Unfinished Business: Cultural Identity Crisis

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Cultural Identity Crisis

Part Three

[Recapturing Our Culture Locally & Internationally]

     I was once asked why my persons is such a stickler for chronology.  By chronology, the word signifies a reality that others refer to as "History."  History is a story told by others (his-story).  A chronicle is a story synchronized upon the events that happened in some one's life and chronology is the logic of the events which happened in the passing of time.  I'd like to address that.  Since time tells a story through events that unfold within our lives, this suggests that one should pay attention to the quality of every moment as it unfolds within our lives.  It represents a message we should "get."  Those who don't know or "get" the "their"-story or "His"-story, they will be doomed to be victimized by what's not known about "his" or "her" story.  Therefore, to be prepared for life, we should study what life has to offer us: stories concerning our past, (how appropriate our deeds were, etc.) so that we can best determine our future.

 

     The nature of the mind is to solve difficulties. Time presents us with situations within our everyday living, even if it is only to make proper use of time.  Most importantly, are we making the right series of moves within time.  As we take this journey through time, things become apparent when we summarize the incremental occurrences within our real life motion picture:  That is, we have the possibility to gain the knowledge and awareness manifested within the passing of various events, as well as obtain proper reactions to those events-- whether or not this is achieved through the repetition or accumulation.  In case you haven't figured this out (or thought about it yet), there is a reason for why everything takes place.  There is no coincident or accident in a world ruled by divine law and nature.  This fact becomes easier to see, when you approach  life as a science.  As it has been once said, "There are those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who wonder what happened."  Nothing will ever change for you if you look at life as something that just occurs and you have no control over what occurs.  What occurs, occurs because of what you allow and what you do or don't do.  Life is interactive.  You have to be pro-active and interactive, instead of just reactive.  Hopefully, you are more of the former and not the later...  We are not animals, we are sentient beings within human form!  Studying our lives can reveal a lot of informative things for us to prepare for the future.  Utilizing our discoveries can make us much wiser and far more in control of our destiny, than anything we can believe or which to happen.

     Plenty of things can be discovered when you take a scholarly approach at what happens, as opposed to believing what you told in school, following some else's advice, or believing some one or something (like the Creator) is going to save you.  Sure, everything cannot be proven beyond doubt, therefore requiring a small leap of faith (supported by hypothesis) but these things and approaches should be kept at a minimum.   In order to approach such things in the proper manner, requires research and development:  Researching our chronology, as Black people living in the diaspora, should be spurred-on by developing ideas and new questions as a result of our discoveries.  This type of action, of course, will more than likely interrupt many of your recreational activities (such as watching the game or beer-arm wrestling), in order to achieve something more constructive for self development:  I hope this isn't too much to ask of you...  This is not something you are going to get from your average American junior high or high school curriculum.  No one is going to do the work for you and you will have to be self motivated:  Keep in mind, in Western ideology, schooling is part of a nation's indoctrination process.  TV programs, movies and folklore are another.  It (indoctrinating citizens) was devised to maintain a nation's status quo, class structure, and integrity as a society. Benefiting from free enterprise and labor is what made America strong, not entertaining programs that culminate in removal of its' menial task force. 

   Conscientious people know that slavery is a great American sin-- that the legalization and institutionalizing of slavery system within America is directly responsible for Blacks lack of knowledge of their previous ancestry-- but the investment to repair such damage is just not sound business policy.  It is much easier to have ghettos, poor achievement and impoverish areas, which spur on self help programs which offer menial task labor as an alternative to that poverty--but nothing more (other than a tax write-off for the business which offers it).  This way it looks as if the exploited person is the victim of his own device (by his own doing: a.k.a. it's their own fault).  No nation concerns itself with overthrowing its own class roles by helping its lower class become upper class-- just so it can make amends for slavery.  It would be much easier to hand out repatriation checks (as the country did for the Japanese-American population it ill treated during the second World War) and watch Blacks squander the money, due to a lack of financial education.  There will always be a menial class within Western society and that labor class will never be fully assisted by the bourgeois and rich class of that society to "hunt-down-game" for its' unprivileged.  To my knowledge, Jamaica does not have anything that resemble the Pubic Assistance Programs in America.  I think anyone who thinks that the government should step in and remedy the problems that slave labor created for the enslaved, is expecting too much from the ruling class of Western society.  History is a story told concerning the victors and to the victor goes the spoils.  You shouldn't be expecting them to give the spoils back, should you?

     This is a society that believes in Natural Selection and Survival of the Fittest.  No one should believe that this type of mentality would be capable of suddenly concerning itself with "repairing the ills it created" amongst those it vanquished or displaced.  It simply looks at those displaced as weak.  It simply looks at those who have been tricked or lied to as "lesser than."  This notion of looking for rich to uplift the poor, is expecting too much from people who do not try to concern itself with the spiritual benefits of evolving sensitivities in those areas of their lives.  It is unrealistic and wishful thinking on the part of the under class.  Anyone who watches the Super Bowls, NBA and MLB Championships, see how much money their is to spurge around, yet do not equate it with the society reluctance to "cure its ills."  It is really up to Black people to produce our own help for themselves.  After all, we are the ones who need it.   Not to mention that most of White Americans would consider the act as going too far toward one sector of society (like the complaints many Whites have for Affirmative Action).  Besides, we did do it before, during the Segregation period in America...

     Television commercials and the media use hypnotic suggestion (along with the skillful use of words) to manipulate its viewers into willing subjects.  This is performed during the most crucial points in your television observation, (when you are waiting to find out what happens next or the height of your receptivity), to plant a seed within the garden of your mind: "Buy our product!"  That is what Capitalism is!  President Calvin Coolidge once said, "America's business is business!  This is a capitalist society.  Why should anyone be looking for anything different from a capitalist?  It is not a matter of right or wrong, its a matter of "state of mind."  For better or for worst, America is a capitalist society and finds nothing wrong with the creation of an under class.  And you Blacks in America probably wouldn't either-- that is, unless you are amongst those capitalized off of (those responsible for the "grunt" work done in this society).  The reason I say this so-assuringly, is because most Blacks in America are indoctrinated with capitalistic values.   
   If you are amongst those looking for any of these things to change in this societal backdrop, forget it!  It is not going to happen.  The Western world, American society has yet to evolve to the point where true justice and equality is even a consideration.  Discrimination is part of the system which works for those who construct it, to maintain what they want.  Western business has always been bottom-line about things such as down-sizing (massive layoffs) and things like that.  In short, they get to keep what they want-- they are not so concerned as to how.  And while most of us probably will not like this, most of us have been subtly worked on throughout our lives to play our part for the benefit of big business-- while labeling it all the while "Nationalism."  The sad truth about it is, most of us don't even know that this is happening!  Hell, you might even think that "how you think" --is exclusively your point of view!  We scream about independence and power and yet, we depend on the supermarket to be open tomorrow, so we can shop there-- simply, we do not grow our own food...

