Racial Divide

Dean and Bush have made statements that conceivably can be deemed racially inappropriate.

Dean's statement:

During a meeting Friday with the Democratic black caucus, Dean praised black Democrats for their work for the party, then questioned Republicans' ability to rally support from minorities.

"You think the Republican National Committee could get this many people of color in a single room?," Dean asked to laughter. "Only if they had the hotel staff in here."

Bush's comment:

At a White House conference on Social Security in January, Bush said, "African-American males die sooner than other males do, which means the system is inherently unfair to a certain group of people. That needs to be fixed."


These same statements though rooted in truth are not, when dissected and looked at with an objective eye, factual. The Republican Party is notorious for not having many Black members since The Reconstruction as many Blacks since that era have chosen to be members of The Democratic Party thinking the party is more suitable to their needs. The Mayor of New York City, when giving his State of The City address, talked of tax breaks given to corporations who build hotels in NYC and justified the institution of such breaks as it provided "marginal" jobs to "marginal" workers. Bloomberg is a Democratic turned Republican and speaks the language of someone of priviledge who sees those in the service industry as marginal. Marginal often translates into menial and often translates further into minorities - people of color. This is the same type of language Dean was spouting in trying to make a joke. Hotel workers, in the language that he spoke, are minority and could not be a part of the Republican Party. The joke did and has not gone over well.

Then we have Bush who stated that Black men because they die sooner than other males will benefit from the privatization of Social Security. Bush and his people crunched the numbers incorrectly on Blacks to bolster this argument. Black men who reach the age of 65 have a death rate similar to other male groups between the ages of 65 to 90 years of age. In addition the only disparity that happens with Black males in death rates to other male groups happens at the time of birth and in adolescence. These specific death rates can be attributed to 80 percent of the difference in life expectancy between Black males and other groups of males. These black males are babies and teenagers, not old timers. So Bush's theory that Blacks will benefit from the privatization of Social Security per high death rates when these men are of an age to receive these benefits is blatantly incorrect and has no relevance. The 20 percent of the negative disparity in rates for deaths of Black men to other groups of men that is factual and thus, concerning, may leave behind family members who will benefit from Social Security funds to which they are entitled as a result of these deaths. For family members of Black men who die in adulthood to benefit from the accrual of these men's Social Security also discredits Bush's theory on why Social Security should be privatized. The benefits can still be utilized after the death of Black men who are of retirement age by family members.

The statements of Bush and Dean have caused many to re-examine the racial divide these two have flaunted to bolster their incorrect arguments.

Brother Malcolm

Today is the 40th Anniversary of your passing and many still miss you. The presence of such a man is still needed and the essence of your message of self love and the understanding of why one has self hate and hates those who look similar, is still being studied so many years later after the messenger has turned to dust.

Such is the legendary Malcolm X. The hero to many, a man who shortly before his passing came to an understanding that any one can be equal and open no matter what their color. The understanding that one can have enemies the same color as they, and friends who are not of the same color. The messenger, Malcolm, put forth the words that we must be open to all who are for right.

RIP Brother Malcom, and and his dearly departed wife, Sister Betty. Your message lives on.

Man on train

Of late there are quite a few homeless people riding the trains of NY and some are more aggressive than usual. One night when coming home from work, seeing the same people I have seen night after night who inevitably were also drudging home from a long day at work, we encountered a homeless man who stormed onto the crowded train and said expletively that if anyone of us got in his way he would kill all of us on the car. He literally jumped on the train as soon as the doors opened and screamed at the top of his lungs this threat and the mood of exhaustion shifted into one of righteous indignation and pugilism among its riders. Suffice to say this guy picked the wrong train in which to act crazy and murderous because most of us on the train started putting away whatever reading material we had to get our hands free, looked at each other, and with that eye contact between us, the message was communicated that this guy would get jumped and stomped on at the first hint of him acting out the aggressive moves he proclaimed he would make. The mood on the train became especially electric, especially silent.

The homeless guy, while certifiable crazy when he initially got on the train in his declaring and ranting of his murderous intent, suddenly became aware he was about to get hurt for such declarations upon gauging the swift changing of the mood of the train that read clearly to all who felt it. Everyone else on the car of that train was also made aware that this homeless guy would not make it a step further were he to act in any way aggressive. Suddenly this homeless guy acted appropriately, and in moving through the crowded train to get to the next car of the train to undoubtedly escape the glares of his fellow riders, he repeatedly said, "excuse me, excuse me," to all who were standing per the seats all being occupied, all of whom turned to face him as he passed, daring him with eyes full of the same aggressiveness he had when he entered screaming his intent to hurt people.

I have never been a part of a mob before that day, but that fateful day on that train, I appreciated the fact that I was, as it, my mob, quelled the ability of one person to scare people into a state of hopelessness on a train ride home. Life is perilous enough without a strange someone adding to that element.

