Today is a sad day for the field, and I will tell you why: When I started this blog I decided that I would continue blogging until I found Lark Voorhies. Well, I am both happy and sad to announce that I have found her. Yes my friends, my hunt for the elusive Lark Voorhies is over; so now,unfortunately, I must stop blogging. Why? Because there is nothing left to blog for. This whole blogging thing was just a desperate and pathetic attempt to try and get Lark's attention.
One of her people found out about the blog, told Lark about the field, and thankfully, she has reached out.
So sorry folks, it's been real, and I enjoyed every minute with you. But I must move on to bigger and better things; Lark calls.....
Okay can I say April Fools now? APRIL FOOLS!!!
Now that I got that out of the way, let me get serious for a minute: We are just a couple of days away from the 41st Anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, and I saw an interesting essay about King and his movement over at TPM. The author, Clay Risen, seemed to be suggesting that King only included poor whites in his fight against injustice for tactical reasons. In other words, white A-merry-ca would not have accepted his movement if it did not include poor whites.
"Now, it is true that this position does not preclude the idea that poor whites also deserved something. But the debt America owed to poor whites was, in his view, clearly of a lesser magnitude. And as the quotes Rick presents make clear, his belief that the poor of all colors should be helped was in part a tactical, political move: Whites will block significant assistance to blacks unless that assistance can be explained in color-blind terms. "
Interesting. I can't help but think of his O ness and his quest for "change" and a new "post racial" A-merry-ca. Is this just a political strategy as well? And if it is, did it work? It sure looks like it. But who did it work for? Is his O ness and his political soul-mates the only ones who will benefit from his vision, or does he have a grand scheme to uplift black and poor people as King did? I know I know, lots of questions, and I hate to break up the spirit of the day, but they are serious ones.
April Fools is only one day; we have 364 where we have to get real.
38 comments:
Whew, thank goodness you'll continue! The O man is up to his ears in problems; let's hope he gets around to a grand scheme soon enough to uplift, but so far he just seems like a pragmatic politician who's doing what he can.
You had me, for a minute. Even if Mrs. Field leaves you (God forbid) and Lark takes you to the Kingdom Hall to get married, you better keep blogging.
Field,
You really fooled me. DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN! I have a weak heart and if I had died, you would have had a 'black' ghost that you could not have seen, haunting your ass. That's a lot worse than having a white ghost on your ass.
I don't know about the O man. I am beginning to think that he 'might' be just another smooth talking politician, like HRC tried to tell us. I don't know, maybe it's because of the rising racial rhetoric and increased racial tension and violence that has me depressed and angry. Or maybe it's his shakey looking solutions to an economic and financial mess that even God would have trouble solving.
I do know that I am uneasy because the O man hasn't said a "word" about the increased racial violence and killings. That's not a good sign for poor or Black people. In fact, it looks like it might be just another day in America with a different President who isn't going to do much about it. But I have a tendency to 'catastrophize', lose patience, and be dead wrong. I hope to God that I am off by 180 degrees. That would make me very happy. LOL.
Whew. Hey, when the Obamas came to visit, the Queen looked as happy as a corgi with a bacon treat. Usually, her eyes are glazed over when she meets Heads of State.
Three major leaders of the Sixties evolved to understand that racism was manipulated as a capitalist ruse to undermine class consciousness & united struggle. All three were murdered.
See Field, you play too much!!! LOL
LOL. Field, all this time I've been reading your blog and communicating with you, and I've always wanted to tell you that I am Lark, what do you think La stands for :)
syke, April fools. You better stop playing, you had me fixing the screw face for a minute there mister. If your blog isn't online anymore, what the heck am I suppose to do while I'm at work. Not funny.
It will take a lot more than that to convince me MLK was only concerned about blacks. I hope it's not true.
O-man is a true liberal. I'm sure he cares about blacks a ton but the expansion of government is the path to that goal for him. Cap N' Trade would be devestating for many low inconme or fixed income blacks for instance. Just my opinion.
szpork
Once I knew there was a "Mrs. Field" on the scene, I KNEW any references to Lark Voorhies was just playin'.
You didn't FOOL ME!
Now, stop trying to get out of that RUN you promised to make back in November when the O man won the whole she-bangabang. (side eye)
I finally got the Picture Word Association.
I don't think King wanted to be a part of what he despised, bigotry; not as a Christian leader or as a product of the aspirations of most Negroes at the time. We most wanted to be full citizens, Americans, and he was the transformational leader that could help us achieve that. That is why he was murdered.
That was a good trick you played on us, field.
