Field Negro seeking knowledge.

Sup field hands?

Tonight I need you to educate me a little bit.


Please finish the following sentences:


1. Race relations will improve in America when.....



2. My last experience with a person of another race was quite......

"Tribal Intellectualism"?

I have been reading a lot of posts about the whole Field Negro House Negro dynamic of late, and I must say that most of them have been quite good. (Well, most of them. Some of them; not so much)I have weighed in on the subject before, but unfortunately my position on the subject is still a little misunderstood.

Recently I stumbled on another well written thought provoking article on the subject from my good friend, fellow yawdie, and co-founder of the Afrospear, Asabagna. He wrote it over two years ago over on the Afrospear blog, ( a must stop for all you blog surfers) and I am embarrassed to say that I just discovered it. I found "Asa's" article interesting because he touches on the House Negro Field Negro dynamic, as well as the North American black versus other blacks in the diaspora dichotomy that often exists among certain [so]called black folks.

Here is an excerpt:

Lately I have been doing a lot more reading of both books and blogs, than blogging myself. It’s like I’m going through an intellectual and spiritual growth spurt and I’ve been enjoying the time, reading and reflecting on what I’m taking in. At the same time, I have taken a self-imposed moratorium on watching or reading anything that is primarily about the U.S. presidential race… if I can help it! Even here in Canada, although we are going through a federal election ourselves, we get inundated with overwhelming election fodder from south of our border (see here). The coverage has gone from being ridiculous to lunacy… and it’s all become very “Jerry Springer-esque”!...

I read an interesting article by Jose Vilson entitled “The House Negro”, which along with some other stuff I’ve been reading, inspired this post. He asks what do we perceive and therefore define a “house negro” to be? I find this interesting because it’s certainly not clear to me if there is a universal definition or agreement within the Black community of what is a ”house negro”. Plus I am of the opinion that today, this whole idea of branding someone as a “house negro”, is primarily an African-American phenomenon that is used as a form of punishment… a “groupthink” control mechanism utilized mainly by (so-called) Black progressives to censure (so-called) Black conservatives. I call it: tribal intellectualism. I find that it is used primarily to discredit the beliefs, opinions and arguments, not by offering opposing arguments or engaging in a constructive debate, but by this very pointed personal attack. So instead of focusing on the debating the issues, you discredit them by calling into question their loyalty to the Black community. The term is also used to label particular African-Americans who have achieved a certain amount of financial and/or social success, as well as those who may have chosen to live, work, marry, speak, travel and engage in a lifestyle that is not considered “Black” or “Black-enough”…. whatever those concepts may represent to the name-caller… and therefore are seen as turning their backs on the Black community. They may also be referred to as an “Uncle Tom/Aunt Jemima”, “sell-out” or “acting white”.

One of the blogs I read frequently is The Field Negro and on the right margin he has a spot for the “House Negro Of The Day”. There are a variety of personalities… male, female, conservatives, liberals, democrats, republicans, politicians, sports figures, celebrities, and even some white folk, upon whom he has bestowed the designation. He explains why they receive the moniker for that moment and it’s usually for some behaviours, opinions or statements made, which he feels has a negative impact on the Black community. Most times I agree with him and I must also add that more often than not his choices and reasons cracks me up. The fundamental question though is what’s the perception The Field Negro wants his readers to have of the person whom he has labeled as a “house negro”… and more importantly what is the perception “we”… the reading audience… now have of that person… regardless whether we agree that they are a “house negro” or not?

An interesting twist I found regarding this issue was in a discussion I was following among Regular Brotha, Brotherpeacemaker, and The Black Sentinel. The discussion is a snapshot of a continual debate within the Black community between those who believe that some of our behaviours and/or choices is what is primarily holding us back, as opposed to those who believe it is primarily the actions of white society. The Black Sentinel surmised that those like Regular Brotha (like myself) who hold to the former position, are suffering from a psychological disorder: The Stockholm Syndrome! In effect, as she quotes: “The captives begin to identify with their captors. At least at first this is a defensive mechanism, based on the (often unconscious) idea that the captor will not hurt the captive if he is cooperative and even positively supportive. The captive seeks to win the favor of the captor in an almost childlike way.” Is this a blueprint for the classic House Negro!? Although this discussion spanned across 3 blogs… across a number of days, I will share one post of each of the participants which I found rather insightful: “Blacks Display Stockholm Syndrome” by The Black Sentinel; “Sentinel, I don’t want no trouble” by Regular Brotha; and “Wasting Keystrokes” by Brotherpeacemaker.

