The RNC's Magic Negro

Michael Steele Elected RNC Chairman(TIME), originally uploaded by MashGet.

Yesterday the Republican National Committee (RNC) elected Michael Steele as its chairman but don't be fooled. They are 'shucking and jiving' in an attempt to capitalize off of our first African American president's popularity among the American electorate. Barack Obama broke new ground because his message of change resonated with Americans from diverse background and ethnicities.

Prior to this, there was a narrow-minded assumption that an African American candidate only appealed to other African Americans and would not have broad based appeal. Obama's popularity upended this notion and has thankfully written a new chapter in American politics but something things never change. Black politicians like Michael Steele and Ken Blackwell will continue to be used as tokens by the Republican party.

Don't be fooled, the Republicans are still the party of Ann Coulter, David Duke and Rush Limbaugh. They are racist, elitist and xenophobic. Their ideology is eternally stuck in the 1960s. While electing Steele is an attempt to attract more blacks and minorities to the party, it will be no more successful than former Republican Presidential candidate John McCain's attempt to attract women by selecting Sarah Palin as his running mate. We all know how successful that was.

As a woman, I was embarrassed for Palin but more embarrassed by the fact that McCain bypassed a bevy of qualified, politically savvy Republican women (Condoleeza Rice, Kay Bailey Hutchinson, Christine Todd Whitman, etc.) in favor of a dimwitted, anti-intellectual beauty queen. The Republican's idea of affirmative action is hiring the least qualified, least threatening minority for job. Think Sarah Palin and Clarence Thomas.


While they mocked Obama and called him a 'magic negro', they are hoping that Steele, their newly elected magic negro will bring them some kind of credibility with the masses. Look, we've got a magic negro too! Like Palin, Steele will just be a token because unless the fundamental ideology of the Republican party changes, it will always be the party of old white men struggling to remain relevant in a world that has passed them by.

Juan Williams, Fox News' In-House Negro

First Lady Michelle Obama hasn't given nary speech or discussed her role as first lady but Fox News' Juan Williams is already calling her "Stokely Carmichael-in-a-dress"!? The fact that Williams is a hired mouthpiece on Fox News, his commentary is always questionable. I didn't buy his faux tears on election night, I thought it was a scripted, insincere moment designed to generate attention more than anything else. As a self-loathing negro, Williams obviously has a distaste for the Obamas, particularly Michelle.

Williams is as guilty as the rest of the Obama critics who have used the angry black woman stereotype to unfairly characterize Mrs. Obama. It doesn't surpise me that angry white guys like Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh dislike smart black women; they speak more from ignorance and fear, but what is Williams' excuse?

On the other hand, Williams has stumbled all over himself to praise the nitwit known as Sarah Palin. He seems smitten but can't even give Michelle Obama benefit of the doubt!?. To borrow a phrase from one of my favorite bloggers, this is house negro behavior.

Thank You President Obama!

President Barack Obama has taken decisive action by issuing executive orders to end military commissions, ban torture and to close Guantánamo. In his first 48 hours in office, he has taken a big step toward restoring civil liberties and rebuked the human rights abuses of the Bush-Cheney era. This will be invaluable in repairing our tarnished image around the world and will send a different message to our allies and enemies alike. Thank you, President Obama!

Obama Walks, Fox News Squawks

Not since 1977 has a newly inaugurated President walked Pennsylvania Avenue, Jimmy Carter was the last to do so. This afternoon, President and First Lady Obama got out of their armored Cadillac limo to walk Pennsylvania Avenue. With a 15 degree wind chill, the Obamas graciously waved and smiled at the thongs of citizens that gathered to get a glimpse of the world's most powerful couple.

In the meantime, a bottomless pitcher of haterade was being served up over at Fox News where I caught a somber looking Brit Hume praising the presidency of the outgoing 43rd and Glenn Beck nitpicking the 44th's pragmatic but eloquent inauguration speech. I see it's going to take some people a long time to get over the fact that Barack Obama is our president. Now is as good a time as any because it's going to be a long eight years. Not content to see the error of their divisive, narrow minded politics, they are convinced they know better than the 9 million people who elected him by overwhelming popular vote.

