How’s this for a conversation starter? If you’re not caring about Mother Earth, you might reconsider after reading what happens to much of the plastic we use on a continuous basis.
July 21, 2009
Now Our Scholars Are Being Targeted?
News on the arrest of Henry Louis gates Jr. What does it mean when scholars of color become targets? Not that I think the police officers were educated enough to realize who the man was-I am hard pressed to give them that much credit-but why not give the alleged criminal your name and badge number? This is a perfect example of why the colorblind theories that whites want to espouse simply don’t work. Even Gorgias couldn’t get me to believe that if he were white, he would have been arrested just the same.
June 30, 2009
Boricuas at Tuskegee
Despite what we are taught about our differences, we have been aligned with our African bretheren longer than anyone chooses to believe-or in some sad cases- to admit. Check thsi out…
June 30, 2009
The Best Jobs For Women
According to this report, women are still consistently earning less than men, being payed about 80% as much as their male counterparts with on exception; speech language pathology. At any rate, this article is worth taking the time to read if you have yet decided on what you want to be when you grow up. As expected, being a professor didn’t even make the list! LOL
June 25, 2009
This is what happens when ” in loco parentis” goes awry
If anyone at school would have insisted on searching my daughter’s underwear for prescription drugs, let’s just say the words BAIL MONEY would have taken on new meaning for me. And the fact that Clarence Thomas was the only judge on the Supreme Court that disagreed with the outcome only makes me hate his ass more. The man is so much more than a Anita Hill’s sexual harasser-he is a die hard misogynist.
June 11, 2009
Murder at a Museum
Well, folks, I really don’t even know what to say about this, except to reiterate what I have said in previous posts: white folks are getting more scared by the day, and fear is a powerful motivator . Yes, oppressors are concerned about the consistent changes, and yes, the power structure is becoming impacted in tangible ways. That said, not much has really changed. A simple query demonstrates that while things are definitely changing for the better, why is it that white folks are still getting away with murder (especially when the victims are people of color)? And why is it that these accidents seem to happen with very real regularity? How, exactly, is it that I can’t get a pair of small scissors on an airplane (they were confiscated and classified as a weapon), and yet an 88 year old white supremacist can get a gun (and a big one at that!) into a museum? And please allow me to add that this is not some run of the mill, artsy, NYC spot. We’re talking about the The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington!!!! HELLO??? The two buzz words here are: U.S. and Washington. That alone screams intense security measures. Add to that the statement by Joseph Rosboschil, director of security at the museum, whereby he claims that he “believes the museum has a much higher level of security than other Washington museums”. WHAT?! Again, I ask-how did this man get in without setting off all kinds of alarms?
Now I am not one to subscribe to conspiracy theories, but it seems to me there is more going on here than just a simple murder. I’m just saying…how else do you explain the murder of Officer Omar Edwards (who just happens to be black), by Officer Dunton (who just happens to be white)? The details don’t do much to convince me it wasn’t premeditated. Edwards was shot six times by Dunton from fifteen feet away. FIFTEEN FEET! It was my understanding that the primary objective, in circumstances where officers must use their guns, is to wound the suspect-not kill them. How the hell do you wound someone by shooting them six times from fifteen feet away? In my estimation, the action undertaken by Dunton was indeed premeditated. Then, adding insult to injury, police officials are claiming that Edwards was mistaken for a suspect that Dunton struggled with just before the shooting. So am I to understand that this dunce was unable to distinguish between the man he struggled with and the victim? Really? I can honestly say that once I engage in fisticuffs with someone, I am able to recognize them-ESPECIALLY FROM FIFTEEN FEET AWAY. A case of mistaken identity? I think not.
And can I just mention the picture of Dunton that is being circulated? His high school senior picture? Really? Talk about visual rhetoric; the picture depicts innocence, naivete, and the youth often associated with harsh, impulsive, irresponsible decision making. Are you trying to tell me that there is no other picture of him? How about the one that all officers have taken while in (or just having graduated from) the academy? THAT’S the picture I want to see-the one where he looks like a grown ass man, making grown man decisions. Now don’t get me wrong. The picture of Edwards is also rhetorically complimentary with regard to demonstrating his humanity-but it does nothing in representing him as an officer of the law, or as a man of authority. I would have preferred for both pictures of them to have been in uniform, but then again that would have a presented a much stronger case for the wrong that has been done here.
