I have come across a buunch of articles that have finally explained this 'alice-in-the-looking-glass' feeling I have been living with throughout this election and especially more so since the general.
See what these articles are saying and get my take.
Hope you all come away with something positive from these pieces cause they sure helped me to feel better...
Jump...
Alternate Reality Can't Stand Test Of Truth
IRENE PAPOULIS
As I follow the language of this presidential election, I am reminded of Patricia Evans' work on "verbally abusive relationships." For Evans, who has written several books about verbal abuse, communication can fail between verbally abusive partners and their mates because they exist in two clashing realities. Verbal abusers live in "Reality One," a "power over" reality. To them, one person must always dominate.
In contrast, Evans says, the partners of verbal abusers tend to live in "Reality Two," in which they believe people should talk and listen to each other as equals, striving to come to rational understanding. In spite of being berated verbally, those partners hold onto a fervent hope that their abuser mates will listen and respond empathetically to their logic.
They think: "If he doesn't understand, it must be because I am not explaining correctly. If I could just explain better, he would see the truth of my perspective."
Many Obama supporters were immersed in Reality Two's respect for truth when, awhile back, they were gleeful to discover that although Sarah Palin got a lot of mileage out of her "thanks but no thanks" on that Bridge to Nowhere quip, in fact she had originally supported funding the bridge.
For a moment they thought they had her, on the basis of truth. However, instead of being contrite, Palin brazenly continued to repeat her stock phrase.
If you're living in Reality Two, such a thing is extremely vexing. How could she continue to say something so confidently when it has been proved to be a distortion of the truth?
Enter Reality One, which is what Palin seems to be living in, even though on the surface she seems quite sweet and Reality Two-ish...
http://www.courant.com/...
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MY TAKE:
I constantly yell at my tv when I see Palin/McCain do their 'alternate reality' dance thingee.
As you read through this article you will see what I mean.
I am definitely in 'Reality Two' (folk who rely on fact and truth) and not 'Reality One" (folk who lie and reject fact and truth) because I feel that people should be able to discern fact from fiction especially when there is evidence.
However, in this election, it seems that people in the 'reality one' are loudest. I just shake my head to clear it when I see this crap and it even bothers me more when I see alot of journalists residing in the 'reality one' zone.
Seems like we have been living in a 'reality one' landscape for 8 years now and these folks who reside there want to keep us clear-thinking folk in 'reality two' right smack in their unreal world.
I for one am tired and am definitely ready to pack up my moving truck and blast through the walls they have erected to imprison others and myself. Ready to get-the-ef-out. This is just too much!!!
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Please also look at this story by Tim Wise on White Privilege at
http://www.buzzflash.com/...
A BUZZFLASH GUEST CONTRIBUTION
by Tim Wise
For those who still can’t grasp the concept of white privilege, or who are constantly looking for some easy-to-understand examples of it, perhaps this list will help.
White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right to judge you or your parents, because "every family has challenges," even as black and Latino families with similar "challenges" are regularly typified as irresponsible, pathological and arbiters of social decay.
White privilege is when you can call yourself a "fuckin’ redneck," like Bristol Palin’s boyfriend does, and talk about how if anyone messes with you, you'll "kick their fuckin' ass," and talk about how you like to "shoot shit" for fun, and still be viewed as a responsible, all-American boy (and a great son-in-law to be) rather than a thug.
White privilege is when you can attend four different colleges in six years like Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed out of, then returned to after making up some coursework at a community college), and no one questions your intelligence or commitment to achievement, whereas a person of color who did this would be viewed as unfit for college, and probably someone who only got in in the first place because of affirmative action...
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My Take:
Tim Wise breaks it down for us in a succinct and concise way. I truly feel that 'white privilege' is the underlying current of this election. This is something that people are afraid to address because many white folk get their shackles up when anyone dares to touch this topic.
I personally feel that there are those white folk who like things just the way things are because of their inherent racist beliefs. I call these folk plain ole white folk.
Then there are white folk who have empathy and understand what black folk in this country go through. These people cannot walk in our shoes but they get it and are sensitive and big enough to speak up and stand up when they see racist or bigoted behavior. They really hear us and support us in our fight against predjudice, bigotry and hate. I call those folk white-folk-who-happen-to-be-born-into-a-white-body. Tim Wise is one of these people. I like him.
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And here is another wonderful article I found in Ebony (link below):
A Woman's Worth
We've come a long way baby
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
By Goldie Taylor
I have been a mother all of my adult life. A single working mother. I put off dating, took menial jobs far beneath my qualifications and baked my share of ginger bread cookies for PTA Night, all so that three incredible children could have better. I chose their lives over mine. I don't have to tell you that it wasn't easy. Unfortunately, my story, our story, is not
unique.
We slept in cars, bought groceries with food stamps and prayed for a better day. When that wasn't enough, I put myself through school at Emory University and took a part-time job as a staff writer at the Atlanta Journal Constitution. That was over a decade ago.
Along the way, things got better. I've been an executive at two Fortune 500 companies and a practice director at two multinational public relations firms. Today, I own an advertising agency and I've authored two novels. A third and fourth are on the way, God willing. All of this was possible because somebody laid a brick or two on the road for me.
A few weeks ago, I woke in tears. It was my 40th birthday and certainly not a time for sadness. Rather, I cried in joy because for the first time I realized and could embrace the value of the struggle. The bright little girl, who once cried in my arms because we didn't know where we were going to live, was headed off to Brown University. The small boy who had been the "man of the house" far too soon was now truly a man. And the tiny, angelic baby who had come to this world precious and innocent just 15 months after him was now a 16 year old girl headed out to her first job interview.
For all of this, maybe I should be proud of a woman like Sarah Palin. Maybe, just maybe, I should be rejoicing in John McCain's selected running mate.
But I'm not...
http://www.ebonyjet.com/...
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MY TAKE:
Finally, an eloquent and brilliant piece by a sister who has put into words the underlying problems with Palin.
This woman does not seem to have the curiosity or humility (amongst other trraits) to be VP or President of this country.
I am truly worried about her certainty and her opportunistic approach to everything. She lies in front of the cameras and she does it over and over again without blinking. I find myself looking at her on tv and trying to penetrate that fake smile and pretty face to see what is really going on behind it all.
If there is anyone who truly embodies white privilege it is her. She is definitely not a white-folk-who-happens-to-be-born-into-a-white-body folk. She is definitely just plain white and is proud to represent.
She really scares me and I am seriously worried about her and her cabal taking over.
Those folk who say we black people are voting for Obama because he is black have got it all wrong. I am not saying there is not that pride in a brother being nominated for President of a major party, but black folk would not be voting for him if he was just another Jesse or Al. We see somthing in him that transcends all the anger and divisiveness; we are tired of the chaos and we want/need something different and real.
Obama offers this. Like the lady says, he is a 'bricklayer'.
I can live with this and then some.