At one of the most challenging economic times in American history, President Obama is going to need our support and prayers. Change has obviously come but some people still aren't ready for it.

The Beginning of a New Era

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama

The importance of this historical day was best summed up by a friend who said that her grandfather called her today in tears. His father was lynched many years ago and today he is watching President Obama's Inauguration...what a blessing. She was right.

Racism Will Not End on January 20th

Tomorrow Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. His election was historic because of his message and ability to unite people from different ethnicities and backgrounds and more importantly because he is African American. Obama’s election signaled a change in attitude toward race, Obama’s viability as a candidate was not based on his race but his message. As bitter and as tough as the Presidential campaign was, race and religion were obvious undercurrents. There was and still is genuine fear of black men in society, Ivy-League educated or not.

The fact that Obama won by overwhelming popular and electoral college votes, doesn’t mean that we now live in a post-racial America and racism no longer exists. This is a myth! I was somewhat puzzled by Elliot Grazer’s rehash of “Member of the Club” by Lawrence Otis Graham. Grazer seems to think that racism like the kind Graham encountered while working undercover as a waiter at the pasty white Greenwich Country Club will evaporate upon Obama’s swearing in. He’s certainly got a lot to learn.

As the invisible waiter, Graham became privy to all types of racist musings by the club’s upper crust members(as if this should have been a surprise): “he speaks well for a Negro”, “it’s so funny to see a black man on the golf course”, “if you had your choice between a Hispanic woman and a Negro woman, go for the Negro, at least they speak English” and other nonsense. The election of Barack Obama is not going to change racist attitudes, if anything, I’m expecting a backlash. The era of the 'Magic Negro' is upon us.

Condom Anyone?

colourful-candy-condom-009, originally uploaded by ppbaby888.

Earlier this week, the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced that sexually transmitted diseases hit a record high in 2007. What took them so long to get this information out to the public is a mystery for another day. Young black women and bisexual and gay men top the list of reported STDs.

Although blacks account for 12% of the population, we seem to be the largest ethnic group affected by STDs. We account for 70% of gonorrhea cases and more than half of the reported cases for chlamydia and syphilis. The startling part of this data is that black women between the ages of 15 and 19 accounted for the largest number of chlamydia and gonorrhea cases. From these numbers alone, it sounds like young black women are promiscuous and do not practice safe sex but I know there’s more to it than this.

I’m skeptical of any report that singles out any particular group of people especially ones like this. Think I’m being paranoid or irrational, I have two words for you: Tuskegee Experiment. Black men were used to test the effects of final stage syphilis by the US government under the guise of free medical care. The experiment which began in 1932 was not uncovered until 1972. Of course there was no admission of guilt or wrongdoing by the Public Health Service or the US government until 1997 when President Bill Clinton issued an apology to the remaining survivors of the experiment. This ordeal has left many of us with a distrust of doctors, hospitals and the government.

Assuming the CDC’s data about young black women is correct, this is cause for concern. This is not the era of free love but the era of HIV/AIDS. What’s missing here is safe sex, where are the condoms? Are these women not afraid of contracting HIV/AIDS or an STD? Abstinence wouldn’t be such a bad idea but it isn’t a realistic scenario for young men and women. Peer pressure and hormones obviously hold more sway than a lecture about the virtues of abstinence or safe sex.

Would You Marry Off Your 10 Year Old Daughter?

Most of us wouldn't think of marrying off our 10 year old daughters but Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti (the religious guy) thinks it's perfectly okay. Citing a precedent that lacked credibility and common sense, the Mufti explained "Our mothers and grandmothers got married when they were barely 12. Good upbringing makes a girl ready to perform all marital duties at that age." Really!? He gives us yet another reason to think of Islam as irrelevant, illogical and completely backward.

