Thursday, August 18, 2005
Why Do Black People Dislike White Liberals?
Recently we have an illustration of why.About 85% or more of African-Americans have been voting for the Democratic Party lately, which is an outstanding percentage from any demographic group for a political party. This includes many socially-conservative African Americans who have voted against their interests to support Democrats.
Surely, socially-conservative African-Americans agreed with Republicans more on some things, but they didn't like the Republicans - because of how they acted out on issues of race. Even when some black people agreed with Republicans on certain economic or social issues, holding their noses couldn't keep out the stench of the Southern Strategy and its derivatives.
As African-Americans find more reasons to dislike white liberals, it's not a stretch to imagine leakage to the Republican Party, which is toning down its negative rhetoric towards race (and is even whispering sweet nothings and offering gifts).
The Republican Party doesn't want or need a majority of African-Americans right now to win. All it needs is another 20% of the black electorate to subordinate progressive/Democratic dreams for your lifetime.
If you are a white liberal, you can thank PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) for underminding your progressive cause. Their ad campaign that graphically compares the plight of animals to the slavery and lynching of black people adds salt to a wound. It validates an existing impression that white liberals must always have it their way, and will neglect and dimiss the voices of people of color. Are we only instruments to be used in your own pet projects?
PETA has "suspended" their slavery exhibit campaign. They should cancel it and apologize. If the coalition between African-Americans and white liberals is to be maintained, all of us need to ask what is wrong with so many progressive groups and movements that they can't relate to thier natural allies - Black people - on the common ground that we share.
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Very good points.
Black people are not a "cause" to be taken up on the weekends.
This is life, this is real life. Africans in America have been fighting for survival for 400 years, compared to the past 40 years of legal "protection".
For anyone seeking get a better understanding:
listen "Can't Truss It" by Public Enemy
read "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" as told to Alex Haley
watch "Bamboozled" by Spike Lee
Please feel free to join the AAFD listserv for discussion, or post comments of your own.
Excellent post Q, I was thinking about going there but you handled it much more tactfully than I would have.
PETA is waaaay more embarrassing to me than Michael Moore any day of the week.
Gee... I think I'll pass on the penny stocks and timber industry (though I am stocking up on wood for the winter).
PETA are not liberals. They are wackos. As a white liberal I claim absolutely no ownership or relationship to those people. When folks talk about the radical fringe PETA comes to mind. They are the perfect example of people that pick up a good cause and then go jumping off a cliff with it.
I like the bread though.
However... PETA ain't the point is it?
It is all about separation. Most white folks and this includes most white liberals, don't know the African-American community. They don't understand the problems and the realities. They might have abstract book learning but they don't have experiencial knowledge. As real as it is... it's not really real.
I don't care how educated and intelligent you are... You don't learn in an abstract way the things you come to understand when you walk down a street in a ghetto and see 8 or 9 year old boys carrying big sticks in order to protect their Momma's as they carry the groceries home. You have no way of understanding the real difference between black and white until you see one of your black peers getting smacked around and hauled off in handcuffs for doing the same thing you just did only you are standing there watching and they are bleeding and going to jail. You can't teach that. It has to be lived in order to be understood.
This is not a failure of white folks. Most of us simply do not have that life experience to draw upon. It remains abstract.
Until we break down the barriers between white culture and black culture, white community and black community, until we have common experience, it will remain that way.
The civil rights movement of our parents generation was a huge success in many ways. It is a job that remains unfinished but black americans have begun the process of infiltrating white america. I think it will remain a slow process from here on out but as huge as the poverty gap is, more black americans are in the middle class, the educated class, and increasingly the power holding class. This must continue. These are superb powers of example for everyone.
At the same time the incredibly racist policies that destroy so many African American families must be curbed and eliminated thus opening the door for more people and stopping some of that bleeding.
There is no silver bullet. Stupid twits like PETA need to be smacked upside the head. Racist policies need to be called racist and discriminatory without hesitation and it needs to be done relentlessly. Advancement needs to continue but it is going to be slow going. I don't think there are great leaps to be made... except to get more Obama's into the Senate, the board rooms, Governor's mansions, etc.
