US AND THEM

I have a neighbor named Jim. He owns his home, where he's lived for 71 of his 76 years. 2008 was the first year of his long life that he made more than $10,000. And that was from SSI, the minimum the government provides for those who have not paid enough into the system. He receives food stamps and Medicaid paid, and continues to pay, for his 17 prescriptions and the plastic surgery required after having cancer removed from his face. Jim is White.

When I first met him and told him my name was Jose, he immediately asked me if I was Puerto Rican. After trying to explain the concept of a mixed heritage to no avail, we moved on. He'll still occasionally refer to me as Puerto Rican a year after we've known each other. Jim also likes to use the words nigger and colored when referring to Black folks, to include the president. And without a drop of hate in his voice or demeanor. It's so ingrained in him that he can't see the contradiction of using these words of hate in one breath, and in the next saying how every Black person he's ever actually met has been a good guy. Even the one who married his daughter.

Jim is a Republican and he basically has an IV of the kool-aid strapped to his arm. From segregation through the Reagan-crack years, welfare reform, COPS premiering on FOX, he's been staring at the TV and accepting these stereotypes as the truth. The only common factor between Jim and the Republican party is his skin color. He refers to the Welfare Office as the gift shop, but received a significant amount from an office he hasn't contributed to.

The fact that Jim takes what he's given for granted, while demeaning minorities for receiving the same is a common internal dispute. Jim feels like he "deserves" it, while others don't. He's never earned anything. His home was passed down through the generations. From a time when it was illegal for minorities to own property; Not long after they were actually considered property.

I know Jim grew up in a different era, so I don't hold it against him. He's in his last days; he can live them the way he wants. But he is a window into the past. And his programming needs to be understood, so we can counteract it and progress. He's a good guy; it's the subtle, institutionalized Racism that's the culprit.

Lately, I've been hearing the argument that it's no longer and Black/White thing; it's a class thing. I agree and disagree. It is a class thing. But it's also a Race thing. It's not either/or. It's both. We can't skip race to get to class just because class affects White people. Class cannot be dealt with until the Races are united within. Only then can we fight our true enemies. When we begin to focus on our similarities more than our differences, we will begin to understand and respect one another.

There's definitely a Class war going on, but our collective ignorance of history leaves us confused and frustrated. Targeting those that are in our exact socio-economic positions and keeping us divided. To be conquered by the Bankers.

We've been tricked into believing that (unregulated)Capitalism is good for us. Us, being the bottom 90% on the wealth scale. When everything's for profit, the common good is sacrificed. And as absurd as the phrase "bottom 90%" seems to be, it's the truth. The wealth gap is beyond the average citizen's comprehension. For example, in 2007, CEOs averaged 866 times as much as minimum wage employees.




Ben Franklin said "The inability of colonists to get power to issue their own money permanently out of the hands of George the III and the international bankers was the PRIME reason for the Revolutionary War."

After Woodrow Wilson realized what he had done by signing the The Federal Reserve into existence in 1913, he regrettably said "I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated governments in the civilized world. No longer a government by free opinion, no longer a government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men."

We are on the edge of life as we know it. Although many people, Black and White, have been living in depression-like conditions for years and decades, only now that it has "trickled up" to another class has it sparked such outrage and public disapproval. Alas, the outcry is here. People are awakening to the truths of money and the evil at its root. The Federal Reserve, as a private corporation, lends the US Government money, with interest. Then through taxing the people the debt is paid upon, but never fully satisfied. That's because the Federal Reserve also prints our money, and they never print as much money as they lend.

That's a very remedial explanation of how the Banking system works, but its intricacies are not the main concern. Right now, the concern is the tax money we are promising to pay is being given right back the the Bankers. In effect, never lending us the money in the first place, but requiring us to pay it back. Twice.

There's a difference between a Human and a Person. According to the Uniform Commercial Code, person means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, government, governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, public corporation, or any other legal or commercial entity.

We have to stop being People and start being Human.

"WHY NOT US?"

We do deserve better.
Letter to the editor.
Remember that peddler?
Steadier evolving towards the predator.