On the opposite end of the debate, the Saudi National Human Rights Association (who knew they existed!) recommended that the legal age for marriage be raised to 25 but the Mufti scoffed at this. I doubt he has given much thought to the morality of marrying off a child bride to an older creepy man who more than likely already has a wife or two or three. But what about the fathers who offer up their young daughters for marriage to pay off their debts?

Wahhabi Islam or orthodox Islam as practiced in Saudi Arabia is intent on reviving the good old days of 18th century Islam. This rigid interpretation of Islam is the most unkind to women. Although the Saudis claim that women have individual rights, they are not allowed to drive, own a business without a male sponsor and in this case have a say in who they marry.

BART Cop Arrested on Murder Charges

In a step that will likely give many of us a sense of relief, the transit cop accused of murdering Oscar Grant was arrested yesterday evening in Nevada. This is good news to those of us who were saddened and angered over Grant's senseless murder. It also gives those of us who are often at the shallow end of the justice system hope. Hope that justice will be served.

Demand Justice for Oscar Grant

Please join me demanding that justice be served in the murder of Oscar Grant. ColorOfChange.org has organized a petition for Jerry Brown, the California Attorney General, to investigate Grant's shooting. They will also ask the Department of Justice to launch an independent investigation as well.

From ColorOfChange.org:

On New Year's Eve, Oscar Grant was shot execution-style by a transit police officer in Oakland, California. He was shot in the back while face-down on a subway platform, unarmed and posing no threat.

Twelve days later--despite several videos showing what happened--the officer who killed Grant hasn't been arrested, charged, or even questioned. He quit the force and has refused to speak. The District Attorney has done nothing.

It's time to demand that California Attorney General Jerry Brown take over the case and arrest Grant's killer, and to ask that the US Department of Justice launch an independent investigation into the conduct of local authorities. Please join us:

http://www.colorofchange.org/oscar/

Oscar Grant is the third man murdered by BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) police in the past 17 years. All three victims were Black and none posed a serious threat. In each case, BART and county authorities have failed to hold the officers accountable.

In the previous cases, BART's internal investigations concluded that the officers felt threatened by the victims and were justified in pulling the trigger. It's unbelievable given the circumstances of the killings:

- In 1992, 19-year-old Jerrold Hall was shot in the back by a BART officer as he tried to leave the parking lot of a station. The officer was responding to reports of an armed robbery and said he suspected that Hall and a friend were involved. The officer tried to detain the two, Hall ran and then the officer shot him in the back and killed him. Hall was unarmed, but the officer said he thought Hall was on his way to get a gun and return for a showdown.⁴

- In 2001, a mentally ill man named Bruce Seward was the next victim of the rogue force. Seward, 42, was naked and had been sleeping on a bench outside the BART station when an officer approached him. Seward did grab the officer's nightstick at one point, but there were several options for subduing him. Instead, the officer shot and killed him.⁵

In addition to BART's internal investigation, Alameda County's District Attorney is also investigating Oscar Grant's murder--but the office's record on investigating police killings is horrible too. In both cases just described, the District Attorney bought BART's argument that the officers felt threatened. As a result, the cops were cleared of any wrongdoing.

In the case of Grant's murder, the DA has already let 12 days pass while doing essentially nothing--the officer who killed Grant is able to travel and leave the state, and he's free to talk with other officers and attempt to construct a story to justify his killing of Oscar Grant.

The problem with Alameda County's DA goes beyond BART police murders. In the past two years alone, there have been 11 fatal police shootings in Oakland (not including that of Oscar Grant).⁶ When asked, the officials at the District Attorney's office could not remember a single case in the last 20 years where an on-duty cop had been charged in a fatal shooting in Alameda County.⁷ It gives the clear appearance that the District Attorney's office just doesn't have the will to prosecute police crimes.

California's Attorney General needs to step in now and arrest Oscar Grant's murderer. And the US Department of Justice should investigate the failure of the authorities in Alameda County to act. It's the first step towards justice. After that, we will push for systemic changes to create public accountability for BART and other police departments. Creating those structural changes will be a much longer fight, but Oscar Grant's tragic death is a wake-up call that should give us a real chance to help prevent this from happening again.