     Independent my eye!  Independent means to rely solely upon your own being.  Dependent is when you rely on another for your sustenance.  You are not independent until you own your own means to being so.  Interdependence is when you are somewhat self contained, but you cooperate for the sake of expediency.  Now, based upon these definitions, how would you define the Blacks state of affairs in America?  There are cultural differences.  We are two different people.  We want our needs to be met also, but we are not sharing the same reigns of power:  Nor do we have access to the same things because one group of people founded this country and the other people was brought here to slave for it.  Do you believe you or I have a choice in the way things are politically right now?  Where is the freedom of choice, if the society that you are in provides you with McDonald's is one corner and Burger King on the other?  It is important for us to understand that Blacks in America live vicariously off the American society's sense of equality, justice, and freedom.  We have not established or defined ourselves totally as a people within American society, nor have we grasped the means of taking care of ourselves entirely, should the rest of society turn bitter against us (like Bosnia, South Africa before Mandela, or Rwanda).

   It is also important for us, as a people, to study the chronicles of the place in which we reside.  Not as a citizen or anything like that-- but from an outside point of view-- like an alien from another place.  Not as an illegal alien or immigrant:  More like an alien from another planet!  By approaching it this way, no detail is taken for granted.  No stone left un-turned.
  The reason for this is, it is equally important to understand that your chronology did not start in this country, but somewhere else where they do things totally different.  This is something that we Blacks in the wilderness of North America have a tendency to forget.  Most of us confuse Black code with being Black.  Black code is the Blackman making the best of his being here in America, but nonetheless, it is still based upon being in America and therefore part of American behavior.  Many of Blacks in America will say they know we come from elsewhere and were largely enslaved prisoners of war, but when you ask them about how much they know about their motherland or place of origin, they usually come up incredibly and hopelessly short.  A people without knowledge of their past chronology, is like a tree without roots.  If you have not gone through the process of research enough to establish at least family or cultural identity, you are lost in someone else's world, living under someone else's culture format.  Sort of like a cookie cutter shaped, diced, piece of dough:  Molded and shaped in the ways and qualities that has been defined by someone else's environment...

     You must admit that you can't possibly know where you are going, if you don't know where you've been. And this represents one of the main reasons why my person studies the Chronicles of the World in detail and our chronology in specific:  The practice is sort of like the science of archaeology or anthropology-- maybe even anthropomorphic studies!  For example, anyone who knows the story of the twins, Remus and Romulus, and the starting of Rome-- knows these human twins were raised by wolves-- without the slightest knowledge that they were human (as the story goes).  Then, there's the story about an eagle's egg that fell into a chicken's nest and was incubated by the hen.  As the unaware eagle grew up, he was ridiculed by all the young chickens and roosters and made to feel incredibly sad.  Until one day, he was spotted by a fully adult male eagle who questioned the young eagle's "odd behavior" and taught him of his true heritage.  This sounds an awful lot like Black people in America!  The moral of both of these stories is, when one does not know who where he comes from, it is easier to become other than yourself.  But Black people in America were taken from several countries as captured people and prisoners of war:  This would make tracing a single point of origin for most Black people very difficult.

     Since the Blacks in America cannot identify one stock of Black people from Central Asia that they can all call their people, it only seems rational to study of the overall humanity of Blacks in the diaspora and on the mother continent.  This way, you will not discriminate against Blacks in America who do not share your same country of origin.  Just be careful when you are studying all of your people in the diaspora, not to let your Western ways cloud your perception as to what is civilized and what is not!

     The chronicle of Blacks in America is largely in part an oral tradition, from our ancestors who lived through subjugation and oppression, along with an account from the descendants of the colonist Europeans who authoritatively gathered this information as well-- which most researchers rely on as historical fact.  Another way of looking at this, is that the official accounts of slavery within America which were instituted upon Blacks, is authoritatively told by the same stock of people responsible for the  enslavement!  Strange isn't it?  What is even more strange is that we are expected to accept these accounts as being unbiased and accurate!
  Yet, when I present my findings to you, I must go through elaborate lengths to prove to my audience that my story of Blacks past accomplishments, legacy, with its' subsequent subjugation and suppression is not just an elaborate fabrication!  This is not only my dilemma, but the issue all non-white writers find themselves in when they write for mixed audiences in America and abroad:  They ask things like: "Which schools did you go to?  Are they recognized (or judged by us) as an accredited school?  What degrees do you have?  Etc., etc., etc.  This is done by folks because of discrimination based upon indoctrination.  The ways of indoctrination are conducted and taught everyday.  So much so, that its ways have filtered into the thinking and reasoning of Blacks in America; its prejudiced considerations have become a lot of our own considerations!  And we are not only speaking about the unenlightened, but the ones who are otherwise conscious of themselves.  This is why we emphasize the unbiased perspective, the scientific approach and method, the method of examining things by principle-- in other words the proper and universal way to seek knowledge.
   Before exiting this section, I would like to clarify for the readers.  While I advocate a scientific approach and make attempts to move away from organized religion.  I, nor my associates advocate that we do not have any place for faith, for all things cannot be proven beyond doubt and therefore there must be a "small leap of faith where these things are concerned.  As well, you must have belief in yourself and that aspect of the universe with its' wave of influence will chronologically move all souls towards righteousness, otherwise we wouldn't continue to do what we do-- despite the absence of  having an abundance of examples of those who are truly striving to uplift Black people as an entity.  What I am saying in essence is which are you more likely to follow, the man who thinks he knows where Kansas is, or the person who knows where Kansas is?  At best, believing (as opposed to knowing) is a slippery slope which can bring false hope and therefore be kept at a mininum (and replaced as much as possible with true knowledge.  

