A Star is not born, and IQ tests needed for gun owners.

Here is a riddle for you: How many house Negroes can you fit into a television studio? If you watched FOX News on Monday night you got your answer.

I don't have a problem with conservative Negroes wanting to express themselves, but you Negroes have got to stop whining about how bad you have it.

If you have a forum on a highly rated cable news program to express yourself and cry about how mean folks are to you, then you might need to step back and reassess things a bit.

Maybe it's your message that needs fine tuning.

"When we look at who is behind this strategy, the liberal Democrats have not changed their M.O,” Parker said amid a discussion among African American conservatives on Fox News’ Hannity.

“This is not a new strategy, they used it during slavery. Remember, every time the word ‘freedom’ was mentioned and African Americans at that time heard about freedom — if you ran away, they would bring you back to that plantation — the overseer — the overseer today is the Congressional Black Caucus, their exclusive job is to keep them on the plantation, keep them uneducated, and keep them unarmed. And this was the same job as the overseer of the slave plantation, which was liberal Democrats.”

They would take that slave, they would strip the skin off of him and make everybody watch,” she added. “And that is what they do to us.”

Star, rhetoric like that is not a good way to win friends and influence people.

"While most of the panelists agreed, Crystal Wright of ConservativeBlackChick.com said it was wrong to portray Democrats as slave-masters and black Democrats as slaves.

She said Republicans should focus on their civil rights victories, noting the party had strongly supported African Americans’ right prior to the political realignment of the Southern states in the mid-20th century..."

Crystal, that's more like it.

Finally, stop me if you have heard this story before.

"A Tennessee deputy's four-year-old nephew shot and killed his wife during a weekend cookout at their home, police said.

Josephine Fanning, 47, and the boy walked into a bedroom where her husband Daniel was showing his personal gun collection to a relative in Lebanon. Unaware that the child entered, the sheriff's deputy left a loaded pistol unattended on the bed.

"Split second, we're talking about seconds for that kid to walk in that room unbeknownst to them, grab that gun and it goes off," said Wilson County Sheriff Robert Bryan." [Source]

I think it's time we expand those background checks for firearms owners and include an intelligence test in there somewhere.

The Black Conservative Redux.

I am doing a mostly cut and paste job tonight because I think the post I am going to feature is very important to the discourse among black folks here in A-merry-ca. I like the fact that black thinkers are writing about where we are as a people, and how we can move forward to improve our condition.

The post is from Devona Walker over at the fine African American web site known as "The Loop". The author is concerned about the mindset of black conservatives and she writes in a thoughtful reasoned manner. It's why I wanted to post her essay and comment on her views about an important aspect of her thesis.

"We are born to a race, to a family, and that does not pre-determine how or what we think, act or believe. With that said, there is something very suspicious about many Black conservaties whose ideas I read about, and whose faces I see — often on Fox News— giving racial cover to white conservatives to go after other average Black folks or political leaders. They are so routinely paraded before us, despite the fact that they make up such a very small minority of Black political thought, it makes me wonder if it is intentional. They might not be intentionally trying to sell out Black people, but they often appear to be used in that way. And they certainly don't seem to mind.

Even though I fully understand we are not a monolithic people, in watching them, I can't help often wondering if they are sellouts, suffering from Stockholm Syndrome or just patently unconcerned with the plight of Black people?

This below clip really drives it home. [the clip is in the last link provided] We have former Vice President Dick Cheney essentially calling President Obama a traitor. And here we have a Black man excusing Cheney’s outlandish actions. Once again, a Black man providing cover for a white man as he goes for the jugular of another Black man. In this case, it's particularly concerning because Cheney is intentionally trying to characterize the president as illegitimate, and therefore nearly condoning violence."

So far so good, right? I can't disagree with anything she said so far. But then....

"House Negro vs. Field Negro

There is the whole house v. field negro dynamic that we often use to define folks like this. Quite frankly, I’m tired of it. I do not want to be defined today by something that happened in our collective history, especially if it is not useful. We do not appear to use this historical identification in any productive way, as a means to measure our progress (which is how Obama generally references the black experience) or as a means of motivation (which is something that Colin Powell has done quite eloquently).

