By now, you’ve probably heard the sordid and bewildering story of world class Decepticon, Rachel Dolezal, explode across your social media timelines. Each day since her cover was blown Rachel’s alternate reality shatters in a million little pieces, as more information is revealed about her real identity. In the event you’ve been luxuriating on a remote island, off the coast of I’ve Got Fancier Shit to Worry About, here’s the gist of the situation: Rachel Dolezal—a white woman, and (now former) president of Spokane Washington’s NAACP chapter—has been living a good chunk of her adult life masquerading (with the help of slightly darker makeup, box braid extensions and Afro-textured wigs) as a biracial woman with a Black father, and reaping the benefits of colorism’s complexion hierarchy.In an elaborate 21^st century minstrel tale that probably makes Vijay Chokalingam envious, Rachel was able to craft a highly derivative life, as if she’d taken her cues from the scripted pages of a psychological thriller.To note, while I acknowledge that racial passing—to include white-to-Black ‘passing‘— isn’t a new concept, and recognize that the politics of race may be a socially constructed idea, and that Black identity is multi-layered and, at times, complicated, it doesn’t negate the fact that race plays a huge part in structural inequality, in the way policies are enacted and resources are distributed, and  isn’t entirely irrelevant. Blackness as culture has merit and history in this country. It’s a thread that’s much more meaningful than a white person being able convincingly mimic a look or affectation. As much as we don’t want race to matter and prefer to write it off as a social construct, the reality is, institutionally and physically, it isn’t.As an obviously Black-American woman, born of two Black-American parents, and who is susceptible to systemic racism, microaggressions, and misogynoir, I believe the conversations and rationalizations swirling around Rachel Dolezal and Blackness have been insincere.
The commentary regarding the pliability of Blackness and accessibility to ‘Black cool’ always seem to be up for debate when it’s centered on a white person, because as usual, whiteness gets to dictate the rules when it comes to the Black lived experience, and always when it suits white people’s needs.
And living life in costume, performing as a biracial woman with a Black faux-parent seemed to suit Rachel Dolezal—a histrionic white woman estranged from her family—really well; because after graduating from Howard University (where she still identified as white and sued the school for anti-white discrimination), Rachel reinvented herself and accessed opportunities not made readily available to qualified Black women, especially those who are darker-skinned.
Before the proverbial 3C wig was snatched off of her head and she was publicly outed by the media,  and her actual parents (who confirmed her heritage as Czech, German and Swedish with faint traces of Native American ancestry) and adopted Black brother, she made a living taking up a lot of space, offering first-hand accounts about experiences that weren’t hers.

The post Consuming The Other: Rachel Dolezal’s Charade Bulldozes Black Womanhood appeared first on Madness & Reality.

It’s funny how fellow Fox News commentator Megyn Kelly supports the existence of white privilege. Most within her side of the political aisle like O’Reilly reject such a concept usually citing less-than-savory experiences and their work history to prove that they weren’t born into wealthy families and somehow, white is the new black, neither of which is well-founded in the topic of racism or white privilege, the side-effect.

White privilege is a term that describes social, political and even economical advantages granted to human beings born with white skin. It doesn’t matter if you’re poor or started out poor. If you’re white, you still have privilege due to the simple fact that you are white. End of story.

Since blogging, I realized that it’s near to impossible to prove racism to white people. White privilege is something many of them, and some people of color, believe is a part of liberal race hustling as if the left is completely insusceptible to racism. In all arguments against white privilege, all of them turn out to be exhausted attempts to shift the conversation away from the subject matter and make those who acknowledge it look stupid and feel like crap for bring it up in the first place. It’s part of the old “You’re racist for bringing up racism” ploy.

Seriously, you can’t discuss how hard it is for black people to catch a cab, get followed by store personnel in any store, get stopped or harassed by police or why you don’t see a lot of representations of yourself in the media without someone telling you how hard white people have it. Not getting a job or an approval to attend the university they think they rightfully deserve seems to translate into “oppression against white people. On the other hand, what we go through is our own damn fault. Somehow we, collectively, need to take responsibility for how we’re treated.

If store personnel monitors us, then maybe my people shouldn’t have been stealing so much or we shouldn’t have “looked” suspicious. If we weren’t so busy committing crimes or “looked” suspicious, maybe the police wouldn’t be stopping, searching, harassing, shooting or even murdering so many of us. If we would just get jobs, maybe our unemployment rate wouldn’t be high. And if we just worked harder, we wouldn’t be poor.

But try to tell some white folks how they need to check their privileged attitude and you will get chided. All we need to do is simply do better and work harder. Nevermind the racial stereotypes that continue to permeate the minds of so many people or the structural racism constructed to control us and keep us in check at the bottom of the racial caste system, because apparently that doesn’t exist. We just need to do better. End of conversation.

One of the privileges of being white is never being told that your people, as a whole, need to do better. I’ve never heard anyone telling those who didn’t get the careers they wanted or the college they applied for to “do better” individually or collectively, particularly in a patronizing tone.

As a black male, I don’t have the privilege of being seen as an individual, especially if I rob, murder or rape someone, because that’s how society sees me and almost all black men. Those of us who have never, nor ever will commit such vile deeds will still be assumed to have that inner nature that, due to our black skin, we can’t control, or the lust for lady parts, especially those of the European variety, is higher than that of white ordinary men. But if I were to win the Nobel Prize, I’m automatically not like “other blacks”. Either that, or somehow I don’t truly deserve it. If I saved someone, I would be lucky if it makes the news.

