what you mean is “reactive”

this is the beginning of a series called “for the good of the order”. mostly because I really enjoy series.

i’ve noticed comrades in the struggle for rainbows and sunshine use the word “reactionary” when referring to someone or something that solely reacts to another situation as opposed to birthing their own independent ideas/actions. unfortunately, this is not what reactionary means.

reactionary: (of a person or a set of views) opposing political or social liberalization or reform.

i fell into the trap of using this word in the wrong ways, an act i attribute to reading a bunch of black panther literature (i’m pretty sure a few of the members used “reactionary” wrong quite regularly).

but at last, the word we’re looking for is reactive.

reactive: acting in response to a situation rather than creating or controlling it.

alright, now that we’ve cleared that up. onward and upward! hasta la victoria siempre!

Why Not Voting Is Pointless, Ahistorical, and Selfish

about those folks i keep talking to who don’t want to vote. particularly those whose politics i would otherwise agree with and who claim to be immersed in some kind of a struggle.

dont be so selfish.

why dont marginalized/oppressed/black people realize that

a. the system is not in their interest
b. the system is not going to all of sudden be in their interest
c. some of our smartest comrades are those who learn how to work the system
d. when that happens, you should be able to recognize it and respond appropriately

radical change occurs radically, not by you indulging in some personal and self-righteous rebellion by doing something silly like not voting, voting for someone we all know won’t win, or voting for mccain at the last minute because “it doesnt matter”.

in response to some of the justifications i’ve heard for not voting, or not voting for obama:

not voting is not a “right”. nobody ever had to earn their right not to vote.

there is no utility in not voting. nobody gives a flying cow if you don’t vote.
if you do vote, however, you are exercising a right that many people have died for, and you are using your privilege to participate in your country’s politics and potentially change the way things are run.

voting and working for radical change are not contradictory nor mutually exclusive. You not voting does not mean you believe in radical change, and it certainly is not going to create radical change, ever. you not voting cannot create anything. it is inaction. moreover, you voting does not mean that you can’t also be working towards creating radical change.

your claim that it makes no difference if republicans or democrats are in office is just not true. a quick look at the last sixteen years of this country can illustrate that. no, barack obama is not going to incite a communist uprising, but he can affect everyday issues like federal funding for social programs, taxes for the middle class, not to mention his decision in the likely appointment of up the three supreme court justices and how that could drastically impact legislation and the criminal injustice system for decades to come. he’s not Huey Newton, but he’s certainly not John mccain. if your primary concern is “survival” as you claim, wouldn’t it be in your interest to make immediate decisions that will better enable that survival?

like i said, don’t be so selfish. people are always talking about ‘obama doesn’t line up with all of my beliefs’ and ‘none of the candidates represent all of my values’. my answer is: it’s not about you. (and you should know by now that things don’t work like that). it’s about achieving the most good for the most people. it’s about electing the person that you think would be best for the country. no, i don’t agree with obama about a war in afghanistan, and cynthia mckinney might be more in line with my politics, but i know she is not going to win. so when it comes down to it, do i think it’d be in the best interest of most americans for obama or mccain to be in office?

We cannot confuse our means with our end. i am not saying that you have to necessarily “believe in” the system that oppresses you, and you certainly don’t have to trust it or its politicians to engender all of the change you wish to see. But afterall, unfortunately, at this point in history (and maybe only until your revolutionary agenda is realized), that is not the enacted role of electoral politics.

we have to be aware of our end goal, if it is some radically different form of socioeconomic political organization, and realize what paths of action will, or will not, get us there. don’t act (or refuse to act) based on a system that does not exist. we have to live in the present, acknowledge what avenues of action will realistically create change now, and simultaneously work towards our ultimate goals within and without the system.

P.S. i encourage you to research barack obama. dig up his less publicized interviews, look at the work he did before going to law school. check out some things that his (former) pastor has said. look at the social programs of his (former) church. i think obama is quite brilliant. please, beautiful black folks, think twice before harping on about how he’s not addressing this or that enough. and if you are going to do that, be fair about hating. get in mccain’s soup equally as much. he hasn’t mentioned black people except to apologize about voting against MLK day multiple times. obama is running, his politics (although not wholly public for practical reasons) are considerably progressive, he’s black, he’s actually black, and he’s swooning the world with his intelligence and his message. you cant have your cake and eat it too (at least not before it’s done). do you want him to win or not?

