OK. For all intents and purposes, all roads are currently leading to recession in these great United States, right? Which means that people should be spending less and trying to maintain the money they have... At least that is my understanding.
So, if this is the case, then why is there an article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about people lining up to get a pair of $230 Air Jordans??
- that some other person will buy off of Ebay at twice the price or more?
"There's a sucker born every minute!"
- P.T. Barnum
Friday, January 25, 2008
Crabs in a Barrel
Tonight's music for thought is John Coltrane's rendition of "My Favorite Things"...
I just read a very disturbing paragraph in an editorial column in the NY Daily News regarding how racial comments from supporters of Hillary Clinton seem to be flying about like bats in a belfry. I was already aware of the smart-ass comment from Bob Johnson, founder of Black Embarrassment Television, but I was made aware of a comment from Andrew Young, former Mayor of Atlanta and one of Martin Luther King Jr.'s cohorts:
Ex-Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young threw out a crude racist gag line on live television, quipping that ex-President Bill Clinton "is every bit as black as Barack. He's probably gone with more black women than Barack."
Errol Louis, NY Daily News
This, I would have to say, broke my heart the most. I can't possibly imagine how Andrew Young could even form his mouth to say these words. Of course, I know that the possibility of political gain was how he could, but in a time where a black man actually has a valid run for the most powerful position in the United States, why would another black man want to try to belittle that fact? I attribute it to the Crabs in a Barrel mentality, where one will push others of their own kind to the bottom in order to get themselves to the top, when the truth is that they all are trying to attain the same goal.
It is really sad that, even in 2008, we as black people seem to have learned so little and forgotten so much. We have forgotten how much power there is in sticking together, how fulfilling it can be to help each other, and how easy it is to be good to one another. We have become very separated from each other and even more competitive against each other. We hate on those of us that succeed, and revel when those same ones fail. And the flip side of the same coin is that those of us who do succeed tend to forget those that have not, and they curse those same ones who did not catch them on their fall from glory. But you can't have it both ways.
I am hoping that I live long enough to see not just a black president, but the reunification of the black race. A rebirth of times when you could give a pound to any brother walking down the street and get one back with the same amount of love in it. An ascension to where those who have made it are more than willing to assist those on their way up, and those on the receiving end of the assistance can accept it gracefully without resentment at the fact that they aren't there yet. And a feeling of triumph when I can roam from Bankhead Courts to Queensbridge Houses at any hour without preconceptions, because I know I am among my kind. We came really close to that when we came together in support of the Jena 6... here's to hoping that the ball will keep on rolling, and get bigger along the way.
I just read a very disturbing paragraph in an editorial column in the NY Daily News regarding how racial comments from supporters of Hillary Clinton seem to be flying about like bats in a belfry. I was already aware of the smart-ass comment from Bob Johnson, founder of Black Embarrassment Television, but I was made aware of a comment from Andrew Young, former Mayor of Atlanta and one of Martin Luther King Jr.'s cohorts:
Ex-Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young threw out a crude racist gag line on live television, quipping that ex-President Bill Clinton "is every bit as black as Barack. He's probably gone with more black women than Barack."
Errol Louis, NY Daily News
This, I would have to say, broke my heart the most. I can't possibly imagine how Andrew Young could even form his mouth to say these words. Of course, I know that the possibility of political gain was how he could, but in a time where a black man actually has a valid run for the most powerful position in the United States, why would another black man want to try to belittle that fact? I attribute it to the Crabs in a Barrel mentality, where one will push others of their own kind to the bottom in order to get themselves to the top, when the truth is that they all are trying to attain the same goal.
It is really sad that, even in 2008, we as black people seem to have learned so little and forgotten so much. We have forgotten how much power there is in sticking together, how fulfilling it can be to help each other, and how easy it is to be good to one another. We have become very separated from each other and even more competitive against each other. We hate on those of us that succeed, and revel when those same ones fail. And the flip side of the same coin is that those of us who do succeed tend to forget those that have not, and they curse those same ones who did not catch them on their fall from glory. But you can't have it both ways.
I am hoping that I live long enough to see not just a black president, but the reunification of the black race. A rebirth of times when you could give a pound to any brother walking down the street and get one back with the same amount of love in it. An ascension to where those who have made it are more than willing to assist those on their way up, and those on the receiving end of the assistance can accept it gracefully without resentment at the fact that they aren't there yet. And a feeling of triumph when I can roam from Bankhead Courts to Queensbridge Houses at any hour without preconceptions, because I know I am among my kind. We came really close to that when we came together in support of the Jena 6... here's to hoping that the ball will keep on rolling, and get bigger along the way.
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