Killing Me Softly with This Privilege.

"When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the 'unalienable Rights' of 'Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.' It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked 'insufficient funds.'

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice."

~Martin Luther King, Jr., "I Have a Dream"; delivered 28 August 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C.

And so we come, each day, to the Bank of Justice. In long lines we wait,while the Privileged enjoy the express lane, not because of the simplicity of their transaction, but the simplicity of our system that rewards those with advantage. We wait as transaction after transaction occurs, no matter how complicated, until it is our turn...

and the teller goes on break.

Justice deferred is justice denied.

We came to this bank on the dream of a reverend, believing that this institution was

not bankrupt because so many of our privileged brothers and sisters had cashed their checks and danced in their street with their new found prosperity...we could see it, so there was no way to deny it, and all we wanted was the same opportunity, the same prosperity, the same free toaster.

But that's the thing about having privilege, often you don't want to share it. Somehow you think it cheapens it if others, especially those "beneath" you get it; sharing it somehow means you're losing something, that it is pulling you down instead of bringing everyone up. And so instead of the institution being bankrupt, it is out to lunch, or on break or closing early, any workaround that allows for the same result with a different face.  The institution isn't bankrupt, just continually and consistently unavailable...

Justice deferred.

And like that, your privilege is secure.  No one will take it from you, they aren't allowed in the club.  You have your exclusive rights, your bottle service, but you still maintain everyone is equal, right?  You have not great advantage, just those bootstraps you pulled yourself up by that got you to this place, and if those people would only do the same, they too could enjoy the fruits their labors...but they're too lazy, or unfortunate, or in the wrong place...never mind that your bootstraps were attached to their back and that you pulled yourself up by pushing them down...

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain as weaves his narrative and orchestrates the system that builds each leverage, each advantage to separate from those "less than"...he finesses the real estate, maneuvers the wealth attainment and manipulates the law and legal system all to exclude those not considered worthy and advantage those thought to be, until the divide is so great that the impossible can happen.

And this, then, is where we've come to, this is what progress has gotten us, new ways to deny justice, to defer it, to override it, until a Black man, is killed because an officer was scared of Black men, and his irrational fear, his Negrophobia, if you will, wrapped itself around him like a straight jacket and he shot...

pop...pop...pop...pop...pop...pop...pop

and he killed...

cop...cop...cop...cop...cop...cop...cop

and he was acquitted.  

His forged check was cashed while Philando's had a hold put on it.

Justice DENIED.

A system of privilege built to withstand any assertion, any attack any belief that it exists, like alien abductions, widely criticized and dismissed, yet no one has an answer for why the cows keep disappearing...

And that, therein, is where we have to start, acknowledging the existence of the problem, the stranglehold it has on our county, the interlocking tendrils that have weaved themselves into the fabric of our systems and society until they're almost indistinguishable from the true tapestry that is America...

But how you ask?

There is a thread loose...

A thread with names written on it, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Walter Scott, Freddie Grey, Philando Castile, a testament, a memorial...

We have to grab that thread and pull it, pull it hard so that the fabrications and manipulations unravel to reveal the truth.  Truth that needs to be clear, apparent, have a light shone brightly on it: Privilege does exist and it is killing us.

Eliminating privilege means giving up the EXTRA rights, advantages and special perks afforded you because of that privilege. If one really believes that everyone deserves to be treated as an individual, equal and a human, the it is not only incumbent upon them to cast off the gilded ornaments of privilege, they should want to do so willingly and gladly. For the world to work right, we need to kill it, kill privilege.


It is time to lay it down and give it the slow, agonizing death it deserves and then to perform the last rites for the last vestiges.  

Only then can we be truly free. 

Only then can a Black man give up living in fear.

Amen 

The Most Important Reason Not To Vote For Donald Trump...He's Not Running For President

I have not written about this election.

I have not given the glowing recommendations I did eight years ago. I have not shouted from the mountaintops for one simple reason: I have never believed Donald Trump was actually running for President.

I haven't believed he was running for President and that Hillary Clinton was a foregone conclusion, and so my voice did not have a place it needed to be.

But as I have watched events unfold, and the clock ticks down, as I have watched the fever pitch rise and as miracles like the Cubbies winning

the World Series have transpired, I realize that the world is indeed upside down, we are in uncharted territory and I might need to weigh in.

I'm not expecting to change anyone's vote. If you're in one camp or the other, you're there to stay for whatever reason, and no eleventh hour appeal will change that. But maybe, just maybe, some of these words may resonate and help you to think about your choice and whether it makes as much sense as you think it does.

Now, let me get a few things out the way. First and foremost, vote your conscience. Regardless of who that is, whether it's Hillary, Donald, Gary, Jill or even Evan, it is your right to vote for who you want. I will not condemn anyone for voting for their candidate. If your candidate honestly reflects your values and priorities, if they are going to represent the interests you want to elevate, if you have honestly looked at your candidate and believe that they will do the best job and be the best President there is, then you should vote for that person, and NO ONE should criticize you for it.

