Trick or "Tweet:" Some notes on race, fans, technology

         I was watching "Mike and Mike in the Morning" as I prepared to begin my day. The subject was about "tweets" and how they were supposedly being abused by "cowards." During the waning seconds of a Laker/Thunder game, Meta World Peace (formerly Ron Artest) was taking the ball out of bounds and passed it to Steve Blake who was wide open. Blake missed the shot and the Lakers lose. Blake received thousands of tweets threatening him and his family, with at least one fan saying that he would kill Blake and his family.
        Hockey player Joel Ward - who is black - received a number of racist tweets after one of his games. The point being made on "Mike and Mike" was that tweets were "going too far," with Mike Golic saying that the people sending the tweets were "cowards" and that "They should say what they have to say to their face." I listened and thought about this white man making such statements without providing any context whatsoever.
         Let me do it.
         For one thing we know for a fact that committing acts under the cloak of darkness or doing so anonymously is a European invention. Even their heroes who supposedly do good wear masks: from Zorro (Spanish) to Batman and a host of others, there is something about wearing a mask that I believe goes to the root of cowardice (unless being worn for cultural holidays), and it should be laid at the door of the ancestors of the people are doing the "tweeting" today.
         Secondly, sure they're cowards. But those people sending those tweets are "fans," and do you know what "fan" is short for? Fanatic. These people have no real lives and that applies to the majority of them. Sick Dallas fans donning jerseys and wearing blown up paper faces of Dirk Novitzki, backward hicks from Nebraska wearing the jerseys and numbers of black running backs and receivers althought they want no blacks in their communities; while claiming there is a recession, millions of (white) people nevertheless pack these auditoriums and stadiums to root for athletes they can barely see.
          So in other words, they take this crap seriously, which leads me to point number three.
         When white folks get serious, they abandon the rules. Black people cannot afford to do that because in this society we're already seen as guilty. But because of "white privilege," these folks can have riots following a basketball game loss, break windows and do whatever they want because it's their system. So we can conclude that, throughout history, these actions of fanaticism are pretty much par for the course.
        Now, point four: add the fanaticism to the anonymity and mask wearing and tombstone courage and what do you come up with: the Ku Klux Klan!  Is this not the same mentality? Do they not believe that blacks are inferior? Do they not believe that by fighting and getting some semblance of civil rights and freedom that we are the Ron Artest passing the ball to "the wrong person"? Do they not hide behind masks and commit cowardly acts that would do harm and threaten other people?
        Fourth, exactly what is a tweet? In my view it's at least two things. It's white privilage raised by social networking to the level of sacred observance. Plain and simple. Don't get it twisted: black folks use it too, black folks are fans as well, and as the black fraternity system proves, black people will imitate or follow white people to the ends of the earth, whether it makes sense or not. But these are acts of "identification with the aggressor" or a sick form of "Stockholm Syndrome" where those abused begin to love their abusers and in the latter case, their kidnappers. And I'll write about that in another column.
        In addition, a tweet is also an invasion of privacy, a "social network" that enables anybody to go on the attack against someone while hiding their identity. How much sicker can it get? In the name of technology, the cowardly become emboldened and the sick expand their outreach capacity. It's been a long time comin.'
         But for now, let's understand that tweeting and all this other stuff, even in the era of "caller ID," is something that allows the cowardly to do and say what they please. And as a descendant of those who were victims of similar acts of impulsiveness, racist tradition and false bravado, I see the same thing happening throughout history. Steve Blake is white and Joel Ward is black, but both men were victims of people who have no real lives going and live through the myth of sport.
          But that mentality and activity stems from yet another myth: the myth of white supremacy.

"What to Expect When You're Expecting:" Cultural Critique and Commentary

            Why bother writing at all if you can't elevate consciousness? The Bible teaches that, "Where much is given, much is expected." Therefore, if you have a perspective or viewpoint that you think can lend to the marketplace of ideas, then you have an obligation to share it with those willing to take the time to listen or read. In this case, a movie that initially appears universal and well-intended is really nothing more than another example of cultural bias and naivete.
        I'm talking about, "What to Expect When You're Expecting." To begin with there is a book that is about health and valuable pregnancy tips by the same name. According to the overview of that book, the claim is made that, "Incorporating the most recent developments in medicine, and responding to the many queries and letters received from readers, the book contains both the most accurate information available, and the most reader-friendly. The Third Edition includes more information on working while pregnant. It offers more in-depth coverage of complementary and alternative birthing. Greater attention is paid to pre-conception, alternative families, second pregnancies, HMOs, the role of the father, and lifestyle ... " 
           That's about all I could take. Black women and Latinas pick up these books and some of the information is going to help them. But then again, I believe that this society has become so mucked up, that a kid doesn't have a chance unless the mother and father know the TRUTH about "what to expect when you're expecting." This brings us to the comedy of the same name.
          According to a generic review, "Over the moon about starting a family, TV fitness guru Jules and dance show star Evan find that their high-octane celebrity lives don't stand a chance against the surprise demands of pregnancy. Baby-crazy author and advocate Wendy gets a taste of her own militant mommy advice when pregnancy hormones ravage her body; while Wendy's husband, Gary, struggles not to be outdone by his competitive alpha-Dad, who's expecting twins with his much younger trophy wife, Skyler ... "
           Sure this is supposed to be about good hearted fun. But when information comes from the same Eurocentric source, and when these people, just a scant hundred years ago, had to have black women suckling and raising their children, I think it takes a lot of gall to be writing books and jokes about "what it takes" when a woman is pregnant. Here's my question:
          What about the context and conditions surrounding the pregnancy?
          For instance, what is usually described are ideal conditions, especially in the comedy. Everybody has a job, the husbands are all happy and loving the role of fathers. The medical book gives out generic information about the biology of being pregnant, but what about the psychosocial underpinnings? What about the conditions that, in turn, shape both conduct and consciousness?
         Here's my point. America is still segregated by class and residence. White folks live in the suburbs although some "negroes" have filtered in. But the book White Picket Fences clearly shows that even when in suburbia, these black wannabes are still as segregated from their suburban neighbors and in fact, return to the hood for most of the things they want and need anyway (e.g., church, beauty shop, barber, etc.). So if America is socially segregated in terms of class, then that means that the subjective conditions that women (and men) live under are also going to be rooted in and revolving around what is taking place in their given "communities," right?
           Now I ask you: do black people and Latinos share the same resources that whites have in the suburbs? Do we not have to travel to the suburbs to get food that is healthy? Do we not have to go outside of the hood for adequate health care in order to deliver those darling babies? If this is the case, then we need to have a new book: What To Expect If You're Expecting - and You're BLACK"! That's right: different strokes for different folks. Sisters and Latinas live in different conditions than their juera counterparts, and as such, are going to undergo different situations that, in turn, the baby can sense and feel.
          Do white women have to worry about getting caught in cross fire when they're pregnant and walking out the front door? Do white women have to deal with racist bosses or bill collectors who keep on putting the pressure on? How about the fears that the police are going to do something to that baby once he/she is born? Where is the baby going to play? Is the father going to be prepared to provide for that kid?
         And then there are non-racial, more gender issues. Was the baby planned? Did the guy get set up? Did the woman have a plan to only get pregnant and then not tell the father? This is going on all over this country and brothers are paying child support for kids that aren't even theirs! These women know what they're doing: they are the ones who choose US! They are the ones who determine if there will be a date, a kiss afterward, an overnight stay, and many of them refuse to use contraception - but they don't tell ya. I'm not putting all the onus on the sisters: black men are the most irresponsible men in the universe and we dive into that booty without a consideration of the repercussions. So all she's doing, for the most part, is playing on our lust and a society myth that there is something special about "hittin' that."
          What to Expect When You're Expecting - and Black would discuss diet issues and the fact that of all women, sisters have the highest rate of obesity. A lot of these sidewalk crunchers get pregnant and even get bigger. This is putting pressure on that baby's future because if she's diabetic or has high blood pressure, how much longer is she going to be around? Does the white woman have to worry about child protective services intervening in her business and pretending to care about that "cute black child" who may end up being given to some (culturally unprepared) white family to raise and maybe adopt? I don't think so.
          These movies, comedy or not ("The Vow," "Dear John," "The Notebook," etc.) are movies that are interesting, no doubt. But look at one major and glaring problem: few, if any, of them every deal with finances. All other things being equal, these characters have jobs, never worry about rent, pay a utility bill or deal with the kinds of things that low-income mothers (black and white) have to grapple with. It's easy to be romantic and get booty when money is no object!
            Sisters, (preferably the ones in stable relationships or who are married), sit down and ask your man one day, "what kind of changes did you have to go through in order to take me out when we were dating?" Some might have jobs and indeed, there are some black women who have your payday MEMORIZED so they know when to act "extra nice." But there are brothers I know who would pawn stuff, sell dope, and even rob so that they could show these sisters or hermanas a good time. That's how much we love you (or how bad we wanted the booty, which can sometimes be the same thing!)
          Look: our Latino and Black scholars need to start thinking about future generations because white folks sure are. That's why they make all these fluffy, feel-good, booty with no repercussions type movies. They want to promote romance because the opposite is taking place: she's going it alone and he has the sperm production equipment to keep him happy (along with prostitution). So the demographics are changing and the society is getting browner and blacker. So when these "non people of color" (how does THAT sound? Now you know how it feels to hear the racist term "non-white" being bandied about) are writing books and making movies about the wonders or underpinnings of marriage, you better beware - and remember:
         "It is a wise warrior who moves with caution and discretion when an enemy throws bouquets in his direction."