Please join us in demanding justice, and then ask your family and friends to do the same:

http://www.colorofchange.org/oscar/

Thanks and Peace,

-- James, Gabriel, Clarissa, William, Dani, and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team

References

1. "$25 Million Lawsuit Announced In BART Shooting," KPIX, 1-04-09
http://tinyurl.com/a87ya4

2. "BART shooting captured on video," San Francisco Chronicle, 1-06-09
http://tinyurl.com/7jr4f8

3. "BART cop shooting: we've been here before," Daily Kos, 1-08-09
http://tinyurl.com/86ts2v

4. "Lethal force," San Francisco Bay Guardian, 12-12-92
http://www.sfbg.com/entry.php?entry_id=7799

5. "BART police condemned by slain man's family," San Francisco Chronicle, 7-18-01
http://tinyurl.com/84ullk

6. "Forum on officer-involved shootings held," KGO-TV, 12-11-08
http://tinyurl.com/73mx26

7. "Death threats against BART officer," San Francisco Chronicle, 1-07-09
http://tinyurl.com/9xk425

Wrong About Hurricane Katrina

Go away already W! It had nothing to do with where you landed Air Force One, it was about how you handled the disaster. You complimented Brownie for doing "a helluva job" while people were clinging on the edge of despair with no water, no food and no way out of New Orleans. Everyone else seemed to know what was going on but you, Brownie and FEMA. That is and remains one of the worst disasters in modern times and you were in the thick of it.

The fact that you've had years to reflect on it you still couldn't come up with anything better is pathetic. Yes, the 'Mission Accomplished' banner was a bad idea and we find ourselves still bogged down in Iraq years after your victory declaration. More than 4,000 American soldiers are dead and you don't regret the needless loss of human life for your self-aggrandizing mission!?

You leave the country worse off than when you took office eight years ago and you only have a handful of regrets?

P.S. Africa is still not a country

One My Favorite W. Moments

Oakland Reacts to the Murder of Oscar Grant

The election of Barack Obama does not spell the end of racism in this country. On New Year's Day, Oscar Grant, 22, was shot by transit officer Johannes Mehserle in Oakland, California. The shooting which took place at the Fruitvale BART station, was captured on video. Although I saw the video, I couldn't make much out of it other than seeing a man lying on the ground and hearing someone say "they just shot him".

I don't need to see the video to know that this kind of shooting happens to black men frequently. Black life, especially the lives of our young men, has very little value in this country so if one is shot down by the police, it's no big deal. Black men are expendable predators and sociopaths because the evening news tells us so. If a black man is shot or beaten, some people will believe he deserved it regardless of the circumstances. Grant was unarmed, lying face down with his hands behind his back, what threat did he pose?

While a missing white child becomes a national news story, the murder of an unarmed black man by the police is not. No comparison exists for the news coverage given the Oscar Grant shooting to that of Caylee Anthony, the missing white girl whose story became a mainstay of national news since her disappearance in July. ABC News has devoted extensive coverage to Anthony complete with pictures, updates and even a time line of events but they weren't the only ones, Fox News and CNN also devoted a great deal of time to her case.

• -RaceWire.org
• Oscar Grant's Murder - Get Fresh Daily
• What's The Difference Between a Revolver and a Stun Gun - Who Hijacked Our Country
• Lest We Forget - Girl, Get Me Started

At Least He Said Something Nice

Caricature of Dick Cheney, originally uploaded by josh.ferrin.

I have the same feeling that I think many Americans have, that it's really remarkable that -- what we're going to do here in a few days, is swear in the first African-American president of the United States.

The evil, outgoing Vice President Dick Cheney had some kind words about Barack Obama. In an interview with CNN report Wolf Blitzer, Cheney appeared to show a kinder, more gentle persona when discussing the upcoming inauguration and our President-elect. He's only got nine more days in office anyway, he can't be the face of evil forever.

