I Need the GOP to Stop Caring About Me

I could wax rhapsodic about the paternalism of White liberalism. In many ways the party that boasts a high percentage of Black support can often be a place where actual Black people are treated like creatures too childlike and ignorant to help themselves. But despite the right's best attempts, they are not shifting this paradigm and helping Blacks get off the "liberal plantation" but rather attempting to install themselves as the new overseers. So to the GOP I have one thing to say: stop caring about me. 

In the past two months, Newt Gingrich has used his (failing) campaign, to expound on what the poor (read: Black) community "needs". Apparently with Newt by our side, we will be able to be janitors, learn how to wake up and earn a paycheck, and stop demanding food stamps. Thank you Newt, for saying the hard statements and asking the hard questions. I, for one, welcome our new master and hope to bask in the light of his .... I'm sorry my eyes just rolled back so far in my head I lost sight of what I was trying to say. Oh, yeah, I'm going to need you to have a seat and stop trying to "save" me.

You know what's a really good way to court the so-called Black vote? Stop treating us as if we're ignorant. Stop treating us as if we've a monolithic community who doesn't know how to help ourselves. Stop using your stereotypes to create facts that are untrue (in fact if any community needs to stop asking for food stamps and demand paychecks it's the White community). And most of all, stop trying to justify your blatant racism (which you can watch in the video below).

Frankly, it's insulting. You don't see me running up into their houses forcing White folks to face their privilege. Or telling the Republicans or Christian right that  I know how to help their community stop being such vain and immoral dicks. Whatever your qualms with Obama may be he's never stood up and said he knows what's better for the American people or any individual community than they do themselves. Even at times when it might have been easier to just say, "I'm smarter than you and this will work out if you let it". So I say again to the GOP, if this is how you care, I'm going to need you to stop.

Til Death Do Us Part

I think it's been pretty well established that although I enjoy California, in my heart, I'll always be a New Yorker. In particular, there is one thing about California that really gets my goat, Prop 8.

Proposition 8 managed to tear down a law that allowed for gay marriage in the state of California under the guise of "protecting traditional marriage". Now there's a lot of things wrong with that concept. First off, "traditional marriage" was originally no more than an opportunity for a man to "acquire" a wife. Traditional marriage also allowed for the sanctioned abuse of women. Such allowances have changed as our society has changed. The concept of marriage is fluid.

My personal belief is that no one can lament their lack of civil rights if they only use their gains to oppress others. Therefore, I cannot demand civil rights as a woman or a Black person if I am not willing to give those same rights to others.

My current hero is a man who's decided that if we are truly going to "protect traditional marriage" we should ban divorce in the state of California. I think the genius of this concept is its simplicity. Why wouldn't you ban divorce to protect marriage? Although a lot of people view this as a joke, I would love to see people hop on his train if for no other reason than to prove a point. Homophobic hustlers are hiding behind this protection angle to avoid saying the truth; they hate gay people and they don't want them to have the same rights afforded to "normal" people. Until we expose this for what it really is, they will continue to gather people who feel comfortable hiding behind a falsehood. So I say, ban divorce. Marriage is too important not to be protected.

100 Issues for 100 Days: #28

#28: Fiddler on the Roof

Today has been a weird day. For the past few weeks, I've been very much inside of my head. I find myself fixating on phrases.

Earlier, I watched Lions for Lambs and a quote stuck in my mind.

Nowhere have I seen such Lions led by such Lambs.

I wonder if we're all Lions being led by Lambs or if we're just a bunch of sheep.

Right now our financial system is collapsing and our government and citizens seem to be showing a lack of courage. Personally, it seems to be manifesting in my life with a severe shortage of money and a fear of the future that I haven't felt before and yet, I spent my day watching movies and television shows. I wonder if I'm not fiddling while Rome is burning all around me. And if I am, what do I do to stop it?

100 Issues for 100 Days: #26

#26: What Have They Got That I Ain't Got?

I didn't update last night partly because I was in bed by 8 and partly because 9/11 is always a difficult day for me. Being on the West Coast for 9/11 is a mind-trip. And being a teacher of middle to high school students who were born and raised on the West Coast is basically a mindfuck.

