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Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Living While Black
Walking while black, driving while black, living while black all will draw the attention of the constablary. Sad, but true.
I thought that I first learned of the arrest of Professor Henry Louis Gates in the blog Down With Tyranny, but I may be mistaken about how initally heard about this.
Yes it is 2009.
Yes a man of African descent is President of these United States. We are living a Virginia Slims commercial.
Those old enough to grok that reference are old enough to remember a time when there was no racial profiling. Not a time when it didn't exist, but a time when there was no name associated with the practice. DWB and WWB were not uncommon and people of African descent expected it and still expect it, even now. Certainly we all now know that E. Max Frye was prescient with Amos and Andrew. Virtually every description of Professor Gates contains the words "well known academic"
The term well known academic is laughable in a society that heaps scorn upon those who have no fear of literature and literacy. Yes, Professor Gates has read a book or two and as David Simon's Brother Mouzone character said "What's the most dangerous thing in the world. A nigger with a library card".
I don't hate the police, honestly some of my best friends are on the force. I must say that when I am stopped for walking or driving while black, I liberally sprinkle the conversation with the compliant sound of "Yes Sir" and "No, Sir". It does not help matters if you are right, but have been perforated by a police office who senses anger and perceives an angry black man as a threat.
I have relatives who would be quick to make a scene. While I am not the most confrontational person in the world, I am hardly "Steppin Fetchit". I am more likely to oppose wrongs to others and I am prone to walk away from wrongs to me. If I want to know the name and badge number of the officer that just came to my house, I will simply call the station to find out because if I say that I want to send a letter of praise, I will get the information I want. Kill them with kindness. I also probably already have photographed that big number from the back of his car.
Saying the words you have messed with the wrong person to an armed police officer is not always a cogent choice, but no blood was spilled. Sadly there are people who believe that this dust up gives them license to make death threats and a police officer used the expression "jungle monkey" in a mass email, but he says he isn't a racist.
Professor Gates over-reacted. I am pretty sure that he would like the dialog to continue but with him as a contributor, not as a focal point. He said he should have been funnier in his kitchen. Sgt. Crowley over-reacted, but now his kids have an "in" at Harvard. But remember, this is the Boston area.
Tom Yawkey's Red Sox were the last team in baseball to add an African American. Pumpsie Green first took the field as a Red Sox player in 1959, 12 years after Jackie Robinson.
Just so we are clear, there are no African American players on the current Boston Red Sox roster.
This is not really a Tom Yawkeyism, this is really due to the fact that African American kids just aren't playing baseball as much these days. My team, the Baltimore Orioles have one African American on the major league roster. Let's face it, it will be quite some time before some one fields a team that will challenge the 1971 Pirates level of African American roster density.
I thought that I first learned of the arrest of Professor Henry Louis Gates in the blog Down With Tyranny, but I may be mistaken about how initally heard about this.
Yes it is 2009.
Yes a man of African descent is President of these United States. We are living a Virginia Slims commercial.
Those old enough to grok that reference are old enough to remember a time when there was no racial profiling. Not a time when it didn't exist, but a time when there was no name associated with the practice. DWB and WWB were not uncommon and people of African descent expected it and still expect it, even now. Certainly we all now know that E. Max Frye was prescient with Amos and Andrew. Virtually every description of Professor Gates contains the words "well known academic"
The term well known academic is laughable in a society that heaps scorn upon those who have no fear of literature and literacy. Yes, Professor Gates has read a book or two and as David Simon's Brother Mouzone character said "What's the most dangerous thing in the world. A nigger with a library card".
I don't hate the police, honestly some of my best friends are on the force. I must say that when I am stopped for walking or driving while black, I liberally sprinkle the conversation with the compliant sound of "Yes Sir" and "No, Sir". It does not help matters if you are right, but have been perforated by a police office who senses anger and perceives an angry black man as a threat.
I have relatives who would be quick to make a scene. While I am not the most confrontational person in the world, I am hardly "Steppin Fetchit". I am more likely to oppose wrongs to others and I am prone to walk away from wrongs to me. If I want to know the name and badge number of the officer that just came to my house, I will simply call the station to find out because if I say that I want to send a letter of praise, I will get the information I want. Kill them with kindness. I also probably already have photographed that big number from the back of his car.
Saying the words you have messed with the wrong person to an armed police officer is not always a cogent choice, but no blood was spilled. Sadly there are people who believe that this dust up gives them license to make death threats and a police officer used the expression "jungle monkey" in a mass email, but he says he isn't a racist.
Professor Gates over-reacted. I am pretty sure that he would like the dialog to continue but with him as a contributor, not as a focal point. He said he should have been funnier in his kitchen. Sgt. Crowley over-reacted, but now his kids have an "in" at Harvard. But remember, this is the Boston area.
