I Must Admit…It’s True

I haven’t taken the time to sit down to leave a few words in quite a while. It’s unfortunate that I had to be angered to compose this piece. Teddy makes a great point in this quote. Since my early years, I’ve been a student of the politics of the day. I’ll never forget the surprise on the face of Jerry Hickman as I was describing the layers of government in civics class (and correcting the textbook on at least one occasion). I believe that, while it isn’t perfect, we have the greatest governmental machine in the world. We allow, to a certain extent, the people to choose their leaders, their laws and their fate. No other country in the world allows as many freedoms as are allowed in the United States of America. So my next position will bring pause to some of you. I personally believe we have too many freedoms in this country and, to a certain extent, we allow the people to be involved in too much that they’re uninformed about.


This quote says a great deal, especially when you reflect on those you know who either were vehemently opposed to President Barack Obama and couldn’t tell you why, or those who were staunch supporters and couldn’t tell you what his platform was. I mean I literally heard a woman argue that she didn’t like the president because he sat under the pastorate of Jeremiah Wright and had to know he was racist. She then said her issue was that he was a Muslim and didn’t back down from either when exposed to the contrast between the two, adding that he was an atheist because his father was one. So I guess that made him an Islamic Christian atheist. On the other hand I spoke to a woman who was upwards of 45 years old who admitted that it was her first time voting when the president ran in 2008. She went on to admit that she was only voting for him because she wanted to see a black man as president in her lifetime. I went on to tell her she was dishonoring the lives of those who dies for her to have the right to vote. I am of the mindset that neither of these people deserves the right to vote as they aren’t exercising the spirit of the vote in choosing whoever is best for their community and best for the position they are running.

I was one that argued against the statement that folks were opposed to our current president due to the hue of his epithelial coat. I was living with the notion that we are more intelligent, as a country, than that. However, with the compilation of events dating back to 2007, I must admit…it’s true. We’ve had folks oppose a president in the past and manage to still do what needs to be done for the country. We’ve had members of the senate and congress who didn’t agree with the president and put it aside to make sure the country’s best interest was first. We’ve had men and women in uniform not agree with the commander in chief but still carry out the orders presented to them. However, folks calling the president a liar on national television, governors verbally chastising a grown man in public (complete with the wagging finger) and now because he won reelection, utilizing the primary system set forth in this great country of ours (no supreme court intervention required), you have students burning effigies, signs and causing disturbances on college campuses and secession petitions being filed by some residents of the state of Texas (and over a dozen other states). With over 40,000 Texans signing this petition, I must admit…it’s true. This isn’t even scratching the surface on all of the other disgraceful antics displayed by members of the media, celebrities, sons of presidential opponents, etc that went unmentioned. On this day, I’m convinced that a great deal of the tom foolery allowed to go on with regard to the disrespect shown to the man sitting in the office of president of the United States is due to the his ancestral origin, I must admit…it’s true. When has it been allowed for a school to choose to not display the picture of the sitting president? When has it, or should it be, allowed for someone to lynch an effigy of a sitting president? At no time in American history have we seen a president, sitting or otherwise, disrespected at the level this one has. I, for one, am ashamed that we as a country cannot come together and do what needs to be done because some folks don’t want to follow someone that doesn’t look like them. I’m not saying everyone against him is against him because he’s black (that would be foolish and irresponsible), but I will say there is a contingent that’s making a noise that is wearing a brand new pair of these shoes and yes, they fit nicely, I must admit…it’s true. There are some who may be offended by this as there are others who think the same way but won’t say it.

Let’s be clear, I’m sick of folks thumping the racism card on the table every 10 seconds. I’m normally the last to make a claim of this nature (those who know me know this to be true)but in this case, I must admit…it’s true. It pains me to make this assertion in this case, but if you don’t see it the perhaps you need to take off the rose colored glasses. We, as a country, as a society, and as a people (American people) need to reexamine our relationships, our outlooks and reassess our allegiances. Do we really love our country, or are we for or against a particular person (or party)? Let’s all work together to stand firm for America, regardless of who sits as commander in chief. Respect the office, the man is just there for four more years.

It’s just my opinion, but I’m not wrong.

What’s the big deal?

Recently the Texas legislature voted that in order to vote in the state of Texas you need to be able to prove that you are who you say you are and provide identification. Democrats are arguing that requiring people to show picture ID is equal to voter suppression. This is ridiculous!!! Help me understand why it's an encumbrance to show ID in order to vote when you have to show ID to buy beer, watch some movies, etc and so on. I'm sitting here watching this idiot on the news harping on the fact that one of the acceptable forms of ID is a passport. She said, "How many people who work at McDonald's go to Europe every year and have a passport?" She further argued that having to show a birth certificate to get a state issued ID will cause some people to simply not vote.

Let me make myself perfectly clear, I totally agree that everyone who is seeks to exercise their right to vote ought to be required to establish their identity by producing identification when they show up to the polls. What's the alternative? Having my brothers and sisters come to Dallas to vote for me from Louisiana when I run for mayor? Having a son vote for his parents after they are deceased? Having felons votes even though they lost that right when they were convicted of their crime(s)? Having folks who aren't citizens enjoying yet another right of those of us who are citizens (along with all the others they already enjoy)? Arguing voter disenfranchisement, which is just code word for later calling it racial discrimination, is crap!!! Arguing that it's a hardship to have identification is crap!!! Arguing that you shouldn't have to have ID to practice such an important right we have as Americans is ludicrous!!! It's a right I practice whether the vote is for president, mayor or dog catcher, that's how important it is to me. It's just as important that mine counts for something. Having others enjoy that right who might not be worthy of that right makes mine worthless. So…if you want to vote, have a voice in your community, shape the future of your city, county (parish), state, and country then you need to get a driver's license, state issued id card or a passport. If you can't prove who you are, then you don't need to vote, plain and simple... stay home and complain about what's going on in the community.

