Thursday, April 8, 2010

It's Actually Sinister

He who forgets history is doomed to repeat it.

That's how I feel about the recent news out of Virginia that the state's governor doesn't think "slavery" was "significant" as it relates to discussing the Confederacy. That's what he said when he was challenged about his decision to leave out any mention of slavery when discussing Confederacy History Month. The whole human chattel issue wasn't really a big deal. Seriously.

Some folks are upset by the governor's comments. Other folks are complaining that people are making too big of a deal about nothing. There are also a few folks who are pointing out that the War of Northern Aggression was about "state's rights" not slavery.

Nobody is seeing the big picture.

This incident reminds me of a story a friend told me about having to take a tour of a southern plantation. She was taking the tour as part of her job, and hating every minute of it because she's a logical-minded black woman.

Anyway, she said the tour guides gushed on and on about the clothes the slave owners wore, and the balls they held, and the lives they led. But, curiously absent from the discussion was the role of slaves in making this lifestyle possible.

In fact, although there was still an intact slave shack still present on the property, the tour guides for the plantation told all the visitors that visiting those quarters was only "optional." That's right, you visit a plantation, but it's "optional" to get a glimpse of the suffering and misery that supported the entire lifestyle.

Again, there is a bigger picture here.

It's not about black folks getting up in arms because another old white man showed his hindparts. That's blase. Nah, the real problem is that an elected official felt comfortable telling the media that slavery was not a "significant" part of the history of the Confederacy. It's bad enough that Virginia celebrates an armed insurrection as a "high point" in the history of the United States, but to pretend that slavery was only a minor issue, and expect folks to buy that, well that's a sign of something sinister.

Blacks folks know that the "history" taught to most Americans is really "His-story". The story of the greatness of white folks and how they conquered the world.

Most information that contradicts the firy tale that America was basically a wonderful place filled with wonderful, loving people, is left out of the standard school curriculum. Even those periods like slavery or the Jim Crow-era are covered as quickly as possibly to avoid bringing down the vibe about America the Beautiful.

Thankfully, I went to school with black folks. Black people talk about the ugly stuff in this country's past, particularly the ugly stuff that affected us. WE don't pretend the Civil War was about taxes. We know damn well it was about whether master could continue to run his little, darkie harem without federal interference.

Certain folks are working overtime to change even the most basic facts that we all know to be true. Those folks understand that if they can re-shape and re-define the truth, they can then create the world in the image they prefer.

It's why they twist words, and ignore obvious context. It's not because they are stupid or stubborn, it's because they actually have devious aims they are trying to accomplish. This governor knows damn well that the Confederacy was all about slavery, but he believes that if tells the Big Lie long enough, nobody will be able to prove it's not true.

And that's a real danger. I've found that if people repeat a lie long enough, most people stop questioning its veracity. They just assume that nobody would lie about something so serious, and assume it must be correct.

For example, I've seen certain types of white folks mention that black men rape white women far more often than white men rape black women. It's often quoted as statistical fact with allusions to news articles to buttress the claim.

Only, it's complete crap. It's not true, there are no news articles, and any sort of serious analysis of the Justice Department's statistics would preclude any honest person from making that argument. But, folks tell that lie everyday, and other folks believe it.

The governor of Virginia understands that given the current educational system and the general unease most white folks feel about talking about race, there will come a time when most folks are willing to believe that slavery wasn't a big deal. Once they consider that, they will be ripe for the idea that slavery wasn't really the main issue that drove the Civil War.

They might even believe that the Confederacy was a manifestation of true patriotism. It seems far-fetched to you and me, but bigger lies have been told and accepted.

So, I'm glad people are calling the governor out for his Big Lie, I just wish they would focus on the fact that his attempt was far more sinister than stupid.

That way we can all stay vigilant.





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28 comments:

Sabina E. said...

I will never find anything romantic or "un-important" about the ugly, cruel, dark past of the Deep South. These stories I heard in my high school classroom about how Black slaves were beaten, raped, brutalized and forced to work under the hot sun for hours and then tried to escape for their lives and then were re-captured, set on fire and tortured and lashed for days, while black children and women were RAPED by these white owners, is something I cannot erase from my mind. That, along with the Holocaust and the current events about the Congo which I read with increasing horror and shock.

I agree with you, the governor's attempt is sinister, not "stupid."

unfuckingbelievable.

Big Man said...

DIMA

In some ways, he's apology only makes it worse.

Now he admits that slavery is horrible, yet he still thinks we need to celebrate the existence of the Confederacy.

