insanity and ground

am i being naive by assuming that this arizona immigration bill (SB 1070) will actually be stopped before it is enacted on the ground in (less than) 90 days? Arizona is getting such a bad name that ariZona iced tea had to remind everyone that they are from New York, and have no formal affiliation with the state of Arizona. (a good sign for sure, but notice that the CEO didn't say anything in his little note about how insane the measure was. oh, the things people do for business.)

or maybe i'm not assuming it won't be enacted, i'm just phrasing it that way to myself because i can't deal with the possibility that it could be. after all, this kind country has countless laws on the books that operate on AND perpetuate racist principles...some, obviously, more explicitly than others.

i had a conversation with a friend a few weeks ago about absurdity and insanity. sometimes it all (it all being society, politics, life, reality, the world, the country, the history textbooks, the news, the cities, the people, the death---you know, it ALL) is so incongruous with anything human or good, so incongruous with itself ( and yet simoultaneously wildly consistent is the rationale of capitalism and oppression, hence our difficulties in countering it), so ABSURD that i for a split-second (or many) take solace in the idea that if it keeps getting worse, status quo will be 100% unsustainable (as if it werent already) and spontaneously combust. anyway, point is, i consider myself really privileged to be surrounded by people and ideas that remind me that i'm not crazy. that's all for now. in the meantime, i hope everyone finds what they need to continue trying to make this world better than we found it.

Tea Party Racism and Homophobia

From Color of Change

Dear friends,

It's time to hold the Republican Party accountable.

You've probably heard about Tea Party members shouting "Nigger!" at Black Congressmen during a protest in Washington, D.C. last weekend. One of the protesters spat on Congressman Emmanuel Cleaver, while another called openly gay Representative Barney Frank a "faggot" as the laughing crowd imitated his lisp.[1]

But Saturday was just the most recent example of the intolerance and hate coming from right-wing extremists this past year. At times it's been instigated by Republican leaders. When not, it's usually condoned and seen as part of a strategy to score politically. Either way, it's completely unacceptable and has to stop.

It's time to confront Republican leadership and force them to take responsibility for the atmosphere they've helped create. Please join me in signing ColorOfChange's petition confronting Republican leaders about hate and fear-mongering in their party, and ask your friends and family to do the same:

http://www.colorofchange.org/hate/?id=1904-519360

We're calling on RNC Chair Michael Steele, House Minority Leader John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to publicly do two simple things:

- Unequivocally condemn bigotry and hate among their supporters, and make clear that those who embrace it have no place in their party.

- Make clear that they will not tolerate fear-mongering and coded appeals to racism from officials in the Republican party, at any level.

Republican leaders publicly denounced Saturday's ugly scene, but they failed to acknowledge that this is only the latest incident in a pattern of violent rhetoric, racially charged imagery, and paranoid conspiracy theories at Tea Party rallies.[2] Many Tea Partiers aren't simply about dissent -- they use fear and hatred to assault the very legitimacy of our elected leaders. It's the worst America has to offer. Despite this, Republican leaders court the Tea Party movement while methodically supporting, exacerbating and exploiting their fear and anger for cynical political ends.[3] This is nothing less than a betrayal of American values, and it's up to us to force the Republicans to stop aiding and abetting this enterprise:

http://www.colorofchange.org/hate/?id=1904-519360

The Tea Party movement has been marked by racially inflammatory and violent outbursts since its inception a year ago. GOP leaders are trying to pass off this weekend's assaults on Congressmen Lewis, Cleaver, Clyburn and Frank as isolated incidents. But when so-called "isolated incidents" crop up again and again, a pattern starts to emerge. The examples are numerous.

At rallies held to protest tax day last year, Tea Partiers carried signs that announced "Obama's Plan: White Slavery," "The American Taxpayers are the Jews for Obama's Oven," and "Guns Tomorrow!"[4] The Republican National Committee had endorsed the rallies, and RNC Chairman Michael Steele encouraged Tea Partiers to send a "virtual tea bag" to President Obama and Democratic Congressional leadership.[5] After reports of the fear-mongering signs surfaced, Steele did nothing to distance his party from the lunatic fringe. He has even gone so far as to say that if he didn't have his current position, he'd be "out there with the tea partiers."[6]

The Tea Party's venomous rhetoric picked up steam over the summer, when angry mobs flooded town hall meetings legislators had organized as sites for rational, civil debate on health care reform. After one meeting in Atlanta, a swastika was painted on the office of Congressman David Scott (D-GA), who had also received a flier addressed to "nigga David Scott."[7] Some protesters showed up at town hall meetings carrying guns, including at least one man who was armed at an event where the President was speaking.[8] Again, Republicans responded to these tactics with silence, doing nothing to denounce them.

