Pico de Orizaba

Pico de Orizaba
Taken from Huatusco, Veracruz, the closest town to Margarita's family's ranch.

Monday, March 20, 2017

The history of racism; a new twist...

I came directly aquí (oops) instead of entering facebook, where I usually begin (and end) my writing... Since I haven't been writing HERE what is truly in my mind (with the exception of a few dreams (and I haven't explained the prior two... todavía) you don't know what I've been reading and what James Baldwin's book "Just Above my Head", published in 1979 and translated (for me) in Spanish has to do with contemporary events and my comments...

What can I tell you about James Baldwin?  You certainly know of him... How much?  Depends upon your understanding of literature, "American" literature, "Afro-American" literature, American history and "black" history... which also depends greatly upon your interest in those subjects... Maybe you love literature... Maybe you love "American" literature... Maybe you absolutely no interest in "Black" authors... And the personal question would be "why"... And, no, I won't accuse you of being a racist... Avoiding or ignoring black literature could very well be a causality, a cultural trait... Meaning that you are not racist?  I guess you would be an innocent racist... 

What does James Baldwin's writing represent to the "white" literarary community; our college professors whom explained something about him to us?  If I'm correct, it was explained that he was an "angry" anti-white "black" writer... and that his writings were sexually explicit... and possibly that he was a homosexual... So, maybe a "heterosexual" male would avoid sexually explicit descriptions of male homosexual love... The truth is that there are some incredibly explicit scenes of heterosexual love... So, I guess maybe James was showing a more complete picture of the "community" and the events he describes...  As for being anti-white...  Think about it...

With such an incredible history of abduction, exploitation, and unimaginable abuse/violence by European/American "whites" against Africans/blacks, what do you believe should be the "response" of a highly intelligent and talented "black" to the atrocity of European/American white behavior against blacks?

So, here I am, reading James Baldwin for the first time since learning about him in Raritan Valley Community College or Somerville High School... how many years later?  And, this post actually refers to an interesting comment of Baldwin or his narrator towards the end of the book... (I have marked many other pages much earlier on in the story, refering to black experience during the Civil Rights movement that partially feed comments/responses on Facebook.  But this post has little to do with those statements or examples or histories)...  

We're in Paris.  Arthur, the soon to become famous former Gospel singer from New York City finds himself sitting infront of his French lover who has just stated that he could NOT be an "American" or a Brit, nor a German and has just criticized the problems of being a Frenchman... And Arthur surprisingly becomes molested by Guy's confession... the reason being that the confession draws him to think about how he feels about being an "American", about being an "American Black"...  But, what's the problem?  I was confused initially, because I imagined that these disclosures would bring the two together... However, Arthur confronts Guy as to saying something to the tone of "If you don't want to be an "American" or a Brit or a German, nor the Frenchman that you are, then, WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?"  But, his following comment is even more revealing: that although each of these white European countries (and the U.S.) lunge at each other's necks at any given time, they are ALWAYS in agreement with one thing and that is "Who is Arthur"... Who is Arthur?  A black man who's heritage is from Africa.  And the only reason why he has become an "American" is because of the most atrocious modern human history...  And, when he becomes "unbearable" in the eyes of the European and "American" whites, they know how to respond, by screwing him up the ass...  

And this is why my "white" friends don't respond to my comments... and why I don't have "black" friends... Because a white guy should not be talking about this stuff...  But, recently, it's become incredibly clear that the "white" middle-class and center, center-right "Americans" have become incredibly intolerant of "blacks" talking about this stuff... Which means that I've been inspired to bring the conversations to a much more "sophisticated" level... to look at the concerns or the ideas from a different perspective... which brings me back to the inspiration of this post:

Guy's response to Arthur's concerns... and you'll be surprised... if you read the book, since at this moment I will not be translating 5 pages of Spanish to English...

Guy responds beautifully... Shedding a different light upon James Baldwin's true belief about blacks and whites and racism... Guy says that although it was true that France needed Africa for its gold and diamonds, that wasn't France's true need and that France's colonialization of Africa didn't truly make Arthur or Africans victims...  Time would show that the true victims were the French...  But Guy--through Baldwin's narrator--doesn't go into detail and leaves us thinking:  why didn't French imperialism/colonialization of Africa make victims of the Africans enslaved... How is it possible that the victims would actually be the French?  So I considered the history of the TRUE European RACE... Between the Portuguese, Spaniards, Brits, Dutch and French?  and why?  What was truly occurring in the Carribean, Indian Ocean, south Atlantic and South Pacific that inspires Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean"?  Ya know, that series of movies is historically accurate.  What was the true "scramble" for discovering "el Dorado"?  What was occuring in England when the "South" developed an incredible urgency for encountering unlimited cheap labor (the American indigenous didn't work)... And, no, Guy isn't totally correct that the "blacks" weren't the true victims... I guess he really wants to say to Arthur It wasn't truly personal.  What was the race?  What was France doing in Africa?  

Competing in a race to accumulate resources... Have you ever been in a childhood party with a piñata?  What occurs when the candies start reigning upon the ground?  

What would have become of France and its naval fleet if they didn't grab the gold and the diamonds and the massive African Territory?  England had a part of the Americas, southern Africa, India, China, part of the middle east...  Spain had most of the Americas... and the pacific Islands...?  So, France took Africa...  Think about it... 

Africans, blacks, were a casualty... but they also became a commodity... but, being a commodity, machinery, the ONLY way "the South" could compete with "the North"'s industrialization and with England's cotton industry... (the industrial revolution began in England, but a century before it began in the U.S.)... In order for "capitalism" to work for "the south" they had to reduce the africans to cattle (hence the term "chattle labor"... does the "H" stand for "human"), to machines, to machinery, to "subhuman"... and the south became filled with disposable/indisposable human tools for competing with "the North" and with England...  