     See, I know what I have to say will not be an acceptable to a great many Whites, because many of their people are ancestors of the ones who "committed" the act and therefore they are very sensitive to their sorted past (sort of "blaming the victim" based upon their guilt-driven line of reasoning):  Some of these same peole will be the same ones who would question my resources!  A lot of their reasoning abilities has not gotten past their defensive emotional response concerning their people being depicted as unjust.  The factors available have not evolved these groups of White people into such types of considerations; yet it serves as appropriate measures for their biased opinions.  This, more so than any other reason, is a good reason to make certain what you say is true and factual:   Because we know, if some of the education of those who speak is not from schools THEY would consider accredited (i.e. their schools, Western sources, American/ European scholarship),  they will more than like dismiss the whole event; no matter how valid one's thinking and the reasoning is!
   I know it must be pretty hard it is to look in the mirror and know that someone who looks just like you-- from the same race and background-- has commited such atrocities!  Yet one must face the facts.  Equally, it is hard to get a person who's point of view or reference which does not include certain social considerations, to see those things in the proper light of one who does (particularly when he or she views you as inferior)...  But we are not here to make all Whites feel guilty, or judge white people on the whole.  We are doing this to stress to our people to get back to our original mind state and level of civilization by proving to our people that we must step outside of Western cultural influences!  For the most part, their type of American education has been a hinderance to our proper education.  Besides, what we are discussing is NOT of  the Western, American, European way-- or Western or American people when we talk about our sojourn.  This slavery (as we know it as a people) was not part of  THEIR  direct subjugated experience, their role, or position in respect to the phenomena-- therefore Whites are not in the position to be the authorities of, past stating the chronological facts.  They can not be the authority of slavery, no more than a man can talk about the feelings associated with pregnancy, in any official compacity!  They have not "walked-a-mile" in our ancestors shoes, nor have they gone through anything our people went through, so how could the be the authority or the accredited source through which we view things?
   Our ancestor's perspective (slave narratives and such) is more eye-witnessed and personal-- more germane to the issue or subject.    From White people came the oppressors who enslaved our people, from Blacks-- came the oppressed.  As a matter of fact, nothing could be more diametrically opposed.  It's like a man trying to tell a woman who's pregnant, what she is going through!  This thinking is purely academic and invalid for these purposes. 

     Trust me,  I am not discarding the need for scholarship, White documentation or thoroughness, I am just scrutinizing what is to be called "valid sources."  I would not rely on a history of Ireland, if it was not written from an Irishmen with a sense of culture and heritage, as a fully accredited source, for example.  They simply could not say what it is all about from the inside-out.  My sources would have to come from the same people.  Same thing goes for its references.  Although I don't care about their authority, validation, or accreditation, what I say must all be proven for scholarship and for good journalism sake!  .  There is something wrong with thinking that all Black leaders have some Christian religious affiliation and that their seminary be from a recognized Western source in order to be righteous!  Since when has the leaders of oppressed people need to seek validation for their ideas concerning autonomy from the halls of the institutions of those who oppress them? That is twisted logic!  Nonetheless, I present facts to substantiate my claims to Blacks as well as Whites (simply because they don't have all the facts), in order to establish legitimacy to our feelings, culture, and legacy as a people.  Blacks have the bona fide right to feel as we do and to seek out our story and legacy at the hands of those of their kind.

     You must remember, the slave populations were composed of Blacks from various Central Asian or so-called "African lands."  It was forbidden for our people to practice any of our traditional practices in North America (although through the ingenuity of the slaves in that community more tradition was exercised in South America).  By the time we were here in America for several generations, most of our traditional practices such as writing and other cultural arts, for the most part, was lost.  Notice my persons said," for the most part" --because even though most slavery practices were rigidly upheld, our people still maintained a large part of our so-called "African ways" --this behavior has been labeled "African-Retention-ism."  For example, Blacks still act "some kind of way," when we hear the drum.  Though you may find musical duos in Western music that exists without the drum or some percussive instrument, but for Blacks this is damn-near an impossibility. Finally, no one can deny that our appreciation for the so-called "bottom" in music, is based upon bass and drum combinations-- usually following what is known as the "blues notes."
   However, most of what Blacks in America know of slavery, comes through our parents and relatives (if they shared these things with us at all) and their ancestor's oral accounts of their personal experiences-- accompanied by what little was taught to us in American schools (which is how the Whites or White colonists see it).  Sure you can go on the Internet and find out some interesting peripheral facts concerning this experience, but you must keep in mind that this is history and not your chronology-- that is, unless the story is told by your people.
  What I am speaking about here (and my manner in discussing it), is probably being heard by many of you for the first time.  How I am speaking about it, let's you know, that for me-- being black is a proud and beautiful experience.  We have nothing to be ashamed of:  Our ancestry is something to be very proud of--especially our tenacity. This is because of what I know and is willing to share with you.  However, for some of you, it might even sound made up-- which is perfectly understandable.  First of all, some of what my persons says, contradicts a lot of what you've been FORMERLY TAUGHT-- which causes a mental dilemma for many of you.  As a rule, my person strives to justify my exertions, but still-- for some-- this feeling will still persist.  As Shakespeare once said, "The whole world is a stage and all of us are but mere players."
  Within the United States, individuals such as artists, writers, leaders, societies and/or governments write the scripts, its citizens within those societies carry out those roles. It is made up of what you were taught(and unbeknown to your awareness), are the constructs of how you process many things.  What we learn in schools, the so-called facts and  memorization of script, are the by-product of excellent movie screen writing, screen play, TV programing and hypnosis-- that is, from kindergarten until death.  In America, this is the way a lot of Black people get  the nuances and behavioral systems of Western civilization down pat.
    So even though I present you with the facts and overwhelming evidence concerning your people's past, it is hard to "break the spell" of a continuous process of stockpiling information to your subconscious called Western civilization.  This is also (though portrayed in a much subtle manner), where we "learn of "our place."  The continual practice of this "colonial mentality" is what makes up what is called "indoctrination" for the Black man.  Evidence of this is shown every time you go to the workplace and seek to secure a job before White people.  Many of you don't know about indoctrination, because most of us hardly recognize it is being done to you or performed by you.
  The FCC regulates what comes over the air and what TV programs can or cannot be shown.  And within this power to regulate, there is a format to protect this country from "alien ideas both foreign and domestic."   Sometimes, when you watch old movies about people like "Lenny Bruce," you can see beauty of indoctrination and regulation at work..  Within the South, local authorities reinforce these high society rules a little bit more direct (especially amongst Blacks).  The roles of each group have already been taught to you in history classes in school and through the media...  In the South, Blacks are expected to know your place (from your parents or the mores of society) which is to take on the role designed for you-- if not you get in trouble with the law.  Up North, the practice is a little more subtle.  Yet, most people outside this country won't get this because American society has another way in which it treats immigrants: cordial and more caring.
  This is all a part of the governmental matrix: to withhold the ruling class dominance in American society.  Even your low opinion of yourself, as well as the liberties Blacks know they can have within White society, is often the product of what Blacks were taught-- how they were programmed or reared by their parents and society-- which for Blacks depends on what you are aware or not aware of.  Comedian, Richard Pryor, made a fortune-off of this controversial role playing.
  Don't get me wrong, customs, culture, and nationalism is real good when they have your best interests at heart, but they are real bad or a poison when do not.  Cultural indoctrination is like a sleepy slumber which is hard to convince others to wake up from.  Sometimes it is like a dream within a dream: The dreams where you think you are awoke, only to find out that you are within a layer (a sub-program) of that same dream.  This means, the mental tools in which you are using, the criteria you are using to judge what you think is real, was assembled (based upon society customs, education, beliefs, prejudices, etc.) during the uncritical thinking parts of your childhood and are currently being used without any question,  to arrive at such conclusions!
   Besides that, most people will not admit they are wrong, especially after they have been doing something for a number of years.  So they continue to advocate this society's customs, education, beliefs and prejudices as if they were the truth ( and something they themselves came up with), which they will defend till the end!
  So I present you with as much evidence as possible (facts in which has been researched as a critically thinking and reasoning adult). So when you confront me on what my person said, I will help you recognize that these were actual facts-- not my feelings and opinions camouflaged as being true.  These are documented occurrences that occur real-time. Chronicles happening right before your eyes, not something made up-- based on how I want it to be-- much less some fantasy I'm trapped in!  I realize it is important to substantiate my claims with documented proof, so that others can see that what they previously believed was not-- as fantastic as what I say might initially seem.  In order for others to see the other premise was a trick (done with smoke, mirrors and a lot of double talk), you must do so.  I know its hard to believe that the people who were responsible for your upbringing may have lied to you-- but they did so because they thought it was true!  Usually the first step made by disbelievers is a denial that what is happening isn't really happening.  I'm sure the students in Kent University, Ohio during the sixties thought the same way.  That is, of course, before the Kent University incident (where many were wounded and four lost their lives)... 