Our country deserves better than this. No matter what party one supports, we should all take strong action to support civil, honest, and respectful public debate. Please join me in calling on Republican leaders to denounce racist rhetoric and fear-mongering, and reject it from their party. And when you do, please ask your family and friends to do the same:

http://www.colorofchange.org/hate/?id=1904-519360

Thanks.


References

1. http://huff.to/atRmru
2. http://huff.to/9Sgf3S
3. http://huff.to/c4ZOH4
4. See Reference 2
5. http://huff.to/3nzZE
6. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0110/31177.html
7. http://bit.ly/8YInIb
8. http://bit.ly/LV1wb

Wired Magazine (via racialicious) tells all: HOW TO RAISE RACIST KIDS

Step One: Don’t talk about race. Don’t point out skin color. Be “color blind.”

Step Two: Actually, that’s it. There is no Step Two.

Congratulations! Your children are well on their way to believing that < insert your ethnicity here > is better than everybody else.

Read more on Racialicious.
Or here in its original home at Wired Magazine.

A Whites-Only Pro Basketball League Set to Start June 2010

There is obviously not a whole lot to say about this except "wow" and then e-mail the race wire article about it to all your white basket ball playing friends with the subject "maybe you can join!"
At least that's what I did.

EMERGENCY PROTESTS WED JAN 20TH- MUMIA DOES NOT DESERVE DEATH PENALTY

mumia abu-jamal case AGAIN at legal crossroads

US SUPREME COURT GRANTS APPEAL BY PROSECUTORS
TAKE IT TO THE STREETS!
EMERGENCY PROTEST: WEDNESDAY 1/20, 4-7PM AT THE HARLEM STATE OFFICE BUILDING (125th St and 7th Ave)

Monitor http://www.freemumia.com/ and http://abu-jamal-news.com/ for news, analysis and emergency response plans

The Supreme Court has tossed out a lower court ruling that nullified the death sentence for former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal. The appeals court now has the option of re-imposing the death sentence or ordering a new federal trial to hear other claims of injustice raised by Abu-Jamal.

No Death Penalty for Mumia!

In Philadelphia demonstrate Wednesday, Jan 20 at 4pm at the SE corner of City Hall (Juniper St.). Bring signs and noisemakers (pots, pans, whistles, etc). Bring copies of any Mumia literature you have. At the demonstration International Concerned Friends & Family of Mumia Abu Jamal spokespeople will give updates and legal analysis.

Jessie's email, posted below, contains a link to Bill Quigley's list of 10 Things the U.S. Can and Should do for Haiti. Quigley is Legal Director at the Center for Constitutional Rights...he is also a Katrina survivor and has "been active in human rights in Haiti for years with the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti."

They are all important, and so I've posted the list...I feel like i'm doing this with some desperate delusion in mind, as if the more times they're copy-and-pasted on the internet, the more people will begin to understand...and the less bad will come from this already fully devastating disaster in Haiti.

BUT I WANT TO BRING SPECIAL ATTENTION TO LIST ITEM NUMBER TWO. This cannot be repeated too many times:

Do not allow US military in Haiti to point their guns at Haitians. Hungry Haitians are not the enemy. Decisions have already been made which will militarize the humanitarian relief – but do not allow the victims to be cast as criminals. Do not demonize the people.

This is NOT that complicated. I may be naive about certain aspects of world politics or the intricacies of international economic affairs...but THE HAITIANS ARE THE VICTIMS.

Bill's List:

One. Allow all Haitians in the US to work. The number one source of money for poor people in Haiti is the money sent from family and workers in the US back home. Haitians will continue to help themselves if given a chance. Haitians in the US will continue to help when the world community moves on to other problems.

Two. Do not allow US military in Haiti to point their guns at Haitians. Hungry Haitians are not the enemy. Decisions have already been made which will militarize the humanitarian relief – but do not allow the victims to be cast as criminals. Do not demonize the people.

Three. Give Haiti grants as help, not loans. Haiti does not need any more debt. Make sure that the relief given helps Haiti rebuild its public sector so the country can provide its own citizens with basic public services.

Four Prioritize humanitarian aid to help women, children and the elderly. They are always moved to the back of the line. If they are moved to the back of the line, start at the back.

Five. President Obama can enact Temporary Protected Status for Haitians with the stroke of a pen. Do it. The US has already done it for El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Sudan and Somalia. President Obama should do it on Martin Luther King Day.