"Are You Better Off Now Than You Were Four Years Ago?"

          Brothers and sisters, don't continue to be fooled into thinking you're an "American." As Malcolm X taught, "you're not an American - you're the VICTIM of Americanism, a victim of democracy - nothing but disguised hypocrisy." This statement is no more true than when you hear or read the utterance, "are you better off now than you were four years ago?"
           When posed to white folks, they can sit back and determine the answer based upon their socioeconomic status, which seems to be more important to them than their health. But it's THEIR system and they remind you of that every chance they get: the laws favor them, the cops favor them, the judges and courts favor them and so on. But as Karenga (1967) once elucidated, "the only time blacks are citizens is during war time and tax time." I would debate Karenga that we are NOT even citizens THEN, since neither serving in the war or paying our taxes has gotten us any major returns in terms of respect, human rights and fair play. But that's an essay for another time.
        "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?" is an attempt to make it appear as if being worse off now is Obama's fault. And that is the answer they anticipate. The economy is worse now than it was four years ago, but that was Bush's fault -- double-ya and his daddy, both. But even deeper than that - now think with me black and brown folks -- by what measure would you determine if you're "better off now" than you were four years ago?
         Would you ask that question to an individual who was enslaved and lived on a plantation? Would you wonder if that person, still in servitude, is better off just because the workload has perhaps lightened or maybe a "new massa" has taken over for the previous one and as a result, you receive fewer ass kickings? Of course there is no sense in asking such a question whose very context is the epitome of oppression. See where I'm going?
         You are the descendant of people that were kidnapped and enslaved. The man asking you this question is the descendant of the people that did the enslaving. You think you're free because a white man said so. A person who can "free" you can "enslave" or "re-enslave" you if he so chooses. You were never freed because you and the person asking the question occupy virtually the same relative positions that the enslaved and the slavemaster held. Feel me?
          Four years ago you were on the plantation and a white Texan was in charge. Today you're on the plantation and a Black man, born in Africa, is in charge. But you can be in charge and still not be calling the shots. How? Because somebody PUT YOU IN CHARGE. You're in charge because THEY say so. And that means that whoever says so is the one pulling the strings. That's why the scenario of the plantation and the one of today's America are so closely related: you were powerless then, and you're powerless now.The only difference is that today you have more playthings: suburban home, nice car, and for some of you, a white woman.
          Oh no, that's not a racist statement. When South Africa first began relaxing its apartheid (racial separation) laws, the first one they let go was the anti-miscegenation laws. While they took their time with the fair employment, equal education, positive health type stuff, they allowed you to go after those white women because they knew that would buy you some time. The oppressor has always been willing to sacrifice his mate - he uses her as his buffer and besides, if he needs booty, he can BUY it. Why do you think prostitution is a multi-BILLION dollar a year industry?
         Are you better off than you were four years ago? If you don't work for yourself or are in the process of preparing to do so, as far as I'm concerned, YOU'RE ON WELFARE. I don't care if you work for the city, the county, the Federal government, a major corporation or a nonprofit organization: if you don't work for yourself, you're somebody's "slave" and as a result, you're on welfare; a negro on sale - with the option to "tom."
         Better off? Progress? Look at your wilted, background leadership. Going around the country extorting money from white folks or else "we'z gon' picket cho bizniss!" That, instead of, "come on brothers and sisters, let's follow the Nation of Islam example and "do for self!" We've got the money, the talent, the energy and the method and we STILL want to stay on the plantation. "What's wrong boss: WE sick?"
         No, you're no better off, and don't you let some pseudo-politico or charismatic coon tell you otherwise. I'll share more as the election gets closer. PEACE.

No "Mutiny" on the Bounties: It's All Par For the Course ....