Seriously, I have read many books on Dr. King, some by people worked closely and some not. My father was a friend of one of his chief lieutenants (Joesea Williams). He would come over and argue with My dad all the time. But I never heard Mr. Williams or any author speak of Dr. King thinking of whites in this manner, or suggesting that this was the chief motivation of Dr. King. While every leader uses whatever resources at their disposal to gain advantage tactically, Dr. King certainly believed in working with blacks and non-blacks to pressure the government to change its policy toward blacks, the poor and against violence. And there's nothing wrong with that.
I see this as an attempt to minimize the great work of Dr. King and the success of the civil rights movement with nothing more than speculation and conjecture. Blessings, field
Don't stop blogging. Losing your commentary would be an absolute void in my daily routine.
I brag about your site all the time to my friend and especially family members from Philly.
I'm still laughing at M-Diddy! (smiles)
Stay Strong
"...white A-merry-ca would not have accepted his movement if it did not include poor whites. Field
It's a strategy and tactic that King may have employed.
It wouldn't surprise me given how Affirmative Action, which most believe was designed to assist blacks, was watered down and diluted by including women, regardless of race, and other ethnic groups.
But to hear critics of the plan, you'd think it benefited blacks solely.
One of the reasons that it survived as long as it did is that the base was broaden to include groups that were not initially targeted.
"...a 1995 Supreme Court decision placed limits on the use of race in awarding government contracts; the affected government programs were revamped in the late 1990s to encompass any person who was socially disadvantaged. In the late 1990s, in a public backlash against perceived reverse discrimination, California and other states banned the use of race- and sex-based preferences in state and local programs.
King knew the heart and soul of this country. He knew that a movement, a program, or a plan that benefited blacks primarily or solely stood little chance of survival, provided it was enacted or mandated at all.
Hey sorry for the hoax but I was on a roll, I had just played one on a co-worker:) La,so you were Lark all along? I knew there was a reason I liked you.
NaturalSmile,you and other folks who said kind things about my blogging made my day.
Anon 10:14PM,I share some of your fears,but we will see,these are tough times.
Bob, I haven't seen the Queen that happy in a long time.I think she has a secret O man jones.:)
You had me going for a minute.LOL!
I don't know if we can answer the questions about O yet. It is still just too early to tell who will benefit from his politics.
I will say this. If we opt not to be involved and if we do not work to advocate for our common interests, then we didn't get it prior to the election.
btw, totally off the subject, I am an Ohioan-Thank you for highlighting Ken Blackwell. There can never be too much said about this particular individual.
White people get all tied up in things that have nothing to do with them all the time. Like Budhism.
Now there is no shortage of bad white people, but those who say MLK didn't reall want to help whites are the same who say John Brown was crazy, because they cant accept that a sane white man would give his life for black people.
Some are so set in a mind set that they have to change th efacts around them to maintatin it.
I knew the Lark deal was a sham. Try running down Broad St. buck naked, I bet the consequences of that run would get Lark's attention...Mrs. Field's too. LOL.
"Try running down Broad St. buck naked, I bet the consequences of that run would get Lark's attention..."
But will she post my bail?
"I will say this. If we opt not to be involved and if we do not work to advocate for our common interests, then we didn't get it prior to the election."
Co-sign.
Brohhamas, got to the TPM link and look at some other things that Risen wrote and tell me what you think of him.
"Whites will block significant assistance to blacks unless that assistance can be explained in color-blind terms."
So in other words, po' white folk have to be cut in the deal for the whole shebang to move?
Well........speechless.
On another note, there seems to be some Chinese cat who's spamming the comments with individually linked keywords. It's very annoying and breaks up the flow of commentary. Just had to let you know.
Here's the part of field's run down Broad Street, where some kids decide to throw a rock at a Hornet's Nest up in a tree...
What exactly do you mean by "helping black folks"? Seems to me, "helping black folks" is such a nebulous term as to preordain failure, and as such...
It's a Straw Man.
So... What exactly constitutes "helping black folks"?
Since I already see two key things happening, 60 days into this Presidency...
I'd like to see why exactly folks choose not to recognize that.
BT
Field, My first thought when I read the beginning of this post was that you were quitting blogging so you wouldn't have to make that run. No. I haven't forgotten. By the way, did you catch the French guy's naked run through the streets last week?
On MLK, his campaign was a "Poor People's" campaign. I don't think he labeled it that way so whites would get on board. He was a champion for all people. Someone now trying to classify this as a marketing ploy just denigrates the man and his memory.
Just an aside on the sidebar - can you put some space between "Brown Man Thinking Hard" and the dog taking a dump picture?