Time goes by.
Third-eye blind. No lie.
Can't deny when the walls bear flies.
Surprised at the Devil's disguise.

The easy road erodes
At the fork, you thought you chose.
Like when from concrete sprouts a rose
It grows, not without its struggles though.

You can be the best you.
But it don't mean a thing
Unless you open the door
When the doorbell rings.

UNDEFINED CHANGE

The stimulus bill has been signed. People have a little more hope. But not until we start receiving that $13 per week in our paychecks, will we begin to put our guard down. We've been through a lot in the last few years, and we have every right to demand a lot from our representatives right now. Since 2001, those who we've chosen to represent our interests in Washington(and Harrisburg) have been derelict in their duties to the people and the Constitution.

They are not alone. We have not held them accountable, and we were warned by so many. Albert Einstein said "all of us who are concerned for peace and triumph of reason and justice must be keenly aware how small an influence reason and honest good will exert upon events in the political field." The inspiration of President Obama is real, but it's up to us, as the citizenry, to define the change that's fueling our inspiration.

All change is not good. The right changes must be made. For the right people. People like the recently awaken. Many voted for the first time in 2008; many 18,many more 38. Michelle Obama took some undue criticism during the campaign for her statements about being proud of the country for the first time in her adult life. I bet a lot of the 38 year-olds felt the same way. There was a sense of inclusiveness just to vote for the man, let alone elect him.

I've been following politics closely since 1997 and intensely(almost impulsively) since 2000. It's a dirty game, was always about money, but now has no choice to be exclusively about money. It seems like the politicians and their partners in finance, oil, and prescription drugs are making a run for it. We cannot allow this to happen.

People who HAVE been awake have been waiting for you to wake up. And help. Most Americans have been massaged or medicated into slumber; free from the responsibilities required by the law of the land that guarantee the rights we hold so dear. No matter how great Barrack Obama, the man and president, is or will be, he's nothing without US. We are the key.

People came to the polls for a reason last year. Change. During the campaign, it was used like wiggling bait. But NOW is the time to finish the sentence, "change is..." President Obama has given the whole country opportunity and now we must seize this moment. Grab it. Mold it. To look like US. Pennsylvania in particular is going to receive more than $6B . We can work with that.

The change we are about to define can also define us as a new people. An America where people can be different, and not deficient. Where we ALL care for one another. Where we celebrate achievements. Respect the histories of every individual. Broad brush strokes have gotten us where we are; it's now time to grab a pencil.

ILLEGAL IS NOT A NOUN!

THAT'S ONE POPULAR VIEW OF "ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION"

Here's another...



A vast kaleidoscope of peoples struggle to get to the US shores everyday, and each one of them has a story. A reason, a goal, a dream, and more specifically The American Dream. Many quest for US citizenships not because of what is here, but for what is not. To not know Freedom, whether it be economic, personal, or any other form, is difficult to comprehend for those who've always had Freedom. And to know there is a place in the world that guarantees Freedom and not try to get there is suicide of the soul.

People of all kinds want opportunity. If there isn't opportunity, the people won't come. Mexican people, regardless of citizenship status, are under intense scrutiny right now. With times being as "tough" as they are, people are scared and unsure about their futures. Just as we see our politicians operate within the "blame game," we also fell the need to blame someone. Those different than ourselves are easy targets because then we can claim that it's not our fault.

Immigration policy is very complex and should not be reduced to "sending Mexicans back where they came from!" For one, this philosophy is currently being applied through The National Fugitive Operations Program. Established in 2003, under The Department of Homeland Security, "to dramatically expand the agency’s efforts to locate, arrest, and remove fugitives from the United States," it has failed to do so. As a matter of fact, the program has proven to be a huge failure. 73% of those arrested had NO criminal records. With such a low success rate, it's hard to argue against the involvement of racial profiling.

This is an excerpt from an article I wrote for Associated Content It's currently in the editing stages and should be available soon.

White Privilege in Black History Month

With our current economic crisis bogartin' the news, we're not hearing so much about Black History Month events this year. I've heard some say that because of the election of Barack Obama, that there is no longer a need for organizations like the NAACP to exist. Members of the media and pundits on their programs like to use the term "post-racial America." And they're attempting to blend this term into everyday language.