          The controversy surrounding "bounties" by the leadership of the New Orleans Saints football team is neither new or nerve-shattering: it is an extension of the same "here's-some-money-now-go-git-'em" mentality that this nation's Anglo leadership has always had. In a nutshell, those who should know better told Saints defensive players that if they "knocked out" or "hurt" a player on the other team, they would receive some extra pay. The news media found out what we already knew: as black people and black men, especially, we've ALWAYS had bounties out on our heads. Let me give you a few examples.
          Police, in general, hate black people, in general. They gun us down in the streets, from New York to Florida to California to Washington state. So we know it can't be an accident. And the ones that don't directly fire the shot or apply the choke hold don't say anything, so that makes them accomplices to the crime. If this is taking place, there is a bounty someplace. It might not be a direct financial payment (although the cops that do the killing usually get "paid leave," which is the same thing as a paid vacation, and they also get promoted in some cases), but the "backing" they get, the kudos they receive when they walk into the nearest bar -- these are acknowledgements of the act that are just as powerful as monetary inducements. This society's "look the other way" approach to a black getting shot by a cop is a form of bounty: it says that "this is what you will get if you take that person out of the box, for me." Suburbanites fear us and most whites don't understand us; that makes us fodder for cops that want a reputation. Like the linebacker going for the knee or the head, they ride around in their cars, two deep, and they're over-represented in black communities. What ELSE could be their motivation?
           In DC there's this group called AIPAC - the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee. Its really a political action committee and its run by Jews. One of their officers is none other than the "journalist" Wolf Blitzer of CNN. At any rate, do you know what this group does? It puts out BOUNTIES on the heads of politicians that they don't like, that don't cater to their needs, that don't bend to their will. They have the money to get people "de-hired" and, at the same time, elect their own lackeys, black or white. That's why most of your political leadership is too gutless to do anything. At any rate, it's a bounty.
          The Medical profession. Ever go into your doctor's office and he offers you a "sample" of some new drug? He got paid a bounty for it. The drug industry has these hospitals and doctors totally under their control. If they have something and they need a "population" to use it on, the doctors will comply - for a price. Its a bounty on our heads. Oh, and by the way: we ain't "the same under the skin." About 5 years ago I wrote an essay about BiDal, this heart drug that was for "black men only." What's that about? Are they admitting that our blood and aortas and heart valves are different? Or do they just want us taking it so they can stand back and see what happens?
           These are just a few of the ideas that whizzed through my mind as I watched sports commentators pretend to be shocked that there were bounties being offered in the NFL. Imagine the bounties when black people were few and the whites had an overwhelming majority! Recall what Jackie Robinson and Johnson went through in terms of having to deal with this society's racism and ask: were there bounties involved? How many crackers offered money to watch someone "knock that niggas head off"? We know they did it, but since evidence is in the hands of revisionist historians, the proof is probably buried someplace.
          One last dig for you "negroes" out there. Malcolm X has a speech where he exposes "The Big Six," these six negro leaders who Rockefeller paid $800,000 (to split among themselves) and offer them all the media coverage they wanted if they would downplay the black power movement, the Nation of Islam, the Black Panthers and more militant groups. Among those taking the money: Martin Luther King, Jr., A. Philip Randolph, Floyd McKissick, Ralph Abernathy and I believe that Joseph Lowery was among them. But regardless, your leadership took a bribe and the history books don't mention it. But it happened. A bounty is tantamount to a bribe.
          So, as I prepare to write "Bounties II: The Search For More Evidence," let me leave you by stating that bounties are more likely to be the norm in football and real life - there's no mutiny involved. Everybody's doing just what they are expected to do - bounties are not the exception. America just don't wanna play fair if its getting its ass kicked. And whether you're talking about the football field or the military battlefield, if you look around, that's exactly what's happening. And bounties, brothers and sisters, are the LEAST of it ......

The NBA: A Case Study in 'Deformative Inaction'

          The National Basketball Association is a case study, not in AFFIRMATIVE ACTION, but in what I call DEFORMATIVE INACTION. Its masterful manipulation of its fans and of Americans, in general, is a case study in mass hypnosis and tricknology. This essay is an attempt to illuminate the strategies employed that allow a leage of super-athletic Black men running around in modified bikini draws, to nevertheless fill up stadiums all over one of the most racist and color-conscious nations in the known universe. Take notes.
            To begin with, there were always racial considerations. That's why when society made segregation legal and acceptable, the NBA was also white. These men competed against each other, racked up records and thought they had it made. But slowly but surely, even before 1954, one black man at a time was "allowed" in. And when that happened, slowly but surely the records started to fall. By the time "integration" came, the league was black enough to raise some concerns behind closed doors. The racial considerations began to change with society: now money was the key, since the game was popular and stadiums were being built.
            The uniforms didn't quite look the same on black men as they did on their white predecessors. This became an added attraction to white audiences (homophiliac men on the downlow and white women), but this part wasn't played up. But just look at the front rows of the games: rich white men and their wives (and mistresses) and women -- white and black -- looking for prospective men to date (read: get pregnant by and live a life of luxury). This is how the NBA began to grow: it became a 3-hour strip show, complete with music blaring during time-outs: you could hear everything from Elton John and Anita Baker to James Brown and Earth,Wind & Fire. From that point on, the NBA was not just a sporting event.
         It became an "experience."
         But those in power, the same ones that shut down black nightclubs when the audiences get too "integrated" could not allow the NBA game to get to "party heavy." At least not during the games. After those games however, the hotels were overrun by white women looking for "dates" and others looking to meet these millionaire giants. From the outside looking in, its a prostitution ring, pure and simple. Again, those in power were watching and, as they counted their money, one thing had to remain constant: a white man had to remain in charge, at the top - the Commissioner.
          A league that is more than 85% black has never had a black commissioner. Billy Hunter saw it a long time again and knew he had gone as high as he could go. George Stern treats NBA players like children, and the players act that way. That is why few of them get involved in any community events - except for the ones that are 'sanctioned' by the League. Community development is limited to bullshit commercials promoting another pimp organization, the United Way. They talk about being a "charity" but those folks are a business and their administrative costs and the huge salaries and perks that their administrators get proves this to be true. They have black men skinning and grinning talking about how the United Way works. Yeah, it works alright: it works the same was as the farmer does. And these black men are the mules pulling the plow.
         Further evidence of attempts to show who is control (along with pictures of Stern all over the place) is the logo: that silhouette is of Jerry West. Don't get me wrong, West was one of the few white dudes that could play. But that don't mean his symbol should be representative of a league that is majority black. But that's the way America is: planting the red, white and blue (the league's colors, by the way) everywhere they go, but the people "taking the point," "bringing up the rear" and taking all the risks are men of color. Ask any of them who came back sane from one of these wars. The white man takes all the photos and gets all the glory, but brothers take all the risks. Look at the pictures of American soldiers urinating on brown men of color, torturing them and doing who knows what else. Those aren't brothers degrading other human beings like that. We know who it is.
         What does that have to do with the NBA? Plenty. At war black men fight and come home and don't have any rights, can't get a job or a house and in most cases, their wives were fucking around behind their backs. What do you think happens to the NBA player? When he's done his knees are shot, most of them didn't get a degree, and far too many are a jump shot away from being functionally illiterate. This puts them on the same level as the returning veterans: too weak to do anything but wander.
         The ones that don't get to become announcers or TV analysts are lost. Many have squandered their money, and have moved into white communities that really don't want them there.  But that happens because that's where they are TOLD TO go. You don't find any brothers moving into the 'hood. In fact, when they sign contracts, they move their entire families (mom first) away from other black people. They now have money and now they think they're white. The mistake they make is that they also think they're above the law. That's why, quite regularly, you pick up a paper and read where some 6'"8" brother has hit his girl friend, assaulted his wife or totalled his car. We're in a race war and this is what the biggest of us can produce: problems and babies.
         Deformative Inaction: these guys are psychologically scarred and cognitively bankrupt. Their presence, as far as we are concerned, is tantamount to 'inaction,' is it not? We don't see 'em. They don't support any black causes. They only speak when the white man tells them to, or when one of these rip-off corporations pays them to do a commercial (that is usually degrading and emasculating).
        Just as the league must appear white in terms of image, the symbolic matrix also includes self-degradation through language. These giants consider it flattering to call someone a "beast." We used to fight over those terms or if the white man had said that to us in the '60s, he'd get his ass hicked. Not only do they call each other "beast," but also "animal." White announcers and their negro lackeys "thingify" us: LeBron is like a "locomotive gone wild," Shaq called himself "Shaq Diesel." There are animal names (I call it "beastification") for all: From Walter Davis being "The Greyhound," we hear it more in football than basketball, but nicknames are totally acceptable to these NBA players. The worst among them, "Dawg."
        This may sound like a rant, but its not. I'm a scholar. Read a book called The Philosophy of Money by Georg Simmel. And then crack a few more books, like Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorsten Veblen. What you'll find is that money is "the ultimate confounding of things." It makes little people look big, ugly people look beautiful and powerless people appear powerful. These athletes also think that it can make black people look white, but don't you believe it. Charles Barkley (the world's tallest Uncle Tom) has never met a white person he didn't fall in love with. He's the white man's biggest bootlicker, hence his winning of the Emmy for best studio analyst. '
          Deformative Inaction. A black league stays afloat because white folks have it totally under control. The Jews (like Stern) who own the stadiums are responsible for the spate of injuries that took place this past season. They didn't care about the physical health of these athletes: they just wanted to control their FINANCIAL health, and that's what they did. Reducing the season by 16 games and limited practice sessions - what did you THINK was going to happen? Gone down: Derek Rose, Kobe Bryant, Chauncey Billups, Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire -- a veritable all-star team, injured at one point or another. And the money kept on coming.\
          The NBA would be 100% black were it not for the unspoken tokenism that allows some of the white players to get in. Almost all of them have the same type of game: stay waaaay outside and shoot 3-pointers, or if you're a hulk, hack the hell out of whomever comes into the paint. None of them averages over 20 points a game. But they do have one thing in common and even the white coaches know this: when they get in the game, whomever that white guy is guarding, GO AT HIM! They can't keep up with the brothers, a proven fact. Even the white dudes who are fairly good (Kyle Korver, J.J. Redick) can't play a lick of defense. The same goes for Dirk Novitzki who doesnt' rebound, block shots or play defense but who, at 7 feet tall, gets all the accolades that sportscasters can come up with.
         Well, there you have it: a case study in deformative inaction. Once football season rolls around, I'll have more to say or maybe I'll just reprint my nationally-perused "Pigmentation and the Pigskin" essay which bought me 7 or 8 phone calls from NFL wives and former players like the Steelers' Anthony Griggs.
         Until then: keep thinkin'.
      