One of the issues which is often overlooked is that the Black community in North America is neither homogeneous in their beliefs, experiences, economic and/or social position… nor country of origin. There are many immigrants from Africa, the Caribbean, South and Central America who may be “black” in skin tone, but have different (and a variety of) values, opinions, desires, motives and methods to achieve success, than those who are born on North American soil, especially in the USA. I read an article in the Wall Street Journal entitled: “Black in a New Light” which argues that Barack Obama and his presidential candidacy has “sparked a debate about identity in the African-American community”. One of the sources the article quotes is a 2007 Pew Research survey which found that almost 40% of Blacks said the values of poor and middle-class Blacks have diverged so much that they can no longer be thought of as a single race. If we accept that all this is true, even a significant portion of it, what does it mean today to be “Black” and from this premise, who do we now define as a “house negro”?

The reason I say that this labeling someone “a house negro” is “primarily an African-American phenomenon” , is because growing up and living in Jamaica and Canada, visiting some African countries, as well as having discussions with my Canadian, Caribbean and African friends, we never use this term to refer to other Black people who have a particular belief or lifestyle. However, when I was living in Jamaica, we would refer to those in the middle or upper economic classes… those considered “establishment” Jamaicans… as “baldheads”… as opposed to “dreads”. This came from the idea that Rastafarians, who wore “dread”-locks were anti-establishment, non-conformists, cultural and political revolutionaries… while those who cut their hair… “baldheads”… did so to conform with the (neo)colonial standard of an acceptable Black person...." [Article]

Read the comments that follow the article as well, because they were also, for the most part, well thought out and insightful.

Finally, I would like to finish this post with some commentary:

Many of you are under the impression that I am as ignorant as the people I trash regularly for their racist ways on this blog. I am not. I am a racism chaser by default. It just so happens that the people who more often or not fall victims to racial bigotry are people of color.

Please don't ever think that I will check my humanity or sense of human dignity at the door because of someones race; their nationality; their sexual preference; or their religion. That's what bigots do. Field Negroes are not bigots. They are bigger than bigotry. The people who put them in fields know that, that's why they don't ever want them near the house.

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.

Fieldisms

"Field I think I would really like your blog if I understood what you were saying half the time. Like what the hell is WSZ?"

~~White colleague to the field~~

Okay, I understand that when it comes to writing, I am lazy, dyslexic, and selfish. And unless you are a regular to the fields, some of the words that I use can seem downright perplexing.

So in order to make my blog more readable to certain folks who visit the site, I have prepared a little list of fieldisms for you.

Let's start with WSZ-That would be a "white safety zone". I use this to refer to parts of Killadelphia that our city fathers really really want to keep crime free. This would be areas such as Center City, where all of our tourist tend to go. Another example of a WSZ would be Chestnut Hill, where there are some very expensive homes, and where some very important people live. Important meaning rich and white of course.

The frat boy-That would be our president. Because life seems to be one big party to him. While the world and our country goes to hell in a hand basket; all he does is grin and talk as if he is wasted all the time.

Mr. Morton-John McCain because he is always salty.

A-merry-ca-Is what I call this beautiful country we live in. I spell it that way because the pursuit of happiness and being happy is so important to us.

field Negro-Once again white folks, being a field Negro is not a bad thing to most critical thinking black people. Now of course some of us don't like that name; they would be known as house Negroes.

Patio Negro-A Negro who can't make up his mind if he is a house Negro or a field Negro. A Negro that can move between two worlds.

dumbocrat- A dumbocrat belongs to the party with the donkey in A-merry-ca's two party system.

rethuglican-A rethuglican belongs to that other political party; the one with the elephant.

The "O" man-That would be Barry Obama. This guy has achieved rock start status in A-merry-ca and is also *this* close to being the first black president of these divided states. "O" man just seems so rock star, and so popular culture. You know, kind of like K-Fed, or J-Lo.

Obamaholics-Just tune in to this site on any given day and you will see signs of these rabid devoted "O" man lovers. They have been injected with some kind of secret potion which has given them this laser like focus in getting the "O" man elected president. I know one thing, if he does win, he owes his presidency to them.

O-Aid-That's the secret potion that they give to the Obamaholics.

Mrs. Field-That would be the President and CEO of Field Inc.

Cousin-Black folks I know you already know this, but just hang with me while I explain it to my white friends. My cousin is every other black person in A-merry-ca. So if I say I went to a store full of my cousins....

12% rule-This is a little complicated. But I explained it in a post here.

Fam.-Again cousins, I know you know this one, but let me just explain it to the white folks. Fam. is short for family. And I usually use it to refer to one of my cousins that I like.

The bad perm lady has been retired-In the past I used it to refer to Condi Rice, (My current FNOTD) but after the Don Imus comments about the young ladies from Rutgers, I vowed never to refer to Secretary Rice that way again.