For the most part, children are out of touch with the impact of that day. But this is the only place where I've consistently encountered children who laugh and treat that day as a joke. To top it all off, my advising group is currently discussing "courage", which is one of our school's guiding principles. The topics essentially go hand in hand but for students who don't see that event (or most events that don't affect them personally) as important, it's hard to get them to understand the sacrifices that people make.

On a personal level, discussing courage with my students makes me wonder, why should they know what courage is when they never see it displayed? We talked about what courage looks like an what it sounds like and a lot of them talked about jumping in front of bullets and saving lives but what about the student that says it's not okay when they see someone making fun of another? Or the shop owner who stays in a dangerous neighborhood rather than abandon it?

We also talked about moral courage vs. physical courage. In the article I provided for discussion, the author referenced voting Obama into office as an example of Americans showing moral courage. My question is, what have we done since then? Now that he's there how are we supporting him because right now it seems like all we hear are the people who didn't vote for him. I'm not saying that I'm perfect because I've definitely missed out on opportunities to go to town halls and show my support but I have written to senators and representatives. Below is a clip from Real Time with Bill Maher where he talks about the lack of courage the Obama administration and the people who voted for him are showing. We have the majority and we need to exercise it. I feel strongly that the moment we show that we are not ready to back down the other side will because right now they're just blowing lots of hot air.

100 Issues for 100 Days

I tried really hard to write a post around my birthday about love and horoscopes but it didn't quite work out but now I've moved on and decided to do something different. A friend of mine who's a poet completed an anthology called "100 Poems for 100 Days" I've decided to do something along the same lines, 100 Issues for 100 Days. Now this can be as small as "Love and Horoscopes" (I haven't given up on that post) or as big as "Global Finance" but each day I'm going to try and tackle something different. And I am committing to 100 Issues for 100 Days, which by my count means I should be done by Nov. 24th. Let's see how it goes people.

#1 Healthcare Reform



Let's face it people. We are in the trenches. It's November 2008 again and people are yelling "Obama's a Muslim!" and "Don't change my Amurika!" It's sickening and frightening and it's sad. I'll confess, I haven't read the healthcare bill and to be perfectly honest, I'm sure there's plenty of things wrong with it. And ... this one's a biggie ... I'm not sure if I think our government can necessarily run healthcare well. BUT I do know this: I am a 26-year old woman who works two jobs and does not have health insurance and that's wrong.

There is a sickening idea that has come out of the "American dream" and that is the idea that anyone who doesn't have prosperity has not "worked hard enough". Therefore, if you don't have, it's because you didn't want to have. And if the government helps you it's because you are lesser and unworthy and "good people" have taken pity on you. The people currently opposing healthcare reform would have you believe that it's a zero-sum game and the poor are coming to take what you have. And they'll kill your grandma, give your 12-year old an abortion in the backroom of her school and anything else it takes to make it happen.

This country needs a reality check. The truth behind these allegations is vast and multi-layered but ultimately no one is seeking the truth, they're just trying to scare everyone. The ironic thing is that these people rail against terrorists but utilize the same tactics. They are stifling real debate that would make this bill the best it could be so that every citizen would come out on top, not just the rich or the insurance companies but everyone who needs and wants to lead healthy and productive lives. Because essentially that's what this comes down to lives. Like I said, I may not know everything but I know that I am a 26-year old woman who works two jobs and does not have health insurance and that's wrong.

An Open Letter to the American Government

To Whom it May Concern (which is everyone),

I don't know if you've heard but currently, our country is in crisis. Not a day goes by without me picking up a paper to find out who's been screwed over that day. If people are not getting laid-off, their kids are being subjected to harsh cuts to their educational funding, or their parents are being given sub-standard healthcare, or they're standing on lines at unemployment agencies TO CALL unemployment agencies so they can wade through bureaucratic red tape (I'm looking at you, Gov. Ah-Nold).

But the response from you all has been to point fingers and select committees to identify the people who are pointing the fingers and then make a subcommittee to stick their fingers up their own asses. Basically, it's become a giant clusterf*ck rather than what government is supposed to be; a representation and voice for the people it serves.

