I've been waiting for a few weeks now and I know that my wait has been nothing like his parents' wait. I'm waiting for a nephew to be born.
There's something about waiting for a very small person, whose shape I've only seen on a sonogram, that's more than a little 21st Century-ish. When I was born (and for many years beyond that, let me tell you), there was no such thing as seeing the shape of a little person chillin' in his mama's womb. And knowing the gender of one's unborn child before birth was like considering the concepts of the time machine, the pod people, the aliens that we suspected might be out there but we'd really rather not know about that possibility.
There's also excitement. And hope, lots of hope. Because I'm always bumping up against the limits of my understanding and experience and I can always hope that those who are younger than me can think outside of the boxes I've erected and those I've been presented with. Because there are new ways of being that I haven't experienced yet and I hope that this new young one can introduce me to those ways; even if I only get to live them vicariously. Because in my experience of working with, teaching, befriending and listening to the thoughts of those younger than me, I always learn something new about myself and about the world.
Welcome, little one.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
My Hero of the Smooth Rhetorical Response
I'm well acquainted with reviews and critical writing. I used to write articles of that nature for a living. Ten years of writing my opinions about politics, social justice issues, books, films. I've been teaching creative and academic writing for the past 15 years. I am quick on my feet intellectually speaking, and as a semi-retired dancer, literally speaking. However, I've been introduced to a young man whose rhetorical and critical skills are both stunning and heartwarming. Check out New York-based Jay Smooth's video: "How To Tell People They Sound Racist." He nails both the concept and the practice with metaphorical grace. For those of us who have trouble getting the point, he provides that often missing piece of information: Why this is important. Nice move, Mr. Smooth.
You can find Jay Smooth and his vlogs at illdoctrine.com
You can find Jay Smooth and his vlogs at illdoctrine.com
Saturday, July 25, 2009
President of the Diaspora
So, what I want to know is, how is our current president expected to "[tamp] down the emotions of the case" as Peter Baker and Helene Cooper report in today's New York Times?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/25/us/politics/25gates.html
"The case" being the arrest of the "belligerent" Dr. Gates on his own front porch in Cambridge, MA. Everyone is taking sides and placing bets. I'm in. Post-racial America has gone up in smoke and down in the ashes of illusion. History has risen up to greet us once again. The systemic nature of race, class, law and 'order' is staring us down head on, like an oncoming train. How will we transform ourselves in time to avoid the crash and burn? Stay tuned and fasten your seat belts because the ride promises to get even bumpier, as if that were possible. I'm keeping my eyes wide open and my pen poised to sift through the rhetoric and the behavior.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/25/us/politics/25gates.html
"The case" being the arrest of the "belligerent" Dr. Gates on his own front porch in Cambridge, MA. Everyone is taking sides and placing bets. I'm in. Post-racial America has gone up in smoke and down in the ashes of illusion. History has risen up to greet us once again. The systemic nature of race, class, law and 'order' is staring us down head on, like an oncoming train. How will we transform ourselves in time to avoid the crash and burn? Stay tuned and fasten your seat belts because the ride promises to get even bumpier, as if that were possible. I'm keeping my eyes wide open and my pen poised to sift through the rhetoric and the behavior.
Friday, July 24, 2009
The Man in Blue (or one of them)
As I sat and reflected this afternoon on Dr. Gates, my brother, my next door neighbor, Rodney King, my father, my friends and my own experiences with the police, I remembered one of my encounters with an arrogant, nasty, male, power-abusing member of the Oakland Police Department (OPD).
15-20 years ago, a squad car pulled up beside me as I sat in my parked car in front of the house next door to mine. The male police officer in the car asked me why I was parked in the wrong direction. It was common for cars to park in any direction on our block and it had been so for many years. I’d never received a ticket for doing so and I never saw any of my neighbors with tickets on their cars for ‘wrong direction parking’. The abusive male police officer sat in a squad car with his younger, blonde, female partner at the wheel. After I explained that I was waiting for another driver to vacate the parking space in front of my house, this truly nasty man decided that he needed to respond to my explanation by telling me that I needed to thank him and call him “sir.” As a matter of fact, he told me that I needed to say, “yes sir” to him in response to his query. It was as if I had no right to answer his question with an intelligent explanation. I believe that it was the intelligence that set him off. This intelligence sets many men and privileged people of various backgrounds off because “no one likes a smart nigger.” That’s an old saying, and one that bears weight and has done so for far too long. Basically, I break stereotypes in many ways, one of those ways being my high level of and depth of intelligence. Once I open my mouth, it’s all over for those who are threatened by intelligence. Of course, this is their problem, but it can become my problem in some instances. In this instance it had the potential to become a very big problem in that I could come to physical harm. My parents who both grew up in Jim Crow south had prepared me well for situations like this, as had my life in America of 40 years.
