2008 election

Plain old tired

Ok, I know I am not the only one but damn does it not feel like this election season has been going on forever? Granted we are now in the home stretch, its a week and a day until showtime. I am nervous, trying to keep my hope face on, but truthfully feeling pretty scared. Scared that in the end, hate will win out and this country will be on a path that we no longer have to worry about securing our borders from folks coming in but instead it will be folks trying to get the fuck out of dodge.

Seriously, I had a dream that McCain won and that not long into his presidency he drops dead and we end up with evil Sarah as the leader of the free world. Can I just say I almost woke up screaming. I wish I could say there is one specific thing about that woman that scares me, but its the whole package. The fact that considering McCain picked her ass out of relative obscurity that now she seems to want more, like a power hungry robot. You would think she’d be a grateful bitch instead she wants more. The fact that she seems really good at bringing out the worst in folks scares me, the fact that she has never came out and taken a stand against the hate that she seems to inspire is troubling at best.

I suspect after catching a glimpse of Sean Hannity this weekend once again ranting about Obama’s relationship with BIll Ayers, I really got tired…by the way, why the fuck did he show a picture of Ayers taken at least 30 years ago? Yeah, I know to scare the folks who listen to the ignorant shit he spews out of his pie-hole. Can I just say that if I ever met Sean Hannity, I would just slap the shit out of him on general principal.

Nope, I am tired and at this point, thinking I need to stop watching the news. Generally I am all about knowledge but this week just feels like a time to retreat into my own world. Of course as a blog junkie, I know I will have some exposure to political happenings but at least its better than full on news which is almost leading me to have a damn panic attack.

So this week consider this a no news zone, at least no political news. Instead I am working hard to wrap up a strategic plan for a client and spend some time getting my Suzy Homemaker on. I have a meeting this evening so dinner will just be burgers, but tomorrow I am trying my hand at that butternut squash soup and apple tart. So stay tuned, I will tell you how it turns out later.

For now, back to work and hopefully in a bit I can go and enjoy some of this sun we are having today. Its a gorgeous fall day in my little town and I am itching to walk on the beach, despite the crisp air. Something about looking at the ocean or really any body of water since back home, while I didn’t have the ocean I did have Lake Michigan and the Chicago River to soothe my soul.

They are all fake

Well I have a little breathing room here today, after breaking down and taking the little one to the doctor yesterday, of course the fever finally broke. Translation, it means Mama has some time to herself today since mini-me was feeling well enough for daycare.

On to world events, or should I say national events. While I will admit that I haven’t started buying the bubbly yet and looking for my dancing shoes just yet, in celebration for what I hope is a historic night November 4. Since I know those sneaky Rethugs will do anything to win, including getting all the damn machines programmed to vote McCain even when the voter punches Obama or some other candidate.

However I am starting to think that their only chance at winning will have to involve since trickery and thievery, since all signs on the ground even in my lilly white state, the blogosphere and the polls indicate that an Obama victory is likely. Now, I will admit I don’t see a landslide but as long as Obama wins that’s all I care about.

Yet what about them Rethugs? Seems ain’t a damn thing about them real. Turns out Sarah must really look like shit since she needed 150G’s worth of clothes, hair and makeup for her and her tribe. Come on, now, you mean to tell a sista the Palins couldn’t afford to go to Men’s Warehouse and get ole Todd a suit or two off the rack? And why the hell did baby Trig need an almost $100 outfit? The 7 year old is lugging around a Louis Vuitton handbag which I hope belongs to Sarah, but still how many average moose hunters even know about a Louis Vuitton bag? Don’t even get me started on the fact that I just read over at Huffington Post that the makeup artist/stylist for Sarah was the highest paid staffer so far this month…

So not only is this bitch empty in the head, she really ain’t that cute? For all that money, you think someone would have given her a better hairstyle, instead they paid an arm and leg to get someone to make her look homespun?? That is shit that makes my mind spin.

Plus I wanna talk about that snippet of interview I caught with Palin and McCain being interviewed by Brian Williams…how come John looked like he wanted to backhand Palin like she was a hoe who had fucked with his money. In fact why did he look like an old pimp? Seriously, he must have some kinda game to convince a young, rich chick to marry his ass back in the day. That’s why he used to be the maverick, shit pimps can talk across the aisles too.  See, John is a player and based off all I have read about him, from his younger days, he was quite the ladies man.

Problem is players get old and generally fade away except in this case, playa wants to be the president which is bad for all of us since he picked a idiot to be his bottom bitch. Normally you a pick a smart bitch to be your bottom bitch but John is getting old.. his game is off. Since its clear that Palin is got stars in her eyes and wants to eventually be John McCain and either be the president herself (should he win or steal this election) or she is positioning herself to try in a few years…2012 anyone?

