Watch Out for the Okey Doke

Thoughts of a Fried Chicken Watermelon Woman is being released Tuesday, April 29th. It is my book of essays, op-eds and some previous blog posts on issues of the day. It was a labor of love but it was also a labor of a different sort. Writing a book is one hell of an endeavor. There were moments when I thought I'd taken on more than I could handle. But I realized that if I didn't write the book I wanted to see, no one else would. I hope, as readers of this blog, you will spend a few dollars to buy my book and then take some time to read it. I look forward to what you have to say.

A great deal has been written about statements made by L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling and Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy. My take is entirely different than what's been reported by the media except to those in my circle. We see things differently and are aware of what's going on here. I'm going to take a moment to share it with you.

Former L.A. Laker Magic Johnson, who was a target of a statement supposedly made by Sterling, said he didn't understand how someone could dislike Black people when the NBA is more than 75% Black. Magic needs to stop by one of the Starbuck's he owns and smell the coffee. Of course Sterling can dislike Black players even the ones on his team. He pays them to play a game, a very lucrative game but a game none the less. But he doesn't have to like them. If Magic took a moment to check the history books, he'd recognize Sterling's attitude as the exact type of attitude shared by slave owners. Hell, he could probably put the film The Help in his DVD player and see Sterling's attitude articulated very clearly. I imagine Magic's reaction has nothing so much to do with how Sterling feels about Black people but more about how Sterling feels about him. It is obvious that Magic is afflicted with the same disease O.J. Simpson had. All you readers may not be aware of that disease but a hell of a lot of us recognize it. It's called the How can White people not love me when I've worked so hard to make them accept me disease.

When the verdict was read at the O.J. Simpson trial in 1995, the reaction by White America was not a shock to most Black people but O.J. Simpson didn't get it. He was under the mistaken impression that he had been forgiven and all was okay. The conversation in my circle was that he shouldn't even jaywalk because White folks were gunning for him. Not until he was convicted of robbery in 2008 did he finally get it. Last year his parole request on five concurrent sentences was granted. Later last year, however, his request for a new trial was denied and he faces more prison time. If anyone should recognize the slave master mentality at this point, he should. Perhaps he should call Magic Johnson and give him a clue.

As for rancher Bundy, I think his statements speak volumes about his fondness for slavery times. Any person who speaks of slavery and picking cotton at this point in time is obviously a person out of time. And to talk about Black people and government subsidies while he refuses to pay the government the more than $1 million he owes, should be ignored and not given a platform to spew such madness. If anyone wants to take issue with him, take issue with the fact that the government has allowed him to owe this amount of money even as the IRS threatens average folks for a few thousand dollars for taxes.

I'm not amazed by what he said. I more amazed that people are so surprised at his views. I would imagine that at any given time in this country, his views are shared by millions. His statements were just made public.

I'm surprised the Republicans embraced him and then thought better of it and decided to distance themselves. As stated above, the focus needs to be on the money he owes and what the government plans to do about it. Given there are almost no ideological differences between Democrats and Republicans, I'm waiting for the sleight of hand that going to happen soon as the government quickly and quietly sweep this under the rug and Bundy will go back to business as usual as he becomes the poster boy for the Patriotism movement.

Once again, dear readers, we're falling for the sleight of hand tricks the government and mainstream media are performing. While we spend time debating about whether or not racism is alive and well in the U.S. (it is) and whether or not these gentlemen are racists (they are), the government is passing legislation that hurts us all, the Supreme Court is giving corporations more and more control over our elections and corporation media is bombarding us with programming that is so idiotic that watching it regularly drops our IQ by a few points.

We must be diligent. We must be aware. We must get angry and we must take action. The okey doke is alive and well. And if we're not careful, we'll be knocked out before we even get in the ring.