Six. Respect Human Rights from Day One. The UN has enacted Guiding Principles for Internally Displaced People. Make them required reading for every official and non-governmental person and organization. Non-governmental organizations like charities and international aid groups are extremely powerful in Haiti – they too must respect the human dignity and human rights of all people.

Seven. Apologize to the Haitian people everywhere for Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh.

Eight. Release all Haitians in US jails who are not accused of any crimes. Thirty thousand people are facing deportations. No one will be deported to Haiti for years to come. Release them on Martin Luther King day.

Nine. Require that all the non-governmental organizations which raise money in the US be transparent about what they raise, where the money goes, and insist that they be legally accountable to the people of Haiti.

Ten. Treat all Haitians as we ourselves would want to be treated.

-Bill Quigley

Noose hung from gates of McKenna Museum of African Arts In New Orleans

A noose was found today on the gates of the McKenna Museum of African American Art.


From blogger Kataalyst Alcindor comes this powerful piece about discovering a noose hanging from the gates of the museum. Kataalyst's blog deeper than soil offers power and outrage. deeper than soil.

Today was going to be such a beautiful day, I had willed it to be so. Until my day was shattered by a foot-long inch of nylon looped and crafted after a tool to suffocate the life out of too many of my ancestors. A Noose was found hanging precisely on the onyx bars to keep hate and evil out as an forget-me-not. Proof that hatred will come knocking on your door even if no one will answer. Blinded with rage, The only thing I could do was whisper a prayer to The Most High begging to not let me find whoever done this, it would so easily become a assault with intentions of manslaughter. I raced to The Trolly Stop in hopes to find police officers who so often frequent the restaurant, luckily I find a couple off duties and direct them to the scene of vandalism. Awaiting the squad car I debated on running to the apartment to grab my web camera and thought, "Of all days I would't bring my camera, Today would be the day!" The Caucasian Woman Officer jumped out of her car and asked about the crime. I could only shake my head and point at the unwanted adornment. The color of her face drained away to her knees. "O Shit." all she could say was "O Shit." "Yeah." I said. She kept apologizing for me seeing such a thing and I don't know if it was the rage talking but it felt like Honestly, she was apologizing for her race. I know I shouldn't say that but I'm sure some White folks wish that other white folks would just vanish from the face of the earth.(My first draft picks are Rush & Glen.) We filed out a report and against my will she took down the noose and placed it in the car, the gave me a slip to possibly pick it up from the station as if it was a drunken family member I care enough about to bail out of prison. I still don't don't know how to feel but fury & scorn. This felt like watching a man slap your mother in the face, The McKenna is a place of peace, vibrancy & love. I can only take this as a lesson that ignorance still thrives in this old southern city and it still hides its face in the dead of night rather than face the sun.

Hopeful the vandal knows that realizes that a home build on love will never be conquered by something as small as weathered ropes and a obsolete message.

Peace.

Please hold the museum and the community in the Light.

whether or not you believe in online petitions...

Subject: please spread the word about the online petition for mumia abu-jamal!!!!!!!!

Dear co-strugglers for Mumia,

this is our call for action - sign the online-petition to the Justices of the US Supreme Court.

We launched it at the beginning of March in Germany and Austria - and it is growing fast now.

It was already signed by Noam Chomsky, Frances Goldin, Robert Meeropol, Harold Wilson, Colin Firth, Anthony Arnove,

Marc Taylor, Julia Wright, Pam Africa, Veronica Jones, Lynne Stewart and so many others.

The updated letter with the 3500th signature was sent to the Justices this Easter monday, April 13.

http://www.PetitionOnline.com/supreme/petition.html

Support Mumia in this most dangerous state of his life.

Please spread it as far as you can! Post it, send it around, use all your powerful means of creating news and attention.

Annette in Heidelberg, Germany
///
the text of the petition:
To: United States Supreme Court

To the Honorable Justices of the United States Supreme Court,
Chief Justice John Roberts,
Samuel Alito,
Stephen Breyer,
Ruth Bader Ginsburg,
Anthony Kennedy,
Antonin Scalia,
David Hackett Souter,
John Paul Stevens,
Clarence Thomas,


Before you is the notorious case of Mumia Abu-Jamal, which is a difficult matter to deal with, a matter concerning fundamental fairness, as we are well aware.

But then - it offers the possibility to show some light at the end of the dark tunnel of racism that has been tainting America’s reputation in the world for a long time now.

