Thursday, May 13, 2010

White Supremacy and Education

I feel like I’m beating a dead horse, maybe preaching to the choir, or better yet talking to a wall. There is something fundamentally wrong, and we have ignored it, made excuses and apologies for it, some of us have even succumbed to it in order to better our own circumstances. It starts out with small concessions, that one time you gave him a pass, the time you told yourself it didn’t matter whether or not you showed up, whether or not you spoke out because hey it wouldn’t change anything anyway, right? Wrong. We are seeing now in the 21st century, the effects of our negligence, we now have, in the United States of America, a state that has made it legal to assume somebody is a criminal based solely on the color of their skin, and how well they fit a stereotype (the issue of somebody being illegal on stolen land will have to wait for a different time). Beyond that the very same state has now stated publically their commitment to white supremacy by way of the education system. To fully understand Arizona’s recent ban on ethnic studies we must put education in a larger context. Education has always been a major battleground in the struggle for equality, there is truth in all the clichés. Those in power have always recognized this, and have acted accordingly; think the Dukes, Vanderbilts, Rockefellars, etcetera. Throughout history we see the powerful attempting to dictate what is included in curriculum and how that curriculum is delivered. There has always been a fear of a well educated under class.

Lets jump back to current day Arizona where it is now illegal to teach "the overthrow of the United States government" or "resentment toward a race or class of people." Or curriculum "designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group" or that seeks to "advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals." It is hard to know exactly where to start when taking a critical look at this law so lets start with the first portion- I believe Thomas Jefferson and his pals mentioned something about this in the Declaration of Independence, correct me if I’m wrong but it went something like this “when a significant amount of abuses and usurpations would cause absolute despotism, it is mankind's right and duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security…” it is quite ironic that many that support this law often throw around the founding fathers, and their admiration for them, only to proceed to ignore their very words- or given the history of exclusion and privilege that our founding fathers enjoyed perhaps they are more like them then we would like to admit? Of course this is all given the very unlikely circumstance that a course is advocating the overthrow of the United States government. Moving on we find even more troublesome provisions. What does it mean to promote resentment, how can it be wrong to direct a class towards a group of people that for decades if not centuries had been systematically excluded from curriculum? These are just a couple of the endless questions that no doubt many are asking. It is not a far stretch of the imagination for a lesson on slavery to be in violation of this law, given that most people of color have a valid anger with whites after learning about the disgusting practice. Of course in typical privileged fashion there's a lack of understanding that the majority of our institutions in this country were designed by WASPS for WASPS, and have effectively resulted in the consolidation of power to that particular ethnic group, to use the bills language.

What I hope is clear is that at its very best this law is extremely problematic and regardless of its supporters intentions it will only serve to further entrench white supremacy within our education system, the first place we need to purge it from. Our education should be inclusive of all and their realities. This has to include a more honest narrative- we have to accept that Columbus was not a good man, and is guilty of igniting a genocide, we must admit that we instigated a war with Mexico for the land we now call the Southwest United States, we must be honest about the implications of the Monroe Doctrine and our intent when it comes to South America. Our histories need to include John Brown, Nat Turner, Sally Hemmings, Ella Baker, Assatta Shakur, Mumia Abu Jamal, and Eugene Debs. We need to teach about redlining and Jim Crow, and the Willie Lynch Theory, and COINTELPRO. Above all we need to have a population that can understand the effects of all of these figures, ideologies, and policies in order to better relate to the world and in the end make it a place we would all want to pass down to the next generations.

In solidarity,

Ryan "BUGS" Williams-Virden

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Blackface at Bethel University

I can hear it now “ why do they always have to make a big deal about things. It was only a joke” or something akin. Well let me help to try and explain why a white student dressing up as rapper lil Wayne complete with Blackface is a big deal.

I won’t go into the entire history of Blackface, although for many this history would be useful. I will instead give a brief synopsis so we can all better put this incident in an appropriate context. From the 19th century until the civil rights movement Blackface was used as a tool to perpetuate stereotypes of Blacks as being stupid, slow, and lazy while portraying physically overemphasized features such as lips. From minstrel shows to Blackface branching out on its own it has always been a way to dehumanize, demoralize, and attack through racist stereotypes, African Americans.

