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Retaliation or Reconciliation?
Mon, 07/28/2008 - 20:48 | Community
In an Op-Ed piece, Huntsville (AL) Times columnist and radio talk show host David Person asks the question: Is "struggle" still the best way to describe the Black experience?
Obama, Fields and other black politicians are winning over whites by embracing a quest for unity and understanding rooted in dialogue and accountability. In the process, however, they have placed themselves on a collision course with some black folks who continue to view white society and the U.S. government as adversaries that can't be trusted to be fair or just.In the post-civil rights era, is the Black community more interested in retaliation or reconciliation?
Doing What's Right
Comments
After generations of
After generations of oppression, discrimination, genocide, we have every reason to keep a close relationship with our creator, the God of heaven & earth. We have need for perseverance & endurance, with all the white presidents that have controlled, dominated the black race as a whole, this suffering will not last forever. Another reason why we trust the word of God over our lives and know the difference between love & hate because we've lived it in this system of thing.
If getting to Chicago from
If getting to Chicago from Los Angeles is 2,000 miles away and I've already gone 1,000 miles, then I can say "I've gone a ways and have a ways to go." We still have struggles that need to be addressed. Thank goodness for Black Interest Groups. One citizen from Alaska said the Black Caucus asked to meet with Sarah while she was governor and that she said "no." She didn't have time to meet with any "special interest groups." Is this who we really want in the White House?
Verrrrrrrrrry "interesting"
Verrrrrrrrrry "interesting" question! Wow! Good one. This is a tough question, very tough. For one, it is true, just as all whites are not racist, and not all blacks are on the side of loyalty to their own. We call them "Bourgeois" and I am turned off COMPLETELY by them. They disgust me. They are in every sector in the community whether it be politics, schools, corporations, or in your own local neighborhood. Another term used for them is "uncle tom" (kissing ups) which might be why some blacks feel that the whites and government are adversarial to them. But I have to say that though we are still working towards equality, we have come a lonnnnng wayyyyyy...long way. Hence Obama.
But it should be understood, setting aside prejudices, this is more about POWER than it is about race. Race is secondary. Yes, those of them that are racist...are racist. They will always be racist more than likely, but turning a "profit" is always their top priority. Economics, let us not forget that. And as a people that is where our heads should be. "Business"! The way of the Black Panthers and the other militant organizations of yesteryear or maybe even today I don't know is passé. Owning a business, higher education, even a GED, along these lines is the way to be involved and get ahead and the only thing they'll listen to where YOU will have a voice and your own individual success.
I for one agree so much with
I for one agree so much with what Shelly said above, that I cannot really say one more word on the subject. I've struggled, I've been a party to quite a bit of racism in my time and have seen my parents struggle with the racism inflicted on them. But we have to move past this bitterness. Yes, we can't just wave a magic wand and make 200 years of oppression just go away and the hurt feelings along with that. But us as a people must realize that Obama is running for president and he must appeal to everyone, not just them. We want him to win. He's not a sell-out, he's just who he is. Cornell West & others are just singing sour grapes. I am almost as old as they are and I do remember struggles and we are still struggling. But my God, you really need to move past that; it's going to be hard enough for Obama to win the election period. We need to help him as much as possible. we really, and I mean really can't have another repeat of the last eight years.
I do not believe Black people
I do not believe Black people have ever been about retaliation. Demanding recognition, representation and restitution is not the same as seeking retaliation. I am not quite ready for reconciliation, but open to negotiation. Let us see what happens with the Covenant.
In the post-civil rights era,
In the post-civil rights era, is the Black community more interested in retaliation or reconciliation? These two items are very real and not all will admit to it. Our community, no matter how disperse it may be in this country, has got to find a way to connect across all classes. Yes, as most are aware within our own community exists a class structure. How do we do that? It starts block by block, house by house. We've got to eliminate the divide that exists within our community. Work together and not be skeptical towards each other. Believe me, if we were to come together, we could realize the wealth that is waiting. Is it a dream? Maybe, maybe not.
I'm in Love with you all this
I'm in Love with you all this morning, and I respect the very insightful views. I many times may have a view, and then after reading here on the many different questions put before us, I stick to my own thoughts and reasonings, or I grow from listening to you all, and see another way.
Now, I'm sorry but we do have much before us, and yet we are still being "Jacked". Let's keep it real. For instance, here in Los Angeles, we don't have a budget and our Governor has decided to reduce pay to $6.55 / hr, lay off many part time and student positions. Who do you think are in these positions that are deemed opportunity ?
Sub-Prime: Why did we receive sub-prime when we qualified for fixed ?