Lead Paint Controversy: Some Preliminary Notes

‘Lead Paint Problem Long Known’

         Written in 1997.

        The World-Herald article, “Lead-Poisoning Peril Gets New Attention,” (Dec. 15), comes more than three years after the Triple One Neighborhood Association and Parents Union exposed similar statistics regarding the polluting of north Omaha and more than 10 years after State Sen. Ernie Chambers and University of Nebraska Medical Center cancer physician Dr. Ercole Cavaleri warned of pollution because of the construction of the North Freeway.

          Lead poisoning, air pollution and soil contamination are all related because all three lead to health and social problems. All three problems can be addressed and overcome.

          The facts presented in the World-Herald article were long known, Someone should pay health reparations.

          If the city sat back and watched the bubonic plague spread in only a certain area of the community and never quarantined or educated the public, it would be held liable.

          How is this “plague” – lead poisoning – any different? It was spawned by man-made conditions (residential segregation, intentional neglect) and indeed, constitutes “a highly infectious, usually fatal, epidemic disease.”

          Confined to low-income people and oolder parts of the city, lead-paint poisoning is a plague that should have been addressed as long as 25 years ago.

          Funds were available to address the lead-paint problem. One of the purposes of Community Development Block Grants, which Omaha has received since 1975, is to improve the lives and living conditions of residents whose poverty qualified this city for the grant money in the first place. My organization is primarily concerned about the 68111 ZIP code – the poorest area in the state outside of the Indian reservations.

          But a “triage” approach was used by those who saw the potential pollution problems but ignored them. Instead of saving the housing stock, air and soil in north Omaha, planners opted instead to take the development dollars to other parts of the community.

          I define “triage” as the practice of ignoring those areas recuperating on their own as well as those that may require help, while “bandaging” those favored areas and even helping those that area already “healthy.” So while north Omaha wheezed, coughed and smothered, money that could have repaired the problem went to those areas with healthy lungs.

          Triple One’s proposed North Omaha Protection Association, housed in the Blue Lion Center, would work with local government namely the City Health Department) and other community groups to offset the toxic pollutants which linger as a result of the razing of inner city housing.

          Area property managers and real estate companies would form a consortium that would raise funds to hire individuals to peel away paint and to point over hazardous lead sections of homes. Money for the manpower and paint could be matched with community development funds.

          The goal would be to save anywhere from 200 to 400 houses per year, houses that otherwise might be abandoned and later torn down, leaving behind unsightly lots, thereby further stigmatizing north Omaha.

          This proposal could include the hiring of 100 central city residents to provide the painting and other manpower needed.

          Another problem – “educational emotional duress” as a result of lead poisoning – is worth addressing. Those who inherited respiratory problems or related illnesses have had their life-chances, job potential and overall health quality severely infringed.

          How many school days were missed? How many kids died? How many work days did parents miss worrying about their young ones? How much was internalized and then passed down to subsequent generations?

          Triple One suggests that physical examinations be administered at the elementary school level. For too long OPS has made money by having kids in special programs, kids who generate extra money for the district. The only problem is that disproportionate numbers of these kids were black and placed there arbitrarily.

          The creation of the Lead Paint Academic Reassessment Survey would distinguish between those kids who are in special education for reasons related to lead paint. Those who are would be mainstreamed and have their special needs addressed case by case.

          More than $102 million came to Omaha in block grants since 1975, money which was funneled elsewhere and not used to address these problems.  Now, not only is there a housing shortage, but there is also a pollution of the spirit which accompanies negative health care.

          Health is a barometer of the quality of life. By upgrading the homes and taking charge of the issues themselves, central city residents would also experience a psychological benefit from this proposed plan.

Althea Gibson and the Williams Sisters: Progressive Perfection

Althea Gibson and the Williams Sisters:

Progressive Perfection in Action

     In a segment titled, “Notable Women,” I was able to locate some background on former ath-letic great Althea Gibson, and it gave me the idea to blend her background and talents in with present-day female phenoms Venus and Serena Williams, all in hopes of bringing you, the reader, the kind of information and insights that will show that history, as Malcolm X taught, is “best qualified to reward our research.”

       Research unveils what most of us already know about the sport of tennis: that it first came to the United States in the late 19^th century and by the middle of the 20^th century, had become a part of the culture of health and fitness. Jone Johnson Lewis explains that, “public programs brought tennis to children in poor neighborhoods, though those chil-dren couldn’t dream of playing in the elite tennis clubs.”

       Then came Althea Gibson. Born in Silver, South Carolina, she was raised in Harlem in the 1930s and ‘40s and her family was on welfare. Lewis writes that she was “a client of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children,” and she had trouble in school and was often truant. She ran away from home on a regular basis.

       Her career started off with her winning paddle tennis compe-titions in public recreation programs, some of them spon-sored by the Police Athletic League. Musician Buddy Walker, Lewis writes, noticed her playing table tennis, and thought she might do well in tennis. He brought her to the Harlem River Tennis Courts, where she learned the game and began to excel.

     Back then they were more progressive than we are not. At least, once Althea mastered the tennis courts, a group called the American Tennis Association – all black – provided tennis oppor-tunities not otherwise available to African American tennis players. Lewis documents that “in 1944 and 1945, she again won ATA tournaments.”

       The rest is history. She got recognized and went on to enter the all-England tourney at Wimbledon, the French Open and even toured worldwide as a mem-ber of a national tennis team sponsored by the U.S. State Department.