While minstrelsy in its official capacity has disappeared, we see Blackface manifest itself continuously on college campuses. Whether it is at a “pimps and hoes party”, as a Halloween costume, at a “Compton cookout”, or most recently on the Bethel University campus as lil Wayne. Even if it is true that the offending parties were ignorant of the history and implications of their actions it is hard to believe that their actions were not motivated by latent racism; that subconsciously they didn’t hold a feeling of superiority. It is only racism that allows for one to believe it is ok to put on another human beings identity, culture, and skin color only to make light of it all. It matters little what the intent was- there is no escaping the impact- which is racist.

For an institution to have a stated anti-racism policy is a great thing, but it is only as great as its enforcement. This is the point Bethel University finds itself, a stated commitment to anti-racism and a blatantly racist event. It is up to them to demonstrate now how committed they are, not only to the policy, but to those on campus that the policy is in place to benefit, the staff and students of color along with their white allies. Please join those that feel strongly about this issue to outpressure on the administration to take the appropriate steps ensuring not only no similar events happen, but that the underlying ideologies that rationalize and make apologies for those who participate are appropriately combated.

In solidarity
Ryan “BUGS” Williams- Virden

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Open Letter to 80's Babies in Minneapolis

“Every generation must out of relative obscurity discover its mission, fulfil it or betray it” Frantz Fanon

Comrades we are dropping the ball. There is no other way to put it. These are serious times, and we are lacking a serious approach. Yes we have random events that on the surface appear to be struggling for equality etcetera etcetera, but that is only a veneer, and a thin one at that. For some time now I have felt this way. I have participated in the protests, marched in the marches, and I am left only this- an overwhelming feeling of disappointment. Take this afternoon for example, there was a demonstration organized in solidarity with the national call to protect public education. In other states campuses were being occupied and there was real action being taken. Here, it was a far different story, middle class white folks stood around and listened to un-motivating speakers tell them what they already knew (ironically in front of Morrill Hall the site of actual student action 40 years ago) then marched across Washington Ave to Coffman to hear more stories and tidbits of information that for the most part served no greater purpose. Those that happen to be in the path simply walked by wondering what was going on. I ask is this what we have become? Where is the sacrifice? Why was that group not marching through the halls where classes were being conducted to hold professors and students alike accountable for not supporting this national movement? A even better question- why were we not bringing this message to the people who actually make the decisions? This is typical of demonstrations now a days, middle class whites organize the events, and end up hanging around telling each other about what is wrong, what they would like to see done about it, but when it comes time to sacrifice at any level they hide behind a veil of compromise and commitment to non-violence. The time has come to stop waiting for others from generations past to tell us what to do and how to do it. It is our time. It is time for us to come together, articulate our positions and be willing to back those up with sacrifice. It is time to stop asking permission to be pissed. Be pissed and do something about it. The torch is being passed- catch it! And always remember:

“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress." Frederick Douglass

In solidarity
Ryan "BUGS" Virden

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Terrorism

I have purposefully waited a significant (in my estimation) period of time to write this. It was my equivalent of counting to ten- attempting to calm down. I thought maybe the media would do their job, and we would see some progress from this vital group. Sadly neither has happened (at least to any degree that would be notable). As a matter of fact most people I have spoken with don't even know who Joseph Stack is. For those people I will say this Joseph Stack is the man that crashed a plane into an IRS building in Austin, Texas. He had a sort of manifesto/ suicide note/ explanation all ready to go describing his reasons for this act. Put simply he was disgusted with the government and wanted to inspire others to similar acts in order to send a message (http://www.businessinsider.com/joseph-andrew-stacks-insane-manifesto-2010-2 for the whole statement). There have been many reactions to this event, all the ones you would anticipate are present ranging from extreme grief to admiration. There is something missing from the analysis- something so superficial about the discussion

