Eclipse,
My point was not directed to whether we should care if we are portrayed accurately historically. I agree that we should.
My point is that, as educated people, we get so caught up in the origin of words, what the term "discrimination" means and everything else, that we lose the whole point of what could have been taken away from something. A lesson can be learned from anything and anyone, even a fool or even something that is not even true. Hence my comment that as Black people, even if the Willie Lynch letter was *not* true, we can still read it and evaluate whether our behavior is aligned with what it says - if so, we can change it. To me, that is what is going to save us as a race, not whether the term pic-nic was in place when the letter was supposedly written. After all of that intellectual debate, how will we be any better off? Not terribly much.
It's just like in the Alpha Phi Alpha thread when RACooper presented an argument that PHAShriner has views that he doesn't agree with. At some point, the debate disintegrated into a debate on definitions - which is the way that it always goes when these matters come up. I would argue that we lose sight of the forest for the trees.
How could my "forest" approach be employed? Well, for example, there is a thread over on the Alpha Kappa Alpha board about the interactions of Caribbeans and Black people. To me, this is basically Willie Lynch behavior. However, if no one even bothered to look past whether the letter was true or not to the more meaningful issue of whether we as a people exhibit this behavior, then the whole potential benefit of bringing up the Willie Lynch letter on this board is lost b/c at the end of the day, it's about changing our world, not arguing about definitions or the origins of words. At least, that's my opinion and that was what my comment was really trying to get at, albeit in about two sentences.
SC
ETA: For anyone who might actually want to see if their behaviors mirror what is in the Willie Lynch letter, I have copied it below. Therefore, even though it is apparently not true, something useful can be taken from this greekchat dialogue if you see that you are doing this and can change your behavior. As I mentioned above, I see the whole Caribbean - Black interaction thing as a difference that is akin to the differences on which the letter focuses in order to divide. Basically, the difference is there is just location of slavery and the extent generally that one group has held on to the customs from the Motherland and the other group (generally, not all) has not.
Here's the first part of the letter:
"Gentlemen. I greet you here on the bank of the James River in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and twelve. First, I shall thank you, the gentlemen of the Colony of Virginia, for bringing me here. I am here to help you solve some of your problems with slaves. Your invitation reached me on my modest plantation in the West Indies, where I have experimented with some of the newest and still the oldest methods for control of slaves. Ancient Rome's would envy us if my program is implemented. As our boat sailed south on the James River, named for our illustrious King, whose version of the Bible we Cherish, I saw enough to know that your problem is not unique. While Rome used cords of wood as crosses for standing human bodies along its highways in great numbers, you are here using the tree and the rope on occasions. I caught the whiff of a dead slave hanging from a tree, a couple miles back. You are not only losing valuable stock by hangings, you are having uprisings, slaves are running away, your crops are sometimes left in the fields too long for maximum profit, You suffer occasional fires, your animals are killed. Gentlemen, you know what your problems are; I do not need to elaborate. I am not here to enumerate your problems, I am here to introduce you to a method of solving them. In my bag here, I HAVE A FULL PROOF METHOD FOR CONTROLLING YOUR BLACK SLAVES. I guarantee every one of you that if installed correctly IT WILL CONTROL THE SLAVES FOR AT LEAST 300 HUNDREDS YEARS. My method is simple. Any member of your family or your overseer can use it. I HAVE OUTLINED A NUMBER OF DIFFERENCES AMONG THE SLAVES; AND I TAKE THESE DIFFERENCES AND MAKE THEM BIGGER. I USE FEAR, DISTRUST AND ENVY FOR CONTROL PURPOSES. These methods have worked on my modest plantation in the West Indies and it will work throughout the South. Take this simple little list of differences and think about them. On top of my list is "AGE" but it's there only because it starts with an "A." The second is "COLOR" or shade, there is INTELLIGENCE, SIZE, SEX, SIZES OF PLANTATIONS, STATUS on plantations, ATTITUDE of owners, whether the slaves live in the valley, on a hill, East, West, North, South, have fine hair, course hair, or is tall or short. Now that you have a list of differences, I shall give you a outline of action, but before that, I shall assure you that DISTRUST IS STRONGER THAN TRUST AND ENVY STRONGER THAN ADULATION, RESPECT OR ADMIRATION. The Black slaves after receiving this indoctrination shall carry on and will become self refueling and self generating for HUNDREDS of years, maybe THOUSANDS. Don't forget you must pitch the OLD black Male vs. the YOUNG black Male, and the YOUNG black Male against the OLD black male. You must use the DARK skin slaves vs. the LIGHT skin slaves, and the LIGHT skin slaves vs. the DARK skin slaves. You must use the FEMALE vs. the MALE. And the MALE vs. the FEMALE. You must also have you white servants and over- seers distrust all Blacks. But it is NECESSARY THAT YOUR SLAVES TRUST AND DEPEND ON US. THEY MUST LOVE, RESPECT AND TRUST ONLY US. Gentlemen, these kits are your keys to control. Use them. Have your wives and children use them, never miss an opportunity. IF USED INTENSELY FOR ONE YEAR, THE SLAVES THEMSELVES WILL REMAIN PERPETUALLY DISTRUSTFUL. Thank you gentlemen."
Quote:
Originally posted by Eclipse
I think the problem with this letter and urban legends like the root of the word "picnic" is that it allows us to see things in a greater conspiracy type format. This, imo, helps to somewhat obsolve people of their personal responsibility. I also think that asa people who have frequently been marginalized out of history, we should care if it accurately protrayed.
|