Category Archives: POLITICS

POLITICS, PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN 2020, RACE

DIFFERENT STROKES FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS: WHY BLACK PROTESTORS WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO DO WHAT TRUMP SUPPORTERS DID AT THE CAPITOL

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Now, the world don’t move
To the beat of just one drum,
What might be right for you,
May not be right for some.

(Different Strokes Theme Song)

It is a complicated proposition to get Black children to understand the concept of injustice. In fact, injustice and differences based on racial identity are some of the most foul-tasting things that Blacks, regardless of age, must endure. Despite what many may think, the swallowing of injustice is not an acquired taste. One never gets used to it.

There is no reasonable way of arguing against the reality that, as the Different Strokes theme song pinned above informed us, there are different strokes for different folks in America. Although this reality is unfair, it is the only one available to Black America.

As I watched the hostile takeover of the Capitol yesterday, I, along with millions of other fair-minded Americans, mused that under no circumstances would Blacks be allowed to do such things by any law enforcement agency. A Black uprising would have been dealt with in the same manner as Nat Turner’s rebellion, the Stono Rebellion, or John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry. Although I am well-aware that members of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense entered California’s State Capitol with weapons in 1967, the Panther invasion was child’s play compared to the attempted coup delusional Trump supporters failed to execute in front of a gawking world.

What occurred yesterday was only possible by Whites who have been privileged their entire lives. The treasonous activities of yesterday displayed a fervent belief that this is their nation in the mind of Trump supporters, and they are determining their destiny in the same manner that the Founding Fathers broke away from British tyranny.

Despite what many may wish were true, the harsh reality is that yesterday’s events are little more than what occurs to the minds of some White citizens who have lived in a world where white power is buttressed by a white privilege that has paved a path to white politico-economic monopolies. When this biased and unfair system is disrupted, well, all hell will break loose. We must not forget that these people were allowed to behave in the manner that they behaved in yesterday; there is no allowance for such activities from Blacks, the most oppressed group in this nation’s history.

At this moment where people around the globe are aghast at Trump supporters’ attempt to overturn a democratic election through force, Black America looks on with amused contempt and envy at the appearance of yet another unmistakable articulation of a blanket White privilege that covers all. In the end, it is yet another reminder that the world is unfair, and America decidedly bends towards whiteness, as it always has, regardless of one’s politics, socioeconomic status, or sexual orientation. I guess that it is true that

The world don’t move
To the beat of just one drum,
What might be right for you,
May not be right for some.

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2021.

 

POLITICS, RACE

Uncivilized, Uncontrollable, and Ungovernable: A Black Man’s Perspective of Trump Supporters Storming of the Capitol

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In the wake of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s assassination on November 22, 1963, then Nation of Islam Spokesman Malcolm X referenced the killing in the following manner.

I’m a good ol’ country boy and it ain’t never made me sad, its always made me glad when the chickens come home to roost.

Of course, this was Brother Malcolm’s way of saying that the violence America has allowed, and even perpetrated worldwide, has finally circled and taken out its Commander-in-Chief.

There may not be a more appropriate description of what we saw today as thousands of Trump supporters asininely attempted to execute a coup in the nation’s Capital. I cannot join political commentators, politicians, and naïve American citizens as they express shock and outrage at Donald J. Trump’s reckless language and the subsequent actions of persons marred by historic historical illiteracy and astounding ignorance regarding the political process of a nation that they profess to cherish. I am unmoved by today’s events.

As a Black man who has lived in a nation controlled by powerful Whites and even harassed by White non-elites, I long ago realized that the words uncivilized, uncontrollable, and ungovernable fit many of my White countrymen like a tailored suit. Do not be unduly dissuaded into believing that what you witnessed today is the exception to the rule. This is the standard behavior of such people.

I find it impossible to believe that a single Black person was surprised at the deplorable antics of adrenaline-filled Whites who have been convinced, without a shred of evidence, I might add, that their foremost inheritance, the United States of America, is being stolen from them. Whites have been convinced for the longest time that Abraham Lincoln’s words that “America is a nation that was created by Whites and should always serve the interests of Whites” is the baseline of their existence. Such thinking serves as the impetus behind an unmistakable preference to rule in hell rather than serve in heaven. Any attempt to wrestle what they have convinced themselves is their birthright from them reveals them as an uncivilized, uncontrollable, and ungovernable lot.

