Disappearing White Privilege?

I must say, I hate when people relegate racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia to Mississippi. I hate it because I travel extensively. I follow the news extensively. I'm a history bug. I consider all of the above -hatred - an American problem; not one exclusive to any state or region of the country. From Watts, to Detroit, to Chicago, to Memphis to Jackson to Dallas to Washington D.C., senseless acts of violence have erupted in this country, taking the lives (or in the case of Reagan, attempting to take the lives) of some of our most promising leaders.
When historians write of these times, most of them talk about the politico-economic uncertainty that produced flames of fear and hatred. What they don't talk about is the importance of the hot air coming out of people's mouths that whipped those flames into 5-alarm fires of violence. Case in point: the Oklahoma bombing of 1995 was not a random act of violence. It was carefully planned and orchestrated. Could it also be that Mr. McVeigh, and other domestic terror groups are being given signals to use extremism and violence against opposing points of view from Conservative -often Republican -leaders?
With the passage of the health care bill, the secret service has seen an increase in terror threats against Democratic lawmakers. In Ohio, New York, and even in Washington D.C., seemingly random acts of violence and racial/sexual epithets have been hurled at lawmakers. In Pinson, Alabama, a Mr. Mike Vanderboegh is calling for like-minded patriots to break the windows of Democratic lawmakers before rifle owners have to resort to pulling guns in a new revolution. Mr. Vanderboegh is not patriotic enough, however, to turn down his government-issued social security disability checks which support his suburban lifestyle. Michelle Bachmann, giving an interview earlier this week, described herself as a "foreign correspondent on enemy lines." I saw senior Republican Party members fan the flames of angry Tea Party members by waving their flag back and forth. Meanwhile, on the floor of government, Republicans are just now proposing some sane amendments to the health care bill. Why now? We don't even know what's in the health care bill. Neither does Mr. Vanderboegh. And I'm willing to bet that most of those Tea Party members don't know, either.
So, what's the real issue here? We know that the Congressional Budget Office said that the new health care bill actually reduces the deficit, and is not guaranteed to grow the government. So, what are these people really wailing about? Most of them receive Medicare/Medicaid or some form of assistance. Those who are not already receiving this benefit, will certainly qualify for it in the future. So, I ask again, what's really going on here?
It is my belief that domestic terrorism and anger at government increase from those who stand to benefit the most from government increase is a screen for a more American problem: that of hatred. These people are terrified of losing what they feel is some sort of white privilege. In America, whiteness is a property that comes with not only a form of normalization of life and experiences, but with a certain intrinsic value protected by legal, social, and economic institutions. J. W. Cash called it the Proto-Dorian bond, and it is to be guarded and watered by the "blood of tyrants" who dare take it away. One of the cornerstones of white privilege is that it is exclusive. In order to enjoy this white privilege, one needs first and foremost, white skin. I think that may be all, because certainly the throngs of poor white people gathered in Washington D.C. and who live and benefit from government intervention, have nothing to gain under Republican rulership, which leans toward big business. According to W. J. Cash, the Proto-Dorian bond is a feeling of unity and support that unites whites across all class lines in a common culture of white supremacy. So, it was no slip of the tongue when Pat Buchanan, when being interviewed by Rachel Maddow, claims that white men alone built this country and its theirs.
All of this violence, protesting, screaming, and yelling is not about Big Government. It's not about health care. It's not about the deficit. If you ask me, these are just code words in a common culture of white supremacy. White supremacists feel like they are under attack, and may very well lose the white privilege they've enjoyed for more than three centuries in the United States of America. They are angry at the white people who voted for Barack Obama. They are angry at the white lawmakers who would betray them by guaranteeing immigrants and minorities a share of that seemingly shrinking American Pie. Most of all, they are afraid, and their leaders are stoking that fear every day. People like John Boehner, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Michelle Bachmann, Sarah Palin, John McCain...good white American people who stand up to this "socialist/communist takeover" are their last hopes. In true American fashion, they react the only way they know how: with hateful words and equally violent actions that follow. If this violence results in tragedy, I think the people who are fanning the flames should also be held accountable, not just the participants of the protests and acts.

