I knew when the phone rang…
…that The 5-4 Supremes ruled on some more shit.
Pause…crack neck…proceed.
Brother Rob Thurman called this bitch to give me the news and just the tone of his voice said it all.
Step up to pulpit...fluff afro…begin.
My sisters and brothers, our historical house note has come due!
And our social policy pocket book is about to get empty.
If we are a nation united in anything it is in our false belief that we will not have to pay for monumental fuck ups…that “oops, my bad” will suffice…and that there is a “gimme” in this thing called life.
Well, reality teaches us that the house note always comes due, so…and hello, this one is obvious as a motherfucker…electing a social conservative to two Presidential terms when Supreme Court Justices were fixin’ to retire had a fucking predictable outcome.
So, we have a new ruling on the role of race in the classroom and the wisdom of Chief Justice Roberts…
“The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discrimination on the basis of race."
Yeah.
Uh, huh.
I want what he’s on...no really, I need some of that shit.
Anyhoo, this ruling will not open up an opportunity for equal competition and selection. 34 years as a black woman in America has taught me that ain’t a damn thing equal in this world…and that The Man never hands over power peacefully or because it’s the right thing to do.
Never.
What we do have is a ruling that will result in racial and class-based isolation.
My fellow St. Louisans know a thing or two about how that impacts a school system…don’t we?
Pause…consider…continue…
Fuck it.
This bitch is grateful for this ruling.
What!?!
That’s right, chil’ren…I’m fucking glad they did it.
I’m tired of telling apathetic fence straddling sometimes I vote-ers that they need to give a shit…that these fucked up Supreme Court rulings will trickle down in a flood of oppression and a heavier boot on their neck.
I’m fucking exhausted with the debate over whether the pile of shit in the room is a pile of shit.
So, fuck it...right now I welcome the rancid stench reality.
And a sick part of me that I pray will go away soon welcomes the drama that will result from the recent rulings of The 5-4 Supremes.
Because this house note was going to come due…and opting for that adjustable rate “he’s not that smart but he looks like he’d be a nice guy to share a beer with” presidential option who then appointed two freakishly conservative what fucking world do they live in justices FOR LIFE may turn out to be the fuck up that keeps on fucking.
How much more of this shit will it take to nudge the masses to rise up and refinance?
Lawd, have mercy...
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19 comments:
Amen! :: dances in aisle ::
Yes, it seems that humans have this terrible tendency to play complacent until the noose is fully tightened around their necks. This country has stood and will stand for opression and disenfranchisment until the masses rise, and destory the damn system and build anew. The good thing about the last six years is that this country is really showing us all what it stands for. Yes, thats right, these right wing bastards have done us a favor by making it quite clear what they stand for. Now that we all see this all that needs to be done is to have the torches distrubuted and the institutions burned.
It will take foreclosure and some nights spent under a bridge, I'm afraid. What that translates into unmetaphorically I'm afraid to ponder.
Note to a bitch's dedicated Big Brother who always reads my shit between 1p & 2p CST (love ya like an old school Watergatesque phone bug, honey) - this post in no way endorses the torching of institutions...
ABB-
I don't know what it will take to move the masses. If they aren't outraged at (1) the lies, deception, and arrogance of the current administration, especially the vice-president in the executive, er legislative, no executive, uh, the cheney branch of the government, (2) all the young lives lost in Iraq, and (3) our eroding freedoms, the masses aren't going to move any time soon.
Good luck, and keep up the good work.
Ant Annie in Pittsburgh
im not endorsing any particular plan of action, im just saying all options need to remain on the table.
I'm sad about this in general, but I'm just devastated for my home city, Louisville. Jefferson County, one of the two defendant school systems, has a fantastic school system that is integrated, works relatively well, and is supported by most of the public. Our busing was voluntary, and I truly believe that the reason we have fewer (too many but still fewer) racial problems here in a red state is because from the age of 5, our kids all go to school together. I shudder to think what the next 20 years are going to bring for us if our schools segregate like Charlotte, NC did after they did away with busing.
There is one out left...Kennedy's swing vote didn't join in the majority opinion and said that race couldn't be the ONLY factor. We can revamp our busing program slightly and maintain our wonderful integrated schools here...I hope.
This is one more thing I bring up when some dumb motherfucker tells me he's voting for some fool like Ralph Nader because there's no difference in the candidates. You'd best believe a Gore court wouldn't be pulling this shit.
...the fuck up that keeps on fucking...
Mmm hmm. You sure have got that right -- like the Energizer Bunny.
Keeps. On. Fucking.
...the fuck up that keeps on fucking...
Mmm hmm. You sure have got that right -- like the Energizer Bunny.
Keeps. On. Fucking.
I do hope this pays off in the next election, and of course I take hope in that phrase "justices FOR LIFE" -- which may seem like a fucking long time but is, mercifully, finite.
Now before anyone gasps and clutches their pearls at me, this does not mean that I would in ANY way advocate artificially shortening said lifespans. Heavens no. I merely hope that the Creator (take your pick), in his/her/its infinite wisdom, gives certain people in black robes on high horses -- er, I mean benches -- a few scares that might cause them to reflect on their futures a bit differently. After all, it's "FOR LIFE... or retirement."
I'll be damned . . .
But sadly, so will all the rest of us.
But here's hoping the most damned will
be the gang of five.
VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am an African American social worker who has worked in public schools. I agree with the ruling.
