An effort to stand for justice and oppose the "ruinous traits" listed by Muslim scholars in all their forms: rancor, unhealthy attachments, malice, jealousy, vanity, stinginess, avarice, cowardice, indolence, arrogance, ostentation, heedlessness, anxiety, depression, and oppression.
I recently came across this podcast while browsing in the iTunes store. I haven't listened to the entire set of shows, but I've been impressed with the ones I've heard. Unsurprisingly, it sounds like the host is a White Libertarian. It worries me that Black people don't seem to be talking about the "nitty-gritty" of contingency planning. We're too busy following the minutiae of the Obama campaign. {long sigh} Anyway, the podcast is called The Survival Podcast: "Helping you live the life you want, if times get tough, or even if they don't."
Alonzo King founded Alonzo King's LINES Ballet in 1982. He frequently works with artists who are not regularly associated with classical ballet. For example, Long River High Sky was an integrative movement project that he did in collaboration with the Shaolin monks of China. Mr. King is the son of prominent civil rights activists Slater King and Valencia King.
This essay is contained in my new book. I'm delighted to announce that The Sojourner's Passport site has launched! You can visit it at http://www.sojournerspassport.com/.
Everyone, I can't thank you enough for your ongoing encouragement and support; I truly appreciate it. Your support is what made this possible. And here's a special shout-out to my web designers at Educo Web Design. They're nice people to deal with, and they do outstanding work!
Macro-aggressions are obvious, belligerent, hateful behaviors that are easily identified by all involved as hostile. Macro-aggressions tend to be infrequent. The risk is usually too great for most people to routinely engage in macro-aggression. Instead, they engage in micro-aggression. Micro-aggressions are more subtle forms of belligerent, hateful behavior. Because they are more subtle, micro-aggressions are harder to pinpoint and confront. In fact, they are usually invisible. Their invisibility means that most people only notice their cumulative effects: weariness, tension, and stress.
Physical slums are filled with non-stop acts of micro-aggression. In Part 1 of this series, I mentioned the traffic disruptions caused by drivers stopping in the middle of traffic to throw gang signs at pedestrians. This is micro-aggression because (on the surface) the purpose of the behavior is to throw the gang signs, not necessarily to hinder other drivers. Micro-aggressions are usually passed off as examples of people being inconsiderate of others. However, there's really much more to it than that. Micro-aggression is really about free-floating hate and rage. It's a lack of consideration coupled with a "Screw you" undercurrent.
Physical slums are filled with non-stop acts of micro-aggression.
Most Black residential areas (no matter the income level) are filled with pervasive acts of micro-aggression.
Most African-Americans (no matter the income or educational level) have inner slums filled with micro-aggression. Micro-aggression is a slum value that the vast majority of us carry around with us, no matter where we go in life.
I know that many people will reject this assertion. After all, this sort of behavior is not congruent with our self-image. Surely, most of us must be light years beyond the fool in the thugmobile who's throwing gang signs. I beg to differ. Here's why:
Aristotle said, "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." If excellence is a habit, then what about squalor? We are what we repeatedly do.Our habits show who we really are. What do your everyday habits say about you? Are you willing to examine what your everyday habits say about you? Here are some common situations to consider:
ON THE STREET 1. Are you a driver who stops in the middle of the street to hold conversations out of the driver's side window? Or do you pull over?
2. When you go to somebody's home to pick them up, do you pull over to the side of the street? Or do you block traffic behind you while waiting for that person to come out?
3. As a pedestrian, do you slow your walking pace while crossing the street?
IN A PARKING GARAGE/LOT 1. When you see that someone has pulled over to wait for the parking space that you're about to leave, do you delay leaving the spot?
2. When you're looking for a spot in a parking garage, do you block all the drivers behind you by trailing after pedestrians who might (or might not) be walking to their car? Or do you keep driving until you get to a level that has empty spaces?
AT/IN THE ELEVATOR 1. When you see people walking toward the elevator you're on, do you hold it open for them? Or do you passively watch the elevator doors close in their faces?
2. When you're waiting for an elevator, do you jump on the first one that arrives without checking the arrows to see which direction it's headed; and then once inside press a button to take it in the opposite direction?
3. In the morning, do you get on the elevator while juggling an open paper cup of coffee, so you can sip the coffee while riding? Are you frequently willing to take the risk of this open coffee spilling on the other passengers?
I could go on, but you get the idea. Are you willing to take a step back and consider what your daily habits say about you? If you don't like what you see, are you willing to make some changes?
People have been so kind to me as a newbie blogger. I was given the Honest Blogger Award by Hagar's Daughter at http://hagarsdaughters.blogspot.com/. I am so thankful for her support and inspiration. Hagar's Daughter, may God bless you. In keeping with (some of) the rules (I don't feel qualified to make any decisions about awards at this point), I strongly recommend that people check out the following blogs:
Dirt. Noise. Chaos. These are the first three things you notice whenever you enter a slum neighborhood.
