scene from "Birth of a Nation
A journey into the sewers of hate.
Commentary by Black Kos Editor Deoliver47
There are times some of us wander away from leftwing blogs and go to listen to what the right wing is saying on places like Free Republic. We shudder. We write diaries decrying the racism, bigotry and genuine nastinesss of the TeaPublicans. Or of Limbaugh, Beck, Palin and Bachmann, and now The Donald. The very public face of hate – and hate spewers often makes us forget that as horrid and distasteful as these open bigots may be – these folks are nothing, mere pufferies, when we explore the underbelly of the hate nation, in its sewers.
I am a long time supporter of the Southern Poverty Law Center and pay close attention to the groups they target and monitor. Rarely do I go farther than their pages, unwilling to set a cyber foot in places like Stormfront.
By mere chance, when reading Nulwee’s diary; Attack on Transwoman at McDonald's, While Employees Film and responding in comments to the content, I did a quick search for more information and landed where I really did not want to be.
But I stayed for a while because as I said to Nulwee – the discussions around the beating of a transgender white female by two women (one a young teenager) who happened to be black, in a Baltimore McDonald’s speaks to larger issues.
The reactions to the graphic video which went viral pretty quickly were swift. First – it was reported as "a black on white" hate crime. Second after the victim was identified as transgender – it was a "transgender hate" crime.
Things worked themselves out fairly swiftly in Nulwee’s diary, but not so in comments to news stories, and even less so on a series of sewer blogs.
Take a deep breath, hold onto your noses and read.
I apologize up front – to any of you who don’t have strong stomachs. I warn you now, that if you don’t please skip this and go directly to News.
Under this line below lies hate – but also something we need to deal with as progressives, anti-racists. LBGTQ activists and feminists – black, white, latino, native american, asian, straight, gay or transgender, male and female, atheists, christians, jews, muslims...or folks of other faiths – we need to unite and fight together, because the sewer people are chortling with glee at our divisions. The same way we take excursions into Free Republic, they make incursions into our spaces to read, report back and plan.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SPLC reportsdiscuss Occidental Quarterly
Founded:
2001
Location:
Atlanta, GA
Leadership:
Sam Dickson
Ideology:
White Nationalist
Founded in 2001 by Chicago millionaire publishing scion William H. Regnery, the Charles Martel Society publishes The Occidental Quarterly (TOQ), a racist journal devoted to the idea that as whites become a minority "the civilization and free governments that whites have created" will be jeopardized. Its editors and advisory board members have constituted a "Who's Who" of the radical right, and its regular publication of extremists' articles has made it a favorite among academic racists in America.
In Its Own Words
"Nations and races provide the seedbed in which families can flourish over many generations. The recent triumph of feminism in America and other Western societies, added to the drive for racial amalgamation, has created a dual threat not simply to the common weal of whites and their societies, but to their continued survival."
— TOQ Editors, "Sexual Liberation, Dorian Gray, and Racial Suicide," The Occidental Quarterly, Summer 2006
"The issue of race differences in personality is one of the big problems that still has to be tackled. I attempted to make a start on this in 2002 with a paper in which I assembled evidence suggesting that psychopathic personality is highest among blacks and Native Americans, next highest in Hispanics, lower in whites, and lowest in Orientals."
— Richard Lynn, interview with The Occidental Quarterly, Fall 2007
Oh this is mild. Read on.
Teh google for Occidental Quarterly led me to Occidental Dissent: Racial Conservatism in the American South which describes itself as “Just a blog. No grand purpose here. We are going to talk mostly about race, conservatism, the American South and a few other things."
Sure. And some of those "other things" are about how to divide us.
The topic of discussion for the day - which has continued was the incident at McDonalds.
Let’s listen, very carefully.
In a post: Black Run America: McDonald’s Victim Was A Tranny
A few thoughts:
the poster comes to this conclusion
(1) What happens when sanctified leftwing grievance groups collide over black homophobia?
(2) Could this assault affect Barack Obama’s standing with LGBT community?
