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December 12, 2006
Straight from the Headlines...
So much is going on in the world today, I can barely keep up. Not that I want to. I get pissed off every time I watch or read the news. Has the world gone mad? Apparently so. It's taking me right along with it.
So here are a few things I'd like to get off my chest this morning:
What the fff???? I understand the importance of upholding constitutional rights, but something is wrong when working people such as myself bust their asses at jobs we don't necessarily love-to avoid panhandling. Well, here it is-a pan handler is awarded 100,000 dollars for basically, being a pan handler. It turns out begging and being arrested numerous times is much more lucrative then having a Master's Degree and working for a living.
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City College has decided to name it's Community Center after exiled Civil Rights activist Assata Shakur, who was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for killing a New Jersey State Trooper. Cops are outraged that the center would be supported by tax dollars, and named after a terrorist, while others claim that she was a victim of racism and injustice because of her political affiliations. J.Edgar Hoover has a building named after him, why not call it even?
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Idiots of the week:
Foxy Brown aka Inga Marchand (We know your Haitian, stop telling people that you're Jamaican!) The chick definetely has an identity crisis-she should have been locked up a long time ago for impersonating Biggie Smalls, or Li'l Kim. Anyway, the 'ill-na na' has violated her probation for bitch slapping and kicking the employees at the salon where she had her nails done. She had the audacity to claim that she didn't think she'd be "thrown in with the wolves", and that she wasn't one of "them" referring to criminals that are on probation. Ummm...excuse me but you ARE ONE OF THEM. Probation is for people who have been convicted of a crime, Ms. Brown. She was bragging about being so hardcore before, now she' s afraid to be in the same room with her "peeps"? Maybe this is what she needs to revive her career. What's she afraid of anyway? She's from Brooklyn...
Anyway...idiot number two-Nicole Richie who admitted to smoking pot, taking Vicodin and being 85 pounds after she was arrested for DUI. That damn girl needs a good spanking. Where the hell is daddy Lionel? I thought he adopted her to save her from trouble. I'm so tired of these spoiled rich brats that claim to have problems and take up far too much space in our daily news. Who the hell cares if she weighs 85 pounds? Maybe if we're lucky, she'll disappear.
I'm sorry, but there are real people with real problems in the world. Men, are being killed, women and children are being tortured and raped in Darfur. Some people are starving, not because of some stupid fashion trend, but because they can't afford food. I'm tired of hearing about these insensitive, spoiled brats who have too much money and too little sense.
And last but not least...
I recently created an entry about the Sean Bell shooting but due to a conflict of interest, felt it was better that I removed the piece.
Today, I read that a march is being planned for this Saturday by Al Sharpton called Shopping for Justice. Abner Louima is supposed to attend. He advised Nicole Paultre Bell to keep calm, and be strong." I think that's good advice and I pray that advice is followed by all, and that includes those who are marching, as well as our elected officials and community leaders. I stand firm by my belief that the way to affect change is through direct communication between all affected parties. Maybe I'm idealistic, but I believe that justice will prevail.
With that being said, I'd like to post a comment from my piece that speaks directly to the issue-sad, but unfortunately true...
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I'm stunned when people say this incident wasn't about race. That implies that racism is something that only comes from white individuals; the mere participation of black folks somehow proves that it's not a racial issue.
I believe that this is 100% an issue of institutional racism. It's not a coincidence that incidents like this don't happen to white people, or in affluent areas. The NYPD as an organization has determined that certain types of people in certain neighborhoods deserver a certain kind of treatment and a certain type of policing. We need to address these problems at an institutional rather than individual level if we hope for things to ever change.
...and I must say, I also see parallels with the Iraq mess...even if I'm stretching a bit. So much of our foreign policy was driven by "white man's burden" type thinking that certain types of people don't desire or deserve to be treated in the same way Americans or Europeans would like to be treated. By that I mean, to have their sovereignty respected, and their right to determine their own government and cultural structures acknowledged.
Remember the statements about us being greeted as liberators in Iraq? Isn't the viewpoint that people are going to greet a foreign army invading their country and taking over the government as liberators driven by the same type of 2-D view of people that allows for three unarmed men to be shot at 50 times?
Posted by renee at December 12, 2006 10:48 AM