Admit it. Black or white you have thought about it; maybe half-joked to a friend about it. Will black people show out with street parties and gunfire in the air on election night if Senator Barack Obama wins? Will there be riots if he loses?
No doubt cable and network news reporters will be on the streets in droves looking for hapless black folks to interview - for the most sensational appeal, rather than for true journalistic merit. And equally likely, they will have no difficulty finding those willing to share their exuberance at the coming of Barack the messiah and what it will all mean for Black America. I fully expect to hear - at least once - the proclamation that it is now 'our time.'
I could hope that news clip played on November 4 through 5 show people who look like me only in muted celebration, referring to Senator Obama's accomplishment in its appropriate historic and political context. I could hope, but I rather reserve my hopes for a mild winter. I know some black person will be on television acting the fool; as I am sure some white person will voice their fears that the country will certainly go to hell with a black man at the helm.
True, the televised actions of a few may dull our victory just a bit. Yes, some people may be a bit embarrassed to go to work on Wednesday morning. However, it is undeniably an important moment in history. Stay up and watch anyway, at home or with friends. See the tallies come in and the newcasts from around the nation. Be watching...how else will you see me in my Obama henley firing into the air at my street dance?
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Screw you poor people
The 40-something degree days in October caught me off guard, so I've been scrambling to stock up on cold weather clothing and accessories for my young sons. After I realized that the boys were losing a glove and/or hat almost every time they walked outside the door I have become particularly fond of Target's hat and gloves sets for $2.99.
Finding scarves (important for my son who sometimes has respiratory trouble) proved a bit more problematic. Target did not have them and neither did WalMart, so I visited The Children's Place - a store I happen to love. Of course they had scarves - for $6.50. They also had gloves and hats - some $6.50, some $8.50 for a single hat or pair of gloves. That is more than four times the cost of the Target ones. The TCP hats and gloves were obviously better quality, but I would not say they were four times better.
I was annoyed not just at the effect on my pocket, but also at what I think is the disparity between the access of the haves and the have-nots. Here is the scenario: A poor family includes a young boy with asthma. His doctor suggests he wear a scarf over his mouth and nose and a warm hat to control his episodes. The family can only afford the cheaper items from WalMart or Target - not lined, not as warm - so he has more episodes. He gets sick because his family is poor.
Ok, that takes some imagination and a leap of faith, but the disparity is glaring in other areas. Besides the obvious benefits of smaller class sizes and better resources, children who are not going to wealthy private schools are not making the connections that will have fiscal benefits in the future. Families who rely on WIC or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program often cannot afford to feed themselves. In order to buy enough food, they make decisions to bypass fruits and vegetables - usually more expensive than less healthy options. (What is the healthy equivalent to McDonald's $1 menu?) Is there any wonder diabetes, hypertension, obesity and heart conditions are rampant through poor communities? The poor medical condition of destitute families is exacerbated by the lack of preventative and routine medical care - due of course, to their inabililty to pay for insurance or uncovered doctor's visits.
Say what you will about John Edwards's adulterous scandal, but when he was in the election race at least there was a real conversation about poverty in this country. With all due respect to President-in-waiting Obama, the $250,000 mark he banters about is a dreamworld away for waitresses and day laborers supporting families on less than the minimum wage.
Finding scarves (important for my son who sometimes has respiratory trouble) proved a bit more problematic. Target did not have them and neither did WalMart, so I visited The Children's Place - a store I happen to love. Of course they had scarves - for $6.50. They also had gloves and hats - some $6.50, some $8.50 for a single hat or pair of gloves. That is more than four times the cost of the Target ones. The TCP hats and gloves were obviously better quality, but I would not say they were four times better.
I was annoyed not just at the effect on my pocket, but also at what I think is the disparity between the access of the haves and the have-nots. Here is the scenario: A poor family includes a young boy with asthma. His doctor suggests he wear a scarf over his mouth and nose and a warm hat to control his episodes. The family can only afford the cheaper items from WalMart or Target - not lined, not as warm - so he has more episodes. He gets sick because his family is poor.