The one (only) positive thing the bushies have done, even for their cynical purposes, is that they have indeed broken down racial barriers with Powell, Rice, and Gonzales. As horrible as Rice and Gonzles are, and as disappointing as Powell ended up being, they still broke barriers and made it acceptable for African and Hispanic Americans to be in the highest offices of government.
There is no silver bullet. It will have to be slow, relentless going to break down the barriers and more and more of us on both sides need to reach out and widen our circle of friends in order to have experiential knowledge of each other.
Why is homosexuality so much more acceptable in the younger generations then the older? Because most all of us have grown up with known (out) homosexuals. It is part of our experience. It wasn't part of the previous generations experience. As horrible as the backlash is, the cat's out of the bag, the plugs out of the bottle... and it can't be put back in. Not in the case of homosexuality, not in the case of women's rights, not in the case of civil rights. We will win this thing. It's just going to take time and relentless effort... and we need to break down our own community barriers so that we begin to talk about our issues and our problems and not separate ones.
I am glad to see you putting your liberal brethen in check over this obviously obsurd publicity stunt.
But this is just one more example of how liberals have misused the history and cultural icons of our people to further causes that have nothing to do with Blacks. All the time doing nothing to address the issues impacting our communities.
(See my recent post at www.craigdeluz.com on the subject.)
Republican's record may be bad on racial issues. But liberals are catching up quick!
We are all waiting for black Republicans to put their conservative extremists in check...
If you won't, you are selling out.
Regardless of what party you belong to, a thinking black person will know how to agitate and challenge within their party, when white people won't listen or are moving too slowly.
You can find this independece in the rank and file of black people of the Democratic Party. But Republicans? We are waiting....
Black Republicans, if you are not simple mouthpieces who let white conservatives do your thinking for you, demonstrate it. We are waiting...
As long as you keep getting your news from Air America, the LA Times and CNN you never will hear Black GOPers puttin it down. These liberal propoganda outlets know that if they ever showed us in a good light, blacks would see the Republican party as the true option that it is.
But as for vocal black Democrats, I haven't heard one peep from your boys on Robert Byrd, Ralph Nader or Christopher Dodd's comments over the last year or so. How about Air America puttin an entire station of Black raido talent on the street? Or taking almost a million dollars from a bronx boys & girls club? Where are Jessie and Al?
Oh I forgot, they got paid off these deals. So much for independent voices.
Son, I read everything including The Moonie Times and RedState and FreeRepublic, and all that I see from Black Republicans is a bunch of step-n-fetch-it "Yassir, us sick boss!" House Niggas - skinnin' and grinnin', doing what you're told, parroting the message of the day. The truth is that White Republicans are no different - that's just how the GOP rolls - but don't even try to act like Black Republicans might in any way dare to publicly disagree with the GOP leadership. House Niggas just don't get down like that.
You'd do well to remember the story of Willie Lynch - our loyalty must be to our people over partisan politicking. Divided we are already conquered - House Niggas and Field Hands - but when you come to realize that a nigga who owns a Lexis dealership is still a nigga in this country then the niggas in the field and the niggas in the Big House can start working both sides for the betterment of all niggas.
Or you can just do for self.
The choice is yours.
Just out of curiosity, why is the Republican Party "the light?"
And I've already checked out "The New Underground Railroad"- title biting aside, it appears to be a propoganda forum for the GOP.
How is the GOP addressing the needs of our communities? I'm really interested know. As someone who signed up with the College Repubs in college, I personally don't see much for Black folk besides tokenism- and I'm speaking from personal experience.
We get down and dirty on the Dems here at the Underground Railroad- can you handle gettin' down and dirty on the GOP?
I'm callin' you out- where you at?
And not for nothin'- please don't disrepect N.W.A. as with your last post. It shows a lack of hip hop knowledge.
Oh yeah, and notice how our links have a range of perspectives- left, right, and middle.
We don't ride party jocks around here, can you same the same?
Holla back