We won’t go into all the contentious details of the case here.
To us, one thing is obvious: racism is the thread that runs through this case like a mismatching color in a fabric.
The blatant racism affronting America’s oft-stated core values of fairness and justice in this case has attracted widespread attention, including that of Amnesty International, which in 2000 dedicated a long report to this case, calling for a new trial, which it continues to do to this day.

The constitutionally guaranteed bedrock of a fair trial is a jury selected without bias, including racial bias. Undisputedly, the original trial started with only 3 and ended with 2 out of 12 jurors being African-Americans - in a city with then close to 40 percent Blacks. Prosecutor Joseph McGill used 10 of 15 peremptory strikes against blacks. This particular prosecutor’s strike pattern reflects impermissible race-based exclusions practiced by Philadelphia prosecutors during that era.

The racially loaded atmosphere at the time of Mr. Abu-Jamal’s trial in 1982 is sadly illustrated by the fact that later, an Assistant District Attorney for Philadelphia produced a training video for the city’s prosecutors about how to evade orders of this Court prohibiting prejudicial jury selection. Explicitly referring to the practices he recommends as ”the wisdom of the ages” and the long-standing custom of the city’s prosecutors, you can watch him say:

"Let's face it, the blacks from the low-income areas are less likely to convict. There's a resentment to law enforcement... You don't want those guys on your jury...
If you get a white teacher in a black school who's sick of these guys, that may be the one to accept."

The courts of a country that is rightly proud of its unique Constitution granting equal rights for all should be able do a lot better.

Whether or not Mr. Abu-Jamal is guilty or innocent is not the issue here.
The issue is a fair trial - a constitutional right denied this defendant during the last 27 years.

Right now and before your Court, Mr. Abu-Jamal isn’t even asking for a new trial. He is only asking that his well documented claim of racial bias during the original trial be fully and fairly heard and that your Court order appropriate consequences.

With all due respect and urgency we ask you to use your power as the Supreme Court of the United States to grant him all the legal procedures necessary to finally provide him justice.


****************

One core factual source among many for the above is:
www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR51/001/2000 (A Life in the Balance - the Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal, report by Amnesty International)

****************

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

oh disney.. what have you done?

oh my gosh oh my gosh read this. click, click away.

synopsis of the story from wkipedia:

The film, which began production under the working title The Frog Princess, will be an American fairy tale, Broadway-style musical set in the French Quarter of New Orleans. A prince named Naveen from the land of Maldonia [5], is transformed into a frog by the evil scheming voodoo magician Dr. Facilier. The frog prince asks a waitress named Tiana to break the spell by kissing him. However, the kiss doesn't break the spell but rather makes Tiana a frog, as well. Together the two of them must reach the good voodoo priestess of the Bayou, Mama Odie, while befriending a trumpet playing alligator and a hopelessly romantic firefly along the way. The film is set to be released on December 11, 2009.

a few things of note:

-interracial couples being used to cover a collective inability to respect men of color as heroes at all.
-the fire fly's accent?! (actor Jim Cummings will be doing the voice for the firefly)
-new orleans? talk about a loaded history
-disney, oh my gosh disney

this is most inarticulate I've felt in some time.

maybe ill start making a best of and put the slavery/jackson 5 theme park on the list and this can be second.

eternal principles of right

james weldon johnson writes, in the autobiography of an ex-colored man, 1912

"the greatest interest of the audience was centered on Booker T. Washington, and not because he so much surpassed the others in eloquence, but because of what he represented with so much earnestness and faith. And it is this that all of that small but gallant band of colored men who are publicly fighting the cause of their race have behind them. Even those who oppose them know that these men have the eternal principles of right on their side, and they will be victors even though they should go down in defeat."

this quote reminds me of the letter written by activists in Austin in response to learning that a co-organizer was a government informant. they referenced "the trust and openness that give our communities cohesion and power."

i keep going back to this last sentiment. it speaks worlds to me, reminding me that as impossible as these struggles may seem because we are up against power and money ( and i can only imagine how they seem for those with less social/economic status than i have been unjustly afforded!), our very strength is in our refusal to accept society's definitions of what is important (individual over the collective, which leads us not to be open and not to trust one another), and who is more human/deserving/etc.

a part of me reacts to the idea that one side is right. and yet, as sociology professor rob rosenthal reminded me last week, all activism is by definition arrogant*, we believe ourselves to be right, to have a better idea of what justice looks like or what other reality is more desirable than the status quo. perhaps what Johnson calls 'the eternal principles of right,' that which will ultimately win out because it has to, is what i think of as (again!) humanity-- some underlying, over-arching entity of good, an essence of what we are as human beings and what we share as members of a species, that will always have more capacity to generate love than hatred.

i believe in this humanity more strongly than i believe in all else.