The dirt. Rundown buildings. Garbage overflowing in the streets. Broken glass on the ground. People throwing garbage down onto the ground around their feet.
The noise. How very loud everything is. The shouted conversations held with people who are standing two feet away from the speaker. Shouting and yelling for people down the street. Shouting and yelling for people across the street. Loud cell phone conversations. The ever-present loud music. Music so loud that you can feel the drumbeat vibrating in your bones.
The chaos. Unattended small children darting in and out of the street. Clusters of idle, grown men standing on street corners. Clusters of idle, grown men standing around discarded sofas and chairs in the middle of vacant lots. Entire families sitting on their front stoops during what should be normal work and school hours. Swarms of teenagers yelling and cursing while waiting at bus stops. Traffic disruptions because a driver is making frequent stops in the middle of the street to throw gang signs at pedestrians.
These are the signs of an outer slum.
Inner slums have similar signs. Inner slums consisting of dirt, noise, and chaos exist within people's hearts and minds. Without frequent cleaning and renovations, your inner environment will quickly turn into an inner slum. A slum that you carry around with you.
When you don't refresh and renew your mind you will find that no matter where you go in life, The World is a Ghetto.
The prevalence of inner slums is one of the reasons why Black folks are in such a sorry state. Yes, there are external problems and opponents. However, these external obstacles are so successful in slowing our roll because of our internal weaknesses. We generally refuse to address inner weaknesses. We fear introspection. We fear silence.
Even those people who actually want to renew their minds face hidden problems with their efforts. One such problem is that it's impossible to renew your mind in the midst of noise pollution. Noise pollution is a slum value. When I say "slum value," I'm not referring to income levels. I've seen many Black professionals who live slum lifestyles with slum values. I've seen many poor Black folks who do not live with slum values. Noise pollution is so prevalent that most of us perceive it as normal. This is what makes it a hidden problem. We can't hear how noisy our living spaces are. Silence has become an aberration for most Black people. What we fail to realize is that silence is part of the internal cleansing and renewal process. Periods of silence take you out of your daily routine. Silence forces you to take a fresh look at yourself and your surroundings. I believe that this is why most Black people are deeply afraid of silence.
Noise pollution is a slum value whose origin is often found in another slum value: Using the television as a babysitter. Many people in my age group (40s) were among the first generation of Black children who were raised by being propped in front of the tv for hours at a time. Many of us have raised our own children in the same fashion. And so the cycle repeats, and becomes accepted as normal.
As a result, there are now several generations of Black people who live with the television on 24 hours a day, every single day. The tv is never turned off while people are inside the home. People will often have the tv and loud music playing simultaneously. In many modern Black households, conversations are shouted over the din of the tv and music. Meals are eaten around the tv.
We often say that Black people need to turn off the tv and read. This is true. What we don't realize is that many of us simply can't do this. Many of us are literally addicted to noise. I've watched small Black children immediately turn on the tv the moment they enter a room, even though they have no intention of watching it. I've watched Black adults do this as well. They've been conditioned to be ill at ease with silence. Most of us are deeply afraid of silence.
There's a difference between noise addiction and a purposeful use of noise. There is purpose in using these distractions to pass the time in an unpleasant setting (such as sitting in the auto repair shop, etc.). There is purpose in using the tv, radio, and phone to keep oneself company when alone; although it's better to seek out actual company.
There's also a difference between cleansing silence and other uses of silence. Sometimes silence is used as a barricade to keep other people out of our lives and our hearts. Sometimes silence is used as a weapon to punish the people closest to us. This is not the kind of silence that I'm suggesting you practice. I'm also not suggesting that people go "cold turkey" and abruptly turn off their tvs, computers, radios, and iPods. That's just too big a step for most people who are deeply conditioned to living in noise. I'm suggesting that we use daily moments of silence to refresh our perceptions, and thereby refresh our minds. For example, why not:
Observe one minute of silence and stillness at various points during the day. A minute of silence before beginning your work. A minute before going to bed. A minute of silence wherever you can fit it in.
Create a quiet room or space in your home (to whatever extent this is possible).
I'd like to hear about your experiences with silence. Did you enjoy the experience? Was any part of it difficult? How do you feel about silence?
African-American leaders are feckless and foolish. Most of them have an uncompromising commitment to mediocrity and political fantasies. One such fantasy has been the notion of a rainbow coalition. And we've been fools to buy into this fantasy. Most of us never developed the simple (yet life-saving) habit of asking, "What's in it for us [to support x, y, z position]?" Many of us still don't understand that what our (mis)leaders call "coalitions" and "alliances" actually consist of other people capitalizing off of our unique historical struggle.
