SOTOMAYOR, WHITE MEN & GOOD DECISIONS
Sotomayor, White Men & Good Decisions
FACT OR FICTION
President Obama has picked Sonja Sotomayor to be replace David Souter who as indicated he will be retiring at the end of this Supreme Court session. Ms. Sotomayor will make history as President Obama has made history. She will be the first Latina American to sit on the United States Supreme Court as President Obama is the first person of color to sit in the White’s House. Isn’t it amazing that in 2009 some 400 years after Columbus discovered India, that turned out to be what is not called North America that there are still positions in government and business that people of color have never held? More so than not, the people of color were, and are not achieving this positions because of racism based basically on the decisions of white males. White males have shown over and over again that they believe the more cherished position of power in America should be held by them and them alone. Now that these racist barriers are being broken these same white males have the nerve to call Ms. Sotomayor a racist, or reverse racist if you are listening to Rush Limbaugh. Why?
Ms Sotomayor “speaking at Berkeley's law school in 2001 at a conference about race and gender, she said, "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life." That statement is not racist, it is a fact. Let’s check the record. Because Columbus thought he was India when he landed on the shores of North America he called the people that he found here “Indians.” These so-called Indians fed Columbus and his band of white males. To my understanding there was a couple of Africans that made this trip also but were in control of navigating the boats but had no control over the mission. White men in return conquered the indigenous people’s land, almost annihilated the people, and those that weren’t annihilated were and are forced to live on reservations. I know, the Supreme Court didn’t exist when this happened but the point being made is; was this a good decision made by white males? Let me go on.
Once the country is established by white males at the expense of the indigenous people these same white males decided to go to Africa to get her people, and enslave them. This inhuman bondage by white men was upheld as legal by the United States Supreme Court. The court even went so far as to say that it took five Black people to equal three white people. The court in essence decided it was the law that Black people were subhuman to white people. Hummm. All white males were sitting on the Supreme Court. Would you call that a good decision by white males? This is not a racist, or reverse racist making this up. These are the facts!
It was decided by white males, on the Supreme Court, that only white males would be allowed to vote in this land wrenched from the indigenous people who helped the ancestors of these white males to survive.
A white male decided to go into Iraq and kill tens of thousands of Iraqis and thousand of American soldiers under false pretenses. These same white males decided to torture detainees which is clearly against the laws and moral standards of this great nation. They even got a Black female, Condeleeza Rice, to go along with these poor decisions of white males. She was going along with the flow. George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, some call him Dick, Donald Rumsfeld, et al has ruined the international image of America. And now some of these strongest republicans such as, Newt Gingrich, Pat Buchannan, Sean Hannity, etc. are calling Judge Sotomayor a racist because she says that she could make better decisions than was made by white males. Well for me that is a no-brainer. I believe a poodle could be trained to make better decisions that what history shows white males have made. What trips me out is that the head of the republican party, Michael Steele, a Black man, would eventually buy into this nonsense. I say eventually, because initially in late May Steele was advising republicans to back off of these accusations. However, in early June his song had changed. I am going to make one more point and I am through.
One of the many reasons that Michael Steele was chosen to lead the republican party was to try and offset Black people’s support for the democratic party. The thinking was that if Black people saw a Black face as the republican head then some black people would consider switching support. Repulican strategist calculate that if they can get ten per cent of Black support from the democrats then this will be enough to win all major elections for the republican party. This strategy goes to show that the white males running the republican party do not understand Black people. Yes we have race pride. And we like to support our own. But just being Black is not enough for most Black people to support another Black person. Old Rush tried to say this was the case with Colon Powell. He wouldn’t accept General Powell’s analysis that he supported then Barack Obama for President because he was the best candidate, and because he was concerned with the direction and demeanor of the republican party. Noooo. According to Rush that couldn’t have been General Powell’s logic. According to Rush, General Powell supported then Barack Obama strictly because he was Black.
Let me give you republican strategist some advise. You are selling Black people short. We are more sophisticated than what you are given us credit. A black face with poor policies will not get the bulk of Black people’s support. Calling Judge Sotomayor a racist will help you keep that old white male conservative support but it will not garner you support for any other demographic. There is a wind of change occurring in this country. This past presidential election saw all demographics except for old white males to be in support of the change. You are trying to put a Black face on old policies. The Bible says you can’t put new wine in old wineskins. Michael Steele is definitely something new, but you won’t let him take you in a new direction. Your reluctance to keep up with the change is causing you to run the risk of becoming an old historic relic. In fact, if you don’t change then you will cause the rise of a viable third party. You can either get with the change or get caught up in the change’s currents. Your position is really harming the very fabric of America. It is a poor strategy to say if I can win then I will go on a search and destroy mission. That only weakens the country. I run a consultant business. For the right price I will give you some good advice. Judge Sotomayor’s statement is not racist. It is a statement of fact. I can help you make better decisions. Keep reading this blog. Thank you for listening to AjabuSpeaks.