(3) How comfortable are other grievance groups with McDonald’s 365Black policy and America being a Black World?
(4) Can White America identify with a White tranny (racial slurs were used) who was the victim of black-on-white violent crime?
The moral of the story: unlike the black lynch mob that attacked Eric Loznicka in North Carolina or the black gang that was responsible for the Atlanta Metro beating in Georgia, Chrissy Lee Polis by virtue of her gender confusion has the PC credentials to enter the hate crime hall of fame.
Here are some comments (I refuse to link)
This is actually a good thing, re: racial issues. The sexual deviancy crowd is very sophisticated, and practiced, and EXTREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEMELY well-funded, not to mention HIGHLY motivated when it comes to advancing their agenda. The Homosexual “community” has been a vociferouxzs advocate for “diversity” for decades, in order to break down social mores, so they can give their bizaare drives free rein. Well looky looky looky – their Dark Primitives are NOT as open-minded.
The girls were right to kick the tranny out – but I am more sorrowful that a young White man would be so mentally and emotionally disturbed that he would ….do what he did. She did not belong in the girl’sbathroom. End of story. However – it’s truly sad that 2 females were able to beat him so very badly. And that they sent him into convulsions. I don’t care if it’s a Tranny – I see Blacks nearly murdering a White.
I still have a handful of gay pals, from the Old Days, who are very leery of my politics. I’ve told them that sooner or later they are GOING to be forced to choose, Their “lifestyle”, AND their Race – or their delusional beliefs about “racial equality” – and their life.
I intend to re-iterate that point, ASAP. I hate to be so cynically Real Politik – but this could work for us.
Yes it could - if we let them. We need to learn how to bridge our own divisions a lot better on the left - find ways to bridge divisions and fight as "un pueblo unido".
Another poster babbles her totally unscientific bigoted "explanation" of her views on transgender (my bold).
LisaLisa – agreed. I know there is an issue with Hermaphroditism .Babies are born wouthout an obvious gender, and the doctor’s “choose”. Surgery is performed – and sometimes mistakes are made. Which is an existential horror-show. The body has it’s own internal bue-print (in factual biological contradiction of “Dan’s” Marxist lunacy. Sex, like Race, is very very real.) The baby grows, and doesn’t “feel right” in it’s gender. Puberty comes – and Hell breaks loose.
These are the folks that need surgery, and great compassion and kindness. They’ve bene medically mutilated by medical staff, at the behest of freaked-out parents. After all – what is THE first question asked about a newborn? Is it a boy or girl? Health is usually second. A parent, forced to answer “Well -we don’t know yet” – that’s pure, limbic Taboo. So a tragedy is created. I saw a TV show on this issue, years ago. These benighted unfortunates are forced to spend a FORTUNE to correct the mutilation, and get their true sex restored, as much as possible. I truly feel for these people.
Admittedly, most Trannies are just mentally deranged, not vitim of medical mutilation. Still – as you do LisaLisa – I see feral Blacks BEASTS nearly murdering a White. That poor soul is my kin. No matter how ill, or sad…..he/she is one of mine. Does the strange sexual status of that poor soul make the crime less horrific? I don’t think so. Does any-one remember the pics of those ghastly, savage Black sows, that brutally beat an elderly White Walmart Greeter, last month?
Other Races have been recording the horrendous behavior of Negros for centuries,. Overall – there is not deviation or improvement what-so-ever . They’ve gotten worse, in the West, as the social mores and institutions that controlled their behavior have systematically been demolished. Thy treat each other as badly as they treat other Races. They run riot, when they are permitted, and encouraged, to lose their fear of the lash and the rope.
Then the "blame it all on the feminist's" commenter chimes in:
I’ll toss this in for consideration.
Since the advent of and the now overwhelming use of “Baby Formula” as a substitute for breast milk, the incidence of transsexualism amongst the population has risen exponentially, as well as homosexuality. The link?