How does that make sense? How does it make sense to celebrate a seditious organization that fought for the right to own human chattel?


It doesn't make sense unless you're trying to scrub history clean of the facts.

CNu said...

Submariner was dropping knowledge today at my spot on the Vatican's treatment of its global child sex abuse epidemic and scandal. He linked a piece from Ross Douthat which included the following gem;

The victims of sexual abuse had nowhere to turn, because they were identified as complicit in their own abuse, if not indeed its instigators. Being the ruination of a priest or brother was an enormous cause of shame.

Based on what I have observed over the past 25 years on these here ethernets - where folks engage in very open (because anonymous) thought exteriorization - that Bob McDonnell and like-minded others - have the audacity to actually believe that we are in some manner, form, or fashion complicit in our own abduction, enslavement, and devaluation for lo these past 400 years.

Big Man, why are you struggling so hard to cause this poor man to feel shame or even bring about his "ruination" when you know good and well that we're REALLY to blame for our predicament here deep in the beast's belly?

Shame on you, you radical autonomizer you!!!

Deacon Blue said...

I don't know...call me crazy, but shouldn't celebrating the Confederacy be considered some kind of disloyalty? Since you're essentially saying you'd rather be separate and don't have any patriotism?

Oh, that's right...if you're white you can terrorize without being a terrorist, reject the entire government without being unpatriotic, and threaten the president and call it your exercise of free speech.

I forgot the rules for a second there...

Thordaddy said...

Look at these cats just fixing for a seperation... Just as long as they can tell their ex's what to do, what to say and how to act.

Lil man,

Just like I've said before, your whole script has just one aim. You are looking to maximize your autonomy. One of the great advantages of living in an increasingly autonomized society IS THAT YOU CAN DO THIS my minimizing the autonomy of people that have no influence over you.

You have through your global soapbox almost certainly modified the speaking behavior of many cowardly white folks. You do this most effectively in the way that almost all mainstream black folks do it. You simply overexaggerate the effects of slavery on YOU AND YOUR CONTEMPORARIES. In fact, overexaggeration is a character feature of the African American archetype.

When one strips away the racket, one recognizes that lil man IS IMPLYING his slave status.

This slave status explains his black liberationist creed. But because he is actually FREE TO SPEW HIS CONSCIOUS ACROSS THE GLOBE, he is really just a radical autonomist of the black liberationist variant.

Thordaddy said...

Lil man,

You know why craig's so bitter? Because he's in the belly of the beast AND HE STILL WON'T LEAVE.

The question is, why???

Because craig doesn't have another home and he ain't bold enough to make one OUTSIDE THE BELLY OF THE BEAST.

So he rages like the black mainscream.

Thordaddy said...

We all know that AA is premised on the idea that today's African Americans suffer equal to their slave ancestors. This wretched meme is more played out than Lebron's three step, but the refs ain't seeing it and so the fans have to change the ball game.

The legacy of slavery is myth. It has no scientific stature. The moral weight it had has been played out.

We live in a liberal society and slavery means nothing in such a society. The reason it has no meaning is because we're liberal and therefore slavery is a choice. But for savvy nigels, it's a tool, a racket, an angle. It is utilized like one would utilize an ax to chop down a tree. It is a way TO GET THINGS. It is an excuse NOT TO SEPERATE.

The legacy of slavery transformed into coercive integration. You didn't have to be a slave. You just had to live in white man's world.

Lil man, when's the goal going to be reached? Or, are you just one of those can kickers?

Thordaddy said...

DB,

That stands for dirty butt. Absolutely pathetic. Do always let miss pink speak for you? Oh wait, miss pink can't call for black liberation? She one of those coercive integrationists? She doesn't want to be a slave BUT SHE MUST LIVE IN WHITE MAN'S WORLD.

Free, unfree???

Free, unfree???

Fee, unfree???

Fee, umfree???

See, I'm free...

When are you and miss pink going to break free?

Deacon Blue said...

Just couldn't hold out, eh, Thordaddy? No matter how insane or ridiculous what you've spouted over a bunch of months now, I've held to our presumed gentleman's agreement to ignore each other online.

Now you're not even making remote sense. Miz Pink usually talks about random crap on her mind at my blog, rarely race related; she accounts for only one out of six posts at my blog (most of them short); and she lives in another state.

How could she possibly be speaking for me, IRL or online?

And I'm not going to speak to her race, as I'm pretty sure she's never revealed in on my blog, so neither will I here.

How about we go back to ignoring each other now?

CNu said...

lol..,

a four comment outburst.

is this a new record for a strategically popped thorpimple?

Big Man said...

