LogicalRantings4U

So many ill-informed people…Sad, really. Reading the inane drivel on these sites makes me wonder about the American educational system. I’d like to clarify a few things:

First, there have been a number of people making blanket statements about the IMUS Scandal– “Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson have made derogatory statements too,” or “Imus shouldn’t have been fired, because the Rutgers Basketball Team has ‘nappy-hair’”– to incite passion. They fail to understand that simply because one person engages in questionable behavior, doesn’t give license for someone else to do so. It’s important to remember that those girls did NOTHING to deserve Imus’s attack. They were playing the final game versus Tennessee, and were, by all accounts, accomplished good people. Don Imus attacked them for no other reason, but for their race (which was shared by the majority of the Tennessee team mysteriously abset from his diatribe). He did not know them personally, and they were minding their own business–which is what Don Imus should’ve done. If he had, he’d still be employed by both MSNBC and CBS.

Second, regarding the issue of racial superiority (Blacks v. Whites, Jews v. Christians, Muslim/Jews v. Jews/Muslims, ect.) there is no such thing. Ethnicity is a variation of gene expression, it has no real meaning (other than what we humans attach to it). If one person has hair with one varation of keratin bond than another, so what? “Curly” hair, “Wavy” hair, “Kinky” hair, “strait” hair, “nappy” hair, “wooly” hair–it’s all hair. So, quantifying it as being more valuable in one form or the other is ridiculous. Furthermore, superiority based on ethnicity, religious doctrine, and/or nationalism is simply a means of stratification. Now, that doesn’t mean that nationalism is a bad thing, most sane people share a kinship with people whom we resemble, and have common values. However, when people attempt to justify inhumanity towards others based on (a self-imposed) superiority–that’s xenophobia. It’s a irrational reaction based on irrational fear.

Third, I have also read some of the posts “bashing” African-American women. As a young woman of primarily African descent, I feel compelled to respond to those that only find fault with us: Iman, Naiomi Campbell, Halle Berry, Vanessa Williams, Kerry Washington, Tyra are all beautiful Black Women. Oprah, Maya Angelou, Lorraine Hansberry, Toni Morrison, Angela Davis are all accomplished BLACK women. Black Women are people. Some are beautiful, some are plain, some are great at sports, some are excel at academics, some have strait hair, the majority don’t….However, what’s on our heads is none of your concern, none of Black Men’s concern, and none of Don Imus’s concern! I’m DAMN proud of my heritage, every drop of African blood, and the non-African stuff, too. Furthermore, on my WORST day if I was given the ability to be anyone else on the planet, I’d still choose to be ME. My advice to anyone that makes blanket statements: educate yourself before forming an opinion. Otherwise, you’re speaking in absolutes, and the only truth in such statements is that they’re false

Trackback URI | Comments RSS