     It is also painful to recognize that you may not have anyone to depend on but yourself for now on.  When Blacks say that "they are American," they usually have the belief that they can have access to everything in America that Whites and other nationalities have.  I would say, it depends on who's sitting across from you in the interview and how much you have to modify your behavior to accommodate your interviewer in order to land a job.  Unbeknown to those Blacks who think this way, is that a lot of their behavior is created from what my person calls "survival mode" (things done to stay employed and be tolerated).  It is hard to wake up from the American dream and remain alert; much less stand up on your own two feet.  Hell, many people even go back to sleep after being up (awake) for a while!  It is much easier to sit back and let others govern things for you, than to run the show yourself.  This way you don't have any headaches or responsibilities (but you also don't have control).
   Just think, Blacks once had a Negro League Baseball in this country; a league which was separate from U.S. Major League Baseball-- during the Segregation era.  The Negro league and all its' associated businesses were Black owned and operated.  Granted, American society did not allow Blacks and Whites to "mingle" that much by law during this time period.  Granted we were forced to "do for self" and "create our own game,"  if we wanted to play..  Granted, the Negro League was not making as much as Major League Baseball, but it employed many Blacks within the league and it's affiliated businesses.  With Black men playing like Jackie Robinson, Satchel Paige, and Gosh Gibson, etc., we dominated any games played between the Negro League and Major League Baseball (even though the MLB labeled those games "exhibition").  However, when the Civil Rights struggle applied political pressure on the White power structure in the sixties, the MLB scooped up handful of talented Black players in the name of affirmative action.  Players like Jackie Robinson, were inducted into the MLB-- leaving the Negro League ravished (though they still had many good players), while the rest of the league was abandoned by their own people!  An industry we started ourselves was abandoned in the name of  fitting in.
  Did sitting next to a White man mean that much to us as a people, that we would fore go that kind of business with all its autonomy?
  We're talking about concession stands, photo shoots, memorabilia, transportation, etc.  Such a Fatal Attraction!
  "Go Greyhound" and leave the driving to the "bus driver."  Do as you are told.  There are rules to riding this bus.  Being here is a privilege.  The Father of the Country provides you with state assistance, welfare and a few provisions.  Have congress vote on it and consider what all Black society needs.  Or let it be decided by some local councilman or state representative who wants a fat pay-off...  But then, explain to me what part of that society does our ethnicity fit in?  Are Black politicians doing what it takes to be accepted or are they truly representing our interests?  What class can we put the major of Black people in?  How did your ancestors arrived here?  What role were they designed to play within the American social fabric?  And what opportunities await you and yours as this country forges on with their future?  What is the "American dream" and what provisions does it have in-stored for you?  Could you change things if your best interests were not properly represented?
  My best guess would be, recycling your dollars amongst your own and developing a sense of self dependency, would be a means of getting more attention.  But why take these moves as a recourse as opposed to an sound agenda to live by?  The chronology of our journey in this country certainly leaves no doubt that we should not be precariously (perilously dependent on chance) surviving off of the vicarious interests (endured by one person acting for another WHEN interested) of the ruling class of America.  Blacks position in America is more like the junkie that will let you abuse him, as long as you will give him some money in the end.  Or that hopeless sap who hangs around a girl, accepting the status as her friend or standby, hoping and praying for the chance that day when she will choose him.  Either you are in control of your destiny or you are not.  I say it is high time that we put more effort into handling our own business.

   Some people have a hard time accepting truth like this, because of their feelings or some belief or impression they have.  Some have aversions about starting all over again or struggling in order to rise.  Some are very stubborn, despite of what we hear:  You know the type-- easy to be lead in the wrong direction but hard to be lead in the right...  Others may have problems, because talking about it just gets them upset!  My persons has a older cousin who is eighty-one years old (a second cousin from marriage to my great aunt's daughter), who says he cannot watch "Alex Haley's Roots" because it makes him angry.  When he sees certain scenes, he gets upset because he knows about those things.  He personally lived through many of the actions depicted within the film and just as soon want to forget them!  However, trying to forget and not educating the youth about the dangers of trusting in the ruling class is not good either.  This way, your children would never know what "hit" them or understand the factors at work which causes all of this to happen.  One of the many good things about knowing, is that it teaches us how to prepare.  Sure times changed, but you should never forget your past.  The past often holds reminders of why certain courses need not or should not be pursued.  Even in Europe, they have monuments in Germany to remind them of the atrocities Nazism perpetrated on the world, so they don't forget that it was a frenzy that overtook their own Germany!  I'm sure the youth of today could hardly believe their ancestors capable of such things but, there it is-- in black and white!  I know it doesn't always feel good when you learn these discoveries, yet you must be aware of what happens in life, while learning not to react to all you see and hear.     
   Recognize that when the Creator is sending proper messages all across the universe, feelings often interfere with proper reception.  Emotions befuddle those transmissions and cloud the perceptions upon such things, so you have to learn to control your feelings and fears!  Just remember, there are difficulties associated with beginning anything...  Just because it may feel awkward at first, don't give up!  With the confidence which comes from knowing, you will soon-- once again-- be comfortable in your own skin.  This too is just a passing phase.  My job is to provide accuracy, as incredible as some of it may seem... Your comments are always welcome, even if you disagree...

Peace and Love,

C. Be'erla Hai-roi Myers

Fired Up!

 

Fired-up!