One can not help but notice  the parallel to 9/11 in regards to weapon of choice, a plane. We all remember the coverage (justifiably) that event received. Compare that to Joseph Stack there was coverage, but nothing even close to the 9/11 scale. Also the tone of the coverage is decidedly different- most of the coverage Stack has received has revolved around IF this was a terrorist attack. Many stations have even entertained comments praising the attack. Can you imagine stations giving space for people to rationalize 9/11. In fact years after 9/11 even the mention of "chickens coming home to roost" causes outrage (see Jeremiah Wright). This discrepancy illustrates fundamental issues the United States as a whole refuses to deal with appropriately. Mainly we have an issue with consistency, this is the true foundation of our country- the Declaration of Independence guaranteed equality to all... except non-whites and females. We see this inconsistency manifest in countless ways throughout history, and we see it now in the definition of terrorism- apparently only Arab Muslims can participate in terrorism. By no stretch of the imagination would a military occupation of sovereign nations qualify.

How long will we allow this inconsistency?




Sunday, December 20, 2009

Hope

A little over a year ago millions of people, mesmerized and energized by the message of change and hope delivered by Barack Obama, made him President of the United States. Undoubtedly that act in and of itself has changed history for the better, and is rightly recognized as a milestone. However it is time now to demand those promises of change and hope be kept; to this point they have been nothing but a cruel joke.  In fact as 2009 comes to an end we have witnessed the complete betrayal of these ideas with the failure of real health care reform, and the joke that was the Climate Change summit in Copenhagen (not to mention the troop escalation and so on).

As I am writing this- the Senate is planning a midnight vote on a bill that can hardly be called health care reform, which is predicted to pass (I will not take the time now to make an argument for why this is a terrible bill as I have wrote previously regarding that issue). Obama is just returning from Copenhagen where extremely rich, Western countries continued the practice of exploiting the Global South, and selling our’s and our grandchildren’s future for short- term profit, to be topped off with blatant blackmail and bullying by the United States. It has become clear Obama is a talented politician nothing more nothing less. Many of those who were so hopeful (many for the first time) are now instead disillusioned and overwhelmed by powerlessness. It is these people I write this for. Take heart family, there is hope as long as there is breath in our lungs. The hope was never with Obama, it was with us. The millions who made their voice heard electing the first African American President. That hope cannot be taken away, it can only be given away. Refuse to do that! Get involved and stay involved in our communities, organize, organize, organize. If you believe health care is a human right then make that known, call your elected officials, have your friends do the same, and if they don’t listen then vote them out! Vote for the people that represent you and your people. The time has come to stop choosing the lesser of two evils. If the candidates don’t represent your interest then run yourself.  It is time to move past this failed two party system- that has so clearly turned its back on us. Above all love and respect yourselves and each other. We are deserving of happiness, and have every right to demand equality. We will not be free until we are all free!

In Solidarity,
Ryan “BUGS” Virden

Friday, October 9, 2009

Congratulations! Wait really???

I woke up this morning to some disturbing news. The headline reads "Nobel Stunner: Obama Wins Peace Prize". The cited reasons for granting Obama the prestigious award include: his initiatives to reduce nuclear arms, ease tensions with the Muslim world, and his efforts to focus on diplomacy rather than unilateralism. To many these might seem to be excellent reasons to award Obama the prize, and indeed they are, however these are not the entirety of Obama’s resume nor are they even 100 percent accurate. Let’s look at this through a different lens.

To many Barack Obama was and is an anti-war president. Many anti-war groups backed him during the campaign as did many individuals claiming to be pacifists. This has lead to a widespread belief that he himself is anti-war (one would think this should be a prereq of sorts for the Nobel Peace Prize). This however could not be farther from the truth. Currently we are bombing Pakistan, considering ratcheting up the war in Afghanistan, and supporting Israel. Not to mention the hypocrisy of stock piling nuclear weapons while demanding non-proliferation from other countries. If these are not enough let’s look at some closer to home examples of the violence supported by Obama and his administration: single payer universal healthcare was not even considered, housing is still not considered a human right, a livable wage has yet to enter the political discussion. As Gandhi famously stated "poverty is the worst kind of violence". In the interest of fairness these are not new to Obama or his administration these have long been characteristics of the American Empire.