Rev. Ajabu
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Reverend,
How can you look at an individual Republican senator and say he is any different than Democrats? Nancy Pelosi's husband is making money off the deals she makes in Congress. And I don't even want to go into Barney Frank. Ted Kennedy ran a woman into a lake and didn't tell anybody about it for 8 hours. There is PLENTY of immorality to go around. Be honest.
Barack Obama is running our foreign policy now, Reverend. If we are pumping up the unrest in Iran, it is on his watch. But the truth is, their election was a scam and their young people are not going to sit by and idly take it.
When are you going to come out and admit that you are a Democrat? You have nothing positive to say about Republicans and you cast a blind eye toward despicable Democrats....and there are PLENTY of both to go around. Such is the human condition. Stop being so hypocritical and act as though either party is on higher ground here.
....and of COURSE the mullahs and Achmadinejad are claiming that we are behind their unrest. They ALWAYS look to blame America. Why would you expect them to say otherwise? They certainly never take responsibility for their own problems.
http://mces.blogspot.com/2009/06/please-help.html
There are websites like this all over the web and on facebook.
The kids are fighting this regime. They need our prayers for their freedom. Iran is a terrorist regime. Their people are not the problem. Their government is the problem. And Bush was right about them. They are exporting terror all over the world. They are a part of the axis of evil. Fortunately, their own good people are rising up in protest.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/06/18/Iran-election-protests-hit-US-streets/UPI-41951245331664/
As I said. The educated from Iran have left their country and are praying to be able to return. Pray for them. I personally know several transplanted Iranians who have left. They want to go home. But their home has become a dictatorship. The winds of freedom are blowing. Their evil dictatorship is self-destructing.
Dawn,
Now you have joined forces with Marshall. Both of you have called me a democrat. Not true. I am a Christian. It just so happens not that the pendulum of integrity has swung toward the democrats. People calling themselves republican are self destructing which reflects on the party and is causing its demise. My eye is not blind to democrats, their infedelity is not in the news. Then I am not aware of Barney Frank claiming to be traveling the moral road as Ensign has. Everyone knows that Barney Frank's, in my opinion, behavior is dispicable. Openly gay and openly outside the will of God in my opinion. However, I can still love the person while I hate the sin. Same with Ensign. However, Ensign just looks so hypocritical in light of the strong moral stances that he has taken.
Yes, President Obama is running U.S. foreign policy. And in Iran, I think he is taking the right position. McCain is still saying that the U.S. should get involved in Iran. No way. U.S. involvement in Iran would make the U.S. a lightening rod. It is not America's job to police or determine what is going on in Iran. The Iranina people should do that, as the American people did when George W. Bush was accused of stealing the first election of his predsidentcy. What ever the problem be in Iran, we need to let the Iranian people work it out. You and John tickle me. I am not a democract, I am Christian. God bless you and yours!!
Reverend,
If you are a Christian, you know that neither party holds the high ground. It isn't shifting back and forth. Just because you TRY to live a Christian lifestyle and stumble does not make you more of a sinner than the person who chooses to ignore Christ. Our children are better off knowing right and wrong, sin and grace than they are in a culture that believes that anything goes. I just wish that Ensign would resign.
Oh, yeah. How many times have I told you that John McCain was not "my man". I held my nose and voted for him. Nobody would EVER call McCain a conservative. He's barely a Republican.
Just remember as you claim the Republican party to be disintegrating. 40% of Americans define themselves as conservative. Almost twice the number who call themselves liberal. When Republican and conservative become synonymous again, the party will grow again.
Colin Powell is just wrong. I respect him, but he is wrong. Liberal Republicans lose elections. Conservative Republicans win elections. The Republican party refuses to see what is plain as day. So you see....I do not tag myself as a republican. I am a conservative. I can support conservative democrats....people like Evan Bayh. I support conservatives. I support smaller government, lower taxes, personal responsibility and freedom....for everyone.
Dawn,
All do respect, but in my humble opinion I think the Republican party would get much more support supporting the position of Colon Powell than Rush Limbaugh, Newt Gingrich, or Pat Buchannan. Now the following is an example of a step in the right direction. It just needed to include reparations for our forefathers and mothers free labor:
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Apologizing for the enslavement and racial segregation of African-Americans.