     Space will not permit specifics in this essay, but let me note for the record that she also excelled in women’s golf (on occasion she would drive the ball 325 yards) and appeared in several feature films. The  multi-talented sister even released a record album titled, “Althea Gibson Sings.”  In 1957 she even sang at the Wimbledon Ball!

      In the 1960s, Althea even toured with the Harlem Globe-rotters (see the article on Pete Maravich) playing exhibition ten-is, and in 1971 retired from professional golf but continued playing professional tennis.

       She is now a member of the National Lawn Tennis Hall of Fame, the International Tennis Hall of Fame, the Black Athletes Hall of Fame, the South Carolina Hall of Fame and the Florida Sports Hall of Fame.

       Why mention all this? Be-ause today’s young people do not appreciate their history. Far too many of them think that the skills and values they have came from the sky or some other unreal or irrelevant place. Many think that the music they “sample” is some-hing they “discovered,” rather than being the product of the hard work and sweat of talented pre-ecessors.

     In light of this, it would be far too simple for young people, instead of engaging in research on the topic, to conclude that Venus and Serena Williams are somehow “pioneers” of some kind. They are not. They are the beneficiaries of the pioneering spirit and courage of sisters like Althea Gibson. And they now stand to benefit far more in terms of finances than Althea ever did.

     While white pundits debate each other over who is better, there is no doubt that Venus and Serena Williams have changed the “complexion” of the game of pro tennis, both literally and figuratively speaking. But the key is their father, Richard Williams

      According to this man, he and his wife were sitting around one day thinking about the way they could become rich. They concluded that they could have children who would become tennis champs and make money. And then they did it. This I heard from Williams’ own mouth.

       Williams is a man with a plan in more ways than one, and he is not afraid to deal with the issue of racism. Last month at the Indian Wells tournament, Williams said that the crowd was “racist” because it booed Venus because she pulled herself out of a match against Serena at the last minute a week earlier. This prompted Martina Hingis to make the claim that there was “no racism on the tour” and that, “maybe by being black, they have a lot of other advantages because they can always say it’s racism or something like that, and it’s not the case at all.”

      According to SportsLine, Williams senior said when he and Venus were walking to their stadium seats to watch the match that Venus had dropped out of (between Serena and Belgium’s Kim Clijsters), “people kept calling me n------.”

      Richard continued: “I don’t think things have changed. I just think they’re more camouflaged and covered up … If things had changed, when I was walking down those steps that guy wouldn’t have called me a n-----.”

       The white man said, “If this was 1975 … n-----, I’d skin you alive.”

      Again, we go back to the pioneering work done by our ancestors, and people like Althea Gibson, and we see where the awareness exhibited by Richard Williams – passed on to his talented daughters – came from.

And the young ladies reap the benefits in more ways than one.

       For instance, in December of last year, both Venus and Serena signed a contact with Avon that made them the first celebrities to star in the company’s global campaign. According to Diver-itync., Laura Castellano, spokes-erson for Avon said, “Venus and Serena embody exactly what Avon is all about – strength of spirit, a can-do attitude, profess-ional accomplishment and a warm personal relationship,” she said. “They really bring the issue of women’s empowerment to a fore-ront.”

      And last month, in addition to the clothing and toys that they are producing, the two superstars announced a partnership with one of America’s oldest brands, The William Wrigley Jr. Company. While the terms of the contract were not disclosed, the Williams sisters will be the stars of a campaign titled, “Distinctly Doublemint,” and will debut this summer. Wrigley hopes to target “urban individualists” with the Williams sisters.

        From the courage and overall greatness of Althea Gibson to the current accomplishments of Venus and Serena Williams, there can be little doubt that tennis has had an injection of color that was badly needed since the days of black males Yannick Noah and Arthur Ashe. But thanks to their legacy and lessons, these three great women will, hopefully, pave the way and open the door for many others to come.

Lynching, Then and Now: A Sociocultural Examination

BIG BOY GOES HOME: The White Lynch Mob Then and Now

 Written in 1995 after reading Richard Wright's "Reader."

          They were four buddies: Lester, Bobo, Buck and of course Big Boy. They were out having fun and one glimpse of a white woman ruined it for all of them. Again, history is best qualified to reward our research. While studying, look up the case of the Scottsboro Boys or, better yet, ask your parents. They will well remember.

          While this story is somewhat different, the scenario is so familiar, and it clearly demonstrates how the white woman allowed black men to be hounded, killed and chased in her name and did little, if anything, to prevent it.  And not only where black men murdered.

          So were black children.

          After frolicking, wrestling and basically bullshitting around all day the boys decide to go for a swim. They took off their clothes, as is customary in the country, and jumped in. All was going fine until their luck changed:

"Oh!" They looked up, their lips parting. "Oh!" A white woman, poised on the edge of the opposite embankment, stood directly in front of them, her hat in her hand and her hair lit by the sun. "Its a woman!" whispered Big Boy in an underbreath. "A white  woman!" They stared, their hands instinctively covering their groins. Then they scrambled to their feet. The white woman backed slowly out of sight. They stood for a moment, looking at one another. "Les git outta here!" Big Boy whispered. "Wait till she goes erway,""Les run, theyll ketch us here naked like this!" "Mabbe theres a man wid her.""C'mon, les git our cloes, said Big Boy. They waited a moment longer, listening. "What t hell! Ahma git mah cloes," said Big Boy. (p. 27)

          Because of the twin mythology of the black rapist and sacred white womanhood, young people like this have to go through inordinate changes. They couldn't even ask the woman to toss them their clothes while they waited in the water, because of the mystique about sex and race. And because of this social foolishness, people have to die:

Big Boy was climbing over the edge of the embankment. "C mon," he whispered. Bobo climbed after.  Twenty-five feet away the woman stood. She had one hand over her mouth. Hanging by fingers, Buck and Lester peeped over the edge. "C mon back; that womans scared," said Lester ... Big Boy stopped and looked around. His hands hung loosely at his side. The woman, her eyes wide, her hand over her mouth, backed away to the tree where their clothes lay in a heap ... Black and naked, Big Boy stopped three feet from her. "We wannt git our cloes," he said again, his words coming mechanically. (pp. 27-28)

          She had seen the mythical black penis, at least two of them, and her mind fed into what she had heard from her racist peers and parents. This still happens today and if you don't believe it, just note where the white female's eyes are at when you're in your trunks at the swimming pool.  And because of his unnecessary fear of four black boys, this woman's entire life will probably change. But at least she would have a life. Two of the kids would not:

"You go away! You go away! I tell you, you go away!" Big Boy stopped again, afraid. Bobo ran and snatched the clothes. Buck and Lester tried to grab theirs out of his hands. "Les go!" said Bobo, running toward the woods. CRACK!  Lester grunted, stiffened, and pitched forward.  His forehead struck a toe of the woman's shoes ... CRACK! Buck stopped at the edge of the embankment, his head jerked backward, his body arched stiffly to one side; he toppled headlong, sending up a shower of bright spray to the sunlight. The creek bubbled. (pp. 28-29)

          In defense of the white woman, the white man invariably had bought into the twin myths as well. It was his duty, the white man, to defend the 'honor' of his woman -- even against black kids:

Big Boy and Bobo backed away, their eyes fastened fearfully on a white man who was running toward them. he had a rifle and wore an army officer's uniform. He ran to the woman's side and grabbed her hand. "You hurt, Bertha, you hurt?" She stared at him and did not answer. The man turned quickly. His face was red.  He raised the rifle and pointed it at Bobo.  Bobo ran back, holding the clothes in front of his chest. (p. 29)