Although most are shocked by Trump supporters forced entry into the Capitol to halt the electoral vote, the truth of the matter is that this is not the first time that Whites have behaved in such a manner during the past four years. They have stormed State Capitol’s before with guns in hand. In fact, it would be fair to state that this type of behavior should be expected by angry misguided Trump supporters devoid of any semblance of civility.

Although I am not shocked by their antics, I do not blame them alone for this situation. I blame reasonable-minded yet cowardly Whites who have turned a blind eye to the behavior of this uncivilized, uncontrollable, and ungovernable lot. Of course, it is easy for well-meaning Whites to ignore what amounts to social cancer as long as it ravages Black and Brown bodies, not their own. The deplorable conduct of our countrymen should have been addressed long ago. Yet, the powers that be allowed the alluded to domestic terrorism to grow unchecked.

Let’s be honest about from whence these actions come. Domestic terrorism by Whites predates the founding of America and continues to the present moment. Marauding lawless, uncontrollable, and ungovernable Whites have lynched others, including some Whites that they disagreed with, burned bodies, raped, and ruled by unbridled force. It is who they are. In this nation, we must never forget that the unofficial mantra for who rules is summed up in the thought that “might equals right.”

So, you must excuse this Black man for being somewhat amused at today’s events, because much like Malcolm X, “I’m a good ol’ country boy and it ain’t never made me sad, its always made me glad when the chickens come home to roost.”

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2021.

African-American Males, African-American Men, Black Males, Manhood, Race, and Culture Interactive, MRCi, POLITICS, PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN 2020, RACE

What the GET YOUR BOOTY TO THE POLL initiative tells us about apolitical black males

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  • Please join us tonight (10/8/2020) @ 7:30 EST — 6:30 CST as we discuss this topic. Click here to gain entry.

Although it may be difficult to believe, I have moments where black males of all ages challenge my sanity. Trust me when I say that the words of trusted friend William A. Foster IV’s comment that

The black intellectual is the loneliest person on the planet

resonates within my soul. In this era of “wokeness,” my encounters with black men who prefer to pontificate about irrelevant revisionist history topics instead of developing liberation are increasing.

Experience has taught me that some Black males have doused themselves in outlandish conspiracy theories and revisionist history interpretations informed by nothing more than ridiculous half-baked YouTube and Facebook videos. I have learned that such people prefer unproductive conversations that hide their cowardice behind crazy talk and unrealistic goals. I am convinced that if Frederick Douglass were alive, he would address these loud-mouth phrasemongers with the following admonishment.

It is not light that we need, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.

I am confident that not even Frederick Douglass could move such people beyond endless discussions of irrelevant historical facts that hold no potential to liberate blacks.

Such people foolishly believe that their careless talk paints them as a formidable opponent to mighty whites. The alluded to idiocy is an obvious sign of their unwillingness to abandon their rabble-rousing in favor of meaningful politics. I have tired of planting black liberation seeds in barren soil.

It appears as if I am not the only one frustrated with black males’ disengagement with the political arena. As the 2020 election season approaches, the usual groundswell of getting out the Vote is occurring. Predictably, few of these endeavors target black male voters.

My how things have changed

The latest group to address this issue of getting black males to the Poll are exotic dancers. Yes, you read that correctly, a rising tide of exotic dancers are imploring apolitical black men to get their booty to the Poll.

The women behind Get Your Booty to the Poll may be able to reach black men who have ignored standard voter registration drive initiatives. This latest effort to get out the black male vote is innovative, intriguing, and problematic.

Although the Get Your Booty to the Poll effort is notable, it raises troubling questions regarding why some black males are so afraid to confront other groups on the political battlefield? The prophetic words of Fred Hampton, Chairman of the Chicago-branch of the Black Panther Party, should haunt many black males. According to Hampton,

War is nothing but politics with bloodshed, and politics is nothing but war without bloodshed.

I reserve the coward label for extreme circumstances.