Just gives the wrong impression, especially to someone visiting for the first time.
When has this country EVER made a priority of poor people, regardless of race? If it were a priority, we would be working to END poverty. What exactly would that look like? I don't know. But, I do know this, I have not heard today's politicians say, the national cannot afford to have poverty. We cannot allow poverty to flourish. We CAN END poverty. We wage wars without considering the financial cost, we bail out the corporations, because we are told we cannot afford NOT to do so..
The poor, on occasion garner national attention, and there was the ever so brief "war on poverty", but in general, programs that assist "the poor" are paultry and reviled, and that has nothing to do with race and everything to do with class issues!
I imagine if you talk to anyone who is dealing with grinding poverty, regardless of race, they will tell you they feel like their lives do not matter to those that set policy for this country, nor have they ever mattered.
Field,
Obama's on a whole new paradigm. not poor whites or red state clowns. They've already shown themselves utterly unwilling to get a clue.
Rather, the twist is that he's also the patron saint of white yuppies, students, young folk. Cubicle slaves a la "Office Space." Artists, "hip" whites. he is their MLK. Just as much as O man is our "chosen one."
Jody sez - When has this country EVER made a priority of poor people, regardless of race? If it were a priority, we would be working to END poverty.
With our economy teetering on the edge of complete collapse, 750,000 people losing their jobs a month...
And a looming 3rd and 4th hit to the banking and financial structure...
I'm afraid the definition of "poor" may have to be expanded to include perhaps as much as 30% of what used to be middle class.
The single "anti-poverty" program in this country which actually worked was effectively destroyed by the racist conservative majority over the past 19 years. That was the 8a Small Business initiative through the Federal, State, and Local Governments. Conservatives destroyed the program...
Simply because it was doing what it was proposed to do, providing jobs and opportunities to minority and women. Despite the fact that over 80% of the beneficiaries were white women, conservatives painted it as an unfair advantage for black folks. Despite the fact that there were a number of companies started by white men who qualified through disadvantaged circumstances, the conservative racist lying sacks of shit claimed the programs were discriminatory.
Now - one of the things the Obama Administration has announced changes in, is a re commitment to doing Federal contracts through Small Business entities. Since there isn't, nor will there be until a couple of other shoes hit the floor, any black or minority owned Halliburton or General Dynamics - this means if you got applicable or translatable skills, get your freakin' act together and get on down to the Small Business Administration, instead of standing in mile long line waiting for a job that ain't gonna happen.
Another implication of the bail out a lot of folks don't seem to have through about - is the fact that the US Government cannot discriminate by Constitution and Federal Law. Now you want to build a Cisco or Microsoft class company - you need money. When I was in the business of trying to build regional Cell Phone carriers or what is called CLECs (broadband Internet providers), that "entry fee" was from $50-500 million (and no, you ain't gonna get it from Oprah). Historically which minority groups get less than .03% of Venture and Merchant Bank capital?
Give you three guesses.
Now, this doesn't mean the government owned banks are going to rush out and invest in piss poor business plans, with black folks too stupid to operate a coin vending machine - but it does mean the evaluation criteria for such investments must now be colorblind. Brothers and Sisters with game - may well have something to work with.
He-llo America!
BT
Field there is a lot of rewriting and revising of history going on these days. Its calculated to water down the messages of the real visionaries and revoluntionary minded folks who came before us.
Anybody who has studied the life of MLK knows that he was sincere in his efforts to seek justice and equality primarily for Blacks but also for other downtrodden and oppressed folks.
Kings poor peoples campaign was not a tactic and in fact Abernathy proved that by helping to carry out Kings wishes with the poor peoples march on Washington in which poor folks from all walks of life and nationalities attended.
The real visionaries addressed race but never looked past the class issue.
justice then peace
"Doin' for Black Folks".. part Deux -
By some statistics, nearly 1/3 of black men under the age of 35 are disenfranchised from the vote. The core reason for this is a change in the Drug Laws during the "War on Drugs" which singled out drug users of certain types of drugs for exceptional punishment. In NY, these laws are know as the Rockefeller Laws, and are responsible for disenfranchising 2 million African Americans.
The only real difference between the Jim Crow Chain Gangs and the modern Prison Industrial Complex is ...
Indirect Labor.
Under Jim Crow, Sheriffs and County Authorities were paid for each prisoner. The prisoners performed work in factories, on farms, and in public works projects. To get an idea of the scale of this, if you ever visit Atlanta - Virtually every single brick you see in the sidewalks, homes, and buildings which were built between 1870 and about 1960...
Were made by black prisoners.
Of course, then they had the KKK to ensure black folks didn't vote.