Barack Obama, Political Chess Master II (Special Commentary)

Last night, I watched as this historic healthcare reform passed. There was much drama and action. The procedure itself has the making of a very good movie: the Tea Party members spitting on members of Congress and calling them racial/sexual epithets, Jessie Jackson Jr. having to bang that gabble and raise his voice to call for order during a very heated verbal exchange, John Boehner invoking scripture trying to shame a few more Democrats away from the "Yes" box. I tell you. I was on the edge of my seat.

The highlight came when a cool President Obama, standing in front of a very emotional and passionate Vice President Biden said, "This is what change looks like." As cool and as calm as expect any Black man to be, he looked square into the eyes of his political adversaries and he said in so many words, "Checkmate."
I bubbled over with laughter. My eyes brimmed with tears as I remembered the Lion of the Senate, a rich man who devoted almost his entire career to attaining healthcare for those less fortunate than himself. Then, I became uncontrollably angry because the public option/expansion of Medicaid for everyone is not in this bill. Why in the Hell would they take out such a huge victory for the American people? I mean, it's such a big bill that includes....

Then, exactly ten minutes after Barack Obama declared "checkmate," I realized that I don't know what is in this bill. Yes, I am a political junkie who watches at least four hours of political commentary every day, and I don't know what the heck is in this bill. I know if I don't know what's in it, all of those fanatics out there yelling about socialized medicine don't know, either.
So far, the coverage of this historic change has not been on the specifics of this bill. We saw the sausage making process, but not the ingredients of the links. Media focus has been on the strategy of the game, the coaches' game plays on each side, rather than what was happening on the field. Who wins? Who loses? Who's going to suffer at the polls? Who's going to benefit? What's Obama going to do next? How have the Republicans been so effective at controlling the message? What message? Aside from scaring the hell out of folks about death panels and "socialized medicine," there hasn't been a message.

So, the public option is out, but what's in? I don't know. The opposers of the bill don't know. This factor, including the ramping up of the rhetoric of fear and the constant referral to this bill as "Obama care", further affirms my view that this whole ordeal has been more about fear of what this Black man, leader of the free world, can do than about policy-making. Inciting violence against Barack Obama and the Democrats smacks of the jealous jouissance of Southern lynch picnics. What was that dark day in America's history all about? Power play dynamics and phallic authority. Just listen to Rush Limbaugh...you don't have to take my word for it.

Sadly, our public discourse is stil informed by white supremacy and jealous sexual projections. Sadly, those people who were out there spitting on lawmakers and taunting them probably need that help the most. Sadly, those people out there probably cannot even define the very words that very rich, white men like Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh told them to use. Sadly, Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh know exactly what they are doing. Sadly, those folks do not know that they are being used in a powerful class war and a fear of redistribution of wealth and elitism. They are no better than those young, poor white boys who died in the Civil War to enrich the pockets of wealthy plantation overlords, a class they could never belong to. Sadly, those people and their children will also benefit the most from the passage of such a bill, in spite of their manifest hatred.

So, even though President Obama cannot directly say it to his adversaries, I will. Check mate. "On to the next one" in the words of Jay-Z.

Some advice for all political pundits -liberal and conservatives - get used to a new, cooler style of leadership. We are dealing with a very calculated political genius, not someone prone to egotistical, masculine posture. There's actually some substance behind his exterior, and nobody can rush him. He's the chess master. You don't rush a chess master before he makes his move. He must study the board from every angle. He must study his opponent's peices from every angle, anticipate his move, and be prepared to counter it. That takes more than posturing. That takes brains. And brains is what we have back in the White House after an eight year vacuum.

Not in Faith that We Walk, but Sight

Right now, I need to talk to the Bible Belt African American family. I'm not excluding others from this conversation, it's just that the Bible Belt is the reality that I know and can comment on. Family from other parts of the country, if you want to weigh in on this, go ahead and do so. Also keep in mind that I am a post-post-post young adult. I am post-Civil Rights, post-feminism, and post-Reaganism.

For the past month of Sundays, my pastor has preached a series of sermons called, "From the Crumb to the Loaf." His question is, why are we settling for crumbs when Jesus promises the whole loaf? Why are we taking humiliating words at a crumby job from crumby bosses that we hate to buy crumby cars and clothes to put in our crumby houses? Why are we staying in the same crumby neighborhoods, marrying crumby people, and raising crumby kids? His theory is that we are afraid and full of fear. We stay at those jobs because, either for fear of failure or fear of success, we are afraid to do otherwise. Why tangle with the devil you don't know when you know how to deal with the one you do?