Prison Industrial Complex : The joint is loaded with us ! The same crime, we are sent for longer, and many times, they are not sent at all, and mos def. receive a lighter sentence. (True that...we gotta stop practicing in behavior that sends us up...especially when we know they are looking for us first)
Buys and Sells: We purchase in their community, they (not all) are not thinking about growing our village.
Do any of you watch television and see how even poor whites live ? Do you watch "The Nanny" and see how crazy these people and their children are and how they are living. Where are they getting their money and loan approvals from. They are getting the hook-ups and the opportunities.
Let's not be so quick to think that our pittance is sustainence and opportunity. Bread, just to linger is not dinner !
Love Ya
Ui
Reconciliation "13Brethren, I
Reconciliation "13Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus".
We will never be able to strive for greatness if we keep holding on to the past. I understand and sympathize with my ancestor's struggles, but should I continue to weep over the past or should I choose to go forth with the present- with solutions to make the world a better place for the future generation. We can't change our 400yr struggle, we can't reverse that struggle but we can move forward without a grudging heart. How do we keep fighting...with good works: Proverb: 21-If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: 22For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee.
I don't see an event of back in the day but what I do see is hope. You can't have hope and have death on the tongue: Proverbs 18:21-Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
Too much of the down-trodden language has been spoken generation after generation for 400yrs and we are reaping the fruit of our lips. When do we change the channel? Shall we change the channel when the ray of sunshine can be seen? As the say "If life gives you lemon-make lemonade.
How can we fix a broken bike on outdated tools? Forgiving those things that have offended us is a new beginning. Understanding that nothing stays the same is a new beginning. Harvesting on 400 yrs is not the answer.
Most of Black America problems are not with the system-it’s with us. Building a concrete foundation among ourselves is our greatest weapon. We haven't embraced what other cultures have and that's unity, people helping people. When one is struggle-stand in the gap. Know what's important and it's not the dollar bill... We have to take our lemons and make fresh lemonade… If I want to grow past my pain, I can’t continue to watch “Roots and sing “Oh how awful the world is, be an optimist, create that world you are interested in. “Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” Someone once told me Lisa, if you want to see something different in your life, you can’t keep doing the same old things and expecting new results. Go out and get your boat, its not going to swim in towards you. We as black people sound like the children of Israel, wandering around the wilderness for 400yrs singing the same old lyrics, holding the same old blueprint that’s outdated. We will never forget the struggle of our ancestor’s journey, but let’s not let the struggle stunt our growth. Things do change as stated in Ecclesiastics. The question is: Do we want change? We are our own enemy! “Go Reconciliation”!
I think the Black Community
I think the Black Community is looking for neither, but realization, instead. The realizing of the promises that this country touts around the globe that makes it a great nation. We have allowed the language of the conversation to change to the point that we are left with only two words, retaliation and reconciliation. My only problem about this conversation is the fact that we are talking reconciling. As one civil rights leader has said, "Blacks are the only people separated by race and then told by those who separated them to forget about race." The prefix "re" means to do again. When did we "concile"? You cannot renew a subscription to Time magazine if you have never had Time magazine.
We must stop seeing slavery, Jim Crow and Civil Rights as events and see them as processes. Events are temporal. They start and end. This process is continual across generations. What we are seeing in our society is a process that has continued for over 400 years.
We keep acting like after the 13th Amendment went into effect, the next day the black middle class formed, they got jobs and moved to the suburbs! From that time until now, has been one continuous process.
This construct of race and class seeks to determine our place on the map of human geography through this process. The problem is that many of us see the process as an event and that is why many believe that these issues are from "back in the day".
My previous comment was not
My previous comment was not an attempt to discredit Mr. Smiley's "American I Am" effort in any way. In fact, I applaud him. Celebrate! Celebrate! In essence, what I meant was-don’t build a wall around you that you cannot see the road to move ahead.
From my observation, it seems
From my observation, it seems to me that a good percentage of Blacks have not gotten past the struggle phase, though it may seem that the actions of the civil rights era should have lessened the impact somewhat. If we continue to surround ourselves with thoughts and imprints of past hurts, we are inadvertently shooting ourselves in the foot and hindering our growth and development, thus, holding ourselves hostage. If reconciliation is the focus in any relationship, progress is inevitable. Today, there are numerous opportunities that are available to Blacks that weren’t so in the past. True, our forefathers’ pain and suffering can never be erased from our minds; however, we must take advantage of the struggles. They didn’t fight back to keep us stagnant. Instead, celebrate the victories and form a united front to help each other. I say it’s time to try something new and give respect and reconciliation a chance. Let it begin in the home. If we can change our thinking, we can change our lives. Embrace love.