Folks, these murders occurred within 14 days of each other. That’s an average of one black man a week. AND, promoting Officer Edwards to first grade detective on the day of his funeral is not going to make us forget that he was murdered; it just makes us more suspicious. Maybe it’s time I revist my original stance regarding conspiracy theories.
May 31, 2009
(R)acists (N)oticably (C)holeric
This just in: The RNC is outraged that Obama had the nerve to go and see August Wilson’s “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.” How dare he spend a night out with his wife, even though it is NOT at taxpayer’s expense! And, the RNC claims, that he is doing this while countless families will be forced to claim bankruptcy once GM closes! Futhermore, RNC spokeswoman Gail Gitcho said if Obama wanted to go to the theater, “isn’t the Presidential box at the Kennedy Center good enough?”. WELL…here’s a news flash for you, Gail: SOME OF US ACTUALLY PREFER TO ATTEND OUR OWN CULTURAL EVENTS INSTEAD OF WHITE ONES. I know Gail, I know-you guys are running scared because for the first time in a long time, the status quo is being upset. First racists had to tolerate the LANSLIDE WIN of an African American President. NOW, you have to sit by and witness all of the changes regarding the ways in which government money is spent, the AUTHENTIC display of care and concern for the “disadvantaged” (a.k.a. people of color), and a fair shot at health insurance for everyone? WHAT’S NEXT??? Oh wait! I forgot that in adding insult to injury, he had the unmitigated gall to nominate a LATINA for Supreme Court Justice. Now the RNC (a.k.a. Racists Noticably Choleric) has inadvertently released their talking points conerning the nomination? I don’t think it was by accident at all, but instead a clear case of protectum rectum”.
All of this rhetorically constructed outrage is bullshit-plain and simple. Additionally, it creates some burning questions in my mind, such as:
1. Where was Bush on Septemberr 11th? Did he jump out of his seat when given the news that THOUSANDS of people were murdered? NOPE.
2. Where was Bush when victims of Katrina were drowning, dying from injuries, while watching their homes being washed away? And please don’t think that because he was called on his shit by fellow Republicans that it makes his (lack of) response any easier to accept.
3. Where are the weapons of mass destruction that Bush said were such a danger we had to sacrafice so many innocent lives to go to war?
AND THE BEST QUESTION OF ALL IS:
4. How are the woes of General Motors (that took root LONG before Obama became President) enough of a tragedy to prevent our new President from paying attention to his familial obligations? Um….excuse me, but I think that continuing to sit on your ass in a fifth grade classroom after being told that thousands of people were just killed because two planes crashed into the Twin Towers is a tragedy. I think that utilizing a hurricane as a tool of genocide against African Americans is a tragedy. I think that starting a war under false pretenses because you want to steal oil from the Middle East is a tragedy. However, taking your wife to a Broadway play like you promised is just being a good husband. PERIOD. In light of the fact that he has accomplished more in four months than the Dummy did in eight years, I feel compelled to add that a night on the town is more than well deserved.
I think when we begin to assess what is really going on here, the criticism/reactions surrounding Obama’s night out with his wife only demonstrates that the racism and hate that has been covert for so long is becoming much more difficult to hide. Racists in our government are feeling fearful. The carefully constructed rhetoric they once hid behind is becoming muddled, and they are slowly but surely being unmasked. Or perhaps change is happening so fast that even their best rhetoricians can’t keep up; after all, is not like the last eight years were filled with any real change.
May 25, 2009
Hasta Cuando?
How long will we have to tolerate blatant racism? How much longer will overt disrespect for our new president go on without any retribution? When I come across reports like this one, I can’t help but ask myself why, in this (supposed) progressive event in our country’s history, our joy must be consistently peppered with death threats and monkey metaphors. A quick glance backwards demonstrates the ineptitude of many presidents gone by-M-A-N-Y. Yet even though our current commander and chief is a Harvard grad, the first African American to become president of the Harvard Law Review, and a devoted community activist, since his victory we have not been allowed to enjoy our moment. Yes, this is OUR moment. Perhaps that the issue at hand; the authentic opportunity to upset the status quo-the (im)balance of white power. Yes, that must be it, because nothing else make sense. After all, it wasn’t us (brown people) that wanted a mediocre “C” student wannabe warlord for a president. We didn’t choose the one that lied to ALL Americans when he started this latest war. Sure, he had some folks of color backing him-no doubt those that have self colonized and actually believed that they were “accepted” by the white majority- but that is another conversation.