White males, on the other hand, are at the top of the Earthly caste system. Their being at the top makes them benevolent experts of…anything and everything, including black folks, by default. They are seen as naturally highly intelligent enough and next-to-angelic as you can get above us dumb, violent darkies. Only they can save us inferior beings through their efforts of “civilizing” poor us.

That is the rule while white criminals are the exceptions. They are individual screw-ups with mental problems. The world fucked them up. So, they fuck the world. And no matter how many times it happens, you won’t see white women cross the street when they see a white dude walking towards them. Us Negroes are the only ones to fear because according to white men, we’re ravenous for some white ass. And they must be right because, you know, they’re white men.

Before I wrap this up, I want to look back more than several weeks ago when I published an article concerning a fellow named Anthony Cumia, formerly one-half of the now-defunct radio show Opie and Anthony. The former radio host allegedly was a victim of an attack by a black woman while he was taking photos. He vented his anger on Twitter and unveiled his obvious racist mindset. He has been making racist comments since day one, before the alleged incident. But his Twitter rant sealed his pink slip.

So, I wrote about how racist white males like him are not only given a media platform, but are paid handsomely for their bigoted views, overt and secret. As it turns out, many of Cumia’s fans were upset hearing about his dismissal. Some of them came to my article via Facebook and left their angry comments condemning me and my post for dissing a guy who was, in their minds, simply speaking his mind or speaking the truth.

So, let’s look at the facts. Cumia had a show for long time. He got paid a lot while making racist statements and comments up until his firing. Recently, he was featured at a white supremacist radio show spewing more racism. And he will likely get a job where he can be as racially hateful as possible. White privilege anyone?

I could write pages, maybe books, about how white privilege sickens (sometimes literally) me as a black person in America. Perhaps this one article can help get the conversation going. However, this could also have the same effect as my article on Anthony Cumia, inviting pestilence from non-racist, Freedom of Speech supporters who will consider me as a villain. In their minds clouded by a dense fog of white privilege, calling out or discussing racism is worse than actually living it or being effect by it in some way. And their mission to troll the hell out of me will end up proving that white privilege is not only here, but supported.

The post Unpacking Whiteness: Bill O’Reilly, White Privilege and Denial appeared first on Madness & Reality.

This is especially true whenever white men’s racism goes ratchet. There will be those who will defend those fools. The ones responsible will either deliver a fake apology or deliver tired excuses. If a person of color is a target of their bigotry, and this is definitely the case when it comes to African Americans, it’s okay. Mistakes and free speech trump over the emotional, psychological and even physical damage done onto the victim and the community, which are never seen as “true” victims. Instead, the white racist ends up getting that distinction.

Why am I saying all this? Recently, one-half of the SiriusXM radio shock-jock team Opie and Anthony, Anthony Cumia, lost his job due to his string of racially and misogynistic charged tweets. What set him off was during an alleged confrontation with a black woman while taking pictures in Times Square. According to him, the black woman didn’t want to be in those pictures and proceeded to fight him. And the rest is Twitter history:

Im fucking livid. If I was an illegal savage I’d have shot her. The I are violence in her was so predictable. I hope she gets killed.

— Anthony Cumia (@AnthonyCumia) July 2, 2014

It’s a jungle out in our cities after midnight. Violent savages own the streets. They all came 2 defend this pig. I had to yell like at dogs

— Anthony Cumia (@AnthonyCumia) July 2, 2014

Savage violent animal fucks prey on white people. Easy targets. This CUNT has no clue how lucky she was. She belted me 10 times. I had a gun

— Anthony Cumia (@AnthonyCumia) July 2, 2014

The cunt animal kept walking into my arm I had up as a block saying “DONT TOUCH ME!” Then would hit me. I hope a home boy beats her to death

— Anthony Cumia (@AnthonyCumia) July 2, 2014

Great pic of the CUNTRAG bitch fuck animal pig face worthless meat sack shit pile stink crotch ass stain rot bung… pic.twitter.com/ZJSxldxGZX

— Anthony Cumia (@AnthonyCumia) July 2, 2014

As of yet, there hasn’t been any word as to her side of the story. It’s hard to say if she will ever have a say in this. And even if she has that opportunity, I doubt some will take her view into account. In this country, what black folks think and feel are irrelevant. We’re supposed to just shut up and do better. The only victim seen here in Cumia, another victim of black pathology and black racism.

I doubt that she was the true catalyst of the supposed skirmish. I believe that Cumia was the one that started the whole confrontation. After all, he has had a long history of racism. And yet, he was able to land a cushy job as a shock jock for a corporate media outlet. That is, until he unleashed his inner Klansman spirit on social media with no regrets. SiruisXM, for some reason, didn’t want to be associated with this. (Why did they decide now is anyone’s guess.) And they closed the book on Opie and Anthony.

As expected, fans are livid about Cumia’s firing. They cancelled their subscriptions with SiriusXM and tweeted about it, of course. They thought that Cumia’s firing was unfair, because he was just “being himself”, that the whole move was “fascist” and a Facebook page with over 65,000 supporters was created urging people to boycott the company.

