You are not leading the people. The people are leading you, hence the crisis of the negro intellectual. No matter what else, Obama has inspired the whole world.
If he ends up a dirty capitalist swine in black face, that's on him. I have no doubt Obama has awakened black consciousness in some and spiritual consciousness in others.
We can take this Obama vehicle and move on to other things. Like what is your economic program in the midst of depression? At this moment, the dope man is still the number one employer of black youth. I suggest micro-credit loans for youth with the entrepreneurial spirit--if they can sell dope, they can sell anything. The people will always need food, clothing and shelter. Most of all, the people need a vehicle to ride to success, anything that is beyond pimping, whoring and murder. What is your solution? Reggie, again, what you're saying just doesn't make sense.
The fact is that a black man is symbolically the most powerful man in the world. If he falls on his face tomorrow, that's him. But to ignore his/our victory is beyond stupid and shows we suffer miseducation. I think were Elijah, Marcus, Martin and Malcolm alive, they would initially support Obama. And when he moves too far to the right, they would condemn him. This is political engagement, not standing in the peanut gallery yapping. The association between Oscar Grant and Obama is clear. Oscar was crucified, Obama ascended, it is part of the same myth-ritual drama. All of us are not going to make, some soldiers will fall as in all warfare. As the bible says, a live dog is better than a dead lion. To protest the death of Oscar Grant is hypocritical when you do nothing about the murder of black youth by black youth. You dishonor grieving families who receive no attention to their dead loved one, no protests, no rallies, so they must suffer in silence. Let's see you edumacaked negroes protest and riot over the one hundred and thirty or more killed in Oakland by other blacks last year. Let's see you go to the dope spots with food, clothing and shelter for the youth who are forced to sell drugs to survive, let's see you offer them an alternative other than a wage slave job in the midst of depression. It is the height of insanity for negro to offer a job during this economic depression that is global. Before it's over, I predict many of you will be selling any T shirt you can find, you will be selling matches and toilet paper, etc. With Obama or without Obama, you will do for self as Marcus, Elijah and Malcolm taught. Obama is a tactic, the strategy is do for self by any means necessary, but hopefully we must use the best means. If you work for the white man, you are not supporting capitalism? You are not an agent of imperialism? You are not addicted to white supremacy with your white man's job? You are not a collaborator, in short, an uncle tom wage slave whore?
--Marvin X
----- Forwarded Mssage ----From: Brother Reggie
Weary of Justifying Capitalism
Still Weary of the American Dream
Before Obama was elected, I joked that he was already creating jobs. Thousands of formerly unemployed men and women have now started their own businesses thanks to Obama. I suggested that the campaign created many sales and manufacturing jobs for Obama T-shirts, buttons, and other memorabilia.
And then I'd ask, what happened to Malcolm X shirts?
For those who the Creator has endowed have influence over others—whether through media, creative expression, spiritual or psychological counseling—it is important that we are not allowed to mislead others. Like how many people want to juxtapose Obama and Dr. King. Not only a grave underestimation of King's evolutionary as a revolutionary, but misappropriations of his “dream” as the office of the presidency or a Black face in the White House were not on the agenda.
So I too wondered to why the revolutionary Dr. M would be selling T-shirts and other memorabilia of a man some consider to be "White Power in Black Face.” Now I am even more confuse as you justify capitalism in the form of commercialization of a man's image whose psychological state you question because of his hawkish intent to bomb a nuclear Pakistan; the same man of whom you once said, “We learned from the 60s black power revolution that a black face will not save us, so we must have no illusions Obama is our savior. He will carry out the will of American imperialism to the best of his ability." (Obama Drama part 3)
Where is the common sense in going out of you way to do what you don't believe in?
However, understanding the economic times, I knew that when times make you wanna holla, people will do what they need for a dollar. Especially when there are others to support. But they say, if you knew better you would do better. And we know better.
So why would one allegedly fighting for our liberation lead our people back into the Demon-cratic Party’s plantation under the guise of electoral emancipation? You may be able to get paid, but the same soldiers on the frontlines will become conscripts of the global imperialist regime committing atrocities in our Motherland under the guise of AfriCOM (General Kip), aide and Black face (Susan Rice). And domestically as the State.
And the real contradiction is when this same Pro-Zionist hawk memorabilia is being hocked at a Rally in which the masses of people are demanding Justice for Oscar Grant. One young woman asked me, “WTF is up with Marvin X selling Obama shit at the rally.” And I thought to myself, “Addiction to White Supremacy.”
It is one thing to want to encourage our youth to believe in themselves as using Obama's rise as an example, and yet another to make a quick nickel.
In this information age, a picture is worth a thousand words and an image is infinite. The image of a functional Black family in the White House is empowering. The fact that the most well-known Black man on this Earth is not an athlete (although I love Muhammad Ali), nor an actor (Will Smith is cool too) nor a rapper (someone in Bosnia asked me if I knew 50 Cent) will certainly encourage our children to think beyond these as their only occupational objectives.
