Comments on I Need More Cowbell *: House Apologizes for Slavery & Jim Crow

This is a great post. I have been looking for tho...

2009-05-28T04:59:27.170-07:00

This is a great post. I have been looking for those Squires numbers on inheritances for a while, and was glad to find them here. Thanks.

Excellent, kick ass work! You know I already agree...

2008-08-12T16:32:00.000-07:00

Excellent, kick ass work! You know I already agree with exactly everything you said, so I won't rehash. But of course I will still write a book. Two things I loved, the first was:

"Here's what I didn't understand: it is not about individuals. It's about a system. It's about laws.

Let me be clear -- this is about the legalized system of oppression put in place by our government, not about whether individual White folks owned slaves or not. If you think we became a superpower so quickly because we're just that good, think again."

So key. If people don't see that, the discussion stops and we once again polarize, despite what may be very honest and anti racist intentions.

The other part that stuck out for me was in explaining the picture in the book to your as of yet, slavery naive four year old child. Powerful, and once agin shows the importance of a tangible connection on these types of issues. Theoretical awareness is never enough.

I'm so glad you wrote this! I know how much feeling and baggage went into it. I'm more than impressed with the responses, and actually pleasantly surprised. It's easy to get bogged down by the blogs and web sites that treat a post like this as if it is written and spoken in tongues, but the comments here reflect the fact that things are slowly changing. That, even though it is too slow, is still a good thing.

Great post MC! Having grown up with a Southern boy...

2008-08-06T12:38:00.000-07:00

Great post MC! Having grown up with a Southern boy, racist as a father I know those people you quoted. It scares the shit out of me that those people even think that way in the 21 century, let alone express themselves in a public forum. It makes want to pull out my shotgun. Asshats!

Oh, Cowbell. You don't shy away from the tough on...

2008-08-03T23:28:00.000-07:00

Oh, Cowbell. You don't shy away from the tough ones, do you honey? I remember talking to my oldest two girls - who are ethically Southeast Asian, and darker-skinned than your kids - about slavery. Very difficult, because I don't even have the "nice white person" route to crawl on. My family owned slaves, fought on the wrong side in the Civil War, helped start the North Carolina KKK (to divide poor whites from poor blacks, and so maintain power) after the war was over. It is one of the most miserable feelings in the world to tell your innocent little children that the world was, and is, full of people who commit inexcusable atrocities out of their own greed and then justify it to themselves in all kinds of ways. And to then tell your beautiful brown children that the people who did this, who benefitted from this dehumanization, were your own ancestors.

And yes, of course, we, their descendants, have benefitted immensely from the money made in the enslavement of others. It is so difficult, so sad. And an apology is better than nothing. It's a tiny motion in a better direction. But it doesn't answer any of the thorny questions about how to create a more equitable America now.... All we can do is talk about it, as you are doing here, with openness and candor. And tell our children is was wrong, wrong, wrong.

Y|O|Y: Thanks for the link. Well ... mixed feeling...

2008-08-02T13:04:00.000-07:00

Y|O|Y: Thanks for the link. Well ... mixed feelings. No way in hell would he get elected in THIS country if he supported traditional reparations publicly. African Americans are what, 12, 13% of US population overall? White America is NOT going to vote that in on their own. People at the top of the power structure never voluntarily change it out of the goodness of their heart, right? And we've done such a good job historically of the whole "divide & conquer" thing to keep communities of color from coming together too much ... too threatening and scary!

I do think that at this point, reparations would have to be much different than just throwing some cash at Black people with a "Can we all move on now?" That wouldn't fix things any more than the stimulus checks fixed the economy. Obama's idea that it needs to involve education and health care is good, I think, but I agree w/ the lady in the end of the article who said the disparities between White/Black people would still come right along with any broad program.

I agree it has to be directed to specifically address the inequities left from slavery and the systems it put in place. I think it has to - in REAL and tangible way - address education, health, and property. I'd also like to see anti-racist teaching and ways of looking at things become more part of corporate cultures, and of course to include everyone's histories being taught from the get-go in the schools. I'd also like to see it become a requirement that anyone holding public office must have gone through some in depth anti-racist education.

RG: Thanks, sweets! And we'll find out soon -- City Council on Monday, baby.

You constantly amaze me with your writing and your...

2008-08-02T07:33:00.000-07:00

You constantly amaze me with your writing and your prescient observations.

I hope you become commissioner. That would be so sweeeeeeeeeet!

Having just mentioned Obama:http://news.yahoo.com/...

