People often ask if the United States of America is ready for a Black president. The answer is a resounding "No." and I will write another blog later to explain why. This one I will keep short.
1st we speak of the United States of America as if she is this "entity" off in the distance. We, all of us, are the US of America. There are still too many people who are saying that they simply will not vote for someone who is Black. Why did Obama lose his last 5 or so contests. Because they were last (do you really believe that he would have won West Virginia or Tennessee if they were first) and because these states are 95% white with folks who are poor and blame Black folks for their plight. They are angry and take their anger out on the Black folks. Lest we forget that this is the place where just last year a Black woman was kidnapped, held hostage, repeatedly raped and tortured by a group of white men and women. And yes, they said they kidnapped her because she was Black.
2nd and most importantly, we have forgotten the significance of August 28. Yes it is the day that Barak Obama gave his speech. It is also the 25th anniversary of Dr. King's I have a Dream Speech (Of course you noticed he did not mention the name Dr. King). But it is also the 53rd anniversary of the death of Emmett Till.
Rosa Parks indicated that she was inspired by Emmett Till. Many say that the true beginning of the Civil Rights Movement was the death of Emmett Till. I am sure part of the reason that Dr. King chose the day he did is because of Till's death.
For those who don't know, Emmett Till was a 14 year old boy from Chicago who went to visit relatives in Money, Mississippi. While there, he allegedly said something such as "bye baby" or possibly even whistled, at a white woman. For that, this 14 year old boy, was taken from his home in the middle of the night. Beaten, tortured and killed. His body thrown into a river.
Although it was known who took him from the home, although there were eyewitnesses, the 12 member, all-white, all-male jury took just 67 minutes to acquit those arrested. The jury even joked that they would have gotten to their verdict faster had they not stopped for soda.
Till's mother insisted on an open casket. The significance of this was that Till was grotesquely disfigured from the beating and being in the river. Many said that she should have a closed casket because of how badly he looked, so much so that the mortician could not fix his face. Nevertheless, Till's mother wanted the world to really see what happened. Till's mother did not want the American people to forget or to dismiss, the beating and torture of a 14 year old boy.
Apparently, the US of America has already forgotten. And that, my friends, is just another reason that the people of America are not ready for a Black president.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Gov. Palin and the New Millennium Affirmative Action
The selection of Gov. Sarah Palin for the Republican candidate for VP is a momentous occasion. The Republican party has selected a woman, for the first time, for this position. However, is the selection of this woman really a good idea. I think not. I believe her selection sets the struggle of women back decades. Why you ask? Well, here's why.
The selection of Gov. Palin reminds me of another time when the rights of a woman to enter into an all-male arena was challenged .
In the mid-1990s, Shannon Faulkner applied to the Citadel, one of two all-male military schools at the time. She deleted any information on her application that identified her as a woman since women were not considered. Based on her application, she was accepted but when the school found out she was a woman, they refused to allow her to enroll. She sued and subsequently won. She was allowed to attend the school, but voluntarily left after the first week sighting psychological stress and physical exhaustion. She wasn't ready.
Although there is no excuse for the taunting that she received, what did she expect? I do not condone it but I am not surprised. Even beyond the psychological aspects of the first week, which is the equivalent to a hell week for those who may have pledged a fraternity or sorority or gone to any military training, it was a given that there would be physical demands. Why wasn't she at least ready for that? And, quite frankly, the psychological taunting is not something that was specific to her. All first your students are put through changes both physically and psychologically during that first week. In all fairness, she was not the only person to dropout that week. Cadets do resign in the first week because it is overwhelming. Many cannot take it. However, failing was not really an option for her.
Many people can tell you, whenever "minorities" or women or LGBT folks enter into an arena that is uncharted for them, they have to be better than the best. Tiger Woods, Jackie Robinson, the Tuskegee Airmen, Aurthur Ashe, Billie Jean King, everyone has had to go above and beyond to be accepted because they are entering into a field where they are believed to be less than and are expected to fail. Like it or not, when she entered the Citadel, she was representing all women against a system that believed women to be less than. When you go up against that you have to be the best. Is Gov. Palin really the best woman?
I am not a Sen. Clinton supporter. I was early on but changed as the race progressed. I do not know that she was necessarily the best person or best woman but she did have a wealth of experience. She was a de facto representative of the United States to the rest of the world as First Lady for 8 years and she is a Senator of New York and sits on major committees. Gov. Palin was a mayor of a city of 6000. Like it or not her successes may be her own but her failures will be attributed to that of all women. Ask yourself why it has been 24 years since a major party selected a woman as a VP candidate. Just as there are people who will not vote for Sen Obama because he is Black, there are those who will not vote for a woman. Gov. Palin is not just representing herself and her family (and apparently the great state of Alaska) but all women. I hope she's ready. But the fact that we are asking the question just shows that she was not picked for her experience or her judgment. She was picked because she is a woman and she appeals to certain constituencies.