Cumia is but one of many white folks in the media landscape that is either definitely or suspected of being racist. His tirade on Twitter was his own undoing. Yet, he was being a racist prick for while and got paid for it. I think it would be far from exaggerating that bullying black people and making fun of their issues is something the media drools over to make big money. From black-on-white crimes to black out-of-wedlock childbirths to black violence, the white male dominated media wants to keep white supremacy alive in a way that is not easy to spot by average people. Cumia slipped up, and so he paid the price.

But, white men like Anthony Cumia will find other career moves and there will be companies that will give him a hand and much support. He will not go under. He will still make money and be loved by many who share his views. Hell, if Maury Povich, Bill Cunningham, Bill O’Reilly and Rush Limbaugh were to get fired, they will still be paid and loved.

There will be an audience who will support the media’s bullying and exploitation of Black Americans and the issues they face. Sadly, some people in that audience will be black themselves, and they will support those images as well. Ladies and gentlemen, Jim Crow is part of our regularly scheduled programming.

The post Anthony Cumia, Racist Tweets, & White Racist Media Privilege appeared first on Madness & Reality.

Recently in the past few weeks, we’ve witnessed a few notable moments in white privilege, white entitlement, the delusion of meritocracy, appropriation and, of course, white supremacy. But these nameable junctures in white mindedness that has been detected by social justice radars are few. Yet, it is an ongoing and aggravating assault against those who are sick and tired the same old stories that trashes the flimsy liberal-based, make-believe notion that this society is ‘post-racial’ and try to silence any and all cries for human justice.

First, we have the infamous Cliven Bundy, a rancher who refuses to pay millions in grazing fees he owes to taxpayers. Last month, the Feds heard about the opposition, and it was on – almost. Long story short, the government came to move Bundy’s cattle that was grazing on protected federal land, but was halted, again. You see, this beef between the wannabe cowboy and the U.S. government has been going on for almost two decades. Bundy has quite an angry gun-toting, Yosemite Sam tempered militia of supporters ready to start some shit. And some have already thrown down – with each other.

But the right, in their usual anti-government Americanism, regarded Bundy as a hero. He was standing up to a power in the hands of a certain Democratic president of half-African descent. But when Bundy revealed his backwards racist mindset regarding us ‘negroes‘, the right’s support largely soured faster than milk.

Then we have Donald Sterling, the troubled owner of the Los Angeles Clippers who was revealed, thanks to his mistress, as an obvious racist. What brought this on? The mistress V. Stiviano recording his vocal contempt of seeing her taking a photo with basketball legend Magic Johnson because “she’s associating with black people”. But reports emerged that Sterling has been racist for years, especially during his slumlord billionaire days. And now, the embattled miser is crying so hard telling the world how he’s not not racist.

Next, we have two sorry moments of whiteness on the heels of the kidnapping of the 230-plus Nigerian school girls. We have Ramaa Mosely, a film director and documentarian trying to take credit for sparking the twitter hashtag #BringBackOurGirls. Even though it was reported that it was started in Nigeria by Ibrahim M. Abdullahi, news outlets flocked to revere what they saw was the progressive fantasy of the quintessential white savior. What’s most fucked up is that she is still getting positive media attention, obtained thousands in donations and she still positions herself as the leader behind the movement! Really?

But the right is no better. Some of them saw the mass kidnapping as an opportunity to sink as low as possible. George Will and a panel of Fox News contributors mocked the hasktag, wondering if it was “an exercise in self-esteem”. But the biggest fuckery came from the “Wicked Witch of the Right” herself Ann coulter, who decided to pull a Michelle Obama and took a picture of herself holding a sign with her own hashtag #BringBackOurCountry. She never misses a chance to make life forms hate her.

Last but not least, we have Tal Fortgang, a Princeton student who sought to deliver a written sermon against those who demanded that he “checked his privileged”, as he mentioned he was told to do so by others. Fortgang made it clear that he wasn’t apologizing for anything. (Then again, no one asked him to apologize to start with.) Still, his attempt to explain his status fell terribly short as his article shows that he doesn’t know the concept of white privilege.

And don’t get me started on Frazier Glenn Cross, the white supremacist who shot up a Jewish center in Kansas.

I’m aware that some white folks will regard this article as racist against white people, as if it could jeopardize the livelihood of white communities en masse. Some will claim how they’re not racist while dropping n-bombs. I have not and will not claim to know white folks better than white folks. But I will not hold back in venting my frustrations with a mentality that replaces humanism and moral bravery with obsessive skin color admirations of outrageous proportions.

The post Bundy, Sterling, & Mosely: Sickening Moments in Whiteness appeared first on Madness & Reality.

That’s what happened to Princeton University’s student Tal Fortgang. This young man wrote an article to the school’s newspaper The Princeton Tory entitled “Why I’ll Never Apologize for My White Male Privilege“. He starts off writing about how opinions (particularly his) have been struck down by his “moral superiors” and how it felt like being targeted by – are you ready for this – a drone:

“Check your privilege,” the saying goes, and I have been reprimanded by it several times this year. The phrase, handed down by my moral superiors, descends recklessly, like an Obama-sanctioned drone, and aims laser-like at my pinkish-peach complexion, my maleness, and the nerve I displayed in offering an opinion rooted in a personal Weltanschauung. “Check your privilege,” they tell me in a command that teeters between an imposition to actually explore how I got where I am, and a reminder that I ought to feel personally apologetic because white males seem to pull most of the strings in the world.

