M.I.A - Born Free (*Warning* Must Be 18yrs Or Older To View)[
Given whats going on in Arizona this video seems appropriate.
Left-leaning perspectives on a variety of social, political, and pop culture topics.
Quotable Quote of the Month
What does it take for Republicans to take off the flag pin and say, 'I am just too embarrassed to be on this team'?".- Bill Maher
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
The AZ Immigration Law: Legalized Racial Profiling?
For those who know me, it will come as no surprise that my answer to the question in the title of this post is "yes". Something needs to be done about illegal immigration and Washington has failed to address the issue, but this is not the way to go. As you probably know, the law requires police to question anyone they "reasonably suspect" of being an undocumented immigrant and you don't have to be a MENSA candidate to know what "reasonably suspect" means. In a press conference held by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer after she signed the bill, a reporter asked her if she knew what an illegal alien looks like. The governor stammered and finally said she didn't know. Good answer.
For the segment of the conservative base that has spent over a year whining about losing their freedom and liberties, they have taken a callous attitude to the AZ Immigration law. They've argued that the bill is just because it instructs police officers to enforce the law. Imagine if North Dakota had a problem with Canadians entering the U.S. illegally and decided to sign a bill into law requiring police to question anyone they "reasonably suspected" of being an undocumented immigrant. How do you think that would fly with these same conservatives?
On the April 23rd edition of The Young Turks, host Cenk Uygur discusses the AZ Immigration Law and its ramifications:
In keeping with their reputation for putting a humorous spin on topical issues, the April 24th episode of SNL tackled the subject of Arizona's new immigration law in its "Weekend Update" segment:
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Debating the Black Agenda Airs On MSNBC
From April 14-17, the National Action Network's National Conference took place. Hosted by NAN founder Al Sharpton, the four-day conference featured prominent names from a variety of fields addressing issues that impact people of color with a priority on racial inequality. On Sunday April 18th from noon to 2 pm EST, MSNBC will air a live panel discussion on topics from the convention. Titled Debating the Black Agenda and hosted by Tamron Hall and Ed Schultz, the discussion will explore issues such as business, civil rights, education, and politics as they pertain to African Americans. If you catch the panel discussion, please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section.
For more information on Debating the Black Agenda, please click here:
For more information on Debating the Black Agenda, please click here:
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Check Out A Post Over At "Best Seat In the House"
On Monday 4/12, Sandy (whose blog is titled Best Seat In the House) wrote an eye-opening post about a radio talk show host's comments about The Masters golf tournament and Tiger Woods. It's titled "Mickelson's Success, Struggles of Woods Brings Out the Inner Racism In Some". You can read it here.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Guest Post By Teresa: My Thoughts on Liberals Using the Race Card, & The Incendiary Language that Black Conservatives Endure
As you may know, one of the goals of Diversity Ink is to allow people with differing viewpoints on race-related issues to share them here. Last week, I came across the following post (My Thoughts on Liberals Using the Race Card, & The Incendiary Language that Black Conservatives Endure) on the blog Teresamerica. Since the blogger (Teresa) had done a guest post earlier this year, I asked if she'd be interested in doing another one. Even if the debate ends in a draw, I think it's important to try and understand why someone with an opposing view thinks the way they do.
This was posted by Teresa on her blog on April 8, 2010:
After reading THIS and THIS, I pondered a bit. Here are my thoughts:
The liberals that are making false accusations about Tea Partiers must stop!! This is dirty, outrageous, and wrong!! The Democrats and liberals in the media have consistently entered into a smear campaign of tactics consisting of false accusations, hateful rhetoric, and incendiary comments. One particular brand of false accusations that comes to my mind is how the liberals recently have been making charges that Tea Partiers are racists without having one iota of proof to back up their claims. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Tea Partiers are not racists!! We have political disagreements but they are not based on racial differences. Liberals are the ones using blacks for their own benefit in advancing their agenda. The Democrats are the ones who claim to represent the black community while keeping many African Americans and others dependent on government programs. Why doesn’t the black community prioritize their outlook about themselves, refer to themselves as American citizens first and foremost, instead of focusing every little detail or policy on the fact that they are African Americans? Or a different ethnic group? The representatives of the black community are being racially divisive by putting so much focus on a person’s skin color. The Tea Party movement is primarily concerned with fiscal responsibility, rising debt in our country being caused by our government, and individual freedom and liberty for all Americans.
