just couldn't quite find the words. But since I'm on a bit of a roll, let me just say this - people who see nothing racist about the recent "tea parties" nurture an environment where people see nothing wrong with gouging the black community of very hard earned moneys. And to make a point that hard-working white Americans need to hear: the people who saw nothing wrong with loan officers lying both to the client and to the underwriter so the cost of the loan will be higher leading to higher profits for the company and higher bonuses for the loan officer also see nothing wrong with the exorbitant bonuses received by the executives who brought down the global economy. Mark my words chumpy, which shit gets to flying, everybody gets hit. Instead of listening to the idiots who propagate the lie the affirmative action is "reverse" racism, you should be listening to those of us tell you that "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

Well. Guess the good ole noggin' is doing better than I thought!

Also, I've just touched base with my cousin Lauren. If you don't remember, I have a cousin and cousin-in-law who're both based in Afghanistan right now. They're army medics, kinda like on MASH I would imagine. Lauren describes what she does as kinda working in an emergency room with injured people coming in all day. Her working hours were increased, so she works 12-hours shifts now. She has a furlough next month. I can't wait! It's not even about seeing her. It's just about knowing she's home safe and sound.

Oh! What brought about this sudden post anyway? This op-ed piece in the New York Times by Frank Rich. Pretty cogent stuff. Gets straight to the point. Gotta read. Here's a quote:

Then he brought up another recent gunman: "If you're one who believes that abortion is murder, at what point do you go out and kill someone who's performing abortions?" An answer, he said, was provided by Dr. George Tiller's killer. He went on: "If you are one who believes these sorts of things about the president of the United States ..." He left the rest of that chilling sentence unsaid.

Rich also mentioned something I hadn't really thought about, but which is true:

We don't know whether the tiny subset of domestic terrorists in this crowd is egged on by political or media demagogues - though we do tend to assume that foreign jihadists respond like Pavlov's dogs to the words of their most fanatical leaders and polemicists.

I'm not quite sure why it never crossed my mind, but at any rate. If you're interested in a discussion on whether or not hate speech should be regulated, here's a good start. I already have comments there, but I'm about to add Rich's thought to the convo.

Anyway, I hope you're still here when I get back. Don't know when I'll be posting again. Just can't shake the dead-brain feeling.

Guns Don't Kill, People with Guns Do

I don't know what the problem here is: the shooter; Oklahoma's Make My Day and Stand Your Ground laws; the interpretation of thpse laws; and/or, the general devaluation of black life. At least this kid was an attempted robber, not a police officer. With sympathies to the boy's mother, that does make it a little easier for me to accept. But . . . it's still impossible to accept. You should read the entire article. I mean, I don't begrudge anyone the right to protect themselves. But they have to be in danger. This guy was not in danger. Having "his adrenaline flowing" is no defense.

Druggist Arrested for Killing Holdup Man

By TIM TALLEY, AP
OKLAHOMA CITY (May 29)

- Confronted by two holdup men, pharmacist Jerome Ersland pulled a gun, shot one of them in the head and chased the other away. Then, in a scene recorded by the drugstore’s security camera, he went behind the counter, got another gun, and pumped five more bullets into the wounded teenager as he lay on the floor.

A House Divided . . .

. . . cannot stand. You know the saying. Well, here's my point. The Latin and African American communities have to work together to end structural and systemic racism. We all face the same pro-white, anti-us bias. We can't have this:

SoCal gang members indicted in racist shootings

Published: 5/21/09, 3:26 PM EDT
By THOMAS WATKINS


LOS ANGELES (AP) - A Latino street gang waged a racist campaign to eliminate black people from a Southern California city through attempted murders and other crimes, according to federal racketeering indictments unsealed Thursday.

"(Varrio Hawaiian Gardens) gang members take pride in their racism and often refer to the VHG Gang as the `Hate Gang,'" the main indictment states. "VHG gang members have expressed a desire to rid the city of Hawaiian Gardens of all African-Americans and have engaged in a systematic effort to achieve that result by perpetrating crimes against African-Americans."

Read the article.

Riot or Revolution? 2

Finally! right? First off, I'm sorry about the delay. And second off, this may not be as detailed as I would otherwise like. I'm being a bit busier than usual. Helping out with Lauren's kids the past couple of days. So, I'm a bit tired. And I promised Lauren I'd write her about the kids soon, the final of a 3 part series of my time with them recently. And I just started blogging with a group blog, dangerousNegro. So, a lot has been going on. Not a lot for a person of normal health, but a lot for me.