          Big Boy got close enough to grab the rifle, but the white man was bigger than he was:

The white man, taller and heavier, flung Big Boy to the grond. Bobo dropped the clothes, ran up, and jumped onto the white man's back. "You black sonofabitches!" The white man released the rifle, jerked Bobo to the ground, and began to batter the naked boy with his fists. Then Big Boy swung, striking the man inthe mouth with the barrel. His teeth caved in, and he fell, dazed. Bobo was on his feet ... "Give me that gun, boy!" Big Boy leveled the rifle and backed away. The white man advanced. "Boy, I say give me that gun!" ... The man came at Big Boy ... CRACK! He fell forward on his face. "Jim!" Big Boy and Bobo turned in surprise to look at the woman ... "Yuh done killed im," mumbled Bobo ... (pp. 29-30)

          The fear of being lynched immediately set in. The rest of the story is about preparing these young men for flight. They had to leave. The black people in town well knew how white people were: white life was so precious that if one was taken, usually more than one black person had to pay the price.

          The real concern, as Big Boy's parents and Bobo's relatives share information, is that the entire thing involved a white woman. It didn't help to know that thed Peters ranch, where the boys had been swimming, was the domain of a man who "don like us niggers none." 

          The plan was for Big Boy and Bobo to hide in one of the deep kiln-like holes they had dug, next to Bullards Road. Will, a friend of the family, passed there often and he fcould get them out of town. Big Boy packed and was on his way:

"Run fast, Big Boy!" Big Boy raced across the yard, scattering chickens. He paused at the fence and hollered back: "Tell Bobo where Ahm hidin n tell him t cmon!"

          As Big Boy waited in one of the kilns they had dug in the ground, he reflected and thought about killing white people,about how he would go down in a blaze of glory and the newspaper headlines would tell how he killed nineteen or twenty whites before they finally got him.  He had to fight a six foot snake for the hole, but got rid of it. But in the meantime, this young man was thinking in what former Black Panther founder Huey P. Newton would call "revolutionary suicide."

          Then he heard the voices of white men, and what they talk about and the manner in which they go about the manhunt is important enough for me to interject some information following the end of this review. However, note for now that when one black is accused of or has actually committed a crime, the entire black community, area of neighborhood must suffer:

"She said one of em wuz named Big Boy, or somethin like tha.""We went t his shack lookin fer im.""Yeah?""These niggers stick tergethe; they don never tell on each othe.""We looked all thu the shack n couldn't fin hide ner hair of im. Then we drove the ol woman n man out n set the shack on fire ... " "Jeesus! Ah wish Ah coulda been there!""Yuh shoulda heard the ol nigger woman howl ... " (pp. 45-46)

          After humiliating even the old black elders, white men on such a vendetta must justify it in their minds. And, as we find throughout my evidence, the sanctity of the white woman is the first excuse they use, justified or not. Big Boy continues listening to the growing group of men from his hidden position in one of the kiln-holes:

"Ah tell yuh they still here, somewhere ... " "But we looked all over!" "What t hell! Wouldn't do t let em git erway!" "Naw. Ef they git erway notta woman in this town would be safe." (p. 46)

          As they sing some ditty called "We'll hang ever nigger t a sour apple tree," the men then announced the news: they had found Bobo. Can you imagine the raw fear that is running through the mind of that young boy as he is being dragged, not off to court, not to a jail, but into a field where he can be tarred, feathered and dismembered?  And this is what I want the young black men and women reading this book to remember: all of this was done in the name of the white woman who sat back and allowed it to be done!  And don't think she wasn't involved:

There were women singing now, Their voices made the song round and full. (p. 48)

          And remember too that the lynching bees, which I will discuss later in this section, were a family outing; usually taking place on Sunday right after church.

          Now comes the dismemberment ritual. Here is a race which prides itself on Christianity, but when it came to distributing their brand of justice on black people, their true nature came to the surface.  Ralph Ginzburg documents these kinds of dismemberings, castrations and tortures in his book, 100 Years of Lynchings. But for now, take note of what they did to Bobo:

"LES GIT SOURVINEERS!" He saw the mob close in around the fire. Their faces were hard and sharp in the light of the flames.  More men and women were coming over the hill.  The long, dark spot was smudged out. "Everybody git back!""Look! Hes gotta finger!""C MON! GIT THE GALS BACK FROM THE FIRE!""He's got one of his ears, see?" "Whuts the matter!""A woman fell out! Fainted, Ah reckon ..." The stench of tar permeated the hillside. The sky was black and the wind was blowing hard. HURRY UP N BURN THE NIGGER FO IT RAINS!"

          Bobo was butchered and died. Again, to enhance the shock value and bring this piece of explicit fiction to life, remember: these kinds of actions took place tens of thousands of times in American history. At a time when black people had no rights that a white man was bound to respect. And also remember that this was not a century ago: this is the 1940s, just over half a century ago!  How soon we all forget how the innocent were butchered. For nothing!!!

          Big Boy had to strangle a hound dog who wandered too close, lest the dog give away his position. The following morning the young man met the truck, as planned, and off he sped, northward.

LYNCHING AND THE 'MANHUNT TRADITION'

          As promised earlier, in order to understand what Big Boy, Bobo, Lester and Buck went through, and in order to understand the relationship of this kind of "chase" to the issues of sex and race, it is important that we briefly explore "the manhunt tradition."

          As Bobo and Big Boy arrived back at their respective homes following the shootings of Lester and Buck, this was the beginning of the manhunt, comparable to what Oliver C. Cox outlined in his masterful study, Caste, Class and Race.  In the section on this tradition, Cox outlined the mob frenzy and of the actions which actually constitute a lynching.  I now take time to record Cox' comments on lynching and juxtapose them with the treatment accorded Bobo and the other boys in "Big Boy Leaves Home."

          Let us first begin in the middle by offering up the purpose and function of what Cox outlined more than 35 years ago:

"Both the overt threat of lynching and prevented lynchings function to maintain white dominance. They provide, in fine, the socio-psychological matrix of the power relationship between the races." (Cox, 1948: 551)

          Little has changed because the power relationships between blacks and whites are, essentially, the same. A shift in appearance  does not mean that there is a positive or profound change in the essence  of racial relations.

          Now, an operational defintion of lynching and the tendencies which demonstrate that Juice is, indeed, being lynched:

"Lynching may be defined as an act of homicidal aggression committed by one people against another through mob action for the purpose of suppressing either some tendency in the latter to rise from an accommodated position of subordination or for subjugating them further to some lower social status." (ibid., 549)

          The chase down the interstate by the police was most reminiscent of the "slave chases" during antebellum slavery. The conditions were somewhat different because Juice was given "special consideration." But again, this "tom" benefited from black power; Los Angeles had already experienced one major riot, and black people were still tense about the verdict in the Rodney King beating case. The police department could not afford another chase-and-beating scenario.

          But the officer in charge after the chase did make it clear to the media (and therefore to America) that the situation was going to end at the house following the case, "one way or another." This may well be interpreted as the "homicidal aggression" of which Cox speaks and which has become most evidence when police must confront black people.