Virtually all baby formula is made from soy, and feeding it to an infant is the equivalent of feeding the child five estrogen-loaded birth control pills every day. Given that there are three “hormone washes” in a child’s life – in utero where biological sex is determined, shortly after birth when “brain sex” is determined, and then at puberty, the introduction of that amount of a phytoestrogen into an infant male is going to have serious consequences . The use of soy-based formulas is creating female brain structures in the bodies of biological males during their infancy, thus leading to gender confusion as the child begins to grow up. Isn’t this grand?
It is easy to label these unfortunate people as “mentally deranged” or whatever other convenient adjective comes to mind. The evidence I put forth is not disputable. In effect, the majority of transsexuals are literally being created and it is done to them while they are infants by both their mothers as well as by agribusiness. Mothers with careers run back to work shortly after childbirth and they haven’t the time to breastfeed, nor in many cases do they have the inclination to do so. The activity interferes with her “normal” schedule. Big Agriculture is only too happy to provide a substitute, and the substitute effectively destroys the life of the infant who is fed such. The child is fed this stuff at home and all day long at daycare. The result is that many of them live with a demon wearing a dress in their mind from that point forward. Add to that the fact that the society in general has been overtly “feminized” and the male sex exists in a constant state of criticism and ridicule, well, the recipe for disaster is complete.
I’m absolutely certain that this phenomenon occurs at far higher rates in the white population because so many white females have chosen career over family, thus their offspring (what few there are) are off the breast quickly and thus find nothing but Monsanto’s genetically engineered phytoestrogenic soy flowing from a plastic nipple. What we have is another disastrous legacy of feminism unfolding before us, and this unfortunate “woman” has paid the price for it. (Want to bet that a broken home led by mommy is involved here as well?) Never-the-less, the aborigines who assaulted Chrissy are nothing but that. What little law that still exists in this multicultural hellhole should be brought into full force against those sociopathic simian breeders who attacked her.
Had enough?
No?
Well I decided to look into the guru and founder of Occidental Dissent, Hunter Wallace and it led me to:
White Reference, which describes its mission as:
White Reference is designed for the dissemination of news of interest to the White Nationalist community as well as others interested in such information. This includes reports of crime and oppression against White people worldwide, as well as accounts of White resistance.
Hunter Wallace Is Right: It's Time To Purge The White Trash From The White Nationalist Community
where they had a long discussion about "cleaning up" their movement.
Lately, Occidental Dissent editor Hunter Wallace has been hinting at severing his connections with the White Nationalist community and becoming paleoconservative once again, albeit still committed to race realism and still Jew-wise. He believes there are too many dysfunctional retards within WN. Wallace has chosen to draw a rough dividing line between what he calls "Mainstreamists" and "Vanguardists". He wants to wash his hands of the "Vanguardists" because he thinks their radicalism and behavior deters ordinary whites from becoming fully race-conscious and receptive to our cause.
I think Hunter Wallace has the right idea, although I draw a different dividing line. Wallace mistakenly assumes that all Vanguardists are equally detrimental. This is not so; there are many Vanguardists who are productive, law-abiding activists. The presence of Vanguardists is actually necessary to keep Mainstreamists focused on the central goals; without the Vanguardists, the Mainstreamists run the risk of going native and actually being absorbed by the paleoconservatives when they do their outreach to them. We go into the world to teach, not to be taught.
What also caught my eye was this response to Hunter Wallace on Counter Currents yet another sewer site, a site that seems to have an intelligentsia approach to their racism :
Charles
Posted February 17, 2011 at 12:34 am | Permalink
Ironically, Hunter Wallace sparked a major kerfuffle at Digg.com & Reddit.com when he wrote a post encouraging white nationalists to “poison” the political discourse at Digg by clandestinely submitting WN content and posing as conservatives.
No one really took Hunter’s advice and followed him onto Digg or Reddit, but there were a few of us who were already posting there as explicitly pro-white advocates and we caught hell over the uproar that ensued. You would be amazed at the number of conspiracy theories that abound there claiming that a major cabal of white nationalists from Stormfront or Occidental Dissent are secretly trying to subvert the political discourse on reddit.com.