This tells the story of just how racist America is. Yes, I live, and many of us live in a police state and yes, those people in uniforms who carry guns on their persons far too often push the limits of power and in doing so, abuse us. I’m still angry that I couldn’t do anything about my situation of 15 or 20 years ago since none of my neighbors were outside. I looked. Not one person was out on his steps, in her driveway or standing in front of her house. It would have been much easier to avoid this outrageous encounter if someone else had been present to witness it. In addition, the young woman officer who was driving the squad car looked away when I looked over at her after her partner told me to revise my answer and “sir” him. Since I had no backup, I said “Yes sir” and he replied with something nasty like “That’s more like it.” Then he and the silent young blonde woman police officer drove off in their Oakland Police Department registered vehicle. However, I couldn’t see a car number and I had no name to use in filing a complaint. So, basically a ‘wanna be slave master’ lived his dream on my block on 62nd Street in North Oakland.
So, when I read about the events of Dr. Gates’ arrest and I read the stupid, droning opinion pieces and supposed news reports of this situation, I get angry all over again because I don’t think I’ve heard one intelligent thing said about it, except for the attempts at reporting the events as they unfolded. The rest of the noise has been just that, noise, and I’m not just referring to the media in terms of conservative, liberal, democratic or republican. There’s been far too much noise on all sides and far too little thoughtfulness. That’s what’s been missing, thoughtfulness. I can no longer give my attention to the rest.
15-20 years ago, a squad car pulled up beside me as I sat in my parked car in front of the house next door to mine. The male police officer in the car asked me why I was parked in the wrong direction. It was common for cars to park in any direction on our block and it had been so for many years. I’d never received a ticket for doing so and I never saw any of my neighbors with tickets on their cars for ‘wrong direction parking’. The abusive male police officer sat in a squad car with his younger, blonde, female partner at the wheel. After I explained that I was waiting for another driver to vacate the parking space in front of my house, this truly nasty man decided that he needed to respond to my explanation by telling me that I needed to thank him and call him “sir.” As a matter of fact, he told me that I needed to say, “yes sir” to him in response to his query. It was as if I had no right to answer his question with an intelligent explanation. I believe that it was the intelligence that set him off. This intelligence sets many men and privileged people of various backgrounds off because “no one likes a smart nigger.” That’s an old saying, and one that bears weight and has done so for far too long. Basically, I break stereotypes in many ways, one of those ways being my high level of and depth of intelligence. Once I open my mouth, it’s all over for those who are threatened by intelligence. Of course, this is their problem, but it can become my problem in some instances. In this instance it had the potential to become a very big problem in that I could come to physical harm. My parents who both grew up in Jim Crow south had prepared me well for situations like this, as had my life in America of 40 years.
This tells the story of just how racist America is. Yes, I live, and many of us live in a police state and yes, those people in uniforms who carry guns on their persons far too often push the limits of power and in doing so, abuse us. I’m still angry that I couldn’t do anything about my situation of 15 or 20 years ago since none of my neighbors were outside. I looked. Not one person was out on his steps, in her driveway or standing in front of her house. It would have been much easier to avoid this outrageous encounter if someone else had been present to witness it. In addition, the young woman officer who was driving the squad car looked away when I looked over at her after her partner told me to revise my answer and “sir” him. Since I had no backup, I said “Yes sir” and he replied with something nasty like “That’s more like it.” Then he and the silent young blonde woman police officer drove off in their Oakland Police Department registered vehicle. However, I couldn’t see a car number and I had no name to use in filing a complaint. So, basically a ‘wanna be slave master’ lived his dream on my block on 62nd Street in North Oakland.
So, when I read about the events of Dr. Gates’ arrest and I read the stupid, droning opinion pieces and supposed news reports of this situation, I get angry all over again because I don’t think I’ve heard one intelligent thing said about it, except for the attempts at reporting the events as they unfolded. The rest of the noise has been just that, noise, and I’m not just referring to the media in terms of conservative, liberal, democratic or republican. There’s been far too much noise on all sides and far too little thoughtfulness. That’s what’s been missing, thoughtfulness. I can no longer give my attention to the rest.
Law Enforcement
This week I've heard enough law enforcement stories to last me for a lifetime. My friends had a visit from law enforcement when they failed to make a prenatal care appointment (no kidding!). Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. was handcuffed on his front porch as he and the driver of his airport transit car were suspected of breaking and entering his own home in Cambridge, MA. Police state, police brutality, abuse of power, got a gun got a badge got a uniform makes right—all of this is swirling around and forming more poetry. "Land of the free and home of the brave," my ass. The 'free' are those who abuse power and the brave are those who refuse to believe that the 'free' are anything more than cowards. The true brave and free are those who speak truth to power and stand for something of value. What do you have to say? Who do you speak truth to? What do you stand for?
Saturday, July 18, 2009
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