Power, Politics, Race, Movement

I just want to share a few ideas that I’ve been thinking about lately. Some of this was inspired by a conversation I had today with my boy Anthony Kelley, you can check it his blog here. I’m just looking to put these ideas out there, not necessarily because I agree with them but because I think they are interesting and worth giving some thought.

- Barack Obama represents the end of ‘African’ people’s history in america, and the end of black organized struggle (3:10). His story allows for the propogation of this idea that there is no black experience, there is only an american experience (which relates to why it is important to distinguish that he is not African american). Obama is being portrayed as this realization of the pro-capitalist “american dream”, although he is not descended from slaves and is from a middle class background. His slogan that there is no white america, there is no black america, there is one america — our america — foreshadows the effect his success could have on the construction of race in the united states. His ascendency to the presidency could potentially catapult this country into an allegedly post-racial reality. He did it, and he’s black, why can’t you?

- Society’s choice to automatically call Barack Obama black is in itself an acknowledgment of the white supremacist power structure. It acknowledges that someone is black based on their experience of anti-black racist sentiment in america, as opposed to what their parents’ races are. This is in response to white people who say “He’s ours too” when referring to the fact that Barack Obama’s mother is white. If racism didn’t exist, maybe we would be calling him white. This is not about the one drop rule, it is about one’s racial experience of oppression in the united states and how the social construction of blackness depends on white supremacy existing, as well as the social construction of whiteness.

- The fact that Sarah Palin has been chosen as John McCain’s running mate is not only embarrassing, but it is offensive and sexist. The fact that he would choose an uninformed, inarticulate, and just plain unqualified woman as his running mate on the sole basis of her gender is exemplary of the sexism in his camp. The fact that no one is calling him out exposes the sexism that is deeply embedded in the fabric of this country. McCain is unabashedly trying to use Palin as a political object, and her gendered image as a political tool, while letting it somehow compensate for the fact that she is very obviously not by any means equipped to be president of a small organization, much less a country. She adds absolutely nothing to the ticket, besides her mediocre to poor performance in college (which Americans seem to favor) and the fact that she is considered a semi attractive woman. That the extent to which she is qualified is not a factor is sexist, and unfortunately it provokes sexist reactions among many people who witness her public embarrassments. She is in many circles representative of “that dumb bitch,” as opposed to being representative of the severe intellectual and political shortcomings of McCain’s team that have resulted in poor decision making.

- Barack Obama IS mass movement. In response to the radicals who don’t believe in voting because it doesn’t matter. In response to those revolutionaries who want to create a movement around change, but can’t seem to create pragmatist approaches to attracting the people. Barack Obama has become the catalyst for this generation’s mass movement. Whether or not he will enact real change will have to be seen. But don’t deny his significance (not as a messiah but as an indicator of the prevalent social and political sentiment of the time) or underestimate his intelligence. I believe he knows exactly what he’s doing, watch closely.

- We are witnessing the fall of the american empire (and perhaps essentially the failure of capitalism). Not only has the dollar decreased 40% in the last six years, but it is not based on anything with real value (ie gold). It is paper that we produce and assign value, therefore, it is not “real”. What does this mean for the future of U.S. competition in the world market, and what does it mean for the supposed amero?

- Helplessness is not real. Everyone has power, it is just a matter of learning to access it and use it.

Holistic Revolutionary Praxis

… or, all you need right now is a little bittuh ack right.

This blog has been inspired by many interactions I’ve had throughout the course of my tender life. The most recent event — the one that prompted me to sit down and write — was a bad customer service experience at the Nubian Heritage/Nicholas store near Fort Greene, Brooklyn.

I support black-owned business, so I go into Nubian Heritage every now and then. I avoid the generally expensive clothes section and even the retail-priced books (except to browse), but I get down with their oils, lotions, candles, and whatnot — all those things to pimp out my feng shui and keep me feeling “wholesome”.

I’ve always burned incense, but a friend of mine insisted that burning Frankincense oil helped her sleep at night. So I go into the store with the idea that if there’s anywhere I can find some oil and realign my chakras by just being in the atmosphere at the same time, this is the place. I stroll up to the counter where there’s a man with chin length locs pretending he doesn’t see me. I give him a small wave and a “hi” after standing there for about one minute unacknowledged.