But where are the Garvey shirts? Harriet? Dr. Carver? Ida B. Wells? All of you are more familiar than I in which the state will prop up fake leaders/organizations to destabilize others. Not saying bruh is prop-ertied up by the system, but seemed like a lot of so-called Negroes were down with the Clinton ’s before lily-white Iowa caucused.
My mother told me a long time ago, that some of the same so-called revolutionaries in the 60s were encouraging people to skip class, give money, etc, while they in fact got their degrees. In my own prime of traditional warrior age, I learned this same lesson the hard way.
So I feel you for trying to come up. But you propagating “Obama Drama” for your own profit is just like that nerd selling your book and eating your hot dog. It’s what some people call “Pimpin’ the System,” and updated version of the survival tactics we've used in this hemisphere since being kidnapped from African and an attempt to redefine "pimping" as something acceptable to our community.
And it’s unacceptable to—knowingly—lead the people astray.
Where's the common sense in that?
Reginald James
Marvin X Jackmon
Weary of Intellectualism
These previous months of the Obama Drama have made me grow sick and tired of so-called intellectuals who utterly lack a microdot of common sense. I was really through last weekend as one such nerd stood in front of my stand conversing for nearly two hours while I made money with my books and Obama T shirts. When the nerd finished talking he came behind my table and finally joined me in commerce--to make a dollar is a dirty act we suppose, according to the die-hard Marxists, Communists, Socialists are whatever they profess to be. The nerd has a published book but didn't bother to put his book on the table, rather when he sold a copy of my book, he proceeded to put the money in his pocket, telling me he needed it because he was broke. How can someone stand around yapping intellectual gibberish while starving--the nerd gladly accepted a hotdog when I returned with several for my workers. He even shared it with one of the ladies with him who was hungry and broke as well. For months I had told him to join me in making some money off this Obama Drama, just as I told the brothers who were so excited over Jesse Jackson's run for president in 1984.
These last months of the Obama campaign has allowed many brothers and sisters to eat, pay rent, car notes and other bills. Yet many socalled revolutionaries and pseudo-conscious hip hop activists, stood on the sideline yapping while brothers and sisters with common sense were able to "come up." I was unable to get a team of my comrades to sale a T shirt, only the grass roots brothers offered to give me a hand hawking Obama Drama. It really hurt to see my Latino brothers working as a family selling Obama Drama. They had father, sons and grandsons at the mostly black events. Where is my family. I have plenty nephews and cousins who are unemployed and broke, but they have no intention to help me or themselves "do for self" in a big way.
To my revolutionaries, how shall we fund the revolution, a job, a grant, a loan, selling drugs, pimping and prostitution, how? I have recalled to this audience what a young brbther said to me at Oakland's 14th and Broadway, former site of my outdoor classroom, more recently the scene of riots after the murder of young Oscar Grant on New Year's day. "Hey, Marvin X, what you doing sellin dat Obama shit, I thought you was anti-American?" I replied, "I am anti-American but don't anti-Americans need money?" Where do the Communists go for loans, the Socialists, they go to the international finance global bandits. Yes, the global banking bandits finance the capitalist and communist wars across the planet, for that matter, they finance the Muslims as well. So much for ideological purity and pseudo political correctness.
I am so happy my mother gave me a little common sense, otherwise I would starve to death trying to be a wage slave or even less listening to my revolutionary brothers and sisters yapping on the sidelines of struggle. Their acute sense of history cannot be argued, for they have read far more than I desire. And I appreciate their analysis of history and current events. But they remind me of the Bush administration on the edge of the war with Iraq--remember the millions of people who protested around the world--America ignored the global masses who were against that war of white supremacy.
Many revolutionaries and socalled conscious hip hop people refused to accept the world consensus that Obama is a lesser evil than the right wing Republicans, even though the global masses can see Obama shows many of the same traits. A red flag went up in my head when he talked of marching into Pakistan to find Osama Bin Laden. Is this Negro crazy, I thought to myself--Pakistan does indeed have weapons of mass destruction.
And so I concluded we are in for another white man in black face. But we can yet give him the benefit of doubt, unless we are so marginalized with ideological purity until we are paralyzed and unable to take advantage of the new situation on the battlefield. Is it better in this protracted war to inch forward or remain stuck on stupid?
Obama has been gold to many impoverished brothers and sisters, probably many who were previously selling drugs and pimping, even killing.
Yes, I am often guilty of faulty analogy or taking poetic license to the extreme, but I do know we must take advantage of the situations life presents, otherwise there will be no motion in the ocean. Thank God the people have common sense, far more common sense than their intellectual brothers and sisters who have been edumaked and duped into thinking weird thoughts that just don't make sense, as my brother in DC, Don Freeman, likes to say--it just doesn't make sense (what you are saying).
--El Muhajir (Marvin)
No comments:
Post a Comment