Don’t let the surface emphasis on equality and multi-culturalism fool you.
What is happening in Jena, Louisiana gets to the very heart of amerikkka and its legal pathology of racism-white supremacy.
Six teens charged with attempted murder and conspiracy, prosecuted for a school yard fight with a white teenager who had joined in “racially motivated” (we need to call it what it is: white supremacist) gang attacks on them and their friends.
Charged with attempted murder and conspiracy even though the white teen was well enough to party that evening.
But even though those were the charges that the prosecutor -– representing the case of the STATE against those teens –- was able to make stick in a white supremacist landscape, let’s make no mistake about it:
The REAL “crime” with which those teens are being tried and convicted (as their conviction is not in doubt, even with the massive protest across the country) –- and which remains unspoken in public conversation but is understood by white men congregating in bars lamenting the fallen South as they nurse their beers and by white women dressed in their Sunday bests and by the white teenagers whom they raised -– is their AUDACITY.
That’s right, their audacity:
• to advocate for the rights of teenagers of Afrikan descent to sit under what had been known as “the white tree”
• to question the injustice of three nooses found hanging from the tree after their request became known and an Afrikan descendant student actually sat under the tree
• to defend themselves from beatings from white supremacist teenagers who wanted to send a message that racism-white supremacy is still the de facto law of the land in Jena, Louisiana
And, of course, they were right. Because those teens have been charged (one has been convicted of battery and faces up to 15 years in prison; the others are still awaiting trial) and have been convicted -– in the minds of most white folk residing in Jena Louisiana and many white folk across the country -– of the crime of continuing to fight injustice even after the same District Attorney who is prosecuting them showed up at their school and boldly declared that he would “ruin your lives with the stroke of a pen!”
And so he has. . .with the full support and encouragement of the state of Louisiana.
The sad thing is, we’ve seen this all before. We’ve been living it since the forced sojourn of Our Ancestors in this country.
Afrikan descendant political prisoners are nothing new; the history of this country is riddled with them, many unaccounted for and many whose sacrifices have been forgotten.
The two constants from the inception of this country to its present remain:
1) amerikkka still feels free to prosecute those of Afrikan descent for resisting racism-white supremacy with impunity and
2) we -– the Afrikan descendant community -– still remain too weak as a political force to stop them or to hold them fully accountable for doing so
Many in this country –- usually white, although there are plenty of Afrikan descendants sprinkled into that mix –- would have you believe that “racism is a thing of the past.” And for those who have the privilege to turn a blind eye to the racism-white supremacy that surrounds us, maybe it is.
But for the rest of us who live in a country STILL addicted to the pathology of racism-white supremacy and not looking to join a 12-step program anytime soon, I say to you:
Anyone of Afrikan descent who believes and teaches their children that this country is interested in ridding itself of it’s “original sin” -- racism-white supremacy -- and affording its Afrikan descendant population the same rights, liberties, and “equal protection” that its white citizenry enjoy is not only seriously delusional, but genocidal.
The biggest lie upon which this country was built and on which those who would deny that racism-white supremacy is the mother’s milk of this nation is this:
We hold these truths to be self-evident,
that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator
with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty
and the pursuit of Happiness.
(From the Declaration of Independence)
Tell that to the Jena Six.
SUPPORT THE JENA SIX!!!! NEXT TIME, IT COULD BE YOU!
Moving Forward,
Adar
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Saturday, August 25, 2007
The Michael Vick Case in Black and White
Now, anybody who knows me knows that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE animals!! Have NEVER lived without one, stop to give friendly dogs a pat and cuddle, ooh and coo at cute kitties. . .the whole deal!
So I was appalled when I first read about Michael Vick –- whose skills I totally respect! -– and his alleged connection to animal abuse in the form of dog fighting.
But between the first allegation and his "guilty of financing dog fights" plea, an interesting -- and oh, so predictable -- thing happened. . .
As with most things in amerikkka, the case quickly became "racialized", seemingly providing yet another avenue for many in the "general public" to spew their ire on and tut-tut over privileged sports figures of Afrikan descendant and -- by some comments –- on an entire Afrikan descendant community.