If you consider the difference between the Black and Jewish experience, it does make you wonder how our collective identity affects our ability to rise above adversity. Jewish people tend to use their history and cement that history of oppression through religious ceremony and customs, much like the Black community does. But it appears to be something that binds them as a people yet motivates them as individuals.

I know there are huge differences between the Black and Jewish experience, and comparing the Black experience with the immigrant experience as well. Many of those non-Black minorities came to this country as tradespeople. They often represent the most entrepreneurial of their people, the ones who would venture to another country to claim their fortunes.

But I must admit that as a people we have historically appeared to use our history as a “collective grief.” We have, at times, nurtured that grief. Even now, we continue to use our historical framing as a way of discrediting folks who look like us but do not think like us. And much of this rhetoric has, especially among younger Black Americans, become irrelevant.
So the premise of the Black conservative is reasonable. There is something to be said about this “Get over it,” mantra." [ More here.]

Since I consider myself somewhat of an expert on this subject, this part of her essay really got my attention.

First, the only thing that I can say about the "Get over it mantra" is that it's a false construct. Contrary to what the author and black conservatives like to say; progressive black folks don't go around crying "woe is me". We are way too busy trying to put in the work that's needed to better our lives and our community. Just as she suggests that the house Negro/field Negro mantra is "not useful" and, as she says, is something that she is "tired" of. I would suggest to her that I am tired of the false label of victimologist [don't look for that word anywhere, you won't find it] as well.

And with all due respect to the author, the field Negro house Negro "dynamic" is not "history", it is still happening today. (Hell she talked about some -house Negroes- in the first part of her essay.) And it's still a dichotomy that is worth exploring and trying to understand.

I would even argue that the house Negro today is worse than the house Negro that lived on the plantations during slavery. At least those Negroes would tell the field slaves, from time to time, what massa was up to, and they would even slip them food and supplies from out of the big house to the slave quarters. These modern day house Negroes (you know who you are) would never share with those they consider fields slaves. They would never do anything to help them or teach them to try and uplift their condition. In fact, they are embarrassed by them, and they like to tell their modern day massa that they are nothing like those Negroes, they are different.

Finally, she uses the Jewish people (Happy Chanukah to my my Jewish friends.) as the model black folks should use to better their condition. But that would be impossible given the inimitable nature of the Jewish experience. The Jewish religion is over three thousand years old, and it is probably the oldest monotheistic religion known to man. Black people in A-merry-ca have no religion other than the one that was given to us when we got here. Our religious history doesn't motivate us as individuals, because it was used to pacify us and keep us on the plantation.

So sorry Devona, there is nothing "reasonable" about the "premise of the black conservative". It is a tired monologue rooted in selfishness and a false sense of patriotism that only he-the conservative- can understand.

Still, overall I loved the essay, I agree with lines like the following:

"The race and class debate is not about offering an image of an oppressed people who are without fault, it is about solving issues and about understanding the full context into which many oppressed people are born and must rise above. Black conservatives, much like their white counterparts, offer no solutions. It would seem their proclamations are simply meant as a way to unburden themselves from caring. "

Well said, now let's see if our conservative friends agree with you.

*Pic courtesy of BTX3's Blog.

Field Negro 101 Redux.

I was around some "bougie" black folks today, (a bunch of lawyers, a dentist, some guy who made a killing when the real estate market was hot and now he owns a bunch of strip malls, and a few other characters who thought they were more important than they really were) the usual mix of intellect and money. One of the people there who knew that I blogged asked me how my blog was going, and I told him it was cool. Then, of course, I got this: "Oh you have a blog, what do you call it?" "The field Negro"....(and here it comes) "Oh?" Why do you call it that? " Now since I was in the middle of watching my Fly guys push Sir Sidney and the Pens around, I really didn't want to be bothered with fam and participate in a long discussion about black folks in A-murder-ca. So I asked him if he had a computer at home. He said yes and I told him to google field Negro when he got home. He said he would, and I told him that just for him, I was going to leave an older post which explained why I use the field Negro handle. We exchanged some more pleasantries and he left me to the rest of the hockey game while he went to the other room to watch the Lakers with most of the other folks.

