Then Mr. I'm a billionaire Donald Trump, who, by the way, is "about as sharp as a sack of wet mice" (had to quote Foghorn Leghorn on that one cuz Trumpy reminds me of a big talkative chicken) had to throw his way more than two cents in and I got really pissed.
Then, on top of all that, late night procrastination from writing lead me to this guy with this nonsense:
I lost my shit, if I can speak frank.
I've got to say I have not felt anger in my adult life, at something I had to control over, the way I felt it that night. I mean, clearly this is a bait video. I fell right into it's trappings.
this is what I posted.
To all my White friends (Caucasion, Jewish, Irish, Italian, German, whatever) out there, I must say that if I know you I appreciate you beyond your color but with all this veiled racist teabagger birther bullshit lately, all the racists remarks and pictures of monkeys and shit, I'm really not feeling white people right now. don't say the wrong thing to me. for real. (responses)Well, needles to say I got a lot of responses. A huge majority of them were positive. There's no surprise there, my people are even keel. I got more than a few off-Facebook responses as well. They also were positive but way more serious and ripe with concern.
I feel regret. Not just because the POTUS shoved Osama Bin Laden's head up Donald Trumps ass. Not even that I may have offended some. I feel regret because I stated something that just wasn't really true about me. ( I should have said I'm not feeling people right now)
It is a beautiful rainbowy fruit basket of gobblygook to say you don't see color. It is the first thing we notice about one another. If just between Blacks and Whites. Our subconscious makes judgements based on it. But we, because we are all human and have cognition, can change even the processing of the subconscious. I believe.
The truth about me is that I do see color but, color only reminds me to look beyond it. My life experience comes from growing up in New York City during the 70's and 80's. It gives me more commonality with a Jew or an Italian or any other ethnicity from New York City than with black americans in the south or the midwest. And I have more in common with those in the south or midwest than I do with say, Scandinavians or Africans.
A few years ago I spent a month in the city of Accra, Ghana in West Africa. It was a trip that basically changed my life, rerouted my thinking about race and myself as a black american. I visited a slave castle, saw a few soccer matches, met some wonderful and talented people. But I also encountered classism on a level a kid from the bronx has never seen in his life.
I came back thinking, these are my people, but "they not like, my people people, ya feel me". That's how I tried to explain it on the block.
Americans are my people. All humans aught to be my people.
This is a an official retraction of that post on Facebook. Though I wont delete it because I think the discussion afterward is valuable. My friends are my friends because we have experienced things together and have mutual respect for one another.
My friend Kristina posted this on her page the next day:
To all people of color in these United States i apologize for the shameful racism running rampant through this land...it is despicable, and embarrassing...that we white people continue to over and over again find new ways to exhibit disrespect, thoughtlessness and fear is despicable and embarrassing. we who perpetrate and we who stand by and watch, shame on us. Shame. On. Us.I still don't even know if she had read my post. I thanked her.
But really, should she have to apologize for the racism of people who she only shares a color of skin with? Should I take personally every racist offense thrown at the POTUS?
who knows. I do know that the fuel for war, since the beginning of time, at its base, has been tribalism. True peace on earth can only happen if we can really, consciously and subconsciously, see all of humanity as brother and sister hood.
(with a cool DJ and some models to throw off the corn factor)
Not taking anything away from my own ancestry and what was accomplished by the people who gave their lives for the rights of black people in this country, I'd love to see a post-racial America. I am sure that was the dream of many of them as well. But it's not going to happen by us wishing it into existence or getting mad about the racist crackpots out there that want to stir up emotions. We have to become proactive in changing the way we see each other and most importantly the way we see ourselves. For instance, the labels of "Black"American and "White"American are antiquated and have to go (in my opinion). If not, the little kids will always pick the "white" doll as the good doll.
I am sorry my friends, for airing my frustration with this veiled and blatant racism in MY country. My emotions got the best of me. I also appreciate all those who understood where that frustration came from.
So, with all that said, I hate to get all P-diddy Puff daddy on ya and change things up again, but for me, no more Afro, African or Black American boxes will I be checking on forms. I will check 'other' and fill in NEO-AMERICAN.
This is my country as much as it is some flag sweatshirt wearing, gun toting, nut job who calls himself a real American.
I am a 'New' American for all those who don't speak the Neo-AM dialect just yet.
Are you with me? All you gotta be is cool and forward thinking. Yeah?
No? it's all good, I can be in a category all by myself.
with all the love I can muster,
muMs
goRealer
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