As further proof that the Republicans are like those dysfunctional family members you see every few years at the family reunion and pray you don’t see again, what’s with  Ashley Todd in Pittsburg? Todd. a McCain supporter claimed she was beat up by an Obama supporter who then carved a B into her face. Of course it was a big Black man who Todd claimed did this horrible act. Turns out she faked the attack, umm… yeah, I could have told you that story was about at phony as a $3 bill. Of course Todd was white, and when you inject the big Black man, the story grows wings.

So not only is McCain not really a maverick, just a washed up old playa, his running mate is an empty bobble-head who must dress like shit for the RNC to spend that type of cash to spruce her ass up, of course maybe the handlers realized she was too stupid to speak so they figured if they prettied her up, we’d all get razzled, dazzled with her charms and just forget that when she opens her mouth nothing comes out. Then their damn supporters in addition to having the market cornered on public ignorance decided to add false police reports to the mix.

Nope it seems there is nothing of substance coming out of the Republican camp these days, if there ever was anything of substance it was a long time ago.

Have a good weekend all, I am off in search of Halloween costumes for me and mini-me.

White folks and racial naivete

For the past few days I have been thinking about the rather interesting observation that this presidential season seems to be bringing out, the fact that by and large when you are person of the paler hue, one does not have to think about race on a regular basis.

Seriously, both in my online as well as real life dealings, I have been in contact with white folks who are positively stunned at the blatant racism that is coming out the closet as America seems to be edging closer to possibly having its first Black president. It seems that on an almost daily basis, we are seeing effigies of Obama, folks making asses of themselves on TV about how America is a White Christian nation and only white folks get to be in charge. Shit, I am sure Sears is running out of white sheets in some parts of the country.

The thing is as a Black woman, none of this is surprising to me, shit I would be more surprised if we didn’t have folks doing this shit. See, I was born in the early 70’s yet I have been on the planet long enough as a Black woman to know that despite the strides we have made racially in this country, shit regular readers know my Pops grew up drinking from the colored water fountain and never thought he would have a white son in law. Despite the fact that we have made strides, we still have a long way to go. America has never had a truthful racial dialogue, too many white folks would rather see my ass serving them when I am in a restaurant than see my Black ass getting served.

Don’t get me wrong, thoughts of race don’t consume every moment of my waking day, but honestly there are not too many days that I don’t face that reminder that I am Black. Its just good for me that I love my Black self and accept that being Black is a part of my identity. I can never just be a person because in this world, I am Black first and foremost and that’s cool with me.

My kids are biracial, yet they are being raised and have been raised to understand that most likely folks will view them as Black, so while they can call themselves what they want to, just understand folks may view you differently.  Speaking of the kids, my son was 3 when race was brought to his attention and now at 3 my daughter is starting to notice racial differences. It most certainly isn’t anything I have called attention to, but I suspect that children of color notice racial differences sooner than white kids. That’s neither a positive or a negative but just one of those things. I was about 4 or so when I realized race and when I entered kindergarten and was the only kid of color, it was my grand debut into the land of racial differences.

On a parenting board that I hang out at, a white mother encountered a racial minority being mistreated by a white man and her kids were with her and she was at a loss with how to deal with the situation. Other posters (white) suggested that kids are too young to be burdened with dealing with racism.  That stunned me because as a Black child, I was raised to understand that sadly racism is something you may encounter yet I have grown white friends who still grapple with dealing with racism. Honestly, I expect it and rather than being surprised I look for ways to move on less I blow a gasket.

Part of why we as a nation have still not moved on is because in my humble opinion, we refuse to talk honestly about race, what the legacy of slavery has meant to millions of African-Americans. How systematic oppression over hundreds of years cannot be wiped out in 40-50 years. Until we get to that point as well as the point of looking at our own internal biases that may cause prejudice deep within us, I truly don’t feel we are making nearly as much progress as we think. No, what we are doing is that type of cleaning when you sweep all the shit into the closet and under the bed but at a certain point,  the closet door starts bulging, demanding that you move shit out of the closet. That is where we are at as a nation. The closet doors are becoming unstable.

There are those who feel an Obama presidency will usher in a new era, well it will be a new era, but I suspect Black folks will still get stopped for driving while black. Police brutality will be an issue and all the other injustices will happen. So while I might start looking for my dancing shoes soon for November 5, we still have a lot of work ahead of us to truly achieve racial parity.

As for white folks raising kids, don’t fear talking about injustice with your kids, to do so IMO will create a generation that is truly prepared to tackle injustices head on.