I am not going to say that some of my best friends are Black, but I will say that I attended an HBC, and I taught at a school that was 95% Black. For these reasons, I had the opportunity to talk politics with many Black people. I certainly am not claiming to be an expert on African-American voting habits, but this is what I learned.
When Bush was running for his second term, I was amazed to discover how many Black teachers were voting for him. Why? Only one reason given: abortion.
The people I talked with were devout Christians who attended church regularly, and they decided, through the guidance of their churches, that abortion should not be legal. They believed in the life at conception; therefore, to them, abortion was ending a life.
One teacher was wary of Bush and even said: "I sure hope he surrounds himself with intelligent advisers, because he is not very bright." But, she intended to vote for him anyway.
These voters were voting for a party that didn't even want them to be part of it. They were voting with Red states where the Confederacy is celebrated and the Confederate flag is still displayed.
Abortion is a medical issue and has no place in politics. But, there it is. Health Care Reform was delayed because of it. When all else seems to be failing for Republicans, the abortion card is thrown out on the table. Shouting, "Baby-killer" will get the anti-abortion people to grab their Bibles & their pitchforks and right-wing politicians know it.
But just as Cheney supports Gays, because his daughter is Gay, I all ways wonder how many of these Right Wingers would support an abortion for their daughter were she to become pregnant by an African-American. Yea, I said it, and I hope that Black voters, who vote on this one issue, will think about it too.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Elementary Politics 101
As a little girl, I remember asking my Ma what we were. Were we Republican or Democrat? She said that Republicans represented big businesses & wealthy people & that Democrats were the party of the working class. I knew which one we were then. My Grandpa worked for years in the meat-packing business in freezers--12 hours--everyday. When I knew him, he walked with a cane and a painful limp, which everyone said was due to his job.
One Primary Day, she told me that she never voted in primaries because she did not want to declare her party. We lived in a Republican town, and my family had a little grocery store. She explained that she feared the town would not pick up the trash, which could be a big problem with the store.
I remember liking that we were undercover.
Why was our town Republican? It was in Cook County on the boarder of Chicago, which was traditionally a Democratic stronghold.
One logical reason would be that lots of factories were there including a huge Western Electric, Sunbeam & Burlington Trains.
But the reason I heard from friend's parents is because the "Republicans will keep Blacks out."
Except, they didn't say "Black." The neighborhood's residents were all from the Old County, as they called it. I was second generation born here. They did not know any Africans in Europe, and they truly feared them. They also heard and perpetuated the stereotypes of the day about Blacks.
We didn't use the N-word at my house. When neighbors or playmates used the word, I was uncomfortable.
I vaguely remember the precinct captain coming by to talk to my parents about my older brother. He had some great summer job for him.
My uncle was a precinct captain & my aunt worked the polls every year in Chicago, and they were greatly respected.
Before I was 10, this is what I learned:
One Primary Day, she told me that she never voted in primaries because she did not want to declare her party. We lived in a Republican town, and my family had a little grocery store. She explained that she feared the town would not pick up the trash, which could be a big problem with the store.
I remember liking that we were undercover.
Why was our town Republican? It was in Cook County on the boarder of Chicago, which was traditionally a Democratic stronghold.
One logical reason would be that lots of factories were there including a huge Western Electric, Sunbeam & Burlington Trains.
But the reason I heard from friend's parents is because the "Republicans will keep Blacks out."
Except, they didn't say "Black." The neighborhood's residents were all from the Old County, as they called it. I was second generation born here. They did not know any Africans in Europe, and they truly feared them. They also heard and perpetuated the stereotypes of the day about Blacks.
We didn't use the N-word at my house. When neighbors or playmates used the word, I was uncomfortable.
How to pick sides for street games: Eeny, Meanie, Minie, Moe, Catch a N----by the toe, if he hollers let him go, Eenie, Meanie, Minie, Moe.
I vaguely remember the precinct captain coming by to talk to my parents about my older brother. He had some great summer job for him.
My uncle was a precinct captain & my aunt worked the polls every year in Chicago, and they were greatly respected.