I don't believe that the mere fact that our children sit next to white children improves their ability to learn. I have had many AA parents tell me that they don't participate in their children's education because they are bused far away from their homes. I have also had many AA parents tell me that they long for a return to all black schools "where the teachers cared" (I went to integrated schools, so I can't compare).
I think that what our children need are local schools. Affirmative action was a nice try at social engineering. I agree with the goals but think the policy has failed (schools are much more segregated now than when I went to school) and that we should try something new.
Painful as it is to admit, the predominantly black schools in my town have severe discipline problems that have nothing to do with white people whatsoever.
You, appear to have flourished under the current educational system as have many of the folks that I know.
There are many problems with education in our community that did not go away with busing. I don't think that this ruling will change much.
Poor whites in this nation have long demonstrated that they value their hatred of others (racial minorities and the gays) more than their own economic well-being. They are happy to vote against their own best interest if they imagine it will keep others down.
I also agree with Christopher about the problems with the Greens (which was a very white movement). Keep in mind I don't blame them for 2000 (Republicans stole that all on their own), but the argument that "it didn't matter who the president appoints to the court" was dangerous and absurd. It also reflected their status as white middle-class individuals. For them, it probably didn't matter.
Which brings up the last point, which is that the people who are most impacted by this ruling (Latinos (except Cuban-Americans), African Americans, etc) did not vote for Bushie. They are paying the price for being minorities because the majority gets the chance to deprive others of their rights.
I just hate it when Cassandra channels through one of us. When we tell people what the dangers are, what is coming down the road, and they don't listen. You've been telling them, I've been telling them, progressives and liberals have been telling them and did they listen? Of course not. Now here we are, and we get to live with it.
Anonymous...
I agree that busing is not the only answer, but I disagree that it isn't part of the solution.
And the ruling yesterday is about far more than busing.
And yes, I am the product of fantabulous county-based public schools...
...that got better when they were integrated through busing.
Read the ruling and the dissent and then try to imaging the thousands of programs that will not be able to comply with it.
Hell yes we've got work to do and a long road to walk but narrowing the options isn't going to move us in the right direction.
Thank you so much for your comment.
I don't know how anyone could believe this is about 'black kids sitting next to whites.' It was never about that, as I said on my own blog, most blacks are no more interested in sitting next to whites, than whites are in sitting next to blacks. Its about economics. This country is now and presumably always will be segregated by race. Most of the wealth in this country, note, I said wealth, not income, in this country is owned by whites. Schools are funded by wealth, generally property taxes, not by income taxes. Black property, in black neighborhoods is generally of lower value than that of white property in white neighborhoods. Therefore there will be less money available to fund the schools. And THAT is what its about.
Blacks moving to white neighborhoods isn't the answer. Studies have shown that whites tolerate at most a 15% influx of blacks before white flight occurs. We've seen this played out time and again.
I think North Carolina is trying to district based on income, but I'm not sure if that's working. I haven't heard anything lately about it.
I would like to ask Anonymous what she thinks is going to happen to my city in a generation when kids have grown up only going to school with people like themselves. There is value in a white kid sitting next to a black one, but it isn't the kind of book education value she thinks. The value is for society where people know and understand one another in spite of their differences. We're far from perfect here in Louisville, but in my experience race relations are better than in most cities...I thank busing for that.
I think that here is where we disagree: I think it is the job of African American kids to go to school and learn all that they can. I don’t think we should charge them with the responsibility of educating white children in any way.
Here in Lexington a few years back we were in the very odd situation of busing black children to other schools that were also predominantly black. Not only do whites not tolerate a large number of blacks in their neighborhoods before they flee, neither do they tolerate a large number of black children in their schools. Often, if there are a large number of black children in the schools there are elaborate tracking systems that place the white children in honors classes and the black children in general classes. A trip to your local school cafeteria will probably let you know how much real integration takes place.
I don’t think this is important.
No matter how much money available to fund the schools, if you live in a neighborhood where it is not cool to study; if your parents are on drugs and neglect you; if your parents are uninvolved in your education; you are at a disadvantage and are going to have a much harder time being successful.
What troubles me most about the discussion, I think is the idea that we are somehow powerless and have to rely on the good will of white folks to make sure our children get the education they deserve.
Christopher, I live in Lexington, down here, we don’t exactly think of Louisville as a model of racial harmony. We could be wrong though.
Anonymous...
On those things we do not disagree. My parents went to segregated and poorly funded schools and...gasp...learned (wink).
Yes, we need to work on the value of education in all American communities. Yes, our cultural values play a huge role. Though it is not a black absolute to live in a community that does not value education.
Regardless, we can not afford to fall back on the 'too bad you got stuck with shitty parents' tip.
Too often I see my sisters and brothers throwing up their hands and pointing out why progress won't or can't happen. I get that even if I don't want to particiapte in it.
In this ruling many creative programs...and some programs nationwide are amazingly creative and go way beyond mere busing...will fold.
But I look at this situation and ask how we can make this shit work...how we can address the problems facing our communities...how we can expand and not limit educational opportunities...how we can produce water in this drought of support, funding and faith.
The challenge is before us. And I happen to beleive that this ruling made that challenge harder to meet.
But there is no challenge created by man that this woman is ready to back down from.
Not one.
So let's make note of all the issues...even acknowledge how they came to be...and then get down to the dirty work of creating programs and policies that will encourage and fund education for our children.
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