Whereas, during the history of the Nation, the United States has grown into a symbol of democracy and freedom around the world;
Whereas the legacy of African-Americans is interwoven with the very fabric of the democracy and freedom of the United States;
Whereas millions of Africans and their descendants were enslaved in the United States and the 13 American colonies from 1619 through 1865;
Whereas Africans forced into slavery were brutalized, humiliated, dehumanized, and subjected to the indignity of being stripped of their names and heritage;
Whereas many enslaved families were torn apart after family members were sold separately;
Whereas the system of slavery and the visceral racism against people of African descent upon which it depended became enmeshed in the social fabric of the United States;
Whereas slavery was not officially abolished until the ratification of the 13th amendment to the Constitution of the United States in 1865, after the end of the Civil War;
Whereas after emancipation from 246 years of slavery, African-Americans soon saw the fleeting political, social, and economic gains they made during Reconstruction eviscerated by virulent racism, lynchings, disenfranchisement, Black Codes, and racial segregation laws that imposed a rigid system of officially sanctioned racial segregation in virtually all areas of life;
Whereas the system of de jure racial segregation known as ``Jim Crow'', which arose in certain parts of the United States after the Civil War to create separate and unequal societies for Whites and African-Americans, was a direct result of the racism against people of African descent that was engendered by slavery;
Whereas the system of Jim Crow laws officially existed until the 1960s--a century after the official end of slavery in the United States--until Congress took action to end it, but the vestiges of Jim Crow continue to this day;
Whereas African-Americans continue to suffer from the consequences of slavery and Jim Crow laws--long after both systems were formally abolished--through enormous damage and loss, both tangible and intangible, including the loss of human dignity and liberty;
Whereas the story of the enslavement and de jure segregation of African-Americans and the dehumanizing atrocities committed against them should not be purged from or minimized in the telling of the history of the United States;
Whereas those African-Americans who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow laws, and their descendants, exemplify the strength of the human character and provide a model of courage, commitment, and perseverance;
Whereas, on July 8, 2003, during a trip to Goree Island, Senegal, a former slave port, President George W. Bush acknowledged the continuing legacy of slavery in life in the United States and the need to confront that legacy, when he stated that slavery ``was . . . one of the greatest crimes of history . . . The racial bigotry fed by slavery did not end with slavery or with segregation. And many of the issues that still trouble America have roots in the bitter experience of other times. But however long the journey, our destiny is set: liberty and justice for all.'';
Whereas President Bill Clinton also acknowledged the deep-seated problems caused by the continuing legacy of racism against African-Americans that began with slavery, when he initiated a national dialogue about race;
Whereas an apology for centuries of brutal dehumanization and injustices cannot erase the past, but confession of the wrongs committed and a formal apology to African-Americans will help bind the wounds of the Nation that are rooted in slavery and can speed racial healing and reconciliation and help the people of the United States understand the past and honor the history of all people of the United States;
Whereas the legislatures of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the States of Alabama, Florida, Maryland, and North Carolina have taken the lead in adopting resolutions officially expressing appropriate remorse for slavery, and other State legislatures are considering similar resolutions; and
Whereas it is important for the people of the United States, who legally recognized slavery through the Constitution and the laws of the United States, to make a formal apology for slavery and for its successor, Jim Crow, so they can move forward and seek reconciliation, justice, and harmony for all people of the United States: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring),
That the sense of the Congress is the following:
(1) Apology for the enslavement and segregation of african-americans.--The Congress--
(A) acknowledges the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow laws;
(B) apologizes to African-Americans on behalf of the people of the United States, for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow laws; and
(C) expresses its recommitment to the principle that all people are created equal and endowed with inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and calls on all people of the United States to work toward eliminating racial prejudices, injustices, and discrimination from our society.
(2) Disclaimer.--Nothing in this resolution--
(A) authorizes or supports any claim against the United States; or
(B) serves as a settlement of any claim against the United States.
How can anyone dispute any of that? But the truth is, Reverend, women, the weaker sex, received the right to vote AFTER African American men, and continue, to this day to face more discrimination....look how Hillary was treated versus President Obama...and every day, face abuse, murder, rape.
There is a lot of pain in this world Reverend. We can sit in it and live in it, or we can learn to live with one another in grace.
I choose grace, even as one who suffered abuse.
And Jesus has rewarded that with his peace. You will never find the same peace until you receive the same revelation.
Are African American and White American men going to pay reparations to the mothers of their children who fed, clothed, cared for their children while fathers left them without support? Are men going to pay reparations for all the work at home that women put in unpaid?