The racial difference in support was so stark that even the news media were commenting on how Vick supporters were more often than not of Afrikan descent and those in active protest calling for his head –- even before a plea or a trial –- were white.
Now, how long is it going to take for all of us to finally catch a clue??!! Because amerikkka's endless racial obsession -- which has flamboyantly and jubilantly "come out" from under the collective white sheet during the last eight years –- takes us down the same road every time:
WHITE PEOPLE: GUILTY!! GUILTY!! GUILTY!! WHY CAN'T YOU BLACK PEOPLE SEE S/HE IS GUILTY? WHY DO YOU CONDONE THAT TYPE OF BEHAVIOR? WE KNOW WHY: BECAUSE YOU ARE LIKE THAT, YOU HAVE NO RESPECT FOR THE LAW! THAT IS WHY "OUR" COUNTRY IS THE WAY THAT IT IS!
AFRICAN DESCENDANTS: S/He may or may not be guilty, we don't know yet, but once again you are going after another Brotha / Sista and we will not abandon him / her to a white mob, no matter what s / he has done. We will not condone a public lynching, not anymore, not ever again. . .we know your history and that your "justice" still has a "For Whites Only" sign at the courthouse door.
Sound familiar?
And the outcome for white amerikkka is a reinforced comfort level with their stereotypes of an Afrikan descendant community of lawlessness, which in turn feeds their comfort level about the unjust laws that give a negative "affirmative action" to Black men and women, herding millions of them into one of the fasted growing industries in amerikkka -- the prison industry -- while giving whites a free pass for similar offenses (case in point: the railroading of the Jena Six).
And the outcome for Afrikan descendants?
White amerikkka's insistence on hysterically crying "guilty" before plea or trial guarantees that Afrikan descendants will correctly rally around the newest symbol of white supremacist aggression because. . .face it, we all know that in any given circumstance, any of us –- including Oprah, who was called a nigger during her road trip across amerikkka –- could be the next victim and symbol of that aggression.
It also guarantees that the Afrikan descendant community will not address the issue at hand –- his guilt and/or innocence, and rehabilitation –- because once again, we are fighting for our collective lives in a country that has never had a problem lynching us (physically and symbolically) and for the life of one specific individual caught in the white supremacist machine.
Because we are well acquainted with the "Just Us" brand of "justice" in amerikkka.
And because we know that the outcry from white amerikkka about Michael Vick is not JUST about allegations of animal abuse, as reprehensible as that is. . .
If white amerikkka is serious about "justice" –- real justice –- maybe it would want to expend some of that passion and anger that it is expending on Michael Vick on working for justice for "the Jena Six" –- those Black teenagers who are being railroaded by the state machinery for the audacity of wanting to sit under "the white tree" and for daring to retaliate against white students who were enforcing their own special white supremacist terror campaign against them.
If white amerikkka is serious about "justice" –- real justice –- maybe it would want to expend some of that passion and anger that it is expending on Michael Vick on working for justice and laws that would change the life dynamics and increase opportunities for success for those drowning in the abuse of neglect born of racism-white supremacy.
If white amerikkka –- and PETA supporters in particular –- are serious about "justice" –- real justice -– maybe it would want to expend some of that passion and anger that it is expending on Michael Vick on forcing PETA to apologize for its marketing campaign that compared people of Afrikan descent to animals.
There has not been the level of outrage about any of the above that there is about Michael Vick.
Maybe that is because amerikkka –- who insists on "justice" when those of Afrikan descent are involved even as it gives free passes to the Paris Hiltons (who famously was caught on camera talking about "niggers"), Lindsay Lohans (how many times has she been caught for underage drinking, drugging, and the like?), the "American Taliban" (who was caught in a "terrorist" camp with a gun in hand and still received sympathetic treatment from the press) and the like –- still likes its Negroes better when they are in chains.
Moving Forward,
Adar
So I was appalled when I first read about Michael Vick –- whose skills I totally respect! -– and his alleged connection to animal abuse in the form of dog fighting.
But between the first allegation and his "guilty of financing dog fights" plea, an interesting -- and oh, so predictable -- thing happened. . .