So anyway, in order to keep my promise to my man, here is my field Negro 101 post from almost three years ago:

I am always amused at how sensitive some blacks-particularly black conservatives-get when you talk about the house Negro field Negro dichotomy among black folks. Black conservatives are always quick to lash out at the house Negro moniker as if it's directed at them. They see it as a straw man and red herring, set up to distract from the real issues confronting black America. Well it's not. The moniker is one that was created by Malcolm X in one of his more famous speeches to make a point about certain blacks not giving their all to the movement because of their so called stake in America.

That speech ,is so inspiring, and so on point, that it is from where I find the inspiration- not to mention the name- for this blog. I use it, because I think it's still relevant for today's discourse in matters of race, as well as the black political movement in this country.When I post on other blogs, I always use the handle field-Negro, and the vitriolic responses I get for my handle alone -from whites and blacks- is at times frightening. "Why must you use that handle, it's so degrading to blacks?" "Shame on you for such a despicable handle", "you embarrass yourself and all self respecting black people by using such a handle". And so it goes, and this is just from the black folks. You can imagine what I get from white bloggers on the web; or, for that matter, the fringes of the web. [You might have noticed the vermin and rats crawling out of various trailer parks to post on this blog]But once again, I would like to set the record straight about this house Negro field Negro metaphor-and yes it's just a metaphor-and where I stand on this issue. Think of this post as field Negro 101 for your self improvement. First, being a house Negro has nothing to do with how you look, how much money you have, where you live, or where you work. The same can be said about being a field-Negro. It's not about how radical you think you are or how militant or African you may appear in your features. It's why I explain my background in detail to all who come to my blog. It's important to understand, that in spite of my upbringing and background, I am firmly entrenched in the fields. It's not about my credentials, or how I grew up, or even what privileges were afforded me. No, it's about my state of mind at this point in time, and how I choose to engage in the struggle to uplift black people and the less fortunate in modern day America.

For instance, I consider wealthy people such as Bill Cosby and Denzel Washington, field Negroes. But, on the other hand, I consider some not so wealthy people, such as Jessie Lee Peterson, and La Shawn Barber, house Negroes. I consider certain sports icons such as Jim Brown, Magic Johnson and Muhammad Ali, field Negroes, but I consider icons such as Michael Jordon, O.J. Simpson and George Foreman, house Negroes. Oprah Winfrey, in my book, is a house Negro, while her good friend, Maya Angelo, belongs in the fields. Jessie Jackson-yes Jessie Jackson-is a house Negro, but John Lewis, the congressman from Georgia, is a field Negro. In terms of appearance, the very dark Clarence Thomas should have his picture in the dictionary beside house Negro, while the fairer skinned Thurgood Marhsall was a big time field Negro. So it's certainly not about how you look. It's all about who I think is contributing to the cause of advancing black issues in the right way. Period.

Now let's look at this phenomenon literally for a moment: I have no problem with someone living in the house, and wanting the things the house offers for his or her family. The better schools, the safer neighborhoods, and a better quality of life. Only a fool would think otherwise. I don't even have a problem with the house Negro running to put out the fire if massa's house catches on fire, or if he tries to save massa's life. After all, if massa and his house are gone, where is the house Negro going to live, and who is going to hire him to work? On the other hand, I do have a problem if the house Negro tries to save massa before his own. That type of house Negro is a problem, and he is the one I speak so disparagingly of when I make fun of the house Negro. Unfortunately, there are still a lot of house Negroes like the latter around today. They are the ones who write the books for massa's ears only, kicking black folks harder than massa would ever kick us by telling us how bad we are. They are the ones -insert Thomas Sowell here- who write about America and her problems as if the white man is blameless, and as if us black folks are responsible for all of America's problems; and as if we brought whatever problems we have on ourselves. They are the ones-insert Clarence Thomas here- who we all know just wish that they not only worked in the house for massa, but wish that they were a part of massa's family as well. That is the dangerous house Negro, the self hater, who will do anything to be more white than the very white person himself, because just working and living in the house is not enough for him. This house Negro wants a stake in massa's house, and he will sell the rest of us out to get it.

