Why I’m Not Capitalizing the “b” in black *

In the past few days, we have been treated to dozens of news media announcing that starting now and in their future publications the word “black” would have the first letter capitalized. Why does it seem that’s a step in the right direction PC-wise? Is it only the righteously “woke” who think so?

My initial reaction was to wonder if those same news outlets are going to capitalize the “w” in white. My second reaction was to wonder why we use those two words to denote a wide range of skin tones that never include any humans who are actually white or black. I should mention that I have traveled to West Africa at least five times and met many dozens of people indigenous to that region and never once saw a truly black person. Yes, in Nigeria where I spent the most time many were darker than the typical Afro-American here. But none were jet black, though I admittedly met only a small fraction of the population. My mother’s side of the family are all proud Irish-Americans, many of whom have very light completions that can be called “peaches and cream” but their skin tones are definitely not white, on the pinkish side maybe but not white. And their hair isn’t “red” either, maybe a shade of orange though to characterize them as “carrot-top” is silly since the top of a carrot is green.

At one time in our history the word “black” was considered offensive. Later, the same stigma was attached to the word “Negro” as “black” became more acceptable. But we don’t use the words “yellow Americans” or “red Americans” to denote race so why do we continue to categorize people as white or black? Why aren’t my wife and I, as well as our children and grandchildren, classified as Euro-Americans? After all, our ancestors on both sides were from Ireland and Germany.

Then what should we think about the phrase, “colored people”? Or, as we now say, people of color, momentarily putting aside the NAACP. I’m thinking about having a block party for all my uncolored neighbors but don’t know how much beer to buy. I mean, who would show up? Aren’t all humans colored? Would only colorless aliens from another planet come to my party? If they did, what in the world would they drink? And if they had no color how would I see them?

The most recent United States Census officially recognized five racial categories (White American, Black or African American, Native Americans and Alaska Native, Asian American, and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander) as well as people of two or more races. By the way, why aren’t Alaskan Natives simply classified as Native Americans? And what race is a native of Libya or Tunisia according to the Census Bureau? Talk about screwed up.

In my future expositions I’m going to throw out all references to color as designators of race. Euro-American and Afro-American will be my style rather than white and black. As for the terms “colored people” or “people of color” they’re history, no disrespect to the out of step NAACP.


* In terms of full disclosure, my master’s thesis and doctoral dissertation were on racial issues in the U.S. and I was co-editor of a book on the Geography of Black America published by Doubleday.

All Lives Matter

All Lives Matter. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that mantra since Michael Brown’s killing. When you do hear it it’s typically said by those who are opposed in one way or another to the Black Lives Matter movement.

The question I have for people who identify as sympathetic to the All Lives Matter viewpoint is simple: At what specific time in our history did America become a country where All Lives Matter? That question is not frivolous. Since the colonies were created by European invaders who wrested the land from its previous owners and then tried to enslave them, and when that attempt didn’t work imported Africans forced into slavery for life, it is painfully obvious the colonialists were not All Lives Matter people.

Nor did our Founders believe All Lives Matter when they wrote a Constitution that boldly proclaimed all men are created equal and yet permitted humans to be enslaved for life. Of course, we can’t forget that as early as 1790 our newly formed country proudly proclaimed itself to be for whites only, excluding Native Americans, blacks, Hispanics, and Asians, whose lives evidently didn’t matter, at least not legally.

After the Civil War when the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, the federal government intentionally turned its back on the newly freed slaves and allowed the Southern and Border States to construct a state-sponsored system of terrorism we gentrify as Jim Crow, a system that in one form or another quickly spread to nearly all states. The U.S. Supreme Court also turned a blind eye to the painfully obvious fact that millions of blacks were being terrorized, attacked, assaulted, threatened, lynched, thrown into prison for non-existent crimes, and subjugated by the power of the states, local jurisdictions, and the entire white culture. So, until the end of the 20^th Century and later All Lives Matter wasn’t on many Americans’ list of things to value.