I believe that making false accusations of racism without any proof might make that person who made those false charges a bigot or even a racist if they purposefully make a false claim to score points with a particular community in our society. Why is it that democrats are so infatuated with race and race-based politics?
I would hope that there are some decent liberals out there that would denounce the derogatory language being spewed by liberals in Congress, our Left Stream Media, and by other liberals across America. Do liberals that call black conservatives such derogatory terms as “Oreo” or “Uncle Tom” and “Traitors” know that these are derogatory terms? These terms are extremely inflammatory, incendiary, and must be denounced. Maybe, its just that black liberals couldn’t care less? I don’t know. Have African-Americans and other liberals been misled or are they just ignorant to this fact? Or have they been desensitized by the black community’s acceptance of those terms even though these are in fact bigoted, incendiary, and hurtful rhetoric? Black conservatives are not sell outs to the black community. They care for all people and not just blacks. How do you know the Democrats really care about and speak for African Americans? Is it because they give government handouts? IMO, it is kind of arrogant of the democrats to think that they own a particular set of peoples’ in our society, or speak for them. I found it quite odd, interesting, and good to find out HERE, that there are no derogatory terms specifically targeting black liberals in our society. Is there a reason for this? Are liberals in general more hateful with their rhetoric than conservatives? It sure seems like it to me. But, part of the reason for this is that democrats or liberals play identity and group politics to try to pin certain groups against one another. Liberals like to play favorites towards one particular sect of society against others. Conservatives do not do this. Conservatives look at each individual as an American and we treat everyone the same instead of treating a certain group differently because of their skin color. We do not play economic warfare just because a person’s more successful than another person, and that person may happen to be of a particular ethnic group. Liberals play racial warfare and are causing a great divide in our country while conservatives want everyone to succeed, and don’t blame another ethnic or racial groups for their problems. Every individual in this country has the chance to succeed in life. I hope every person does their very best and succeeds in all their endeavors.
This was posted by Teresa on her blog on April 8, 2010:
After reading THIS and THIS, I pondered a bit. Here are my thoughts:
The liberals that are making false accusations about Tea Partiers must stop!! This is dirty, outrageous, and wrong!! The Democrats and liberals in the media have consistently entered into a smear campaign of tactics consisting of false accusations, hateful rhetoric, and incendiary comments. One particular brand of false accusations that comes to my mind is how the liberals recently have been making charges that Tea Partiers are racists without having one iota of proof to back up their claims. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Tea Partiers are not racists!! We have political disagreements but they are not based on racial differences. Liberals are the ones using blacks for their own benefit in advancing their agenda. The Democrats are the ones who claim to represent the black community while keeping many African Americans and others dependent on government programs. Why doesn’t the black community prioritize their outlook about themselves, refer to themselves as American citizens first and foremost, instead of focusing every little detail or policy on the fact that they are African Americans? Or a different ethnic group? The representatives of the black community are being racially divisive by putting so much focus on a person’s skin color. The Tea Party movement is primarily concerned with fiscal responsibility, rising debt in our country being caused by our government, and individual freedom and liberty for all Americans.
I believe that making false accusations of racism without any proof might make that person who made those false charges a bigot or even a racist if they purposefully make a false claim to score points with a particular community in our society. Why is it that democrats are so infatuated with race and race-based politics?
