Is Obama Black??

I recently read debra dickerson's piece on www.salon.com and also read stanley crouch's piece in the daily news. so obama ain't black because his mother is an anglo american and his daddy is a kenyan (a goat herder ?). Anyway, some blacks are clear about the fact that his roots in this country have no connection to u.s. slavery. He wasn't raised as a black person, and he doesn't have the same cultural connections to other blacks. This seems to have black leaders in a fit. they're worried that he'll ride the race coattails and when he gets to where he wants he'll sing a different tune and not deliver the good to blacks in this country. is this "paranoia" confounded? i wonder how much of this has to do with black's refusal to question and re-interpet what is black? and god forbid if one gets to the notion that perhaps the illusory concept does nothing for blacks in this country and should be confiscated...then what?
however, understand this: there's a very real black history and culture...so then, how do blacks begin to talk about it? how will black people relate to it? will it somehow be something of the past that blacks have finally overcome and now blacks are......? well, what the hell does one become? an american? that's as much of an illusion as black...with the difference being the legal citizenship "afforded" to blacks...but that hasn't been the real case since "day one".
the differential treatment in this country speaks volumes about the two tiered system of citizenship that may not be "on the books" or in our constitution, but are those unwritten rules and social contracts that play out in the banality of life of a black person in the united states. this deployment of such mores, norms and perspectives is where one will find the blatant acts of racism: can't catch a cab, can't get a decent public education, can't get a decent job, police brutality/harrassment. if blacks give up the identity then to what extent is white america off the hook? where the hell are the 40 acres and a mule?! reparations...anyone??!!

yeah we know obama is safe for whites....and this is where the subterfuge runs thick and deep.
i won't be suprised if they use him as an example of a black man who has transcended race. "so why can't the rest of yall do the same? " is what they'll sing. he's safe for them; "he won't rock the boat too much; he's civilized. he understands that change happens incrementally...not like that malcolm x!
flashback....my bad!
can't help but feel this is another way of making blacks obsolete in this country. and in a weird sick, racist way, it reifies the racial power differentials.... whites do the "identifying" and blacks
are "the identified." this whole obama thing is just that, and i think blacks ain't buying into it.
it's a subtle shift...don't fall for the okey-doke, folks!

I'm Tired Today...

sometimes we forget that we need to rest...completely rest. the body will keep going and going and going. then one day it says, " nope...this is as far as i'm going and i'm tired ,and i'm taking some time off!!" well, the last three days have been just like that. my body has insisted on and received, mind you, extra sleep. it's received no strenuous "exercise" or work. it's received very few phone calls, very limited outside access, and it's just stayed at home doing nothing. thinking nothing, not caring about anything and just resting. my first reaction to this purge of bodily junk was to think that i was coming down with something. i thought i was getting sick. to the contrary, my body, mind and soul just wanted a few days to be quiet and let go. that's very hard to do. but, when your body says otherwise, you have no choice but to accept it and let it all hang out...no matter how blah, awfully tiring and exhausting it can be. i've got a few more days before i return to work... and i'm going to make the most of it by doing nothing.

Ruminations...

Yay!!!! this is the first day! My very own blog. now i can talk all the shit i want. today vivian and i had a very nice conversation about "fear". 2007 is about letting go of fears, and realizing dreams and setting goals for oneself! all the baggage has to get dumped. not so much an analysis of the baggage...because we already know what it is...SHIT... as much as a realization that we create these lies about who we are and what we want in order to make ourselves feel safe and comfortable. and this is the worst thing we can possibly do to ourselves! all the lies to keep the hate going; keep the misery going; keep the sadness, the depression, the excuses to stagnate going. all for a sense of comfort and a sense of knowing that is really predicated on our need to control... control ourselves and eventually control others. so much pain and so many wasted attempts and wasted energy. AND before you know it, you're 40 years old and wake up and wonder ..."what the fuck have i done???!!!"