          So the police followed the white Ford Bronco, Juice and his buddy at the wheel, Al Cowlings. But the "mob action" of note is that of the media, which sent out its helicopters to "get the story" and, as a result, documented how O.J. had a gun, was considering suicide and while waiting out the situation, the media ran background information about O.J., his history and even his relationship with Al Cowlings, the man who was driving the white Bronco that O.J. was fleeing in.

Lynching is an exemplary and symbolic act. In the United States it is an attack principally against all Negroes in some community rather than against some individual Negro.  Ordinarily, therefore, when a lynching is indicated, the destruction of almost any Negro will serve the purpose as well as that of some particular one. (ibid., --emphasis added-MCS)

          "Any negro," true. But our society no longer resides in backwoods, rural little villages. We now live in major urban areas and the media is therefore needed. Therefore, there is now a need for a highly visible negro to "lynch." In doing so, you influence all the black people that this individual influences or who believe in this individual. Like the white politician approaching the black minister, by paying that minister off, you can have that individual influence the masses of the people who do, indeed, attend church. The days of "one-on-one proselytizing" are long gone.

          By dogging out high profile niggas like Tyson, Michael Jackson and now, the Juice, the white man can establish his authority and deliver a clear message, similar to the one that Chief Justice Taney delivered in 1857 in the Scott v. Sanford case (also known as the Dred Scott case): "A black man has no rights a white man is bound to respect."

          What is most impressive is what Cox calls "the lynching cycle," and how applicable said cycle is to what is taking place before, during and since the arrest of O.J. Simpson. The cycle, which also includes the actions and reactions of the black community, is an important one for analysis at this juncture. I have listed only the key components of the definition:

(a) A growing belief among whites in the community that Negroes are getting out of hand -- in wealth, in racial independence, in attitudes of self-assertion ... or in reliance upon the law.

          For some time now, Minister Louis Farrakhan, either rightly or wrongly, has been monitoring the white man and his actions toward certain black celebrities, Michael Jackson in particular. According to the leader of the Nation of Islam, the white man saw Michael becoming richer and richer and feared that one day, Jackson might wake up with political maturity and awareness. Hence, the "move" to charge Michael with child molestation and to embarrass him in the media.

          In defense of the Juice, the Minister spoke out on a number of issues during a major presentation at a recent "Men Only" meeting, attended by over 10,000 Black men. As it was reported in The Final Call  newspaper,

"Minister Louis Farrakhan blasted media coverage of the O.J. Simpson murder trial and corporate exploitation of athletes and entertainers ... 'It is not for sure that O.J. did it. Supppose he gets off because you don't have enough evidence to convict him? What are you going to do with O.J. then?" ... Min. Farrakhan expressed sorrow over the deaths but criticized sensational reporting and corporate America for deserting their "heroes and role models" at any accusation, not guilt ... " (Muhammad, 1994: 2)

          Whether one supports Minister Farrakhan or not, one thing is clear: he is the only black man in a national leadership position who isn't beholden to white people and to Jews, in particular. That is why he can speak his mind and, to date, he is to my knowlege the only black leader in this nation who can fill any stadium or conference center in this country, no matter how large. And the white man knows it.

          Here is what I believe: I believe that the white man is a hypocrite and that his greed would cause him to sell his own mother for a wooden nickel. Because of this greed, he pays black athletes millions of dollars per YEAR, but then turns around the generates that much in a matter of weeks or months.

          For instance, take the Juice. He was, at one time, the highest paid athlete in the National Football League. But what he was earning was a mere pittance when we look at how much money the white man made, and continues to make, off of the Juice. Let me show you just a few  of the avenues in which this is possible and most apparent.

          The Buffalo Bills attendance skyrocketed when Juice was their prize running back. That represents ticket sales of more than a half a million each weekend that the Bills play at home.  That does not include the concessions, where again, Juice's magic on the field brings in people who get hungry and purchase beer, hot dogs and the like. Then there's the memorabilia: you go to a game and most people buy a program as a souvenir. What about the Buffalo Bill pennants? And the photos of the team, which include the Juice? What about the photos of the Juice alone? In the latter two cases, the photos are the domain of the photographer and the team, and both get the money. Not O.J.

          Then the Hertz commercials. O.J. made some money, but look what Hertz must have made: people renting cars for more than $50 per day all over the nation and the world! This means millions each week!  What Juice got was chump change compared to what Hertz generated.

          When Juice appeared on talks shows, that generated revenue for that particular television network. His appearance on the cover of Ebony magazine (at least twice) generated millions for John Johnson, the publisher of that black magazine. When he was in the announcer's booth at Monday Night Football and later for NBC, he got a great salary, but generated ten times that much for the network in terms of audience viewership. He helped sell ads on two of the most popular football programs in the history of the world: and, in particular, the beer companies made a mint.

          Finally, do not forget this important point: what O.J. was paid, he turned around and spent in in the white man's businesses. Black people do not sell Ferrari's (like the matching white ones he purchased for himself and Nicole), black merchants do not sell expensive mink coats like the ones he showered Nicole with. Black people do not sell mansions, like the $5 million one he and Nicole lived in or the multi-million dollar beach home. O.J. worked and spent the money with and one white people. The whites who made money off of him, including the Buffalo Bills, NBC, ABC and others, made money which was reinvested and which ultimately serves to enable white people -- who took no body blocks, tackles or carried one football -- to earn a hundred times the money that Juice earned.

          Now, he will spend what he's got with Jewish and gentile attorneys trying to keep his ass out of prison. He will spend it with them and, because of the publicity behind the trial, he will live out his life as if he was a pauper. He is making more money for the National Enquirer, the Globe, The Star, and the other smut tabloids, not to mention the "specials" that television programs are airing and selling advertising for. Everyone is getting rich from this black man's obsessive actions. And he's not getting a damn penny from any of it.

          So what the black athlete earns is mere "chump change" compared to the billions, and, in the final analysis, the trillions of dollars, which are spread around and about the white community, based upon his touchdown runs, his slam dunks, his home runs and Olympic accomplishments.

          It would figure then, that the white man would defend this "nigger" who is making them money. And in O.J.'s unique case, the concern is not about his personal wealth because the white man understands that he controls that. Juice's agents, attorneys and advisors are all white men. But Juice is a "special case" because, indeed, these "negroes" are getting out of hand in terms of their salaries. And they're getting out of hand in the central cities ala L.A. riot. And they're coming into the country clubs and the golf courses, places where the white man once felt segregated and therefore, safe.

          The "negroes" of today are printing newspapers and doing talk shows on radio and raising issues on black cable access. The white man, for the most part, is being exposed. The wealth of black people is still under control, but gradually, there is information getting out that the white man, at one time, could easly control or diffuse.

          We are suing him and winning. We are taking him before his own courts and, because his acts of hate and racism are so blatant, even his OWN people often rule in our favor. We are embarrassing him in the major sports where quickness, speed, leaping ability and athletic skills carry a premium. And we are doing it in front of his women and his children. He can no longer ban us from sports and then lie to his women and children about how he is the greatest in the world. We have exposed his lack of comparative athletic ability in boxing, football, basketball, baseball and now, even in Olympic events. He only has tennis and golf left.

          We are more self-assertive and are excelling in areas where he could formerly keep us out of. Now, the "inferior" black man is kicking his ass. He has to make an example out of somebody. Hence, the public humiliation of Michael Tyson (for alleged rape), Michael Jordan (for gambling), of Michael Jackson (alleged child molestation), and now O.J. Simpson, for murdering two white people.