Under Drug Crow, the Prison Industrial Complex - privately owned prisons, reap the financial benefits. And instead of the KKK, which since the 60's is decidedly out of style to suppress black votes...
We have the laws which disenfranchise felons - which, if they are overwhelmingly black...
Immediately gives the Rethughy racist scum over a 1.0 million vote advantage because black folks tend to vote 90% Democrat.
The New York Senate just started work on repealing the Rockefeller Drug Laws. Two prong efforts are underway at the Federal and State levels to 1)reform/repeal the racially motivated drug laws, and 2) to reinstitute the voting rights of Felons.
What has Obama done (or is he doing) for black folks?
Maybe keeping your dumb ass out of jail for minor drug offenses...
And keeping your right to vote intact.
BT
Field:
One of the most heart wrenching, and moving experiences that I ever had, was going to the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis
If you have never been, please go sometime. Part of the museum tour is the hotel that King was shot in, which is now part of the museum as well, and is dedicated to King. To be in that spot just absolutely takes ones breath away.
It's one of those rare places on this planet, that actually shows us how far we have really come as a people, yet also shows us how far we have yet to go.
Bowing to pressure from the NRA and stopping Obama's assault weapons ban was bad behavior by Pelosi and The Dems in Congress. I'm from Alabama where we truly cherish our gun ownership rights, but hey, no law abiding citizen who needs firearms to hunt for food or provide personal protection needs to own a fully automatic assault rifle with a pistol grip and a crate full of 100 round drum magazines. That's nuts! That stuff is for killing lots of people in war zones, not legitimate peacetime use.
Robby:
"no law abiding citizen who needs firearms to hunt for food or provide personal protection needs to own a fully automatic assault rifle with a pistol grip and a crate full of 100 round drum magazines. That's nuts! That stuff is for killing lots of people in war zones, not legitimate peacetime use."
Granny agrees with you 100%. I have relatives that live in the South, deep in the woods, that go hunting. I've never knew any of them to buy or own an automatic assault rifle for that purpose. They use hunting rifles.
Those folks who went out and brought or that have automatic assault rifles take those movies, "Rambo" and "Scarface" way too serious.
Har har... hardee har har...
"Just an aside on the sidebar - can you put some space between "Brown Man Thinking Hard" and the dog taking a dump picture?"
LOL!!! Now that you mention it....
Fully Automatic Assault Rifles have been heavily restricted since 1934, requiring payment of a transfer tax, Fingerprints, FBI background check, and approval of local Chief of Police/Sheriff. Manufacture of new Automatic Weapons for Civillians was banned in May of 1986, the inventory is limited, with a used M-16 running around $18,000 if you can find one...
What Y'all are talkin about are Semi-Automatics, which are still perfectly legal except for a few Commmie States... Like Cal-ee-Forn-I-A..where that child rapist Lo-Velle lived...
Y'all should stick to sumthin Y'all know about, like Watermelons or Fried Chicken...
Frank
Funny FN. But have you ever wondered if Lark is actually responding to your blogs as an anon person.
"Funny FN. But have you ever wondered if Lark is actually responding to your blogs as an anon person."
Damn it Duchess, now you are going to have me going over every anon. comment that was ever posted. :)
Frank-"What Y'all are talkin about are Semi-Automatics, which are still perfectly legal except for a few Commmie States... Like Cal-ee-Forn-I-A..."
You are right about the weapons. Don't know much about Cali but I am sure any kind of weapon you want, Chuck Norris and those skin heads will help you get it.
"Y'all should stick to sumthin Y'all know about, like Watermelons or Fried Chicken..."
Come on Frankie, we all know you're dying for a 6 six extra crispy bucket of KFC.
You know what? I'll run interference so you can go up to the counter without having to deal with all of those nasty "negros" you detest so much. Deal?
[quote]I must stop blogging. Why? Because there is nothing left to blog for.[/quote]
Filled Negro:
* If Fox News goes off the air because Rupert Murdock died in a fiery crash in which his plane crashed into the Headquarters of the Republican National Committee, killing Michael Steele and George W. Bush who was visiting the building with Karl Rove and Clarence Thomas......YOU STILL would not stop blogging - thinking that your job is done.
You'd simply find a new set of adversaries to blame and not miss a step.
Of course King made it a class issue to be inclusive, and cared more about the plight of blacks, but then again he was no white liberal racial sell-out, either. Notice how every prominent national black leader has done the opposite, purposely doing the divide and conquer, doing their part to make sure no REAL change ever happens.
They further the division and maintain status quo, making the fat cats all the happier.
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