Presently there is a small, but vibrant explicitly pro-white community posting on a subsection of reddit known as WhiteRights and on WhitePride. Hunter was the originator of the WhiteNationalism subreddit, but that subreddit has languished as Hunter’s commitment to pro-white advocacy has waivered.
For those who are interested in explicitly defending a pro-white perspective and exposing others who are interested in political ideas to WN political and cultural perspectives, I encourage you to submitting content & comments to the White Rights and White Pride subreddits referenced above.
Although I do use a pseudonym I have never sought to conceal or deceive others about my political views. I have submitted literally hundreds of articles from The Occidental Observer, James Edwards’ blogs, counter-currents, David Duke, cofcc and other source and freely and openly discuss and defend my interest in white ethnopolitics to others who discuss political ideas online. You would be surprised at how many people are willing to at least hear WN perspectives.
Changing the way people think about White Nationalism should be a major goal of ours. We can do it by by putting forth well written thoughtful polemics that advance and legitimize the pursuit of white ethnic interests. Submitting content from counter-currents or TOO to Reddit and Digg is a good way to expose our ideas to other who value and are interested in political ideas.
There was lots more, and other sites and hundreds upon hundreds of filthy comments posted to various news articles and videos regarding the beating of Chrissy Lee Polis. But this post is not about Chrissy Lee Polis. It is about us. Women are attacked and beaten every day. Native American women are raped at highest rates in the US. Black people have been targeted and died by the hand of hate for centuries. LBGTQ folks can and have died simply because they are a fighting to live out in the open, with full equality.
When we, as progressives, liberals... leftists...Democrats (whatever tag you want to use) get distracted and caught up in meta, sniping. accusations and such between and among subsections of our unruly coalitions - and forget that those who want us all out of the way are working hard to clean up their image and influence not only their own followers but to sow discord and division among us, and push wedges into the divisions that exist we lose.
We all do it. Let's work on finding ways to stop it. Don't say "well, these extremists are only a 'fringe' group." Our own left is a fringe of sorts. These sick people want us all destroyed. And they are online, active, joining groups in their communities -and they don't have physical markers like the tattooed man in the photo. I found sites where people worship Hitler.
Time to shore up our coalitions and move forward. Know thy enemy. And it is not "us". It is hate.
I opened with a still photo from Birth of a Nation - my all time least favorite film.
We are trying to birth a new nation - one that includes not excludes and fosters love not hate. It ain't easy.
Thanks for reading if you made it this far.
I may not be here for early comments - I had to go to a wake and a funeral - but I'll be in later.
Hugs,
Dee
News by dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Profiling with a high tech twist The Grio: Blacks may bear brunt of new police data capture technology.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The latest high-tech gadgets bring promises of convenience and efficiency, with the hopes of enhancing our lives and making our jobs easier. But sometimes they create new challenges. For example, technological advances have helped law enforcement in their fight against crime. But one device is raising concerns from civil liberties groups who claim its use during routine traffic stops violates the constitutional rights of motorists who carry cell phones. And data suggests that this could pose an even greater threat to the privacy rights of blacks and Latinos, who are more likely to be stopped by police.
As recently reported on msnbc.com, the Michigan State Police has bought the "Universal Forensic Extraction Device", a handheld gadget which can copy the entire content of a cell phone -- including text messages, pictures, video, contacts, GPS data, contacts and history -- in a matter of minutes. The extraction device, manufactured by Israel-based Cellebrite, is a truly universal device that works with 3,000 cell phone models representing 95 percent of the market. Meanwhile, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan wants to know why the state police purchased the devices, and for what purpose.
Law enforcement argues that extraction devices are necessary to preserve crucial evidence for trial before criminal suspects are able to destroy it. However, the ACLU of Michigan is concerned that the police could use the handheld tool to obtain private information -- without suspicion, without the consent or knowledge of the motorist, and without a search warrant.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
A recent Supreme Court ruling makes a settlement even less certain. New York Daily News: New York wrongfully convicted 5 young men of raping the Central Park jogger -- and now won't settle
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This Tuesday marks 22 years since a young, white woman jogging in Central Park was brutally raped, beaten and left for dead on a secluded path along the Loch in the northern part of the park. She has since made a miraculous recovery, but the five teenagers who were wrongly convicted in her attack are still awaiting justice.
