tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16645996.post6219186692512356824..comments2023-07-04T21:12:47.972-05:00Comments on Why Am I Not Surprised?: Black History Month in Americachangeseekerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18350201531677548579noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16645996.post-64180589415905097882011-02-15T07:45:06.501-06:002011-02-15T07:45:06.501-06:00Absolutely, Blaque.Absolutely, Blaque.changeseekerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18350201531677548579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16645996.post-25548562533465131412011-02-14T13:05:33.145-06:002011-02-14T13:05:33.145-06:00My take, Soma, is that I'm not looking for equ...My take, Soma, is that I'm not looking for equality as much as for justice. Because I agree with you that equality (in fact) is unlikely-to-impossible, but justice is (I believe) unlikely-but-possible.<br /><br />As for Nappy Roots, I got 'em now. ;^)changeseekerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18350201531677548579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16645996.post-64588746198477851172011-02-13T17:28:12.590-06:002011-02-13T17:28:12.590-06:00Mostly just using it as a turn of phrase-- it'...Mostly just using it as a turn of phrase-- it's hard to be a language type person and not dip into the vast collection of colloquialisms available.<br /><br />As you're quite correct, here's a clarification: when every person is secure in personal liberty, prosperity, and equality, and can stand beside one another as siblings amongst the human race. Not quite as poetic, but certainly more accurate.<br /><br />I hate having to divulge my own philosophical position, as it's quite dark: that we are only equal in our own mortality, and will only ever create an egalitarian society in extinction.<br /><br />Though like smoking cigarettes is the slowest form of suicide I can take in good conscience, a lot of us are already trying to get there one way or another.<br /><br />Say, do you like nappy roots? They hail from your state.Somahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10227231934216115954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16645996.post-87715595757983776952011-02-13T17:05:06.840-06:002011-02-13T17:05:06.840-06:00You ask if your discomfort in trying to relate to ...You ask if your discomfort in trying to relate to Black people is a product of the state of White racism, Soma, and I think it is. I'm often self-conscious myself around Black folks, though I have a bi-racial daughter, and as long as things stay as they are, I don't see any way around this. I agree with you that it's frustrating. I do also think your last sentence is dead on the money and the key to it all.<br /><br />Additionally, however, I would suggest that your use of the word "men" to mean "everybody" and the phrase "every man's house is his castle" to mean "everybody wants to feel safe" demonstrate another form of the same lack of humanity. Women and children want to be equal and safe, too. Judging from the thoughtfulness with which you commonly write, I think you're already aware of this, but language is one of the ways the Power Structure maintains its power. Sigh.changeseekerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18350201531677548579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16645996.post-37364763690184559062011-02-13T14:42:30.286-06:002011-02-13T14:42:30.286-06:00In practicing brotherhood with african-descended p...In practicing brotherhood with african-descended peoples, it sometimes feels very alien. I cannot relate; and that even trying feels contrived, is disturbing. Is this a product of the state of white racism as well?<br /><br />I cannot culturally understand it. But I wish the time was there that men were truly equal, that liberty was a blanket to all; real robin-hood type things, where every man's house is his castle, and people stand unified in respect and solidarity.<br /><br />But at the same time, this is not going to be achieved by cultural theft and profiteering, and if the power structure is as strong as I suspect, there will be years upon years of dissension and strife left to come.<br /><br />When everything can be turned into a product, none of us are really human anymore.Somahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10227231934216115954noreply@blogger.com