Ok, that takes some imagination and a leap of faith, but the disparity is glaring in other areas. Besides the obvious benefits of smaller class sizes and better resources, children who are not going to wealthy private schools are not making the connections that will have fiscal benefits in the future. Families who rely on WIC or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program often cannot afford to feed themselves. In order to buy enough food, they make decisions to bypass fruits and vegetables - usually more expensive than less healthy options. (What is the healthy equivalent to McDonald's $1 menu?) Is there any wonder diabetes, hypertension, obesity and heart conditions are rampant through poor communities? The poor medical condition of destitute families is exacerbated by the lack of preventative and routine medical care - due of course, to their inabililty to pay for insurance or uncovered doctor's visits.
Say what you will about John Edwards's adulterous scandal, but when he was in the election race at least there was a real conversation about poverty in this country. With all due respect to President-in-waiting Obama, the $250,000 mark he banters about is a dreamworld away for waitresses and day laborers supporting families on less than the minimum wage.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Made by adversity
I am reading Standing Tall, the autobiography of famed women's college basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer. The book relays Stringer's growing up, family, challenges and successes interwoven with the history and and evolution of women's basketball. I am not big on biographies, or on women's basketball, so I am not sure why my husband chose this book as a birthday present and went to the trouble of getting it autographed by Stringer (currently coach of the team at Rutgers University, here in New Jersey). I am glad he did though; it has been a good read.
Coach Stringer's successes have been hard-earned. She has faced racism, sexism and a more than her fair share of family tragedy, but persevered to play an integral role in the growth of women's sports and to achieve great success for her teams and for herself. The enormity of the personal tragedies this woman has experienced is awesome to me. Her father died in his 40s. Her daughter, when just a toddler, suffered paralysis and irreversible brain damage as a result of misdiagnosed spinal meningitis and undetected pressure in her brain. Her husband of 20 years died of a massive heart attack when he was only 47 years old. Her son's promising football career was derailed by a false association with a shooting. Just last year, her life became a whirlwind of media craziness after she and her team were called 'nappy headed 'hos' by radio host Don Imus.
I admire that Stringer does not claim to have taken every adversity in stride; rather she is brutally honest about her crippling grief, despondence and anger. I can understand the anger. How much is one person expected to bear in a life time? I have had reason to ask that question over the last couple of years; my best friend lost her mother, boyfriend and sister in less than three years. After her most recent loss and in the middle of a fit of crying, she said "it's too much." I agreed.
As Stringer says in her book, some people prefer to find solace in the idea that there is a reason for everything - that God in His infinite wisdom makes or allows things to happen to some ultimate good end. That idea made no sense to Stringer and it brought her no solace. The idea that made the most sense to her is that some people suffer so they learn lessons they can pass to others to bring comfort to them. Of course, in her time of grief she did not want to be a comforter to others. She did not want to learn those lessons. In her life though, she has had many opportunities to draw on those lessons and impact the girls she coached and mentored.
If you accept that idea though, you have to ask: if you have not met great adversity in your life does it mean that there is no great purpose to your life?
Coach Stringer's successes have been hard-earned. She has faced racism, sexism and a more than her fair share of family tragedy, but persevered to play an integral role in the growth of women's sports and to achieve great success for her teams and for herself. The enormity of the personal tragedies this woman has experienced is awesome to me. Her father died in his 40s. Her daughter, when just a toddler, suffered paralysis and irreversible brain damage as a result of misdiagnosed spinal meningitis and undetected pressure in her brain. Her husband of 20 years died of a massive heart attack when he was only 47 years old. Her son's promising football career was derailed by a false association with a shooting. Just last year, her life became a whirlwind of media craziness after she and her team were called 'nappy headed 'hos' by radio host Don Imus.
I admire that Stringer does not claim to have taken every adversity in stride; rather she is brutally honest about her crippling grief, despondence and anger. I can understand the anger. How much is one person expected to bear in a life time? I have had reason to ask that question over the last couple of years; my best friend lost her mother, boyfriend and sister in less than three years. After her most recent loss and in the middle of a fit of crying, she said "it's too much." I agreed.
As Stringer says in her book, some people prefer to find solace in the idea that there is a reason for everything - that God in His infinite wisdom makes or allows things to happen to some ultimate good end. That idea made no sense to Stringer and it brought her no solace. The idea that made the most sense to her is that some people suffer so they learn lessons they can pass to others to bring comfort to them. Of course, in her time of grief she did not want to be a comforter to others. She did not want to learn those lessons. In her life though, she has had many opportunities to draw on those lessons and impact the girls she coached and mentored.
If you accept that idea though, you have to ask: if you have not met great adversity in your life does it mean that there is no great purpose to your life?
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