“Where tha Fuck did u lurn how to drive koon-boy…U talk jus’ like any dumb nigger I ever met!” Straight outta Samuel L. Jackson’s “A Time To Kill,” or perhaps a relaying of Klan oral tradition — no, this most eloquent filth was spewed from the jaw bone of your average South Floridian NASCAR fan; mid a lunch-break drive, trucking along in a rusty Chevrolet 1-ton, in a belligerent rage aside my vehicle, expounding as to why my chauffeuring was in his view, lackluster.
The Michael Savages, Rush Limbaughs and Bill O’Reillys would like one to believe that the era of obtuse bigotry is long past; that American culture has actually teetered to the opposite end of the spectrum; a balancing act yielding the catch phrase of the day, “reverse discrimination!” Why, even the token Negroes have weighed in on African American’s lamentable obsession with racism. Just ask John McWhorter, Condoleeza Rice or the demigod of Uncle Tomery, Secretary Powell; hence the recommended cure-all to this assumed inferiority complex: “We as Black people must move beyond the days of Jim Crow…My father wasn’t a slave, I have no experience whatsoever with slavery…(this a tripartite paraphrasing of past rhetoric from the above parties)” If I were a white, 16 year old sophomore at Millard North High school in Omaha Nebraska, this trend of rationale may seem commonsensical; I mean, “damn, Blacks sure do complain a lot, I haven’t oppressed anyone, they have equal opportunities, Affirmative Action and all that other stuff!”
Makes sense doesn’t it? Extend a few constitutional gestures in euphemistic form, have Fox broadcast the annual NAACP Image Awards, appoint Amos & Andy (excuse me, Andrea) to the Presidential cabinet, titillate the inner orb of hate within the Religious Right, accuse various institutions of “reverse discrimination,” and voila, “them niggers sho do complain a lot!” I am not here to posture as the second coming of Frantz Fanon. I am probably incapable of presenting a concise, logically fluid Psychosexual study of Negrophobia in 2004. My commentary originates in the most tangible of all resources, personal experience.
With each hour lived amidst the socioeconomic discourse of American culture, I find it imperative to reinvigorate my endorsement of the First Amendment. Anyone remotely familiar with my person understands and endorses (by default of acquaintanceship) my penchant for “public displays of opinion.” Who could possibly tabulate the horde of frightened Anglophiles offended by my mere presence? Even so, my reaction upon seeing the good ol’ Stars & Bars, borders on Tipperesque fascism. Toes curl, facial vessels inundate with blood, fists clench, teeth grate; the ejaculation of unhindered wrath is one stroke of the temper away. Soothing thoughts of defacing the haphazardly applied bumper sticker, visor, porch flag, or if luck is on my side, the head beneath a baseball cap adorned with the American swastika. On rare (well, prior to age 25, not so rare) occasion, my limbs were found flailing to and fro, striking at multiple toothless targets, satisfying an allegedly irrational urge to nullify the threat. Violent? Yes. Imprudent? Absolutely. Undemocratically hypocritical? This remains to be seen.
As much as I deplore the Texas furor, life as a Black man in this country has tweaked a sympathy for one of the GOP’s most prized philosophies, Preemptive warfare (by definition, the latest illegal bombing of Iraqi peoples isn’t remotely Preemptive, instead Preventive; proactive measures motivated by a perceived threat). According to the Bush / Cheney dogma of the moment, I posses the divine right to mount an offensive against any mullet wearing, hate symbol brandishing, NASCAR indulging, “Deliverance”-double in my path! Make no mistake people, these savages do pose a threat; a bona fide one at that, buttressed by a crusade of virulent discourse and genocide. It goes way beyond historical precedent. The power structure and its Praetorian guard (the good ol’ boy network) propagate their prejudiced swagger, bigoted epithets and xenophobic lynching, with each nanosecond passing to the Confederate winds ruffling Stars & Bars nylon.
Damn right I’m a “Huey P. Newton Reader;” and a Black radical by all accounts! Oftentimes my imagination stumbles upon the image of moisture between Black Panther digits, cold-wrapped around an M-1. Did Fred Hampton fail “Preemptive 101?” His final exam administered via the barrel of Chicago PD? Adhering to the above logic, apparently, tragically so. I question the omniscience of political apathy here in America, perpetually. This criticism extends to the African American community as well. Would the Jewish American citizenry tolerate, for one moment, a swastika center New York State’s flag? Hell, one can’t even criticize the barbaric policies of Israel without being blacklisted an Anti-Semite! What is a brother (or sister) to do? Does he prance like Christ, “turn the other cheek,” let words run down ego’s back, baring a wide brown target for the scope-sights of the questionably inbred? Does he command the mass-mobilization of his community, demanding the abolishment of state-sanctioned racism? Or, as I have done in the past (at times regrettably), does he act on the most basic of all instincts and preserve his life through Preemption; disregarding the valued teachings of Gandhi, Paine and King. Personally, I always preferred the lessons of Seale, Carmichael, Davis, Huggins, Means, Zapata, Marcos, and of course, Newton. As an aged caretaker of an African Museum once told me, “Jim Crow lives next door.” The question is, how friendly is your neighbor?
JG is the lead Emcee for the politically leftist Hip-Hop duet, Over The Counter Intelligence ( JG & HavikenHayes), based in Fort Lauderdale Florida. They are most recognized through their support of various grassroots organizations throughout the country; most notably The Coalition of Immokalee Workers — The Taco Bell Boycott. They are of the best known Indie-Hip Hop groups nationwide. JG has written songs, articles and editorials specific to the oppression of the Haitian Global Village, most importantly, the virulent immigration statues pertaining to Haitian Refugees. He has recently recorded a solo album entitled “Insurgent,” which will be released this year via record label.
He can be reached by email: JG_1804@hotmail.com