As with most things in amerikkka, the case quickly became "racialized", seemingly providing yet another avenue for many in the "general public" to spew their ire on and tut-tut over privileged sports figures of Afrikan descendant and -- by some comments –- on an entire Afrikan descendant community.
The racial difference in support was so stark that even the news media were commenting on how Vick supporters were more often than not of Afrikan descent and those in active protest calling for his head –- even before a plea or a trial –- were white.
Now, how long is it going to take for all of us to finally catch a clue??!! Because amerikkka's endless racial obsession -- which has flamboyantly and jubilantly "come out" from under the collective white sheet during the last eight years –- takes us down the same road every time:
WHITE PEOPLE: GUILTY!! GUILTY!! GUILTY!! WHY CAN'T YOU BLACK PEOPLE SEE S/HE IS GUILTY? WHY DO YOU CONDONE THAT TYPE OF BEHAVIOR? WE KNOW WHY: BECAUSE YOU ARE LIKE THAT, YOU HAVE NO RESPECT FOR THE LAW! THAT IS WHY "OUR" COUNTRY IS THE WAY THAT IT IS!
AFRICAN DESCENDANTS: S/He may or may not be guilty, we don't know yet, but once again you are going after another Brotha / Sista and we will not abandon him / her to a white mob, no matter what s / he has done. We will not condone a public lynching, not anymore, not ever again. . .we know your history and that your "justice" still has a "For Whites Only" sign at the courthouse door.
Sound familiar?
And the outcome for white amerikkka is a reinforced comfort level with their stereotypes of an Afrikan descendant community of lawlessness, which in turn feeds their comfort level about the unjust laws that give a negative "affirmative action" to Black men and women, herding millions of them into one of the fasted growing industries in amerikkka -- the prison industry -- while giving whites a free pass for similar offenses (case in point: the railroading of the Jena Six).
And the outcome for Afrikan descendants?
White amerikkka's insistence on hysterically crying "guilty" before plea or trial guarantees that Afrikan descendants will correctly rally around the newest symbol of white supremacist aggression because. . .face it, we all know that in any given circumstance, any of us –- including Oprah, who was called a nigger during her road trip across amerikkka –- could be the next victim and symbol of that aggression.
It also guarantees that the Afrikan descendant community will not address the issue at hand –- his guilt and/or innocence, and rehabilitation –- because once again, we are fighting for our collective lives in a country that has never had a problem lynching us (physically and symbolically) and for the life of one specific individual caught in the white supremacist machine.
Because we are well acquainted with the "Just Us" brand of "justice" in amerikkka.
And because we know that the outcry from white amerikkka about Michael Vick is not JUST about allegations of animal abuse, as reprehensible as that is. . .
If white amerikkka is serious about "justice" –- real justice –- maybe it would want to expend some of that passion and anger that it is expending on Michael Vick on working for justice for "the Jena Six" –- those Black teenagers who are being railroaded by the state machinery for the audacity of wanting to sit under "the white tree" and for daring to retaliate against white students who were enforcing their own special white supremacist terror campaign against them.
If white amerikkka is serious about "justice" –- real justice –- maybe it would want to expend some of that passion and anger that it is expending on Michael Vick on working for justice and laws that would change the life dynamics and increase opportunities for success for those drowning in the abuse of neglect born of racism-white supremacy.
If white amerikkka –- and PETA supporters in particular –- are serious about "justice" –- real justice -– maybe it would want to expend some of that passion and anger that it is expending on Michael Vick on forcing PETA to apologize for its marketing campaign that compared people of Afrikan descent to animals.
There has not been the level of outrage about any of the above that there is about Michael Vick.
Maybe that is because amerikkka –- who insists on "justice" when those of Afrikan descent are involved even as it gives free passes to the Paris Hiltons (who famously was caught on camera talking about "niggers"), Lindsay Lohans (how many times has she been caught for underage drinking, drugging, and the like?), the "American Taliban" (who was caught in a "terrorist" camp with a gun in hand and still received sympathetic treatment from the press) and the like –- still likes its Negroes better when they are in chains.
Moving Forward,
Adar
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