Couldn't Have Said it Better Myself

Hey you open-minded people, open your minds to this.



And a reminder of how the illustrious Margaret Sanger suggested to get black people to go along with the extermination of their own race....

"We should hire three or four colored ministers, preferably with social-service backgrounds, and with engaging personalities. The most successful educational approach to the Negro is through a religious appeal. We don't want the word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population. and the minister is the man who can straighten out that idea if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members."
Margaret Sanger's December 19, 1939 letter to Dr. Clarence Gamble, 255 Adams Street, Milton, Massachusetts. Original source: Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, North Hampton, Massachusetts. Also described in Linda Gordon's Woman's Body, Woman's Right: A Social History of Birth Control in America. New York: Grossman Publishers, 1976.

Humor: A Review of LOST (by someone who's never watched an episode...)

Put Down The Duckie!

I think this song is really really deep! (See, I didn't say anything about how it "quacks me up".) Click on the title below to go to the youtube video of this excellent song.

PUT DOWN THE DUCKIE
Ernie: Excuse me, Mr. Hoots
I hate to bug a busy bird
But I want to learn the sax
And I need a helpful word
I always get a silly squeak
When I play the blues

Hoots: Ernie, keep your cool
I'll teach ya how to blow the sax
I think I dig your problem
It's rubber, and it quacks
You'll never find the skill you seek
Till you pay your dues

You gotta put down the duckie
Put down the duckie
Put down the duckie
Yeah, you gotta leave the duck alone
You gotta put down the duckie
Put down the duckie
Put down the duckie
If you wanna play the saxophone!

You didn't hear a word I said
You gotta get it through your head
Don't be a stubborn cluck
Ernie, lay aside the duck!
I've learned a thing or two
From years of playing in a band
It's hard to play a saxophone
With something in your hand
To be a fine musician
You're gonna have to face the facts

Though you're blessed with flying fingers
When you wanna wail, you're stuck
What good are flying fingers
If they're wrapped around a duck?
Change the toy's position
If you wanna ace the sax!

You gotta put down the duckie
Put down the duckie
Put down the duckie
Yeah, you gotta leave the duck alone
You gotta put down the duckie
Put down the duckie
Put down the duckie
If you wanna play the saxophone!

Don't have to put it on a train
Don't have to wash it down the drain
Don't have to lock it in a drawer
Don't have to shove it out the door
Don't have to stuff it in your pocket
Or send it flyin' in a rocket!
Don't have to get it out of town!
Ernie, put the quacker down!

You gotta put down the duckie
Put down the duckie
Put down the duckie
Yeah, you gotta leave the duck alone
You gotta put down the duckie
Put down the duckie
Put down the duckie
If you wanna play the saxophone!

You gotta put down the duckie
Put down the duckie
Put down the duckie
Yeah, you gotta leave the duck alone
You gotta put down the duckie
Put down the duckie
Put down the duckie
If you wanna play the saxophone!

Oh yeah!!!!!!!!

Pieces from the Past?... This post is long and may get me in trouble!

Just when you start to think you're above it all...

I am amazed at the strong personal reaction I had to this picture that someone had left on my desktop. There were so many ways to take this image, but something inside me was bothered by the white pawn standing over the black king.

It reminded me of a recent foray into Applebees in Waxahachie, TX. As I walked through the door, the quick glances in my direction made me immediately and painfully aware of the lack of black people (excuse me, African Americans... sheesh!) in the restaurant. My wife, who is white, probably never noticed until I mentioned it, but I found myself tensing up ever so slightly. I was shocked by my own nervousness as I sat there eating my food and feeling that someone was staring at me (and I am pretty sure some of them were... but probably more as a point of interest not a target of violence or anything). It's so amazing! At one point, I thought to myself, "If these people decided that they wanted to hurt me, I would have no way out." I was completely caught off guard by what suddenly ran through my head. Maybe it was too many movies like "The Great Debaters" (a classic to see, but hard to watch). I remembered being in a small Texas town on a church staff retreat a few years ago. One of the ministers who used to live in that town, encouraged me (warned me) to not go out walking alone. This guy is an awesome person who I would trust with my life. So when he said not to go wandering alone, I did not! He understood and knew that I would as well.

However, the question I asked myself when I saw this chess piece image was simple. Did the frequency of these events (only black person in the room) increase or has my sensitivity to it increased because of the whole Obama thing. No matter what people say, race is a part of this race. How many times in the past presidential elections have you ever heard anyone say, "I'm not going to vote for him just because he's white, hispanic, mormon, jewish, catholic, etc." I'm sure it's happened but it's probably never been such a national topic of conversation.

Even at my church, where there are other black and mixed couples, I recently had that feeling that I have rarely had before. Maybe it's because I am usually up on stage, leading the music with so much on my mind that I don't have time to think about it. I am there before others get there and after most people leave. But today, playing bass for the worship leader who is currently serving there, I looked out and had that momentary, strange feeling of aloneness... I could almost hear that old Sesame Street song... (One of these things is not like the other.) I looked around at the few other black people in the room and wondered if they had ever felt this way. I know some have. But I was afraid that asking the question would bring an awareness not previously felt. So I backed away.

Now to clear some things up. Because, and I know this happens, many of my non-black friends who read this will wonder exactly what I mean. Do I not feel loved? Do I not feel important? Do I feel discriminated against? Do I want to vote for Obama deep down inside just to make me feel more African American? A resounding no to all. Just a realization I still have those moments, a flash reaction like the one with the image. A sudden awareness that sneaks up on you, jumps out and screams "boo". That crazy moment when you realize the clerk at the store is still following and watching you in your polo shirt and slacks rather than the white kid on the other side of the store who's dressed like a gangsta and looks like he may be about to rob the place. That feeling that someone might, not has, not will, but might look at you and use a derogatory term. Or that if you get into a debate about being for Obama, you will be written off, not as intelligently disagreeing, but as just another part of the racial herd mentality. These things may never happen, but you know they have. You've seen it, felt it, been it... and you're afraid it's going to happen again. I'm sure it's not just a black thing either. I'm sure everyone has their moments like this. But then again, in some ways the black experience is a unique one.

By the way... I sent the chess photo to some friends and mentioned it bothering me. One person replied that it was a standard chess photo, however, if it was intended to be, then it could definitely be seen as offensive. I can definitely see that. But then I wondered, is this really a standard photo? I wondered if there were images that showed black pieces as the winner over the white ones? I was curious so I googled "chess" and "checkmate" and looked at the various images of pieces in defeat (I included them below and throughout the blog). I found that, in professional photography, if the pieces were black and white, the winner was almost always the white piece. Remember, I did not pick and choose these photos. I just grabbed what I saw. And I am NOT saying that these photos and photographers are racists. I am just making an observation (one that many black kids in America may be making unconsciously and wondering what's going on). As for the one photo I found where the black piece is the winner, that image was created by someone in another country... Hmmmm...