Somebody Had To Say It

Did you see Bill Cosby on the Oprah show the other day? The show's title was Bill Cosby Calls Out Dirty Laundry. Cosby's been taking heat from people for years over a speech he gave in 2004. He was criticized for "airing the dirty laundry" of the Black community, namely:

According to Bill, the desperate situation of many minorities has resulted in some of these shocking statistics:

* At least a third of all homeless men are African-American.
* African-Americans make up 12 percent of the general population, but they account for almost half of the prison population.
* According to the U.S. Justice Department, 28 percent of black men born today will go to prison in their lifetimes.
* Black youth are six times more likely to die of homicide than white youth and seven times more likely to commit a homicide.
* Homicide is the leading cause of death among African-American males ages 15 to 29.


Frustrated by these numbers, Bill gave an unexpected, uncensored speech in 2004: "In the neighborhood that most of us grew up in, parenting is not going on," he said. "They're buying things for the kid—$500 sneakers. For what? They won't buy or spend $250 on Hooked on Phonics.

"It's not what they're doing to us. It's what we're not doing. … Brown vs. the Board of Education—these people who marched and were hit in the face with rocks and punched in the face to get an education, and we've got these knuckleheads walking around who don't want to learn English. I know you all know it, but I just want to get you as angry as you ought to be," he said.

Cosby recognizes that the people who call his comments "controversial" are upset because he spoke of these things publicly, instead of getting upset about the "dirty laundry" itself and doing something about it.


In a similar vein, Mychal Massie's commentary for Word Net Daily, "Beat whitey, get a reward," states:

Whites are not the enemy of blacks – the Jacksons and Sharptons, et al., along with a government that sanctions divisions based upon race, are the enemies of blacks. I will be soundly criticized for saying it, but until blacks start taking personal responsibility for themselves, their actions, their families and their neighborhoods, the last thing they should do is blame white people for anything – anything that is, save for being weak and unwilling to stand up for their own personal dignity.

Remember when Elvis Presley sang "In the Ghetto (The Vicious Circle)?" That song - well no, not the song, but the well meaning, but misguided sentiments behind it, were part of the problem.

As the snow flies
On a cold and gray Chicago mornin'
A poor little baby child is born
In the ghetto
And his mama cries
'cause if there's one thing that she don't need
it's another hungry mouth to feed
In the ghetto

[Because it's not her fault that she didn't know about birth control, and in fact had no idea that free birth control pills were available to her (back then, anyway)]

People, don't you understand
the child needs a helping hand
or he'll grow to be an angry young man some day
Take a look at you and me,
are we too blind to see,
do we simply turn our heads
and look the other way

[The "helping hand" was a handout in those days, and the handout rewarded single-parent households with lots of children, giving rise to the culture of entitlement]

Well the world turns
and a hungry little boy with a runny nose
plays in the street as the cold wind blows
In the ghetto

And his hunger burns
so he starts to roam the streets at night
and he learns how to steal
and he learns how to fight
In the ghetto

[Maybe if he'd had positive male role models, instead of drug dealers (not their fault) who fathered children indiscriminately (having never heard of birth control, either) and who never gave a thought to paying child support because that would take away the handouts to the single mothers, he might not have roamed the streets at night with criminals]

Then one night in desperation
a young man breaks away
He buys a gun, steals a car,
tries to run, but he don't get far
And his mama cries

[The gun (as well as cigarettes and booze) was bought with currency that somehow can't be used for groceries]

As a crowd gathers 'round an angry young man
face down on the street with a gun in his hand
In the ghetto

As her young man dies,
on a cold and gray Chicago mornin',
another little baby child is born
In the ghetto

[and so it goes]

I have no doubt that ghettos, or "projects" are vermin infested, crime ridden, filthy places to live. I also have no doubt that neither I nor any other whitey I know of went over there and urinated on the walls, left trash and rotting food in the hallways to attract rats and roaches, ripped out the copper tubing, stuffed the toilets with rags, punched holes in the walls, took doors off the hinges, stole the air conditioners, or broke out the windows, nor did we do all these things again every time repairs were made, until one day, no repairs were made at all, except by court order.

Somebody had to say it. I'm just sayin.

