Seen the latest BHO controversy? BHO had the audicity to compare Christianity & American history to what is going on in Islam today.

Key swipe

At the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, President Obama told fellow Christians that their religion had been abused and misappropriated in the past, just as Islam has been by terrorists in recent years. “In our home country, slavery and Jim Crow all too often was justified in the name of Christ,” he said. Critics, including many Republicans, were outraged. “The president’s comments this morning at the prayer breakfast are the most offensive I’ve ever heard a president make in my lifetime,” former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore told The Washington Post. “He has offended every believing Christian in the United States. This goes further to the point that Mr. Obama does not believe in America or the values we all share.”

http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2015/02/06/obama-has-offended-every-christian.html

I take for granted that everyone knows what BHO is saying is a fact.

I was about to make a post earlier in the week when I read this in the Economist in a piece blasting how the US is becoming less and less a meritocracy:

"Before the word meritocracy was coined by Michael Young, a British sociologist and institutional entrepreneur, in the 1950s there was a different name for the notion that power, success and wealth should be distributed according to talent and diligence, rather than by accident of birth: American. For sure, America has always had rich and powerful families, from the floor of the Senate to the boardrooms of the steel industry. But it has also held more fervently than any other country the belief that all comers can penetrate that elite as long as they have talent, perseverance and gumption. At times when that has not been the case Americans have responded with authentic outrage, surmising that the people at the top are, as Nick Carraway said, “a rotten crowd”, with bootlegging Gatsby better than the whole damn bunch put together."

Remember this is from a piece that is sympathetic to inequality in modern American society. And yet, as a black american, I read that and know that it is complete utter BS and a blatant lie to say that the history of the US is the history of a place that "held more fervently than any other country the belief that all comers can penetrate that elite as long as they have talent, perseverance and gumption".

That is completely untrue when Slavery and Segregation was enforced for a majority of the history of this country.


Do other people (i.e., non-black people) read that and NOT have that reaction?

Are most people walking around this country actively believing in this falsehood about this country?



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"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

http://blackpeopleonlocalnews.tumblr.com/

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huh

When we do something it was done for just reasons. Not like those folks over there

at a BBQ that wasn't about the war (cause I knew how they felt) but the fact that they felt 100% in their bones America was a force of good in the world, and these weren't necessarily Fox News republicans.

We aren't in state sponsored denial as the Japanese's and their shenanigans in WWII:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-publisher-rejects-japan-over-textbook-on-comfort-women-1421299438

But it's interesting when in textbooks slavery is less about black folks but how great Lincoln was for abolishing it. Or Jim Crow was more about how great MLK was, lol. Or the Native massacres were always about the military skirmish angle as opposed to us committing genocide.

Which leads everyone to having an understanding of American history, even the bad parts, but a FUCKED up way of looking at it

>When we do something it was done for just reasons. Not like
>those folks over there

>Jim Crow was more about how great MLK was, lol. Or the Native
>massacres were always about the military skirmish angle as
>opposed to us committing genocide.


i got the look at all the LAND we got!
we are awesome that we became this united and expansive country!
they really made it sound like there was no one in the west for me as a kid
and still kind do when i visited LA with my mom she was like why is every name spanish??
(street names store names etc etc)
yeah i bought that woman a book

>Which leads everyone to having an understanding of American
>history, even the bad parts, but a FUCKED up way of looking at
>it


YUP

>>When we do something it was done for just reasons. Not like
>>those folks over there


and very few of us realize the cognitive dissonance
because some of us encounter other cultures or sub cultures that give an opposing view
but alot of us dont

~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

about american history.

BHO's critics will take a historical beating on this one.

>Remember this is from a piece that is sympathetic to
>inequality in modern American society. And yet, as a black
>american, I read that and know that it is complete utter BS
>and a blatant lie to say that the history of the US is the
>history of a place that "held more fervently than any other
>country the belief that all comers can penetrate that elite as
>long as they have talent, perseverance and gumption".
>
>That is completely untrue when Slavery and Segregation was
>enforced for a majority of the history of this country.

