Demonizing a movement.

"  If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor."

~Desmond Tutu~

The debate is so silly. "Why do they say that only black lives matter? Don't all lives matter?"

Let's think about that for a minute. The name of the movement is not only black lives matter, or, white lives don't matter. It's not even something as intimidating to hear as say, Black Panthers, or Black Power. The name itself is tame: Black Lives Matter. All of us who identify with the movement in one way or another are still scratching our heads over the majority population's issue with what it represents.

To listen to people like Sarah Palin and other right- wing zealots, you would think that the black lives matter movement is right up there with Isis as a group that should be feared in this country.

It's why I am not sure of what to make of some of the platitudes coming from politicians in Washington. There is a disingenuous nature to all of it. Let's just strike the right tone. Even though deep down we feel just like Sarah Palin and Bill O'Reilly.

I listened to Charles Blow on CNN last night, and he made an excellent point to Don Lemon, who was doing his usual best to make his white listeners feel comfortable.

I am paraphrasing, but he said something to the effect that he should not be apologizing for his blackness, and the burden shouldn't be on him to have to teach folks in the majority not to be racist. He argued that he is the one being victimized. Why should the one doing the victimizing, he wanted to know, get a pass?

He is right. The debate about racism and injustice in this country has always been about blaming the oppressed. If you call out racism, you are the racist. If you see injustice and speak on it, you are rocking the boat. "Can't we all just get along?" 

We could. But the charlatans and hucksters who are profiting from making poor and marginalized white people believe that  black people are the root of all of their problems would never stand for it.

On a personal note I need folks to understand something: If we never come together as a country it will not effect my life one bit.

It won't make my home or wife any less beautiful; it won't take a dollar out of my bank account; and it wont raise my golf score or improve my second serve or the quality of my backhand in tennis. I will continue to enjoy the life I have now, and the memories of a wonderful life that I have lived to this point. 

This debate is about the people (black and white) who have been marginalized in this country, and the systematic and institutionalized racism that keeps tearing our country apart by denying people at the bottom of the social and economic ladder real opportunities.

To blame this on the black lives matter movement is just silly and wrong. It strikes me as people who need to look at themselves and their own short-comings, trying to find an excuse for something that they have failed to do.    

This struggle for social justice and equal rights is not about black versus white; it's about the survival of this country. The sooner we all realize that and stop trying to blame or situation on a movement formed around a hashtag, the better off we will be.

*Pic from wikipedia.org

Don't say it quite so, Joe.

Did you hear the one about the brotha who works for "the man" and got suspended from his job for stating the obvious about "the man"?

"Politico has suspended White House correspondent Joe Williams over comments suggesting that Mitt Romney is more "comfortable" around white people.

Williams, who is African-American, made the comments during a Thursday appearance on Martin Bashir's MSNBC program. During the appearance, Williams discussed how he believes Romney appears more "comfortable" appearing on Fox News Channel, as opposed to other outlets, and implied that race is a factor:

"Romney is very, very comfortable, it seems, with people who are like him. That's one of the reasons why he seems so stiff and awkward in town hall settings, why he can't relate to people other than that," Williams said during the appearance. "But when he comes on 'Fox and Friends,' they're like him. They're white folks who are very much relaxed in their own company."

In the announcement on Williams' suspension, Politico writes:

"Regrettably, an unacceptable number of Joe Williams's public statements on cable and Twitter have called into question his commitment to this responsibility," POLITICO's founding editors John Harris and Jim VandeHei wrote in a memo to the staff. "His comment about Governor Romney earlier today on MSNBC fell short of our standards for fairness and judgment in an especially unfortunate way." [Source]

Sorry Joe, we all know that what you said is true, but you work for "the man", and you just can't go stating uncomfortable truths on national television. 

Just curious, did Glenn Beck get suspended for saying that Obama doesn't like white people and has a "deep seated hatred" for them? I know that he took some heat, but did his employer suspend him? "Field, Beck is not a journalist, Joe Williams works for a real news organization."  Oh yea, that's right Beck worked for FOX at the time.

Beck's statement was way more outrageous because Obama is half white. And, trust me; he is very comfortable around white people. You don't get to be president of these divided states of America if you are not. The flip side is, of course, that you can become president if you are not comfortable around Negroes. And if Romney wins he won't be the first; "color arousal" is something that has plagued American presidents throughout history.   

Joe, hopefully you will get your job back real soon. There is a recession going on and no one can afford to be without work. Just be careful next time. Remember who you work for.