I would hope that there are some decent liberals out there that would denounce the derogatory language being spewed by liberals in Congress, our Left Stream Media, and by other liberals across America. Do liberals that call black conservatives such derogatory terms as “Oreo” or “Uncle Tom” and “Traitors” know that these are derogatory terms? These terms are extremely inflammatory, incendiary, and must be denounced. Maybe, its just that black liberals couldn’t care less? I don’t know. Have African-Americans and other liberals been misled or are they just ignorant to this fact? Or have they been desensitized by the black community’s acceptance of those terms even though these are in fact bigoted, incendiary, and hurtful rhetoric? Black conservatives are not sell outs to the black community. They care for all people and not just blacks. How do you know the Democrats really care about and speak for African Americans? Is it because they give government handouts? IMO, it is kind of arrogant of the democrats to think that they own a particular set of peoples’ in our society, or speak for them. I found it quite odd, interesting, and good to find out HERE, that there are no derogatory terms specifically targeting black liberals in our society. Is there a reason for this? Are liberals in general more hateful with their rhetoric than conservatives? It sure seems like it to me. But, part of the reason for this is that democrats or liberals play identity and group politics to try to pin certain groups against one another. Liberals like to play favorites towards one particular sect of society against others. Conservatives do not do this. Conservatives look at each individual as an American and we treat everyone the same instead of treating a certain group differently because of their skin color. We do not play economic warfare just because a person’s more successful than another person, and that person may happen to be of a particular ethnic group. Liberals play racial warfare and are causing a great divide in our country while conservatives want everyone to succeed, and don’t blame another ethnic or racial groups for their problems. Every individual in this country has the chance to succeed in life. I hope every person does their very best and succeeds in all their endeavors.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Bill From NC: C-Span Has Too Many Black Callers!
Although this took place last week, the level of ignorance by a C-Span viewer was such that I couldn't let it pass. During the March 29 edition of the C-Span program Washington Journal, a Republican viewer (Bill) called in to voice his complaint about the number of blacks who called into the Republican and Independent lines. The program usually has four call-in phone numbers available for viewers who wish to comment, one each for Republicans, Democrats, Independents and one for those calling outside of the U.S. The You Tube clip below contains the segment where Bill voiced his complaint (it took place at approx. the 29 minute mark). You can click the following link to listen to the entire program.
Bill must have been referring to previous editions of The Washington Journal, because none of the callers preceding him identified their race (nor should they have to). It also wasn't definite that any of the callers he thought were Black falsely identified themselves as Republican or Independent. It sounds like Bill has a problem with the number of Blacks calling into the show. He is also making a false assumption about Independents. Apparently Bill feels that you can't be an Independent and support President Obama.
After listening to all of the callers who preceded Bill, I couldn't without a doubt identify the race of any of them. Maybe Bill took an advanced course on identifying the race of individuals based solely on their voice. He might be shocked to learn the race of either Henry Cho or Ron Christie if he saw them after first hearing them speak. My favorite line was when Bill suggested that if C-Span continues with its preference for callers of the Ebony variety, they should change their name to Black Span. The "C" in C-Span apparently stands for "Caucasian"... who knew?!
As for the way the host (Bill Scanlan) handled the call by Bill from NC, I'm going to give him a partial pass. It's not easy to know how to react when confronted live on-the-air with a caller like Bill. However, I wish that Scanlan had asked some follow-up questions:
1. How do you know for sure the race of the callers?
2. What do you mean by "every one of them"? Are you saying that all Blacks view Obama as Jesus Christ?
3. In regards to the people who directed criticism at George W. Bush, who do you mean by "they"?
I will give credit to Scanlan for letting Bill speak. As ignorant as Bill was, it's good to hear those types of opinions. Because it appeared to some that Scanlan was condoning the views of the caller, Susan Swain (Co-Chief Operating Officer of C-SPAN and a host of The Washington Journal) did some damage control a few days later:
As for Bill's question about what can be done to cut down on the number of Black callers, I hear that C-Span is working on intensifying their screening techniques...
C-Span screener to caller: Say the word "brother"
Caller: "Brotha"
C-Span screener to caller: I'm sorry, but we've received our quota of Black callers today. Please try again at a later date.
Bill must have been referring to previous editions of The Washington Journal, because none of the callers preceding him identified their race (nor should they have to). It also wasn't definite that any of the callers he thought were Black falsely identified themselves as Republican or Independent. It sounds like Bill has a problem with the number of Blacks calling into the show. He is also making a false assumption about Independents. Apparently Bill feels that you can't be an Independent and support President Obama.