It is time for that painful and unnecessary wait to end.
In April 1989, the woman came to be known as the Central Park Jogger, and her attack was a defining moment for New York City, seeming to confirm the worst fears of residents and igniting a tabloid media frenzy. Five black and Latino teenagers, just 14, 15 and 16 years old, who had been part of a larger group that had harassed and assaulted several men in the park that night, confessed to the rape after prolonged interrogations without legal counsel. They recanted soon thereafter, but the confessions were enough to convict them, and they were sent to prison. It seemed a just conclusion to a senseless crime.
Thirteen years later, serial rapist and murderer Matias Reyes confessed that he – and he alone – had raped the jogger; DNA evidence confirmed his story. District Attorney Robert Morgenthau's office, bravely admitting its error, helped to overturn the convictions in 2002. The Central Park Five, as they came to be known, had their records cleared. A year later, they filed a civil suit seeking damages from the City of New York and the detectives and prosecutors who had worked tirelessly towards those convictions.
More than seven years later, that civil suit is languishing. The city's lawyers seem determined to fight it at every turn, refusing to so much as discuss a settlement. Delay after delay has postponed each step of the process, and no trial date has yet been set.
But why even go to trial? This seems an obvious case to settle. Morgenthau, on whose watch the case was tried in the first place, did the right thing by supporting the vacation of the convictions, and the Mayor's office and Corporation Counsel, the city's lawyers, should follow his lead and admit that a miscarriage of justice occurred and take steps to right this wrong.
Estrin/Pool
Defendants Michael Briscoe, Steve Lopez, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson and Yusef Salaam in court.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
How predictable. Reach Out: Predominately African-American community, Benton Harbor, first to fall under Michigan Governor Snyder's EFM Law
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The first causality of Governor Rick Snyder Emergency Financial Manager (EFM) law is the predominately African-American-Lake Michigan shore community of Benton Harbor, Michigan
On April 18th, Snyder solely appointed a EFM to essentially take over the city, after he deemed that Benton Harbor to be in financial crisis Snyder's state-appointed Emergency Financial Manager, Joseph Harris has the power to void union contracts, remove elected officials, dissolve local elective authority completely and replace it with the authority of the Snyder through the EFM. Public workers will be being forced into concessions on their union rights, hereby, gutting bargained contracts negotiations and eliminating jobs.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
While Tyler's Perry's comedy Madea's Big Happy Family from Lionsgate studio is drawing national attention as it opens this weekend, a completely different kind of black-themed film is quietly wrapping up a successful five-week, 20-city run. USA Today: Black-themed film proves word of mouth's power
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And, if filmmaker Ava DuVernay has her way, it will not so quietly start to turn the Hollywood distribution model on its head.
I Will Follow, a nuanced drama about a woman coping with the death of her aunt, opened in Washington, D.C., this week after playing across the country to packed theaters. It's had no studio backing, advertising or marketing, but it was fueled by word of mouth, social media and boosts from black film festivals, like the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles and BronzeLens in Atlanta.
"It's the polar opposite of Mr. Perry, tonally," says writer/director DuVernay. "There's nothing wrong with what Mr. Perry is doing. Our point is there should be options for filmgoers and not a total monopoly of African-American films. Let the indie voices be heard. They're not making it through the studio system. "
DuVernay, also the owner of a public-relations firm, decided to approach theaters directly. She worked out a deal with AMC to distribute the film and, boosted by positive reviews from critics like Roger Ebert, I Will Follow gathered momentum, making an impressive $11,500 per-screen average. "If you're a black person living in, say, Detroit, you'll see what's put out by the studios," she says. "And this year the only black-themed films were Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son and Tyler Perry's film. There should be something for people who like drama and an indie aesthetic. The only way to get films of that caliber is to encourage new voices to write and direct them."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Black Dancer Talks Ballet, Curves and Color AOL Black voices: Curvy Ballerina Misty Copeland Talks Body Image
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you've seen the Oscar-winning film 'Black Swan,' you know that the ballet world can be brutal. The movie may include exaggerations, but the message is clear: It's highly competitive, overwhelmingly white and the dancers are incredibly thin.