It sounds to me like Fortgang was one of those people who said or did some things that riled up other folks. But, having privilege can make one blind, deaf and dumb to not only the real world, but also their own actions. Fortgang thought that the people were out to guilt trip him due to the fact that he’s a white male (not because he’s likely a pompous douche) and as such, he is part of the power structure built and reserved only for his race and gender. In short, he feels like an undeserving victim.

The usual script continues. Fortgang blames others who told him about his apparent privileged attitude. He subtly accuses them of racism. He lashes out at them for ignoring his personal accomplishments and lumping him into the privileged white male club. And having the gall to suggest that racism and sexism are still running things. In fact, he doesn’t believe that there is a racial and gender hierarchy in today’s society. Instead, meritocracy is real, and those who haven’t “made it” only have themselves to blame.

Tal Fortgang

So, Fortgang decides to take the advice and “checked his privilege”. But instead of a real introspection and a little research as to the advantages placed on white males by an unfair society and how he benefits from it, he takes us on a personal family history lesson describing their many trials, tribulations and accomplishments in a fruitless attempt to shut down the idea that he has white male privilege:

Perhaps it’s the privilege my grandfather and his brother had to flee their home as teenagers when the Nazis invaded Poland, leaving their mother and five younger siblings behind, running and running until they reached a Displaced Persons camp in Siberia, where they would do years of hard labor in the bitter cold until World War II ended. Maybe it was the privilege my grandfather had of taking on the local Rabbi’s work in that DP camp, telling him that the spiritual leader shouldn’t do hard work, but should save his energy to pass Jewish tradition along to those who might survive. Perhaps it was the privilege my great-grandmother and those five great-aunts and uncles I never knew had of being shot into an open grave outside their hometown. Maybe that’s my privilege.

It’s amazing that his family went through the hell of Nazism in World War II and remained strong enough to eventually come to this country and worked hard to earn the fabled American Dream. And if Fortgang did work hard to get to Princeton, that’s also admirable. The real problem with bringing the story into the article is no one is saying any of those struggles and achievements are acts of privilege, because they aren’t.

Those with privileges don’t know what they are and what they mean. Most often, people confuse having “privilege” as being born with silver spoons in their mouths or having money to burn. While that is one from of privilege, there are others that don’t require cash. Being born white means having certain societal advantages, rights and benefits given to you due to having white skin. Being born male means the same, provided that you have a penis. Get the picture?

Sadly, like Fortgang, not all will, and they are the ones who have privileges. They are often the first ones to cry victim when someone speaks about it. They will still argue how they don’t have privileges even if you present a list of things they can do and get away with that you can’t. And like Fortgang, they will apologize to no one due to their delusion that their position was purely 100% earned.

Fortgang may have thought that he was taking a stand. He may even thought he was speaking on behalf of the victimized, hard working white man. But instead, he came out sounding ignorant as hell, looking like a total jackass, especially after checking out his tweets, and embarrassed his Alma Mater, all because of a little thing he’s not sorry for.

The post Tal Fortgang: He’s White, He’s Privileged, & He’s Proud appeared first on Madness & Reality.

When I was a kid, I knew two different Santa Clauses. The first had a fat belly, rosy cheeks, a long white beard, and skin as pink as bubble gum. He was omnipresent, visiting my pre-school and the local mall, visible in all of my favorite Christmas specials.

Then there was the Santa in my family’s household, in the form of ornaments, cards, and holiday figurines. A near-carbon copy of the first one—big belly, rosy cheeks, long white beard: check, check, check. But his skin was as dark as mine.

Seeing two different Santas was bewildering. Eventually I asked my father what Santa really looked like. Was he brown, like us? Or was he really a white guy?

My father replied that Santa was every color. Whatever house he visited, jolly old St. Nicholas magically turned into the likeness of the family that lived there.

In hindsight, I see this explanation as the great Hollywood spec script it really is. (Just picture the past-their-prime actors who could share the role. Robert De Niro! Eddie Murphy! Jackie Chan! I smell a camp classic.) But at the time, I didn’t buy it. I remember feeling slightly ashamed that our black Santa wasn’t the “real thing.” Because when you’re a kid and you’re inundated with the imagery of a pale seasonal visitor—and you notice that even some black families decorate their houses with white Santas—you’re likely to accept the consensus view, despite your parents’ noble intentions.

Two decades later, America is less and less white, but a melanin-deficient Santa remains the default in commercials, mall casting calls, and movies. Isn’t it time that our image of Santa better serve all the children he delights each Christmas?

A very good question, in my opinion. As a child growing up in the Caribbean, I too questioned the cultural and ethnic identity of Santa Claus. More to that point, I always wondered why in the world did we even pit up a Christmas tree decorated with snow, when I had never seen as much as one snowflake in my life. And then, like Harris, I always wondered why Santa Claus never looked anything like me when the closest thing to “whiteness” I knew on the island, happened to be a few my great aunts who could pass for white women, thanks to my white Scottish great-grandfather.

But curiosity aside, here is what Megyn Kelly said:

So, do we really need to reinforce that narrative by adding the mythology of a Kunta Claus?

