Apologize? For real? For What?

For a very long time there have been double standards in this society and I’ve said before, like I’ll say now, it’s preposterous to hold someone else to a standard that we won’t meet. In the most recent example of gross ignorance and foolishness, Harry Reid was subjected to the ire of those who cried foul over a comment he made. Certainly some have ‘given him a pass’ due to his voting history and political legacy. However, why is a pass necessary? Ok, for those who aren’t familiar with what I’m saying, in a conversation he was having Reid was asked about the likelihood of [then senator] Obama becoming president of the US. His response, in part, was, ‘…a good chance of winning acceptance among white voters because he was a "light skinned" African-American who had "no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one." Many f9lks have issue with him making this statement for a veritable cornucopia of reasons. Let’s look at some of them.

First, some folks say this is a racist statement because Reid says that Obama is light skinnded (you know that’s how some of y’all say it). Then there are those who have issue with him saying that he’s trying to win acceptance among white voters. Others have issue with him saying that he had no ‘negro dialect’ [unless he wanted to have one]. Still others are miffed because he used the word negro. The list goes on, one idiotic reason to be angry after another. Not to mention the fuel being poured on the fires by the republican party relegating this statement to the statements made by Trent Lott back in the day.

To judge a person’s racial feelings/stance based on one statement is even more moronic than actually being a racist. For white folk, they have to walk on eggshells around black folks. They don’t want to call us the wrong thing…some black folk like to be called African American…others Negro…others Black…other Afro-American…still others call each other Nigger/Niggah/Nigga/Nicca and think it’s ok. Hell, they make one wrong statement and they’re labeled a racist. Just dumb as hell! We need to stop having such thin skin and look at the whole situation before making rash, emotional decisions and judgments. Why is it okay for a hip hop performer to use the word nigger (or any derivative thereof) in a song, but black folks look at a white person sideways if they’re singing a song and they don’t skip that word. Man, DAMN YOU!!! If they like the song and they want to sing along then they have just as much right to do so as you do. The issue ain’t with them winging along with a song, it’s with the word being in the song in the first place. I’m one of those black folks who will correct you in a heartbeat (regardless of race) if I’m called nigger (or any derivative thereof) or African/Afro American. The reasons behind my feelings about the label nigger go without saying. On the other hand, I’m an American who happens to be black (or negro). I believe I’m perpetrating when I call myself African American like someone who purports to be a Sigma and hasn’t crossed the burning sands. Why, you ask? I believe if you can’t name a person in your family that actually lived in Africa (or even visited the continent) you have no business claiming the country. Especially if you count back three generations and all were born in the US. Omini, Martin, and Barack Obama are all African Americans because they were born in America, but their fathers were born in Africa [mothers as well-except Obama]. Besides, when I traced my family history, my lineage is Portuguese on one side and Haitian on the other [hence the last name with French implications]. Too many folks have bled, sweat and cried for me to have the right to call myself an American. I disrespect their struggle when I insist on diluting that with anything else.

All of that being said, how many readers of this offering had the same conversation about Pres. Obama’s candidacy, complexion and diction? I know I did. We all know that if he had run with the complexion of Djimon Hounsou and the diction of 50 Cent he wouldn’t have made it to the senate, much less the White House. So what was the real issue with the statement he made? Rather than looking at the statement and trying to figure out if it was racist or not, why not look at it, assess its validity and evaluate it properly. It’s a more damning commentary on the reality of black folks in America than a statement that’s derogatory of black folks. Now, on one hand, I won’t hire anyone to work for me who can’t have a conversation without saying ‘umm’, ‘ya feel me’, and ‘know what I’m sayin’ like they just made a rap video. Therefore I definitely wouldn’t want to have them as president and representing me throughout the world. On the other hand, I believe it’s true that he wouldn’t have been as successful [or not at all] if his mother wasn’t white, therefore making his complexion lighter than had his mother been the same hue as his father. Therefore this gives the inference that the lighter the complexion the better the person. This divisive notion has been implanted in the minds of black America for years (circa Willie Lynch). We have to learn to see past it and for the most part many of us have. However, it does still exist.

