Tuesday, September 02, 2014

The Civil War spirit.

This is a bad time for race relations in America.


To be sure, it has been worse, but folks expected so much after the election of the second first black president.


Sadly, though, that has not been the case.


Here is a post from Andy Schmookler which explains one of the reasons why things are the way they are.


"It's like facial recognition technology: if the features match up, you conclude, "It's the same guy."


So it is with the match between the force that drove us to Civil War more than a century and a half ago, and the force that has taken over the Republican Party in our times.


In both cases, we see an elite insisting on their "liberty," by which they mean the freedom to dominate.


With Citizens United, in our times, the corporatists have declared that their "freedom of speech" gives them the right to buy our elections, unfettered by any concerns about the rights of the average citizen to have an equal say in their government.


Back in the 1850s, the slaveholders insisted that their "liberty" meant that they had the right to take their human "property" anywhere in American territory, an insistence that swept aside the previously respected concerns of millions of their countrymen that there be regions of the country free of slavery.


In both cases, the use of the structures of American democracy was combined with a contempt for the democratic values that inspired our founders.
Nowadays, the Republicans have made a national effort to pass voter ID laws to address a non-existent problem of voter fraud-- a campaign that is itself a fraud whose transparent intent is to disenfranchise the vulnerable whose champions are the Republicans' opponents.


Back in the years leading up to the Civil War, the slaveholders banned the distribution of anti-slavery writings, and sometimes suppressed anti-slavery talk by violence.


In both cases, the elites driving the polarization of the country justified their dominance by distorting, in belittling ways, the humanity of those they sought to exploit.


Today's Republicans talk about the 47 percent, the half of the country they characterize as "takers," even though many of those 47 percent work multiple jobs just to make ends meet; and these Republicans vote to strip them of unemployment benefits, at a time of massive joblessness, in the mistaken belief that only desperation will get these lazy people to work.


Back in the time of the Slave Power, the slaveholding class declared they were doing their black slaves a favor to discipline them into an ethic of work; freeing them would be cruel, the masters claimed, because those blacks were inherently too lazy and incompetent to survive on their own.


In both cases, the idea of compromise became a dirty word, as the inflamed insistence on getting everything one's own way took hold of the inflamed side.
Today's Republicans do not seek compromise, and the dynamics of the party are such that anyone who works toward compromise is demonized and run out of office by challenge from the more extreme, uncompromising wing of the party.
Back in the years leading up to the Civil War, the South's insistence on the unfettered expansion of their domain led to the overturning of the great Missouri Compromise, which had held the nation together for more than thirty yearsv--va fracturing of the peace that instigated the return to the political arena of Abraham Lincoln, and set the nation on course to a bloody civil war.


In both cases, the powerful elite in the grip of that destructive force refused to accept that in a democracy sometimes you win and sometimes you lose, and sometimes you have to accept being governed by a duly-elected president you don't like.


Today's Republicans have done everything they could to nullify the presidency of Barack Obama, whom the American people duly elected twice. Like no other opposition party in American history, they have refused to accept the temporary minority status to which American voters have consigned them. Blocking the president from performing the function for which the people hired him has been their top priority.


Back on the eve of the Civil War, the Southerners -- who had disproportionately dominated the upper echelons of the national government from the time of its founding -- considered the election of Abraham Lincoln an intolerable insult, and promptly made a unilateral decision to break apart the Union; they then raised an army to defend that decision, rather than accept the outcome of the democratic process and regroup for the next election.


As with facial recognition, the configuration of the features tells us, "This is the same ugly thing, come back again." [Source]


One little quibble with the author's premise: It's not only republicans; there are democrats among those "corporatist" as well. And even though they are in his party, their wimpy weak- kneed posture towards the president while trying to protect their own political necks has been glaring.



35 comments:

Bill said...


Saw all those blog awards on the sidebar. Looked through the Blog Archive for those years.

Damn FN, you used to write!

I'm sure family and work occupy more of your time now.

Now it's a lot of copy/paste and captions.


Anonymous said...

I am suffering some serious Negro fatigue.

