I Will Never Be All White

This is something I wrote in response to Loku:

As for my being white, you always try to take away the part of me that wasn't born in Europe, that did not come here on a ship, the part that is connected to this land in a way that you will NEVER understand.

I am not all white.

I will never be all white.

I can never deny who and what I am.

I will never be what you want me to be.

You can't steal my heritage from me, no matter how hard you try.

I really think that his attitude is part of the undercurrent of American society, that if you LOOK white, then you surely can't claim or affirm the REST of your heritage, the part of you that doesn't belong to the predominately white culture, the part of you that is connected to the land, the part that connects you to your Brothers and Sisters of Color.

As Claudine Chiawei O'Hearn said in the introduction of Half + Half, "Skin color and place of birth aren't accurate signifiers of identity. One and one don't necessarily add up to two. Cultural and racial amalgams create a third, wholly indistinguishable category where origin and home are indeterminate... What name do you give someone who is a quarter, an eighth, a half?"

She's right. What name do we have?

In America, we are automatically classified upon the first perception of the masses.

Our culture insists on placing a label on everyone.

Because my skin color is white, my hair is a funny reddish gold, my eyes are teal, I am classified as "white".

Yet, yet, yet, there are those moments when I am recognized as not being all white.

A party where a Latino/Aztec man I'd never seen before walked up to me and asked what kind of Indian I am.

My daughter's [Black] friend who hesitated, and then asked me what ethnicity I was -- because whites don't have the kind of hair I have.

High cheekbones, long coarse hair, there are identifiers for those who wish to see.

And I guess that's the issue, those who wish to see.

White American culture doesn't wish to see.

Individuals, yes, often individuals are willing to step outside of the box. But the inertia pressing us all down the path of assimilation doesn't permit us to be different. America doesn't permit us to be different.

When we self-identify, hold onto that part of our lives, our culture, our heritage that doesn't lead back to Europe, then we set ourselves apart from the mainstream culture.

We are aliens in our own land.

I identify more with Fredi and Isabel Washington, who in the 1930s could have easily passed into white society. Who chose to embrace their African and Native American heritage rather than become white movie stars. Who chose to be and remain who they were, despite their outward appearances of being "white".

I identify more with Julia Alvarez, from the Dominican Republic, yet perceived as white by not just white America, but by other, darker Dominicans.

I identify with my boss, who married into a Latino family, converted to Catholicism, immersed herself in the culture of her husband.

Some of us, despite our skin color, will never fit into white society. So we reach out, join our Brothers and Sisters of Color. We reach out for our heritage that is more, so much more than white America could ever understand.

Yes, we are aliens in our own land.

Yet, I could never trade who and what I am, just so I could fit in.

I would rather be alone than deny myself, deny my grandparents, deny my gggrandmother, a free person of color.

In the words of the immortal cartoon character, Popeye, " I am who I am".

No more, no less.

Some People Shouldn't Be Allowed To Have Kids

No, I'm not talking about eugenics.

Not hardly.

I'm talking about degenerate, evil people like this "mother".

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/11/23/Mother_accused_of_scarring_wimp_daughter/UPI-27681227463372/

This is absolutely horrifying.

To burn "WIMP" into your child's neck, with a cigarette?!?

Thank the Good Lord that a teacher saw the marks and reported it to CPS.

The child is safe now and "mom" is facing charges of felony child abuse.

I pray that this child is taken in by family or a good adoptive family and that the life she's led up to now becomes a faint memory, overlaid by many happy memories in her new home.

God only knows what else she has suffered.

Some people should not be allowed to have children.

All children deserve to be safe.

All children deserve forever homes.

And some people should not be allowed to have children...

The Homeowner Bail Out

Yes, I am in favor of a homeowner bail out.

I was NOT in favor of the big bank bail out. Why? AIG sending its staff to an expensive retreat, after accepting $150 billion... Need I say more?

