THE ADOPTED N#@!A
The more things change the more they stay the same.
I'm not big on cliche's, but in this case I must agree. Why is it that an idiot from another race has to be
the one to illuminate our own stupidity. Yes, I am talking about Kramer. I call him Kramer because of the vacuity
of his character on Seinfeld. In this case life has imitated art. His idiocy did not lie in his utterance of a
word that half of white America still thinks, or whispers when in the company of like-minded associates. It lies in
the insanity that allows him to truly believe he is not a racist. In actuality, we all have prejudices, and for blacks,
we are probably just as racist if not more. When most blacks heard what Kramer said, it was like, "Did you hear
what that cracka said?!" In our minds saying cracka, or cracker if you mean it racially, isn't the same as
a white person saying nigger.
Let's be real, the Kramer incident only highlighted the problems we continue
to have as a people. On one end of the spectrum we have blacks saying, "The N-word should be banned."
On the other end they're saying, "Well we say nigga, not nigger, and it's a term of endearment."
Ala Damon Wayans hitting the stage at the Laugh Factory spewing the N-word over twenty times, in a display of defiance to
an imposed $20 dollar fine for every use of the word. I wonder if the fine was $1000 would it have made him think twice,
because obviously the malevolence that came with the words inception was not enough.
As usual, confusion reigns
supreme in the black community. Most of us were only upset with Kramer because we felt it was "appropriate"
to be upset. We are so lost in "our" own understanding of what is right or wrong that we wait for our "leaders"
to come out and say we're outraged before we become outraged. Our American acculturation has been our demise, and
since we were robbed of our own culture we assimilate, even if it means adopting things that are harmful to us.
I suppose we should really be mad at Kramer for showcasing yet another one of our adopted idiosyncrasies.
Actually, we can go all the way back to Africa (which the name itself was adopted, but that's another story) to trace
the remnants of where this whole adoption process began. The people who conquered the Motherland came in the name of
God. We were conquered by the cross, yet we've adopted Christianity and push the name of Jesus more than
they do. Some black churches even post the blond-haired, blue-eyed man on the walls and worship him like we did the
master. I guess it wasn't enough that we adopted his name.
The same was done in the name
of Allah, as Muslims enslaved us in Africa before the Portuguese started kidnapping us. Yet we adopted the Middle Eastern
philosophies as if they were our own. This is not a slight on religion, just an analogy to show how the word nigger
is only another link in the chain of many adoptions. As slaves they whipped us to breed fear, and yet we've adopted
that same fear breeding a concept into our culture. In most cases, you can't say anything to convince a black person
that whipping is not an appropriate way to raise a child. Well I guess since they're whoopin' and not whipping,
it's alright. Let's not talk about the contemptible parts of the swine that were once only eaten by blacks for
survival, and have now become a delicacy. You could win big money betting the average black that we weren't eating
chitlins in Africa.
We've adopted their definition of beauty, as our women run around straightening
their hair and dying it to become "beautiful". Not realizing White women probably wish they could have an
Afro-puff. I am amazed on a daily basis with the strengths and weaknesses of our youth. On one hand they've
embraced who they are. Young Black men are wearing braids, no chemicals in the hair, revolutionizing the way America
acknowledges our culture. How many Whites will you see today wearing cornrows? On the other hand, these same young
Black men say nigga religiously, while they partake in the adopted culture of alcoholism & drugs, and disrespect our sistas.
While our young sistas create a level of respect for Black women, by proudly accepting their big lips, wide hips,
big butts, and even bigger brains, their essence has become the thirst of White America. Cosmetic surgeons make millions
of dollars on women wanting to look like sistas. Yet these same sistas call themselves bitches and hoes, and put a $5
piece of string, down the middle of a million dollar butt (ask J-Lo), and shake it for the whole world to see, and most times
for free. I'm not saying it's alright to do it if they get paid, because it's not. I'm saying
we don't realize what we have or who we are as a people.
We're so busy trying to adopt the ways
of the world that we don't realize the world is following us. It's not deplorable to adopt the ways and cultures
of others. America is an amalgam of so many cultures that we'd be foolish not to partake in the beauty of them all.