One day after the anniversary of Dr. King's speech and we still are not judging people by the content of their character. It wasn't the color of her skin upon which she was selected, but the type of her anatomy. She is another example of what I call the new millennium Affirmative Action. You can select unqualified people for all sorts of jobs. You just can't use their race as a factor. Their political affiliations, who they know, how much you owe them, just not their race. That would be wrong. Just ask Mike Brown, a man hired to be director of one of the largest emergency management agencies in the world, FEMA, with no national emergency management experience. Well, he wasn't hired because he was Black.
Have we really made progress?
The selection of Gov. Palin reminds me of another time when the rights of a woman to enter into an all-male arena was challenged .
In the mid-1990s, Shannon Faulkner applied to the Citadel, one of two all-male military schools at the time. She deleted any information on her application that identified her as a woman since women were not considered. Based on her application, she was accepted but when the school found out she was a woman, they refused to allow her to enroll. She sued and subsequently won. She was allowed to attend the school, but voluntarily left after the first week sighting psychological stress and physical exhaustion. She wasn't ready.
Although there is no excuse for the taunting that she received, what did she expect? I do not condone it but I am not surprised. Even beyond the psychological aspects of the first week, which is the equivalent to a hell week for those who may have pledged a fraternity or sorority or gone to any military training, it was a given that there would be physical demands. Why wasn't she at least ready for that? And, quite frankly, the psychological taunting is not something that was specific to her. All first your students are put through changes both physically and psychologically during that first week. In all fairness, she was not the only person to dropout that week. Cadets do resign in the first week because it is overwhelming. Many cannot take it. However, failing was not really an option for her.
Many people can tell you, whenever "minorities" or women or LGBT folks enter into an arena that is uncharted for them, they have to be better than the best. Tiger Woods, Jackie Robinson, the Tuskegee Airmen, Aurthur Ashe, Billie Jean King, everyone has had to go above and beyond to be accepted because they are entering into a field where they are believed to be less than and are expected to fail. Like it or not, when she entered the Citadel, she was representing all women against a system that believed women to be less than. When you go up against that you have to be the best. Is Gov. Palin really the best woman?
I am not a Sen. Clinton supporter. I was early on but changed as the race progressed. I do not know that she was necessarily the best person or best woman but she did have a wealth of experience. She was a de facto representative of the United States to the rest of the world as First Lady for 8 years and she is a Senator of New York and sits on major committees. Gov. Palin was a mayor of a city of 6000. Like it or not her successes may be her own but her failures will be attributed to that of all women. Ask yourself why it has been 24 years since a major party selected a woman as a VP candidate. Just as there are people who will not vote for Sen Obama because he is Black, there are those who will not vote for a woman. Gov. Palin is not just representing herself and her family (and apparently the great state of Alaska) but all women. I hope she's ready. But the fact that we are asking the question just shows that she was not picked for her experience or her judgment. She was picked because she is a woman and she appeals to certain constituencies.
One day after the anniversary of Dr. King's speech and we still are not judging people by the content of their character. It wasn't the color of her skin upon which she was selected, but the type of her anatomy. She is another example of what I call the new millennium Affirmative Action. You can select unqualified people for all sorts of jobs. You just can't use their race as a factor. Their political affiliations, who they know, how much you owe them, just not their race. That would be wrong. Just ask Mike Brown, a man hired to be director of one of the largest emergency management agencies in the world, FEMA, with no national emergency management experience. Well, he wasn't hired because he was Black.
Have we really made progress?
I dont know what this world is coming to...
Its been a long time coming but its finally here. My first blog. As many of us do, in speaking to peers and colleagues, I have often spoken of creating my own blog. I, like the 300 million other Americans, have an opinion about things and enjoy discussing my opinion with others. I have learned a great deal from listening to the opinion of others and, as the title suggests, others have learned from my opinion. (At least I hope they have!)
With a war in Iraq, a failing economy, a military stretched thin, problems in health care and a potential recreation of the Cold War, why now...as if all the other things weren't enough?
The selection of Gov. Sarah Palin as the presumptive Republican candidate for VP. Yeah, that about did it.
Some may say, "Are you upset because she is a woman, that's sexist & misogynistic, etc.". Actually, I am not upset that he chose a woman. I am deeply concerned that he chose THAT woman. And for the record, sexism is this notion that we cannot critique a woman. Women and men are different but equal in many ways. Obama just ripped McCain. Do we now have to "be nice" to the lady. She is hoping to become Vice President of the United States of America. If she cant take the criticism, then she doesn't need the job. Here's my opinion why. A slightly different perspective from the professor...
Republicans and many conservatives alike, for decades, have complained about Affirmative Action. It is "unfair" to give someone a position for which he or she is not qualified. It has been called, "reverse discrimination", "unethical", "undemocratic", even "socialistic" and we all know how "socialism" is one of the many roots of all evil.
How, then, is it that Sen. McCain, who has rallied against Affirmative Action for years, has now chosen someone so unqualified for one of the most important and powerful jobs in the world? The media has shied away from this angle. Rather, the media focuses on how, "all the other candidates had problems too." Problems. Of course they did. But is Mitt Romney, a successful corporate executive and the former Governor of the great state of Massachusetts really "less" qualified than the governor of Alaska who was just the mayor of a town with a population of less than 6000? Does she really have more foreign policy experience than Joe Liberman? More national security experience than Tom Ridge? There are many other highly qualified women including Sen. Hutchinson from Texas and former NJ Governor Whitman. Why not them?
