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A friend of mine recently linked to this post on his Facebook page.
In short, Tim Wise asks the reader to imagine the Tea Party movement as one made up of African-Americans instead of Caucasians (who represent a majority by most accounts).
Imagine that hundreds of black protesters were to descend upon Washington DC and Northern Virginia, just a few miles from the Capitol and White House, armed with AK-47s, assorted handguns, and ammunition. And imagine that some of these protesters —the black protesters — spoke of the need for political revolution, and possibly even armed conflict in the event that laws they didn’t like were enforced by the government? Would these protester — these black protesters with guns — be seen as brave defenders of the Second Amendment, or would they be viewed by most whites as a danger to the republic? What if they were Arab-Americans? Because, after all, that’s what happened recently when white gun enthusiasts descended upon the nation’s capital, arms in hand, and verbally announced their readiness to make war on the country’s political leaders if the need arose.
It’s a powerful piece, and I’d wager most anyone reading it would reach a similar conclusion – even though we have an African-American President, this country is far from being a post-racial society. Whites are able to engage in activities that, all else remaining equal, non-whites cannot. Were they (non-whites) to do so, at the very least the reaction would be nothing short of polar opposite when compared to today’s Tea Party movement. For me, though, the article is not necessarily about today’s Tea Party. Instead, the author uses this current event to posit a much larger question.
To ask any of these questions is to answer them. Protest is only seen as fundamentally American when those who have long had the luxury of seeing themselves as prototypically American engage in it. When the dangerous and dark “other” does so, however, it isn’t viewed as normal or natural, let alone patriotic.
Again, powerful stuff… Take a few moments to check it out.
I started this blog a while ago. Obviously, it’s been a hit and miss venture. Yesterday, in an effort to overcome this recent (and bold, given my history) claim, I wrote out a post about Earth Day in which I (a) derided the author of an article I disagreed with, and (b) questioned in an arguably disingenuous way how anyone could be anti-The Earth. I even drew up a comic to go with the post.
Then, less than five minutes after hitting “Publish,” I deleted it.
Truth be told, I’m finding less and less value reading blogs and opinion pieces following that formula. Moreover, I don’t see what possible value my cynical sniping adds to… anything, really. So I pulled it, deciding instead to focus the purpose of this space on something different. That’s not to say I won’t post opinions in which I disagree with others (or yourself!), nor am I pledging to limit discussions to rainbows, unicorns, and / or ponies. What I am pledging to do is take a more introspective look and post items related to my life, experience, and observation. Oh, and comics, too.
To put it simply, there are hundreds thousands millions loads of blogs where you can read witty criticisms from half-quoted articles specifically chosen because the blogger trolled for material. I’m not knocking the business, I’m just choosing a different path. On that note, I hope you’ll stick around and see where this leads.
Thanks,
The Management
If by “at it again” I mean “losing time and market share to Apple.”
Anyone with a pulse knows Apple recently released the iPad. And, for all the hoopla, it’s a decent enough foray into the tablet market… But it’s not this (watch the video).
Certainly, the Courier looks to be an excellent machine – one that would likely compete nicely (assuming a relatively equal price point) with the iPad. But what’s the old saying? A bird in hand is worth two in the bush, and that’s where consumers find themselves today. Buy an iPad now, or wait… apparently until 2011 for the Courier.
The first details on Microsoft’s supposedly secret Courier project emerged last year, and its design for a folding, dual-screen tablet has drawn a great deal of attention. But this device has apparently been sent back to the drawing board.
Wah wah… While Courier is reworked, consumers are left with the iPad and Apple has a full year (at least) to modify and improve the device. By 2011, iPad 2.0 will compete with Courier 1.0. And, if the iPod / Zune battle is any indication, we already know how that will end.
3-0 over West Ham at Anfield is an expected result, in as much as Liverpool can expect anything these days. With Torres out for the rest of the season, who knows how many more victories we’ll enjoy. But for now, enjoy the three points.
…Fool me… You can’t get fooled again.
Hopefully not, anyway. So it’s been a while. Since August, in fact. I know many of you have been breathlesly checking back daily, certain your RSS readers were simply broken because there is no way he could have not posted anything since August, right?
Sadly, that’s correct.
I’ve taken spells off before, and vowed too be a more regular poster after the break. But this time I mean it. In the words of this guy, “I’m back, baby, I’m back!”
See you in a bit… and looking forward to it.