But like a child who had been adopted, as the level of maturity grows, they seek to know who they really are. Until
we're able to attain this level of maturity you can expect the Damon Wayans' of the world to display the attributes
of their adopted understanding. We can blame it on gangsta rap, Richard Pryor, or the rain, no matter whose to blame
things have changed, but they're still the same.
written by: Kevin C. Waters, member
WHAT AMERICA MISSED
Don Imus, The Duke rape case, Virginia Tech:
These depressing events dominated the media a few months ago. With the clarity of time, I see a major component
of each story was criminally overlooked. So much so, that I sometimes question whether I'm pondering these situations
with kaleidoscope tunnel vision. But I don't think that's it, with so many aspects of each story to cover, I
think the media just missed these salient points.
The Don Imus: While I think Imus should've been
suspended, firing him was way overboard. When I first heard the tape of what he said, my reaction was... to laugh!
I thought it was hysterically funny. An old creaky white dude using black vernacular is funny. Especially
when heard in context with the two or three lines before it. Maybe it's because of my experience growing up in the
entertainment business, but I think it's important that the comment was funny. It's also vitally important to
consider overall context. The guy is a shock jock. "Shock" isn't in there by accident.
All these DJ's from Howard Stern down use sophomoric terms and phrases that would be considered offensive by some segment
of society everyday. Even the black ones. Morning radio, vulpine and turgid as it is, is basically the last bastion
of politically incorrect speech. Was Imus' comment in poor taste? Definitely, but his comment years earlier
about Gwen Ifell was much worse ("It's nice that the Times is letting the cleaning woman work the White House").
From my point of view, it's not Imus' behavior that I've found bizarre, it's the activist attacking
him. Take Al Sharpton, I've always considered him a joke, our liberal's answer to Pat Buchannon basically.
The fact that he and other black leaders made such a huge, public outcry about Imus, but haven't saddled their noble soapboxes
to denounce rap music is indefensible. Of course, what rappers are doing doesn't excuse Imus' statements, he
was wrong, it just makes the people attacking him lose all their credibility. Yes, even us Democrats can blow a situation
out of political gain.
This leaves the victims, the Rutgers team as the only real innocents in this fiasco.
BUT even they are taking all this a bit too far. Making statements like they were "crushed," and "scarred
for life" by Imus' comments come across as disingenuous at best, or exaggerations constructed to play to the media
at best. Let's be honest here, these are college basketball players. They hear worse stuff from fans every
time they play in another team's arena. Rap and hip-hop is the most popular form of music of young black people
in this country. Is someone going to seriously try to claim the vast majority of girls on that team don't
have rap or hip-hop CD's?! C'mon, the majority of those girls have CD's in their dorm room right now that
refers to women in terms just as bad, and more than likely much worse than "Nappy head 'hos."
A little reality check is needed here. I know that's not convenient to the "Imus is the devil" crowd,
but sometimes the truth ruins the best of protests. Imus shouldn't have been fried, he's a comic, and that's
a profession that compels it's practitioners to perform close to the line. They'll offend from time to time,
but those of us who are wise, will give them some slack based on their attempt to entertain. It's a treasured region
of free speech. Suspend him, yes. Trust me, if what he said was that bad, something that really harmed those girls,
listeners would've stop tuning in. Instead, we got a classic case of schrenderfraude, the media and activist got
caught up in a feeding frenzy.
The Duke case: When it was announced that the charges against
David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann were dropped, most of the media's attention turned to the devastation
these charges had wrought on these boy's lives, and the insidious actions of Mike Nifong, the District Attorney.