So, what was my point about riot or revolution? Well, conceptualization, I guess. I mean, we all know that racism involves "Othering." I just think that in this "nation of cowards," we don't really consider how it operates.

For instance, would Glenn Beck consider himself a racist? Probably not. Then again, neither would Geraldine Ferraro or Pat Buchanan. But look at what he's spreading. The idea that violence perpetrated at the government by whites is not just understandable but justifiable.

Now, of course he gives this as the "worst case scenario," and you should know I haven't watched the clip since before I posted it, but as I recall, his general thesis was that the present government isn't listening to the little guy. Of course, he means this present executive administration that just happens to be presided over by a black guy, but he somehow dates the "rebellion" past Pres. Barack Obama's time in office as to avoid that accusation. But come on. I'm not buying. You?

So anyway. We have this uprising by whom? If there's one constituency I know Glenn Beck can't claim to represent, racist or not and probably racist, is black folk and/or any folk of color. So who's rioting? Who's rioting against who's government? What is this government doing? Presumably, it's gone to the left, right? So, a progressive tax system, a social safety net, affirmative action, gay marriage, abortion on demand, etc and so on. So who's rioting and why?

Now. Glenn Beck says they're rioting because the government isn't listening to them. Which, for me, is a big hoot! I mean, really. After 2 centuries of unquestioned domination, women and people of color and the LGBT community finally start making a push and get the government to finally represent their interests, and white men wanna rebel? Really? It's nearly hilarious!

So, again. There's a violent uprising by who? because the government isn't listening to them.

Well. Where was Glenn Beck and his elk when thousands of people descended on Jena, LA because the government wasn't listening to them? I wonder what he thought about the 1992 LA riots. What were Glenn Beck's thoughts on the occurrences post-Katrina? Well, here's one:

But the second thought I had when I saw these people and they had to shut down the Astrodome and lock it down, I thought: I didn't think I could hate victims faster than the 9-11 victims.

Where's the sympathy then for a violent uprising towards a negligent government? Where was his army to back up and support the people then?

Don't get me wrong. The man is consistent in denying his racism. But here's my point and you can discuss anything you may have noticed that I left out - racism continues unabated in this country because so many white people in positions of power and influence, be they radio shock-jocks or US Congressmen, engage in Othering and refuse to allow someone to point it out to them. It's their natural reflex to see a black guy reach for his wallet, think "gun," and shoot 30, 40, 50 times without apology and even stopping to reload; but, apologize when they have to kill a white man who was shooting at them.

Racism remains rampant in this country and this Othering is why. If we're really going to get past racism, we can't keep letting white people enjoy the privilege of defining and describing what happens in the world. We have to stop sympathizing with white perpetrators and criminalizing black victims. It would also help if Glenn Beck wasn't given air time. And so long as that continues, I'll be here to riot about it!

Or, would that be a revolution?

I'm Flabbergasted!

Why? I can't really say. You'd think with my level of cynicism and skepticism, this wouldn't surprise me, much less leave my flabbergasted. UPDATE: Especially since Blackwater was in New Orleans soon after Katrina.

It's not secret I haven't really done the reading and engaging in politics that I started off doing earlier. I needed a break from just this sort of thing. But the lead article for this video was posted on a social networking site I frequent, and I couldn't ignore it.

The most ironic thing is that I'm currently trying to convince myself that the LGBT uproar with President-elect Obama's choice of having Pastor Rick Warren do the invocation to his inauguration has some legitimacy and has nothing to do with the fact that Obama's black. I'm trying not to see a white hood behind every angry white face. But . . . it's not easy. I mean. I don't agree with Rick Warren on a number of issues, same-sex marriage maybe being one. But they are certainly taking his words out of context, if they understand really what he's saying at all. And even if they're upset with Rick Warren for his opposition to proposition 8, his giving the invocation says absolutely nothing about Obama's views and policy towards the LGBT community. (As promised in the previous post, more about my views on the issue later. I was going to address it today, but the doctor's appointment cause some aggravation of my chronic fatigue. And immune dysfunction syndrome. :P )

Here's a video, produced by The Nation and shown below, detailing the anti-black violence that occurred in the days immediately following Katrina. The white shooters defend and even celebrate their actions with the excuse that blacks were engaged in crime and looting - a myth that was spread and believed all too easily. No one has even been charged. There has not even been an investigation, though since he's read the article, Congressman John Conyers is calling for one.

You're probably wondering with Katrina has to do with Obama and the LGBT community. It's that it just seems like white Americans feel they have some right by birth to control black people. It's criminal. It's unjust. It's racism.