First, let me wish everyone a Happy Valentines Day. So what if it’s a totally conjured, purely commercial “holiday” and that you’re single and you’ll prolly end up eating some good cheese cake while watching House reruns. Just think that you have a whole year to fuck up the next (or current) relationship! Besides, if you really think the “other side” is that happy, think again, Virginia. Today, when she (whoever she happens to be now) gets on my nerves, I can feign an excuse and go home alone. Try that with your husband/ wife/ lover/ current parasitic degenerate. Oh! before I forget! Go read my take on love at Subversify (click here). It won’t get you closer to The One, but at least you’ll know why.
Speaking of flower grams and what have you, Andrew Breitbart, the owner of several conservative Web sites (and a certified Koch-sucker), was served at the [CPAC] conference on Saturday with a lawsuit (click here) filed by Shirley Sherrod, the former Agriculture Department employee who lost her job last year over a video-smear that Mr. Brietbart posted at his site.
::cue world's smallest violins::
Mr. Breitbart said in a statement that he “categorically rejects the transparent effort to chill his constitutionally protected free speech.”
What's this country coming to?!! How is creating a highly edited video of somebody’s words, taken out of context in order to deliberately and expressly defame and destroy them in the eye of the public is not a Constitutional right? This is not my America!
Don't you just love it when a conservative coward hides behind a “right” that doesn't exist?
Remember Shirley Sherrod? You know, that racist black lady who once worked for the USDA who created a stir last week? Well, just when you thought it was over, it looks like the fine folks from over at Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc. (aka the right-wing asshats) aren't finished with this story.
In an attempt to prove Sherrod to be the racist that she is (and by extension the NAACP), it looks like they've decided to drag her husband Charles into the mix by digging up the following video featuring an excerpt of a speech he gave back in January, 2010:
In a piece titled Forty Acres & a Mule -- Sherrod Style?, Rosslyn Smith, one of the goof folks over at American Thinker attempts to cast suspicion upon the Sherrods by tying in their $13 million settlement in the Pigford case, to the black power movement.
This would explain the new focus on the words of Charles Sherrod in the above clip. Obviously now that we know the full context of Shirley's speech, it's important for you-know-who to try and prove the real grand conspiracy and racist motivational intent of the Sherrods, and people like them:
“We have ideas, inventions, athletic talent, but our labors and our monies and our contracts usually end up in white folks hands and pockets. When will we trust our own? Finally, we must stop the white man and his Uncle Tom from stealing our elections. We must not be afraid to vote black. We must not be afraid to turn a black out who votes against our interests.”
I'm sorry, but if the words of Charles Sherrod above - taken in context, or not - appears to be indicative of a racist mind, I'll have to say that my right-wing buddies are clueless to just what racism is all about. Now mind you, he never said anything about "killing some crackas," nor is he standing holding one of those infamously racist Tea Party signs as he creams about taking his country back.
However, what he is saying is nothing that any black person has ever said when it comes to the empowerment of African Americans. But I suppose in America the juxtaposition of the word black and empowerment is a tad bit radical and dare I say racist?
What he said is indeed important in the interest of gaining economic equality, as well as building and sustaining wealth throughout the black community. But hey, I guess it's yet another one of those "black things" that privileged folk just don't understand.
Not much is said about Charles Sherrod outside of him being the husband of Shirley. But, as noted veteran political journalist Doug Ireland points out in a recent piece titled Charles Sherrod, A Hero Forgotten:
Charlie, who was known as "the soul of the movement in Georgia," left SNCC [Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee] when Stokely Carmichael took it over, expelled white folks, and adopted "black power" as its ideology, in order to continue building a black-and-white movement in Georgia. The notion that Charlie's wife could have been guilty of what's being called "reverse racism" against whites is therefore douibly ludicrous. Some of us who knew Charlie back when, however, haven't forgotten his shining example.
