Thursday, July 06, 2006

"Can 'O Worms"?........Hand me a freakin' can opener!

Jesse calls for African American boycott of British Petroleum

The good Reverend is boycotting BP this time. Why?? Not enough black people of course! He seems to think that if BP had a few top executives who were black, and maybe a few more black people who owned distributorships that it would somehow lessen the plight of the struggling black man today.....excuse me....AND woman. What I don't understand is how. If Jesse puts the heat on BP to hire or promote some black people to top positions and they go out and do it, exactly how does that in lessen the pain of being a black person who happens to be poor or unemployed? How does that change the life of some guy on the street just trying to buy a tank of gas? If you were that black man or woman who just got promoted because Jesse made a big stink about it, would you wonder if you really got the job because you were the best? Would you wonder if you deserved it? Would you really think you were in anyway competetive? Would you ever really expect to get the respect and admiration that you deserved as a capable professional? Would you call that a "fair shake"?

If the Rainbow/Push Coalition really represents "equality" for people of all colors (as their rainbow logo suggests) Why then is it always BLACK people that they're raising hell about? Why are they not going on a rampage to get more American Indians pushed to the top? Why doesn't Jesse stand on a soap box and raise the issue of not enough Asians or Pacific Islanders being promoted to these coveted executive level positions??

Oh, and by the way, Jesse thinks BP charges too much for gas, or to quote the article

"The cost of energy is undermining America's living standards."
Bullshit! I'm quick to bitch about the cost of a gallon of gas but whether it's 2 bucks or 3, does that really affect your standard of living? Not mine. It might be damned inconvenient but it makes no difference if I get the $75 pair of sneakers or the $30 pair. It doesn't force me from a $1000.00 a month apartment into a $350 one. What the hell is he talking about? As a matter of fact, what the hell is he EVER talking about?

Does a man who sells peace and equality for a living really want peace and equality? Wouldn't that make him obsolete? Has the man ever solved anything? Is the modern Civil Rights movement and it's self appointed leader it's own worst enemy? Is affirmative action really causing black people to be recognized for their strengths and abilities or is it in fact causing division where unity is sought? Is unity what is really sought? Does having "The Black Entertainment Network", "Black Radio Stations", "Black Colleges", "Black Magazines", "Black Caucus", "Black Churches", "Black Barber Shops" "United Negro College Fund", "National Association for the Advancement of Colored People" or any of the hundreds of businesses and organizations created primarily for and catering almost entirely to Black People really serve to provide unity and equality for Black Americans today? How does segregating one's self from the very people you seek equality with serve to further that endeavor? Why do Black Americans continue to allow this charlatan and his organization to be their voice?

Just who the hell is this guy anyway? Why is The Reverend Jessie Jackson always part of the problem and never part of the solution? Why does he always show up to raise hell, where previously there was no hell? Why is he always referred to as "THE" Rev. Jessie Jackson? What's with the "THE"? Where does this guy preach? Does he preach? Did he get the title of "Reverend" because it is sort of expected of a "civil rights leader", post MLK? He wasn't so "Reverend" when he commited adultry and produced a child out of wedlock now was he? How does he continue to command so much authority and respect with this nation's black population? He exists by playing on the religious and racial sympathies of a people who were once but are no longer oppressed. He does nothing but capitalize on the plights of the most downtrodden and convince them of their hopelessness. He offers them a crutch for their uneducated, poverty stricken, crime ridden lives by telling them it is BECAUSE THEY ARE BLACK. Were I black, I believe I'd take offense and call HIM the racist.

I've seen many an African American lead productive and affluent lives. I've seen them pull themselves out of a life of poverty, take every advantage of the educational opportunities that were afforded them to make a profound difference in their lives and provide security for their posterity. I've seen white people FAIL at that very same thing. Life is what you make it. Opportunities are very seldom dropped in your lap...they are most often created. Jesse Jackson has freed no man from oppression. He only reluctantly provides for the future of his illigitimate daughter, after first denying his paternity. Is he really the leader Black Americans want to follow?