psychiatry
Clarence Thomas Was On My Mind
Fri, October 5, 2007 at 08:28PM 
I woke up in a bad mood this morning.
I had a dream that I had finally lost my mind for good. I recall screaming and yelling and escorted from the building after talking to the bank on the phone and being told that the Attorney General had frozen my account. I then ran over a fire hydrant in a car I drove (badly) via remote control and challenged the police and an angry mob featuring an extremely obese cop with a hypodermic needle for me. I didn't care if they killed me at first then I changed my mind and decided to run for it. I outran all of them but one or two. They finally forgot why they were chasing me. The colors were vivid reds, greens, browns, and the sun came out as the water stopped coming down. The next thing I remember was awakening with the thought in my mind of I hate Clarence Thomas. How is that for crazy?
I haven't been able to get that thought out of my mind. I actually began to start to like Justice Thomas for the first time after viewing some of his 60 Minutes interview last Sunday. He spoke about his new book My Grandfather's Son and how firm and proud his grandfather, a descendent of slaves, had raised him to be. He disappointed his grandfather by not following through with his initial endeavor to be a clergyman. He attended an Ivy League Law School later but found the degree to be of little use in helping him to prosper. He commented that the degree wasn't worth the 15 cents frame it was mounted in. He spoke of how racism affected his earlier life prior to becoming a part of the Reagan administration where he would eventually be selected by President GHW Bush to replace Thurgood Marshall on the US Supreme Court where he remains to this day.
Thomas is most despised in the Black community for his controversial and hypocritical stance on Affirmative Action for minorities, claiming that it is pacifying and harmful to recipients. The irony lay in the fact that his whole life and career are the epitome of Affirmative Action. Yet he has the audacity to voice the belief that all other blacks should pick themselves up by their boot straps, regardless of background circumstances. He feeds into the erroneous belief Affirmative Action is always synonymous with quotas and giving something to unqualified or undeserving parties. He apparently buys the line that institutions will automatically end racist discriminatory practices out of the goodness of their heart. He also must accept the premise that no harm was done by the years of government supported Jim Crow. Was that not just Affirmative Action in reverse?
As far as I am concerned, Justice Thomas' vote to stop the Florida ballot count in Gore v Bush in the 2000 Election was Affirmative Action in favor of our current President. Regardless of the spin, the fact remains that Republicans do not care about poor people, in general. Future discrimination is more likely to be based on class rather than race. In the day of Justice Thurgood Marshall racism was the core issue. Thomas has been quite successful in reversing much of the progress Marshall fought to accomplish in the arena of racial equality. The sad part is that he probably doesn't even care. I see why he rides incognito in his RV when traveling the country during vacation time.
Some who read this may criticize me as just being petty and jealous of Justice Thomas. The truth is that I would not trade beliefs and places with him for any amount of money or popularity. It does bother me, however, that he is considered to be a premiere representative of a typical successful African American who can receive instant publicity of his book throughout all the media when other voices such as Tavis Smiley, Michael Eric Dyson, or Dr. Cornell West of Princeton University seem to be suppressed by major media outlets. Why is that? My own book is not a masterpiece but is professionally edited and I believe to be more in line with how most African Americans perceive reality than anything Thomas could ever write. Is it politics or money that gives his book preferential exposure to other authors who may address comparable topics?
I didn't really want to make this entry but I felt I needed to. I know there are people who agree with me. I am not attempting to spark debate or inflame any right wingers. Sometimes I just have to get things that may be bothering me out of my system so I can move on.
politics
Thoughts About Race and the 21st Century
in regards to the elephant in the living room of the race issue. This thought came to mind when I read a comment on a site that questioned why the President is always referred to as African-American even though his mother was Caucasian. The rule in our society has always been that any person possessing one drop of Black blood makes them Black by default. Yes, that rule is absolutely ridiculous but that has been the understanding for the last 150 years. Maybe one day it will eventually change and race really won't be a significant factor.
Change begins where denial ends. Many hold a misunderstanding of what the distinct differences between prejudices and racism actually are. Everyone has certain prejudices, whether they share them with others or not. Most personal prejudices are relatively harmless and insignificant because they don't infringe upon rights or cause emotional pain for the target. The Black Panthers of the 60's and '70's were extremely prejudiced against the white race and the establishment but due to the limited social status they could never be classified as racists. On the other hand the Klan, for many years, possessed the power to break the law without fear of prosecution. The power to do so was based solely on the race of the target. Lingering wounds from the Civil War were at the root.
My personal heritage includes Native American, Irish, African, and who knows what else but I was always taught that I was a Colored Boy, then a Negro, then Black, and lately an African-American. In my family as a child the topic of race was never really discussed. There would be an acknowledgement of what color a person was and that was it. Everyone seemed to know the rules and accept their place. Fortunately, I came along when things were starting to change and opportunities were opening. I could have never settled for the status quo of the '60's.
Africans were the only group to enter America in shackles and chains. The only group stripped of their heritage and self esteem. It didn't kill us but eventually made us stronger. I think much of that is based on the law of survival of the fittest. It is in our genes to overcome adversity. In my view, the only true race is the human race. The Black race has always been about inclusion instead of exclusion which is a good thing for all. This journey remains incomplete. It will require continued leadership and cooperation from those who believe in what is right. It will require perseverance and keeping our eyes on the prize. Dr. Kings' Dream is probably the best mental illustration of the journey which ends when America lives up to the true meaning of its creed, that all men are created equal. All men, women, and children will stand together and sing in the words of that old Negro spiritual Free at Last, thank God Almighty we're free at last.
We need to pray for our new President. Pray that he will be the catalyst to help us complete Dr. Kings' Dream. I believe, as obviously many others do, that he is the right man for the job. Lincoln said that a house divided cannot stand. MLK said we must learn to live together as brothers or we will certainly perish as fools. The opportunity to move forward awaits us all. For those who love challenge, it is a great time to be alive.