no matter where you stand on health care reform or even obama, the level of disrespect i saw last night during his speech was nothing short of appalling.
as much as i despise(d) the bush administration, i have enough home training to know that if i were in the halls of congress listening to the man speak, i'd have to sit on my hands and hold my tongue, period.
and i'm just a lowly layperson.
i am glad to see that joe wilson's opponent is raking in the cash this morning.
this got personal some time ago, but last night was the icing on the cake.
just like the gay marriage debate isn't about marriage, the venom over healthcare isn't about healthcare.
wtf? a black man gets to call the shots? where'd MY america go?? how dare he be more accepted by those insignificant foreign countries than good ol' george?? how is he more articulate, more intelligent, with the audacity to tell my kids to stay in school? there are little black children living in the white house, for god's sake...can't you see something's wrong here??
in a word: racism.
what else can it be when the truth is spoken--albeit a truth i and many others have deep problems with--and they still demean, disrespect and disavow?
on a more personal level, i can see why folks with the means to leave during the jim crow era left. who wants to live/breathe/eat/contribute to a place that is so obviously unconcerned about your health, well-being...that is so utterly repulsed by your very existence?
i'm not going to force you to love me, see my beauty, or acknowledge the depth and breadth of my people's history. i will, however, continue to educate my people where and how i can.
i am tired of begging for respect and favors. it's obvious it doesn't matter what we say about our own oppression. we've just been overly sensitive for the last 100 years or so. but my people should definitely know the faces of oppression and how it can be overcome. i'll talk to them about that.
whitefolks: until i see some of you with some real influence speaking this truth to your folks, i'm done talking to you. don't imitate me unless you understand the roots. don't ingratiate yourselves with me and my people unless you're willing to stand with us when they put the nooses around our necks and the bullets in our backs.*
i'm a fan of the devil i know, so thanks for showing your true colors once again, america.
i get it.
*i know/know of people who ARE doing this work, and i'm grateful to them for it. it's important and necessary. however, i know it is not work that i would be able to do without suffering debilitating burnout. i also uplift people of color like damali ayo who work to help folks understand the effects of racism on PoC.
No comments:
Post a Comment