I will give you an example: I have a black colleague who does very well for himself and his family. He recently purchased a home in a very affluent predominantly white neighborhood, and has from time to time bragged of being the only black in his development. Now this individual is a classic house Negro. And living in his all white subdivision didn't make him one, but being proud that he is the only black in said subdivision does. Like the "house nigger" in Malcolm X' s speech, he was proud to be the only Negro living among the whites. This is the inclination and fixed way of thinking of an individual who has fled from his people and would not mind if he never sees a black neighborhood or anything associated with black people again. This Negro didn't flee to white suburbia for better schools, safer neighborhoods, and cost effectiveness. No, this Negro fled to white suburbia because he wanted to be around massa and his house.

This type of house Negro is the one I refer to when I make my lists, and speak of when I try to point out the Negroes that are holding us back by projecting to white folks-insert Oprah here- a false image of what black folks are going through. The field Negro, given the same circumstances, would find himself going back to the old neighborhood, volunteering his time, and helping when and where he can. He would not care about how many other Negroes lived in his development, as long as his family was receiving the benefits I outlined above. So for all of you who see the handle, and wonder why a field Negro. Think about that for a minute. Think about what makes a field Negro: Hard worker; cares about his family; cares about his race; cares about humanity; and always with the masses so he knows what it will take to improve our plight. He understands -because he works so hard in the fields- that it will take more than just talk but action to make things happen. And finally, that the house is not his, and ultimately, he will have to build his own. That, my friends, is the essence of the field-Negro, and that is what every Negro should strive to become.

***Note, since this post I have changed my opinion about Oprah. I think girlfriend is on the patio now and has at least one leg in the fields.

A few words for the other Mr. Steele.

*

I am going to make a statement that might surprise some of you: I actually like Shelby Steele.

Unlike other black conservatives I find him to be genuine in his conservative beliefs, and I think he writes in an intellectually lucid way which I find refreshing. (His book, "The Content Of Our Character" is a must read for all A-merry-cans, regardless of ideological preference) Unlike Sowell, he doesn't seem to be writing to impress his intellectual colleagues on the right. What he does seem to try to do, is inject an honest thought out point of view in the ideological debate for our souls. And who knows, maybe it's because we share a certain embarrassment in our predictions about the chosen one this past election. ( I bet he won't have to run anywhere naked)

Now having said that, I must take issue with some of the things that Shelby said in his Wall Street Journal oped today.

Shelby Steele's issue with liberalism is a classic one. It is typical of what you hear from conservatives: Liberals give blacks handouts, they promote big government, and liberalism creates dependency. Conservatism, on the other hand, offers nothing but a chance to make it in our great country. But it takes hard work and discipline, and with conservatism, there is no handouts. He argues that Lyndon Johnson, with his Great Society programs, took the moral high ground at a time when A-merry-ca's morality was being questioned for her shameful racial legacy. Republicans never recovered from that, and they are still playing catch up today.

Of course, he argues,that as black people, we are misguided in our loyalties. Liberalism actually takes away our humanity, while with conservatism, on the other hand, we can maintain our dignity as humans, and not get caught up in victim hood and racial identity politics.

"The appeal of conservatism is the mutuality it asserts between individual and political freedom, its beautiful idea of a free man in a free society. And it offers minorities the one thing they can never get from liberalism: human rather than racial dignity.... What drew me to conservatism years ago was the fact that it gave discipline a slightly higher status than virtue. This meant it could not be subverted by passing notions of the good. It could be above moral vanity. And so it made no special promises to me as a minority. It neglected me in every way except as a human being who wanted freedom. Until my encounter with conservatism I had only known the racial determinism of segregation on the one hand and of white liberalism on the other -- two varieties of white supremacy in which I could only be dependent and inferior."