When it comes to Jesus and Santa being white, like Megyn Kelly, I thought everyone knew this to be true. Certainly if Jesus wasn’t white, there’s no way that my grandmother would have had a picture of a blond-haired blue-eyed Jesus on her wall when I was a kid. And let me tell you, my granny went to church eight days a week and three times on Sunday. So when I say my granny knew Jesus, trust me, she was practically dating the man; so, with that said I’m sure she knew he was in fact the same man in that picture on her wall and not some Palestinian-looking guy from the middle-east like religious scholar Reza Aslan claims. I’m just saying: my granny taught me a lot, and she had to learn it from somewhere; and I’m sure it wasn’t from watching FOX.

My grandmother will be 100-years-old a few days after Christmas this year. Yes, and she still lives in the Caribbean. That said, there’s no way in hell that I or any of you can convince her that Megyn Kelly, and all the Megyn Kelly’s of the world are wrong. Forget about the whitewashing of history or that through slavery and colonization religion was introduced to Africans and their descendants in the new world by men who looked exactly like my white Scottish great-grandfather. You know, the descendants of the same white men who invented Christianity for political reasons?

Yes, let’s not have that debate; yes, let’s leave that out of it and instead minimize the growing pains of people of color like this. You know, sort of like what Megyn Kelly did when she blatantly disregarded how it must feel to be black? Especially to be black and live in two worlds?

Seriously, would Santa get any love if he was black?

Look, Santa Claus is as white as Jesus Christ and he needs to stay that way. I mean, lord forbid if in our quest for post-racial bliss we start accepting the idea of a black Santa Claus and subject him to racial profiling, being shot by overzealous police officers or neighborhood watch captains. Or face the possibility of being wrongfully incarcerated like many black men in America. Not to mention the indignity of not being able to find paid work when not attempting to bring Chistmas cheer. Or even worse, having his birth certificate questioned in an attempt to undermine his legitimacy.

I could go on and on, but hopefully you get where I’m coming from on this one. Besides, if Santa was black, what reason would white folks have to visit the ghetto once a year in the spirit of love, just to be able to feel better about themselves. So yeah, why start changing now and making certain folks uncomfortable?

The post Megyn Kelly Was Right: Santa Claus is White and He Should Stay White appeared first on Madness & Reality.

The story was complete with visual references and the angle as presented was somewhat of an explanation as to why people in poverty make bad choices. Clearly, it resonated with a lot of people as the article went completely viral and it’s hard to find a Facebook timeline that hasn’t seen at least one version of this article. As it usually happens with stories which paint a picture of hopelessness and a brave soul struggling to live amongst the figurative rocks, like Tirado’s story, many people turned around after reading her article and donated to Ms. Tirado, with the best of intentions. To date Ms. Tirado has raised over $60K from a gofundme.com page she created after writing the piece.

Problem is the story as written was a discussion of Ms. Tirado’s bad choices and life lived in poverty when in fact, her life has been everything BUT poverty-stricken. Yes, I need Shirley Ceasar to come sing “Hold My Mule” right now….

Ms. Tirado grew up in a UPPER middle class family and attended boarding school. She currently lives in a house that her parents generously funded and footed the bill for. She is married to a Marine and has allegedly met President Obama once in person. She lists as occupation, freelance writer and political consultant going back to 2010. Oh and she attended boarding school growing up because of course that was what all middle class families did – send their kids to boarding school…..

“Hold my mule…”

If this is not the epitome of white privilege and an example of the systemic economic disparity in this country I will give completely up.

People were feeling some kind of way because they felt Miley Cyrus appropriated tweaking and is making bank of “black culture”? It’s ok though for this paragon of virtue to write about poverty and profit from it. How do these things get decided? Somebody let me know when the next “Important topic for black folks to get mad about” meeting is going to be held so I can be sure to attend.

In a country where an overwhelming amount of the populace has been brainwashed to believe that the majority of black and brown folks are collecting a welfare check and running off to buy Cadillacs, diamonds, and pearls this story sticks so deeply in my craw that I am choking on cuss words as I type this.

Let me just clear up things RIGHT up front… Those of you who are averse to profanity can click off now because there will be cussing

I can speak to poverty I HAVE lived it, I have been working-poor most of my life and I grew up in a working class family who did NOT have the funds to send me to boarding school even though academically I might have benefitted from it – instead, I attended a public school for Gifted and talented children.

Unlike Ms. Tirado, my parents (my father died when I was 14), could not afford to BUY me a house. I was happy enough for my mother who after working for fifty years was able to retire and buy the house of her dreams. My mother is now living on her retirement and pension and is taking care of HER own mother who also managed to buy a house of her own without the help of RICH parents. In fact, she was sending money TO HER PARENTS while saving up for the house she ultimately bought.

AS to the choices that she lied about in her article, I have had hard choices, I have had to live on potato chips for months because there wasn’t enough money to buy much of anything else. Choosing between paying a bill and eating is a regular occurrence. There are way too many situations where the choices are between bad and worse; and if you don’t develop a way to put all that into perspective, you can add mental health issues and hypertension to the list of negatives that go along with the list of so-called bad choices.

As far as the roaches story Tirado tells, not everyone who is poor has roaches…. it’s stereotypical bullshit that poor people are dirty and live in hovels. You would be surprised at how some people living in McMansions are REALLY living and what goes on behind closed doors. But stereotyping is easier and more fun so I see why she went there with that one.

To the millions of Americans of all ethnicities like myself who have not had insurance or seen a doctor in years I say, forgive her ignorance. In writing about her long-standing inability to get dental care even when she had resources available to her to get care but (made bad choices), it minimized the struggle that we all as uninsured go through in this country. Each day hoping the sniffle doesn’t turn into a full-fledged cold or that the stomach ache goes away and praying to never have to wind up in the emergency room. Or just walking around in pain hoping it goes away at some point.