As Cosby pointed out, these problems don't pertain to all Blacks. There are many Blacks who embrace the concept of personal responsibility. It's encouraging that they're talking about it, even in the face of criticism.

The longer dirty laundry sits, the more it stinks. It's about time someone aired it. Cleaning it is the next step. It will take a lot of effort and courage to do it. The civil rights workers who labored so long and marched so bravely for dignity and the right to work and live the American dream know all about what it will take to make it happen.

It wouldn't surprise me if most of the liberal and moderate members of the blogosphere are experiencing PTSD* - I know I am!

Not only was the first Bush "election" stolen in a state where Bush's brother just happened to be the governor and the secretary of state his campaign manager, but the country elected him to a second term so as not to change horses in the middle of the war.

Finally we got a chance to be heard by an administration that ignored us, and last November we put the opposing party in control of Congress - in fact, Democrats were swept into office all over the country.

So what happened after November? Not much. The war still goes on. It is still funded. Neither have impeachment proceedings have been brought. Anyone who speaks out against the war and the administration is still labeled unpatriotic.

Just look at the losses our country has suffered since Bush came into office.

The tax cuts wiped out the surplus the Clinton administration left us. That was before 9/11, yet even today, people think we're in debt because of 9/11, not because of the administration's actions.

Just like even today, people still think Iraq had something to do with 9/11.

The Taliban is regaining its strength in Afghanistan, and al Qaeda now has a foothold in Iraq, a country in which it was not allowed to operate before we invaded. Osama bin Laden walks free.

The number of allied soldiers' death long ago surpassed those lost in the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and the field in Pennsylvania.

We don't even know the number of Iraqis who have died, but it is estimated in the hundreds of thousands.

Their country is trashed. Some areas get electricity maybe twice a day. Some areas don't even have potable water. We neglected our own infrastructure (Katrina, bridge collapse), and apparently intend to continue to ignore it because "no new taxes" has become a "patriotic" mantra. Now, we are spending billions to rebuild the Iraqi infrastructure (which we destroyed in the first place). But guess what? The money can't be accounted for! And the work that has been done is so shoddy it has to be torn down. Oh - and there were no bids on that work, either, because it just happened to go to cronies of the Vice President of the United States.

If this was the plot of a novel, no one would believe it.

Where was I? Oh yes, losses. Let's see, habeas corpus. Who would have imagined us losing that? From the time we entered grade school, were we not taught that one reason this country was founded was so that the state couldn't lock people up without charging them with a crime? And that when they were charged with a crime, they were guaranteed legal representation? And a fair trial?

And Bush goes on TV again the other night and tells us that the surge is working, and that the progress made in Iraq is satisfactory, when every independent report shows exactly the opposite.

And they're making noises now about Iran, when our military is stretched to the breaking point!

Does anyone even mention the recommendations made by the Hamilton-Baker Report anymore? Not one of them has been followed.

I'm not telling you anything you don't already know. We've all blogged our hearts out over this stuff.

I will still continue because I don't know what else to do (I mean, of course, besides vote and sign petitions and call and write my senators and congresspersons and otherwise protest.)

It's just that now I realize that I'm suffering from PTSD, and I suspect that I'm not the only one. I wake up in the morning thinking about the state of this country. Just today I was saying how glad I am that I don't have children who will have to live in this fascist state that America is becoming, then immediately I felt guilty for even thinking that. Shouldn't the futures of other people's children be just as important to me? And speaking of children, I remember the soldiers over there fighting right now - they are just babies! Eighteen, nineteen years old being subjected to horrors, and for what? For the religious delusions of madmen - Bush, Rove, Wolfowitz, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and bin Laden. I lose sleep, toss and turn, I tear up over the news. I dread what new blunder Bush will make next - bomb Iran? South America? How badly will he screw up next time he needs to respond to some event, like, say, when Castro dies? And what about his Islamic counterpart, bin Laden? Is another 9/11 coming our way? And will Bush use that to seize all powers to stay in office if it does? Yes, he can do that now.

I'm not sure how coherent this post is - I started out trying to write about PTSD, then got on another rant. My point was this: Is it just me, or aren't we all suffering emotionally now that this has gone on for so many years? How is it affecting the rest of you?