Right there, Shelby, is the problem with your well written essay. You only saw yourself as a person of color in two ways: "A racial determination of segregation" and the subject of "white" liberal paternalism. You should have said no to both of those choices. It wasn't one or the other. Both were destined to make you the man you became: Someone who chooses a selfish ideology which is predicated on chasing a carrot that you will never be able to grab. By embracing that ideology you have bought into the false premise that your people seek the liberal handout and are not willing to work as hard as the conservative to grab the carrot. It is not true. I submit to you that your people (and poor people of all colors) are willing to work harder. The problem is that their government has never been willing to work as hard for them. Instead, their government has worked only for a special few, and contrary to what you might believe, it didn't neglect you, it used you to achieve its own goals. At least with liberalism, with all its faults, there was a realization that it should make you a promise, and that promise was that never again will you be subjected to second class status, and our government will always work to make it so. Our government will finally give you an even playing field to compete on, after tipping the field against you for so long.

"So here stands contemporary American conservatism amidst its cultural liabilities and, now, its electoral failures -- with no mechanism to redeem America of its shames, atavistically resisted by minorities, and vulnerable to stigmatization as a bigoted and imperialistic political orientation. Today's liberalism may stand on decades of failed ideas, but it is failure in the name of American redemption. It remains competitive with -- even ascendant over -- conservatism because it addresses America's moral accountability to its past with moral activism. This is the left's great power, and a good part of the reason Barack Obama is now the president of the United States. No matter his failures -- or the fruitlessness of his extravagant and scatter-gun governmental activism -- he redeems America of an ugly past. How does conservatism compete with this?"

Sorry Shelby, it can't. And I, for one, am glad for that.

Article here.

*Pic stolen from my girl Danielle over at the Black Snob blog.

Coward!

So Eric Holder thinks that we are cowards here in A-merry-ca because we don't talk openly about race. (The guy obviously doesn't ever come to this site) And of course every red blooded white A-merry-can took offense; some more than others. If you didn't happen to catch the shout fest between Pat Buchanan and Michael Eric Dyson on "Hardball" tonight you missed a real treat. For a moment there I thought Pat was going to drop the "N" word, I sure know he was thinking it. (*How many of you Negroes can look at a white person and just tell when he/she wants to call you the"N" word? Raise your hands.*) Say what you want about Pat, at least he seems to be pretty honest about his feelings on race. Now there is a guy I could start a dialogue with. Eric Holder was not talking about the Pat Buchanans of the world. He knows just how he feels about black folks, and he doesn't seem to have any illusions about it. I like that.

Now Lorie Byrd, on the other hand, not so much.

See Lorie is your typical misguided conservative. I will try not to be too hard on her because she is a Tigers fan like moi. Still, her recent post on Wizbang about Holder's comments was sad but not surprising. She thinks individual black people achieving in business and politics is a fair measuring stick of how far A-merry-ca has come on matters of race. As if every time she sees a black woman she sees Condi or Oprah, and every time she sees a black man she sees Obama or Will. The anecdote about her daughter and her black playmate....well here, read for yourself:

"Here's the Associated Press report:

Eric Holder, the nation's first black attorney general, said Wednesday the United States was "a nation of cowards" on matters of race, with most Americans avoiding candid discussions of racial issues. In a speech to Justice Department employees marking Black History Month, Holder said the workplace is largely integrated but Americans still self-segregate on the weekends and in their private lives.

"Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and I believe continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards," Holder said.
Race issues continue to be a topic of political discussion, but "we, as average Americans, simply do not talk enough with each other about race."
Maybe one day we will know Americans are no longer cowards on race if they pass a law to protect the civil rights of minorities.

Or a black woman becomes one of the most successful businesswomen in America.
Or if a black man or woman can serve as secretary of state.
Or if one day they elect a black American to the highest office in the land.
Or if a black man can serve as attorney general, Eric Holder.