How strange would it be if the missing ingredient in getting black males to the Poll is booty cheeks? Most of us could never fathom that instead of political education classes and voter registration drives, our efforts would have been much more productive had we used sultry black women to swing on poles with the words “Vote! Vote!” on their left and right cheeks?

The above leads me to ask the following question.

Have black males fallen into a bottomless abyss of foolishness and political ineptitude?

It is incredibly disappointing that our best hope to grasp the attention of apolitical black males is by writing the word Vote on the booty cheeks of scantily clad strippers. Lord knows that I wish that we weren’t in the midst of such an important political season; however, this moment mandates unprecedented voter turnout for apparent reasons. It appears that the nation’s future direction may be determined by how many black males are coaxed into a voting booth by booty cheeks.

I guess that in the end, a vote is a vote after all.

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2020.

 

POLITICS, RACE

Can Whites Who Adopt Black Children be Racist?: The Case of Amy Coney Barrett vs. Ibrahim X Kendi

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It is frightening to consider how one’s words, thoughts, and ideas can be misconstrued. At the present moment, there is ample evidence that many people who oppose your political stance or perspective on substantive matters are engaged in a fanatical search to find something, anything, to “cancel” a profound voice articulating a truth that makes them uncomfortable.

Ibrahim X. Kendi is the latest figure to come under such an attack. Just in case you missed it, Kendi recently came under fire for issuing the following commentary aimed at Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett.

Some White colonizers ‘adopted’ Black children. They ‘civilized’ these ‘savage’ children in the ‘superior’ ways of White people, while using them as props in their lifelong pictures of denial, while cutting the biological parents of these children out of the picture of humanity.

To truly understand this intellectual skirmish, it is important that one understands that Barrett adopted two Haitian children. An action that many have attempted to use as ample evidence that the Supreme Court nominee can not be biased regarding racial matters. Kendi has rightfully questioned the logic of those who have used the adoption as a springboard that hurls them past this nation’s significant racial problems.

Although the attacks on Kendi are born of political opportunism by unreasonable people who oppose his political stance and cultural views. More important than the relatively pedestrian attacks hurled at Ibrahim X Kendi are what they reveal about the presence of what can be best termed historical illiteracy. I believe that it is historical illiteracy that guarantees America’s inability to destroy racial bias.

If those who rushed forward to issue an attack against Kendi were conversant in this nation’s history of racial conflict, they would have censored themselves. Anyone who has ever studied domestic race relations in even a passing manner will tell you that there is nothing scandalous about the comments that sparked this unnecessary battle between Kendi and droves of whites.

Ironically, the most efficient path to explaining Kendi’s point that the mere adoption of a child of color does not mean a white person cannot be racist is by examining the catalyst that motivated white abolitionists in their struggle to abolish chattel slavery.

If only I had a dollar for each time, I have explained to audiences and students that opposition to slavery is not the same as believing in racial equality. Most are shocked to hear that it is not only possible but predictable that white abolitionists found the psychological space necessary to oppose slavery while maintaining the deplorable belief that Blacks were intellectually inferior, if not an entirely different species. One needs to look no further than the following quip made by an abolitionist who revealed in the public arena that his fight to end slavery had very little to do with the plight of blacks.

If God is just!!!! And I believe that he is!!!!!! We will burn in hell for this shit!!!!!

The above assertion highlights the reality that the motivations behind a person’s actions are not always obvious.

Hence, it should not be difficult to understand the validity of Kendi’s questioning the simpleton logic that Amy Coney Barrett’s laudable decision to adopt two Haitian children does not mean that she immune from viewing the world through lenses that vacillate between white privilege and white supremacy.

The act of inter-racial adoption does not remove the racially biased socialization that all Americans, including blacks, have experienced in this nation. There is no reasonable argument that explains how any American could have been socialized by mainstream society and not been impacted by a biased school curriculum, entertainment industry, and media. We have all been impacted by these pernicious evils. I long ago settled on the fact that it is nearly impossible to be socialized in America and not be infected by some form of racial bias regardless of one’s racial identity.

So, I must stand on the side of Ibrahim X Kendi and cast a side-eye gaze at all who believe that the adoption of a child of color removes racial bias from their mental state. After-all, racial bias has been a fixture in this nation longer than baseball and mom’s Apple Pie.

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture 2020.