Homophobia in West Africa

Less than a month after hosting an African HIV-AIDS conference, Senegal sentenced nine gay men to eight years in prison for unnatural acts. Senegal, one of the most stable countries in Africa, is 95% Muslim and is clearly meaning to make an example of these men. The maximum sentence for sodomy according to Senegalese law is five years.

The harshness of the jail sentences is certainly no surprise. Senegal, like the majority of African countries, does not tolerate homosexuality. Homosexuals are often the object of hate crimes in addition to physical and verbal abuse. It is not uncommon to hear such things as homosexuality is a dirty lifestyle or that homosexuals deserve to killed.

Last year was not a good year for homosexuals in Africa. One of the most extreme cases of homophobia comes from Gambia, a narrow little strip of land nestled in the middle of Senegal, where President Yahja Jammeh threatened to behead homosexuals and gave them a deadline to leave the country. It was Friday, May 16th! From one of the poorest countries on the continent, the President cites homosexuality as the biggest threat.

President Jammeh probably didn't read the World Food Programme report that ranked his country 155th out of 177 countries for low income and food deficit. In the same report, Senegal ranks 156th but fares better in poverty; only 50% of its population lives in poverty while 64% of Gambians live in poverty.

Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade and his counterpart in Gambia have more pressing concerns facing their country than homosexuality. Poverty, hunger and corruption come to mind.

Laura Unveils Our New China

Photo by Ron Edmonds of the Associate Press

Amidst one of the worse economic downturns in history, First Lady Laura Bush unveiled the new White House china yesterday. The gold encrusted tableware made by Lenox cost $493,000 for 300 14 piece place settings plus they dropped another $74,000 for another set with service for 75.

I guess the good news is that our tax dollars weren't spent on purchasing it but I question the timing and appropriateness of such a purchase especially now. With home foreclosures and unemployment at record highs, how appropriate is it to unveil this gaudy expensive china while most American people are struggling to put food on the table?

Is It Any Surprise That...

Roland Burris, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's appointment to the Senate seat, didn't get seated today?
Roland, I know your ego won't allow it, but go back home quietly to Chicago and wait for the dust to clear. And whatever you do, don't try to play the race card, Blagojevich already beat you to it.

The future of the Republican party looks whiter than ever?
The Republican National Committee met in D.C. today to discuss the future of the party. In spite of Ken Blackwell and Michael Steele, the future of the party looks white, very white. Some Republicans still haven't gotten the message that calling a black man "uppity" or a "magic negro" is racist even if Blackwell and Steele aren't bothered by it.

The actual number of civilian casualties in Gaza is under reported in the U.S. media?
Nearly 600 civilians have been killed and these casualties include women and children. More than 2,000 have been injured in Gaza since the Israelis began their assault over a week ago and it's not all Hamas fault. While it's easy to blame Hamas for the conflict, the suffering has overwhelmingly been on the Palestinian side. Israel and Hamas may not ever settle their differences in our lifetime but might never makes right.

Bob Takes Time to Reflect

President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe speaking at the ruling ZANU-PF national conference on December 19, 2008., originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos.

It was reported yesterday that Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe is going on a month long vacation . Of course, it's not really a vacation now is it Bob? According to his official spokesman, this is going to be a working vacation where he will tackle the power sharing agreement between his Zanu-PF party and the opposition, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and reflect on the country's economic sanctions. Okay, whatever!

Mugabe has been on vacation for quite some time now so announcing it is just a formality. He presides over a country with a growing cholera epidemic, widespread hunger and unfathomable suffering and human misery And now he's taking time off to reflect?


The people of Zimbabwe need a vacation, Mr. Mugabe. I'm certain they'd like to have clean water, food and jobs. It's time you thought of them of instead of yourself. Tyrants who oppress their people can't really afford to leave the country because they may not have a country to return to. It happened to the Shah of Iran and also another esteemed African leader, Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire.

What the Lord Has Ordained

Photo of Roland Burris' tombstone taken from the Weekly Standard.