_____________________
*In no way do I mean to minimize the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder suffered by our soldiers returning from duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, because there is no comparison to what they're experiencing.

When dog (owners) go bad

We have a pack of vicious dogs roaming our 'hood. It's been on the news, in the papers, and is the subject of numerous neighborhood crime-watch emails. Our City Councilperson has intervened to ensure that the 911 operators give calls about the dogs in our area priority, and an Animal Control Officer has given us her cell phone number. They are blanketing the area with extra officers.

The pack is responsible for at least 20 cat deaths. They chased a neighbor who was riding a bicycle, causing her to run into one of them, fall off her bike, and fracture her pelvis. She was not attacked by the dogs afterward because a neighbor ran out to help.

One day soon, and I hope before a child is injured or killed, these dogs will be caught. And then, they will have to be put down. I know it has to be done, but I wish the dog owners could be euthanized with them.

You know I love dogs. I also believe that there is no such thing as a "bad" dog, only bad dog owners. We would not have the problem of vicious dogs if all of the dog owners in the area were responsible people with more than two working brain cells.

They don't spay and neuter their dogs, and they allow the animals to run loose. What happens when unspayed and unneutered dogs who are roaming the 'hood find each other? They breed. Duh. And they and their offspring form packs because they are pack animals. Duh. What do pack animals do? They hunt. Duh.

That's only part of the problem. In some parts of the 'hood, there are crack houses. The dimwits who run these places think it's cool to have pitbulls "protect" the premises. They will mistreat and tease these animals to make them act mean because it's, you know, more macho. (Newsflash: having a vicious-looking dog does not make your dick bigger, dumbass.)

These owners don't take their animals to the vet for rabies vaccinations, either. Rabies is still at epidemic levels in Texas - not so much from dogs, but skunks. But all it takes is for a stray dog to chase and be bitten by a rabid skunk. Fortunately, there aren't that many skunks in the City (of the four-legged variety, anyway.)

This situation just makes me sick. Headlines scream: Vicious dogs on the loose! as if it's the fault of the dogs. It is not. But it's the dogs who will have to be caught and killed, not the owners. It ain't right. I'm just sayin.

Attention Soccer Moms!

I saw a great comment by Lizzy to Tom Harper's post about the Army's new Chief of Staff wanting to increase the number of active duty soldiers by 65,000. She said, "... if you're under 50* and you voted for Bush - enlist."

Yes! Especially all you soccer moms out there driving around town in your SUVs with the "W'04" sticker on the back window, and the woman I recently saw in a black Lexus with the "I Support President George W. Bush" sticker on the bumper - get your butts down to the recruiting office and enlist! The President you support needs you. Yes, you! And any children you have aged 18 and over. Oh, and be sure to say hello to all the Bush and Cheney children while you're down there, okay?

* 42 is now the maximum age.

Rant Time #1

Whose fault is this?

Tens of thousands of Iraqis, plus over 3,000 American and Coalition troops have been killed, and thousands more injured.

The country is all but destroyed. Vast sums of U.S. money earmarked for rebuilding Iraq are missing. What construction has been done was shoddy. Many Iraqis are still to this day without basic utilities.

Four years after the invasion of Iraq, what began as a war between Coalition forces and Sadam Hussein's government has now become four wars, including one against al-Qaeda, which now has a base in Iraq.

This quagmire is likely to get much worse. The current Iraqi Army is ineffective. The time for a military solution is long past, and a political solution is highly unlikely. The fighting rages on. Just today, a suicide bomber drove a truck into a crowded marketplace, killing (as of this moment) at least 150 people, and injuring almost 400 more.

NONE of this would have happened had we not invaded Iraq, a sovereign country, that had nothing whatsoever to do with 9/11. We allowed an inept cowboy with a messianic complex take revenge on the man who "tried to kill my [Bush's] daddy." Even today, we allow this man to ignore the recommendations of the bipartisan study group and military advisors because not enough of us have held our Congressional representatives' feet to the fire to demand action. Instead, we are settling for an ineffective and nonbinding resolution, maybe, depending on whether or not it passes on Monday.

This is shameful. Shame on us all. I don't know how long it will take for Iraq to recover. I fear America never will.