Yet with all of this, classical ballet dancer Misty Copeland of the American Ballet Theatre has managed to navigate this elite world and, in 2007, even etched out a spot as a soloist -- the first African-American female to do so. She was even the featured dancer on legendary singer Prince's Welcome 2 America tour this past year.
However, it's not Copeland's ethnicity that makes her unique; it's another "cultural" attribution that sets her apart: her voluptuous body. At 5'2 and 103 pounds, the petite, curvy ballerina doesn't feel pressure to represent for all African Americans but says it'd be nice to see more ballet dancers who looked like her.
We chatted with 28-year-old Copeland about her experiences with this grueling art form.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hundreds of years of culture needs to be saved. USA Today: Coastal residents aim to preserve rich African culture.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One can’t wander far in this coastal community that calls itself America’s oldest seaside resort town without hearing people speaking a mysterious, rapid-fire language that somehow echoes the West Indies and Africa.
The speakers aren’t tourists, but members of the Gullah-Geechee culture. Theirs is a rich, uniquely American quilt: So wide it stretches from the saltwater creek that has fed generations here all the way to the White House and the nation’s first African-American first lady. So deep it encompasses a boat builder who learned the craft from his uncle and works without written plans.
They are descendants of African slaves who worked the rice plantations that made South Carolina one of the wealthiest of the 13 original American colonies. Their language is a stew of African dialects, English and Creole that slaves devised for secret communication. An estimated 250,000 Gullah-Geechee people live along a coastal swath in the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida.
Today, as they prepare for their annual rice festival here Saturday, many are trying to hold on to the language and traditions that have endured for centuries. They are attempting to pass on crafts that were handed down to them through the years — basketmaking, boat building, hammock weaving, storytelling — to a modern generation that’s much harder to engage.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Earthquake continues to devastate lives New York Times: Haitians Forced Out of Tents to Homes Just as Precarious
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The way Robert Darvin sees it, he is one of the lucky ones.
After being evicted from a tent camp a few months ago, he, his wife and their three children crammed into a rebuilt home the size of a small U-Haul trailer. But at least a roof shelters their heads, even if a flimsy one that allows the rain to pour through.
“It is made of cheap cement,” Mr. Darvin said, pointing to fresh cracks in the walls. He sounded at once relieved at having found a place and fretful over what another earthquake or hurricane might do to it. “If you think too much about it, you lose your mind.”
More than half of the Haitians driven into tent cities and makeshift camps by the January 2010 earthquake have moved out of them, officially bringing down the displaced population to 680,000 from a peak of 1.5 million, according to the International Organization for Migration.
But what may seem like a clear sign of progress, officials warn, is also a cause of concern.
Very few of the people who left the camps — only 4.7 percent, by the group’s estimate — did so because their homes had been rebuilt or repaired. Instead, a vast majority appear to have been forced out through mass evictions by landowners, or to have left the camps on their own to escape the high crime and fraying conditions there.
Allison Shelley for The New York Times
Residents of a tent camp outside a Port-au-Prince soccer stadium have been asked to leave
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------
Voices and Soul
by Justice Putnam
Black Kos Poetry Editor
San Francisco has been called the City of Love, so I wonder why some people vacation here. As some of you know, I have been reduced to wage-slave status at a small B&B on Nob Hill. It is mostly a time-share, so we have a management company in Laguna Niguel that calls most of the shots. For a place so small, there are a lot of "corporate" rules and regulations that must be followed; and "the write-up" is an important leverage against employee independence.
I've been written up a lot.
I was written up again last week for disagreeing with a bigot and racist who just so happened to be a guest of the Inn from another state.