Embattled Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich played the ultimate race card by appointing Democratic Roland Burris, an African American to the Senate seat vacated by President elect Barack Obama. Under the circumstances, since Blagojevich who will likely face federal corruption charges and impeachment, any person he appoints to the U.S. Senate seat is tainted.

In spite of the fact that Senate leader Harry Reid said that anyone appointed by Blagojevich would not be seated because of his pending corruption charges, Burris jumped at the opportunity to become Obama's successor. He appears to be operating in some kind of parallel universe where his appointment really counts; he's blinded by his own ambition. Sorry Roland, but I think you are part of a cruel joke being played on the people of Illinois, the Illinois Democratic party and the U.S. Senate by Blagojevich.

In an effort to win a public relations battle against his tainted appointment, Burris has attempted to sway public opinion in his favor by announcing that "The Lord has ordained this". He did make a public appearance yesterday at the New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago. Burris, who has made five unsuccessful attempts for the U.S. Senate, looks like someone who just won a contest he didn't know he was in the running for. What makes him even less credible is that he has become yet another politician who has invoked religion as some kind of talisman against his bad judgment and questionable morals.

In Burris' case, he says the Lord has ordained his appointment as U.S. Senator. Unfortunately, this still isn't going to make it right. You have to question Burris' judgment to accept Blagojevich's appointment; it doesn't look good for the people of Illinois. Doing the right thing has taken a back seat to Burris' political avarice.

Mrs. Charles Barkley

I came across a white nationalist website where one of the topics of conversation was Charles Barkley which isn’t a surprise based on his recent arrest. Besides deriding Barkley for his obvious shortcomings, his wife became the object of ridicule as well. Few pictures of Mrs. Barkley exist and the one I was able to find of her isn't the most flattering portrayal.

Either way, the white nationalists were having fun with it. It wasn't just that Mrs. Barkley is white but she is married to a black man and might be Jewish (last name Blumhardt) as well. The folks over at White Pride World Wide were discussing Barkley when the subject of the Mrs. came up, one poster wrote:

That's because the type of girl that would marry a Charles Barkley do so for all the wrong reasons. I'm sure she's not blindsided by his infidelity. Does Barkley come off as respectful to women to any of you? He doesn't to me. We live in a sick society where criminals, slime balls and degenerates are held high esteem and people like us are held as evil. Go figure.

The poster isn't all wrong about this either. Professional athletes are often abusive toward women. Besides that, some women are willing to do anything to marry one even if they have to endure infidelity, abuse and other humiliations. It's more about the prestige of being married to a professional athlete and having access to his money than dignity or self-respect. With the exception of the gorgeous Will Demps and a handful of soccer players in the English Premier League, I wouldn't cross the street for a professional athlete.

As I mentioned previously, my beef with Barkley has to do with his disdain for black women. The funny thing about this is that Barkley’s opinion of black women isn’t that different from the views espoused by some white nationalists. Both incorrectly believe the worst about black women; we are loud, lazy, obese and God knows what else.

At the present, I don't know too many black women, who would put up with Barkley's foolishness. Public humiliation is one thing, but I imagine being married to Barkley probably isn’t a walk in the park either. Controlling and demanding come to mind. So I agree, the type of woman who would marry Charles Barkley probably did marry him for all the wrong reasons; it wasn't for his looks or brains but likely for his bank account.

First Dumbass of the New Year: Charles Barkley

Photo: Mr. and Mrs. Charles Barkley taken from Kenya Talk

I was going to post that greasy looking drunk photo of TNT basketball commentator Charles Barkley but I decided enough people have already posted that mug so I'll do something different. Unless you've been hiding out with Osama bin Laden on the Afghanistan/Pakistan border, you've already heard that Barkley was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence on New Year's Eve.

Leave it to Barkley to take the dumbassness to the next level, seems he was in a hurry to get oral sex from an unidentified female passenger in his black SUV. Is it any news that the female passenger probably was not Mrs. Barkley (pictured above)? I think he can forget about running for governor of Alabama, most politicians usually wait until they get elected to office to do something this stupid.

