Seeing the Forest for the Trees

I'm a genuine wearer of the tinfoil hat, so I'm going to use a couple of posters on Jack and Jill Politics to convey my view of the forest when it comes to Barack Obama and his ' troubles':

From Craig Hickman:

I just want to add that Barack is still fighting a nomination battle.

The goal is to get him behind in the polls by some significant percentage and length of time prior to the Denver convention.

Make no mistake: the FISA bill's rush through Congress, the wag-the-dog national security "threats" that are piling on each other, Hillary's FISA vote, her delegates behind-the-scenes maneuvering...

Barack doesn't just challenge Republicans, he also challenges the Democratic power structure. Notice how many Senators have refused to endorse him openly.

Remember, Barack jumped to the front of the line. He didn't "wait his turn."

Barack wants Brandenburg Gate and a 75,000-seat stadium acceptance speech. Some say he's showing hubris. That's one way to look at it.

Another way:

He wants to make it increasingly difficult for a convention coup (a reclamation by the plutocrats that is) in Denver.

That might read as paranoid, but I couldn't help myself from saying, 'Uh huh' while reading it.

See, Craig, b-serious, iceberg, NMP, myself and others..we might be wearing the tinfoil hat on this, and maybe we're not. Maybe we see the forest for the trees, and we see a whole lotta snakes in that grass. I'm with Craig on this and have written about that Obama has ALWAYS been a threat, not to the Republicans, but to the Democrats too.

NMP has posted extensively as the disrespect that she sees coming Obama's way from 'The Progressives'. Disrespect that she doesn't believe she's seen with other nominees:

Am I the only negro concerned by the far white Left's seeming attempt to sabotage Senator Obama's campaign? This feigned surprise and outrage over his centrist policy positions is getting on my last damn nerves!

Come the hell on! The speech that introduced Barack Obama to the world was a centrist speech. He made clear that he was not a political idealogue and that the country would be better served by moving from the far Left and Right. The policy prescriptions laid out in detail in his best selling book were mostly centrist. So, why the hell are they acting as if his current--and long held--views are a surprise?

It never fails how white folks assign their own fantasies on black leaders. It's eerily reminiscent of how Dr. King was treated when he spoke out on the Vietnam War. Despite having published numerous writings that reflected a far more dimensional socio-political world view, white folks defined him by one speech and made him the poster child for black forgiveness and non-confrontation.

Today, despite being on record supporting the death penalty; expressing ambivalence about abortion, particularly late-term; supporting individual gun ownership coupled with sensible gun control policy; and never ever being afraid to discuss religion in the public square, white Liberals are now shocked and surprised?

.......................................................................................

We've been allowing white Liberals to take our vote for granted for decades. We supported Bill Clinton and the Democrats through 3 strikes laws; the Omnibus crime bill which resulted in far more erosion of the 4th amendment and defendent's rights than telecom immunity; Bill Clinton overseeing the execution of a retarded black man; qualified black candidates with aspirations for state-wide office being push aside time-and-time again for white candidates, including white women. Despite all of this, black folks have shown the political maturity to support the Democratic Party even when the Party hasn't supported us! And now white folks like you want to say they are not willing to make the same compromise for a black candidate?!

Senator Obama WON the nomination, and he has EVERY right to set his own agenda, just like every previous white candidate has done. There has not been a white democratic nominee that hasn't taken more conservative positions to win, including Bill Clinton who was FAR more conservative on social issues than Senator Obama.

Why are black bloggers sitting back while they are trying to make him bow down?

I stopped going to DailyKos because they lost their damn minds over FISA. I've said from the beginning that I disagreed with Obama over FISA. But, it's not enough to make me stop supporting him. Nobody can tell me that these folks that this is THE overarching issue in their lives. I'm not buying it.

As for Obama ' tacking to the center'..

On the Death Penalty, YOU can defend child rapists....we don't need a Black man on tv defending child rapists..

The Second Amendment....is what it is. I'm a supporter of it, as are millions of Americans. Yes, you stand for gun control and see how many states in the middle of this country Obama gets.

The elections in this country are won or lost on independents. Unless you're out personally registering 100 Progressives everyday, elections are won with independents.

