Sunday, June 14, 2015

Sovereignty Or Self-Immolation, Part 1


One of the best gifs I've ever seen is from a commenter named Jane Dark over at the Gender Trender post Identity Politics will be Intersectional or they will be Bullshit. To paraphrase her comment, so-called “transracials” not only exist: THEY LIVE! {heavy sarcasm alert}

The African-American collective’s mass reactions to several recent events have shown those of us who are self-actualizing African-American Black women (as I call us, Sojourners)  just how EXTREMELY compromised our collective position is these days. 

I’m referring to the large numbers of unprotected,disrespected African-American Black women (AABW) caping HARD in support of rich, White, Republican, Deadbeat Absentee Dad To His Older Set of Children, Allows His Underage Daughter Kylie To Be Exploited By A Pedophile Bruce Jenner's latest cross-dressing stunt. 

I’m referring to the Acting “Brand New”—I Never Knew Black People Would Be Treated Differently  reactions to the teenage Black girl in a bikini at a pool party who was attacked by an out of control cop in McKinney, Texas. 

I’m referring to the large numbers of Mammy Mules and Negro Male Coons Caping HARD For WW Scam Artist Rachel Dolezal. 

AA slaves are doing all of this in support of their own erasure. For any self-respecting AA person, these caping incidents have been grotesque spectacles. 

As Sojourners, we’re looking at the terminal stage of self-hating, self-destructive cultural dysfunctions that were set in motion over a century ago; and that were allowed to fester by the AA misleadership class (past and present). We see this. Now what? It’ll take several blog posts to unpack all of this. This is the first of several posts about this topic. 

My Qualifications To Offer Suggestions and Criticism Regarding Issues Related to African-American Black Women’s Interests 

Like I said, over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been appalled watching large numbers of AABW engage in EXTREME one-sided caping on behalf of various categories of others who hate them. It’s been so way out that I’ve felt compelled to frequently come out of my blogging semi-retirement to speak out about these matters. 

One of several Mammy Mule/Negro Male Coon Caping For WW Scam Artist Rachel Dolezal tactics to silence AA Black dissenters is the false assertion that this WW scam artist has done more for AA Blacks than the dissenters. The Mammies and Coons try to disqualify all critiques of their beloved WW scam artist by claiming that the dissenter has never done anything (or has never done “as much”) for AAs. 

In a way it’s humorous that AA slaves always tell on themselves. Do-Nothing AA Slaves always assume that every other AA Black person is also a Do-Nothing who has never done anything to serve AA Black interests. This What Real-World Experiences Are You Basing Your Opinions On? issue came up in an exchange I had with another commenter at another blog last year. I’ll repeat what I said over there about where my views come from: 
“During the last part of high school, I volunteered for a Chicago-area crisis hotline called Metro-Help that worked in conjunction with what was then called the National Runaway Switchboard. Now it’s called the National Runaway Safeline. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Runaway_Safeline 
Once other kids at my high school found out I was a crisis hotline volunteer, more than a few of them (including other AA girls) started confiding in me about their heavy-duty problems at home (including sexual molestation). I did what I could to connect other kids with resources that could help them with their particular issues. 
When I went away to college, I participated in the anti-apartheid movement. I also volunteered with a local crisis hotline while there, which received a lot of calls from battered women and other women in crisis. Most people are apolitical. That’s typical. Whatever level or absence of interest in political issues is perfectly okay as long as folks are cool about it, and treat other people with basic courtesy. Most of the apolitical AABW students at my campus didn’t have the “live and let live” attitude, and were quite nasty toward the campus activist BW. 
Meanwhile, when some of those SAME silent, apolitical, Stank Attitude Toward Other BW chicks I went to college with got date-raped back in the late 80s and early 90s, they typically had nobody else they could turn to for help except the campus activist women that they had up to that moment been telling to “shut up.” At that point in time, there were no such commonly-used expressions such as “date rape” or “stalking.” Since they were apolitical, these “Y’all should just shut up” chicks didn’t know where any shelters, crisis centers, or rape counselors were located. 
I’ve never been a saint or a believer in turning the other cheek, and I have a loooong memory. It took a LOT for me to help some of these heifers when they were in crisis and had nobody else they could turn to. I was verrrrry tempted to leave one of them to her own devices when she was in the middle of her crisis . . . but I still helped them and her . . . I digress . . . 
When I was in law school, I spent one summer clerking for a local civil rights attorney (who mostly dealt with AA Black folks’ civil rights/police brutality issues and related legal grievances). I spent another summer clerking for a local legal aid clinic that services mostly AA poor folks (primarily poor and underclass AABW and their children). 
I spent 10+ years working as a government defense attorney serving mostly AA poor and underclass litigants in a variety of legal settings, from child welfare courtrooms, child support courtrooms, and criminal courtrooms. All of which are mostly packed with AA Black folks as defendants and litigants. 
I’ve also worked as a prosecutor (one of the few in my office who was more preoccupied with serving justice to all parties—including the disproportionate number of AA victims and defendants—as opposed to simply racking up convictions and other “wins”). 
I’ve also served AABW’s interests as one of several early BWE bloggers. I started blogging back in 2008 and 2009. A point in time when I had to invest in IP-address tracking software so that I’d have documentation to give the FBI about some particularly nasty and menacing Internet Ike Turners.
I was BWE blogging back in 2008 and 2009 when some other BWE bloggers and I had to exchange IP-address information about several nasty and menacing Internet Ike Turners. 
The early BWE bloggers took the heat from the Internet Ike Turners, pushed back against them (sometimes with the assistance of law enforcement), and made it safe for a lot of other AA women to start talking online. 
I’m saying all of this to say that when I talk about the REALITY of trying to serve and advance AABW’s interests, I’m not talking solely based on ideology. My views are rooted in long-term, REAL WORLD experience with serving other Black folks and with woman-centric activism.”
In summary, I’M one of MANY African-American Black women who are qualified to run a NAACP chapter. It’s truly offensive to hear self-hating slaves pretend that there weren’t any qualified AABW that could do what this WW scam artist has only been pretending to do: to serve AAs’ interests in that [deeply compromised from its very beginning*] organization. 