And I've gotta believe that this passage isn't even considering the existence of blacks, natives, or other people of color. They're defaulting right to white males (which is very telling, IMO).

meaning all the talking heads blah blah blah.... during black history month no less.

█▆▇▅▇█▇▆▄▁▃
Big PEMFin H & z's
"I ain't no entertainer, and ain't trying to be one. I am 1 thing, a musician." � Miles

"When the music stops he falls back in the abyss."

if there was at least an asterisk on it.

kinda like i place asterisks on the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men* are created equal**, that they* are endowed by their* Creator with certain unalienable Rights***, that among these are Life, Liberty* and the Pursuit of Happiness****. That to secure these rights*, Governments are instituted among Men**, deriving their just powers from the consent***** of the governed*

*...except niggers and Indians b/c they're really closer to animals. and women b/c they're like children.

**...well, really just land-owning men of proper birth.

***...right, but niggers and women don't have rights that we have to respect.

****...yeah but niggers' and women's pursuit of happiness must yield to that of land-owning men of proper birth, of course.

*****...niggers and women can't actually 'consent' so it's best that we land-owning men govern them b/c we know what's best for them better than they do.

You see statements like that all the time and they usually get by with the caveat.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

http://blackpeopleonlocalnews.tumblr.com/

>if there was at least an asterisk on it.
>
>kinda like i place asterisks on the opening lines of the
>Declaration of Independence:
>
>We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men* are
>created equal**, that they* are endowed by their* Creator with
>certain unalienable Rights***, that among these are Life,
>Liberty* and the Pursuit of Happiness****. That to secure
>these rights*, Governments are instituted among Men*, deriving
>their just powers from the consent***** of the governed*
>
>*...except niggers and Indians b/c they're really closer to
>animals. and women b/c they're like children.
>
>**...well, really just land-owning men of proper birth.
>
>***...right, but niggers and women don't have rights that we
>have to respect.
>
>****...yeah but niggers' and women's pursuit of happiness must
>yield to that of land-owning men of proper birth, of course.
>
>*****...niggers and women can't actually 'consent' so it's
>best that we land-owning men govern them b/c we know what's
>best for them better than they do.
>

lol
YES

~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

>Do other people (i.e., non-black people) read that and NOT
>have that reaction?
>
>Are most people walking around this country actively believing
>in this falsehood about this country?


and yes



~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

West Virginia Legislation Would Criminalize Teaching Social Problems First

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/01/31/west-virginia-legislation-would-criminalize-teaching-social-problems-first


Attention West Virginia civics teachers.

Legislation was introduced this week in the West Virginia House of Delegates (HB 2107) that would prohibit the teaching of “social problems, economics, foreign affairs, the United Nations, world government, socialism or communism until basic courses in American state and local geography and history are completed.”

And if the teacher teaches “social problems” first?

He or she will be charged with a misdemeanor crime and fined.

And then fired.

The bill was introduced by Delegates John Overington (R-Berkeley), Geoff Foster (R-Putnam), Eric Householder (R-Berkeley), Kelli Sobonya (R-Cabell), Michel Moffat (R-Putnam), Ruth Rowan (R-Hampshire), Cindy Frich (R-Monogalia) and Jim Butler (R-Mason).

The legislation requires one and a half years of study in the history of the United States and the founding documents of the country, including “the study of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States with an emphasis on the Bill of Rights, using the historical, political and social environments surrounding each document at the time of its initial passage or ratification and shall include the study of historical documents such as the Federalist Papers and the Anti-Federalist Papers to firmly establish the historical background leading to the establishment of the provisions of the Constitution and Bill of Rights by the founding fathers for the purposes of safeguarding our Constitutional republic.”

That must be taught first.

The bill makes clear that “before students may participate in secondary level courses involving the study of social problems, global economics, foreign affairs, the United Nations, world government, socialism or communism, pupils shall first have completed basic instruction in geography, United States history, United States government and the government of the State of West Virginia, local governments in West Virginia, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitutions of the United States and the State of West Virginia.”