CNu

I didn't see Sub's thoughts, but I had the same reaction when I heard some old, bald white man with glasses going off on CNN about the New York Times and the "so-called victims."

It was like folks were trying their hardest to pretend that something like this just couldn't have been as bad as the victims said it was, or that they must have brought it upon themselves.

It's sort of an off-shoot of the "Just World" delusion that most white folks seem to operate under. That's close cousin to the "all people are basically good" doctrine.

Both of them are Big Lies.


Deacon Blue

See, you keep forgettin' the rules son. We're going to have to look into revoking your white pass because clearly you are having trouble wrapping your mind around the hypocrisy needed to be a comfortable member of the white race.




Thor

You all right son? That was particularly incoherent even for you.

So, I'm going to apply some of your logic to our current relationship.

You freely visit my blog. You have maximum autonomy. Yet you consistently attempt to limit my autonomy by trying to bludgeon me into thinking the way you do and writing what you want me to write.

If you don't like what I'm doing, are you not free to take up digital residence somewhere else? Who is forcing you to stay?

Are you afraid to strike out on your own and establish your own domain where you can practice autonomy free from my nefarious influence?


Did I get that right? Did I hit all the key points on the radical autonomy checklist?

Son, your game is played out for real. You are like an angry child flailing away in the wind. Constantly redefining words, rewriting history and recreating reality so that you can feel better.

Why you so mad? Is it because you can't convince enough folks to go along with your Big Lie?

Do you see yourself as some sort of intellectual warrior doing battle on the web with black folks of all types? I'm just curious, what is your purpose out here in the world?

Thordaddy said...

Lil man,

Come on, dawg... Mad atcha, for real? Tryin' to shut you down?

I WANT YOU TO BE HEARD FAR AND WIDE...

You still don't get it, do ya...

I found you, not vice versa.

You black liberationists ready for real spotlight?

PS Can you give of one example where "Governor Bob's" downplay of slavery had any effect on a black person OUTSIDE A PROCLAIMED EMOTIONAL GRIEVANCE?

I rest my case.

Thordaddy said...

Lil man,

If the paradigm is one of coercive integration and you are against such a paradigm THEN WE ARE ON THE SAME SIDE.

If you want to seperate then I am here to help you.

Thordaddy said...

Lil man,

Without guys like you lil white liberals are nothing. You know this and this is why cats like you are flexing like never before. The paradigm is weak in this time of crisis. When is it every man for himself, coercive integration is death.

That's why deacon sounds so pathetic. He's one of those lil white liberals that is justing priming himself for submission. He's a true believer in the paradigm even if it means his subjugation AND EVEN IF IT'S A FALSE PARADIGM.

You, on the other hand, sit on the fence.

free, unfree...

free, unfree...

free, hunfree...

fee, hunfree...

fee, hungree...

mee, hungree...

Me, hungry...

Lil man, aren't you hungry for freedom?

Or, are you hungry for servitude?

CNu said...

Big Man, you asked thorpimple the following; I'm just curious, what is your purpose out here in the world?

Since we both know you're not going to get an answer, let me give you one on his behalf.

josh farst is an angry and frustrated peckerwood peasant.

Calling him what he is - is not invective, it's just what he is.

It also explains why he does what he does.

He believes himself to be an advocate for other angry peckerwood peasants.

Pointing out the demographic to which josh belongs is not the same as insulting him.

Don't be ashamed of being a peckerwood peasant Josh.

That's the hand that GAWD dealt you.

There are plenty of decent ones.

{If anything I may be insulting the peckerwood peasant demographic by including you as one}


Josh fancies himself a virtual civil rights leader and advocate for other angry peckerwood peasants.

In a nutshell, that's his "purpose" out here in our virtual worlds.

{Now, what he hopes to accomplish and why he feels compelled to incompetently and ineffectually "advocate" for his people in our spaces is a mystery to me. imoho - Josh has single-handedly done more to set back the interests and besmirch the otherwise good name of peckerwood peasantry than flava flav has done to set back and besmirch to good name of crackheads everywhere....,}

Deacon Blue said...

Oh, no, I've been called pathetic by the guy who has to comment incessantly on other people's blogs to get attention, because he can't get any attention at one of his own.

Or even generate content for his own blogs.

However will I live with the shame of being so labeled by such an esteemed personage?

Pardon me while I swoon.

Thordaddy said...

Lil man,

I throw out a few tidbits and you scurry right past all the salient questions.

Are you a black liberationist?

Do you believe in coercive integration?

Are you a believer in seperationism?

Are you free to leave the white man's world (the belly of the beast)?