->Trillions of dollars in transfer payments.

->A restructuring of the entire body politic to the Negro benefit.

->Affirmative action which is legalized discrimination and promotes the incompetent into positions of authority.

And what is the end result: more and more and more...slavery!...Jim Crow!...White privilege!...and on and on and on.....

You Negroes vote the party that keeps you poor and ignorant...and then blame me --the tax paying White guy -- that you are poor and ignorant.

You riot and burn down the stores that serve your community and then blame the store owner for leaving the community.

You Negroes seek "justice" in the lynching of a White Police Officer....without evening knowing the circumstances of the death of Saint Micheal of Brown Leaf Tobacco...shades of Saint Trayvon of Skittles....thugs, both of them....

It is the old, compressed into a shrinking time frame.

I am so tired of paying for the EBT, the Section 8, the hospital bills for gang-bangers shooting each other and everything else disfunctional.

I am so tired of paying for the illegitimate children destined to follow in the path of their "ghetto-b*t*h" mothers.

I am so tired of paying for the sin -- yes, the sin -- of slavery and the Democratic party....not something I have ever been a part nor party of....

Let the whole damn structure burn to the ground and let the people that can rebuild from the ashes.

And let the "poor me...I me oppressed" Negroes and associated Whites follow the path of Darwin's laws.

I am sick and tired of all of you.

Anonymous said...

"One little quibble with the author's premise: It's not only republicans; there are democrats among those 'corporatist' as well."

While there certainly are too many Democrats who are accurately described as somewhat corporatist, I don't think that is what was meant by the writer you quoted. He was referring specifically to the Citizens United-era argument that "money equals speech" and therefore it's perfectly fine for rich people to buy off the government.

That backdoor defense of corruption is coming almost entirely from Republicans.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous @ 9:40 PM says:

P.S. I work in the private sector in North Philadelphia...I see the garbage of the human race every...single...day.

Anonymous said...

QLB, is that you at 9:40pm?

Anonymous said...

Well, they beheaded another American journalist. I am thinking FP might be right. We are headed to a religious war.

ctrl+halt+del said...

"...they have refused to accept the temporary minority status to which American voters have consigned them."

That's the best part of the piece. They have always been the minority, they're just now realizing how fatigued others are of them.

The Purple Cow said...

"Rap music where they call their mammas and sisters and girlfriends 'hos' come from that shit in the past. The main one is "we ain't shit". I am glad you told it like it is, bro. Not too many of us would dare do it.

The thing is this has nothing to do with the wm. it has a lot to do with us. of course you going to get blow-back from dumbasses like purple cow. That's why we can't get anywhere because of ignoramuses like him."


You sir are a liar and a total fucking imbecile to boot.

field negro said...

Anon@9:40, rest assured that the feelings are mutual.

BLACKISBEAUTIFUL said...

Since you are sooo tired....
Will u do us a favor and kill yourself...?

Quietly .of course..save the taxpayer a few dollars..

anotherbozo said...

Great post, Field, even though you found it rather than wrote it. One way or the other it's a reason to keep checking in.

Depressing as hell, however. If polls are any indication, though, these obstructionist wingnuts don't quite have the numbers that Johnny Reb had. I like my own image of cornered rats: they're vicious and noisy and sharp-toothed but they've got no way out of their antidemocratic corner, no viable plan forward.

Bill said...


Women who have really been raped REMEMBER!!!!

Another democrat Obama supporter.



Imagine a right-winger tweeting this.

Watch the lack of outrage from FN and the liberal media.






Bill said...


More racism on college campus...

Sometime between 8 and 10:30 this morning, four labels, made with a label-maker, were affixed to doors and the water cooler on the fourth floor of Meta Glass. As difficult as this is to believe, two of the labels read “White Only,” and two “Colored.”
http://sbc.edu/news/uncategorized/important-message-president-jones/


No worries.

Just another fake hate crime by a white democrat.


I was trying to make a point, but the point ended up “making me”…now everyone has ideas on what type of person that I am. I am none of these things
http://sbc.edu/news/uncategorized/update-president-jones/


Why are white democrats always behind these kind of fake race hate crimes?