Of course all those things have happened already. But Holder is talking not so much about concrete progress made by minorities, but about how Americans discuss race and how they choose to associate in their private lives. Make of that what you will, but when someone in the government starts worrying about who I choose as my friends, I get worried that they are way deeper in my business than I care for them to be.

Update: It just occurred to me that while I was writing this post my daughter was in her room playing with the little girl who lives across the street -- who just happens to be black. The fact that it did not even occur to me until now, in my opinion, is more indicative of progress. Would you prefer to live in a country where you associated with those of other races without even thinking about it, or a country in which race was always on your mind and discussed at every opportunity. I know which America I choose and it is quite apparent which one Attorney General Holder would prefer. I guess in his book that makes me a coward.
Update II: Michelle Malkin talks about real race cowards.

Funny. When I think of racial cowards, I think of Barack Obama at Jeremiah Wright's church, sitting there week after week, year after year, saying nothing about the separatist demagoguery echoing from the pulpit to the pews.

When I think of racial cowards, I think of all the navel-gazers who fret about poisonous racial dialogue, but say nothing about "My President Is Black" bigotry...
...Holder doesn't want an honest dialogue about race. In the Age of Obama, "talking enough with each other about race" means the rest of us shutting up while being subjected to lectures about our insensitivity and insufficient integration on the weekends.Allahpundit points out that Obama could have talked more about race during the campaign if he wanted to, but the Jeremiah Wright made that hard to do.

I didn't think about this when I first posted, but what does it say about Democrats/liberals who won't allow black Americans to identify themselves as conservatives or Republicans without calling them derogatory names? I guess it could be considered cowardice that so many liberals are afraid of and threatened by black conservatives who flee the liberal Democrat plantation."

Hmmm, did she write "black conservatives who flee the liberal Democrat plantation"? Nice try Lorie, but the last time I checked; the big house was still a part of the plantation.

Article Here:

The conservative shuffle.

A local politician who happens to be a friend of mine asked me a few weeks back why I talk so much shit on my blog. "Field, I hope you know that if you ever decide to run for Judge or elected office some of that shit will come back to haunt you". He is right of course, but you know what, if keeping my mouth shut and suppressing my thoughts is what it takes to get elected, they can have that shit. I have heard the same thing about my politics. "Field, you know if you were a right wing conservative you would be blowing up by now." Yeah that might be true too, but I am not. And since my politics just might be left of Hugo fucking Chavez that ain't gonna happen anytime soon. It's just not what I believe, so I can't pimp the man like some of my "slave catching" brothers and sisters to make a few dollars.

Which leads me to the following article by my man Tim Wise. (Yeah I have been all over his jock lately). It's a shame that it takes someone of the melanin challenged persuasion to call out some of these so called black conservatives for the frauds that they really are. Just some of them of course...well, most of them-- Because I am quite sure that there might be one or two in the bunch who might really believe what they are saying and think that their point of view is relevant.

So anyway, here is Tim:

"Black conservatives, with their politics of self-abuse, have managed to obtain access to the halls of power – at the expense of respect from within the black community.

A few weeks ago, a young man approached me after a speech I had given at his college and handed me a small piece of paper with the name of a book he thought I should read. Given that the student and I had previously gotten into a bit of a row over the issue of racial profiling of Arabs, I didn't have high expectations about his recommendation.

I suppose it's a good thing I was prepared for what I got: the name of a book by black conservative Larry Elder, whose only real claim to fame is that he does a bad imitation of Judge Wapner on a pedantic little courtroom reality show called Moral Court.
Oh, and that white folks like the student in question really like him. Which, as it turns out, is all it takes to become a bestselling author in this country.

Elder – like Shelby Steele before him, and Walter Williams before that, and Ken Hamblin before that, and Thomas Sowell before him, and Clarence Thomas always – says the kinds of things that most white folks love to hear: essentially, that blacks are the source of their own problems in life. Black cultural pathology and bad behavior, according to these types, explain everything from black poverty rates to black incarceration rates.