What you may not understand about the "slave codes", the "black codes" and "Jim Crow", is that at the outbreak of the Civil War, there were 4 million blacks to 1 million whites in the South...  Now, if you know that the Africans weren't truly cattle or soul-less, mindless machinery, then you know that you've got an incredible risk upon your hands... especially if you are a "conscientious" Christian...  Conscientious doesn't make you considerate, nor does it make you loving...  It just means that you are conscious of aspects of the truth: That you or your people are subjecting humans to "inhuman" treatment... That there exists an injustice you would never accept for "whites", for your family...  Something that would be so atrocious, so horrendous, so infamous, so injust... if someone informs you and your community that the same thing was being done to millions of "whites"...

And this is where the "American" issues argued so popularly on the internet, especially on Facebook about the validity of "white privilege" and "black lives matter" truly are absurd, when you truly have an idea about what truly was and truly is the issue:

What would be the "American White" reaction to millions of whites being treated as Africans were in the U.S. (AND New Spain, French Africa and Great Britain) for 250 years of slavery, 90 years of "Jim Crow" and then what was left hanging?  Is that the only way "whites" can understand what is truly in the balance, what is truly behind the question of white to black racism and the question of "white privilege"?  How resilient are humans regarding trauma (especially repeated or purpetual trauma)?  How resilient are those families?  How resilient are those communities?... even if the heritage truly was erased and NO ONE was racist and no one experienced "white privilege"?  Remember, if "white privilege" exists, that means that "non-white disadvantage" (or worse) also exists...  

Who wants to worry about difficult stuff when a comfortable "middle-class" life with all of its responsibilities is sufficiently difficult?  Who wants to become burdened by an "unknown's" experience?  Not even the people who have been historically abused or worse... Everyone wants to just live their lives in peace.  HOWEVER, that doesn't mean that the other's reality doesn't exist...

Remember the popular game with infants?:  You cover your eyes and now they don't see you?  The babies, infants love that game... "where's daddy?"  But, you as an adult know that covering your eyes doesn't make you disappear... And your baby knows that covering her eyes doesn't make you disappear...  So, why would supposedly intelligent adults believe that if they cover their eyes and the eyes of others to difficult situations, that means that those situations suddenly cease existing?  

Or is the obsession with denile a totally different issue, that has nothing actually to do with "the other", like Guy said to Arthur in the Paris bar?  It's a psycho-economic reaction...  need for being abusive and neglectful towards the "other"... Joseph Conrad's exploration into the heart of Africa described in his famous novel, "Heart of Darkness"... But, what do you learn is the true issue described by Conrad?  What is the metaphor described?  

Do we truly feel more comfortable with electric lightbulbs illuminating our nightime world until we awaken at sunrise?  Do we truly live better, feel better than before electricity was discovered, harnessed?  Possibly when the cities became over-populated and poverty reigned amongst many... and many also had the opportunity of hoarding... making them targets...  

And, this goes back to Guy's allusion to France conquest of Africa's gold and diamonds... the Piñata at the childrens' parties...  Europe (and then the United States) felt an incredible impulse, obsession, need, panic towards hoarding...

And that is also a great issue with what it is believed the Trump Administration is planning... what the wealthy Trump supporters see in Trump, what Russia hopes with Trump, what the Austerity movement means... What has been a trend since the early 90s in the U.S. with the shrinking middle-class and growing economic inequality... That with the recession of the late 80s, early 90s and then with just after 2007, the upper echelon's economy of the U.S. and the rest of the world continued growing...  How could that be?  

Did Morgan Freeman duplicate himself by 100,000 during that period?  

Do you get my jist?  Have you been following the conversations?  

And, yes, I entered where I had said I wouldn't enter in this piece... the conversations, discussions, issues that I haven't yet brought here... A different perspective...

What is racism?  What is "white privilege"?  What is democracy?  What is love?  

Could it be possible that what was done to millions of Africans truly was NOT personal?  

Does that mean that "we" can forgive "ourselves" and be forgiven?  Must we first forgive THEM for the history we inflicted upon them, before we can accept THEM and their stories?  Do you understand that paradox?

Sounds crazy: We must forgive THEM...  for being who and how they are... They must forgive "us" for what "we" subjected to...  We embrace them for who they are, as long as they accept our description of who they are...  and then maybe we can start accepting their situation... and give them equality, and ALL required for their having truly healthy communities... and we stop hoarding...

You must be confused... I would be...  

In order for understanding the world, we must turn it on its head... which is why Guy's (Baldwin's) comment is so important...  Something existed well before racism against people of "black" African descent... that had nothing to do with skin-tone...  It had to do with economic competition... It had to do with resources... ALWAYS.

It has ALL to do with human over-population and the need for hourding... The most basic human instinct towards protecting the family... FROM FAMINE... Not from people with different appearances and customs... The most basic human instinct is being able to provide for the babies, to protect them well into the future... since Humans are the animals with the longest weaning period (between 12 and 20 years--and growing, not 6 weeks to 6 months)...

So, first you must remove the need for hoarding, which means you must remove the fear that "the other" will rob you of your ability to protect your family's basic needs...  Which means you must first forgive the blacks for their horrible history (that "you" would accuse them of throwing in your face).  And when you've forgiven them and they accept your forgiveness and tell you that they no longer see you as the "white devil" and trust you, and won't stab you in the back and rob what you hoarded for yourself, then you can start sharing with them, and offering their community what it truly requires for being truly healthy...

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