Some topics are just too ridiculous for me to even address directly. That's why it's good to know that a man like Jon Stewart is around to take on this type of tom foolery and the buffoons who endorse it.
"I don't want a nigger as my President!" is a statement that is less disingenuous and less stupid than "He's not a native born American citizen so he is not legally the President of the United States!" Just saying...
What does it mean to be black? Recently, the fellow UBJ sought to stir discussion on this very question on his blog. My response to this question was that black was not a color but a state of mind (or rather a state of being) that people of my “race” are constantly in (especially in America). I believe Dubois called it the double consciousness. This state of mind is a result of how one views himself combined with how others viewed him in a mixture which can seem like a poisonous tonic at times.
I have found that in America, how one is viewed tends to hold more weight than how that person views himself. This is especially true when we are talking about how those in the dominant culture are wont to classify those in the minority culture. A prime example of this is racial profiling perpetrated by the police against the black man. If you are ever wondering about your racial make up just run afoul of some cops with racist tendencies. You’ll be sure to find out definitively.
Case in point: This article shows that yet again in this “post-racial” America, it is the police that will let you know if you’re black or not. No matter what level of education and notoriety you have, if you are a black man in a well to do neighborhood or in a well to do car (or in both), you are likely to get harassed by authorities because you fit “the description”. If Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. can be seen and treated like a potential threat, Pookie from across the way has NO CHANCE!
This part really got me…
Friends of Gates said he was already in his home when police arrived. He showed his driver’s license and Harvard identification card, but was handcuffed and taken into police custody for several hours last Thursday, they said.
Maybe next time he’ll have a card showing his DNA admixture results, which detail that he actually has more European admixture than African admixture. I’m sure that will clear up any confusion. Pffffft
...And the fires it produced all over Iran (both politically and literally) will be difficult to put out for quite sometime.
Friday, June 19: Ayatollah Khamenei put his legitimacy on the line; by calling for an end to the wide spread protests in Iran, warning that failure to obey this order would result in dire consequences.
Saturday, June 20: The People of Iran called the "supreme" leader's bluff and the rest, as they say, is history (or soon will be). As I am typing this, the protests are still going on despite the government crackdown, the violence, and the deaths.
Things went the way of Tiananmen Square (as I new it would), but this is not the end. These protests (with all the violence involved) could be the seeds of a second Iranian Revolution 30 years after the first.
There are many images and videos being shared via social networking sites such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter (who says that it's just a stupid fad?!?), but one in particular that I want to leave with you is this...
*Disclaimer: This video is graphic and may be inappropriate for some viewers*
Her Name Was Neda (means "Voice" or "Call" in Farsi)!
She is quickly becoming to the movement in Iran, what Rosa Parks was for the Civil Right's Movement (perhaps it is even greater than that)! Her death is proof that all this unrest was never about the movemnent...it is about the people moving!
Days leading up to the presidential elections were held in Iran...
...and after the elections, with Ahmadinejad (apparently) winning with about 62% of the vote...
This election was supposed to be about change (mirroring the recent historic national elections held in one of Iran's great enemies. The result, however were just as I feared, more of the same. If reports ring true then many an Iranian feels cheated and dejected while many more (perhaps) feel outraged. This I assume, is not the same that many in America had when Bush won his second term defeating Kerry. Nor do I believe it is the same feeling that many of us would have felt if McCain had one the 2008 election. No, we would probably get close to the disillusionment with our government that I am sure quite a few Iranians feel, If Obama had ran his 2008 campaign against Bush in 2004, and lost by a wide margin. That's the level of funk that I believe many citizens of Iran are feeling right now, which is why many took to the streets protesting the elections as a sham. Perhaps I am overstating the popularity of opposition, but it does seem like many feel that they were wronged and the the elections were a complete sham.
This is akin to the Iranian people (especially moderates and women) having their dreams (of change and progress of course), perhaps not crushed, but definitely deferred. In light of that, I find myself echoing the query of the late poet Langston Hughes. What happens to a dream deferred? Will the hopes and aspirations of the people wither and day, leaving them to withdraw back to apathy and complacency…or will they explode?
Tehran is burning my friends (in more ways than one). I wonder if the Ayatollah is well versed in playing the fiddle (just saying…).
In my opinion, this speech is a good first step in establishing a real dialogue between the Middle East (particularly the Muslims in that region) and the West. It is not a world changing speech in the sense that it will automatically make all Muslims love the US and her policies (but then, it was never meant to be). I saw it as an overt effort on the part of the Obama administration to not only speak to (as opposed to speak at) to Muslims in the Middle East and around the world, but to do so in an even handed and honest way. In that respect I believe that Obama succeeded in his speech.
This success is made clear in my mind, by the response that he's gotten from those representing the extremist thoughts in the Muslim spheres, the American political spheres, and Jewish spheres. the outrage that they express in response to certain parts of Obama's speech drives home the fact that he had praise and rebuke for everyone in his address.
Here's an example from some of the more extreme (if not drunkenly stupid) responses to Obama's speech to the Muslim world.
This day is for all those who perform(ed) the role of an American Soldier. Those who give up something much more profound than just the security their lives, limbs, or sanity to work in a military capacity in service of this nation. That is to say that every soldier gives up who they once were in order to be better able to cope with working with each other under combat situations (those that are possibilities and those that are currently realities). To give that up and then to willing risk life and limb your country is epitome of bravery and service.
So for those veterans who served and serve in our military, those who were injured either/both physically and emotionally, those who gave their lives, and all who gave themselves for our country...I Remember (and will continue to do so)!