What if the study of the history of the United States involves the study of social problems, like slavery?

Is the teacher charged with a crime?

What if the study of the U.S. history involves the study of global economics?

Will the teacher be fired?

What if the study of U.S. history involves the study of a U.S. president, Woodrow Wilson, who first proposed the League of Nations?

Will the teacher be dragged out of school?

If you do mention social problems before you mention the founding documents, what, pray tell, are the penalties?

Let us go to the legislation.

“Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not exceeding $10 for each violation, and each week during which there is a violation shall constitute a separate offense.”

“If the person so convicted occupy a position in connection with the public schools, that person shall automatically be removed from that position and shall be ineligible for reappointment to that or a similar position for the period of one year.”

What if the civics teacher teaches McCarthyism before Federalism?

Goodbye civics teacher.

Hello Joe McCarthy.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License

Russell Mokhiber is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Corporate Crime Reporter. He is also founder of singlepayeraction.org, and editor of the website Morgan County USA.

http://www.quickmeme.com/img/56/56ca6053119e52fa95a1520097da7513d7ad4088559d440638d6fc9ff1e0e86f.jpg

that's pretty crazy.

^^^^^where you fucked up^^^^^

Americans, in general, know jack shit about history.

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huh

the teacher (white) was like 'yep!'
white kids in class were like 'omg what?!'

interesting day in class that day

*gave an in-depth explanation that i won't be giving right now.

There is legislation snaking is way through Georgia currently that will basically cancel the state's use of AP US History because it's sponsors (coastal Georgia conservative white folks) think the national test and curriculum that supports the test is too hard on slave owners and other garbage (doesn't explain the displacers point of view for native people removal; doesn't explain why employers abused workers during the industrial revolution; doesn't glorify America's military enough for why the Cold War ended...). It is almost satirical.


But also, had anyone but BHO said this, there wouldn't be two words said about it other than "uh-huh".

I heard it recently by a publicly elected official.

>War of Northern Aggression

Like EVER. I live in the north tho, so it figures I guess.

Or pop culture. White supremacy can't work that well if the majority are properly educated.

with a t-shirt that said something to the effect of "if we woulda known it would cause this much trouble we wouldve picked our own damned cotton!" i honestly think that about sums up their (alot of white ppl's) feelings about slavery and its legacy in a nutshell.

It wasn’t that bad.

Slave owners didn't mistreat slaves. They were investments and a good capitalist protects his investments. Slavery was a good thing that contributed to America’s prosperity and they, along with their descendents, should be proud.

All those descendants of slaves would still be in Africa, and aren't you better off for being here?

Racism is dead anyways.

We have a black president.

The founding fathers were against slavery, but didn’t have a choice.

The civil rights movement did more long term harm than good because it brought socialism to America.

Women in the workplace was the beginning of the decline of the American nuclear family.

Gays have always had the same rights as heterosexuals. Rod and Todd can’t get married to each other whether they are straight or gay.

9/11, Katrina, etc was God’s judgment upon our America’s sins, but those sins were about homos, tv shows like The Simpsons, women working (thereby emasculating white men and usurping them from their rightful place as head of everything), slaves turning against their masters, etc.

God made Adam and Eve, NOT ADAM AND STEVE!

Most of the people on food stamps are just lazy and gaming the system.

If we all just pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps, we’d all be billionaires.

Demanding ID at voting booths doesn’t blatantly favor whites or negatively, disproportionally affect minorities.
The war on drugs is a good thing. Sentences should be higher. People who do drugs should be incarcerated and then lose both the ability to become gainfully employed by most places while simultaneously losing eligibility to food stamp benefits.

A living minimum wage doesn’t REALLY benefit the poor.

Liability awards in lawsuits should be capped in all cases, no matter what the circumstances.