Have you ever thought about how many Presidents actually cared about people of color? If you decide to take an inventory I think you might be surprised at how far back the imbalance of power goes, and the rhetoric embodied to cover up what was really going on. Now I’m no pundit to be sure, but as someone trained in linguistics and rhetoric, I can certainly read between the lines. And for those who decry the “historical moment” needs to be considered and the “good intentions” involved shouldn’t be overlooked, allow me to remind you where good intentions lead, and that we live in a capitalist society where the bottom line has and will always trump all intentions-good or bad.
Now for white folks, what I am about to suggest will probably not be surprising or create feelings of dismay. But for those of us that understand the subtle nuances of oppression, this brief timeline of events might give you food for thought:
Thomas Jefferson: He is said to have been the greatest of all presidents. There is no question that he was an intelligent man to be sure, but how can an adulterer who fathered 7 children with (slave) Sally Hemings, whom he did not free until they were 21 years of age, be a model to follow? Add to this the fact that he endorsed slavery and Indian removal when the Indians were found to be uncivilized”. He was intent on total and complete assimilation, with the final result being the complete abolishment of cultural traditions, indigenous language(s), and of course, native religious ideology.
The Monroe Doctrine (12/2/1823): A short little diddy that prevented Europe from colonizing any part of the United States, because any further attempts on the part of Latin America to conquer any more land would be seen as an act of aggression. The Old World and the New World were to remain apart. Okay, that’s straightforward enough. But what do those of us that happen to be brown in this New World do when we are the ones being colonized, exploited, and forcibly assimilated? In layman’s terms-we can mistreat the people of color here (in the U.S.), but don’t you try it! The Doctrine was never legally enforced (except by Britain), but as metaphors go, they took the idea and ran with it, especially with respect to Puerto Rico & Vieques.
Andrew Jackson: This guy was a veritable firecracker! During the first Seminole War, he took on the Indians he wanted removed, and when charged (by Monroe) with the responsibility of preventing escaped slaves ( is this an oxymoron of sorts?) from going to Spanish Florida, he thought the best way to do that would be to terminate them. And the best part about THIS is that the orders given by Monroe were so carefully constructed rhetorically that he (Monroe) could deny culpability to any of Jackson’s misinterpretations. Of course, Jackson wasn’t president yet, but this was one hell of a start!
The Ostend Manifesto (1854) was a secret document created by Franklin Pierce to secretly acquire Cuba from Spain, and also dealt with the expansion of slavery. here’s a surprise: it was linked to the Monroe Doctrine and was probably the catalyst in the Spanish American war. Oh wait! This is how Puerto Rico became a colony in the first place….
Do you see a trend? We have been at the lower end of the political power pole since the beginning. Now that we have someone that might actually represent us we clearly pose a threat. Finally, let’s not forget what happens to fair minded presidents.
Who has gained from our colonization, exploitation, lack of success, and slavery? NOT US. And that’s why we should be more aware of what is being said and the rhetoric utilized not only to say it, but to hide it. Monkey metaphors don’t hide the true meaning of what is being said, and despite the historical pattern of oppression, none of it is funny. Now it’s your turn to read between the lines-as often as you think you need to.
May 8, 2009
Who’s Going to Louisville?
Today at 11:59 p.m. is the deadline for submitting a proposal to CCCC’s. For those of you that are not sure what the call for papers is about, you can find it here. I know it’s short notice, but I was busy myself composing a panel proposal regarding ethnic discourses. The panel we (R.C.E.R. & R.S., and myself) proposed examines the possibilities when we combine ethnic discourses with the current body of knowledge in our field. Basically, each of our papers looks at language practices and alternate discursive practices created by unauthorized voices, some of which were forced to compose in oppressed spaces. I think our papers are definitely A-game worthy, but then again, we are CCR; and we are B-A-D. One quick glance at past conferences tells the tale of a doctoral program that always rolls deep at the conference. Yeah, I know it’s bragging-but I can’t help it. I love my program, my professors, and my colleagues. And I can’t wait to see them (if invited to present) next year in Louisville!