 

"All you got to do is open your ears and listen with all your might:  Listen got-damn-it, Listen!"       -- Archie Shepp

  My person is an activist within my social sphere; not a person who is prejudice.  Let's get that straight from the door!  Controversial?  Without a doubt!  If we weren't, you wouldn't be learning anything new.  New means you have to think about it or take a fresh look at the angle presented.  As Sly (Steward) Stone said in the song, Everyday People, "My own beliefs is in my songs"-- i.e., I contemplated and researched what I present to you.  Been this way since childhood: Meaning we've been one who dares to be different and thinks for myself: "Dare to Struggle, Dare to Win" is the motto of those who are serious about this stuff:  That is, "the unlearning the nonsense taught to us at youth."  At least that's what Godfrey Higgins said in his preface to "Anacalyptus: Unveiling the Veil of Isis."  We are not a follower!  So if you see my persons with a group, we are either advocated for the same common cause-- have some alliance of some sort-- or a disciple with intent to lead.  "Think, think!  It ain't illegal, yet!" -- [George Clinton's Maggot Brain (live)]
   I am not on an anti-American campaign.  I am not militant And as much as I talk about government control and media manipulation, I am not opposed to it: In fact, every government does it  Mostly to protect its' constituency, to watch over its members, to avert panic and chaos and to protect their country  against enemies-- both foreign and domestic.  That is only a smart thing to do as a country.  It's just that we were not originally included in this country as constituency and we still are not technically.  We came here as property.  We were stamped by the government as institutionalized property.  We were put on the legislature ledger as three-fifths of a man, to be included as livestock-- hence chattel slavery.  We fought for civil rights in the 1960's.  Malcolm X (Malik Al-Hajj Shabazz) urged us to push for human rights and take our issue up in the League of Nations to get full citizenship rights, but that was not actively pursued by the masses.  Civil rights activists pushed for so-called integration; which was really a request  by this group to have the government accept our petition to be a part of what was previously a segregated society and these activist promised to get along by trying to learn and do like an Americans.  This gave  the American government a chance to change their world image  by passing legislation like affirmative action laws to guarantee Black's social acceptance by law.  But saying it and making sure it happens that way is two different things:  Putting out laws is meaningless without the proper attitude of the ruling class people or the proper reinforcement through law enforcement and the courts..
   And its not like I want to keep talking about this slavery issue, but it is at the heart of a lot of our issues.  You can talk about slavery on the overall and you'll find many whites who have been enslaved  at different times in history, having almost all of their possessions taken from them-- but you cannot name another people (other than Blacks) who has gotten everything taken including their language uprooted from them and forced into a life of servitude.
   Words are what you use to create the social images that form the culture-- without your native tongue, its' words, and/ or language, you are fighting your battle from the lowest of the low.  The battle we are fighting is Research & Self Development: The struggle is the Recapturing of our Culture by unlearning the non-sense taught to us as youth..  You won't know where you're going, if you don't know where you been.  Our people were enslaved prisoners of war and today we  became slaves from mental death and power.  The images we Blacks have within the Western culture are mainly their images, aspirations, values and ideas about how to evaluate things.  Our concepts about ourselves in their society is strongly based upon Western ideology on beauty, success and wealth.  A lot of Blacks in the West  simply don't want to think too hard about working too hard establishing  our own Black Aesthetic (esthetics) -- or breaking our old habits. that keeps us in a rut.   
   The truth is we are being taken care of and managed by outsiders.  We are allowed to remain right here in our growth as a people within the West, having most of our politics handled is by someone else, most of our employment through someone else, most of our schooling through someone else, most of our cultural concepts are an outgrowth of someone else's culture-- even our neighborhood government and surveillance for the most part is by someone else.  We are being managed by others.  Western culture can't possible know our interests, but they are making the decisions for us.  We are the Black situation: We can never be the star in their movie (though are athletes and entertainers make a good show of it).  Therefore one of the by-products is a feeling of inferiority-- for some it is the need to overcompensate (by showing each other we are better or more blessed).  These are the ones who will tell you how hopeless it is to make the attempt to recapture our culture.  These are the ones who do not believe in the Black Aesthetic.  These are the ones who criticize works like these but brag of what they have in the Western societies' left-overs. These are the ones who have children and abuse or abandon them.  These are the ones who have parents who live alternate lives and feel they have to overcompensate for it by providing they are more man or woman than others.  These are people with self-esteem issues.  You cannot hate the roots of a tree and not hate the tree itself.  You give me a Black person who can only talk negative about Black people and I will show you a person that is not at peace with-- nor loves-- himself.
  Our situation is very similar to the Jews in the bible-- captured and enslaved several times.  But the difference is, they won their freedom.  We did not.  Also they voluntarily lost their language and cultural concepts, seeking fortune in the lands of their captivity.  We lost ours by the slave master's design.   This started the process of making us other than ourselves.
     Some of our people  rely of the fairness of the government that made the slave laws and institutionalized slavery   Some of us  rely on others to make it right instead of having our own society,  where we could be it's ruling class:  This type of thinking is what I don't agree with.  A lot of us have gotten comfortable with trinkets of Western society; working for people who are other than our own, setting our standards by a false sense of values.  Managed by people other than our own.  Schooled by teachers other than our own  A lot of Black youth are not interested in politics, so who's going to manage their areas and interests when they are  of age?  Probably someone who doesn't think highly of you...  We come from a people who have huge extended families and communities run by a single lineage or two family lines-- yet we can have descendants who don't get involved in community politics.  That's because many of us  have not risen from slavery, but we believe we have. When the truth is we get paid less than it takes to live and live off of the credit of others (that is, when we don't have bad credit).
   When are we going to get up and be a people within this nation that governs our own destiny?  We are in a box car on someone else's train right now-- that has to change.  Otherwise, where ever  the Western  nations are going, so are we-- for better or for worst.  And let me tell you brothers and sisters, today is a very scary roller coaster ride!  Look at the stock exchange...
    As a people, we should be moving towards being able to take care of ourselves.  We should be able to take care our own people-- without living vicariously.   To pull this off will take re-education on our part, because we still need reconditioning:  This is the purpose of this Blog spot.  Some of us have gotten comfortable with the ride, even though  yesterday they were beating you with whips as you passed by ,,,  This is madness!!!
   A lot of us have gotten comfortable  with the illusion that we are equal citizens: Looking at their heroes as our heroes and claiming to be a part of a society that reject us on a collective basis.  A lot of us still have a slave mentality!  Alright, alright, sharecropping and buying items from the company store as a condition of residency!  That better?  No.  At least as slaves, you had room and board but no spending money and human rights.  Here, you don't have enough, you pay for everything and you have to stay within the lines or they put you in jail (where slavery is legal and you forfeit many of your rights).  This is what must change and we must fist change our way of thinking  and change ourselves along with it!  As long as you keep relying on someone else, you are subject yourselves to them.  We need to do for self, but our attitude toward ourselves must change first before we can do that.