Without getting into excruciating detail, let me just tell you I have not felt that talked down to since I was too young to remember, and never by someone less than 40 years my senior.

THIS guy was so unpleasant, and too above me to explain something as simple as burning oils. I can readily admit that I ask a lot of questions. I have ever since I realized that it is the only way to get answers to things you want to know. I ask interviewers a lot of questions, I especially ask doctors a lot of questions, and when it’s part of your career to answer them, you should not ONLY answer them but you should have a good time doing it. People find no joy in the spontaneity of human conversation anymore. There’s not even enough personality to fuel an interaction.

So anyways, I’m asking this young man questions about burning oils such as “Does the oil just evaporate?” “Is there maintenance?” “How long would this little flask of oil last me?” “About how many hours would a full top burn?” and so on. All to which I’m getting unnecessarily curt answers such as “Well yes, I suppose it evaporates” (imagine a face with raised eyebrows as though the brain behind it is imparting knowledge onto the world that of course should already be known by all) and “Yes there’s maintenance, as there is with anything.”

At one point I had to ask “DO YOU BURN OIL?”

“Me? Why, yes.”

But of course you do. Oil burning… “I and I” saying, djembe tapping, poetry reciting, Bob Marley shirt wearing, high maintenance dreadlock sporting, fake West Indian accent having, barley chewing, wheatgrass drinking, not to mention just plain rude . . .

But I’m not here to go in on the new wave Brooklyn-esque black bourgeoisie.

I simply wish to present the problem of one dimensional resistance and to propose the consideration of a more holistic way of living.

My MAIN problem with ol’ dude is this — If you are working at Nubian Heritage, I am going to assume that, to an extent, you agree with some of their ideals – African-centered living, community involvement, holistic health, radical black politics, and so on. If this is true, meaning, if you do believe in the empowerment of your people so much and you read mad books about oppression and liberation and revolution and whatnot, then ACT LIKE IT.

It sounds simple, but, maybe it’s not. Resistance and Revolution are not one-dimensional concepts. Your actions and interactions with people during your everyday life should always, without exception, reflect your politics. Otherwise, you’re about as good as a lake-front porch with sitting chairs and no screen.

Resistance is a constant act, and the result of conscious decisions. How am I claiming to be subversive by pontificating about universal health care with a bunch of other pseudo intellectuals in my cohort’s parlor, and on my way home I stop by McDonald’s? How am I a scholar activist sitting up in the student center talking about “organizing” people in the community around issues that affect them, and I haven’t talked to anyone that lives in my neighborhood? How am I protesting non-living wages for immigrant workers and getting caught buying bootcut jeans at the GAP on the weekends?

I’m going to need you to be more than an aesthetic posterchild for an appropriated and inconsistent lifestyle.

If you are into challenging the white supremacist capitalist patriachy (so hooks right now) run by corporations and six white men (one gay), then in my opinion, it is important to examine how to challenge that monolith in every aspect of your breathing life. BAD FOOD is part of that oppression (physical, emotional, and psychological), because your body is a phenomenal machine that can protect and heal itself. Enabling it to do so by eating to live is part of empowering yourself. BUYING POWER is part of resisting. Who does your money support and what structures do you perpetuate through your convenience? RESPECT is part of it. If you’re so revolutionary, why do you judge black women you see in the streets against yourself? Why are you incapable of asking people how they’re doing and actually meaning it? And why, oh why, can’t you respect me when I’m trying to ask you a few questions about some daggon oil?!?!? Since you’ve got so much theoretical “love” for your people.

I understand that eating to live, knowing the sources of what you consume, and so on, are largely affected by certain factors, including economics, region, free time, etc. And in a sense, being able to live “holistically” (buying live foods regularly, only shopping black/independent, etc) is a matter of privilege. And even those who have access and privilege do not always make the choice.

HOWEVER, your actions are within your control. Your energy you can control. And the fact is, your energy will determine everything else first, because what you put out into the world will dictate what you get back.

This is my challenge to anyone who claims they desire to recreate and name the world — stop being a snooty untouchable. It’s time to explore your power. The revolution starts with you.