The problem is that the American people want action and something tangible while you seem more interested in trotting out other people to blame our current mess on. We want things fixed while you guys are trying to throw glue on a broken mug and hope it looks presentable. Contrary to popular belief, the American people aren't afraid of taxes, we're afraid of what you do with our taxes. For instance, I wouldn't mind giving away nearly half my paychecks in taxes if it meant I had low or no-cost healthcare with financial incentives for my doctors to care about my health, efficient and clean public transportation, good, low cost education for my future children and guarantees that my old-age wouldn't be spent in squalor.

And I don't think anyone would disagree with that.

People complain about taxes because they don't see their tax dollars at work. And the idea that giving tax breaks and bailouts to big business is a necessary evil in order to ensure job creation is a myth. In the past ten years, 70% of job creation was done by small businesses. It's not that we have "bailout fatigue", instead we have bailout rage. Everyday we hear about another initiative that has no effect on our every day lives but continues to allow those at the top to live comfortably.

For some reason you've ceased to become our representatives. You've become indifferent to our plight. That needs to end. In Britain after World War II, the government decided that having been devastated by a war and financially stricken, it would impose "cradle to the grave" reforms to improve the lives of their citizens. Are we not a nation indelibly impacted by war? Are we not financially broken? It's time to improve the lives of Americans in a radical way. And it's our government's job to do it.

Who missed the memo?

2009 is supposed to be the year of change, hope and innovation. That's what we've been hearing about and with the inauguration of President-Elect Obama looming, this was supposed to signal a turning point for race relations in this country. So why was a Black man shot by a police officer while he was on his stomach with his hands behind his back on the very first day of this year of hope?

Since the shooting of Oscar Grant, no action has been taken by the BART police or the city of Oakland to investigate or prosecute the officer who fired his gun. Despite video evidence that is splashed across news media and YouTube, the officer has been allowed to resign and the mayor only released a statement after protests turned to near riots. All this only 7 days into the year of change.

Sadder still is the story of Kalynn Moore, a New Jersey mother who not only experienced the sudden death of her son in childbirth but was further horrified to learn that the hospital had thrown the infant's body out with the trash. And to top it all off, the hospital has given up the search for the body.

I am not a person who likes to shout racism, every time a Black person is wronged but these are two situations where not only the authorities but the media have failed to do what they are charged to. Oscar Grant was a young father who was shot in the back, yet no steps have been taken to investigate his death, and the media has chosen to portray him and the people of Oakland as thuggish and deserving of such treatment. Kalynn Moore has seen first hand that the people in power view both her and her child as disposable not even worthy of search that lasted more than a week. I hate to sound pessimistic but I honestly believe if this child had been White, there would have been a prolonged and exhaustive search for its body. It would be national news and people would be holding vigils. Because that is the value of a White life in this country.

If we hope that 2009 will truly be a year of change then we need to be that change. The United States has been talking about an American dream that cannot be realized when the lives of some Americans are worth more than others. I'm happy for President Obama but we are not all Barack Obama, we're much closer to being Oscar Grants and Kalynn Moores. "Hope"fully, that will "change".

When One Door Closes...

I know I've been away for a while but this past month has been a roller-coaster. Each joy has been followed by a subsequent loss and each sadness has been followed by a sudden boon. It's hard to say that I know where I'm going because I feel like I have yet to get the ground under my feet.

I've had my computer breakdown and cost hundreds to fix, I've had a (slight) promotion at work. I've had my close friends move to California, and realized that I'm drifting from others. We as a nation stood for change (Yes we DID!) but the citizens of California decided to take away the rights of others. It's been ridiculous. I've gone from dancing in the streets to feeling like I don't know which way to turn next. And feeling completely helpless to having hope.

Today, I found out that Miriam Makeba, the wonderful South African songstress, has passed. I'm bolstered by the thought that she died while doing what she loved most and that she like all the others around the globe got to witness a major turning point in not only American but global history with the election of the first Black president of the United States. I'd like to think that when one door closes, it's only brief. It's only a sign that more is to come. There's no death, without rebirth. And I'm just experiencing growing pains.

I Will Remember You

Every year I avoid 9/11. I either spend the majority of the day in my house watching television (something completely innocuous) or I turn off the tv and avoid major news outlets, etc. I don't like to remember that day. And it's actually a lot easier to do in California. But today I woke up and they were airing an episode of Iconoclasts* on the Sundance Channel which featured Renee Zelleweger interviewing Christian Amanpour.