Before I was 10, this is what I learned:
Republicans-party of business
Democrats-party of working class
Politics was a tough game -go with the status quo
or City Hall might lose that license you've been waiting for
Some voters are racists which overrides any other issues
Racists in my neighborhood, were also devout Catholics. Hypocrisy in religion.
If your family needed something, the politicians could help you.
Politics were important in my family; my grandparents came at the turn of the century, fleeing Communism, and voting was a cherished right.
Republicans did not like Black people
Democrats-party of working class
Politics was a tough game -go with the status quo
or City Hall might lose that license you've been waiting for
Some voters are racists which overrides any other issues
Racists in my neighborhood, were also devout Catholics. Hypocrisy in religion.
If your family needed something, the politicians could help you.
Politics were important in my family; my grandparents came at the turn of the century, fleeing Communism, and voting was a cherished right.
Republicans did not like Black people
Ha, how little things have changed in politics since I was a little girl.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Concerned About Keeping Maryland Blue
I am such a dork; I couldn't remember my password & I couldn't get on here for weeks. So many issues have come & gone, and damn-it, I couldn't write a blog.
Back to topic: I have a concern about O'Malley, and I wonder if he is aware of this underground discontent with his budget. State employees are upset because he initiated mandatory unpaid leave days. In fairness, O'Malley did say he would also have his salary docked. This condescending gesture didn't do much to make it easier for state employees who fall behind in their work and lose money.
According to Forbes, Maryland has 4 of the wealthiest counties in the USA. That's not bad for such a little unassuming state. That should also mean that some nice taxes are collected.
Whiners? OK some states have it worse, like California. Their problems are appreciated, but I don't live there or pay taxes there.
According to a census, there were 81,044 full time employees in 2008. I don't know if all state employees are subject to the unpaid leave, but I do know that agencies like Juvenile Services has been affected. It performs a state service that is vital. Do we want to become some sort of third world country with street urchins roaming the state?
My hope right now is that the Democrats realize that using state employees to balance the budget is a bad idea. My concern is that the Democrats will lose votes because of this issue. Maryland's Democratic leaders must have a better idea, soon.
Back to topic: I have a concern about O'Malley, and I wonder if he is aware of this underground discontent with his budget. State employees are upset because he initiated mandatory unpaid leave days. In fairness, O'Malley did say he would also have his salary docked. This condescending gesture didn't do much to make it easier for state employees who fall behind in their work and lose money.
According to Forbes, Maryland has 4 of the wealthiest counties in the USA. That's not bad for such a little unassuming state. That should also mean that some nice taxes are collected.
Whiners? OK some states have it worse, like California. Their problems are appreciated, but I don't live there or pay taxes there.
According to a census, there were 81,044 full time employees in 2008. I don't know if all state employees are subject to the unpaid leave, but I do know that agencies like Juvenile Services has been affected. It performs a state service that is vital. Do we want to become some sort of third world country with street urchins roaming the state?
My hope right now is that the Democrats realize that using state employees to balance the budget is a bad idea. My concern is that the Democrats will lose votes because of this issue. Maryland's Democratic leaders must have a better idea, soon.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
My Favorite Color is Fluorescent Beige...........
"I write so that I know what I think" like the person who said this, I recently have been trying to process all that was the film, Precious. If I write it down, it may be less ethereal.
Spoiler alert for those who have no idea what the film is about.
Monique said at the Golden Globes that children who are abused need to speak up, which, of course, is a good idea, but I didn't see that as the main theme of the film.
Our willingness to judge others and assume certain things about a person based on superficial truths ,we think we know, seems to be the central idea. At least it was for me.
Who hasn't heard someone complain that a certain woman only has more children because it will increase her welfare money?
If I met Precious, with her children, I might feel irritated with her for her poor choices. Maybe I would think that she is lazy.
The truth would be that Precious did not make any choices, poor or otherwise, and she worked hard to stay alive in a hostile environment. She could never be considered lazy.
The film is raw; it only gets preachy once, and that is the social worker, yet is does have humor. The humor of young women who despite horrible circumstances, converts situations into giggles. As a public school teacher, these girls in class were familiar to me. Their silliness gave us little laughs--sometimes inappropriate laughs. Precious' fantasy world is a survival tool.