My defense was that the "guest" was lucky I only gave them a verbal comeuppance, rather than being kicked out of the Inn entirely.
What were some of the "statements" that raised my ire to violate the cardinal rule of business to never discuss race, sex, politics or religion on the job with customers?
Statments like:
"That nigger wasn't born here and he should be impeached."
"Every Mexican, and I don't care how long they've been here, or whether their great-great grandmamacita was born here, they're all wetbacks and should be deported."
"OK sure, maybe not EVERY Muslim is a terrorist, but every terrorist is a Muslim."
There were other statements just as vile. But I'm sorry, I will never stand for that sentiment expressed with such impunity. I very politely, but very firmly told the "guest", that kind of racist bigotry has no place in the Inn, or anywhere for that matter.
They were appalled that the hoi poloi would confront them; and did what all bigots and racists do when confronted.
They accused me of being a bully, victimizing them with intimidation. They complained to the management company and I was written up.
One of my sisters fears I'll be fired and will lose my benefits; the only reason I'm working there until I can get my restaurant and Chef gig back up and running full time.
But I don't care.
I walked away from a high paying, supervisory position with Gulf Oil Corporation back in the early 80's for a similiar brouhaha. I'll do it again if need be. Because I can never and will never stand by and let a bigot just, "get away with it".
It's a compromise I will never make. No matter the consequences.
My Grandmother Washes Her Feet in the Sink of the Bathroom at Sears
My grandmother puts her feet in the sink
of the bathroom at Sears
to wash them in the ritual washing for prayer,
wudu,
because she has to pray in the store or miss
the mandatory prayer time for Muslims
She does it with great poise, balancing
herself with one plump matronly arm
against the automated hot-air hand dryer,
after having removed her support knee-highs
and laid them aside, folded in thirds,
and given me her purse and her packages to hold
so she can accomplish this august ritual
and get back to the ritual of shopping for housewares
Respectable Sears matrons shake their heads and frown
as they notice what my grandmother is doing,
an affront to American porcelain,
a contamination of American Standards
by something foreign and unhygienic
requiring civic action and possible use of disinfectant spray
They fluster about and flutter their hands and I can see
a clash of civilizations brewing in the Sears bathroom
My grandmother, though she speaks no English,
catches their meaning and her look in the mirror says,
I have washed my feet over Iznik tile in Istanbul
with water from the world's ancient irrigation systems
I have washed my feet in the bathhouses of Damascus
over painted bowls imported from China
among the best families of Aleppo
And if you Americans knew anything
about civilization and cleanliness,
you'd make wider washbins, anyway
My grandmother knows one culture—the right one,
as do these matrons of the Middle West. For them,
my grandmother might as well have been squatting
in the mud over a rusty tin in vaguely tropical squalor,
Mexican or Middle Eastern, it doesn't matter which,
when she lifts her well-groomed foot and puts it over the edge.
"You can't do that," one of the women protests,
turning to me, "Tell her she can't do that."
"We wash our feet five times a day,"
my grandmother declares hotly in Arabic.
"My feet are cleaner than their sink.
Worried about their sink, are they? I
should worry about my feet!"
My grandmother nudges me, "Go on, tell them."
Standing between the door and the mirror, I can see
at multiple angles, my grandmother and the other shoppers,
all of them decent and goodhearted women, diligent
in cleanliness, grooming, and decorum
Even now my grandmother, not to be rushed,
is delicately drying her pumps with tissues from her purse
For my grandmother always wears well-turned pumps
that match her purse, I think in case someone
from one of the best families of Aleppo
should run into her—here, in front of the Kenmore display
I smile at the midwestern women
as if my grandmother has just said something lovely about them
and shrug at my grandmother as if they
had just apologized through me
No one is fooled, but I
hold the door open for everyone
and we all emerge on the sales floor
and lose ourselves in the great common ground
of housewares on markdown.
-- Mohja Kahf
------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Front Porch is now open. Grab a chair, rocker or a seat on the glider. We even have a hammock. "Food for thought" is on the table.