* partial definition of arrogant, since the word has such negative connotations: "making claims or pretensions to superior importance or right"

rest of the definition: overbearingly assuming; insolently proud

how do we find the balance between holding on to our dearest beliefs and not doing so in such a way that prevents us from keeping our eyes/ears/minds open to critique and change?

Hipster Racism

Interesting idea from our bestie Priya about hipster racism on her blog. Find it here.

re: public safety

i think it's important to reiterate some points very clearly, and repeat them as much as possible:

mass incarceration does NOT increase public safety.

in the words of angela davis,

"Mass incarceration is not a solution to unemployment, nor is it a solution to the vast array of social problems that are hidden away in a rapidly growing network of prisons and jails. However, the great majority of people have been tricked into believing in the efficacy of imprisonment, even though the historical record clearly demonstrates that prisons do not work. Racism has undermined our ability to create a popular critical discourse to contest the ideological trickery that posits imprisonment as key to public safety" from ColorLines, Fall '98

Julia Sudbury notes on the CR10 blog,
'We believe that the violence of crime cannot be solved through the additional violence of policing, surveillance and separation from loved ones. Instead, we advocate focusing attention and resources on building empowered communities, with decent housing, secure jobs, food security, healthy environments and high-quality education, as the ultimate alternative to incarceration.
The challenge facing us is immense. In the US alone, over 2.3 million people are warehoused in prisons and jails. A recent report from the Pew Center found that, for the first time, in the US we now imprison one in every 100 adults; the figure is one in nine for black men aged between 20 and 34. The Pew report also found that this massive incarceration is impacting state budgets without delivering a clear return on public safety."

"katrina's hidden race war"

thanks to jason for the link.
this is from the Nation Institute

Damali Ayo on The Election

Damali writes:

Tuesday night we elected this country's first African American President.

Now, we have no black senators.

I say that not to bring the party to an end, but to remind us that this work is not complete with the election of a single man to our highest office. No doubt, this is an incredible moment and for sure, my heart races when I think of it -but mostly my heart races, not because Obama is black but because he is the first true leader I've seen in the entirety of politics in my life.

And though we gave him a "mandate" with our overwhelming vote- it is *oour* mandate that I am most interested in as we move forward.

Last night at an election party during Obama's acceptance speech one woman who had voted for him crankily growled at the TV "yeah, we've heard that all before...." another friend texted me "we need to keep him on his toes." This is the side of our citizenry that disappoints me heartily. We are lazy and put responsibility on others instead of ourselves. We prefer to criticize rather than support. We elect a leader and within minutes of his first speech are ready to dis him and look for flaws. As an artist who holds a mirror up to our culture as my primary work, I hope that we can hold a mirror up to ourselves and realize that changing this country around is not the sole responsibility of our elected leaders, but is truly our responsibility too. They may be able to change the policies, but only we can change our real lives, our relationships, our attitudes, our beliefs and our behavior.

Instead of sitting back and waiting for how this new leader will screw up, let's envision, and then created a new, better country worthy of a leader of Obama's caliber.

As Gandhi said, let's become the change we seek in the world.

Let's not stop at having one person of color at the head of our country but instead integrate our entire government, executive, legislative and judicial branches to represent all aspects of the citizenry.

Let's give Washington DC, a 65% black city, a vote in our government.

Let's challenge ourselves not only to vote for one black president, but to make real relationships across races and enhance our lives beyond our ballot.

Let's eliminate the n-word from our culture. (I was called that on the street only two weeks ago).

Let's make an even stronger effort to listen to the stories and experiences of people of color rather than ask them to be silent now that "one of them" is president. (something I also heard recently).

Let's no longer be afraid to examine how racism continues to be at play on a day-to-day level, admit where we lack trust and relationships and work to build those relationships and regain trust in the people with whom we share this country.

Let's realize that the evolution within us is crucial to evolving the world around us.

And much more- we can do much more, we can be much more.

One of the things that strikes me about Barack Obama is that he is not in this office for selfish reasons. He does not seek fame, credit, or praise. He is in this to effect a change in the country that he values and for the people of that country for which he cares. We elected him not only to take us there but to serve as an example for how we can all operate in our world- to be our role model- not for the little black children that can look up to him and know they can be like him and be president, but for each and every one of us- that can look up to him and know that *we* can be like him, that we can be better leaders, better citizens, better human beings to each other.

This is the change we need.
This is what I mean when I say "Yes We Can."



--- feel free to cross post----

Damali Ayo.com