         

(b) Development, by continual critical discussion about Negroes among whites, of a summatory attitude of racial antagonism and tension.

          If I can make the kinds of observations noted earlier, then surely the white man sees it. He has to censure Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder for saying that blacks were athletically superior because of the way we were "bred" during slavery; he had to censure Ann Schott for referring to several of her star black athletes as "high priced niggers," and he's had to go on record after being sued promising not to practice his racism in public. He takes this personally. A verdict leads to the burning of one of his largest cities. The shootings of black youth lead to embarrassing public protests and pickets. He views all these as antagonism because we were supposedly "trained" to fear him. But we do not fear him any more because we are too busy begging and scrounging to be a part of his system. Even in that, he interprets such movements as being "uppity" and, as a result, there is both perceived and actual "tension" at both ends of the racial spectrum.

          Furthermore, it doesn't take much to whip white folks up into a "summatory" attitude that is anti-black. Merely look at who they blame when their economy gets bad; look at who they blame for the welfare mess; look at who they blame for the deterioration of the central city and the rise in suspensions, expulsions and arrests of black youth. They blame us for problems that they created the conditions for. And then, they take that blame and generate billions of dollars and creates thousands of jobs for their own people in the name of "solving the problem."

(c) The rumored or actual occurrence of some outrage committed by a Negro upon some white person or persons. The ideal act is the rape of a white girl. But if the tension is very high, whites will purposely seek an incident with the Negroes.

          This is where the Farrakhan comments come in. There can be no doubt that the white man sees black people excelling despite his attempts to eliminate us from the streets of his cities. He sees creativity in spite of criminal epidemics, excellence in the face of "no exits," and development even as he uses our communities as objects of debasement. Therefore, to make an "example" out of those held in high esteem is the best way to teach an object lesson and, furthermore, to influence or re-direct the thinking of the masses of black people by inundating us with daily reports on O.J., how the white lawyers are trying to "save him," and how his actions against Nicole are "so common in America."

(d) The incident having occurred, the white mob comes into action, lays hands upon the Negro, and lynches him. He is burned, hanged, or shot in some public place ... and his remains dragged about the Negro section of the community ... There is usually a scramble among the mob for toes, fingers, bits of clothing, and the like, which are kept as souvenirs of the lynching occasion.

          The "action" of the mob started with police believing that Juice did it, handcuffing him, removing the handcuffs and then letting him go perhaps knowing he would try to flee. When Juice decides to make a move, he leads policemen on a 50-mile chase. Upon being arrested, O.J. is then figuratively lynched as whites use TV, radios, newspapers and magazines to "expose" the Juice, to "analyze" the information. to "document" the circumstances which lead to the murders and to otherwise "kill" any life that O.J. has now that a white man and a white woman are now dead.

          Juice's "remains" are dragged before us each day: his "past" alleged drug use, womanizing, violent outbursts and so on; brought before us looking depressed and tired, sitting in a courtroom taking notes and basically looking lifeless and impotent, undoing his once virile and athletic appearance which made him the envy of white men and certainly the object of the fantasies of a lot of women, white and black.

          And as a final affront on his (most tommish) character, even Hertz, who he made so much money for, dropped him as a spokesman in the face of the charges. They abandoned him during his time of need. Keep this in mind, black folks.

          Moving on:

(e) During a lynching all Negroes are driven under cover. They are terrified and intimidated ...

          Because of TV and radio, those who are "driven under cover" can watch the trials and O.J.'s degradation from the safety of their own living rooms and say in private that which they do not have the guts, gumption or gall to say or the commitment to back up, in public.

(f) Within about two or three days the mob achieves its emotional catharsis. There is a movement for judicial investigation, and some of the "best white people" speak out against lynching...

          In this case, you can view almost all of white society as a "mob," because most of them appear to be responding in the same way: negating the issue of the fact that O.J. was black and Nicole was white, with very few recent exceptions, and instead, using a backdoor approach to lynch him: the issue of spouse abuse and how it must be punished and how the lawmakers can and must do more to bring it to a halt.

          The movement for "judicial investigation" is the stage where the lawyers appear and make motions and call for suppression of certain evidence even as the police continue to comb O.J.'s house and the entire community for "clues." This is a double lynching of sorts: in court the Juice is rendered impotent (one could call it ideological castration) and a white man is forced to speak for and defend him. At the same time, miles away, an entire organization of whites are violating any search and seizure rights Juice might have by walking in and out of his house when they choose and by taking testimony from other white people on what they may or may not have seen or heard the night of the murders.

          Who are the "best white people." Paula "Polo" Barbieri,  heretofore an unheard of model, is given prime time on television to plead Juice's case, as are a number of his white buddies; Tom Brokaw who pleads with America that Juice "is innocent until proven guilty"; famed attorney Jerry Spence who talks about how he feels sorrow for O.J.'s situation, knowing full well that the feminists and the womanists and the rest are going to charge him with sexism for saying so. And the others, individuals who wouldn't give an "average" black person the time of day and who, in fact, moved to the suburbs so that they wouldn't have to interact with any blacks at all, suddenly giving O.J. Simpson, the former football star, the benefit of the doubt.

          New era, same method of operation.

(g) There is a new interracial adjustment. Negroes become exceedingly circumspect in their dealings with whites, for they are not thoroughly frightened ... few will dare even to disagree with white persons on any account whatever. The man who does so is not considered a hero by the majority of Negroes; rather he earns their censure.

          Farrakhan. Each time he links a contemporary social issue or controversy to the need to separate from the white man, the white man, through the Jews, lambastes and seeks to devalue his commentaries. He is the only individual with the guts to disagree with the white man, and he is the only individual with enough economic clout and backing to have an impact on the way that we, as blacks, must begin analyzing what is taking place around us. He is therefore censured, not only by the white media and the Jews, but by those "negroes" who we consider our leaders but who, in reality, are on the payrolls of white corporations, philanthropists, and the system, in general.

(h) In a more or less short period of time Negroes begin to smile broadly and ingratiatingly over the merest whim of white men. They are eager to show that they bear no malice for the horrible past. The lynching has accomplished its purpose, social euphoria is restored, and the cycle is again on its way...(ibid., pp. 550-551)

          This is the result of the conditioning that we have undergone for the past four hundred years. We are taught to run and hide and forget the negatives; we are programmed that the problems of other black people are not our own. We are force-fed the belief that the white man's ice is colder than our ice. As scholar LaRue Nedd has said on a number of occasions, in a game that he controls, the name of the game being played is "I win, you lose."

          Finally, Cox in his profundity defines what I alluded to earlier when I spoke briefly about the "manhunt tradition" and, once again, this fits what took place when Juice was on the proverbial "lamb" with the cops hot on his trail during a 50-mile chase.

"The manhunt tradition rests on the assumption of the unlimited rights of white men and the absence of any rights on the part of the accused Negro." (ibid., p. 553-554)

          That's why most of the people doing the talking in the tabloids and on the television (a video tabloid when it comes to dealing with the controversy surrounding the Juice) are white people. Neighbors down the street, a man who owned a dog who walked through the blood, the woman who was coming around the corner who claims she almost ran into Juice, hotel personnel, individuals at O'Hare Airport, bar owners, psychiatrists, attorneys, and the list gets longer each week: people who, in daily life, ain't shit.

But in the final analysis, they call came forth to get their fifteen minutes of fame and fuckin' glory -- at Juice's expense.