Face to Face

[ManndingoNUPE]

Now I am going to pose a question to my fellow Greeks, and black folks in general.

"Are we as tolerant of people within our own community who have different viewpoints, as we expect others to be of us?"

Ok, let me explain. I got an unsolicited e-mail forwarded to me from a friend, and this sista was on it talking about how we needed to mobilize, and we needed to do this and do that, and it was like a day or two before Gore conceded.

Now I simply shot back to her that I thought that it was time to let it go. The cards were stacked to high, and the person dealing the cards was not going to let you win (Federal Supreme Court, Governor Jeb Bush, The Republican Money Machine). I mean at what point do you focus your resources on a battle that you can win, as opposed to continue to fight on a playing field that is not of your choosing. Also for me, it was never a fight for Gore, it was more about having the votes that were not counted, count. Making sure that all of our people's votes counted in this election. It wasn't about party's, because we are too tied to the Dems, and the Rep. don't like us in my view.
This sista shot me back one of the most hateful e-mails I have ever gotten basically questioning my blackness, where would I be when folks were getting hung, basically calling me a Tom for not agreeing with her.

Now I happen to believe that we can all disagree without questioning someone's being black. Blackness is a state of being, not a way of thinking. It is not something that you can attain. Were that the case the millions of little white kids who run around here trying to imitate what they think an African American is, would be considered black.

But in our community we have a BIG, and yes I mean BIG problem with tearing down folks who choose to believe differently from what our "Black Leadership" believes.

I got mad love for those who came before us, and those who lead today, but hate to hear how we label folks on the Right Uncle Toms or house N*&^s. Come on, I may disagree with them, but we need to respect each others views.

For the record, I hope and pray that Collin Powell, and C. Rice do excellent jobs in their respective positions. As all of should, because they are now our country's leading voice on foreign affairs. I believe that Collin Powell happens to be in agreement with a lot of what we view as important in African American community. He is for Affirmative Action, he is for a woman's right to choice, he is has our children's best welfare in mind. Now I probably disagree with him on a lot, but he is not head of that division of the Executive.

I will not tear him or C. Rice down, but I will give them the opportunity to see what they can do. Our country's and our welfare depend on how well they do.

But we have to move beyond the hate speech that I see going on today. As my frat brother N4L said, it sickens me to hear about that Minister on the Right who basically called us all lazy and all that. That is not productive, and harms his cause, but I dislike hearing that type of speech from our side as much. And I believe that we are a lot more guilty of it that those on the right.

Let's respect everyone's views. I have heard some folks called everything except a child of God. I love Jesse, but sometimes I disagree with him, (well he is an Omega so that's not surprising)LOL. But for real, I believe that we need to move to make sure that we are mobilized within the next two years to make sure that the party that best represents our interest (most likely Democrats) are put into office. That is going to take a lot of hard work. We also need to make sure that folks votes count. All of this will not be accomplished by shouting. It will be accomplished by all of us working within our respective orgs, to make sure that our chapters work within our communities.

The time for shouting is passed, let's start working.

Peace and Luv

MN

[soror6]

"Are we as tolerant of people within our own community who have different viewpoints, as we expect others to be of us?"

Personally, I don't think so. I do think that we expect people of like backgrounds to have similar opinions, because since we assume that we have all been through the same experiences, we know where they are coming from. That concept works in theory, but not necessarily in practice. I do not expect a person who was raised in an affluent environment to understand and empathize with the plight of a minority single mother who is merely surviving on 1 income with a salary that barely keeps food on the table or vice versa. However, when a person in that same predicament is not on the same political page, it can me more frustrating because we think in the back of our minds that they should know better. Everyone has a right to their opinion, unfortunately many times the opinion is too superficial. It is based on media perpetuated ideas and propaganda, and people go along with it because it looks good on the surface. (Kinda like the Gospel Choir at the Republican Nat'l Convention) That segues me into my next point about Powell and Rice. Yes I do have alot of respect for Powell, however he has not been appointed to a position that has any influence to change things based on the opinions that he has about affirmative action, etc. It is kind of like having a running back who can do the 100 in 4.2 play defense. It is a waste of talent and resources based on where he would be the most beneficial. (Yes, I am a sports fan! ) I know that move was intentional by Bush, but he would be a fool to put Powell in a position where he could influence the state of affirmative action, since he (Bush) is against it. Bush referrs to Affirmative Action as Affirmative Access :roll eyes:. He may be slow, but he's not THAT dumb! Condoleeza Rice has done nothing for the black community in the past, but maybe that will change. I doubt it, but you never know. I do know that she has not been very vocal about minority issues at Stanford, and in undergrad she decided to join a GLO instead of a BGLO. She has absolutely every right to do so, the only point I am tring to make about that is I don't want to see people frustrated about her actions in her appointed position once the new administration takes office. Some people will think she is a mouthpiece for minority issues because she is one, and that is not necessarily true. we need to go on peoples records, not solely on the color of their skin. If we do, we will be disappointed. the appointments that Bush is making should be assesed by their actions and policies. He did not do hardly any campaigning in the black community before, but now he knows that as a whole his approval rating among African-Americans is less than 10%,(even lower in his home state of Texas!) so I see this as a move to pacify us. It is very after the fact. As far as the situation with the response that you recieved from telling the woman to give up, I do not think that Gore should have given up either. Sometimes an initial fight becomes a foundation for ultimate change, and I think the same theory applies here. It will take more than one thrown election, but it is bigger than that. It took more than one school busing protest, it took more than one march, and it took more than one Dr. King speech. It was a foundation for change, and if rightousness did not come out of it this time, than maybe the people that refuse to give up the losing battles in the future can help update the ballots, reduce intimidation, and eliminate disenfranchisement. When you do not speak out on an issue, it is equivalent to silently endorsing it. That's my $19.13 on the situation. I'm long winded, so I know I passed 2 cents a long time ago!

Sincerely
soror6
Anchor D.S.N.V. - Spring '91
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