It's Just My Opinion, but I'm Not Wrong!!!

Not now...not in 2008!

I was recently sent a copy of a letter that was printed in the Ft Worth Star-Telegram this past weekend (30 March 2008). The letter angered me, confused me, and then left me feeling sorry for its author. A scan of the letter is posted here for your perusal, but you can also go to the newspaper's website to read it along with others on the same topic at: http://www.star-telegram.com/244/story/551415.html

As I read the letter that Richard sent in to the paper, I was taken aback by the level of ignorance that was displayed. I even fired off an email to several friends in expression of this ire. After sleeping on it, I've come to the conclusion that this man is a victim. He's a victim of his own stupidity and the media images that he's chosen to take as the gospel. We all know that the media can twist the truth, or share certain aspects of the truth in order to shape our view of what we see. Don't believe me? Try something as simple as watching the local news this evening. See how the FOX, NBC, CBS, and ABC affiliates report the same stories. Mostly the same information, but pay attention to the verbiage and the emphasis. They did it back in the day to Malcolm X, they did it a few years ago to John Kerry, and they're doing it right now in this presidential race.

As it pertains to the stereotypes about blacks [men particularly], I encourage you to seek out and watch Janks Morton's documentary "What Black Men Think". Once you sift through the negro conservative rhetoric and the Robert Townsend "Hollywood Shuffle" level production, there are some truths in there that can open your eyes. Overall, my personal feelings are that letter is an exhibition of the idiocy of some people, even today in 2008. How we still have that splinter of society that has been hoodwinked and bamboozled by the media's images of a sector of society. The author of this letter obviously doesn't know that the ratio of black men going to college (relative to population) is higher than that of white men of their legion. He obviously doesn't know that of the 40 million poor and underprivileged in this country, 26 million look like him. It's an unfortunate truth that when the news reports anything about the poor, those receiving public assistance, etc they inevitably show stock [or real] footage of people of color [black or brown]. The purpose of this is for the poor whites to feel as though they have more in common with the wealthy and give black and brown the mindset of identification with the poor. This is no more an accident than it is that every time they put out their lists of beautiful people there are less than 10% people pf color. Try this when you get the chance - go to Target or Wal-Mart and look in the toy section; count the ratio of white dolls to dolls of color [ANY color]. This is all by design. Give us the mindset that our woman aren't beautiful, our plight is to be poor and that we are disenfranchised in the country of our birth. They even have us, still today, separating ourselves from our country. No other group gives themselves a name that separates them from America. We have to be African American, while they are white, hispanic, or asian.

This letter, while it should raise the ire of many blacks, it should also open our eyes. Yes, he's an idiot of epic proportions, but I shan't leave us out of the fray. Why, you ask? Because in every lie, there is some level of truth; unfortunately, we still have that contingent of niggers that give black people a bad name. On that same token there is a contingent of white bread crackers (like this imbecile) that make all white people look bad. I could get angry and say, "You can’t expect too much from someone whose mother is also their sister and their father is also their grandfather." However, I won't stoop to that level…whether it is true or not.

Sadly there are too many who buy into this type of crap. Unfortunately, many of those that do are people of color. Therefore, the objective has been reached, the disillusionment of a generation, they won’t expect anything more of themselves because society expects nothing of them. They believe the lie that there are more black men in prison than college, that black men don’t graduate high school, that they can only aspire to be a pro ball player or a drug dealer. That any job that doesn’t afford them the luxury cars (Maybach, Bentley, Benz, etc.) isn’t success. They believe the hype that all black people have bad credit, go everywhere late, we're supposed to be po (not poor) and that our men don’t marry their baby mommas or pay child support. They believe this crap. Until we, as a people, stand up and prove this wrong, they’ll keep believing this crap.

You see, there are several tragedies that this letter to the Ft Worth Star-Telegram brings to light. Not only is it a tragedy that this idiot was stupid enough to audibalize this moronic attempt at profundity; it is also a tragedy that this 'supposedly' reputable media outlet was irresponsible enough to print it; but the biggest tragedy is that there is some modicum of what he said that is true. That’s what really angers me. If we, as a people, were in a place where we could indisputably say that none of what this idiot says is true, then I’d be happy. To a certain extent, everything he said is untrue, relative to the proportion of the blacks that are guilty of these transgressions. However, we can each readily name at least one person who is guilty of each of the line items he accused us of. This being the case, there are far too many of them out there that need to change. Yes, we need to be mad as hell about this letter and the lunacy of the assertions made in it. We also need to retrieve the perpetrators of the actions he’s accusing us of and collectively whip them into shape individually and corporately to make everything he said a lie. Then and only then, might we rid ourselves of this niggardly activity and thus, shed the auspicious title of always being the trifling, rabble-rousing, boisterous, ignorant fools that we’ve been called.

It’s just my opinion, but I’m not wrong!