The Journey

A documentary, The Origins of AIDS, appeared recently on The Sundance Channel. This documentary theorized about the the origin of the AIDS Virus. The telling of this story, based on the book The River that theorizes how this deadly disease could have started, is complex. In the 1950's polio vaccinations that were made from Chimp cultures instead of the standardized practice of utilizing Rhesus monkey cultures were given to people living in The Congo. This was a mass inoculation utilizing an experimental vaccine. The straying from standard practice in the composition of these vaccinations and the administrating of such to the people of The Congo is theorized to have been the origin of HIV and AIDS as the population of this area of Africa is where persons who had the first cases of AIDS resided. The intentions of administrating polio vaccines was upstanding, but it is further theorized that there has been, for quite sometime, the simian type of AIDS present in some chimpanzees and that this disease, if the chimpanzees' kidneys were used in the composing of the polio vaccines, facilitated the leap from Simian AIDS to Human AIDS when administered to humans.

We know have news that a man become ill with HIV and in less than two months from the time of his initial infection he has now developed AIDS. It is believed his strain of HIV was able to flourish into AIDS abnormally quickly because of susceptibility to the disease, which is a phenomenon in and of itself, and because he has a resistant strain that is not diminished by the usual cocktail of HIV treatment drugs. These two phenomenon may cause a new era of HIV/AIDS.

The beginning of HIV/AIDS cannot be determined concretely. Many theories abound as to how and where and why this dreaded disease came about. What is certain is that it is here, the journey through this maze we call HIV/AIDS has been treacherous, and this new strain that is the toughest we have seen, has presented itself. Theories aside, whether this was an act of inoculation that went wrong, or some other sort of conspiracy to wipe out the groups most affected - Africans and other people of color - this disease is not yet on its last legs, and as such all efforts should be put into getting rid of the dreaded disease.

Good Reverend Doctor

A great soldier has passed and left behind a legacy that will be difficult for any to replicate in its purity and righteousness. He was a friend to many icons, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., with whom he shared the conviction that much was not right with the world and went about doing the work, often along side these friends, of change. I speak of the great Ossie.Davis, an actor and an activist. His passing makes many re-visit his many accomplishments. He was the man who, along with his equally impressive wife Ruby.Dee, continuously put out screen works that spoke of the needs of common people and often marched in civil disobedience protests to tell all who would listen of the subsisting and current civil injustices. He was also an actor who shined in his roles on stage, and was a family man who set up a stable life that was not brought any negative attention.

Ossie Davis has left us and will be sent home soon in rousing ceremonies at Abyssinian Baptist Church and Riverside Church located in New York City. The services are open to the public, and undoubtedly are so per the wishes of Davis as he is a man of the people. He is a man that fought the good fight for people, common people. He and his family have seen fit to share with the public the last moments of his essence on this earth.

RIP, Good Reverend Doctor. You will be missed.

Burden

Is it right for anyone to judge another of the choices they have made in their lives? I often have had people comment on my life in the most intrusive and rude ways, and have had to step back and assess the inappropriateness of their comments. Often I let the comments go as I know they come from a projection on to me of the negativity the person is feeling about themselves.

Recently at my job I was in an area of the office that is cut off from others doing a task alone and a colleague stepped into the area and commented that I looked tired. I looked at him and shrugged my shoulders and said that I wasn't, all the while thinking the comment was a little forward. He then started a spiel on his knowledge of my having three children and the burden that he was sure was unwanted by me because of them, and his assuredness that I would become pregnant soon again as "girls" that he knows personally who "are like you, who have kids, keep popping them out." Needless to say he was pulled into an office with myself, and my manager who was there for the sole purpose to witness what I would say to him. I thought it paramount to state the obvious that my children bring me purpose for being, and for someone to state the opposite and for that statement to come from someone who doesn't even know their names is totally inappropriate to be said in any setting, let alone an office. This person is someone that I am not close with nor rarely initiate a conversation about anything, let alone anything personal. He is known as socially inept office wide. One woman in the office has told him not to speak to her per rude comments he made about her body. Others have literally told him to shut up because he talked to much. He then has stopped talking to them altogether to which they cheer with gratitude.

I was told during this meeting that I am quiet. He said, "You're always so quiet." I was stunned by the comment and stated that had nothing to do with the conversation but since he mentioned it I could only think that there was a hidden meaning behind the statement, and that was that he was surprised I was voicing my opposition to the rudeness he displayed, and doing so in such a verbally aggressive manner. He was surprised that I stated I knew he would never say rude things to me outside of the office because he knew verbal fusillade would come his way possibly followed by a chair directed at his head. And in knowing this he uses the safety of an office to spew nasty comments knowing people will be professional and not react inappropriately. Such is the case with myself, and so he was warned that should such comments every happen again he is being given fair warning that he will be in human resources and will be reported officially for harassment. I then asked him did he still think I was quiet.

I am tired of being judged in a negative manner on the one thing that brings consistent light to my life. That anyone would think children are a burden to me dramatically tells that they do not know me and are judging me from stereotypical fallacies.