The man won the nomination, and should get to put forth the agenda of his choice. It's not like he's going to scrap the Democratic Party Platform. Indeed, he's opened up the process to the average person sending in sugeestions. Part of that ' transparency in government' thing.

The Christian Progressive Liberal pointed out that the entire holding up the money for Obama is to pressure him to take Hillpatine on his ticket. On that, I still say HELL NO. I'm so tired of every candidate in Modern Political History being able to do what they want to do, UNTIL THE BLACK MAN WINS.

I.don't.think.so.

That's part of the forest for the trees.

Nader can't win.
McKinney can't win.

So, you have a choice between Obama and McCain.

Don't BS me about there being no clear choice between these two. You know better.

An Open Letter to White Progressives About Jena

I yield the floor to Prometheus 6:

An open letter to white progressives about Jena

The Jena, LA controversy isn't over. I didn't expect it to be over this quickly, but a couple of things have happened since the recent demonstration that make me genuinely concerned about how it will eventually be resolved. What put my concerns over the top was the recent statements by the District Attorney and Mayor of Jena that indicate their sympathies are far too closely aligned with those of white supremacist organizations. But what first made me concerned was the reaction of progressive white folks...something I thought we might adjust over time by filling in the huge gaps the mainstream media has left in the story. The more I read on the Jena controversy the more I feel like the drowning guy who keeps getting water balloons lobbed at him.

I've had my emotional reaction to it already. Thinking about the entire situation I conclude I have a snowball's chance in hell of changing the minds of the Mayor or District Attorney. They are taking the hardest line possible, and as I said, there was those recent statements...

I've realized though that there are several issues conflated in most Black folks' reaction, and teasing them apart might help those progressives among you that find yourselves troubled by the Jena demonstration feel more at ease.

I'm going to start with the nooses. Yes, it strikes you as obvious, I'm sure you rolled your eyes. And you, well, you just don't think it's as bad as a kick in the head. Well, this is not an argument, it is a statement. To Black Americans, a hangman's noose send the same signal as a burning cross. There may be some differentiation with you but for most Black people there is not. And I heard that guy over there, he said they use nooses in plays, they play that “hangman” game, and I say yes the meaning of a hangman's noose is more contextual than that of a burning cross. But somehow when those nooses turn up, they are always in that context.

Again, this is not an argument, it is information for you. You should treat nooses like swastikas.

When you hear Black people say the kid got beat up because the nooses were hung, it means that is the wound that festered as opposed to the infection that was the months of subsequent brawling. That is one point.

Second, the domestic media coverage of this has been horrible beyond merely being absent. I am one of the folks who have been following the case from the first article in the Chicago Tribune. You have no idea how frustrating it was to read article after article saying “nooses were hung and a white kid got jumped,” when NPR, in the most detailed description of events I've seen, says the response to the nooses was a silent protest. The school called the police.

I watched every mainstream media outlet skip right over that. That's another point.

I can find no specifics about what happened between the beginning of the semester and Nov. 30; the NPR article just says “Fights began to break out at the high school. But that year, the football team was having an unusually good season and the black athletes were a major reason why. So while there were fights throughout the fall, nobody wanted to take any action that would hurt the team. “ All I know for certain is they bypassed a number of opportunities to resolve the issue during this time.

The next report was of a Black youth, Robert Bailey, being beat up at a mostly white party one Friday night. The District Attorney could have said that was the last straw. He did not. The next day Bailey got into an argument with one of the students at a store. The student went to get a gun from his car, and was disarmed. The District Attorney said that was the last straw...and had Bailey arrested for defending himself. Monday, two days later, Justin Barker “loudly bragging to friends in the school hallway that Robert Bailey had been whipped by a white man on Friday night,” incited a riot and got hurt. A high school brawl ensued.

Equal protection under the law would see Justin Barker compelled to identify the people that assaulted Robert Bailey, and have those people charged with the same crime. And it will not happen.

Don't worry. There's only one more point.

You, white progressives, must see that this is a real problem and not let it die. Because the discomfort of staring the reality of racism in the face so soon after Jeff Jacoby declared racism irrelevant has brought forth the inevitable diversion. The natural one is the disproportionate crime rate in the Black community. And I'm not having that discussion right now...later, perhaps. I just need you to see that this problem is not one Black people can address. It is one you must address if there is to be justice.