After listening to all of the callers who preceded Bill, I couldn't without a doubt identify the race of any of them. Maybe Bill took an advanced course on identifying the race of individuals based solely on their voice. He might be shocked to learn the race of either Henry Cho or Ron Christie if he saw them after first hearing them speak. My favorite line was when Bill suggested that if C-Span continues with its preference for callers of the Ebony variety, they should change their name to Black Span. The "C" in C-Span apparently stands for "Caucasian"... who knew?!
As for the way the host (Bill Scanlan) handled the call by Bill from NC, I'm going to give him a partial pass. It's not easy to know how to react when confronted live on-the-air with a caller like Bill. However, I wish that Scanlan had asked some follow-up questions:
1. How do you know for sure the race of the callers?
2. What do you mean by "every one of them"? Are you saying that all Blacks view Obama as Jesus Christ?
3. In regards to the people who directed criticism at George W. Bush, who do you mean by "they"?
I will give credit to Scanlan for letting Bill speak. As ignorant as Bill was, it's good to hear those types of opinions. Because it appeared to some that Scanlan was condoning the views of the caller, Susan Swain (Co-Chief Operating Officer of C-SPAN and a host of The Washington Journal) did some damage control a few days later:
As for Bill's question about what can be done to cut down on the number of Black callers, I hear that C-Span is working on intensifying their screening techniques...
C-Span screener to caller: Say the word "brother"
Caller: "Brotha"
C-Span screener to caller: I'm sorry, but we've received our quota of Black callers today. Please try again at a later date.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Did Erykah Badu Go Too Far?
Those who know me personally know that I have always been a huge fan of Erykah Badu's since day one. I like her because she is raw, real, and cutting edge. I currently reside in her neck of the woods (Dallas, Texas) and I have gotten know a bit more about her personally as a result. With all of that said I am perplexed by her latest escapade. A friend of mine who also resides in the city telephoned me to inquire if I had heard about what Erykah had done, to which I replied no. My friend went on to explain that Erykah had stripped down to her "birthday suit" in Dealey Plaza. For those who do not know, Dealey Plaza is the location of John F. Kennedy's assassination.
The video was taped in front of a live audience, which included children, which was kind of upsetting. However what was even more shocking is how the video ended. The video ends with her being shot down outside of the Dallas Book Depository (the place where Oswald was when he allegedly fired the fatal shots). Erykah says she was protesting the sociological concept of "Groupthink". Groupthink is a type of thought exhibited by group members who try to minimize conflict and reach consensus without critically, testing, analyzing and reviewing ideas.
Individual creativity, uniqueness, and independent thinking are lost in the pursuit of group cohesiveness, as are the advantages of reasonable balance in choice and thought that might normally be obtained by making decisions as a group. During groupthink, members of the group avoid promoting viewpoints outside the comfort zone of consensus thinking. A variety of motives for this may exist such as a desire to avoid being seen as foolish, or a desire to avoid embarrassing or angering other members of the group. Groupthink may cause groups to make hasty, irrational decisions, where individual doubts are set aside, for fear of upsetting the group’s balance. Taking everything into consideration, did Erykah Badu go too far?
I saw the video, which has since been removed from You Tube. Click here to read more.
The video was taped in front of a live audience, which included children, which was kind of upsetting. However what was even more shocking is how the video ended. The video ends with her being shot down outside of the Dallas Book Depository (the place where Oswald was when he allegedly fired the fatal shots). Erykah says she was protesting the sociological concept of "Groupthink". Groupthink is a type of thought exhibited by group members who try to minimize conflict and reach consensus without critically, testing, analyzing and reviewing ideas.
Individual creativity, uniqueness, and independent thinking are lost in the pursuit of group cohesiveness, as are the advantages of reasonable balance in choice and thought that might normally be obtained by making decisions as a group. During groupthink, members of the group avoid promoting viewpoints outside the comfort zone of consensus thinking. A variety of motives for this may exist such as a desire to avoid being seen as foolish, or a desire to avoid embarrassing or angering other members of the group. Groupthink may cause groups to make hasty, irrational decisions, where individual doubts are set aside, for fear of upsetting the group’s balance. Taking everything into consideration, did Erykah Badu go too far?
I saw the video, which has since been removed from You Tube. Click here to read more.
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