It wasn’t bad enough that this out of touch, class-unconscious pseudo-progressive decided to write a pack of lies and pass it on as her own experience, she actually decided to profit from it assisted by those bleeding heart folks who read her story – published on one of the leading news blog sites and got out their credit cards, checkbooks etc. and sent her money to ease her non-existent poverty.

The system then did what it was supposed to. A writer with the level of exposure reserved for celebrities and other public figures, wrote a call to action and people acted and sent her money for a story that wasn’t really hers to begin with. For this I reserve a big fuck you to Ms. Tirado for feeling “entitled” to those donations even though it wasn’t actually Her OWN experiences she was writing about.

I am struggling to make ends meet with NO HUSBAND and NO children. I am gone 12 hours a day to work in an “at will” work state which means I can lose my job at any minute for no reason. I am at the same TIME attending college where I actually STOPPED looking at the student loan balances because it was making me sick to see how much those were racking up. Fuck you because I can’t even get money to help buy my textbooks or offset some of those student loans which I will probably be paying back for the rest of my life. But YOU write a fictitious story about your experiences with poverty and get $60k that you plan on taking a trip to Vegas with? Really?

I have never been to Vegas, I can’t remember the last time I went on anything remotely resembling a vacation – (2008 – spent weekend in Washington D.C.). Hell I have never been to Disneyland but this “well it’s not my fault that people took what I said out of context” trick is laughing all the way to the bank and collecting paper

See this is not our system. Black people did not create the current economic system in this country. We did not create a system by which a white woman can write a screed on poverty that she never personally experienced and get published on the leading news blog site on the net.

There are far too many talented sistas out here who can make Shakespeare sound like Mother Goose for that. None of them are getting the same opportunities for exposure. Heck those who are living in some form of poverty may not even have access to a pc to write in the first place. Some like me do not have wealthy family and friends to siphon money off to go buy a home or any other big-ticket items.

But the need was felt by this writer to compose this piece that speaks from the perspective of someone who has lived the struggle of poverty, when in fact that is not the case and is profiting from it on top of it.

If white America, and or the so-called public wish to know about the bad choices made by those in poverty just ask. There are PLENTY of us out here that would be more than willing to tell you from our OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE what its like living not even pay check to paycheck; not knowing where your next dollar is going to come from or what you will have to DO to get money to pay that bill, rent, etc.

The post Faking Poverty To Get Paid Was Linda Tirado’s Bad Choice appeared first on Madness & Reality.

People don’t want to talk about being White because they know that at a deep level, even though some of them may not have talked about it with anybody or every expressed it, they do know that they get a benefit from being White.”

“… To me, it’s about privilege. A lot of people get to walk around thinking that we live in a meritocracy, and thinking that their own hard work is the only thing that’s responsible for their achievements. I think that it shapes everything.”

“I was taught that you respected Black folk, but not really as human beings, but more like cats, and dogs, and cows; you wouldn’t mistreat a cat or a dog in my family, and you wouldn’t mistreat a black person. I don’t have any trouble admitting that I’m a racist; I think it’s absurd to try to fight with that. I grew up in this society I was conditioned by, I think internally in my psyche I have grounded and rooted those attitudes and I see it in me all the time… I mean, I’m always dealing with it. I don’t think that make me a bad person … I just think it means I’ve been well indoctrinated.”

“… Like Malcolm X said: ‘Racism is like a Cadillac; there’s a new model every year’. Racism is a dynamic social construction, so it’s always changing and it’s always mutating. So people that say, ‘well there’s no racism anymore’, they’re referring to racism as it existed in 1950 or 1920 or 1910.”

Above,  is a collection of quotes from Whitewashed: Unmasking the World of Whites, a 2013 documentary-short by Mark Patrick George. Clocking in at just under 35 minutes, this interesting featurette examines White privilege and racism via footage—(collected over the course of several years)—of several White Americans offering insight on what ‘whiteness‘ means to them and the situations that have prompted them to realize how institutional racism works to marginalize  ‘others‘ and work in their favor. According to the official website, Whitewashed is “intended to educate and spark dialogue both within and across racial groups.”

Many of the confessions in this documentary are stark and revelatory. Very often during discussions about race between people of color and White people, things will disintegrate and melt into a sticky puddle of defensive excuses (via ‘I’m not like them‘ disclaimers that decontextualize the conversation), dismissive hand waving and demands that we ‘get over’it’ (although some long for its return), thinking discussions about race is reserved for people of color, silencing, and tone policing; which is why many people of color shut down and refuse to engage any further, because we feel as if our voices are being stifled, we aren’t truly being heard, the White person (or people) we’re conversing with isn’t really ready to deconstruct the topic of race as much as s/he just wants to prove how ‘anti-racist’ s/he is, and we feel as if our lived experiences navigating microaggressions are viewed as being trivial… note the many antagonistic blackface costumes that abounded this Halloween despite pre-Halloween pleas that White people have their costume fun sans anti-Black minstrelsy, and the collective annoyance at Black people’s disappointment and righteous indignation.