They talked a lot about the news media's role in the world as truth-tellers. Obviously Amanpour is a shining example of that. They discussed Rwanda and Amanpour's personal guilt about the media not stepping in and eventually they talked about 9/11. They walked throughout the construction site for the new tower and memorial park and they discussed how the media, in deference to the experience we'd all gone through, tempered their reporting and only now were they slowly building back to the way it had been. That really made me think. Amanpour said that there was an Edward R. Murrow quote that she uses as her mantra:

This instrument [television] can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire, but it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires and lights in a box.

This quote means everything today. I think the reason why I avoid 9/11 every year is because I get so sick of seeing politicians using this medium to capitolize on a tragedy. At the same time, I'm conflicted because sometimes I use that "box" to avoid hearing or seeing anything of any significance. To be honest, I don't think the news media is getting better. I think that if The Daily Show wasn't funny (and therefore didn't pull in ratings), we wouldn't have a true unbiased news outlet. The media is supposed to act "without fear or favor". We always want to talk about how Americans have freedom of the press but do we have an unbiased press? No.

I'm not sure where or what I'll be doing next September 11th but I'm going to try not to avoid it. I hope that this country will have progressed and that journalists will be holding our government leaders accountable but mostly I hope that it won't hurt so much to remember.

*If you've never seen it Iconoclasts is a really great show that pairs celebrities with their idols to conduct an interview. One of my favorite episodes is Alicia Keys & Ruby Dee.

When You Least Expect It

When I come to update my blog, I'm always unsure what to write about. There's some personal stuff on the backburner I've held off on writing about because I want to digest it myself. And then there's television, something I could go on and on about but I don't want this to become all about my entertainment obsessions. But one issue I really felt I had to address was the choice of Sarah Palin for vice presidential candidate.

I have to admit, when I first heard about Palin's candidacy, soon followed by the breaking story about her daughter's pregnancy and then capped off with her hockey-mom/pit bull quote, I was just outraged. I was caught up in the debate. Is this woman a feminist? Is she a hypocrite? Is she a victim of sexism? Et cetera, et cetera. But now that things have calmed down a bit, what I'm seeing as the biggest issue is her qualifications. Most politicians (and an extrememly high number of Republicans) are hypocrites. Whether she is or is not a feminist is a moot point. (Although I personally feel that while Palin has benefited from feminism, her policies are clearly anti-women) What is the point is that while we are being mired in these questions, no one is asking can this person (female or male) do the job? Is she qualified to hold the second highest position in this NATION? That is not something to be taken lightly.

Palin attended numerous schools throughout her college education, moving with seemingly no reasoning. She was supposedly a journalism major but no one remembers her working with any campus publications. She's had little experience at the state level, being governor for only a year and half and no international experience whatsoever. These are all issues that the Republican Party took Barack Obama to task for. She's currently in the middle of an ethics investigation for abusing her position to get a local officer fired for "mistreating" her family. And I'm not saying that her experience as a mother is irrelevant but I don't see how it's supposed to make up for obvious shortcomings. If that's the case than Hillary Clinton must have been overly qualified for president being a successful mother, with a strong educational and political background.

And many people are questioning if McCain's choice shows how much of a "maverick" he is or whether his campaign did not properly vet his choice for VP. I personally think the choice of Palin was a shrewd and calculated move. While we get caught up in the pregnancy scandal and Obama has to sidestep issues of sexism, McCain has created a situation where he gets to sit back and watch the drama unfold and the onus has moved away from proving himself a worthy candidate.

Part of it is the media's attempt to make politics "sexy" and "entertaining". That's why we're watching this year's election unfold the same way we watched Britney Spears' breakdown or followed the Brangelina baby news. We all want our politics served to us in soundbites. Hell Vogue is even doing a story on Palin (which I find ironic since the Republican Party is largely responsible for the economic downturn that is hitting the fashion industry but I guess Anna Wintour would rather Palin than the ever stylish Michelle Obama. Maybe Italian Vogue will give her the cover). So while we're caught up in the USWeekly style coverage, John McCain may sidle right into the White House ... when we least expect it.