How can we ignore actions the federal and state governments took to favor whites and disadvantage blacks, including redlining, creating racially discriminating government-backed mortgage loans and loan guarantees, deed restrictions that prohibited blacks from purchasing houses in white areas, preferential hiring of whites by governments and corporations, ensuring the Social Security program did not cover the vast majority of black Americans, exclusionary zoning that kept blacks out, etc. And we can’t forget the terrible race riots that destroyed black communities across America during which few whites were arrested and still fewer prosecuted: Atlanta, Omaha, Chicago, Tulsa, East St. Louis, Charleston, Little Rock, Rosewood and Ocoee, Florida. That list goes on and on.

Today, we live in a country of segregated cities and schools, a country where millions of black parents have to give “The Talk” to their kids about how to survive encounters with the police.

When did we as a nation turn the corner and suddenly become All Lives Matter supporters? Was it when we passed the Fair Housing Act in 1968 and then refused to enforce it from its passing until today? Probably not. Was it when we inaugurated the Affirmative Action program and saw it attacked from the get-go by ardent conservatives who found illegality in every hiring that favored minorities who had been intentionally disadvantaged by federal and state governments for a hundred years? Nope. Let me pose a related aside: Why is it that conservatives so strongly oppose every aspect of Affirmative Action but were silent for many decades as the rights of black Americans were being trampled by every level of government and by the larger white culture? Is it because they enjoyed being favored by “their” governments and their culture but were outraged when that system of favor was modified?

But what I would really like to know is when did we become a country where All Lives Matter?

What Do White Parents Tell Their Children?

On Sunday morning, June 7, 2020, U.S. Attorney General William Barr stated on a national TV news program that he does not believe that the nation’s police force is characterized by systemic racism. That statement echoed sentiments made by other members of President Donald Trump’s administration and led directly to this response.

As parents, do we spell out the words used as racial-ethnic slurs and talk about how painful they are to the objects of that hatred?

As parents, do we talk about making fun of and bullying people who are different in terms of skin color, hair, facial features, sexual orientation, what they wear, where they are from, and religion?

As parents, do we have to tell them that the police force as an institution does not look out for our best interests or our well-being?

As parents, do we lay out in excruciating detail what to do if and when they have an encounter with law enforcement since those interactions can lead to injury or death?

As parents, do we tell our children that death can result from police encounters even when black-brown people who comply with instructions to raise their hands, to not resist, be prone on the ground, begging to take a breath?

Why is it that black parents have to have talks exactly like the ones listed above to be sure their kids survive the world around them and particularly survive police encounters and white parents don’t?

Why is it white parents and other white officials (AG Barr in particular) don’t understand what black parents living in every part of the U.S. are saying out loud and in every kind of public forum about what they have to do to protect their kids from harm at the hands of the police? Are we purposely blind and deaf or do we discredit their testimony, as Barr does, and call them liars?

George Floyd died at the hands of police who were sworn to protect and serve the public. How is it that some Americans can sit back and not be part of changing that horrific reality? Now is the time to act. Either black lives matter in this country or our Constitution is meaningless.

On Protesting, Looting, and Violence

Some years ago, a group of angry Massachusetts residents decided to raid several American transporters because of perceived socioeconomic inequities and as a result destroyed cargo that today would be valued at around two million dollars. The government’s official reaction was to pass and enforce onerous laws whose sole purpose was to punish the looters, discourage violence against private property, and show the American public who was boss. 

Were the violent acts of the looters and protesters in destroying private property morally wrong in and of themselves and was the government right in suppressing the violence to maintain public order and keep private property free from wanton destruction?

The situation described above is the Boston Tea Party in 1773.