Here are the three aspects of this case I felt went criminally unaddressed. First, these boys were able
to get the truth out because their families had money, and the case was widely televised. How many other suspects with
limited means has Nifong railroaded in the past? I'm one of those who thinks, when people get caught doing something
illegal (like those child molesters on that TO CATCH A PREDATOR shows), regardless of what they say, it isn't the first
time they've engaged in said activity. Secondly, where are the women's activist and black leaders that called
for these boy's head when they first got charged? If minority and women's spokespersons are going to fight
injustice, we have to possess the rectitude to say we are wrong when we make a mistake. I think many in the political arena
fear admitting mistakes because they don't want to appear weak, but I feel quite the opposite. To admit mistakes
publicly shows integrity, and solidifies one's character. The second it became obvious that these boys were innocent,
black leaders and women's rights organizations should've admitted their mistake, and that we accidentally
fell into the same vicious trap they fight against; to keep the public from assuming some one's guilty just because the
police charge them. Lastly, and most importantly in my eyes. Something LEGALLY has to be done about people
like the accuser in this case (a few years ago Jerome Bettis and Derrick Coleman had women bring false charges against
them for financial gain, and no charges were brought against them either). Once more facts about this case and her past
began to come out, it became obvious that this girl was a) troubled, and b) made these charges maliciously. She
needs to go to jail... for a long time.
I realize the negative ramifications of what I'm suggesting.
I don't want to create a scenario where women are afraid to file rape charges because they're afraid, if their
attacker doesn't get caught or convicted, they'll be in trouble. Folks, I definitely do not want that.
But in cases like the one at Duke, where the accuser has tried this before, and was willing to let three innocent men go to
prison 10 years for her amusement or financial gain, these people need to pay a price. "Shame on you" isn't
sufficient. I'm not going for that, "she was a poor, misunderstood single mother trying to improve her life"
bit. Did you catch the specifics of the forensic reports? Traces of five men's seminal fluid was found inside
her, three of those also in her rectum. Fairy tales may have changed over the centuries, but innocent babes in
the woods still don't have anal sex with 3 different men in a 2-3 day period. These facts indicate, that along with
being a stripper at a nudie bar, and performing at parties, she was probably a prostitute. I'm not buying the
naive fawn image her community tried to paint. Neither should you. An honorable coach lost his job, countless
cases of ill will developed between the races and sexes on the Duke Campus and between students and the townspeople, and most
depressing, many girls in the future who've been assaulted won't come forward because of the woman. There has
to be some legal repercussions against the accuser in cases like the one at Duke.
Virginia
Tech: Lastly, I think America is asking the wrong questions concerning the massacre. I'm not talking about
the debates over how to deal with mentally problematic students, or the easy access to guns legally. Though I think
it's appropriate to have those discussions now, they're subjects that could benefit from a national review.
I want to write about all the criticism the university's president, Charles Steger is taking for not locking down the
school after the first incident. It's come out, that when the police arrived on scene of the first shooting,
several students told the police the gunman had been going from room to room looking for his girlfriend. Thinking they
had come across a domestic violence incident, the police secured the scene, and sent off a unit to the victim's boyfriend's
home. From what these witnesses told the cops, there was no reason to think they had to lock down the school.
I've constantly read proverbs and heard advice about learning from the past. You know the stuff, "those
who don't learn from the past, are doomed to repeat it" etc. Off the top of your head, when was the last time
you heard about a domestic shooting that blossomed into a massacre? You haven't, and that's the point.
Police like everyone else react the way the past has taught them. From what detectives were able to deduce, there was
nothing to indicate Norman Bates was going to go crazy across campus. Our society hates to admit or say this out
loud, but sometimes no one's to blame. You can't account for mentally unstable people. If anything, blame
the witnesses who sent the police on a wild goose chase. Their inaccurate information kept the school and police from
taking steps to alert the kids on campus immediately. Now none of us want to lay that burden of guilt on some young
adults who were just trying to help, and we shouldn't. What we really need to do, is stop looking to lay blame
on the police and school president for not locking down the school after the first shooting. We live in a free and open
society. The price for that is someone not playing along with the playground rules. Mentally tilted individuals
will occasionally screw up the order of things. It's sad, but I rather live with that, then the alternative.
In all three of these cases, most of us were swept up by our initial visceral response, and didn't take the time
to ponder the ancillary subtext orbiting these situations. While our baser instincts serve us well when that strange
man approaches our children, they're insufficiently informed to apply to complex situations. Unfortunately, these
same instincts are what the media often caters to. Let's not always have our perspective guided by the media's
lens.
written by: Bernard Wright K88777
PO
Box 8101
San Luis Obispo, CA 93404
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