... As sick as I am ...
I got dressed and out of the house for a book discussion at the library. The discussion is about Justice Thomas' memoir, 'My Grandfather's Son'. I have always thought he got a bum deal from the black community, and I blame myself for that. I didn't stand up to cats when they were hurling invectives at Justice Thomas in college ...
Since being black is all I know, I am not aware of how much racial identification means to a particular group. But I know what it means to blacks, at least I like to believe I do. One of the things about Justice Thomas is the authenticity of his black experience, growing up poor and raised by grandparents in the south. To go the challenging route that he did, from Georgia to the Supreme Court, you'd think that he would be a hallowed member of the community. But he isn't.
I think that too much was read into his being married to a white woman along with being named during Bush senior's presidency. That he would replace a civil rights giant in Thurgood Marshall with his practical conservatism didn't help either.
Dragging myself up to the library, I want to get it out in public how I REALLY feel about Clarence Thomas. I never thought of him as a 'sellout' or any other perjorative used for someone who denies their own racial identity. For some reason, there are a large number of people in the black community that feels you just have to be for 'us' in spite of objective judgement.
That we as black suffer greatly under the duress of racism is evident. I don't car what Rodney King was doing in his Hyundai, it COULDN'T have been that bad! But what gets me is the intercine (ike that word ..!) differences that exist. Why not learn about what makes the 'right-wing' blacks tick and how can we get them to see how our causes are intertwined, rather than sit and call them names ...
I know I have had enough being called, 'white' because my political views or social tastes doesn't follow the script. In his interview for '60 Minutes' before the release of his book, he called people 'kool-aid drinkers'. Now, I like some kool-aid, but I also know what he meant ... he was referencing the Guyana cult affair with Jim Jones.
Hopefully it isn't as bad as all that, but we are hardly a united group. I know of a few people who vote for Obama as if he is going to put rims on the White House limo and pimp the White House out ..! Que sera ...
Now that I am here at this point in my entry, I don't know WHICH of the two have had the more 'authentic' black experience, because some of the same flaws and faults are present in both of their stories ... they both overcame hardship and a difficult road to reach where they are now ... it would be cool if we could just embrace one another and accept each BLACK person for who he or she is, then move out into the open society (he says listening to 'Teen Spirit'!!) ... in fact, Stokely Carmichael said exactly that ...
... anyway, time for the book discussion ..!
4 comments:
I'm not Black ( no kidding *winks*) however I am what so many refer to as a halfbreed Native. I'm all too familiar with the terminology to stay with your own kind. I was even at one time advised to marry Indian in order to dilute the other half of my German blood...I've also been told to go back to the reservation. Funny I never lived on one to begin with (Thanks to a mother who protested her heritage)...
I'm proud of who I am, I just don't think I need to wear it like a cloak over everything I do and every choice I make. You should of heard the gasp when I dyed my hair a lighter color. I'm surprised people didn't outright faint when I cut my long hair into a short pixie....You have to step out of the box and say yes, this is my color. No I won't and can't follow the mold you have for me. At the end of the day it's not the color of your skin, but the choices you make like any other human being. (Hugs) Indigo
As always, you make some good points, and from a different perspective. I remember Mr. Thomas' confirmation hearings, and thought he handled himself as well as anyone under the circumstances. I think the theme of growing up poor and then making good, is a testament to one's character. There are so many, of all races, who would rather use growing up poor as an excuse as to why they continue to victimize themselves yet blame society for keeping them down.
xoxo ~Myra
so how did the book discussion go?
betty
Mark, hope your discussion went well, feel better ok, Hugs Lisa
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