The quote that stood out to me the most was from the subject who admitted to being racist, and who likened the respect he offered to Black people as being akin to not mistreating an animal, as opposed to the deference he’d extend to another human being. That was the most evocative statement, because it was the most honest. To be frank, more often than not, many White people don’t see the humanity of people of color despite protestations to the contrary, and this is what makes it easy for them to ignore oppression, to disregard intersectionality within various social justice and present-day civil rights movements, to deny that racism still exists, to ignore the violence (mentally, emotionally, and physically) wrought by institutional racism, and to peddle post-racial propaganda.

The discomfiting feeling race discussions generally incite, comes from hearing things that are difficult to process and  many times, when uncensored, they come from folks who benefit from White privilege, when they’re allowed the space and time to talk freely. I believe those perspectives are equally as important, because White people can’t begin to try to help deconstruct racism and work towards resolving tensions and present themselves as genuine allies (a word I’m beginning to loathe) like many claim to want to do, until they unpack their privilege and say the words they loathe hearing out loud and identify the elephant in the room for what it is. When you call it out… White privilege… Racism… you can begin the work to dismantle it.

See Whitewashed in full, below.

The post Whitewashed: White Americans Discuss Their White Privilege appeared first on Madness & Reality.

I posted a video a few days ago that in the Jewish state of Israel, the racism against African immigrants has reached violent proportions. Israeli citizens vocally and physically expressed their disdain for the African community and for Africans who continue to enter their borders for asylum from their native homelands conflicts. They hoped to live in a land where they would find peace and prosperity. So, they’ve turned to Israel whose image to many – especially here in the West where there are people in high places who refuse to see how venomous the small nation truly is – is that it is a leader of democracy in the Middle East.

Yeah, right. Tell that to the Palestinians.

It’s no different than the white racist shitheads who proclaim that Jews are a race and not a people who worship Judaism.

And speaking of shitheads. A White Australian woman has been causing quite a buzz in the news. She recently turned 21 years-old and decided to celebrate by having a party. Not, just an ordinary party, but one where the theme was ‘Africa’.

So, how many of you think that the shindig was filled with a celebratory tribute to the continent, its people and its various cultures? If you think that, well, you’re WRONG!

It was exactly like the MLK day parties put on by white college students across the nation wearing black face, dressing up like mainstream rappers and having who-knows-what stuffed in the seats of their pants to make their flat asses look abnormally huge.

The Australian woman took photographs of the party and posted them on her Facebook page, refusing to take them down after confronted by someone who told them how racist they were. (You can peep the photos at Buzzfeed.) But she didn’t know what was so offensive about it, as she made a Tumblr page explaining her ignorance:

“Okay don’t even know how to use tumblr but wanted to clarify this.

It was my ‘African themed’ party and it was honestly made that theme because I have always wanted to go to Africa (to teach english) but haven’t made it there yet. In no way was this party intended to hurt anyones feelings or upset anyone at all. In fact as you can tell from the photos I dressed up as cleopatra, whilst MAJORITY of my guests came as animals, that can be found in africa or wore traditional african clothes or even dressed up as famous people who come from africa. If anything this was to celebrate the amazing country and people. However, some guest did decide to paint themselves, although this was in no way my intention or encouraged in the slightest. I understand that this has offended some people and I have no idea how these photos have even been seen, they were simply put on facebook for my guests to see the photos of themselves. I am 100% sure that parties would be held that would be ‘Australian themed’ or American themed or even countries of the world, and in that instance I don’t believe anyone would be offended. People wear oktoberfest cotumes to parties and no one cracks it that they are not German? So what I am saying is I do understand the people who have painted themselves have offended people, although none of them intended that…. but how can people be annoyed that the majority of the people at the party were celebrating another countries culture.

Also one of my friends who is Mauritian painted himself white, but that photos didn’t make it to this page along with the MAJORITY of people who were amazingly detailed costumes that no one could take offense to!! I am sure that not one person at my party felt upset that said guest painted himself white as it was not meant in that way at all.

Also, I have NEVER been asked to take these photos down, however if I had of course I would have done so, as I had no idea that anyone other than friends and guests could see these photos, and to be honest I am not a racist person at all so I didn’t think anyone could possibly take it that way. I intend to spend 2 months teaching english in cambodia in January, and cant wait to do the same in Africa. If you will still have me.

To reiterate, I was cleopatra and did not encourage my guest to wear anything racist simply to come as something African Inspired, much like if you went to an australia day party (Which I am 100% sure people of all races and cultures do every year!!!)

Again I am sorry for those I have offended and the photos have now been removed now that I have eventually been made aware people were upset. For those who know me at all you would know the last thing in the world I would want to do would be to offend people.”

I’ll let you cite everything wrong with her “explanation” aside from her not knowing when to capitalize words and that she believes that Africa is a country.

Anti-African humanism is so fierce and convincing that people of color have joined in the craze. Even African and Afro-descendants have bought the hype that black skin is a sin. So, the question I keep asking myself is why are black people so hated in this world?

I know that I were to ask that to some folks – those of pale skin that I would either get transparent denials to flimsy, racist, recycled excuses. Everyone should know the score by now.

“You people commit the most crimes in…wherever! Areas with a high black population are fucked up! You have low I.Q.s! But despite it all, I am not a racist!” Blah, blah blah.

When it’s all said and done, there is no excuse why should be so hateful towards Africa, its peoples or its descendants, and no amount of denial can cover it up. I would call them ignorant, but that would make them seem like they know not what they do. Many of them do, but they really and proudly don’t give a damn.