What about racism?, you may ask. What racism? To the Larry Elders of the world – and to the whites who have made them media stars entirely out of proportion to their scholarly credentials (or decided lack thereof) – racism is just an excuse black people use to explain away their own internal shortcomings.

Lately, two of the more popular arguments made by black conservatives and the white people who love them are, first, that blacks spend too much money on luxury items they can't afford, refusing to save money the way responsible white folks do; and second, that blacks place too little value on education, preferring to critique learning as selling out or "acting white," and thereby sabotaging their own achievement..." more here

He could have thrown a few more of those clowns in the mix of course. Like my friend Angela, LaShawn Barber, and the idiot who Obama should be sending thank you cards every day for the rest of his life, Alan Keyes. ("Christ wouldn't vote for Obama"? Are you fucking insane?) And speaking of the "O" man, he doesn't go into that mix, because there is no hustle there. He is trying to appeal to all A-merry-cans. Not just the loons on the right like my race pimp friends. And not just to the folks on the left either. Which has cost him capital among certain black folks who think he is more of the same with just a little more color.

But hey, I am going to leave my black conservative friends alone. This is A-merry-ca, and everyone has a right to make a living. Even if they have to hustle to do it.

If you think I am "shadowboxing" step into the ring.

Here I am trying to enjoy my holiday season with family and friends. And then, for some reason, (lord only knows why) I log on the Internet to see what's jumping off on the web.


This of course is when I see this: An open attack and challenge to the field from one of my black re-puke-lican friends.

Poor cobb, he loves and embraces the conservative movement, but the feelings aren't mutual. He and those of his ilk have chosen sides, and they can't turn back now. They are stuck with the conservative movement for better or for worse. Unfortunately for cobb and his friends, when it comes to black folks,it has been for the worse. He just can't admit to himself that there are nefarious forces in his party working to keep us out, and who would use the race- card and other wedge issues to stay in power.

No wonder the black conservative is always so angry and so shrill. He has declared his allegiance and he can't go back now. So instead, he tries to create illusions and straw- man arguments to justify his erroneous and misguided beliefs. He refuses to face the reality of Nixon and his Southern Strategy; Ronald Reagan, and his Philadelphia Mississippi, moment. George Bush, 41 and his Willie Horton moment. The racist original puppet master, Lee Atwater .(may his miserable soul rot in hell) The new school racist, puppet master, Karl Rove. The racist speaker of the house, Newt Gingrich. The racist "commander the thief", George Bush, 43, who made sure that his "Southern strategy" of embracing Bob Jones was fully in place when he ran. And of course, we can fast forward to the current crop of re-puke-lican candidates for the highest office in the land. They have even expanded their "Southern Strategy" farther south. (Think Mexico, and their Paul Revere style cries that the brown people are coming) Yes cobb, there are plenty of those and more where they came from. But time doesn't permit me to get into it here as much as I would like, because I still have to enjoy my vacation.

Sorry cobb, your straw man argument about a bunch of irrelevant conservative bloggers who are high on a phony ass food chain is just ludicrous. -As if they would actually come out on their blogs and endorse a perceived racist strategy by their party- They would never openly admit to such a strategy. And you and I both know that. Do you think it's an accident that everyone associates the "Southern Strategy" with your party?

At the end of the day cobb, I feel sorry for you. You attack my site and the people that post here by calling them a bunch of "synchophants" (that's a big word, maybe woozie can interpret it for me). Yet we have nothing but love for you, because even though you don't, we still consider you one of us. Don't blame me or the people who come to the fields because you cannot juxtapose your political beliefs with the racist history and the political reality of the party you embrace. That's not their fault. You should be working within your party to try and change it, you should be using your considerable writing talents to enlighten them and make them understand your race and your people. You should not be making excuses for them and attack the people of your race for not embracing them. "Shadowboxing"? If you think I am shadowboxing always feel free to step into the ring with me. And as for being a "blight to the spirit of the blogosphere"; my question to you would be what spirit? Over here our spirits are fine, because in spite of the victimology tag, we know where we stand politically and socially in A-mery-ca. Unlike you, our conscience is free.