But with great power, comes great responsibility...

Your vote is your choice. With that choice, that right to vote, comes the responsibility to vet the candidate you are casting a ballot for. If you feel your candidate's position on issues, their platforms and policies reflect your priorities and you believe they exemplify the characteristics of the best leader to represent us on the world stage, then you should cast your ballot appropriately. In order to be sincere about this, however, in order for your vote to be truly valid, you need to be aware of and have given thought to what those policies, platforms and positions really are. For if you cannot do that, if you have not taken an honest look the candidates' positions, and given a fair analysis, if you are voting for any candidate simply because of a sound bite, their gender, their ethnicity or any other singular characteristic, then you are betraying the very sacred trust that has been placed in your hands, the power to choose our leadership. The power to set the direction and care for our country. To not do that most basic of things is, in a word, un-American.

Because of that, in this installment, I want to talk honestly about Donald Trump, because so many of his followers are sounding the clarion call to flock to his banner, but have not done even the most basic of reviews to understand what his positions are. If you are supporting Donald and you can't explain why beyond he's going to "make America great again" then you haven't really looked at him and his positions. You need to, to understand what you're voting for. That's not a criticism, that's just responsible citizenship.

And if you feel you have honestly done this then I have to question the integrity of your analysis, because Donald Trump has no positions. He has no policies. He has no platforms. What he has are sound bites, teasers, tweets and fluff; not the airy rhetoric we talk about when referring to people's arguments that lack substance, but rather the marshmallow filling that comes in a jar, metaphorically at least,  because it's syrupy sweet, sticky and full of things you should not be ingesting...That's what Donald's campaign is, sugary temptation that attracts you in, looks so good and then gets everything messy.

But that is not the reason you shouldn't vote for Donald Trump.

Contrary to conventional wisdom and the "liberal rhetoric" Donald Trump is not Satan, he is not "the worst person ever" and he will not be the worst president ever...the reason being, and it's the only one real reason you should not vote for Donald Trump, and that is because he has never actually been running for President.

His name is on the ballot, he has been endorsed by the Republican Party, he has been all over the airwaves...all the things that give the look of a person running for President...and that is where the crux of the matter is, Donald Trump has never been running for President, he's been playing the ROLE of someone running for President. Trump has been ACTING like he's running for President...as a Bond, comic or soap opera villain.

Now before you turn away with some expletives and delete this link from your feed, just take a step back and rather than believe or dismiss what I'm saying, look up this information for yourself. Check and see if this doesn't ring true.

He said he'd build a wall and have Mexico pay for it, but has never said how he would compel another country to do this, what leverage he has, where the labor and materials will come from, in essence, how this will realistically get done. Can you imagine if the candidate for Prime Minister of Canada announced that they were going to build a wall along the Canadian border and have America pay for it? Think about our response. How likely do you think they would be able to compel us? How is it any different with Mexico?...It's not, but it sounds good.

He says he's going to bring jobs back to America by withdrawing us from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and renegotiating NAFTA and imposing trade tariffs on Mexico and China...but again without any explanation of HOW he will get the other countries to come to the table, to renegotiate towards the US' advantage agreements that they are okay with. Further, any one of these attempts would actually cost us more jobs, damage relations and piss off the people we owe money to. Yet they do fulfill the image of America as John Wayne, kicking ass and telling everyone how it will be...you know, bullying.

He says that everyone is going to be richer with tax cuts and untold wealth, but there are no solid details to his plans and even on a cursory level, the top 1% would receive more relief than the bottom 60% combined, maintaining, if not widening the level of disparity in this country.

And then you simply turn your eye to his business dealings, his "university", his television franchise...Are you getting my point, people? Is it beginning to sink in? You've been had! You've been took! You've been hoodwinked! Bamboozled! Led astray! Run amok! He's not an actual candidate, but he plays one on TV.

Donald Trump has tapped into your greatest fears and fantasies, made impossible promises with no substantiation, and simply denigrated the opposition in the most derogatory manner possible...and we laud him for this.

He has lowered our standards and made us worse as a country, as a people because of it. He has lied to you, those of you supporting him. He has betrayed your trust and taken advantage of your desperation...and if you are offended by that consider that you are supporting a man who consistently talks about getting it on with his daughter.

I have not taken the same level of offense at his comments as most people, because I know he is going for the shock value. He is Stefano DiMera, Lex Luthor, Auric Goldfinger, he is nothing more than a character in a television show, but he has lost himself in the part.  He has carried on so much that it is hard to tell where Trump the actor ends and Trump the person begins.  Perhaps there is no longer any difference and he has fully become who he plays on TV.

But on Tuesday, you will get to decide if that show gets cancelled.

I understand you're angry.

Your position in the world has shifted dramatically in the last few years. The American Dream that you were promised has not been fulfilled. The opportunity, the honest day's work for an honest day's pay, the family and home with the white picket fence are not within your grasp. You have grown up with the idea of that promissory note Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke of, a note from the "architects of our republic" guaranteeing the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. And you are experiencing what brought about the Civil Right movement, that that check has come back marked "insufficient funds".

