May 01, 2008

THE HERE AND NOW

A thought from Rachel Lucas:

I’m pretty sure the multitude of African tribes who sold other Africans into slavery haven’t apologized, either. They’re still doing it, actually, but you never hear about that. All guys like Wright care about is what didn’t happen to them at the hands of people who are no longer alive. You know, sometimes I wonder what hut-dwelling, persecuted, starving, or enslaved Africans - who are alive and dying right this second - would think about American blacks like Wright and Cone, if they could know about them. Which they can’t because they live in abject poverty and terror and don’t have a lot of spare time to surf the internet, seeing as how they’re so busy running from machete slaughters and waiting for their cup of rice each day, that is if it isn’t hijacked by other Africans with guns.

I wonder how “supported” they would feel in their “blackness” to know that wealthy, intelligent, resourceful black Americans spend so much time and effort pounding away on shit that happened here hundreds of years ago instead of directing all that rage at injustice towards Africa itself. You know, maybe actually helping black people who need it about a million times more than your average Detroit gangbanger. Just a thought I have sometimes.

Posted by Sarah at May 1, 2008 08:02 AM | TrackBack
Comments

Dang. That's good.

Posted by: Erin at May 1, 2008 09:12 AM

“I’m pretty sure the multitude of African tribes who sold other Africans into slavery haven’t apologized, either.”

Dovetailing this, if one was to use Wright’s chicken/roost logic, one has to wonder what the slaves had done to deserve being enslaved.

Posted by: tim at May 1, 2008 09:54 AM

Their stick wasn't as big as someone else's stick tim.

Anyway, black americans were being hung from trees in the 1930s and kept from voting in the 1950s, so we are not talking about 100s of years here. Wright's generation has plenty to be bitter about from their own time.

Posted by: Will at May 3, 2008 11:05 PM

Sarah: You said things I've thought about for years! Well spoken! People are dying over there, without a whisper. It's time we got mad!Thanks for speaking up!

Posted by: Mary at May 4, 2008 01:30 AM