I understand that Clay Aikens took a bit of criticism for tweeting that there were not a lot of blacks at the GOP convention. While the 'soberasamorman' quip was not called for, his observation was not incorrect. I saw a sea of white faces and no one who saw any footage at all could say it wasn't so.
The GOP is not inclusive. They never have been and it is not there intention to be so. They have an agenda. They are playing to the Tea Party. That is where the hew and cry "we want our country back" started. And while the concept of 'smaller government' is not new, it is of particular concern to Tea Party followers. Now as a community we know code when we hear it. It is very thinly veiled racism.
Yes I know. There are African Americans who find the Tea Party appealing. But you can be a member of the group and practice the 'ism'. All you need do is look at the backgrounds of the people of color who spoke at the convention. You got to see Mia Love, the mayor of Saratoga Springs, Utah. She made it clear that her parents immigrated to this country with $10. What she did not say is that depending on their immigration status they may have been eligible thousands of dollars in relocation funds provided by the United States. She made it clear that they did not look to the government for assistance. At $10,000 per family member you didn't need food stamps. You were eligible but we only have your word that no assistance was received.
Nikki Haley also spoke. she is the Governor of South Carolina. Again,a child of immigrant parents.
Again, touting the whole bootstrap philosophy. The is a whole if you want it, it is within your reach. I am not sure that there is any understanding of the difference between the narrative of African Americans as opposed to recent or first generation immigrants. It makes them totally oblivious to the covert disdain that is felt by those of us who know that we are descendants of slaves.
I must say that I was most put off by Marco Rubio and Condoleezza Rice. Don't get me wrong. Mr. Rubio and Ms. Rice are brilliant speakers. They both know how to deliver a message and enthrall a crowd. However, when people are either misleading or disingenuous, I am put off. Mr. Rubio spoke of his parents escaping the revolution in Cuba. Really? Your parents immigrated in 1956 prior to Castro. I believe that the real 'revolution' did not begin until December of 1956 when the Castro brothers, and Cher arrived in Cuba to conduct all out guerrilla warfare.
Ms. Rice spoke of the failure to educate poor children and how that jeopardized their ability to fully participate in the 'American Dream'. That is interesting as you were in lock-step with GW Bush who initiated 'No Child Left Behind'. With the issues of bias in standardized tests it is no wonder that some children are not performing well.
If children are less educated. can't think critically and can't perform it is because teachers, in order to secure federal funding now teach to a ridiculous test that means they can regurgitate facts but have no capacity to reason. If poor and minority children are not performing well, maybe it is culturally based; maybe there is a difference in the way some children learn; maybe it is an actual issue of skill. I teachers are focused on learning a series of facts, language and calculation there is little attention paid to whether the children have the ability to read well and actually comprehend what they read.
As I stated in my last post, I will be applying the same level of scrutiny to the DNC next week. But we really need to think about our choices and what we want this country to become and how we want to be seen as members of this society.Right now we are barely visible. What we want is to be so visible that we cannot be ignored.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Here We Go Again
Well, once again it is election, campaign and political convention season in the States. So far we have been treated to the GOP carnival. Next week we will be treated to the Democrats circus. The thing that really bothers me about the fun and games is the inability of candidates, supporters and delegates to accurately remember how we got here. What is even more annoying is the assumption that the American public is stupid enough to buy the rhetoric.I am highly offended by some of the comments that have been made so far but I am sure I will be equally offended next week.
It has been brought to my attention that I hold some pretty unpopular views. My African American/Black friends have actually accused me of being disloyal. I happen to think the President Obama has done a pretty poor job. He has squandered opportunities and missed openings. He has played to the fears of people regarding addressing race in America. His refusal to admit and even voice the reality that some of the negative attitude toward him is totally based on the color of his skin has not helped anyone in the African American community. It has hurt us.
As a result of his election to the highest office in the 'free world' it allows people to surmise that we are living in a "post-racial" America. I do not know where you live but in my neighborhood, racism has hardly been slain or even anesthetized for a long sleep. Comments from people, like Newt Gingrich are simply invectives. How dare he question whether President Obama cares more about black people. Here is my response to such a question and if the President had any guts he would have had the same response.
"Mr. Gingrich, I am perfectly aware that you only care about white people and especially
that who are wealthy."
As a community we have some overwhelming proof that President Obama has bent over backwards to appear not to 'assist' the black community.The unemployment rate in the African American community is at least twice that that of the general population. It is a crisis that is no less detrimental than a natural disaster such as a tornado, hurricane or earthquake that causes wide-spread damage and casualties. Yet, President Obama quietly sits and lets a whole community suffer.
Actually, I will be even more strident in my assessment. To suggest that he is sitting quietly by implies that it is simply benign neglect. The President has actively gone out of his way to assist other groups. He had not problem repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell. Okay it took him over three years to do it but he did repeal that policy. He, in spite of the fact that the African American community largely opposes same sex marriage, he came out in support a very divisive social issue. But the systematic disenfranchisement of African Americans is not worth addressing. The wholesale exclusion of a group because of the continued stereotypes and misperceptions warrants not one comment.
