JAH - the sad state of man

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the sad state of man

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Time Zone: EST (New York, Toronto)

Messenger: still looking

Sent: 8/16/2007 4:25:19 PM

"if we were to wake up one morning and find we were all the same race and religion, by noon we would find another reason to hate each other." (i don't remember the source)

this may be a sad truth about humans ---but if it isn't a truth and we would actually get along great if we were all the same, that is also sad becaue that is not happening anytime soon.

so what do we do, focus on our differences and problems or our similarities and the solutions?

peace

Messenger: Ras Bredren Nicholas

Sent: 8/16/2007 4:30:27 PM

greetings in the name of the Most High JAH RasTafarI Immanuel Haile I Selassie I

"if we were to wake up one morning and find we were all the same race and religion, by noon we would find another reason to hate each other."

umm......???

thats a lie me bredren. only to them sad sadistic babylonians is dat ish true.

Jah Bless, RasTafarI
Selassie I the First.

Messenger: Ras Bredren Nicholas

Sent: 8/16/2007 4:32:44 PM

the title of this post should be "the sad state of some unfortunate man..."

cause Jah know that I 'ave nooo part of that....

Messenger: Empress Nzingha

Sent: 8/16/2007 7:37:45 PM

There are those who's goal in life is to increase the gap between those who have and those who chase. Those people manufacture the American Dream, and then mass market it around the globe. They know there's no difference between this one and that one that makes any difference at all, and that means they are no better than anyone else. Humility is a tall glass of bitter medicine, greed is a shot of sweet liquor. The lie is easier to swallow than the truth. People would rathe live out there somewhere then inside their own minds. Solitary sucks. Jealosy causes people to believe that their gifts are not as valuable as the next persons, so they seek power. Convincing someone to give their gift away is not easy. Society raises children to believe that they are empty vessels waiting to be filled when in fact children are already full and just need to learn how to navigate the physical world.

Messenger: still looking

Sent: 8/16/2007 8:28:05 PM

respect ras,

i don't follow the whole meaning of your two post --could you elaborate so there is no misunderstanding

peace

Messenger: still looking

Sent: 8/16/2007 8:50:42 PM

unfortunately ras , with close to ten years of doing an intolerance/discrimination unit in class it seems to point that many people try to find differences more than similarities.

it is amlost as if they need to find a weakness in others so they can feel good about themselves.

i wish it wasn't this way (and i know it isn't everybody), but it is what i see --however the good news is that at least in my class, that many students are not even aware they do it until we cover the unit and then some make a conscious effort to stop.

honestly ras the silliness gets to the point that two kids who were friends and have much in common will stop talking because one like the yankees and the other likes the red sox.

i ride a motorcycle -- there are guys that when they find out you don't drive a harley they look down on you.

i don't know why it is and i wish it wasn't but so often people have a hard time getting past differences.

somebody on another post said if you want to know someone look at who their friends are.

well, we have kids at our school who after 4 years in high school will never have a serious discussion with a person of another race and then we have others who have friends of all types ---what does that say of those that don't?

i know it doesn't mean anything bad about them as a person, but i know for many (because they have told me) they don't talk because they are afraid or insecure.

i see differences as a chance to learn -- but many see differences as something to be leary of.

again i wish it wasn't that way for people, but i see it time and time again.

anyhow i've rambled

peace

Messenger: still looking

Sent: 8/16/2007 8:52:09 PM

true empress

respect

Messenger: Yaa Asantewa

Sent: 8/17/2007 9:33:21 AM

Tolerance is a fallacy. The root definition of the word is "to bear".

Again, anti-racism, tolerance, etc, etc... these buzz words and their related rhetorics have their basis in the notion of the "white man's burden".

White society believes it has to tolerate and bear the presence of "others". Not only that, some of the white humanitarian types consider that it is the white man's burden to lift up to their "standard of civilisation" all of the "savage races of mankind" (Charles Darwin).

Unless white people are prepared to dismantle these foundations of their knowledge of self, they cannot logically move forward in learning to interact with the rest of humanity on a genuine basis of egality.