Could I ever cope with a life like hers? How can a child, who lives in constant, stressful uncertainty, think clearly enough to learn in school? She can't.
Precious is a film that revisits your thoughts and reveals more each time. Mary is someone we hate, but we know how she got this way. Marys will continue to be, and hopefully there are girls like Precious who decide to stop that cycle.
She didn't want her children to be raised in that environment
Precious finally meets people who are on her side which gives her the strength to start over.
After seeing the film, I was reminded of the power of kindness. Kindness begets kindness.
Spoiler alert for those who have no idea what the film is about.
Monique said at the Golden Globes that children who are abused need to speak up, which, of course, is a good idea, but I didn't see that as the main theme of the film.
Our willingness to judge others and assume certain things about a person based on superficial truths ,we think we know, seems to be the central idea. At least it was for me.
Who hasn't heard someone complain that a certain woman only has more children because it will increase her welfare money?
If I met Precious, with her children, I might feel irritated with her for her poor choices. Maybe I would think that she is lazy.
The truth would be that Precious did not make any choices, poor or otherwise, and she worked hard to stay alive in a hostile environment. She could never be considered lazy.
The film is raw; it only gets preachy once, and that is the social worker, yet is does have humor. The humor of young women who despite horrible circumstances, converts situations into giggles. As a public school teacher, these girls in class were familiar to me. Their silliness gave us little laughs--sometimes inappropriate laughs. Precious' fantasy world is a survival tool.
Could I ever cope with a life like hers? How can a child, who lives in constant, stressful uncertainty, think clearly enough to learn in school? She can't.
Precious is a film that revisits your thoughts and reveals more each time. Mary is someone we hate, but we know how she got this way. Marys will continue to be, and hopefully there are girls like Precious who decide to stop that cycle.
She didn't want her children to be raised in that environment
Precious finally meets people who are on her side which gives her the strength to start over.
After seeing the film, I was reminded of the power of kindness. Kindness begets kindness.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Terror & POTUS Response.........
It amazes me that the GOP actually wants to bring up the proper response from POTUS to terror.
I remember standing in the office of the school on 9/11. It was my lunch-duty time, but I was hypnotized by the events on the tv. I couldn't move; there were about 10 of us standing there. And I still remember my first thoughts. How could this happen? What about the CIA or the FBI or the Air Traffic Controllers or somebody who was supposed to keep this from happening.
My next very clear thought was this: Why isn't the President coming on tv to make a quick announcement or something..........say something.............tell us something.
All the information on tv was speculation, and most of the televised programming that whole day was taken by individuals with cameras.
Now I know that Bush was at a school and became paralyzed with stupidity or something, because he took a while to leave and then was flown across the county, back and forth, as some sort of protection for him.
But the rest of us were confused and scared and had no leader to reassure us.
I will say Bush did good when he went out to ground zero and stood with the firefighters; I have to admit I kinda liked him for that one minute, but he failed so miserably with all of his responses to terrorism. Remember his great words of wisdom: Go Shopping or the terrorists win.
So I am thinking that is what is more "normal" for the GOP critics. President Obama would have to lower his bar. He would have to wait 6 days to mention a thwarted attack; he must use the words terrorist and war and maybe put on a nice flag pin for good measure.
I remember standing in the office of the school on 9/11. It was my lunch-duty time, but I was hypnotized by the events on the tv. I couldn't move; there were about 10 of us standing there. And I still remember my first thoughts. How could this happen? What about the CIA or the FBI or the Air Traffic Controllers or somebody who was supposed to keep this from happening.
My next very clear thought was this: Why isn't the President coming on tv to make a quick announcement or something..........say something.............tell us something.
All the information on tv was speculation, and most of the televised programming that whole day was taken by individuals with cameras.
Now I know that Bush was at a school and became paralyzed with stupidity or something, because he took a while to leave and then was flown across the county, back and forth, as some sort of protection for him.
But the rest of us were confused and scared and had no leader to reassure us.
I will say Bush did good when he went out to ground zero and stood with the firefighters; I have to admit I kinda liked him for that one minute, but he failed so miserably with all of his responses to terrorism. Remember his great words of wisdom: Go Shopping or the terrorists win.