I need you to see that when you have a well defined issue and dump ninety-two other issues on top of it, you cannot even claim to be trying to help.

And if you're saying you need do nothing about racism until it is the last problem on Earth, I think ALL Black people need to hear that.

Thank you, P6, for your eloquence.

Will we continue to hear birds chirping from the White Progressive Blogopshere? Or, will they throw down their defensiveness and recognize the serious issue of UNEqual Justice that is NOT going away.

Where is the White Progressive Blogosphere on Jena Six? Oh yeah, M-I-A

Reading two excellent posts about this from:
Pam's House Blend and Field Negro

I thought that this was a point that had to be brought out.

When we point out that there are few voices of color at their blogging conventions, we're told that ' they're improving', and 'why bring it up'.

We're all SUPPOSED to be Progressive, right?

But, how come, when it comes to issues that are important to African-Americans, the White Progressive Blogosphere is pretty much NOWHERE TO BE FOUND.

More than a few of us chide Francis Holland for being a flame thrower, but I understand Francis, and support him doing his blogging thang as he sees it. I've often thought Francis gets banned because he speaks the truth, and some folks don't like hearing the truth.

Well, here's some truth.

Shaquanda Cotton

White Progressive Blogopshere M-I-A.

Genarlow Wilson

White Progressive Blogosphere M-I-A.

The Jena Six

White Progressive Blogosphere M-I-A


Those are the FACTS.

The mainstream journalists who were on this story before anyone else had coined the phrase ' The Jena Six' were Howard Witt of the Chicago Tribune, and Amy Goodman.

There simply ARE issues that concern the Black Community, and if the White Progressive Community expects for Black folk to support a Progressive Cause, then, in a show of MUTUAL RESPECT, we expect no less, than when an issue of serious concern to us, as a community, is presented, that it be treated with the respect that it deserves.

And, in case you don't know, let me tell you right now...

There are few issues that concern the Black Progressive Community more than the the disproportionate punishment of people of color in the criminal justice system. It is OUR brothers, sons, nephews, cousins and friends that are being locked up for crimes at alarming rates, while others doing the same crimes, get lesser time or go free. It's a MAJOR ISSUE, so show some RESPECT and learn about it.

One time missing-in-action is an oops.

Two times missing-in-action is a double oops.

Three times missing-in-action is the beginning of the formation of a pattern.

A pattern in which, the interpretation could be from those of us in the Black Progressive Blogosphere, that you are saying


YOU DON'T WANT ANY OF OUR ' BLACK' PROBLEMS.

As if desiring EQUALITY in the Criminal Justice System was a 'BLACK' problem.

That's why I'm so proud of the Black Blogosphere. Even when I disagree with some conservative Black Bloggers, I at least believe they respect the validity of my position....and that is lacking from quite a number of White Progressive Bloggers.

For some, you might wonder - why this case? With all the INjustice in the Criminal Justice System, why this case?

Some of it was the obviousness of the symbolism. Black folk don't become too educated to understand that TREE+NOOSE=Threatening Your Black Ass.

It is not a prank.
It is not ' freedom of expression'.

With Black folk, in THESE United States of America, TREE+NOOSE is a very clear THREAT.

We don't become too ' educated' for that.

And, Fannie Lou Hamer said it best, ' Sometimes you get sick and tired of being sick and tired.'

And, I'm sick and tired of it being Open Season on Young Black Men. I have a nephew. Good kid. Never been in any trouble. I worry about him everyday because he's a Young Black Male in America, and it's Open Season on them. I wonder if we've reinforced to him how he should handle himself if he's involved in an altercation with the police. If he understands the rules of engagement with law enforcement that could mean the difference between my sister coming to get him at the police station OR THE MORGUE.

THAT is why this is personal. Because there are very few Black folk with a Six Degrees of Separation between them and a bad story with law enforcement. If you can go two degrees, you're fortunate.

We fight for The Jena Six, so that maybe I won't have to fight for my nephew one day.

If you don't believe that my thoughts and positions are common, why don't you go ask the Black folk you work with, socialize with, and actually LISTEN to their response.