Don't believe it! Don't buy into it! There is much for all of us to learn. Good things and bad. Friends go through the ups and downs together because they have that understanding of each other and feel one another's pain. I'd like to share a series of events I've encountered in the past week on a discussion forum. It's not a regular forum I read; I got there through an article I wanted to read. Then I started to read the comments; I immediately registered and here's how it went...

MY FIRST POST (in response to the bold)

I'm sorry, but I didn't spit on any children. Did you? I wasn't calling the cops on my neighbors for being black. Were you?

I didn't either, and I thank you for not doing so. But I believe you are misunderstanding Racism. It's not individual Racism that's at question. It's the systematic and traditional constructs in place.

And I'm sure everyone who gets pulled over has their plates scanned. You make it sound like there are no black police officers; like there is some vast white conspiracy to pull over all black drivers.

You don't have to call it conspiracy, but you can't deny the facts of the disproportionate police brutality on blacks. When was the last time you saw a white guy being beaten by police on the news? While at least 2 black men were killed by police in the last month that I can recall off the top of my head. Is this coincidence?

Your talk of slave trade implies you are still living in the 1850s. Are you aware that it is 2009, and slavery no longer exists in the United States? Do you know any black people that were involved in the slave trade? Then stop commenting on it. You, single-handedly, are living in the past and refusing to move forward.

Your refusal to even discuss the topic shows some kind of denial or lack of knowledge on the topic. It is 2009, and there were several cases of slavery in the US last year. Not to mention the sex slave trade that's a booming business, especially in DC.
Slavery is not ancient. People were born into slavery into the early 1900's. And you can't underestimate the passing of generational wealth, combined with discriminatory laws. These are issues that need discussing.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and derive that you're probably a Democrat. Just a completely random guess. No clues from your ignorance guided me toward that conclusion. *Sarcasm*

I agree with President Theodore Roosevelt's quote: "There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americans."

NO RESPONSE

NEXT POST

A black man from a broken family was elected to the highest office in the land. If he can do it, so can YOU. Quit blaming your race on your failures.

One black man out of an estimated 20 million. Do you think that YOU could be president? That doesn't seem realistic to think that since one man(that had to have a lot of things fall in place to get there) can do it, that all can-for any race. I don't think anyone is blaming their race for anything.

NO RESPONSE

NEXT POST

As soon as the Black are willing to give up affirmative action and enttitlement programs that are race based.

What specific race-based programs are you talking about? Most programs are income-based, and by simple population numbers whites outnumber minorities when it comes to receiving govenment assistance. White women are the biggest beneficiaries of affirmative action.


A level field for all the races.
No race based questions on any employment or housing applications.
No extra points for being a minority what so ever.

What extra points are you talking about? The people that fill out applications do not put the questions on them. That is a government requirement, as result of the discrimination that had taken place in our recent history.

Then racism will have no traction and no one can complain!!

Still I doubt that the free pass mentality will shut up anytime soon!!!!

NO RESPONSE

Then, a few days later comes the article, Topic: Blacks in Lancaster. The comments are too long to post, but the following PM I received should pretty much sum it up.

May I make a kindly, well-intentioned suggestion? Everyone who joins TB learns as they go, and takes their share of hard knocks. One of the things a lot of the "regulars" on TB are touchy about is quotes, keeping what they have written separate from our replies to them. They take it personally when they think they have been misquoted or taken out of context.

If you do a "reply" format, it leaves their words in the quote box, and your words outside the box. Makes it easier for readers to sort through as well. As I said, as relatively new myself, and having taken my lumps, one of the older posters sent me a note like this and it lessened misunderstandings.

Not trying to be bossy, just trying to keep the contention to a friendly level, especially on the race threads. (Oy!)

Wow!

I've said many times that DENIAL is a trait of racism. If this doesn't directly reflect this theory, then nothing can. But that's part of the struggle. Nothing worth having is easy. Hopefully, one day we can all look back and laugh about how stupid we acted. But for now, we have much work to do.

This is my community, and this is what's called a friendly level.