Why won't African-Americans support gays?

"Historically, African Americans have not supported gay rights in general and gay marriage in particular in any significant numbers.

Within the community, there are unspoken concerns, particularly among older people, that to accept gays as victims of discrimination somehow diminishes the discrimination blacks have endured."

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2019505673_gaymarriage24m.html

This is shameful and diminishes the Civil Rights movement of the '60's.

"I still hear people say that I should not be talking about the rights of lesbian and gay people and I should stick to the issue of racial justice. But I hasten to remind them that Martin Luther King Jr. said, 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.' I appeal to everyone who believes in Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream to make room at the table of brother- and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people." 

- Coretta Scott King, widow of Martin Luther King, Jr.

On violence within racial/ethnic minority communities in Seattle

The mother of an African-American killed this year made this recent statement on local KING TV:

"The African-American community is very small. So people know who did this. People, their family, aunts, uncles, they know that these kids [suspects] are in trouble . . . in and out of jail, in and out of juvenile. They need to start thinking about asking their kids some questions. As a community, we need to get together, step forward, and take back our streets. We cannot have this many murderers in Seattle, in the African-American community. Gregory Wayne Anderson was murdered by an African-American. Nicole Westbrook was murdered by an African-American. Desmond Jackson was murdered by an African-American. And Danny [Vega] was murdered by an African-American. We cannot have this many murderers running our streets. They have to be connected. The south-end gang we know was involved in Desmond's murder. The families who live in the south end—you need to collect your family members so that we can clean up our streets. Your kids can go to jail, but at least you get to talk to them. Families in this city, in New Mexico, in Texas, are suffering. And we need justice. We need justice."


http://www.seattleweekly.com/2012-10-17/news/nicole-westbrook-in-the-way-of-the-gun/5/

Why people run after Metro buses

Even for a route that is supposed to run every 15 minutes ("Why don't people just wait for the next one?"), if one misses a bus, the next one might very well not be for another 25 or 30 minutes.

Why this is so is somewhat of a mystery.  The usual suspects ("wheel-chair riders" or "too much traffic on the road" or "the bus broke down") don't add up, for instance, in the morning non-rush hour, when there are neither many riders or a lot of traffic on the road.

Suffice it to say that for many Metro riders, there is ample reason to try to get on that bus that is still at the bus-stop and NOT wait for the "next one."

As Metro cannot even guarantee regular bus service in the Tunnel between the International District and downtown, even for buses beginning their route their, such as the 71, 72, 73, it seems difficult to believe that the additional projects underway (subway and streetcars) will be much better.

Another example, the #36 schedule has it running every 10 minutes from downtown through the International District to Beacon Hill.  But waiting 15 minutes for a #36 on Third Avenue is common.

Does upper management Metro know about this?  Does it care at all?  Who loses anything if the buses don't run according to schedule except for the riders?

The results of everyday macro- and micro-mismanagement at Metro are evident, but no one seems to care.

Considering how much money gets thrown at Metro (and the frequent fare increases), one might expect better management.

* * * * *

Take for example today.  To get to Madison Valley from downtown, it took 35 minutes, the bus #11 being 16 minutes late.  From Madison Valley to Queen Anne, it took an hour and a half, the #8 being 15 minutes late and the #2/#13 being 40 minutes late.

 A total of an hour and 11 minutes spent WAITING for three buses!

I'VE GOT OTHER THINGS TO DO!  

And Metro, in its latest full-page ad (The Stranger 9/26/2012, p. 14) boasts of 91% rider satisfaction!

* * * * *

Maybe Metro should lower the boom on bus drivers who take long breaks at the end of their respective bus lines, at the price of beginning their routes late.  I have noticed that when buses are running late, some bus drivers will insist on taking a full break when they get to the terminal point, thus causing the bus to be late from then on out until that bus driver signs off for the day.

More responsible driver will adhere to the printed schedule.  These bus drivers should receive recognition for their committment and punctuality.

Metro bus drivers get breaks lasting anywhere from 10-20 minutes at the end of the line, i.e., about every hour (or less) of driving.  Do they really need to insist on taking a "full" 20 minute break each time they get to the end of the line if the bus is behind schedule?

What about "eliminating waste" at Metro by eliminating deadbeat bus drivers who are consistently late and blame it all on traffic and wheel-chair riders..and always take 20 minutes at the end of a run to grab a sandwich, smoke, sleep, etc. no matter how busy the time of day?

"S/he was so unreasonable! Other people are so plain stupid."

"S/he is so dense.  Pitiful, really pitiful.  Some people are just plain stupid.  How they get away with it?  'Cause society's stupid, too, you know?   By the way, I am not just cool, I am VERY cool.   And, what's more, I am right and I KNOW IT."

Who does this sound like?
Do you from time to time bump into people like that?

"I can tell you off, but you try that on me, buddy, and I'm gonna kick your ass."

America's natural resources (water, coal, gasoline, etc.) are not infinite

It goes without saying that America's natural resources (water, coal, etc.) are not infinite, but even in an era where groceries are not permitted to use plastic bags for customers, one might think that this realization has not really sunk into the consciousness of citizens.