What bigoted words have impeded your freedom within the last 10 years?

What does having a global platform to spread your conscious FOR FREE represent to you?

What is the "legacy" of slavery? Is this a tangible thing? Is this a psychological thing?

What is the goal of black liberation? Equality?

Can one be liberated to equality when he has absolute freedom of conscience?

Give it a shot lil man... This might be liberating.

Thordaddy said...

DB,

With that defense, I rest my case. You just don't have it in you. And that's why I'm mainly left to battle on black liberationists' blogs. White male liberals are weak and submissive and white female liberals are entirely incoherent. Such is the nature of liberalism.

I'll still use you as Exhibit A when I feel like it.

Thordaddy said...

CNu,

They say what you don't know can't hurt you. In this case, that would be wrong.

Boy, I CAN'T WAIT TO BRING YOUR CONTENT TO A MUCH LARGER AUDIENCE.

Deacon Blue said...

Can someone point out to me what Thordaddy's case was and how he can "rest it" and declare me weak in a statement wherein I slammed HIM with relevant sarcasm and he responded with irrelevant and off-topic gibberish?

Because I'm confused.

Guess that's what happens when you spend too much time in a room with a single-minded nutjob, I suppose.

Thordaddy said...

DB,

Let me help explain.

You ENJOY subjugating yourself to the mindset of the black collective. Yet, this mindset is ENTIRELY SELF-SERVING and you know this. This makes your sheep-like behavior even more egregious.

YOU DO NOT HAVE A FIGHTING BONE IN YOUR BODY.

At least not one that would ever oppose mizz pink on racial matters.

Lil man thinks Governor Bob's words were OPPRESSIVE. Meaning, he thinks his words MINIMIZED the autonomy of the black collective while MAXIMIZING his own.

BUT WHERE IS THE PROOF?

Lil man's own protestations ARE THE REBUTTAL.

The reality is that the black collective MAXIMIZES its autonomy by claiming "racism." And the black collective yells "racism" because it MINIMIZES the autonomy of whites.

And DEACON BLUE is the proof in the pudding.

Thordaddy said...

See DB,

You aren't free to speak your mind on racial realities because first they only exist if the black collective asserts their existence and second YOU FOLLOW THE BLACK COLLECTIVE.

So the result is ENTIRELY PREDICTABLE.

YOU ARE MIZZ PINK'S ALBINO PARROT.

A rare thing, indeed.

Thordaddy said...

Lil man,

This cat got your tongue. Is this how your going to battle when I open my playground?

Aren't you tryng to be free?

Deacon Blue said...

Thordaddy, do you even have any reading comprehension skills? Why the fuck do you keep bringing up Miz Pink?

Miz Pink hardly talks about race, and Miz Pink isn't part of my daily life, and Miz Pink is only one-sixth of the number of posts at my blog, and likely less than 20% of the overall word count.

And if you mean my wife, Mrs. Blue, she has even less to do with my blog and my online presence.

Do you need your meds adjusted?

And FYI, I live in one of the whitest damn states in the U.S., so there is no black collective to submit to where I'm at...even if I were the submitting type.

At that, I'm through, because man, you don't know thing one about me, you clearly don't listen to anything but your own words, and I'm not going to waste any more of my precious time on your ass.

Big Man said...

Thor

So, you can't answer my questions, misrepresent history and you expect me to jump to do your bidding?


You are a funny cat, which I've maintained all along.

We ain't playing. We're not buddies and you're not a worthy challenger.


You're a random white dude looking for a platform. I allow you to exist on mine. That's the dynamic.

How I choose to deal with you is my business. You have no claim to this domain. This isn't like black folks in America, is an entirely different dynamic.



Sorry if that wasn't clear before, you have a good day now.

Thordaddy said...

Lil man,

What was your question?

I know I had a few left unanswered.

Thordaddy said...

"You're a random white dude looking for a platform. I allow you to exist on mine. That's the dynamic." -- lil man

That's what you tell yourself BUT WHAT IF it is not truthful?

Have you pondered that?

I FOUND YOU raving black lunatic BECAUSE...

YOU WANT TO BE HEARD!!!

Lil man, I want you to be heard far and wide.

What freedom you have lil man.

THIS NEEDS TO BE KNOWN...

Thordaddy said...

So lil man, you should have said:

You're a particular Supremacist WHO FOUND the raving black lunatic AND WISHES to exalt LIL MAN'S platform. I allow you to exalt my platform. This is the dynamic.

That's far closer to the truth of things. I make the spiders crawl.




Raving Black Lunatic