Today’s news:
At Arlington, VA bar Mister Day’s Saturday night, the DJ (or playlist or whatever) played Mark Morrison‘s “Return of the Mack.” If you’re unfamiliar with this song, just know that it’s maybe the single greatest piece of music produced in the last 200 years. But the song played was not just “Return of the Mack.” The song I heard was the extended/piano version. It clocks in, if I remember correctly, at a hefty 5 min 46 sec, rather than the 3 min 43 sec that the standard version lasts. After it was over I jumped on a table and chanted for an encore, but there must have been a problem with the equipment, because my requests went unanswered. Now, to the real world …
Missing pregnant woman Laci Peterson’s husband is looking more and more guilty all the time. When stories like this are in the news the families of the accused always say something like “the police are going after the family because they make the easiest targets.” Of course, statistics show that murders are mostly committed by friends or relatives of the victims. So I suspected the husband from the start and I’m sure the police did, too.
Now George W. Bush is going after Affirmative Action. And he holds the press conference on Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday! What an idiot. I wish Colin Powell would resign over this. Anyway – why do I think Affirmative Action is a good idea? Well, Bush says that A.A. doesn’t treat people equally, which was MLK’s goal. Except MLK’s goal wasn’t for people to be treated equally — it was for people to exist equally. To live equally. Blacks and whites in this nation do not live equally. Ask yourself some questions: Who is more likely to be considered a second class citizen – A black person or a white person? Who is more likely to be dead by the age of 22 – A black male or a white male? Who is more likely to be an officer of a Fortune 500 company? – A black person or a white person? Who is more likely to be on the janitorial staff of a Fortune 500 company? – A black person or a white person? Who is more likely to be President of the United States? – A black person or a white person?
The inequality does not exist because of the way whites are treated and the way blacks are treated. One problem that I am less qualified to say exists for certain is a cycle of violence. Violence breeds violence, and a lot of young black men are killed by other young black men. But violence also rises from despair and poverty.
Take note of this. Despair and poverty breed violence. It happens in the United States, and it happens in the Middle East. It happens everywhere. One of the factors that contributes to poverty is lack of education. (Note: I spent about twenty minutes trying to find an atricle or study on the internet to back this up, but I couldn’t really find anything solid. However, if you go to Google and search for “literacy rate” “crime rate”, you’ll see a lot of tourist crap telling you to visit Australia or retire in Guatemala because they have low crime rates and high literacy rates.) The worst schools in the US are found for the most part in inner city neighborhoods. Most of the people who live in inner city neighborhoods are black. Therefore, the children in this country who are getting the worst education are black. Additionally, a lot of violence occurs in inner city neighborhoods, discouraging quality teachers from taking jobs there. Again, there is a cycle here:
Violence discourages education. Poor education produces poverty. Poverty leads to violence. Repeat.
It’s a little more complicated than 2+2=4, and I think that’s why it’s possible for politicians to dance around it with such ease. (For instance, W. has suggested a plan to replace Affirmative Action. He calls it “Affirmative Access.” You know, I could take a shit in a pie tin, call it Sprinkleberry Pie, and says it’s a great alternative to Blueberry Pie, but you know what? It’s still just a bunch of shit. That’s what Affirmative Access is. Its name makes it sound like it’s similar to Affirmative Action, but it’s basically just a bunch of shit.) Also, people who aren’t educated tend not to vote as often or write letters to their Congressmen. Or write checks to their Congressmen.
Apologies for not using the term “African American.” It’s easier to type “black,” plus I kind of think “African American” is an inaccurate term. And it’s no more appropriate that the phrase “European American.”
What else. Lewis emailed me with assistance for that table a few posts down. With his advice I managed to get it looking just how I wanted it. Thank you, Brian.
Finally, I went to the Washington Wizards game Saturday when they hosted the Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers got ’em, but I didn’t particularly care who won. I took about sixty pictures, and tomorrow I plan on cropping the best and posting them here.
Until next time, keep it real.