The Present State Of Negro Patriotism
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September 25, 2001
By JA Tolbert Jr. TheDigitalDrum
Call me unpatriotic; label me irresponsible; consider me disrespectful; accuse me of ungratefulness; talk of my arrogance; malign me as evil; and Lord knows, brand me a communist, but spare me the token flag waving, the specious calls for American unity, and the temporary prayer vigils that only occur in emergencies. Yes, we must remember and honor the dead, but now is not the time for the living that remain may not last long themselves. If we pause to cry now, it will obstruct the view of outright fascism coming straight at us.
The signs are everywhere. People who look Arab are being threatened, some killed; dim-witted government officials are calling for a 'war' that they will surely shield their children from serving in; media people are outright cheerleading the dim-witted officials; a US congresswoman's life has been threatened because she voted for peace; and even some of us have gone completely insane, commenting that we are willing to accept less civil rights if it means that White people will protect us! Have we completely lost what is reputed to be left of our miscegenated minds?
Even the day before this tragedy, I heard many of my middle-class negro friends, still sore over the election; refer to George W. Bush as the 'Commander and Thief.' They belittled his intelligence and mocked his use of the English language. Now they proudly refer to George W. as "my president," "our president." If he is a thief and an idiot, then why do my Negro friends entrust him with any serious matters, especially those involving the use of their children and grandchildren as soldiers.
I have middle-class negro friends who dress up 'Buffalo Soldiers' and proudly tell of the loyalty and exploits of their ancestors who have fought in every undeclared and declared conflict this country has been involved in. They then grow despondent, sometimes bitter about loyalty paid back as "three fifths" of a man; duty reimbursed in the "Black codes;" honor made trivial by lynch law; justice stagnated by Jim Crow; and human dignity stained by a weak Civil Rights Act of 1964. Today, the government attempts to destroy affirmative action and will not even discuss reparations even though it is guaranteed they will rebuild Afghanistan just like they rebuilt Germany and Japan.
I guess many of my middle-class negro friends missed major news headlines years ago detailing a major university study finding that a majority of White Americans believed Africans in America to be less intelligent, lazy, and unpatriotic. It didn't matter if you were from the burbs or the projects; you were still lazy and shiftless-you are not to be trusted.
It is pathetic watching my middle-class Negro friends continue to playing 21st century 'step-and-fetch its' to disprove what has been perpetually locked in the minds of a majority of White Americans. What is more disturbing is that they are willing to risk their children to fight a shadowy enemy thousands of miles away, but lack the courage to organize and fight the visible enemies of their communities (drug dealing, inferior education, sell-out politicians, to name a few). If we, as a people are entitled to any reparations, it is definitely for compensation for brainwashing.
JA Tolbert Jr is the editor of newsletter
Copyright © 2001 The Black World Today.
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