Obama healthcare

They are telling us something

Despite trying to avoid as much news as possible I must admit its a tad hard for me since I do like to have an idea of what is happening in the world. Also up here in my little corner of the world after an abnormally cool, wet summer we are now in the midst of a mini heat wave so I have been hoping to find out when it plans on ending since 90 plus temps with humidity is a tad outside my comfort zone. So I listen to the news..which brings me to the point of my post today.

So in AZ this week, folks are now showing up at the heath care discussions strapped with assault rifles. No longer is bringing a mere gun enough, its now time to bring out the heavy weapons to let us know that they (the folks with the guns) are really not happy about how “their” country is being managed.

Now  I am about to put on my former African American studies hat (its what I studied in college and almost went to grad school for) but I am seeing some huge symbolism in the fact that  white men are bringing guns to discussions where the sitting President of the United States is in the area. I suspect none of these folks would have ever brought a gun to a place where Bush was…but in showing up when a Black man is in office strapped with 9 mm and semi assault rifles under the guise of exercising their rights, I see imagery of days we thought we had left behind.

Days where folks showed up in white sheets, or left a noose hanging to let Black folks know they felt about us. These symbols also served to show who had the power… I know you may be saying BGIM, you are stretching a bit! Oh really? As a Black woman in America the idea of heated white men walking around in public carrying guns scares me shitless, since as several other Black bloggers have already wrote, what place do guns have in a discussion on health care? Other than if the gun is used you will need some health care. (hat tip to Black Snob who wrote this recently) Or maybe you need to jack a hospital to get some heath care? Maybe a gun might be useful.

No, in what should be a civilized dicussion, there is no reason to bring a gun other than to send a message that says loud and clear that you do not care for this Black man and in America white folks with guns can still send a powerful message. Think I am kidding? Now our president is talking that the public option may not happen, excuse me but without a public option where the hell is the reform?

Obama is no fool and I suspect deep in his heart he understands what those guns are telling us too. So what say you? Do you think its just a few random idiots or that the mobilization of folks with guns at these meetings is part of a deeper issue? Let me know, now off to shower and head out in the heat I go.

Burnt Out

Maybe it’s because the dialogue around the health care issue is starting to get ugly (when will folks just get real and say the issue is the fact that a Black man is in charge? Quit pussyfooting around) or maybe its because work is getting crazy…in any event I am in a rare place where I almost don’t want to know what is going on in the world. I wake up listening to my local NPR affiliate station and generally in the evening I  watch the local news station; I have always been a news junkie but lately watching or hearing the news feels so heavy.

In November after the election, I was filled with so much hope for this nation. Now though I think we are on a one way course back to a dark place. Birthers, town hall folks….I was so saddened when I heard about a protester at one of these discussions that held a sign up (sorry too tired to link it) saying death to Obama, Michelle and their girls. What the fuck is wrong with people? Seriously, if I were Michelle Obama right about now I would be saying baby, you need to quit….do a Sarah Palin and just exit stage right.

I guess we ought to be lucky though that the First Lady does not think like me but I can only imagine if I find all this nastiness stressful, how hard must it be for their family? 

All this to say I am feeling burnt out on world events and happenings yet because of my work its hard to escape the ugliness that exists in the world. I see families daily in so much need, families mired in generational poverty that at times makes me feel so silly talking about my own financial woes here at BGIM. After all, while my financial situation is a tad shitty at the moment, fact is I write these posts from the comfort of my home that is mortgage free. My freezer is filled with good healthy food and while Visa, MasterCard and that bitch Sallie Mae want their money, all my basic needs are met. The work I do is often good at keeping me grounded and making sure I don’t wallow in self pity too long.

Nope, truth is I am burnt out, its strange because if I didn’t like blogging so much I would say its time to say good bye yet I do like blogging. But most of what I write is about current happenings so not sure what that means for the future of BGIM. Any ideas? Maybe more posts on the simple life in Maine?

Well, have a happy weekend! We are expecting a heatwave so I suspect I will be logging in plenty of time on the beach this weekend.

White Privilege is Real

Its a rare event..2 posts in 1 day but I really didn’t want to sleep on this. By now you may have heard about William Kostric, he’d be that fellow up here in my neck of the woods who decided to come out and protest President Obama’s stop in New Hampshire to talk health-care.  Obviously as the media tells us these town halls meetings have been getting a tad heated with the more conservative side getting down right loopy at times…folks talking about no one wanting their health-care rationed despite the fact that generally in this country, if you cease having a job that offers health insurance or you lose the ability to pay for your medical needs, that your coverage is indeed being rationed already. Yet that is whole other post.

No, Mister Kostric decided that things were not hot enough at these meetings without deciding to bring a little heat with him in the form of a 9 mm gun. Now Kostric was outside and apparently nowhere near Obama and according to Kostric in his chat with Chris Matthews he simply believes we should be armed. Again, I don’t even want to get into that at this time (sorry too tired) but am I the only one thinking had this been a Black man armed at a town-hall meeting even outside with a white president that the armed man might be a dead man? Or at the very least an injured or arrested man?

Look, the fact that Kostric thought it sane to bring a loaded gun to a demonstration is beyond crazy. Shit, all these folks screaming and hollering are starting to look crazy…where the fuck were they when Bush, Cheney and company were using the damned Constitution to wipe their asses? Seriously, for 8 years those fellas took away so many of our rights it wasn’t even funny and to boot, Bush was in charge when the economy started tanking. I’ll be honest I am not 100% happy with Obama, shit considering the mess we are in as a nation he is almost too moderate but he is hardly a Socialist.

I gotta be honest and the main point of my vent tonight is that once again we see white privilege at work…the only reason Kostric is chilling at home and giving interviews is because he is a white man. Now I know a lot of the folks who tend to listen to folks like Lou Dobbs and Glen Beck feel that white folks are getting the shaft in the era of Black man as president, but look when Harvard professors get arrested for not deferring to the police yet a white man shows up at town-hall meeting with the damn president of the United States strapped with a fucking 9 mm on his thigh and gets to spend the evening giving interviews afterwards…we have a long way to go with race relations in this country my friend. Sorry Lou and crew but white folks by and large still have privilege since even being a personal buddy of the president won’t stop you from getting arrested when you are Black.