These sermons have at once inspired me and terrified me. They have put my mind at ease but have put my faith in my people ill at ease. These sermons have answered many questions, and have caused me to raise questions that I so badly wanted to bury.

What my pastor did not mention, is an economic factor. For many African Americans, moving up into the middle class is new. Having nice homes, cars that run, being able to buy whatever out of the grocery and clothing stores is a new thing for them. For the first time, being able to live like many white Americans have always lived leaves one feeling new and satisfied. It's good to make a little economic progress. Right?

But what about the spiritual? What about our souls? Better yet, do Black people even believe in God any more, or have we surrendered our faith to the man-made, Bitch-goddess of material success? For those of you getting angry at this post, you have to remember that I grew up when people were killing each other for a pair of Jordans, and that Jordan never even acknowledged any of this.

In order to keep receiving a pay check so that we can pay mortgages on overpriced homes, do we keep quiet when injustices are directed towards us and our people? I have seen this happen in all levels of the educational system. In fact, we may take it a step further and tell our children that they can't go to college, and discourage our own boys.

Do we let supervisors talk to us like children or pets, and treat us like we don't have the common sense of a dog, and continue to say, "I know who I am at the end of the day. And my bills are paid, so they doesn't bother me?" How long will it take for the condescending attitudes to bother you? Can you look in the mirror and not be bothered after swallowing a humiliating remark from a supervisor? At your job, do you feel the need to compete with younger people, and make them feel bad? They are half your age, the Bible said you should be teaching them, not competing with them. So if you are a middle-aged worker, why are you jealous of somebody who is probably younger or the same age as your children? I can't tell you how many of my friends get harassed by folk who should be teaching them and passing the torch. What are we doing instead, Baby Boomers?

Women, are we going to subscribe to a gold-digger mentality, and continue to latch onto others when we can go to school and major in anything we want? In case you don't know, doctors and lawyers bring home as many trophy wives as athletes. Are we going to raise another generation of Black children to be dependent upon Section 8, food stamps, and Social Security disability benefits? Does nobody see anything wrong with making a child pretend to have ADHD or some other mental disability for $350/month? What's $350/month, when you could push that child into a liberal arts college or a trade, and that child could stand to make $350/day/week, according to his/her career choice?

And church folk...Why have we turned our faith into a cash cow? Why is Black America still struggling when we have more megachurches than football stadiums? Especially here in Memphis...why is Hickory Hill fastly becoming one of the most crime-ridden sectors of the city when there are two megachurches within five miles of each other? Why are more us becoming homeless with nowhere to go when some our churches can house thousands of members at a time? Why do we continue to attend church? Why do we need $1000 suits on to be in church? Why do we have to be dressed to be blessed? Why do we shout on Sunday and sang that we trust in the Lord, and let a supervisor half our ages treat us like children because we are scared to venture out for another form of employment? Why do we say we are God's children, and then are overcome by the devil spirits of fear and material acquirement? Don't get me wrong, we need money to survive in this world. Nobody wants to be in a state of discomfort, either. But when does it go beyond being comfortable? How low are we stooping for extra money? How much of ourselves are we willing to sell or betray Christian, black folk?

In short, my pastor's sermons have forced me to ask, are we an amoral people? Do we trade in God for the almighty dollar? Do we let all of the rights and priviledges that people have marched and died for slip away for a couple of extra cents to the hour? Is the prospect of having a big, showy, overpriced home and car worth crippling our children? We are failing to teach our children our own history, and for what? If you have moved from the farms of Mississippi to the ghetto of Detroit, have you really made any progress? Or, have you just made lateral movement? If you gave up 10 acres of land that your family owned in Alabama for apartment rent in Richmond, what have you accomplished? Is it safe to say that you've moved backwards for the sake of being able to look down on your country cousins, make a few jokes, and call them "Bama?" Are we returning ourselves back to slavery? Are we trading rurual slavery for urban slavery? Are we doing it on a volunteer basis?

Oh, yeah, 29.9% on a maxed out credit card is slavery! And you know what the worst part is, we are destroying our children, families, and futures for trinkets. What's a pair of Jordans or a new set of rims compared to the rest of our lives? Have we traded in our walking by faith for cheap trinkets? Let the rappers tell it, we got cars, clothes, and 'hos, but where, Black America, where are our souls?