I don't write this to try and burst any bubbles, or be a "hater". I am not looking for reasons to "bitch"; I do not want to find the negative in everything, or anything similar to these responses. The truth is actually quite to the contrary- I want a world of peace, a non-nuclear world. I want a world free from war and oppression, free from greed and poverty. I just received a text from my fiancée which says it the best “the wonders of the world we may never understand, but the mind possesses the capability of imagination, which is far more interesting. The world we can imagine can become our reality. Never give up, never stop fighting, keep revolting because God gave us a voice and life gave us the right!" I ask only this- that we have the courage to recognize and speak truth even in the face of facades that make it easy to become comfortable.

In Solidarity,

Ryan "BUGS" Virden

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

For clarity

In the last posting I mentioned what I saw as two major flaws in the right wings cries of socialism when asked about not only Obamas health care, but apparently his overall economic philosophy. I would like to take some time to expand on how ridiculous this is, mainly because we are still seeing and hearing these often times ignorant and misinformed claims being made quite passionately.

From what I can see the major argument being made goes something like this... the constitution limits government involvement in the citizens lives, the health care reform bill equates to a government take over, violating the constitution and will leave us with national socialism in all areas, similar to Nazi Germany. Included in this group are those people that are waving copies of the constitution at town halls, because we apparently need a visual for the argument, or the ex-marine that demanded his congressman uphold the constitution, implying the health care bill was in violation of it. These arguments are so foolish and illogical if it wasn't so scary it would be comical. Lets deconstruct the lunacy. First and most importantly to view the constitution as a fixed document with no flexibility is absurd, it was written in 1787, pretty sure our world has changed since then. Health care is actually a great example of this, in 1787 the field of medical science was lacking to put it lightly, costing little money. It only makes sense with all the advancements that have been made in medical science, and what we know now about health that we spend money on it. Perhaps we can treat these peoples illness with similar tactics as the time they would like us all to stick too....where are the leeches? This also goes for the idiots bringing loaded guns to rallies; when the second amendment was penned there is no chance that AK-47s and automatic weapons were being imagined in the wildest of imaginations. Certainly the new massive potential for death needs to be considered. But hey if you want to adhere to the 2nd amendment that's fine, but then don't get all pissy when groups like the Black Panthers or MOVE arm themselves, after all they are just exercising their rights.

This brings me to the next aspect. This is not so much about ignorance as it is hypocrisy. A major aspect that, if not out rightly expressed is underlying these arguments, is one of free markets over a planned economy. The connection is made that free markets equal democracy and controlled economies (socialist) equal tyranny. This is hearkening back to the cold war and the red scare. It was foolish then, and is even more foolish now as we have clear proof free markets can not be left to there own devices (see the presidency of Ronald Regan or the current recession). However, beyond that simple observable fact there is another issue.... these very people who are so adamant about keeping the government out of their lives have no problem calling the police when in danger, calling the fire department if their house is on fire, sending their kids to public school, and maybe, just maybe (but I doubt it) they utilize the public library! You guessed it all of these things fall under the category of socialized! See as a country we have decided that some things are not a commodity and should be made available to everybody such as: saving your house if it is on fire, or calling the police if you have been a victim of crime. The problem, as I have stated before ,is health does not fall under that category, plain and simply there is too much money to be made from it. Imagine if we applied this way of thought to the above mentioned situations... you have just lost somebody to a violent crime and rather than calling 911 right away you have to consider how you will pay for the police to investigate- instead of calling the fire department when you come home to your house being on fire you have to borrow the money it will take to get them out to your house. Foolish right? Then I ask why do we take this approach with our health?

To deal with the Nazi comparison is simple. We live in a democracy which is a political philosophy. It is in no way an economic one. Nazi Germany was not a democracy, that is why the Nazis did what they did, not because of the economic system they chose. In fact material democracy (true socialism) is, in my opinion, the purest expression of democracy.

To sum it all up, the constitution was not written in stone for a reason ,and it should reflect our reality, secondly we already have socialized many many things and health should be included on that list!

Ryan "BUGS" Virden