   What you see in the word "PreJudice" is two components: "Pre" meaning "before" and "Judice" "the act of judging."  Just from the word itself, you can see that this word roughly means to "judge before knowing."  Having preconceived notions (and beliefs of some sort, before actually knowing the truth).  As they say, "You can't judge a book by its' cover"-- meaning you can't access something by its' appearances.  "Everything is not how it seems"...  Look at contracts:  The original makers of contracts present all the Attractive Parts in Bold Text, but as my parents always said, "Better read the fine print because that's the part that will jam you up."  The culture which derived the contract must have been as slick as the Greeks were to the Trojans.  Wasn't  it  the Trojans who gave us the phrase: "Watch out for Greeks bearing gifts!"  They must have had quite a bad experience, now didn't they?

   In my blind days, I could not understand all the hostility Blacks had for Whites and Jews in the inner-cities, but in the back of my mind we knew it had to be based upon some incidents-- that attitude alone, (well, accompanied with patience) allowed me to find out why.  But I know it is not right to form an opinion on some one or some people based upon scant information, appearance, or based on rumor.  That's a very "half-cock way" of going about things (which is simply not the case with my kind). But when you have gathered enough information and have experienced much events throughout your chronicles (documented occurrences throughout the pasting of time; chronology), then these things substantiate why you access things the way that you do.  Notice: I did not call it history because that means "that is HIS story."  I have a brother (let's call him Larry, that was so silver-tongue- smooth in his vocal presentations, that he could get almost anyone to believe what he said-- whether he was lying or not.  Well, you know how that went.  After a few experiences with His stories, you learned to be wary of him!  As they say about the Yankee trader: "Let the buyer beware!"

  The way I see it, awareness requires knowledge and those devoted to acquire such knowledge are by definition scientists.  When a scientist encounters something "unknown," the scientist makes it a practice to follow specific scientific procedures.  The first step along these lines is observation and research.  This requires that one gathers all the available information before making a decision, assessment or evaluation.  Of course, first semi-assessment comes in a form of an educated guess, which is called an hypothesis-- but the hypothesis summary is not a full assessment; it is just an perspective based upon the elements known at the time.  The full assessment will take research, experimentation, case studies, and a lot more observation than just the initial one and definitely not for the purpose of proving or disproving the hypothesis-- but to find out what is the true.  If we set upon this methodical journey just to prove the hypothesis, then our hypothesis would be no better than a preconceived notion or a prejudice preposition-- now wouldn't it?  Once again, you may find plenty of people out there who live like that, but these people are not my kind: People who just look for one or two little things (in the midst of several non-corresponding facts), which  coincides with their view-- then they're off and running, calling their view the 'gospel.'  That would be ignoring all the other "signs" that did not coincide, just to be right-- even though other signs were there.  Or worse yet, getting caught up in the rapture of a charismatic speaker, then become urged to light up torches and start burning something!  These are people who are sort of seeing what they want to see and hearing what they want to hear, thus becoming deaf to anything that doesn't coincide or things that they don't agree with.  Do you know the type?  Sounds familiar?  You should be sure before you act, otherwise you wind up in most causes being wrong!  You should want the what's true and real, regardless of how you feel.

   Oh, you may not be the kind who wants to be wrong, but it is far better than basing your life or moves on false premises...  This is what prejudice is: Basing your position upon what you think you know -- or feel you know-- instead of all that's known and/or revealed.  You must seek to remain un-bias until more things are known about the situation.  Being un-bias is very important when attempting to seek the truth.  You can't just simply listen to others or let your feelings and desires get in the way of you seeing what is really going on.  If you do, your errors are your own fault due to scant information!  Even your best hypothesis has to be tested for how real it is (a.k.a.its degree of veracity or authentic truth).  Veracity is not based upon how one feels, it is based upon consistent recurrences.  You may not like what you see, but that's the way it is.  This is why it is so very important for you to remove those barricades called boundaries.

  In my blind days, I found myself being prejudice about the Black Southerners who moved up north in the inner-cities, calling them "country" and thinking they were not as sophisticated as we Northerners Blacks were.  How stupid was that?  I mean, my father came from North Carolina and my mother is from South Carolina.  All my aptitude and attitude was made up from a pool of resources called genes-- born from DNA that culminated in this life-time from a place we call the south.  After all, we're just awareness swimming in gene pools (maintaining our innate  purpose, identity and integrity), while furthering friends and family as well as influencing people.  As you remember, isn't DNA described as the instructional code of the cell?  Isn't that the  same as being the knowledge-holder of all the ingredients of each cell?  Last time I checked, instructions are procedures which are based upon awareness and capabilities which require a certain amount of aptitude and wisdom to use such knowledge and principles.  And isn't the reverse equally as true-- that if you demonstrate an ability, that your aptitude is brought out of the innate capability of your DNA?  How foolish was my persons, as to think we displayed potential that was not represented within my gene pool-- much less to look down on the potential of those who came from the same place as my parents.  What a ignorant a notion!  But that's the issue with bias: You see what you want to see and you hear what you want to hear; ignoring everything which doesn't support your theories...

  The root word of "ignorant" is "to ignore" --as in free speech, because-- "you can't miss what your can't measure!"  It is real ignorant to speak on things without proper reference.  In other words, behaving like this means you "slept on the real things," voicing your opinion-- without caring what the facts are.  That's both ignorant and arrogant and is equal to "an accident waiting to happen."  This is the main reason why we (Blacks within American society) have to stop doing what American conditioning  has taught us: Identity ourselves in terms of state, country, religion and locale.  When you think this way, you bind and blind your persons to other customs, areas and locales.   Its like human beings placing themselves in boxes in which they cannot conceive of anything outside of that box.  And when you do this, you cannot think of yourself truly as a group of people who are located around the world!
 
  It is another form of prejudice in which you do not pay attention to others of your genus in other places-- often expressing itself as a lack of concern-- not to mention manifesting itself an inaccurate view of the total situation.   Malcolm X (Malik El Hajj Shabazz) once spoke concerning this type of mentality.  He spoke to Blacks in America in relation to analogous Blacks around the world, in most of his speaking engagements.  In the word "Ignorant"  is the word " ignore"  which means "to not pay attention."  You cannot find the truth if you ignore some of the signs and details.  That's like heaping up diamonds, while you are searching for cut-glass!  Funkadelics lyrical guru, George Clinton once said to, "Pay attention, you can't afford free speech!"  In One of Malcolm's  'current state of affairs for Black people segments' of his speaking engagements, Malcolm said something like this:  'Some of you are sitting there, acting so cool, like this doesn't effect you.  What makes you think they're going to act any different because you have, what you feel, is an unique situation with those people?  I'm here to say, that if they can do it to us over there, he can do it to us over here.  You are in a society that is just as capable of building "gas ovens" over here as Hitler did in Germany.'