What pleasure do they get out of it?




Anonymous said...

"I am so tired of paying for the EBT, the Section 8, the hospital bills for gang-bangers shooting each other and everything else disfunctional.

I am so tired of paying for the illegitimate children destined to follow in the path of their "ghetto-b*t*h" mothers."

^^^^But nobody is saying that this is not true.^^^^

Unknown said...

The biggest issue here is the electorate in mid term: people of color, young voters, poor voters tend to stay home, almost always in large numbers. Old white voters show up in force!

Congressional members know this reality and FOCUS on their districts-issues of importance to their voters.

47% need to VOTE on election days regardless of terms. These NUTs will crack as soon WE care about voting more than we do super bowl, baseball, NHL and NBA championship celebrations.

Unknown said...

Are these times the culmination of "1980", or Obama-Backlash?

field negro said...

Anon@11:23, it.is not true.

Hope that helped.

Bill, were u born a partisan hack? You are amazing how u stay on message. The republican party must be.proud of u.

BLACKISBEAUTIFUL said...

No surprise here....

The police officer accused of sexually assaulting 8 black women in Oklahoma....

Is now receiving donations and support from a Facebook page ....Previously the Gofundme page was taken down but still mamaged to gather over 7k .....Its obvious that the supporters don't care about justice or a sense of decency.... No surprise here..... we see it with the disgusting pieces of trash that post here incessantly......

They will support murder... rape...as long as its against black people....

In other news Renisha McBride's killer got 17 years today....

WMV's you should send him a soup or some stamps....
He's gonna need it...

Anonymous said...

Blogger BLACKISBEAUTIFUL said...
Since you are sooo tired....
Will u do us a favor and kill yourself...?

Quietly .of course..save the taxpayer a few dollars..

6:44 AM
----------
Don't you think you are being a little harsh? I can tell you have no empathy for the very depressed.

People become tired because they are sad and depressed. Why? Because this shit is depressing!

BIB, I am surprised you are so out of touch with your fellow depressed white brother.

depressed negro

BLACKISBEAUTIFUL said...

Awww.....
I think I have one single solitary tear hanging from my eye....

Nahhh...its just a piece of dust...
Carry on .....

Anonymous said...

Blogger BLACKISBEAUTIFUL said...
No surprise here....

The police officer accused of sexually assaulting 8 black women in Oklahoma....

Is now receiving donations and support from a Facebook page ....Previously the Gofundme page was taken down but still mamaged to gather over 7k .....Its obvious that the supporters don't care about justice or a sense of decency.... No surprise here..... we see it with the disgusting pieces of trash that post here incessantly......

They will support murder... rape...as long as its against black people....
______________
Brother BIB, must you bring this up? See, this is why Whites have Negro fatigue.

Do you NOT understand that we are descendants of slaves? do you get that?

Whites are descendants of slave "masters". Let me remind you that masters have the right and "privilege" to determined the fate of Blacks. They raped and killed Blacks during slavery and Jim Crow and they can do it also now. As a matter of fact, they ARE doing it.

Let me remind you that just because it's 2014, Negroes like YOU and Field and some of these other uppity FN Negroes have the right to expect Whites to treat you differently than before.

It is carved in American "psychic stone" that Blacks are 'less than' Whites, and will be treated accordingly.

The sooner you accept this reality, the sooner you will know how to think and be Black in America. Brother BIB, I know this hurts. I talked about this in the previous thread about our oppression and shame as a race, but folks are so ashamed about it no one could even talk about it. That's a damn shame.

Anonymous said...

Brother BIB is out of touch with his feelings! He is NOT a sensitive man. No wonder Field has a problem with him.

BLACKISBEAUTIFUL said...

WTF...are u yapping about???

First off....Yes I must bring this up to highlight the psychotic evil that is still on display for all to see....

Now as to your other comments about shame and etc etc....

You can direct that energy to someone who is completely sound asleep.... I am not ...and don't care to be lectured to about the historical positions of both races... I'll kindly ignore any future calls to " accept reality" and be quiet....

Anonymous said...