Tom Yawkey's Red Sox were the last team in baseball to add an African American. Pumpsie Green first took the field as a Red Sox player in 1959, 12 years after Jackie Robinson.
Just so we are clear, there are no African American players on the current Boston Red Sox roster.
This is not really a Tom Yawkeyism, this is really due to the fact that African American kids just aren't playing baseball as much these days. My team, the Baltimore Orioles have one African American on the major league roster. Let's face it, it will be quite some time before some one fields a team that will challenge the 1971 Pirates level of African American roster density.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Blue Ribbon Panel
Do you think that Phil Gramm will be on John McCain's blue ribbon panel on the economy? I bet he is dying to tell us that the bail outs of the last couple days are psychosomatic. Thanks to Phil Gramm, we have fallen victim to the 21st century Ponzi scheme that involves Collateralized Debt Obligation "Securities" and the insurance policies written against the Securities. We now get to pay and someone else got very wealthy while helping to weaken our current system. Johnny Mac now wants to regulate Wall Street and Banking. This regulation will come after the blue ribbon commission tells us what went wrong.
We know what went wrong and it would be a travesty if we compounded this by actually allowing the blue ribbon commission to come into being.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Johnny Mac isn't getting the message
Wow!
McCain was on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" this morning and he insisted his fundamentals comment was taken out of context and that his "Kindergarten Sex Ed" spot was factually correct. This despite the fact that Rove was pointing out the veracity gap on Sunday on Fox News Network. I am sure that the Rove comments were made due to testing, so Johnny Mac is probably now ignoring the augerers. Perhaps it is because he is using Rove underlings who are not as skilled as Rove in reading societal currents.
McCain was on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" this morning and he insisted his fundamentals comment was taken out of context and that his "Kindergarten Sex Ed" spot was factually correct. This despite the fact that Rove was pointing out the veracity gap on Sunday on Fox News Network. I am sure that the Rove comments were made due to testing, so Johnny Mac is probably now ignoring the augerers. Perhaps it is because he is using Rove underlings who are not as skilled as Rove in reading societal currents.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Rove calls McCain a liar?
I have been doing a lot of hand holding of late. I have been trying to cheer up supporters of the Obama campaign and point out that bounces are normal and soon NRA Barbie would loose her shine and what goes up!
I have been expressing to people my belief that the masses would grow weary of the McCain campaign falsehoods. Tonight I heard pot Karl Rove describe the pigmentation of kettle McCain. Rove said the McCain campaign had gone "one step too far" and "attributing to Obama things that are, you know, beyond the '100 percent truth' test". This is odd behavior from Mr. Keep Telling The Lie and It Becomes Truth. I believe that he is seeing something in the internal numbers that is suggesting trouble on the way for the McCain and company. This happening on a day when the masses are hearing about Chapter 11 for Lehman, 500 point plunge for the DOW, and a Palin aide tells the world the Troopergate invesigation was instigated by the Obama campaign and she was not going to cooperate.
All this suggests to me that the hand holding is over because we are going to see the internals showing up in the polling that we see.
I can't wait for next Wednesday.
I have been expressing to people my belief that the masses would grow weary of the McCain campaign falsehoods. Tonight I heard pot Karl Rove describe the pigmentation of kettle McCain. Rove said the McCain campaign had gone "one step too far" and "attributing to Obama things that are, you know, beyond the '100 percent truth' test". This is odd behavior from Mr. Keep Telling The Lie and It Becomes Truth. I believe that he is seeing something in the internal numbers that is suggesting trouble on the way for the McCain and company. This happening on a day when the masses are hearing about Chapter 11 for Lehman, 500 point plunge for the DOW, and a Palin aide tells the world the Troopergate invesigation was instigated by the Obama campaign and she was not going to cooperate.
All this suggests to me that the hand holding is over because we are going to see the internals showing up in the polling that we see.
I can't wait for next Wednesday.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Real Fight
This was to have been posted on 9/10/2008 but...
I see that many people are not taking the McCain bump very well, but there is no need for panic. Currently the McCain campaign is fueled by lies, bigotry, and curiosity about NRA Barbie. I wish that I had come up with the appellation NRA Barbie, but I will make use of it regularly.
Between now and election day, tell a couple of you neighbors the truth.
Point out the lies in the McCain/Palin fallacy based pitch.
Support of Bridge to Nowhere.
Veto of Funding for Fire Island Wind Farm
I see that many people are not taking the McCain bump very well, but there is no need for panic. Currently the McCain campaign is fueled by lies, bigotry, and curiosity about NRA Barbie. I wish that I had come up with the appellation NRA Barbie, but I will make use of it regularly.
Between now and election day, tell a couple of you neighbors the truth.
Point out the lies in the McCain/Palin fallacy based pitch.
Support of Bridge to Nowhere.
Veto of Funding for Fire Island Wind Farm
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