  What is interesting to note here, is that it isn't so much the prejudice that other persons objects to in the prejudice person-- as it is the air of superiority and entitlement that one who is prejudice oft-time displays.  If one is prejudice and has nothing in their possession that the other person feels they must have, the effects are not as damaging.  But when one is in charge of things (such as resources and employment) and discriminates on the basis of a feeling or dislike of another group of people (while concealing that these feelings has anything to do with such a decision), this can be very damaging.  In North American society, racism and its' various forms of prejudice is one of the leading causes of disenfranchisement of Blacks and other non-ruling class people.  As well, the act of concealing these prejudices and discriminatory feelings towards non-ruling class people is horrible because it gives the impression to the discriminated person that he/ or she did something wrong, or he/ she is just not wise and intelligent enough to "make the grade."  I've also watched people point to unfocused anger, rage and hostility amongst some Blacks (who cannot figure out who's causing all this to happen and lashing out at all whites) as being prejudice-- which is in fact blaming the victim.  Just because the force of discrimination and dominance can not be located by the one who this happening to, does not mean he is wrong for sensing that feeling of injustice.  Nor is it wrong for him or her to want something done about it, in the name of justice and fairness.  This is like so often in the NBA, one does not see the one who started the foul behavior, but  the person who gets "tagged" is the person who retaliates..

THE HAVES AND THE HAVE NAUGHTS

  As discussed, it isn't so much prejudices and biases in men (and women) which causes issues, as it is the sense of entitlement and preferential expectations over top of all others which evokes a stir.  I mean, if you are a person who has very little, the sense of entitlement and idea that you should have above everyone else (a.k.a. preferred or preferential) does not become an issue-- unless it is accompanied by a inclinations towards thievery:  In all other cases, ownership or proper entitlement means nothing:  In the terms of the thief, he would merely take what they want-- until someone or something stops the perpetrator.  Within his/or her limited scope of thinking-- appropriateness (sense of right or wrong) would not be any concern to that person.  Maybe, that is, until he/or she owns something-- then the former thief  would be concerned about ways to preserve their ownership of it.  I guess, in this regard, the Native Americans should have been more concerned about the foreigners (that is, the colonist) that they were allowing into the bay of their homelands...

  Our condition as Blacks, was wholly another issue.  We were a people, taken by others, with the express purpose of cultivating another's land (once the land had been stolen from the natives that is) and performing menial tasks for their pleasure.  This should not be confused with prostitution (known as the white slave trade), although the pay for entitlement makes it very similar.  Blacks in this country were owned by Whites; making anything  slaves owned, property of the owner who owns the slave!  Granted, Blacks had a small stint of indentured servitude in this country; but that quickly changed into slavery according to color.  In a court case:  Scott vs. Emerson & Scott vs. Sandford (formerly known as the Dred Scott case), a slave attempted to sue his master for transgressions involving property (Mr. Scott was trying to buy himself out of slavery).   Mr. Scott was summarily told by Judge R. Taney, "The courts do not recognize his rights as a human or citizen, nor his rights to ownership."  Given our past chronicle in this country, it comes as no surprise why persons of the ruling class today would attempt to continue trying to play our people this way.  After all, this type of behavior is what they were accustomed to, our "freedom and Justice" changes were altering what Whites were traditionally comfortable with. Ironically, given our current employment opportunities, we still rely on semi-servitude conditions in order to keep our people afloat on this country-- that ladies and gentlemen is not freedom.  Part of the reason for this is because our solidarity and "Black-for-Black" employment is anemic, at best.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RACISM, DISCRIMINATION AND PREJUDICE-- AS OPPOSED TO  BEING SICK AND TIRED OF BEING ABUSED?

  Normally when we see the word PREJUDICE, we see it  in conjunction with DISCRIMINATION and RACISM.  This combination of terms seems to indicate that there are actions carried out here, which tend to give preferential treatment to some and deny others. Discrimination is created from reasons like prejudice and racism.   Like when someone does physical harm to someone or to some one's property because of prejudice or race-- it is commonly known as "hate crimes."  This implies something has to be done (or not done) for prejudice and racism to be an issue. This only makes sense because you cannot control how a person thinks, but you can do something about inappropriate actions-- yet we do need to be more precise with who and what we call prejudice, bias, and discriminatory.  Just because you refuse to continue to "play the game" when you are treated unfairly, does not make you a bigot or prejudice-- just tired of being the one who gets abused in an unequal relationship.  But we must come up with other words for those who get tired or fired up from insults and inappropriate behavior from other groups.  Often militancy are incorrectly grouped in with hate groups or perpetrators of hate crimes, but this is an inaccuracy and an over-exaggeration.  Militant groups are usually formed from individuals who are tired of being pushed around.  And while some of their motives and ideologies can be considered questionable and some acts not well thought out maybe considered "hate crimes." is it only because of improper judgment-- not to be considered that because of the poor judgment on the part of some individuals, that all militants are the same as a hate groups.
  
  This is very important to comprehend because, just as countries have their relationships with other countries, peoples have their relations with other groups or races:  And usually due to old occurrences and frequent encounters, postures are developed and these tend to initiate one to form a general attitude and possible opinion concerning the other group-- such as "beware of Greeks bearing gifts," "The world is our oyster" (Romans), "In conquering and war, Mongolians show no mercy," "Aryans are the Superior race,"  Darwin's "Survival of the Fittest" (natural selection theory on evolution)-- "To all Romulans, Terraens (earthlings/humans) are a terrible waste of flesh," (Star Trek series-- LOL)!  If you were the other stock of people, what would be your sentiments if you had such people as your "next door neighbors?"   But you should recognize that these above statements are not the product of prejudice, they are defensive gestures and reactions created from the other groups sense of "entitlement."  Let us recognize this before continuing...

 Prejudices and biases can produce such atrocities in war that eventually conventions like the Geneva Conventions and the League of Nations have to be created to limit their affect.  Note the Rwanda incident, the effect of Nazism upon the Jews and the annihilation of the Native Americans in this country by those who felt they were "entitled" to take this land from the ones who assisted the so-called entitled ones survive the harsh winters of America...  Nations have allies and enemies because of the commonality of ideologies-- as do people and individuals.  There are those who are sympathetic to other causes and those who are antagonists.  This suggests the notion of the need of evolution and a better sense of humanity amongst all people.  People evolve according to sensitivity, ideology (philosophy) and environment.  National environments often produce indoctrinations which often serve to de-sensitize and cloud one's perceptions on things, as well muddy issues-- take war propaganda for example.     
  Although there are many environments where nationality, religion or philosophy and the stock of people are one and the same (Chinese/Japanese/Persian--Iranian, for example.) -- there are others, like the United States and Canada (or multi-cultural nations)-- which tend to muddle the issues of nationality, religion, and people.  The multi-cultural appearance of some nations, seems to give one the impression that its' ethnic groups can get along and live in harmony  with each other under one nationalistic umbrella.  This perspective is often a  "hard-sell" on the part of multi-cultural nations  under the influence of indoctrination.  But you will often find that these same multi-cultural societies form strata or levels, which are based upon economics, racial prejudices, class, sex, religion, and/ or creed-- who commonly feel that those who are in the dominant position should get preferential treatment.   