NEWS FLASH

A recent national poll found that 44 percent of respondents who self-identified as Republicans believe that Bill Gates was plotting to use a coronavirus vaccine to implant microchips in our bodies. You’ve got to remember that those people may be your friends and neighbors and are probably going to vote in the coming national election. Yeah, scary thought.

https://news.yahoo.com/new-yahoo-news-you-gov-poll-shows-coronavirus-conspiracy-theories-spreading-on-the-right-may-hamper-vaccine-efforts-152843610.html?campaign_id=93&emc=edit_fb_20200603&instance_id=19051&nl=frank-bruni&regi_id=69101849&segment_id=29978&te=1&user_id=703304aa2d007027e5576f260f40793b

Reflection in Pandemic Times

In these pandemic times, if we had eyes that functioned, what would they see? Would they see people protesting against public health measures put in place to protect everyone from illness, the collapse of our healthcare system, and possibly death? Would they see first responders and medical professionals in desperate need of artificially constrained supplies of PPE? Would they see what has been touted for decades as the WORLD’S BEST healthcare system falling flat on its face when confronted with a novel coronavirus it had known about for many weeks yet failed miserably to take appropriate steps? Would they see their only means of livelihood disappearing simply because people who chose to live in cities are dying at unacceptable rates while they prospered in their lower density rural and quasi-rural landscapes and yet were forced by dictatorial politicians to be unemployed? Would they see their freedoms taken from them by unconstitutional acts of the same officials? Would they see the damage done by covid-19 has been exacerbated by an incompetent government response, constraints on our civil liberties, and an escalating geopolitical war with China? Would they see that South Korea kicked our ass in “flattening the curve” while the CDC and the FDA sat around and choked the chicken? Or would they see the Trump Administration reacting swiftly and confidently to control the threat of a global pandemic?

It may be that another interpretation of what has transpired should be considered. Perhaps none of what is being “seen” depends on our vaunted organs of vision. Rather it may be that what is seen depends on the observers’ previously adopted ideological point of view and not on their eyes. I believe many hardline conservatives are predisposed to see one thing regarding the pandemic while people on the left are predisposed to see another. I believe what was seen depends in large measure on the filters positioned in front of our supposedly sighted organs, our eyes. I believe that it wasn’t the eyes that were in action but the filters we are loath to acknowledge and even more unwilling to understand.

The truth is few people are genuinely reflective about their condition in life or about the different filters that affect them in so many ways. Ever since Socrates/Plato uttered that famous dictum—The unexamined life is not worth living—some 2,400 years ago, it does little good to rail against that so very human a failure. Human reality is what it is and nothing we can do will change that. People who are reluctant/unwilling/unable to examine their lives and puzzle about how and why they might understand what is going on around them are the rule rather than the exception. Railing against armed people who hoist Confederate flags while protesting transgressions against their liberties regarding covid-19 guidelines is very much like railing against the weather. Nothing will be changed by either course of action. It is far better to try to communicate with those whose filters are not brightly colored by one and only one ideology than to try to reason with an ideologue. Forget it. It doesn’t work now and never will. Don't waste your time.

The best thing we can do is to put the famous dictum originated by Socrates/Plato to good effect in our own lives. It is critical to recognize the proposal that we all should reflect on how closely our ideals and behaviors coincide is not elitist but a way to live with a clear conscience even if our actions do not always sync seamlessly with our ideals. After all, no human is perfect; we are all flawed. We don’t have to drink the hemlock if our political ideals are not always mirrored in our every action.

Reflection is a journey, a way of life, not a destination that can be achieved. But it is a journey that is highly recommended, especially if you are trying to make sense of American politics in these pandemic times featuring crowds of armed,  marginalized folks waving Confederate flags who strongly prefer continued covid-19 suffering and death in the general population to their own unemployment.  

The Constitution Be Damned: FINALLY!!!

Yes, Trump's authority is ABSOLUTE. Yes, all of us commie/pinko/liberals and the dumb-shit Democrat governors are nothing but toilet paper The Donald uses to wipe his ass with. Yes, YES, and more YES. 

It's exactly why all the deplorable right-wing nuts voted for him in the first place. The country now has its KING, its DICTATOR, its MESSIAH to take us to the Promised Land where arch-conservative judges and justices rule with iron fists, a land free from corporate-destroying governmental regulations, a land free from immigrants and brown skin welfare cheats, a land where the President not longer has to hide his true ambitions. 

Thanks to the pandemic effects of CV-19, Trump finally has America exactly where he wants: in his democracy-killing python grip. He isn't going to let go without an epic struggle at the ballot box. Fasten your seat belts, folks, it's going to be a bumpy ride all the way to November.