So now we can add adulterer to Sir Charles' illustrious list of accomplishments: gambler, drunk, loud mouth and idiot. I'm not even going to get into his well-documented disdain for and disrespect of black women, I think the picture of him and the missus explains it all.

Let's Hope The Magic Negro Does A Good Job

Magic Negroes are never funny, not in the movies and definitely not in satire. During a New Year's Eve broadcast, Jen and John C., whom I am assuming are loyal FOX News fans, sent the following message:

HAPPY NEW YEAR AND LET'S HOPE THE MAGIC NEGRO DOES A GOOD JOB.

It wasn't funny when Chip Saltsman or Rush Limbaugh used it and now FOX News thought it would be a good idea to throw this message in with the other New Year wishes. I see some people still haven't gotten over the fact that a black man has been elected president and will be sworn in on January 20th. Obama not only won the Electoral College vote but also the popular vote by a landslide.

Conservative commentator Michelle Malkin didn't see anything wrong with mocking Obama's ethnicity because after all, our current President W. has been talked about mercilessly so what's wrong with calling our President elect a magic negro? Everything. Insulting someone's ethnicity is never satire, it's bigotry. So why is it when white people get caught making racist statements they always like to bring up Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson like that's supposed to justify anything they've said.

For all of W.'s shortcomings and there were many, not once did anyone insult his ethnicity, there were not a plethora of jokes about WASP-y folks. No one mocks him for being a member of one of the most privileged groups in our society, he's a white man from a wealthy family. So Chip Saltsman, Rush Limbaugh and the rest of the angry white people who mock Obama do so out of their perceived superiority as members of the privileged white male club. Neither Saltsman, Limbaugh or Malkin have the eductation or intellect of Obama so their only option is to insult Obama's race. You may be smarter than me and have a better education but you're still black.

Conservative types are good about preaching the "pull yourselves up by bootstraps" philosophy to blacks, the poor and others but what it really boils down to is race. Although Barack Obama worked hard to earn his prestigous degrees, he's still going to be called magic negro and worse. He has something that his education and class can never erase and that is his blackness.

Now as for Ken Blackwell and the rest of the black Republicans defending this "magic negro" foolishness, read what Professor Tracey has to say about them here. I'm going to let that one ride for now.

Happy New Year, Y'all!

Okay it's 2009. I haven't made any New Year's resolutions, I rarely do but my goal is to be a better person. Spiritual and emotional growth would probably be a good start but I'm going to let the spiritual side slide for a moment. I haven't quite reconciled the backwardness that masquerades as Islam with my own spiritual beliefs. I don't have anything in common with those suicide bombers yet they have defined Islam for most of the world, but not me.

I'm not down with bigotry either. I don't dislike Jews or Christians because their beliefs are different. Nor do I look down on immigrants, gays and foreigners. I'm not a good person to approach if you want a buy-in for your belief that Mexicans are taking our jobs, Jews are cheapskates or that Barack Hussein Obama is a funny name. You might laugh, but that is some of the crazy shit I heard last year from misguided, misinformed people, none of whom could provide me with evidence to back their claims so I politely shut them down.

My tolerance will now extend to people doing things I don't quite understand. There's a whole lot of gray space between black and white so I'm not going to judge people too harshly this year. For me it's all about living my life and allowing others to live theirs. This however, excludes celebrities, potentates (domestic and foreign) and politicians because in my book, public personae are always fair game. Don't be mistaken, right will still be right and wrong will most definitely continue to be wrong but we're talking about moral principles and the appropriate human conduct.

Now if you're looking to do some personal growth, check out the Four Agreements by a fellow blogger at On A Whole New Level. I think she's on to something. At times, I'm one of those people who takes everything way too personal. I call that a character flaw but if everyone committed to doing just that, there would be much less conflict in the world. I have to keep reminding myself that I am just a speck on the ass of eternity, nothing more.

Lastly, my grandma always told me to mind my own business when I was younger, she was right. I plan to do more of that in '09.