The plight of the African American community is also the fault of our so-called black leaders. No one will take Obama on. No one will bring him to task and comment on his neglect. He the first black president. No one wants to bring attention to his shortcomings. No one wants to call him on the negative impact his silence is having on the community. Personally, I would call him out.
Now we have an extremely conservative GOP who have named a presidential ticket that should be of concern to any thinking person. Mitt Romney will tell you nothing of himself. His wife, Ann gave a speech that was all about i like women, I like Mitt and you should like him too. She talked about this wonderful boy she met in high school. Eating dinner on your 'fold-down ironing board' does not convince me that you have a clue as to how the rest of us live. I don't know a single person who owns a dressage horse. As a matter of fact I know people who purchased homes that did not cost as much as a dressage horse.
In his speech, Paul Ryan was totally dishonest about his record and his ideology. If you want to lie to yourself that is fine. Please do not lie to me. He has no intention of saving Medicare. He has no intention of looking out for all Americans. He is going to look out for the wealthy. And I guarantee you that the vast majority of them will be white. The GOP Platform is against abortion in all cases. So when a young woman you know is raped and impregnated just remember that Ryan considers conception as a result of rape the same as having a baby out of wedlock. Let's remind him of that if one of his daughters, nieces, friends becomes pregnant as a result of a rape. I pray it never happens but if it does, call it karma.
As we prepare to vote think carefully. As a community we are in trouble with regard to jobs and the social agenda of this country.We need a president who will speak up for us. We need our leaders to call the country's leadership to task for allowing an entire group of people to become disenfranchised. But here is the rest. If no one else will stand up for us, we need to be vocal on our own.
It has been brought to my attention that I hold some pretty unpopular views. My African American/Black friends have actually accused me of being disloyal. I happen to think the President Obama has done a pretty poor job. He has squandered opportunities and missed openings. He has played to the fears of people regarding addressing race in America. His refusal to admit and even voice the reality that some of the negative attitude toward him is totally based on the color of his skin has not helped anyone in the African American community. It has hurt us.
As a result of his election to the highest office in the 'free world' it allows people to surmise that we are living in a "post-racial" America. I do not know where you live but in my neighborhood, racism has hardly been slain or even anesthetized for a long sleep. Comments from people, like Newt Gingrich are simply invectives. How dare he question whether President Obama cares more about black people. Here is my response to such a question and if the President had any guts he would have had the same response.
"Mr. Gingrich, I am perfectly aware that you only care about white people and especially
that who are wealthy."
As a community we have some overwhelming proof that President Obama has bent over backwards to appear not to 'assist' the black community.The unemployment rate in the African American community is at least twice that that of the general population. It is a crisis that is no less detrimental than a natural disaster such as a tornado, hurricane or earthquake that causes wide-spread damage and casualties. Yet, President Obama quietly sits and lets a whole community suffer.
Actually, I will be even more strident in my assessment. To suggest that he is sitting quietly by implies that it is simply benign neglect. The President has actively gone out of his way to assist other groups. He had not problem repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell. Okay it took him over three years to do it but he did repeal that policy. He, in spite of the fact that the African American community largely opposes same sex marriage, he came out in support a very divisive social issue. But the systematic disenfranchisement of African Americans is not worth addressing. The wholesale exclusion of a group because of the continued stereotypes and misperceptions warrants not one comment.
The plight of the African American community is also the fault of our so-called black leaders. No one will take Obama on. No one will bring him to task and comment on his neglect. He the first black president. No one wants to bring attention to his shortcomings. No one wants to call him on the negative impact his silence is having on the community. Personally, I would call him out.
Now we have an extremely conservative GOP who have named a presidential ticket that should be of concern to any thinking person. Mitt Romney will tell you nothing of himself. His wife, Ann gave a speech that was all about i like women, I like Mitt and you should like him too. She talked about this wonderful boy she met in high school. Eating dinner on your 'fold-down ironing board' does not convince me that you have a clue as to how the rest of us live. I don't know a single person who owns a dressage horse. As a matter of fact I know people who purchased homes that did not cost as much as a dressage horse.
In his speech, Paul Ryan was totally dishonest about his record and his ideology. If you want to lie to yourself that is fine. Please do not lie to me. He has no intention of saving Medicare. He has no intention of looking out for all Americans. He is going to look out for the wealthy. And I guarantee you that the vast majority of them will be white. The GOP Platform is against abortion in all cases. So when a young woman you know is raped and impregnated just remember that Ryan considers conception as a result of rape the same as having a baby out of wedlock. Let's remind him of that if one of his daughters, nieces, friends becomes pregnant as a result of a rape. I pray it never happens but if it does, call it karma.
As we prepare to vote think carefully. As a community we are in trouble with regard to jobs and the social agenda of this country.We need a president who will speak up for us. We need our leaders to call the country's leadership to task for allowing an entire group of people to become disenfranchised. But here is the rest. If no one else will stand up for us, we need to be vocal on our own.
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