TRAYVON AND THE MAGIC BULLET

The Rally For The Tragedy In Florida Runs To The Core Of Our Nation's Dark History And Stands Against Criticism With Unimpeachable Humanity.

There was an interesting (and nasty) discussion on another post on my page yesterday.  A poster took exception with the outpouring of anger and support for Trayvon Martin when we, the black people, don't do anything about the constant violence in our community each day against each other.  While I take exception with the way the thought was posed, it was nonetheless a provocative question.

My response is just as provocative.

The bullet that killed Trayvon Martin has also shattered any belief that a black man in the White House has really changed a nation that has been built on the bones of millions of dead slaves and native Americans and free black people. The bullet that it took three days to get out of Trayvon's body may have mysteriously turned him on his face, a feat that logic and physics cannot explain.

But that bullet did have one magical quality: it awakened the sleeping giant of millions of people with black sons whose greatest fear was just realized and millions of white people who are tired of ignorant, racist men like George Zimmerman and (former) Police Chief Chris Lee, being promoted as the representatives of what's in their hearts.

Yes, we have a lot of problems in our community but the kind of senseless, hate-driven violence that took that boy from this world is part of the reason why we suffer so much and why we can't get certain monkeys off our backs.  

Many times our ancestors lifted themselves up then cowardly, murderous men would come in the night and drive us back down, even if they had to kill us to do it.  Just ask the people of Rosewood. Murder justified by the law, covered up by police and in defense of racist laws has taken countless lives and contributed to a dispritited people who have at times only had their love for each other and their faith in God to sustain them. 

Emmet Till, Malice Green, Medgar Evers, James Byrd Jr. and Dr. King's names are etched into a wall of history that all Americans should be ashamed of.  Sadly now, Trayvon Martin joins them.

This of course does not justify men abandoning their kids or bad parenting or reckless personal behavior or any of the things black people do that hurt our community.  But what should we do, march against ourselves?  Well, we did that, a million men and women strong.  As feeble as it seems sometimes, black people continue to try to fix our problems and while we struggle with this most human of endeavors, we would appreciate people not murdering our sons because they are black.

So, if any person takes exception to the Trayvon rallies, I ask you if you have stood by your obligations to your kids and your spouse.  If the answer is yes, then I say thank you for helping our community and I appreciate your observation.  But if you haven't, then you are part of the problem you purport to condemn and you can tell your damned story walking.  

Because there are no magic bullets, just the ones that kill.  The outrage over Trayvon Martins murder is a collective scream from Americans that we will not go back into those dark days of our past and give truth the lie that all men are not created equal.  And if you can't understand that, then not only can I not help you.

I don't want to.

Copyright 2012

THE VAGINA DIALOGUES

The Nasty, Venal Conversation About Who Controls A Woman's Body Can Be Ended By A Simple, Profound, Yet Crazy Sounding Plan. 

There's a terrific BBC show called Downton Abbey.  It's set in England in the 1900's and it has no black people in it, so of course it has become a cult hit in America.  It is also set during the last part of the Victorian Age, when men owned everything and power and wealth could only pass through male heirs. Women were pretty much considered property.  

The current dialogue in our Congress and media about women's reproductive rights would fit right into Downton.

Some time ago, I wrote an article about respecting female time and how it was different from male time.  Well, female power is also different from male power and this is the whole problem right now. 

You see, when we attacked gender bias and disparity, we made a mistake. By and large, we tried to attain equality for women through the acquisition of male power.  But we didn't try hard enough to acquire equality through respect for female power. 

Female power.  Noun.  1. The ability to do something or act in a particular way that is uniquely tied to being born female, esp concerning human reproduction. 

What the hell am I talking about you ask?

I'm talking about the fact that there are things about men and women that are naturally different, anatomically, psychologically and anthropologically (if you wanna get into that).  So instead of trying to attain equivalency by giving women access to manly things, we should have fought harder to get support for those things which are uniquely female, things that our society often associates with shame or guilt.

Instead of making condescending jokes about reproductive cycles, outlawing and stigmatizing prostitution and burdening women with the blame for out of wedlock birth, we should have fought harder to teach subsequent generations to respect and admire the way a woman's body works.  This would have made it easier for men to let go of the property myth and stop fighting women for control of their bodies. (a fight we cannot win, by the way)  But instead, we spent a lot of time on equal wages, same sex bathrooms and hyphenating surnames.  All noble causes, but lacking the foundation of respect for inherent female power; they did little to change minds.

And now men are trying to put cameras where the sun don't shine. 

Honestly, the same culture that can bend radar waves around a plane, split the atom and teleconference with China on a tiny phone wants to force metal into a woman's womb?  It seems asinine at best and barbaric at the worst and aren't vaginal probes how these women got into this fix in the first place? (Rim shot)

At one point in human history, great civilizations worshipped women as the givers of life and sharers of God's greatest power: creation.  This was called The Sacred Feminine. This was written about in The Da Vinci Code.  The Hindus are one of the remaining cultures to worship God on earth through women.

There's an old joke that if men had periods, then there'd be a three day holiday with pay each month.  Babies would come with big fat tax breaks and bronzed placentas would be hanging from the grilles of SUV's.

Crazy right?  But is it any crazier than five types of erection pills you can buy damned near over the counter but a morning after pill that you have to know the President to get?  Or being called a slut by a national radio host if you argue for your rights?

In a better world, a woman can do whatever she wants with her body and it's between her and God.  If she wants to sell it, rent it or mortgage it, it's her burden and society would give the same support to this as it does for anything that flows inherently from men.

By the way, I don't like this.  My initial reaction to this logic is one of rebellion.  The thought of women with sexual, reproductive, intellectual and financial power makes me feel a little inadequate.  But any argument against this humanist notion finds me embracing denial and ignorance or arrogantly throwing up bible quotes that I interpret to justify my position but which I don't really understand.  And so, I am forced against my manly nature to see the clear path of our progression.  And besides, being a man is still pretty  awesome too. 

Women are not going back into the chastity belts, fellas.  They're inventing Spanks and getting a cool billion for it.  And our daughters are not keeping their virginity by abstinence but by doing things you don't even want to think about. Sorry, but this genie is out of the bottle and it ain't going back in no matter what politicians spew.

So let's finish the dialogue and get to the real problems of our society before it's too late.

Okay, I have to go and watch another episode of Downton. Some poor girl is in need of a dowry.

© 2012.