2008-08-02T05:32:00.000-07:00

Having just mentioned Obama:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080802/ap_on_el_pr/obama_slavery_reparations

Whim: You and me both, girl. YDG: Thanks! I cou...

2008-08-01T11:48:00.000-07:00

Whim: You and me both, girl.

YDG: Thanks! I could never get paid because I'm too damn wordy. Editors would have a field day with me. Oh, and better watch it with that "saddened by my country" bit --- before you know it, they'll lump you in Michelle Obama, and you know how radical and unpatriotic she is! (Conservatives: that was sarcasm.)

SuperDave: Oh, I remember reading about that flag when it went up. Bigger than a semi-truck, if I remember correctly. Folks sure were crowing about that one.

As far as your buddy, that's the thing, it's not usually black and white (so to speak). It's hard, especially with family members, to reconcile a person's wonderful qualities with blatantly racist attitudes. I almost think it's easer w/ the Confederate flag crowd -- they're up front about their racism. But the "I'm not a racist" crowd, who genuinely believe they are not, yet hold attitudes expressed by some of the commenters I quoted ... that's hard. The "bootstrapper crowd".

And I'm thinking that even the "cultural prejudice" you mention is rooted in racism. It's a belief that white is right, our way of _____ (dressing, speaking, acting, conducting business, etc) is superior and correct. The belief that assimilation is better (and desired!) by those whom we consider "other".

TW: Yes! It's really interesting how humans feel we have to classify people, we have to know what box they fit in. They see/treat you differently based on what they think you are. My kids deal with that a lot, especially my middle daughter. People are all smiles and on about how "exotic" she is, she must be " Egyptian, with those Cleopatra eyes!" or a "Persian princess!" When they find out she's African American it's "...Oh! Well you can't tell!" With a big ol' smile pasted on. Like they think that's a compliment, like she's supposed to say thank you or something! Assholes.

A friend of mine is Chicana. Her high school aged daughter's Spanish teacher (white lady who can't speak Spanish for shit) told her in front of the whole the class that her people must be from from Spain, not Mexico, because of her nice fair skin. WTF? She then launched into how Mexicans are mixed with Indians (horrors!) but the Spaniards were fair ... the young lady was humiliated and angry. It's almost like the teacher wanted to rescue her from the fate of being Mexican! Like, "Oh thank god I'm descended from the colonizers instead!" Blech.

See ... wordy. >sigh<

Great post.What unsettles me is how I get boxed in...

2008-08-01T08:13:00.000-07:00

Great post.

What unsettles me is how I get boxed into the "white" category recently (no more "F-Mexican" when you choose your ethnicity!) when my folks? They've been treated like the unwanted evil red-headed stepchildren all their lives (in the US). What is super sad is they think I super lucky cuz I am so pale I glow in the dark...

Just minutes ago I finished reading about a buddy ...

2008-07-31T18:05:00.000-07:00

Just minutes ago I finished reading about a buddy of mine from high school who proudly raised the largest confederate battle flag in the country near interstate four in Tampa. He has decent qualities. Really. Still, it is difficult to imagine how he, and so many people, can do things that most rational people immediately recognize as hateful and ridiculous. I work at a public defender's office in SC. It's pretty obvious to me that my black clients do not get the same break that most of my white clients get. Some of it is cultural, and not strickly racial. I tell all of my clients to dress like the judge dresses. Leave the baggy pants and thug life shirts at home. But not all of it is. Anyway, keep fighting the good fight.

this was one of the smartest posts I've read in ag...

2008-07-31T06:27:00.000-07:00

this was one of the smartest posts I've read in ages...very well done and thought out..now if the rest of the united states only thought like you ..good luck with that..
I am saddened by my country more often than not..mind set...I swear it's all about mind set..sigh*

An amazing post Cowbell!I just don't get why peopl...

2008-07-30T22:52:00.000-07:00

An amazing post Cowbell!

I just don't get why people are threatened by this, but then I don't get most people.

G: From what I understand, it was a non-binding r...

2008-07-30T22:44:00.000-07:00

G: From what I understand, it was a non-binding resolution, they did it by voice vote, and the Senate is "talking about" jumping on board by doing the same.

However, the Senate actually did apologize to the Native people now within US borders back in February, and the House made noise about matching it, but I haven't heard anything more about that.

Bush would probably veto anything just like he did the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act.

I've already heard reporters ask this of Obama. D...

2008-07-30T21:40:00.000-07:00

I've already heard reporters ask this of Obama. Did the House pass a resolution or a bill? Will it go to the Senate then the President? I hope so...then Obama can say he supports the President and keep from getting swift boated with it.