   When the Europeans came to colonize North America, those who were already here often made it difficult for the other Europeans to establish themselves on American soil.  During the inception of the New World (North America), England and Ireland brought their British Isles cultural conflicts right over here to United States, when they settled in this country. Immigrants and colonizers as well-illustrated in the Martin Scorcese film "Gangs of New York" behaved in the above sort of manner, as did the indentured servant environments in the early rural south.  Within these types of multi-cultural environments, biases, prejudices, and travesties, often exist beneath the surface, within the creeds that the overall country projects.
 
  A lot of people outside the United States often criticize Blacks in America for not rising above the station designated to them within the American fabric.  But I will remind them that a lot of prejudices are institutionalized in America and therefore its affects are very subtle:  They are often hidden underneath tradition and social interaction, child rearing, customs, and various forms of  indoctrination which lies underneath the surface of the American fabric-- often where outsiders can rarely see it.   A lot of means of controlling the interests in this country are manipulated by the hands of the ruling class in this manner.  This explanation is not an excuse; only an elaboration on some of the contributing factors to our suppression!  A lot of what ethnics groups do within a multi-cultural society boils down to conform in order to  survive.  Often unspoken policies, attitudes, and prejudices are incorporated in how a people are raised-- so much so that  many things are ingrained surreptitiously, and institutionalized by the society-- so that ones who practice this way of life often do not realize what is implicated when they are doing such things.  Many times, if you bring these sort of things up,  those who are doing them  may think that you are delusional for saying that they have these sort of biases towards others.

    I will say here however, pointing out biases and discrimination-- as well as the atrocities caused by them-- is not the same as being prejudice for pointing them out.  It just means you are aware of the chronology and history of others, recognize the types of infractions,  and you are wary of the possibilities.  In multi-cultural environments within one national backdrop (like that of the United States), you can find yourself fighting for the ideals of a society (like freedom) while (as a people) your own people do not have those entitlements.  When Frederick Douglass urged Abraham Lincoln to allow Blacks fight in the Civil War, his urge for our people to fight for the Union was done,  as a means of gaining privileges we did not have.  And while Blacks fought in World War II as Americans, they did so within a segregated (so-called "Separate But Equal") society.  This was further compromised by the fact that Blacks entered into the war in segregated ranks, while fighting to maintain rights and freedoms for Whites that they themselves did not have.  In the Vietnam war, Blacks may have entered into the war de-segregated, but besides seeing how the "other half lives" (and also given greater latitude while they were in Vietnam), they returned back home to their same old inferior neighborhood conditions that they previously experienced.  I wonder how Mr. Douglass would feel concerning our gains as Black people within this country (from his day to ours currently), were he still alive!  The sad fact is that we have entered several wars and conflicts with this country, only to come back to so-called 'separate but unequal' conditions-- which is a testament to the disparity between the race representing the ruling class (the colonizers) and its' miscellaneous 'subjects.'

   Now just because I talk about racial issues like prejudice and discrimination within this country as it is perpetrated on people of non-White ethnicity, that does not make me racist.  Because I speak about the damage done to us by bigotry and advocate that we do for ourselves instead of relying on others, does not make me a bigot.  Because I choose to speak out about the inequities between those who rule this country (those of European ancestry) versus Blacks, along with other non-White ethnicity-- does not make me prejudice. My views are not bias or prejudice-- simply because the judgment is an assessment of the damage done based upon chronological events (not a judgment before any acts were perpetrated). 

    However, I have noticed that many of my contemporaries (who are of European descent) often get defensive-- accusing me of being what their ancestors obviously were.  Because Blacks are descendants of the First Man and Woman, we should always entertain the path of the trendsetters; not the people following the trends...  I'm just a journalist, writer/ reporter who is just stating the truth.  If you don't like the effects, don't produce the cause!  And while many from the ruling class may question Blacks sense of patriotism-- I never see them ready to swap social conditions with us, then saying they would fight for that.  As a matter fact, most foreigners rarely migrate into the Black areas (so-called Black lands) within the United States.  This should tell you something about the inequities that everyone knows exists, yet some of the reasons that most Whites cannot see such things is because they are indoctrinated with an attitude that refuses to view at these things objectively.

  Now on the other hand, from my personal observations, there is something intrinsically wrong with Blacks maintaining a position, wherein another group of people can affect our position and destiny so strongly.  Meaning that, should White people in America suddenly lose everything they had acquired in this country, (through both honorable and/ or nefarious means), Blacks would also experience that same inevitable depression-- is pathetic condition for us as a people.  There's something intrinsically wrong that we have become a people in America who accepts the position of members of the same race who enslaved us-- to validate us, or even employ us.  I mean, given the demonstrated attitudes directed at our kind (biased opinions, apprehensions, and inflated fears, etc.), versus the increased rise in black enterprise.  You would think we as people would be looking at this and making further crossroads.

   Activism means to be actively doing something about our shortcomings as a people.  We have made too many gains individually for this to be our fate collectively.  And maybe that's the point.  We should not be relying on anyone else to be doing the things we need to do ourselves, otherwise we are in a vicarious situation-- despite having numbers that rival many nations and that is ludicrous and pathetic; considering the chronicles of US and THEM who we rely on in this country.  No it is not prejudice, it is knowledge based upon the events which supports it.  It is already a proven fact that to continue in the way that Blacks have done, in relation to the powers that be in American society, is surely mingling with mayhem.  I am not saying you should dislike them, I am saying we have to be more reliant on ourselves.  In other words, in the words of KRS-1: "Self is the true reality of All, Self by itself does fall.  Often when a Black man starts his own business, he doesn't get much help-- many times he can not depend on his own men and woman but, we need to be working much harder at a better resolution than the one I just spoke of.  I think changing our attitudes about each other is important.  I think solidarity is a good start.  How about you?  Let's make it happen.  Create the love we say that we be about.  After all, on the continent, we have large extended families.  After all, I might be one of your relatives.  Send me your comments.  After all, it is up to us...

Love, Peace and Blessings,

C. Be'erla Hai-roi Myers