Fuzzy eyeball-This is an evil look or a hard stare.

That's just some of the fieldisms that I like to use. You will find that the regulars to the fields also bring their own unique words and expressions here as well. Pistolvania, and republi-klans comes to mind) I really can't help you with those. But I will say that they are usually pretty good.

**I want to thank James Collier over at Acting White blog for that illustration of the field. My man has some skills.

The right wingers and my handle.

It never ceases to amaze me just how ignorant some of these right-wing wackos can be.

Now I suppose I should be flattered that the mofos (that means mother fucker for those of you who are not quite familiar with negroid jargon) chose to feature me on their sorry ass site. But you really have to wonder about folks who have nothing better to do than to rip the names people choose for their blogs. Or when they try to find some deep political connection between the name someone uses for their blog or the point of views they express on said blogs.

When I saw this I realized that the folks on the right must be really at rock bottom right about now. And honestly, I can't say that I really blame them. Their party is in disarray, A-merry-ca is changing right before their very eyes, and crazy ass opinionated black people have discovered the Internet. So when they post on their blogs (and one of the more popular ones to boot) this is the kind of shit they choose to throw into the echo chamber.

Now here is the thing... as bad as the post itself was, it pales in comparison to the comments that followed (It must really pain these folks to know that they can't say words like nigger and bitch in public anymore).

And finally, I think I have said this before about a thousand times, so let's make this a thousand and one. Most of you know this, but when the title of this blog gets picked up by folks who are somewhat black history challenged, I find myself having to repeat it: Being a field Negro is a good thing. Got that? A good thing! I know you folks on the right see that word Negro and panic, but please don't. Most (not all) black folks consider being a field Negro a good thing. And even if they don't identify with the field Negro per se, I doubt if they would seriously consider it a slur if you called them one.

Got that? Now go back to watching Sean and listening to Rush.

ENJOY YOUR TURKEY!

When there is no more racism in America.

When suffering in countries like Darfur and Bangladesh becomes a thing of the past.

When justice in A-merry-ca becomes equal for everyone.

When the military industrial complex and the oil and energy cabal is no more.

When the meek truly inherits the earth.

When George Bush and his band of thieves leave office.

When the field Negro finds Lark Voorhies.

Then and only then will there be something to be happy about.

Until then, have a good "Turkey Day"!

Where is the love?

It's Friday evening and I have some down time, so I decide to peruse the blogosphere. While perusing, I run into this wonderful post about...well, me. I copied it, (no link for you) so please read.

"My smelly little rabble-rousers,
Please see the wonderfully racist article by “The Field Negro” regarding criticizing the Enemy.
Perhaps nowhere is our ongoing work better displayed then on “The Field Negro” website. It is truly a classic example of how we can twist a human’s perspective to be completely one-sided. In this case, this unfortunate is transfixed on the color of skin and victim-hood. It matters little to us if the “injustice” is real or imagined. What is important is that the flames of hate are fanned. This kind of dialog is very, very good for us.

The double-Jeopardy bonus (Jeopardy as in “the danger that an accused person is subjected to when on trial for a criminal offense” as opposed to the popular television show), is that “The Field Negro” not only spreads hate, but rails against the Enemy. This will be a difficult rap to beat when the earthly life ends and it’s time to face the Enemy.

Also note the amusing irony that seeing the world through race-colored glasses can yield. Evidently this human feels strongly about the black race, yet demeans it with the self-named, ”The Field Negro”. The human also feels strongly about speaking freely, but vilifies others (even of the human’s own black race) when they disagree. This is excellent.

Special kudos to “The Field Negro’s” handler, our own devil BillyBubba. BillyBubba, you may recall, was a former Klu Klux Klan member who in the afterlife is no longer white (like all of us, a burnt-umber-charcoal colored…9753 degree heat of Hell will do that). BillyBubba’s gentle cajoling of “The Field Negro” is a model of corruption. I suspect ”The Field Negro” would be very discouraged to understand it is a former white racist who is encouraging his diatribes. It is funny, is it not?

Yours in black and white
Bweaselgub

P.S. - I did attempt to post an encouraging comment on “The Field Negro’s” site…but perhaps it was not racist enough."

Hey, at least he/she spelled my avatar right :) Now I have to go back and look where Bweaselgub commented---he/she obviously didn't stand out. Maybe they felt slighted. Black folks can be so cold at times.

What's troubling is that they think the term field Negro is "demeaning". I would give them a link to my field Negro 101 essay; but, honestly, I really don't care if they learn anything or not. Some people actually prefer to remain in a state of ignorance. It helps to make them feel better about themselves...Jason is that you? If it is, couldn't you have come up with a better handle than Bweaslegub?