And your anger is justified.

And I know as you look around, you see various cultures, ethnic groups, underrepresented people now being represented, getting resources, moving into your community and getting seemingly special treatment and affirmative action measures that you don't get. All of this attention is being paid to others, and I can imagine your heart is aching and you are thinking, "but what about me????"

But it is not brown people who caused this default. It is not LGBTQ folks who have failed to cover the debt owed. It is not Muslims or Mexicans or any other ethnic or religious group that have overdrawn the account. Once you look past the fear and the rhetoric to see the "man behind the curtain", you will see what has been the case all along, that the situation we find ourselves in has been caused by the same group that have always been the root cause in this country: rich White men with no moral compass...men like Donald Trump.

Look at every single major issue we've had that resulted in systemic poverty or distress and at the center, you will find these men, utilizing the resources unscrupulously, taking advantage of every loophole and opportunity, smiling while emptying your bank account and always telling you it is someone else that is doing it. Someone who doesn't look like you. Someone who is different from you. Someone who fits your fear or anger. Someone you don't have to be convinced to blame...Someone besides them.

How long will we allow ourselves to be gaslighted America?

You don't have to believe me. Simply do the research yourself. Take a look at the countless "deals"

and schemes that Donald Trump has been involved in and how it is never his fault. Look at the hypocrisy and the lies and the fervor in which he has thrown himself into this role, losing himself in the part. And so, as you head to the voting booth on Tuesday, stop and take a moment to consider what you're doing. Consider what you're actually casting your ballot for. Honestly look at the fact that approximately 91% of what he said have been lies and ask yourself what are you really voting for if everything you believe in about Trump, all the things that drew you to him and caused you to choose him are false, then what are you really supporting? Ask yourself what you will really get once the power has been turned over. Ask yourself if a TV villain is what you really want to cast your vote for.

It's time to wake up America.

Think about this carefully and Tuesday, make the right choice, you hold the future of this country in your hands.

You can do this.

I believe in you America.

How Does A Black Man Feel?

People have asked me all day how I'm feeling.

I have other Black male friends who are posting that they feel afraid, posting that they feel sad, posting that they feel fed up, posting that they feel angry...

and they ask me how I feel.

I feel like going on.

Every one of my friends' feelings are valid. The world is not the place that we were led to believe, that we were told would be when we grew up, that we were promised and that is disappointing, disheartening and depressing.

My friends who are afraid, have justifiable fear. In 2016 alone, Black men have been shot by police at a rate nearly 300% more than we are of the population. We take our lives into our hands every time we step out the door...But I'm not afraid. It's not because I'm braver or more courageous than my friends, it's that I'm just flat out sick of being afraid anymore...

My friends who are sad, have understandable sadness. How do you keep your spirits up knowing that the value of your life is not the same as those around you? How can you not be sad when your life expectancy is five years less than your White counterparts? Add in racial profiling, and the prospect of living to retirement age looks less likely. But I'm not sad, because I'm flat out tired of being sad...

My friends that are fed up have a right to be fed up. EVERY SINGLE TIME this issue is raised the deniers and detractors come out the woodwork to say wait for more data, and we don't know "all the facts"...then they want to parse the data to create new "facts" and it all becomes too much...but I'm not fed up anymore, I'm sick and tired of being fed up...

My friends that are angry, have many reasons to be angry. As Black men, our lives are constantly under scrutiny, attack, persecution and denial. We are not valued except as targets, excuses and a focal point for blame; ANYONE would be angry...but I'm not angry anymore, I'm sick and tired of being angry...

I'm sick and I'm tired. I'm sick and tired. But most of all, I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired.

We hold these truths to be self evident! That all men are created equal...yet we are killing and marginalizing one group at a rate tantamount to slow genocide all while denying it is happening...

(Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!)

Does someone not understand the definition of self? of evident? or is it equal?

We talk about how great America is or making America great again, but we fail to look at the gaping hole in our national psyche that is focused on the denigration and disposal of Black men. How are we to take that? How are we to reconcile the platitudes with the reality? How are we to take pride in a country that does not take pride in us? There is no greater conflict within me. How do I feel about my country, and how does my country feel about me?

And how do I feel? I feel like going on.

I feel this way because we are trapped in a loop of repetition, plying the same old excuses, the same old hollow words, and the same old outrage.

I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. It is time to stop. It is time to step off this merry-go-round. It is time to look at the man-in-the-mirror, America, and make a change.

We need an intervention.

We need to stop seeing Black men as threats and targets and recognize us as humans, as friends as brothers. We need to stop excusing the soft bigotry of the passive acceptance of systemic racism. We need to stop negating the very existence of us.

We need to change our laws, our system and our perspectives. We need to stand together and recognize the value of Black men and the value of Black lives. We need to affirm that they do, in fact, matter.

And we need to let nothing stand in our way.

It is right. It is Just. And Lord knows, it is time.

Amen.