Anyway cobb, I hope I could help to enlighten you , and that I answered some of the questions in your challenge. Hopefully this will better help you to understand what us black folks think of your party, and why we feel--and more importantly vote-- the way that we do.


BTW, you can send the $20 you owe me to the Boys and Girls Club of Los Angeles. I don't need the money.

These "talented tenth" wannabees are neither

I knew when I posted about sell outs it would bring out our conservative and right leaning black friends. It always does doesn't it? You would think I didn't talk about black Democrats in that post and how they can be sell outs as well. But I didn't see left leaning black folks being offended and coming to the defense of all things left. But such is the life of the black conservative. Always with the chip as big as an elephant (no pun intended) on his or her shoulder. The world can be so cruel and unkind to the black conservative. The other black folks are always out to get them. They are so misunderstood.

But you have to love these people. These so called "independent thinkers" among us who have all the answers and cures for the black race. The funny thing is; I don't think their thought is so independent at all. I have been listening to their ilk from Deroy Murduck, to Roy Innis, to Alan Keys, to Kevin Pritchett, to Thomas Sowell, to Star Parker, to Walter Williams.....well, you get the picture, and the song is always the same. You black folks have to get away from the group think. You have to stop listening to Jessie, and Al, and all the other race pimps out there. You have to work hard and pull yourselves up by your boot straps and then you can achieve like me. (Another myth, because the truth is, most of these new money Negroes are just one step away from the poverty that they are always railing against; but I digress) We all have to be new and improved Negroes like Booker T. aspired to be. We have to leave those poor Negroes behind who will pull the rest of us down like W. E. B. wanted us to do. Yep, we have to get that "talented tenth" and move on.

Good luck, because in order to do that, you have to get the talented part down first.

Folks, here is the deal. Until the conservative movement gets its shit together, it will never attract the number of black folks to start a viable movement. (Stay with me my new money friends, I am trying to help you) In order to make in roads with us black folks, you have to get rid of people like Star Parker, who right after hurricane Katrina, said on FOX NEWS, that black people suffer from a "welfare mentality". You have to get away from people like Armstrong Williams, who took money to shill for the Bush administration. And when fucked up shit happens to black people it would be nice if you came out and said it was fucked up just once.--- Like James Byrd, and Jena for instance. Stop siding with white conservatives on every fucking issue. They never had, and never will have our best interest at heart. If you are such "independent thinkers" why don't you practice some independence from your white conservative friends? If you do that you would be showing me that you are a true independent. Hey, if you do that, maybe you will even get closer to attracting a tenth of those black folks you want.

I suspect though, that you can never be truly independent, because that would mean giving up your whi...whoops, I mean right card. But if, by chance, you do decide to be truly independent thinkers, here are some policies that your right wing brothers embrace that you might want to reconsider: You can't be against a minimum wage increase or a fair living wage for workers. Not when some poor single mother is working at Wal Mart and earning $6 an hour, and Sam Walton's fucking daughter bought a 30 million dollar painting at some art auction in New York. You can't just blindly follow the NRA and their strict interpretation of the second amendment when kids are getting slaughtered in our streets on a regular basis. You can't support free enterprise and a total deregulation of businesses when environmental racism is killing your people in places like South Texas, and Mississippi. You can't oppose affirmative action programs, and minority business set asides, but turn around and rip black folks for not starting businesses in their own neighborhoods. ( You benefited from the same affirmative action programs that you now conveniently want to get rid of. I know I know, you guys are the smart ones, you didn't need affirmative action) You can't oppose strong voting rights enforcement, but rip your own people for not being involved enough in the political process. And finally, you can't support the death penalty when you know that more than one innocent person has been put to death by the state because of a fucked up justice system.

Hey, just a little advise from the field. Because lately I have been feeling the love from you guys, and I just want to give some back.