However, there are a LOT of ways that the government could help homeowners. Here's some random thoughts:

1. Lend homeowners enough money to redo their loans. Something like, original lender loan drops to the current value of the house, Feds lend homeowner enough $$ for a 1 to 3% interest second mortgage. And while they're at it, set up automatic payments according to the homeowners' paydays.
2. Matching funds, lender does a free refi, loan becomes a 30 - 40 - even 50 year fixed rate loan, Feds give lenders a matching amount of $$ for the amount the lender forgives on the loan. Naturally you would want a cap on this amount.
3. Drop interest rates. All mortgages drop off 2% on the interest rate, with the lowest rate being 5%, Feds give some fat tax breaks and incentive $$ to lenders.
4. Force lenders to allow homeowners to make bi-monthly payments, so it's easier to make payments according to the homeowners' paydays and budget.
5. Lenders forgive up to 3 months payments, get a tax break or incentive $$.
6. Don't let lenders do loans without an escrow account. That will stop lenders from playing games with the payment amounts. (I know this one, I was ASSURED that my loan would include the escrow -- well, at the last minute, when I was already committed and really had no choice, oops, that was wrong, didn't include the escrow. So I got screwed. Dude knew I was out of money, I couldn't start the process over with another lender. He got his commission and I got "did"...)
7. Freeze foreclosures for up to 6 months to give homeowners a chance to catch up, tack up to 6 months payments onto the end of the mortgage.

Naturally, all of these random thoughts should have limits. Lenders shouldn't have to suck up a 700,000 loan when the house value has dropped to 200,000. But they could refi the original amount into a lower interest rate, longer term, fixed rate loan. Why? Because if the homeowner sits tight for another 3 to 10 years, the house value WILL go up again.

But there are many, many ways that the Feds and the mortgage companies could help homeowners and at the same time, help themselves.

Why? Because if the mortgage market can be stabilized, the rest of the economy will also begin stabilizing.

The house of cards has already tumbled. Let's change the building materials back to brick and mortar and get our economy back on track.

I have to go now, time to get ready for work.

Think about it. In fact, think outside of the box.

This CAN be resolved without people losing their homes and the lenders not losing a lot of money. Stop saying "can't" and start asking "how"...

President Obama Represents Hope

While die-hard Republicans are dismayed at the election of a Democrat, I am obviously thrilled at our choice.

I think President Obama's two terms in office will be a bright spot in American history. Yes, two terms. He is going to pull the economy out of the toilet. He is going to get some resolution to our overseas issues, like Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan. He is going to be more flexible and is already perceived as a man to work with, not against, in international politics. And in politics, how you are perceived by others is half the battle.

Yes, the Repubs are having fits, but they have only their party to blame. Even my Dad, a die-hard Republican, told me that he has to hold his nose to vote for the lesser of two evils. That is a telling statement. "The lesser of two evils."

The Republican Party has lost touch with its own membership.

I truly believe that most people are moderates with a few wild swings one way or the other. The Party has catered a little too long to the right wing wack jobs that fill the airwaves with dramatic statements, misrepresentations, and flat out lies.

Yes, they have a right to their opinions, but while they've been shouting BS to the winds, the massive silent majority in America spoke with their votes.

President Obama represents hope.

Hope for enough of a change to make a difference.

Now, I'm not deluded enough to think people want big changes. No, no, they absolutely don't.

What people want is to live decent lives, have a good job, a roof over their heads, food to eat, a nice vehicle to drive, an education for their kids. Americans like their toys, yes, but mainly they want to be secure in their lives.

People want to go to work, come home, watch TV, maybe play a sport, enjoy their families. They want to be able to tailgate now and then at the stadium. They want to eat out now and then. They want to be able to go to the doctor when they're sick, so they get better.

They don't want to be sweating over the checkbook trying to figure out how to pay the increasing mortgage (because the broker lied to them about the advantages of that low-rate adjustable mortgage -- believe me, don't blame the victims of fraud!!).

People don't want massive changes in the American system. They just want to live their day-to-day lives and be able to retire someday.

The mortgage meltdown was only one more symptom of the failures of the American economic system. I'd take it back to the Enron debacle. That was the beginning of the meltdown. We just didn't know how big the lies were and how far entrenched into our economic system they'd become.

President Obama isn't going to be able to perform miracles. But he is going to take charge and start working on behalf of the PEOPLE of America. Unlike all too many politicians, he hasn't forgotten where he came from -- middle class working people.

President Obama represents new hope in America.

Hope Has Prevailed Over Status Quo

Hope has prevailed over status quo.

Tonight, Barak Obama becomes our next President.

Personally, I'm thrilled.

Obama is a symbol of hope, not just for Black American, but for ALL of America.

Now, the cynic in me is already saying,

Watch this, Obama has won, so the people who voted against him will start justifying and compartmentalizing him. Suddenly, he'll be "different" than the rest of our African-American Brothers and Sisters. His father was African, his mother was white. Somehow, there will be those that will put him into a different category than other Black men.

Yes, I know, it's pretty cynical to say this.

But I know how people are.