So I am thinking that is what is more "normal" for the GOP critics. President Obama would have to lower his bar. He would have to wait 6 days to mention a thwarted attack; he must use the words terrorist and war and maybe put on a nice flag pin for good measure.
Monday, December 28, 2009
This is what you need to know about Sarah Palin...
Sarah Palin, above all else, is a competitor. She played basketball and entered beauty contests. Winning is the whole point to her. Life is one big competition.
But being a parent of children who played competitively, I somehow envision her Dad all ways providing her an out for her losses. This parent-type is quite common, actually. Poor Sarah lost the beauty contest because the hair spray she used failed to keep her hair stiff enough. Sarah had ethics violations because she had the misfortune of running for VP. Vicious Katie Couric attacked her with questions about what magazines she read. Couric really meant to belittle Palin because, as we all didn't know, people from Alaska are known to be hicks. At least, that is what I think Palin said. When she loses, it's never really her fault.
Palin won the Governor's race in Alaska, but she didn't really know she had to work after that, so she quit. Her nebulous reasons indicate that she had a better offer and if we loved America & Alaska, we would support her quitting. At least, that is what I think Palin said.
Most recently,the book won her millions. Now what to do with those millions. I say Palin should donate it to her church. I am sure they would be ecstatic.
But she is looking for her next competition. Maybe she will take on Bristol's baby Daddy again and call him "Ricky Hollywood" ( yes, there is "Say-It-Aint-So-Joe; Joe the Plumber) Then he will respond with some dirt; she will have to retaliate in order to win. This fodder would be much more fun, than the death panels contest she is currently playing.
But being a parent of children who played competitively, I somehow envision her Dad all ways providing her an out for her losses. This parent-type is quite common, actually. Poor Sarah lost the beauty contest because the hair spray she used failed to keep her hair stiff enough. Sarah had ethics violations because she had the misfortune of running for VP. Vicious Katie Couric attacked her with questions about what magazines she read. Couric really meant to belittle Palin because, as we all didn't know, people from Alaska are known to be hicks. At least, that is what I think Palin said. When she loses, it's never really her fault.
Palin won the Governor's race in Alaska, but she didn't really know she had to work after that, so she quit. Her nebulous reasons indicate that she had a better offer and if we loved America & Alaska, we would support her quitting. At least, that is what I think Palin said.
Most recently,the book won her millions. Now what to do with those millions. I say Palin should donate it to her church. I am sure they would be ecstatic.
But she is looking for her next competition. Maybe she will take on Bristol's baby Daddy again and call him "Ricky Hollywood" ( yes, there is "Say-It-Aint-So-Joe; Joe the Plumber) Then he will respond with some dirt; she will have to retaliate in order to win. This fodder would be much more fun, than the death panels contest she is currently playing.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Post Health Care Debates in the Senate...
Does anyone else feel emotionally drained? After the Senate debates, and this term is used loosely, I feel as though I saw some of these people naked, and it was not a pleasant sight.
Ewww..Joe Lieberman,senator from Insuranceville, put your clothes on and go home.
Max Baucus, you can't chair anything when you are also a senator from Insuranceville.
The red, Southern states are stuck some place between racism and Insuranceville.
And these right-wingnuts frustrate me the same way the generation gap frustrated me way back when.
There is no reason or logic in their arguments. Just as the older generation assumed long hair on a man meant he was un-American, these teabagger-types believe their ideas, again, I use a word loosely, are the Americaniest.
I am glad they all went home for the Christmas break..........let me recover from this bout of PTSS before the next round of malarky.
Ewww..Joe Lieberman,senator from Insuranceville, put your clothes on and go home.
Max Baucus, you can't chair anything when you are also a senator from Insuranceville.
The red, Southern states are stuck some place between racism and Insuranceville.
And these right-wingnuts frustrate me the same way the generation gap frustrated me way back when.
There is no reason or logic in their arguments. Just as the older generation assumed long hair on a man meant he was un-American, these teabagger-types believe their ideas, again, I use a word loosely, are the Americaniest.
I am glad they all went home for the Christmas break..........let me recover from this bout of PTSS before the next round of malarky.
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