[*AAs have an unfortunate tradition of allowing outsiders to run all over us. Because we’re so frantic to latch onto other people, AAs traditionally allow nonblacks and foreign-origin Blacks to have command and control over what are supposed to be our organizations. AAs allowed White men like Kivie Kaplan to be the head of the NAACP from 1966 until his death in 1975. The NAACP didn’t have a Black president until 1975. We allowed West Indians like Stokely Carchmichael to run and set policy for our civil rights organizations. 

Throughout our history, AAs have consistently allowed various types of outsiders to rule over us in our own organizations; nobody else allows AAs to rule over them in their own organizations. Nobody allows AAs to set policy for or have command and control over THEIR ethnic and/or political organizations. 

And I don’t blame others for not allowing AAs to control their critical “stuff.” Only a foolish group of people allows outsiders to set policy for them. No matter how close an alliance is, or how long it’s lasted NO responsible government gives its nuclear codes to an allied government. There are certain things that sensible people keep control over restricted to themselves. AAs love to give our “nuclear codes” to outsiders.] 

Anyhoo, I appreciate what BWE blogger Faith and one of her commenters named Tracy said during THIS exchange with a mammy mule on Faith’s Facebook page: 
  • Faith Dow You can prioritize whatever you choose. People focus too much on the cop in McKinney not the economics behind it. The adult WW who fought the teen, the WM animal killer who called 911 inciting violence. The FRAUD was and still is being given protection by black males and stupid black women who worship whiteness, but then some folks want to get angry when a few whites don't like us and act accordingly? And then they wonder WHY? If anything McKinney should have been a connect-the-dots moment about why that fraud needed to be shut down and the NAACP should burn to the ground for supporting her. How are THEY going to set any example when they won't clean house. In both situations it is black women and girls who will pay the price and both situations are preventable. But the desired ideal of erasure is to have a "white" black woman. Which is why a darker skinned BW like the teen is still in peril whether a white cop is involved or not. The NAACP just publicly erased ALL black women to coddle a white woman and blacks will keep propping up biracials because black people hate themselves and won't set standards. The fraud used WHITE PRIVILEGE when it suited her to step over black women and should never have been given the keys to leadership based on her appearance, but she was. So, yes IMO McKinney is done. It happened. There are millions of other unprotected BW out there and the support of an opportunistic sociopath like #RachelDolezal is the reason why. Not a white cop.
    15 hrs · Edited
  • Tracy L. Scott The only thing I wanna hear from her is her resignation.....go quietly and orange-y into that good night.
    15 hrs · 1
  • Faith Dow She's not going anywhere. The interview train starts Monday and she's defiant.
    15 hrs · 1
  • Babz Rawls Ivy How many Black women calling for her resignation are qualified to sit in her seat? and how many Black women are willing to dedicate their lives to the issues of Black people? How many Black women are prepared to do all that she has done on behalf of Black people. and How many Black women are willing to be as committed to Black issues as her. Yeah be outraged, but ask yourself... what have you done LATELY?
    15 hrs
  • Tracy L. Scott I've done plenty, so have other black women. I don't think there is a shortage of smart educated black women that can do her job and speak from experience of the joys and hardships of being a true black woman. There are scores of black women doing the damn thang every day. Maybe if you weren't so busy caping for wannabe wigger, you'd see that. What the hell are YOU doing to uplift black issues, besides yammering on Facebook.....yeah, I thought so...#lane #findyours #stayinit
    15 hrs
  • [ . . omitted portion. . .]
    • Babz Rawls Ivy You know nothing about me you angry Bitch.
      15 hrs
    • Babz Rawls Ivy And how does this become about the shit you claim to have done. Baby your resume couldn't hold a candle to mine.
      14 hrs
    • Tracy L. Scott You told me all I need to know, mammy....missyanne is calling for you to help her with her box braids....scat
      14 hrs
    • Babz Rawls Ivy Take your anger... your misdirected anger and go on about your business.
      14 hrs
    • Tracy L. Scott Then why dont you apply for the job....my resume bla bla. You ain't shyt
      14 hrs · Edited
    • Faith Dow Alright, we're done here!