Charles Sherrod, like his wife Shirley, happens to be one of the many unsung heroes of the Civil Rights Movement. Even PBS in their documentary, "This Far By Faith", paid homage and highlighted his sacrifice and dedication to the movement:
"Sherrod was one of the first to practice the jail-no bail policy, which became a common tactic of the movement. When ten students were arrested for a sit-in in Rock Hill, South Carolina in February of 1961, Sherrod and three others went to Rock Hill, held a sit-in, were arrested, refused bail, and served thirty-day sentences in an attempt to dramatize the injustice of the law.
[...] "Early on, one of SNCC's areas of focus was southwest Georgia, where Sherrod went in the fall of 1961 at age 22. Two months after arriving in Albany, Georgia, Sherrod and SNCC field workers led a large series of demonstrations that would last for over three difficult years, during which hundreds were arrested. By printing up leaflets, registering voters, and holding seminars on non-violent resistance, they galvanized Albany's black students to rise up and challenge unjust laws of segregation. Throughout this time, Sherrod and SNCC field workers traveled throughout the surrounding counties to educate and register black voters in southwest Georgia's rural areas..."
It doesn't sound like Charles Sherrod is quite the radical racist as someone (sorry, I can't say whether Andrew Breibart is behind this one) is trying to paint him to be. If championing the cause for equality for a marginalized group of people, who just so happened to be black suddenly makes one racist. Then I suppose there are countless people - black & white - who are as guilty as the Sherrods; and you can count me in as one as well.
I caught this interview live as I was getting ready for my day. I gotta tell you, this interview really made my day. Firstly, I think she exuded much grace and charm, which given the "angry black woman" narrative that often dominates the media, is so welcomed in these times. I even mentioned to friend on twitter that maybe her ordeal was one of those necessary evils given the obvious silver lining found in the truth that was her message, then, and now.
The irony of her message, was that I recently received an email from a longtime friend who happens to be white. My friend is also an avid reader of this blog, and we've been friends for about sixteen years after being hired by myself, for our then corporate slave-master. So when I say that him and I go back some years and he knows me, that's not an understatement. Truth be told, I moved in with him after my first wife and I were separated.
So my buddy emails me to mention that he's probably not going to read my blog anymore because in his opinion, it has gotten a little bit too "kill whitey" for his taste. It was after reading my latest interview with Brother X-Squared, that he arrived at that opinion. When I read that, I laughed my ass off. I was still laughing my ass off when I responded to his email letting him know that Brother X-Squared wasn't real; it's satire.
Of course he had a good laugh himself and was relieved to know that I hadn't become one of those radical "we gotta kill Crackas," types. I was glad that he respected our friendship and my character enough to raise his concern; I truly was. But the only thing that bothered me in his initial email, was him mentioning the fact that he couldn't be down with all this "racial shit" because he's colorblind.
Now the only reason I'm bringing up the "I'm colorblind," thing, is because this is the second white friend who has said this to me in the last week. Usually when I hear the term colorblind used by a non-minority as an adjective describing themselves, I usually toss it up as being the difference between ignorance and apathy. Whenever someone says that to me, what I hear is, "I don't know, and I don't care," when it comes to racial issues.
Of course it's wrong for me to think that this represents the iniquitous nature of the person who proclaims colorblindness . But, I think it's as silly a defense as the "I'm not racist, I have black friends," cliche. Listen white people, take it from me: black people do not walk around in a state of paranoia as to whether their white friends are racist. Chances are, we would have known if you were and we wouldn't associate with you.
That is, unless you've got some money; then...
Listen, the truth is, we do not live in a colorblind world, or society. Hell, Stevie Wonder was born blind but I'm sure even he knows what the word nigger means, or how historically the issue of race has played out in the annals of American history. Now that I think about it, maybe that's why he makes beautiful music that brings people of all walks of life together.