Our lack of political common sense has already cost us. Dearly. In terms of political empowerment, we've already slit our own wrists. Our (mis)leaders encouraged us to support Latino and other non-White immigration, and to cry copious tears over the "plight" of various categories of illegal immigrants. We were encouraged to assume that non-White immigrants were somehow our natural, and automatic allies in the quest for justice.
Umm . . . No. People generally come to the United States to get paid. Period. There's nothing wrong with that. Like I said in Part 1 of this series, it is normal, natural, and fair for people to look out for their own interests. I would like to see more African-Americans acquire this mental habit. Somehow, we got it in our heads that other people of color are naturally inclined to help us in our struggle. NO. Helping us is not part of most immigrants' mission profile. People come here to find a better life for themselves. Not to join our struggle.
We are now reaping the consequences of foolishly supporting non-White (legal and illegal) immigration to this country. We are being displaced. We are being physically displaced in many areas of the country. This physical displacement leads to political displacement. Many currently Black congressional districts have large and growing Latino populations. NO Latino districts have growing Black populations. I've read reports estimating that this demographic shift will cause Blacks to lose 6-7 congressional seats after the 2010 census redistricting.
One example of this was last year's battle for the traditionally Black 37th Congressional District seat in Southern California. This district covers an area including much of Long Beach, Compton, and Watts. The death of Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald led to a special primary election. A May 8, 2007 article from Politico.com talks about this political race. Here's the link:
An African-American candidate ultimately won the seat. See the July 3, 2007 article from the Los Angeles Times entitled, "Racial issues take a back seat in 37th - Multiracial support has Laura Richardson poised to represent a largely Latino district. Her take: 'We are a new America, very diverse.'" http://articles.latimes.com/2007/jul/03/local/me-congress3
However, it is important to note that Rep. Richardson won a Democratic primary with 10 other candidates running. She then went on to win the runoff election against 3 other candidates. This is not an example of a strong, solid victory. It sounds quite fragile. Decades of believing in a "Black and Brown Together" fantasy helped make this vulnerable situation possible. We enabled our own political disenfranchisement by supporting non-White immigration. We slit our own wrists.
As a side note, Rep. Richardson is half White. She has an African-American father and a White mother. I don't know if she emphasized this fact during her campaign. I also don't know whether or not she self-identifies as "Black" or if she's highly invested in indentifying as something distinct from Black, such as "biracial." The media refer to her as African-American. Her parents divorced, and she was raised by her White mother. http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000002573713
The displacement and disenfranchisement of African-Americans in California's big cities is fairly obvious. What's not so obvious is that this process is being replicated in small towns across the South. Legal and illegal immigrants are overrunning rural towns all over "Dixie." Praise God, some of us are starting to wake up and see this for what it is: NOT in our interests. A Los Angeles Times article from August 31, 2008 entitled, "Immigrant raid divides a Mississippi town" mentions the variety of reactions to an immigration raid.
The above story talks about the employment angle of illegal immigration. What about the political repercussions? What happens in these towns (and the South in general) if illegal immigrants are given amnesty and the ability to vote? Answer: The same thing that is happening in California. Blacks will be pushed aside in our traditional population centers in the South.
Miami is a sneak preview of what will become of Black folks' political fortunes across this country if we don't change course right now. Looking at Miami, it's clear that living under the heels of Latino political overlords is not a pretty picture for African-Americans.
I just hope that this realization hasn't come too late. We've already slit our own wrists, and the blood is flowing freely. There's still time to bandage some of the wounds, but only if we immediately start looking out for our own best interests.
First of all, let me express my deep and amazed gratitude to bloggers such as Rev. Lisa, Focused Purpose, Hagar's Daughter, Pioneer Valley Woman, and so many others. I'm so thankful for their inspiration, support, and the cyber-stream of readers that they've been sending my way.
Given that they have sent such an insightful audience my way, I knew that it wouldn't take long for one such reader to provide the First Official Reader's Money Quote. The Reader's Money Quote is a statement that is of such insight and importance that it merits frequent and loud repetition. This first Reader's Money Quote is from Pioneer Valley Woman, host of the blog Episcopalienne. Pioneer Valley Woman is a brilliant academic, as well as an Episcopalian "church lady." She said the following while commenting on "Charity Should Begin at Home, Part 1."
"This is a capitalist society and although certain institutions, like the government and education, in the past, could act as though they were above and beyond all that, those days are over. Everybody has to hustle. . ." (emphasis added)
Because we don't have businesses of our own, a disproportionate number of the Black middle and professional classes work in education and for the government in some capacity. In light of this fact, Pioneer Valley Woman's warning needs to be repeated to all who will listen. Some of our people are like the workers in the former Soviet Union: We're used to getting paid no matter how shabby our work product and work ethic is. We're also used to thinking that our "good government jobs" are secure. As Pioneer Valley Woman has noted, that's not true anymore.
Pioneer Valley Woman, thank you for your support; and thank you for providing the First Official Reader's Money Quote.