    • [ . . omitted portion. . .]

      • 14 hrs · Edited · 1
      • Tracy L. Scott I apologize to you Faith Dow, but I lost it....people, black people, are acting like this fraud is the messiah. Like she was the only one that ever took an African studies class at Howard and did work for the NAACP that went above and beyond. This bitch TOOK the job from a black person , a black woman, that could have gone leaps and bounds over here crazy ass, with out blackface. She's a liar, she falsified documents pertaining to her race, lied about her son and her dad, and then went about policing other minorities. But because she gave out the great white gaze and helping hand, that's okay. Shirley Sherrod was fired over here say.....crickets. So yeah, keep mammying yourselves out of existence, me , I'll fight for what's mine.
        14 hrs
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU Faith and Tracy!!!

And then there's THIS mess:

Faith Dow
14 hrs ·
Now Victoria Rowell is on Twitter posting photos of her (3/4ths at least) white daughter to defend ‪#‎RacheDolezal‬
Which brings me back to a conclusion that I've been mulling over ever since earlier outbreaks of caping insanity, including many AABW's decision to cape in support of another WW's intrusion into BW's natural hair issues and space (the Curly Nikki debacle):

We must remove modern-day, living Black biracials from our AA Black category!

And we have to find a way to do this without distorting our own people's history. Which is why I suggested using the date of the Brown vs. Board of Education ruling as a cut-off point in a recent post. 

African women such as the For BW Only writer (whose meme I mentioned—and agreed with—in a recent post) and Kola Boof have asserted that there shouldn't be any nuance with this issue. While presuming to discuss (and debate with AAs about) this AA identity issue, these two African women feel that all half-Other AAs past and present should be categorized as biracial and NOT AA Black. 

My question to self-actualizing AABW is this: 

Are you comfortable with ANY outsider—including African women—rewriting YOUR AA PEOPLE'S history? Do you blindly assume that outsiders will be sensitive enough to be protective of YOUR people's history?

Or are AA identity issues the sort of thing AAs need to figure out and decide among ourselves?

I keep harping on this inter-ethnic angle because I know my own AA people's history. AAs’ problems typically revolve around mishandling the execution of what seem to be good ideas. The problems with the execution of seemingly good ideas crop up because AAs have a tendency to import the same old, self-hating thinking into any new and good idea.

I keep harping on this inter-ethnic angle to these discussions, because at the end of the day, what the For BW Only writer and Kola Boof are demanding of AABW does not serve to distort or rewrite THEIR respective people's history.  

But it makes a BIG difference with YOUR people's history. I haven't mentioned this online before, but here's an example of what they're suggesting for YOU and YOUR PEOPLE is going to lead to:

Amazon.com: Light, Bright and Damn Near White: Black Leaders Created by the One-Drop Rule eB...
During the 19th and 20th centuries, a powerhouse of Black American leaders emerged, consisting primarily of men and women with “an apparent mix of Caucasoid features.” The face of the African warrior, brought to America centuries prior from the Ivory Coast had changed, due to ...
View on www.amazon.com
Preview by Yahoo


Intellectually I know better, but I was still amazed and horrified to see that there's a colored woman who apparently believes that it's helpful to frame our people's history in this fashion. Amazed and horrified to see a colored woman who's so clueless that she can't see how framing our history in this fashion serves a White supremacist narrative. 

I already know what the legions of Mammy Mules and Negro Male Coons will do with the AA identity suggestions being made by the For BW Only writer and Kola Boof: They'll take these women's positions (and a book like the one mentioned above) and run with it in an extremely destructive way. 

Mammy Mules and Negro Male Coons will use the For BW Only writer's and Kola Boof's position regarding AA Black identity to start peddling the lie that all of our early AA leaders were actually nonblacks. They'll use these African women's positions to start peddling the lie that anything and everything of value among historical AAs was actually created by [biracial] nonblacks. I know my own people's self-destructive mental habits and behavior patterns.

