Yeah, what he said…

A nod of the Afro goes out to a certain DeWayne Wickham for the opinion piece he wrote in USA Today on the passing of Jesse Helms.

My Afro, which has been sore due to the reluctance of the sorta-press to keep it fucking real and call that rancidity the rancidity it was, is now somewhat soothed….

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the girl who cried misogyny

yeah. it’s usually better that i don’t write when i am exhausted because my normally short irritation fuse gets even shorter. i don’t even know how to start because i just have so very much actual anger at americans for being so incredibly stupid- and then at my own gender for being even stupider. i can hardly stand it. i have never given it a second thought- in my entire life- that i am a white woman. it doesn’t occur to me to care- because i have never had to. that doesn’t mean that i can’t be an ally with and empathize with- women of color or simply any other person who doesn’t look like me. i have always backed the under dog and i have always stood up for what i felt was right- i get that from both parents- although i don’t really have a relationship with my father-

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calling it like i see it

i guess i have a real problem with white folks crying over the words of black folks. i mean, seriously, did you actually listen to barack obama’s speech? reverend wright’s? or did you base your opinions on the ad nauseum coverage of the largely white news pundits working for largely white corporate sponsors? spare me the indignation. let’s lay it all out here- naked and bare in the light- racism exists- whether you are black, white, yellow, brown, purple or whatever. white folks discriminate against black people; black people discriminate against asian folks; asian folks discriminate against latino folks….. and the circle of life goes on. so, before we get all holier than thou about how liberal and progressive we are- and how horrible it is for reverend wright to say ‘god damned america’- let’s get a bit of perspective.

i am a white woman. i have never knowingly in my life experienced racism, misogyny, or classism. i have never felt, in my life, less than or that i couldn’t do anything i damned well pleased. i have pretty near always had what i needed and since i became an adult- i have had what i wanted. i lock my car doors. i lock my home door and windows. if i am walking alone, i cross the street when approached– by anyone. why? because i am a woman. i worked in an inpatient psych unit and i worked in a field with kid’s who had very troubled parents. i am aware of my surroundings and i don’t really give a shit if you are black, white or purple- if there are more than 2 of you- i cross. men or women. i am lucky. how many people of color can say the same thing? how about talking to some of the native american tribes who live on reservations in this country. there are several here in new york state- these folks live in abject poverty. how about the legal americans who happen to be migrant workers or meat plant packers in this country? they don’t live in gated communities where many may work as au pairs or lawn folks. you can feel self righteous that you don’t behave that way if you want- but many in this country do.

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