Through the grapevine, I have heard the following story:

"At the YMCA, where I am a member and go regularly, I notice a guy, an older African-American, in the shower area who takes 40 minute hot showers and leaves a huge puddle of suds that practically clogs the nearby drain.  He'll go off without turning the shower off and return several minutes later.

Today I noticed him standing between two shower areas, both on and turned at full blast.  He wasn't even really using the other shower.

When  I asked if I were still using that shower head, he said, "yes."  I muttered something about "waste" but did not pursue the matter.

If I had and he had yelled at or threatened me, I imagined that the other guys showering would have said, "Well, you asked for it."   Or "you're not the Y.  Butt out of matters that aren't yours.  It's not your water."

To me, this smacks of 'don't snitch' (especially if the guy, who appears possibly dangerous, had lunged at or taken a swing at me)."


* * * * *

Conserving energy in the 21st century is everyone's responsibility, and this includes historically disadvantaged minorities.

Scars left by the civil rights movement of the 60s that no one speaks of

The civil rights movement of the 60s was a complex social phenomenon, as one who lived through can personally attest to.  I strongly believe in civil rights for all people in our country.  But one of the legacies of the civil rights was negative:  it coincided with, if not helped spawn, waves of urban violence that continue, justified in the name of oppression and prejudice.

Many took advantage of and hid behind the banner of civil rights to physically attack persons and their property, installing unspoken fear in the hearts and minds of not just white people but other minorities as well.

This chapter of modern U.S. history has been hidden.

People who are growing up in the early 21st century need to know about really happened to hundreds of thousands, if not millions of young Americans 45 years ago.  Anyone growing up in the '60s in any of the big cities with a substantial African-American population has to have been aware of the fear and violence of those years (and beyond), and I can only guess at the percentage of those people who were actually physically beaten and traumatized by young African-Americans on the rampage.

Racial prejudice is as complex a phenomenon as the civil rights movement of the 60s was.

One of the reasons for racial prejudice is the violent behavior so disproportionately high among African-Americans as compared to other groups.  Whenever there inter-racial violence, there is bound to be a desire for justice, translated oftentimes into vengeance.

As long as the disproportionately high violent crimes committed by African-Americans is hidden or even denied by the media as well as by African-Americans themselves, the problem will not be addressed, much less solved.

Blaming or putting the responsibility on society, the schools, police, white people, history, Jews, Asians, Hispanics, etc. instead of on themselves to raise their children with high standards of ethical conduct, African-American parents will continue to perpetuate the cycle of inappropriate, destructive, self-pitying behaviors (violence, drugs, low levels of educational attainment...).

* * * * *

The curious thing is that the problem of urban violence has continued to infect the younger generations after the Civil Rights movement.  Anyone who has been beaten up, harassed, threatened, or yelled at by a hostile person of color will be unable to forget the experience.

The Civil Rights movement has not been examined in its entirety.  The legacy was not wholly positive:  it left younger generations to see themselves as victims and to victimize others.  Violence was born of violence until one recognizes instead of denying it, renounces it instead of rationalize or even glorify it.  

* * * * *

I for one would be very gratified if one day before I die that someone or ones had the courage and determination to do research for a book on the U.S. civil rights movement that actually looked at victims of urban violence that have been overlooked, i.e., those who were spat on, kicked, beaten, robbed and called racial slurs by rampaging young African-Americans (who took advantage of the political climate and disorder to commit such offenses).

But at this point in my life, I don't think it will happen.

The truth is difficult and requires a lot of courage.

It starts by remembering.

Freedom and courage

Freedom and courage are inextricably bound:  freedom does not exist except in name alone unless it is accompanied by courage, an act of courage.

Most people live in fear, fear of the opinions of others especially.  The "herd mentality" I have discovered exists across the political spectrum:  "Most people think X, therefore X must be true.  And I think X, too."
"What would others say (about me)?"

Jeering at others, throwing stones at others is all too common in our society.  I don't really think that bullying exists as a phenomenon only among children or teenagers:  Adults are as adept if not more, as my experiences with Yelp attest to.

The test of true convictions is that one does not allow the intimidation or bullying by others to cause one to recoil and fear and renounce those convictions.

This then is the cost of freedom:  being ostracized, being pilloried, being punished.  But if those beliefs are truly part of some core value(s) that one holds, one will choose to pay the price.

Moreover, peer pressure and the fear of being seen as having views and thoughts different from those of the peer group lead to a fear of "thinking outside the box."  Freedom of thought requires that one be willing to think independently of the opinions of the particular peer group one belongs to.  Hence, the battle of public opinion, the "bandwagon" effect, etc.

To be able to evaluate a society objectively, both pros and cons, to have the capacity to choose to leave behind the beliefs one has tenaciously clung to and that have been unchallenged due to sheer inertia as well as the fear of incurring the wrath and displeasure of the peer group is a particular kind of freedom with a high price that most people will not pay.

We're so interested in the U.S. (and in the West, in general, as well as most of the industrialized world) in "looking good," as if the reward of having others' admiration, esteem, and support were the be-all, end-all of things.  Yes, "we sell ourselves" everyday, metaphorically and sometimes literally.  Herein lies the conflict between the values of a capitalist society and one with spiritual values, notwithstanding the peculiar combination of materialism and faith that seeks to reconcile the two and at least ostensibly has done, at least in the eyes of its adherents.