So, what is it about us that they hate when all of the excuses and denials are thrown out the window? Are they actually jealous of us and secretly want to be like us? Do they really hate themselves and are projecting their hate to cover up their own shortcomings and make themselves feel better about themselves at such a grand scale? Is it because we remind them that not everyone in the world is the same, and for some reason, they hate it? Is it because we remind them of the sins of the past, sins they hate to face for fear of destroying the only world they know and “love”. Or is it something more sinister at work?

The post Racism: The World’s Hatin’ on Africans (Part 1) appeared first on Madness & Reality.

Some people got angry and upset over this realization. They protested, criticized and petitioned the government to take back those bonuses. That didn’t sit too well with Benmosche who said:

“The uproar over bonuses “was intended to stir public anger, to get everybody out there with their pitch forks and their hangman nooses, and all that-sort of like what we did in the Deep South [decades ago]. And I think it was just as bad and just as wrong.”

So then, I thought to myself, “Seriously? After you and your corporation took a dump on the U.S. economy, you now play the innocent victim?” Then again, after blogging for a few years, it is not that unusual. The lynch mob fear is the offspring of white people, white males especially, not only avoiding responsibility for their pathological assholery, but to reverse the guilt back on those who see their crocodile tears. And Benmosche is not alone.

“You may recall the story of Pax Dickinson, the former chief technology officer of Business Insider. After people noticed his years-long history of making vile sexist, racist and homophobic remarks on Twitter, including comments that probably could’ve made his employer vulnerable to a discriminatory hiring suit, lots and lots and lots of people called on Business Insider to fire him. It did so.

This led to the usual brow-furrowing blog posts about “free speech” and mass online outrage. One such post was written by Matthew Ingram, a senior writer at the influential technology blog GigaOm. The post has since been altered to remove the reference, but it originally said, “when does shaming become a lynch mob?” That is a question with a very simple answer: When the person being shamed is murdered by racist vigilantes. But Ingram was using the term “lynch mob” to mean “a person being the target of lots of outraged criticism.”

This was not even the first time Ingram had used that term in that ignorant and insensitive way!Here he is on Oct. 31, 2012, asking, “when does community action against an anonymous troll become a lynch mob?” (Same answer.) Here he is using it again in March of 2008.

Privileged white guys who feel persecuted use the lynch mob analogy all the time. In 2006, Richard Cohen, the columnist for and elaborate prank played on us by the Washington Post, wrote a column with the provocative headline “Digital lynch mob.” According to Cohen, he was the victim of said “digital lynch mob,” because he received a lot of mean emails. That was it.”

While Salon gave a brilliant explanation and argument against this privileged paranoia, I want to offer my take on it – from the perspective of a person of color in the U.S.

Attention white guys in high places, or rather white guys as a whole, NOW READ THIS! YOU ARE NOT IN DANGER OF BEING LYNCHED! I repeat, YOU ARE NOT IN DANGER OF BEING LYNCHED!

I know some of you will go on the defensive and highlight any and all examples of white males being physically attacked by non-whites, non males or what not, but those of you in your cushy offices making six to seven-figures a month are not in any danger from angry mobs.

AIG CEO Robert Benmosche

To even think that it’s a possibly is a punch in the face of those who were, and are, at a much greater risk from getting lynched, namely blacks. I know you don’t want a brief lesson on reality, particularly from a black man as it is too painful for you to hear, but the truth is that someone like myself is most likely to get his black ass lynched, not presumably by a noose but by the so-called justice system.

You see, if I steal or rob, I’ll get caught by the police and end up in prison. If I don’t steal or rob, but someone with my skin color has and murdered someone, let’s say a white person or a white cop, in the process, there will be some crooked, stupid, lazy and stupid cops that will try to pin this on any black man, including me, if my description closely resembles the suspect. Then again, they could just find any black man, arrest him and send him to jail while the real suspect is loose.

Let’s say they pin me as the suspect. I could face a legal process not of my peers, but of yours. They will coerce a lot of people to act as witnesses railroading me into the system. I will very likely get slapped with the death penalty. I could get killed by the state even though I am innocent.

You think that’s absurd? Try telling that to the family of Troy Davis and the community who has to live through the possibility of being lynched for the last 400 years.

However, you guys can practically do anything you want, almost. You can screw up the nation’s economy for the sake of cashing in on a few million dollars to satisfy your avarice. You can even commit assault and battery on the world’s environment for the sake of exploiting its natural resources while getting insanely rich and powerful. As long as you have powerful lobbyists, soft, gullible politicians and you all share white skin, you got it made.

Sure, there will be criticism. There will be people angry that you have the nerve to do whatever you want without any regard of the people and places you’ve ran over to magnify your fortunes. They want to see you punished, but hey, that’s more of a wrong than plunging the world into economic, social, political and environmental disarray just so you can climb higher in the ladder of power, wealth and privilege, right?

None of you mofos will get lynched, because this nation will not allow it to happen. You all will be safe and protected, free to continue your privileged pillaging. No lynch mob with nooses, torches, bats and pitch folks will break into your office or lavish estate. You can go on living in a world where powerful, greedy, sociopathic, overprivileged white males roam and play and never has to take responsibility for a damn thing. Me, I’ll continue to survive and struggle in a world you largely helped create.

The post Overprivileged White Guys and Their ‘Lynch Mob’ Fears appeared first on Madness & Reality.