This can go on ad nauseum, Reverend. I attest that women have put in more free labor than any other class of people.
Dawn (Conservative Christian)
Women did receive the right to vote after African American men. And to this day face discrimination. I don't think that women, white women specifically, experience more discrimination than people of African descent, but I will agree that women still experience discrimination in good ol' America. To me, that is why women across all definitions should be supporting Judge Sotomayor to be succesful in becoming the next Supreme Court Justice. When you look at who made the decisions concerning the facts to which you point, again we see it was WHITE MEN!! Now we have a Black man trying to right some of that wrong and again WHITE MEN are saying that Judge Sotomayor is a racist because she can make better decisions than the decisions that have been tradictionally made by WHITE MEN. Even though the gender argument has not been raised by WHITE MEN I would not be surprised of its existence lurking somewhere in the corridors of some WHITE MEN'S thought.
Now what are you talking about when you say that Hillary was discriminated against as opposed to how President Obama was treated? I don't understand. Say more.
Living in grace does not mean that we deny the truth. WHITE MEN have traditionally made some obvious bad decisions. To be fair, others have too, including this writer. However, it appears that WHITE MEN continue to try to hold on to the benefits that they received from their bad decisions. They call their attempt to hold on to these ill gotton gains as being a conservative. This is why Senator Obama was able to become President Obama. The overwhelming majority of people voted for a change from this conservatism. John McCain is leading the charge for American foreign policy to be in Iran as it has traditionally been in the world. No! No! No! The country cannot go back. We must go forward.
Now if a woman has a problem with being a mother she is in control of that. I do not support a man not supporting any child that he fathered. But we all understand that a woman is in control of her body. If she gives sex to a man who would act in this way then she has only herself to blame for giving up her body. It is a very weak argument to try to equate this to slavery. People of African descent did not volunteer for slavery. We did not willing step up to be enslaved. To try and equate the two is very offensive. Decrease the hate, increase the love. God bless.
You simply have got to be kidding, right? I have a big event to run today. I don't have time to answer this in detail.
But this is an incredibly patronizing comment.
Even in the most progressive of homes, women still carry the preponderance of the labor. Even if that woman provides an equal amount of income to the household.
Men have not carried the load.
It is time for you to pay up.
Dawn (Conservative Christian)
Answer when you got time. Are you telling me your husband is not giving you any financial assitance? Just answer more fully when you have time. God bless.
Reverend
One thing I know with great certainty, most of the most rabid haters are Conservative and Republican. I have never seen the neo nazis,the skin heads, the neo cons, the kkk claim the Democratic Party. As I listed previously, people like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Newt Gingrich, Dick Cheney, and many other conservative Republicans are your people.
We all know that there have been indescretions among Democrats and Republicans but it is the conservative Republicans who love to beat everybody over the head with their moral uprightness. Everybody else is immoral. That is why we are shocked when we find Sen Larry Craig in a toilet picking up men and the big evangelist who has 2 million evangelicals under his leadership; he turned out to be on drugs and has a gay lover. The difference is the conservative crowd looks down on the other sinners as if they are so morally correct.
I will not dignify the pure ignorance of Dawn on Slavery. She thinks she is an expert on everything. We are the descendants of slaves and we have untold stories that we can talk about without going to google and the internet. I want to see what Dawn has to say about her Native Americans who are also victims of genocide by Whites.
Pastor, there is not much left after your eloquent exigesis of Slavery in America. Poor Dawn can't comprehend the basic facts on racism and the genocidal behavior of Whites in America. She just doesn't get it.
john
John
Thank you for your response. However, there is at least one democrat that was an admitted member of the KKK. Racist behavior transcends party lines but still seem to rest overwhelmingly with white males. Check the following on Robert Byrd, a democratic Senator, and a white male:
Byrd joined the Ku Klux Klan when he was 24 in 1942. His local chapter unanimously elected him Exalted Cyclops.[6]
According to Byrd, a Klan official told him, "You have a talent for leadership, Bob... The country needs young men like you in the leadership of the nation." Byrd later recalled, "suddenly lights flashed in my mind! Someone important had recognized my abilities! I was only 23 or 24 years old, and the thought of a political career had never really hit me. But strike me that night, it did."[6] Byrd held the titles Kleagle (recruiter) and Exalted Cyclops.[6]
In 1944, Byrd wrote to segregationist Mississippi Senator Theodore Bilbo:[9]
“ I shall never fight in the armed forces with a Negro by my side... Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds. ”
— Robert C. Byrd, in a letter to Sen. Theodore Bilbo (D-MS), 1944, [6][10]