Lest we forget: Yes, many historical AA leaders were more immediately mixed race than most other AAs—this was a result of social positioning and access to education. The historical reason why so many of our early leaders and accomplished ancestors were more immediately “mixed” than is typical for us is because those were the first AAs who were positioned to have access to education. Either as the slavemaster's direct offspring or as (already) “free persons of color.” In that moment in history, out of all of us, those were the types of AA Black folks who first gained access to education. 

The productive, loyal tribe members Black folks that some outsiders are in a hurry to call “biracial” and not AA Black—like the slavemaster's son Booker T. Washington—used their resources to help lift up other, NON-mixed AAs. 

Why does preserving the integrity of our AA historical narrative matter? 

It matters because (1) AAs are in freefall and moving backwards in terms of self-respect, self-acceptance, and self-love.
Younger AABW’s curious choice to give their online spaces and conferences titles like Breaking Brown, Blogging While Brown, Brown Sistagirls, etc. instead of Breaking Black, Blogging While Black, Black Sistagirls, etc.
Please note that I’m not singling out any particular blogger or writer. There are a lot of AABW using “Brown” instead of“Black” when giving a title to their online presence. I’m mentioning these titles as examples of what I’m talking about.

The labels we choose when describing ourselves say a lot about our levels of consciousness and level of comfort in our own skin. AAs have historically had a tortuous relationship to identity. Our kidnapped ancestors started off self-identifying as members of whatever African ethnic group they were members of. That African tribal identity was deliberately destroyed via mass torture and rape. Despite a few holdouts, such as the founders of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (which was founded in 1816), our ancestors abandoned the label“African.” 

Instead, most of our ancestors began to self-describe as“Negroes” or “colored.” Until the mid- to late 1960s, to be called “Black” was a slur among most African-Americans. With the exception of the Nation of Islam who referred to AAs as “Asiatic Black men and women.” Unfortunately, hypocrisy tainted their efforts at claiming the label “Black” and reclaiming racial self-respect, which I’ll discuss later in this post. Most of our efforts as reclaiming ethnic and racial self-respect and pride are tainted with hypocrisy. It’s a human frailty, but there are some other poisonous ingredients.
. . . It literally took CENTURIES for us to get the word “African”back into our mental self-description. Likewise, it literally took CENTURIES for us to get comfortable with self-describing as “Black.”
Also keep in mind that whatever terms we used to self-describe our racial and ethnic group were used by both AA men and women. There was unity and a perceived shared interest in those labels.

Something has changed over the past decade or so. I’ve noticed that younger AABW are running away from the label “Black”and instead using the term “Brown” in giving titles to their online presences. Up until now, the label “Brown” was claimed by Latinos in the U.S. 
. . . For the past three decades, AABM in hip-hop and c/rap have been actively degrading Black womanhood in favor of lighter and Whiter women. This rabidly anti-BW poison has permeated throughout modern AA culture. All these younger women know (and have internalized) is an atmosphere of downright rabid gendered racism. All they know is Black women being openly devalued and degraded by the toxic modern AA culture created by hip-hop and c/rap’s warped values. By contrast, younger AA Black males don’t feel mental pressure to run away from self-describing as “Black men”because their identity as Black males has not been under heavy attack from the AA collective.
AABW in my age group are relatively blessed. We were already teenagers when that hip-hop and c/rap mess started up. By the time hip-hop c/rap emerged, our self-image had already been formed by other, mostly healthier cultural influences.  
Preserving the integrity of our AA historical narrative matters because (2) there’s an ongoing, persistent effort to destroy, erase or distort AA history.
Like THIS situation, Boardwalk Empire's Negro Problem:Creative License With DuBois and Garvey
. . . [ ] I was extremely disturbed by this clip in which the fictional head of the historical Universal Negro Improvement Association (which was Garvey’s organization) goes straight from hosting a UNIA meeting in which he's telling members about the equivalent of a “talented tenth” uplifting Black folks to placing an order for $80,000 worth of heroin from White gangsters.
Regardless of whomever the actor involved (and I like and respect Jeffery Wright’s work as an actor) claims to be modeling his character after (a West Indian policy king named Casper Holstein that I mentioned in THIS post), he physically resembles W.E.B. DuBois with that handlebar moustache. That bit about referring to Blacks as "Libyans" is a riff on how the real-life historical Moorish Science Temple calls all Blacks “Moors.”And the writers have apparently used the name of the real historical Black organization, the UNIA.
The writers are showing a DuBois-resembling, historical Black leader character as somebody who peddles heroin to other Black folks. This is a problem because most AA sheeple get their history from TV shows.
In specific terms of lifestyle optimization for AA women, you can see what happens when your history is erased and distorted: People start selling you lies such as the notion that the masses of AA women have always been overweight. 
Food for thought until the next part in this series. 
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