Having said that, maybe this is the reason Shirley Sherrod does what she does, or has done, as a civil rights activist. She didn't exactly defiantly sit on a bus and became famous. But for every celebrated and well recognized hero of that era, like Shirley, there are countless unknown and unsung heroes who championed the cause.
Could you imagine how the world would be without her if she was colorblind? Where would be as a society if in the face of racist ideologues we all chose to be colorblind? In the interest of freedom, justice, and equality, how exactly can we come together and make a difference socially should we all walk around colorblind? Sorry, I'm not buying the "I'm colorblind," rhetoric: and I'm glad there there are people among us able to see.
The only thing worse than right-wing conservatives who lie, mislead and consistently play the race card are liberals who jump to wrong-headed conclusions.
Such is the case in this week’s saga of Shirley Sherrod.
Sherrod is the former USDA employee who was fired after conservatives, including those over at Fox News, aired an edited video clip of her speaking at a NAACP event in March about an experience that happened 20 years ago. First publicized by right-wing zealot Andrew Brietbart, the video clip duped many – including the NAACP – into believing Sherrod had used her position of authority to hurt a white farmer in Georgia, when in fact she simply chronicled a very powerful and personal journey of transcending race in America when helping a white Georgia farmer two decades ago.
That white farmer and his wife were first to publicly praise Sherrod for helping them save their farm.
As a child of the South, having been born and raised in Georgia, I can state with authority that life is viewed through a racial lens of black and white. My parents, both black, had me bussed to a mostly-white high school because they believed - as many did in years past and some still do now - that white meant better: Better teachers, better books, better future. That’s all Sherrod was saying. She sent a white farmer to a white lawyer, thinking “his own kind would take care of him.” I don’t anticipate Brietbart, anyone at Fox News, few in the mainstream media or even a certain someone inhabiting the White House to relate to the invaluable lessons Sherrod spoke of or my upbringing; such thinking is a distinctly Southern thing and those folks probably wouldn’t understand.
Listen, it's common knowledge that like our last president, George W. Bush, Fox News doesn't like black people. That's with the exception of Barack Obama of course; they love him. But everyone else, umm, not so much.
So, if you're a member of the New Black Panther Party; a former employee of ACORN; a one-time member of the Harlem Boys Choir; or even sold Girl Scout cookies in the hood; I suggest that you watch your back out here in these streets.
There's a certain segment of folks in this country who are currently not so happy with a certain historic organization that champions civil rights black people; and, as a result, Fox News is on the lookout, and will be on a rampage to cast black folks in a negative light even more than they already do.
But don't worry, you can rest assured that their reporting will be fair and balanced, as they give their targets the benefit of the doubt. Take for example, the hot story involving former USDA official, Shirley Sherrod, and her remarks as a speaker at an NAACP banquet on March 27th 2010.
I mean what the hell was she thinking? Was she even thinking at all? Sure people say certain things behind closed doors that they otherwise won't in public. But I'm sorry, Shirley felt a tad bit too comfortable, and now she's out of a job as we're left to wonder just who was the snitch in this situation.
What Shirley did to that white farmer was wrong; and, I find it to be just as abhorrent as Mark Williams' "satirical" letter to Abraham Lincoln. With that said, am I the only one who finds the timely release of this video quite peculiar? I mean why now, and why did it take almost four months for this to surface?
Oh well, you Obama supporters might as well go ahead and accept the fact that this is all Barack Obama's fault. Shirley worked for the USDA, and obviously her words represents more of that racist Obama agenda.
Hell, if Obama is indeed going to usher in an era of white slavery, what better place to start such a plan other than with white farmers. But because of Fox News, their bigoted supporters are able to sleep better at night knowing that at least one piece of Obama's agenda has been exposed and foiled.
“He who warned uh, the British that they weren't gonna be takin' away our arms, uh by ringing those bells, and um, makin' sure as he's riding his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells that we were going to be sure and we were going to be free, and we were going to be armed.” -- Sarah Palin on Paul Revere