We must stop allowing our buttons to be pushed for foolishness. I’m neither republican nor democrat, but I know a sham when I see one. This statement, made in a private conversation (I didn’t even address that part of it) needed no apology, public or private, and is an opinion shared by most. Go back and listen to Pres. Obama’s speech on race, he said the same thing himself. It was blown out of proportion by media outlets looking for a story and the republican party seeking to get Reid out of office and a republican in there. Sen. Reid should have responded to this report like he did in the photo. Followed by the question, “Who gon’ check me boo?’

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

So you organized your community huh?

The other night I sat and watched the republican nominee for vice-president of the United States make a moving speech. One in which she defended herself against attacks from the media that should never have been done (leave the kids alone); she introduced us to her family and her daughter’s fiancé (why was he even there?); she talked about her accomplishments as mayor (whatever); and her accomplishments on the town council in the same town (far from congressional experience). She also told us how she exemplified being a reformer in the top post in Alaska, the governor’s office (poor brother-in-law). Much of this was impressive. However, she, and the ‘grand ole party’ faithfuls who spoke before her went down a path that they really shouldn’t have. They chose to belittle Obama’s experience as a community organizer as though it meant nothing; as though it made no significant impact on the lives of those he helped; as though no one today remembers who he is, what he did or the fact that it was done for free. She made the unfortunate decision to continue on the path trodden by Guliani.

After watching the diatribe of malevolent verbiage scoffing at Senator Obama, and everyone who, like him, saw a need in the community and took it by the horns rather than waiting until they got in a ‘position’ to do it. They saw a need and met that need. They made fun of community organizations like the NAACP, the SCLC, the brothers of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Iota Phi Theta, the sisters of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Sigma Gamma Rho, as well as the illustrious Royal Blue family of Zeta Phi Beta Sigma. These are all community service organizations that do what they do because it needs to be done. These organizations and many more not listed here, don’t do what they do because they are receiving a government paycheck or recognition for that matter. They go to their respective jobs and then take time away from their families and lives to do what needs to be done in their communities JUST BECAUSE IT NEEDS OT BE DONE! While the BGLO’s wear different colors, were founded in different paces and on different days, they have a common foundational purpose, the innate desire of bettering their respective communities.

With this in mind, anyone who has worked as a community organizer should have been insulted when Rudy Guliani said, “…Barack Obama has never led anything, nothing, nada.” After quipping that he had experience as a community organizer. We should all be bothered by the fact that Sarah Palin, moose hunter extrordinairre, says, “…it’s not just a community and it just doesn’t need an organizer” as the gop guffawed their approval. What more is this country than one huge community? We are all Americans and we all have the same core values (for the most part) and what more does a president do than organize a cabinet, advisers, etc and assure that the country runs properly? Unless you’re GW, then you listen to the advisors and then do what you want to.

What I saw on that stage was a war cry…stirring the proverbial pot for continuing to fight in Iraq and the rest of that region; affirming that everyone in the convention center agrees that we’re winning the war on terror with the surge in Iraq. Let’s make this clear, the republicans keep stating that Obama will raise taxes. Anyone who knows anything about politics know that’s what democrats do. They create a bunch of social programs that help some people, cripple others and raise taxes to pay for them. However, what the republicans showed me the other night is that they will be raising taxes as well. They’ll keep us in a war that costs this country more in a month than Obama’s healthcare plan will cost us in a year. I’d rather find that than a war that no one knows why we’re fighting.

Furthermore, for this party to make fun of the grassroots, feet on the pavement warriors who go out every day and get things done, means they are not only making fun of those organizations I listed earlier, but let me introduce you to some others they are ridiculing.