BIB-You can direct that energy to someone who is completely sound asleep.... I am not ...and don't care to be lectured to about the historical positions of both races... I'll kindly ignore any future calls to " accept reality" and be quiet....

2:44 PM
-----------
Brother BIB, I was wrong about you. Please forgive me. You ARE sensitive.

field negro said...

Wait a minute Bill, did u call out W during his presidency? I seriously doubt that. He is in your gang, that would never happen.

Do u have a link to back this up?

Anonymous said...

Please field. Standard TNB seems to be complaining about W. If your people could even run a medium sized town without running it into the ground that would be something to talk about. The problem is you can't. Camden, Gary etc it's always the same with the same old tired excuses.
Chicago had 51 homicides for the month of August. Aren't you just a little bit embarrassed by the fact that that majority of victims and perps are Black? Yet somehow this will be YT's fault.

QLB

Anonymous said...

QLB sounds like a broken record saying the same thing over and over and over again. Camden, Detroit, Gary, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Newark, Trenton, etc.

QLB, " Aren't you just a little bit embarrassed by the fact that that majority of victims and perps are Black? Yet somehow this will be YT's fault."

My goodness, QLB. Maybe you missed my memo re: shame. And I'm not going to repeat myself again. It seems no one wants to talk about shame and it's effects on people. But that's the nature of shame...it keeps the truth in the dark by preventing people from talking about the truth. It's too shameful. Isn't that why we will never have a national discussion about racism? Of course it is.

Anonymous said...

Anon wrote,
My goodness, QLB. Maybe you missed my memo re: shame. And I'm not going to repeat myself again. It seems no one wants to talk about shame and it's effects on people. But that's the nature of shame...it keeps the truth in the dark by preventing people from talking about the truth. It's too shameful. Isn't that why we will never have a national discussion about racism? Of course it is
==============================

On other other hand there doesn't seem to be much in the way of shame. However, there's an awful lot of effort into excuse making. When nothing is your fault and it's always because of YT, self reflection among the Black population will never happen. I'll repeat one again about the cities and towns which have declined because of a majority Black population. Despite having complete political control in places like East St Louis, somehow Blacks can't seem to effectively run a town without it turning into a ghetto. That's going to take some hard and difficult self examination among Blacks. Blaming YT is not going to cut it anymore.

QLB

Bill said...


field negro said...
Wait a minute Bill, did u call out W during his presidency? I seriously doubt that. He is in your gang, that would never happen.


I'm a troll.

If I was a troll for the right, even YOU would have to admit I've done a terrible job!

I haven't linked to a single republican plan on anything.
Haven't talked about how great some right-wing candidate is.
Haven't said anything positive about republicans.


Simply having fun mocking the hypocrisy and double standards of your party.

PilotX said...

"Those who don't study history are doomed to repeat it. Those who do study history are doomed to stand by helplessly while everyone else repeats it".

Author unknown.

PilotX said...

"That's going to take some hard and difficult self examination among Blacks."

Here's a hard self examination for you QLB. Do you have a college degree?

field negro said...

"That's going to take some hard and difficult self examination among Blacks."

When will the "self examination" of the ignorant racist who has never built anything himself and who tries to use his skin color as a shield for his own inadequacies, start?

Anonymous said...

Field wrote,
When will the "self examination" of the ignorant racist who has never built anything himself and who tries to use his skin color as a shield for his own inadequacies, start?
---------------------------------------------
i don't know Field. Find one and talk to him. I'm sure you can find a stupid White Democrat in the dwindling population of Phillie. But I'd hurry, because most of them are leaving in a hurry. The city used to be over 2 million. Now it's barely 1.5. with the majority Black. Is there anything your people can't FUBAR? But of course after you kill it your people will just follow us around to next.

QLB

field negro said...

Actually, Center City Philadelphia is gainingn in population.

Quite a few of your people leaving the burbs and moving back.

But thanks for playing and revealing your ignorance once again.

Anonymous said...

Read the census data. But then again, urban removal sounds like a good idea. I believe in reparations but only if it's linked to repatriations.

QLB