My youngest son is very fair. Some "overlook" that his father is Black, Mexican, and Italian. But my sweet child said, "I'm white on the outside and Black on the inside."

He knows who he is, no matter what others think, no matter how fair he is, he knows and embraces his heritage.

Thus is Obama. No matter what people may think and say, he embraces who he is, he embraces his heritage. And no matter what people may think or say, Obama is the President of all Americans.

McCain is speaking as I type, conceding the victory to Obama. He is gracious in defeat. He offers all his support to President Obama to find ways to compromise and bridge our differences. He hushes those who boo, speaking of love for our Country, wishing our new President well, and asking for God's blessings on America.

Yes, we will, once more, have a peaceful transition from one President to the next.

America will stand today, tomorrow, and for many more tomorrows, together as one nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

Today, many of our Brothers and Sisters of Color who were disenfranchised in the past have found new hope, new faith, new belief in America.

Hope has prevailed over status quo in America today.

It is a day to be proud to be an American.

History Will Be Made Tomorrow

Yes, it's a historic election in many, many ways.

It's more than electing our first [officially] Black President.

Honestly, whether Obama wins or loses, it will still be historic.

We've already had a huge turnout of voters. People who have never voted in their lives have not only registered to vote, but stood in line for two or three hours to vote.

I know I'm planning on being at my polling site when it opens at 7am. I normally vote after work, but with the anticipated huge turnout of voters, plus bad weather, I don't want to take a chance that I'll miss my chance to vote this year.

Obama is a remarkable man. Grieving his beloved grandmother, who passed on to Heaven today, he has stayed poised and on track throughout this election.

Despite vile lies, misdirection, out and out racism, and then even more lies, Obama is still standing strong and proud.

And let me say again, lies, lies, lies.

It's not like it's the first Presidential campaign that tried to imply that the candidate wasn't a citizen, that he wasn't really a Christian (remember it was a huge thing that JFK was Catholic), that he would bring chaos into the American system of government, that he wasn't white (but of course, Obama is mixed, so he really isn't all white), etc, etc, etc.

PULEEZE people, get a grip.

The United States system of government has been amazingly successful for us. We manage, every four years, to elect or re-elect a President, to maintain a stable government, to avoid chaos in the transition.

IE, life goes on.

I do believe that Obama is the best man for the job.

I'm sure I'll have someone e-mailing me and telling me a bunch of horrible lies that have long been discredited by www.snopes.com (a valuable resource, you should check it out).

Even my own parents, die hard Republicans, told me some of the blathering that's being smeared across the air by too many right wing radio hosts.

For example, did you know that if Obama loses, there will be riots in the streets of America? REALLY??? I'm rolling my eyes and shaking my head over that crazy idea. I haven't heard any such thing over here on the Democratic side of the world. I can't imagine that people would riot over a Presidential election. That just does not happen in America.

(The ONLY way there would be riots would be if some idiot caused harm to our Brother. And my Brothers and Sisters of Color would not be alone, there'd be a boatload of whites up in the mix. Fortunately the Secret Service is on top of security, there won't be any slip ups.)

I must say, the Republican machine must be getting pretty desperate to come up with that kind of bull droppings...

And I'm sure you've heard all the nonsense about Obama's birth certificate, that he's not a native born American, that he's an Arab, that he follows Islam. I even read one comment online, that he's the anti-Christ.

OMfreakinggoodness!!

People, as important as this election is to all of us, get a grip!! And in fact, take a hard look at the sources of all these lies.

Remember, the ends DO NOT justify the means.

Obama has remained poised and gentlemanly, despite all the mudslinging. McCain seems more shrill by the minute.

Yes, Obama is Presidential material. He'll be a fine figure leading our country.

Remember, the President is the leader, but Congress runs the show. Obama can only do so much in our system of checks and balances.

Even Bush could only do so much damage. It was plenty bad enough, but he wasn't able to destroy the country, in spite of all his efforts. Thanks to Powell and Rice and many, many other bright, intelligent staff, even Bush was generally not all bad.

Get a grip, my people!!

The world won't end when Obama wins the election. In fact, neither will the country.

We will have our normal orderly change of the guard, at the last minute Bush will pardon some doofus(s) that don't really deserve it, he'll sign a few more bills into law, he'll give his outgoing speeches, and then Obama will take his oath of office on the Bible -- yes a regular Bible, just like the one you have on your nightstand.

Everything will go on, just like it does every four years.

History will be made tomorrow.

I'm looking forward to it...