• Susan B. Anthony was a very well known leader in women’s suffrage. She played a very important role in the women's rights and was integral in securing women's right to vote in this country. In order to accomplish this, she didn’t get elected to town council or governor, she traveled and gave speeches, organizing the community behind a cause and a movement. Even after the right to vote was granted, she continued this effort for almost 45 years.
• Martin Luther King, Jr, while he’s best known for his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech on the steps of the Lincoln, but he was a preacher and activist in addition to being a community organizer. His accomplishments are many and the impact on the lives of others is still felt today.
• Cesar Estrada Chaves was a Mexican-American farm worker, labor leader, and civil rights activist as well as community organizer. He was one of the founders of the National Farm Workers Association. He worked with them as well as the Community Service Organization. Due to his work, many Latinos relish the right to vote and make their voices and votes count. His efforts achieved fair labor conditions and a fair working wage for migrant workers. His work was so well known that then Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (later to be attorney general) called him "one of the heroic figures of our time."
• Dorothy Day was a journalist, social activist and devout member of the Catholic Church. She became known for her social justice campaigns in defense of the poor, forsaken, hungry and homeless. Day, with Peter Maurin, founded the Catholic Worker Movement in 1933, espousing nonviolence, and hospitality for the impoverished and downtrodden.
• Mohandas Gandhi peacefully led the people of India in effort to acquire labor fairness, women's rights, and ethnic tolerance, and he helped secure the freedom of a nation. Wonder if anyone remembers him in that country?
• Jesus Christ advocated for the poor, for the sick, for the socially excluded. His legacy continues to help provide people solace during their "quiet storms." His community helped found the religion known as Christianity. He said "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
  

When the republicans made fun of community leaders they further separated themselves from ‘real people’ with ‘real issues’. They fail to realize the importance of the inspiration these people bring to people in every community. They insulted the support base for one major community organizer in doing so as well.

• Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton worked hard to galvanize a constituency behind her and put 18 million cracks in a glass ceiling, in doing so inspired millions of Americans, especially women, to realize that they can reach the highest level in all fields of life.

What they fail to realize is the fact that this country was founded by community organizers like Ben Franklin, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson. Men who realized that the country should be run by citizens who ‘temporarily’ become lawmakers (hence George Washington’s short time as president), not by lifetime career politicians like McCain. People who make laws that benefit the country as a whole including the common man because they are the common man, not someone who has received a government check for over 30 years and has never had a regular job. They forget that the American way was forged by citizens who stepped out on faith and went against the status quo; people who set trends and forged paths; people who were relentless in their pursuit of justice, equality, and freedom. American was built on the backs of people who did what they did for a better America, not because they were paid to do it; but because those who were wouldn’t do it. This country was set firm due to the actions of a community activist who said, “If you hear the dogs…keep going. If you see thee torches…keep going; if they shout after you…keep going; don’t ever stop…keep going. If you want to taste freedom, you have to keep going." [Harriet Tubman]

I advised a friend that I still had not made up my mind who I’d vote for as we spoke last week. I said I was going to wait until after Barack’s speech at the close of the DNC and McCain’s at the close of the RNC so I could weigh the two evenly. Unfortunately, I lied. I made up my mind after hearing Palin’s speech and witnessing the fervor surrounding it. I fell asleep on McCain’s speech last night so what he did or did not say really played no role in my decision NOT to vote for him. You see, being one who has worked as a ‘community organizer’ and in several capacities, I still do, I desire to support a ticket that respects those in the community that actually do the work whether the camera is there or not. Those who not only do it for free, but those who make a difference and are under compensated for their efforts like the police, fire, teachers, and military men and women of this country.

I read somewhere that “…it's never really about the organizer; it's about the community...” and what more is America, than one huge community?

I’ve made my decision and will stick with it. You MUST make your own and get out and vote on November 4…I don’t care which you chose all I ask is that you choose wisely and choose whomever makes best sense for you AND America.

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