It's God Work

I think I've noted before that when I read books, I typically avoid non-fiction because I see reading as a pleasurable enterprise, not something I do to learn. While reading has helped me learn a lot, that's just an added benefit to the main benefit of being entertained.

When I do read non-fiction it typically deals with the history of black folks in America. I'm fascinated by the lives lived by my ancestors, by the evils they overcame and the hardships they endured. I like to get behind the scenes of those pivotal moments in black history and develop a true understanding of just how this minor miracle was accomplished.

Yet, there are drawbacks to that subject matter. Without fail, the more I learn, the harder it becomes to stomach the collection of lies that passes for "common knowledge" in America. It is a constant battle to control my anger, and an even more difficult battle to forgive.

Forgiveness is important to me.

As a Christian, I believe it's my duty and my salvation. I believe that forgiveness of others reinforces Christ's forgiveness of me, and is the only way I can grow into the man I need to become. But, it's so damn hard.

When the tales of injustice and evil are stacked upon each other like so many dead carcasses, it's hard to find the sweet aroma of forgiveness among the stench of decay. At times I wonder if it would be better to remain ignorant of the true history if only to protect my sanity and mental health since I find it increasingly difficult to be cordial to people who make idiotic statements based on a history they don't even know.

Ignorance isn't just bliss, it's absolution. There is no need to forgive if you don't know the crime. There is no need to be angry if you're unaware of the offense. You don't have a duty to spread truth if you're never exposed to it. You can be free.

But, can freedom truly be found in ignorance? Is a man being cuckolded by his wife "free" if he is ignorant of her transgressions, or is he simply unaware of the depths of the evil being done to him? Would abandoning the past and its truth make it easier to succeed in the future, or only doom me to a half-life sopping up lies like country folks with gravy and biscuits?

I don't know. And, that is the question I struggle with as a contemplate the God Work known as forgiveness.

 Can I forgive and still remember? Is it possible? Is it smart? Is it required of me?





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Powerful, powerful post. Check it out.

Daddy Dialectic: A Day at the Park

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Movies, Schools and Homes

 If white people don't see themselves in movies, they don't want to go. So says Salon.

White people also don't like to go to schools where they are the minority. They don't like to buy homes in neighborhoods where they will be the minority for the foreseeable future. They don't like to go to churches that are more than 20 percent "colored" either. Pretty much any time the demographics take a trend towards "colored" and the power dynamic shifts with that change, white folks want out.

That really isn't unusual. Most people like things they can relate to, and most people relate better to groups they are familiar with. In turn, most people are familiar with groups that look like them. Simple really.

But, there are troubling side effect that result from those simple facts of life. Since white people are the default target demographic for most things in America, anything that doesn't target white people will likely be marginalized. That marginalization can impact profitability, which of course is the Holy Grail in a capitalist society. In addition, if white people don't like something, there is a distinct possibility that it will be labeled as inferior. Furthermore, due to their position at the top of the power hierarchy in the world, white people get to create reality.

I guess it's not so simple.

For example, white flight is typically used to describe the way white homeowners fled cities from 1950 to 1990 with the exodus gaining particular fervor in the 1970s and 1980s. Often, this phenomenon is presented as an understandable and unavoidable reaction to growing inner city crime, rather than as a racist reaction to integration and the gradual reduction of government sanctioned discrimination. That's what happens when history is your story.

But, what is rarely discussed today is that white flight was not confined to preserving neighborhood composition. Nor do people tend to acknowledge that the practice never stopped. Simply put, white people were not interested in being minorities back then and they still aren't now.
In fact, in a world where white people are actually minorities compared to non-white people it is no accident that white folks have banded together to form enclaves of power through which they attempt to rule the largely colored world. This isn't just because of the innate human vice of greed, but also because white folks took a look around at reality and decided they wanted something different.

Therefore, it doesn't really matter if a movie is really good, if a school is awesome, or if a neighborhood is to die for. If those things aren't also "white" then white people aren't interested. Things are only worthwhile if they are white, have been verified and approved by white people, and openly solicit the involvement of white people.

These are important concepts to remember. Not only do they temper expectations, they provide much needed context for the actions of white people that seem asinine and hypocritical..

If you understand that many white people are not interested in sacrificing their position of dominance and preference, you will understand their persistent resistance to change. If you understand that white people believe the current state affairs is not only God-ordained, but the result of their own ingenuity and hardwork (instead of avarice and cruelty) you will understand why they get so angry about accusations of bias and impropriety.

Those accusations challenge the existence of the realities many of them have invested blood, sweat and tears into creating, and who among us would be willing to sacrifice our realities without resistance?

It's quite simple actually.




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Role Playing for Coloreds

“White people have this instinct that is really important: to give off the impression that they’re only going to do the really important work. You’re a quarterback."

Sometimes when people say stuff all you can do is give a single head nod. A succinct affirmation of the undeniable realness of the words they just uttered.

I gave that nod as I perused many of the high points in this story linked to over at Racialicious. The above quote perfectly captures a feeling that many, many minorities, even the model ones, seem to share. On the football team of life, it's quite obvious who the Golden Boy is, and who is the role player.

We all use stereotypes. We all love to lump people into easily identifiable groups that make it easier for our minds to process their existence. Stereotyping is human. But, and this is important, that doesn't make it an optimum behavior. See, the group with a hand in creating many of the dominant stereotypes in this country also is the group hell bent on maintaining its favored position in this country and the world.
And, thus, our stereotypes serve a deeper and darker purpose than just making the world easy to understand. They affirm and reinforce the power of white folks, even when they appear complimentary or inconsequential.

The linked article is about growing up Asian in America, but it speaks to the lives of most non-whites. Few of use ever transcend our non-white status and the stereotypes that accompany it. In small and large ways we deal with the consequences of not making the cut. For Asians, they may reap the benefits of being a "model minority" but they must steal deal with being labeled as largely asexual, or subservient, which diminishes their ability to succeed in America's vaunted and mythical meritocracy.

As the article notes, if academic achievement is supposed to be valued, why do so many Asians see themselves shunted into subordinate positions despite their academic achievements? Why does their success lead to the latest form of white flight, where white people are not fleeing the real and imagined pathologies of the black and brown, but the increased competition of the yellow?

Many of us know the answer. The game is rigged. There is no path designed by white folks that leads to non-white folks usurping their favored position. The path to that goal is something non-white people must find for themselves, or face a life filled with small and large frustrations.

We know the roles that have been set aside for us and we know the casting director. The choice should be simple.

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