Oh yes, Still Looking, I have looked at the Isis Papers, not in as much of a fullness as I intend. It is very weighty reading. But, yes, cultural psychoanalysis is a huge interest of mine.

I am venturing onto my long awaited sabbatical (a year between West Africa and West Indies - BLISS!) and I will be READING and READING and READING and READING and re-READING. The Honourable Grand Master Teacher Griot; Prof. John Henrik Clarke advises InI that study is not to study. Study means to RE-study, itinually. Always find out more about what you already know, while finding out more about what you don't.

Messenger: still looking

Sent: 8/17/2007 11:51:40 AM

respect yaa,

what you said about tolerance is why we talk of intolerance and i mention the exact sentiment that is attached to the word tolerance - it doesn't mean to celebrate our differences but as you said it means more like "i'll put up with you". i will say however that if a person is what i see as the bottom rung of dealing with others who are different which would be the true haters who will get physical and verbally insulting to those that are different -- then to tolerate is at least a step in the right direction. my hope is that if they at least can get to where they tolerate others the door is now a little ajar as to where they might be willing to celebrate our differences.

over the years of doing this lesson in class i would say that at the start most kids fall in the tolerator category, follwed by celebrators and finally the haters make up the smallest percentage.
however it is the haters who tend to make the most noise.
by the end ot the course i have more students of all backgrounds who start to speak up when they hear or see oppressive acts.

from listening to you it sounds as if you are familiar with the eugenics movement? is that correct?

yes i -- the isis papers is weighty reading --- i have to read it (and as you say reread it) in order to stay with it --but that is ok ---anything worth having is worth working for and when it comes to trying to educate myself (or should i say re-educate) on the issues that were not presented to me in school i'll take the time.

thanks for your words

peace

Messenger: Yaa Asantewa

Sent: 8/17/2007 12:35:44 PM

Bless Up Still...

Erm... well, I would say only "familiar" with the basis of eugenic theory. I have not bothered delving, as I don't need to look any further to know it's one bag of folly. And we only need to take one look at the "followers" of the eugenics movement to see wha really ah gwarn with it... Winston Churchill & Adolf Hitler! LOL. Say no more, right?

I get the whole utopian concept that you are promoting, and you may see some small good in promoting celebrated multi-culturalism, but the reality is, Still, that these initiatives are just another invention for methods in civilising blacks. This time it's all dressed up in liberalism and politically correct semantics. Some time ago it was dressed up temperance or Quakerism, but it never did us any good. The I sight?

It all means nothing until white people are willing to do the kind of self-searching for self-knowledge and self-evaluation that black people are encouraged to do for better forward direction. There has been no trend towards the evaluation of the structures of dominant white society. None. Ever. White people are yet to connect truly with their past mistakes... what makes you think you will not committ them again? Especially since there always seems to be some justification... e.g. native americans were fighting each other before we got here (!! I mean, come on!) There is still no genuine, heart felt remorse.

White people are not ready for egality. Simple as that.

Have you ever conducted a class where the class is encouraged to be free, free their minds, free their expectations... exist for a second in non-partiality... then they themselves nominate the division of the classroom into power groups that represent those dominant in society? Then deconstruct the foundations of the respective power groups in order to understand one group in relation to another. Then challenge the foundation! Challenge the validity of each group's stake of power!

This whole glossing over idea, let's all be nice to one another... nah man! That's some castles in clouds business. Nothing gets fixed... and this position is STILL dictated by the power stake of white privilege. White society is all Will & Grace now, civilized, upmarket... etc... they don't want to hear about how they got there and who had to lose out, they are just ready to "celebrate diversity" so that there are a variety of ethnic food restaurants to go to, etc. They all just want everyone to be nice to them, so we can all be pleasant and they can live happily in the American Dream... while InI remain in the American Nightmare. It can't go so... not til we're fixed.

I do not see "tolerance" being intolerant of continuation of injustice. So, it's irrelevant to me.

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