If a cop randomly stops you and asks for ID, just give it to him. He’s just doing his job. If people just obeyed and did what they’re told, there wouldn’t be so many incidents of police related violence.

People shouldn’t be allowed to record the police. Police should be able to intercept communications without a warrant, and chain of evidence shouldn’t matter when we KNOW he/she is guilty.

Mike Tyson is a rapist. He was convicted and that’s all that matters.

Justice is blind.

If you aren’t doing anything nefarious and have nothing to hide, then there’s no reason you should have a problem with this whole Snowden/NSA spying thing.

The MARKET will __________!!! The MARKET should be able to _______________!!!

Free health care is a bad thing.

Cops really are just doing their job. Sure, there are a few bad apples, but that shouldn’t spoil your view of the whole bunch. Cops should also be profiling people. Stop and frisk is a good thing.

Nobody dislikes Obama because he’s black, but plenty of people like him only because he’s black.



^^^^^^^^^^^^^^I could go on, but I’m sure you get my drift. People still say all this shit. All of it. Yeah, I’d say there are plenty of folks who don’t think our history is fucked up, and many of those same people DO think our present is fucked up in large part because a lot of the older ways continue to be suppressed to some degree.

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

http://blackpeopleonlocalnews.tumblr.com/

this is really good because there are a great deal of people that believe in a couple of these things but think the rest are ridiculous, it could bring some awareness that they are being ridiculous too.

The hardest thing to be in America is an educated, white male.
All that stuff isn't their fault.
It's the right of the conqueror to do as they like with the spoils.
Heard a white dude say the other day that feeling bad about white privilege is a sin because it's insulting God for having blessed him with more opportunity.

at least nothing lasts forever.

because I just cant resist shit like that

It might even be more hilarious than his 2016 Obama movie.

He basically tries to school us on how whenever we chose to bring up those those negative things like slavery, genocide, imperialism, we're being one sided, and dishonest about america's awesomeness

how the Natives conquered each other anyway, and they suck at business, and most of them really just died of diseases. like smallpox.

And Yeah, slavery was bad and wrong, but everyone everywhere had slaves. (of course the "africans sold slaves too" thing is in there too) and how we fought a civil war over it, and the good guys won, because, America.

How we invaded iraq we let the iraqi's keep their oil, because that's how we get down.

It's all over the place, but my favorite part might have been Saul Alinsky. You know that guy no one heard of until conservatives pulled his name out of their ass a couple years back like he was somehow Liberal Jesus? Apparently he's the guy Obama, (and flashback impressionable college Hilary) gets marching orders from... I learned that he used to hang out with Al Capone enforcer Frank Nitty, and takes his cues from Lucifer. He sounds pretty amazing, actually.

There's so much more. If you like bad documentaries, and your blood pressure isn't a problem, give it a whirl.

Dude is up there with frantz fanon on hbcu campuses


does it really matter?

wonder what bin's doing?
http://i.imgur.com/phECCMp.jpg

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"One of the most important things in life is what Judge Learned Hand described as 'that ever-gnawing inner doubt as to whether you're r

It's an interesting dilemma: Facts vs. emotions.

In my very white experience, most (white) people's ideas of the US are based on what the Declaration and the Preamble say, and not on the practical specifics of what they meant at the time to the people writing and reading them.

I mean, everyone whose education was worth a damn knows that the Constitution considered a slave 3/5 of a person for a census, but not a person otherwise.
Everyone whose education was worth a damn knows what has gone on in the name of Christ for millennia.
Everyone knows Washington and Jefferson owned slaves.
Everyone knows we killed millions of natives, and continued to do so because they had the gall to fight against our people who tried to take their land.
Everyone knows about the WWII internment camps.

Everyone whose education was worth a damn knows these things, but for many non-critical thinkers, there's a difference between stating facts and outright acknowledging them as misdeeds, or drawing parallels between our past misdeeds and someone else's present misdeeds. Most people aren't balanced enough to handle it, especially not at a Prayer Breakfast, not the most tactful place to issue this reminder.