Two reasons - McCain is pandering to women AND pandering to the ultra-conservatives. So much for putting your nation ahead of your own political aspirations.
You see, Gov. Palin is the conservatives wet dream. She is against abortion, in all circumstances, including rape and incest. Even most pro-lifers make the rape/incest exception. Not Gov. Palin. She is for home-schooling and teaching Creationism in science class as an alternative to evolution. She believes in business first, jobs for Americans second. But hey, don't believe me, check out some of the Alaskan bloggers who know her.
http://mudflats.wordpress.com/2008/08/29/what-is-mccain-thinking-one-alaskans-perspective/#comments
And as for the 90% approval rating...its actually a bit over 60% due to the fact that she is under investigation for improper use of executive power. Hey, maybe she fits right into the McCain, Bush regime.
Either way, Republicans can no longer argue about how wrong it is to pick unqualified people to do a job. The US attorney scandal was bad enough. But they have picked someone who can potentially have to be sworn in as President of the United States. And as much as everyone feels like, "oh well she has a tough story and a good family and she is a regular person like me" we see where the last "regular" guy who was President got us. It has always seemed a tad ironic that we as Americans believe that we have the best military, we are the richest, smartest, freest and best nation in the world. At 232 years old, we are greater than nations that have been around for centuries. But our leader, the one who represents us to the rest of this world that we are greater than, should be an "average Joe (or Jane)" who just likes to BBQ and drink beer. Yeah. That fits.
Like I said, I don't know what this world (or at least our country) is coming to..but together, maybe through constructive dialogue, we can figure it out.
With a war in Iraq, a failing economy, a military stretched thin, problems in health care and a potential recreation of the Cold War, why now...as if all the other things weren't enough?
The selection of Gov. Sarah Palin as the presumptive Republican candidate for VP. Yeah, that about did it.
Some may say, "Are you upset because she is a woman, that's sexist & misogynistic, etc.". Actually, I am not upset that he chose a woman. I am deeply concerned that he chose THAT woman. And for the record, sexism is this notion that we cannot critique a woman. Women and men are different but equal in many ways. Obama just ripped McCain. Do we now have to "be nice" to the lady. She is hoping to become Vice President of the United States of America. If she cant take the criticism, then she doesn't need the job. Here's my opinion why. A slightly different perspective from the professor...
Republicans and many conservatives alike, for decades, have complained about Affirmative Action. It is "unfair" to give someone a position for which he or she is not qualified. It has been called, "reverse discrimination", "unethical", "undemocratic", even "socialistic" and we all know how "socialism" is one of the many roots of all evil.
How, then, is it that Sen. McCain, who has rallied against Affirmative Action for years, has now chosen someone so unqualified for one of the most important and powerful jobs in the world? The media has shied away from this angle. Rather, the media focuses on how, "all the other candidates had problems too." Problems. Of course they did. But is Mitt Romney, a successful corporate executive and the former Governor of the great state of Massachusetts really "less" qualified than the governor of Alaska who was just the mayor of a town with a population of less than 6000? Does she really have more foreign policy experience than Joe Liberman? More national security experience than Tom Ridge? There are many other highly qualified women including Sen. Hutchinson from Texas and former NJ Governor Whitman. Why not them?
Two reasons - McCain is pandering to women AND pandering to the ultra-conservatives. So much for putting your nation ahead of your own political aspirations.
You see, Gov. Palin is the conservatives wet dream. She is against abortion, in all circumstances, including rape and incest. Even most pro-lifers make the rape/incest exception. Not Gov. Palin. She is for home-schooling and teaching Creationism in science class as an alternative to evolution. She believes in business first, jobs for Americans second. But hey, don't believe me, check out some of the Alaskan bloggers who know her.
http://mudflats.wordpress.com/2008/08/29/what-is-mccain-thinking-one-alaskans-perspective/#comments
And as for the 90% approval rating...its actually a bit over 60% due to the fact that she is under investigation for improper use of executive power. Hey, maybe she fits right into the McCain, Bush regime.
Either way, Republicans can no longer argue about how wrong it is to pick unqualified people to do a job. The US attorney scandal was bad enough. But they have picked someone who can potentially have to be sworn in as President of the United States. And as much as everyone feels like, "oh well she has a tough story and a good family and she is a regular person like me" we see where the last "regular" guy who was President got us. It has always seemed a tad ironic that we as Americans believe that we have the best military, we are the richest, smartest, freest and best nation in the world. At 232 years old, we are greater than nations that have been around for centuries. But our leader, the one who represents us to the rest of this world that we are greater than, should be an "average Joe (or Jane)" who just likes to BBQ and drink beer. Yeah. That fits.
Like I said, I don't know what this world (or at least our country) is coming to..but together, maybe through constructive dialogue, we can figure it out.
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