Elle Seven
Superstar
I watched this live and tried to call in to her show. I'm reading posters here, I am more convinced a lot of us are living in a delusional state and it's just easier to lash out at people like Yvette. The responsibility to find solutions to the problems plaguing the black community is one we ALL own - not just the ones who put themselves out there. If you are native black/DOS, you have just as much a job to pay attention and contribute to the collective's growth. I get beyond pissed when people keep saying people like Yvette, Boyce, Tariq, Umar or whoever aren't offering solutions that work, as if it is one person who is to be responsible for the whole community. We (individuals in this community) have a real issue with deferring our responsibility; I can admit I have been a part of that problem. I always thought politics was for "smart people" or just a certain kind of person. Up until recently, it's been easier to just look to others for answers, look for books written by others who can tell me what to do instead of me really just stopping to look at my own life and creating solutions on my own and sharing those. Perhaps its a fear of being wrong or just putting myself out there to be criticized. I wonder if the people who love to criticize any person who is willing to put him/herself out there like that is willing to do the same.
Also, I think, psychologically, the reason we defer to doing for self is just because, honestly, deep, deep down, we just want the shyt to stop. We want the fukkery that absolutely follows the life of a native black/DOS in this country to cease to the point that our anger has turned into apathy and then delusion. It amazes me how we can't see it. I didn't before but I do now - at least for myself.
This is how I imagine the situation Yvette tries to paint for listeners - picture a group of white supremacists making a circle, and inside the circle is a enormous mound treasure. The treasure is all the wealth they have hoarded and stolen from others and the land, primarily from us. They protect it, creating what appears to be an impenetrable defense from which to get the wealth which surrounds the entire treasure. Realizing we are in the minority number, we try appealing to them amicably to give back what they took from us. We try this a number a ways, and each time, we are rebuffed. Frustrated and seeing they will never change, we as black folk, seeing this, give up and say, "fukk it! We'll go get some more. We'll go create our own stuff".
Seeing this, the white supremacists rub their hands together and wait patiently. Once we have established something for ourselves, then some of the white folk from that circle come and, using an array of methods, steal the new stuff we created and add it to the treasure in their circle while destroying the rest. We are in a state of disbelief, disgust, frustration, rage and grief, trying to figure out why these people keep fukking with us, though we were not fukking with them. We are now hesitate to rebuild again, anticipating the same result may occur. So, the issues are 1) there is now no more wealth because they have it all contained within their circle, 2) we have to anticipate them coming to steal from us if we create something new, but, most of all, 3) even if you could get more or create more, black folk seem to forget the wealth in circle also belongs to US. Who the fukk let's someone steal from them and says to the thief, "Go on and hold that. I'll just go get more?" That's OUR stuff they are holding/hoarding and using to make themselves rich. And thru not just legislation but just unending mental and emotional abuse, they've but us in a state where they can predict our behavior in reaction to what they do and anticipate we will not fight back in a real way.
To me, the way to recapture the wealth is to bust up the circle of white people hoarding it...and by busting it, I'm talking about war. Yvette's approach of black politics is one arm of the attack. Boyce's approach of creating business is another. Umar's call to be unapologetically black is another. Tapping back into the power of some of our ancient belief systems would be another. The point is, the fight against these people has to be waged from ALL sides of the circle, but the option of ignoring the circle to go do our own thing, if we were ever to employ this tactic, should be one of the tactics we would use to ultimately dismantle the circle of white supremacists and recapture what is rightfully ours, not just something we resort to because we are frustrated and sick of their shyt. They have created a system to hoard the wealth; thus, to take them down, we must create a multi-faceted system to combat it and confront them. Doing for self should be one arm of the solution, not the sole plan.
I believe it is easier - mentally and emotionally - when looking at the ancestors of the people who enslaved ours to tell them we will just do our own thing and not beseech anything of them, to just totally disengage them as much as we possibly can. It is easier because it doesn't rouse the anger one would have to feel by dealing with them every fukking day. James Baldwin already told us that being black here is to be in a constant state of rage, so I say, embrace it and use it to create a system of our own, not run away from the problem. Any time you deny a part of yourself, it creates a shadow side which haunts you and creates subconscious destructive behavior. We have to reintegrate our rage, grief and everything else and transform it into something which can help us rather than hurt us. Ignoring white people is not going to get it. Honestly, I think they have been expecting us to pull their card for a long time but that is another story.
No shade, but for the life of me, I cannot understand why some of us cannot understand what Yvette is saying. It seems clear as day to me. But I admit it is hard to embrace the possibility of having to life your life for helping us rather than just doing for yourself.
Also, I think, psychologically, the reason we defer to doing for self is just because, honestly, deep, deep down, we just want the shyt to stop. We want the fukkery that absolutely follows the life of a native black/DOS in this country to cease to the point that our anger has turned into apathy and then delusion. It amazes me how we can't see it. I didn't before but I do now - at least for myself.
This is how I imagine the situation Yvette tries to paint for listeners - picture a group of white supremacists making a circle, and inside the circle is a enormous mound treasure. The treasure is all the wealth they have hoarded and stolen from others and the land, primarily from us. They protect it, creating what appears to be an impenetrable defense from which to get the wealth which surrounds the entire treasure. Realizing we are in the minority number, we try appealing to them amicably to give back what they took from us. We try this a number a ways, and each time, we are rebuffed. Frustrated and seeing they will never change, we as black folk, seeing this, give up and say, "fukk it! We'll go get some more. We'll go create our own stuff".
Seeing this, the white supremacists rub their hands together and wait patiently. Once we have established something for ourselves, then some of the white folk from that circle come and, using an array of methods, steal the new stuff we created and add it to the treasure in their circle while destroying the rest. We are in a state of disbelief, disgust, frustration, rage and grief, trying to figure out why these people keep fukking with us, though we were not fukking with them. We are now hesitate to rebuild again, anticipating the same result may occur. So, the issues are 1) there is now no more wealth because they have it all contained within their circle, 2) we have to anticipate them coming to steal from us if we create something new, but, most of all, 3) even if you could get more or create more, black folk seem to forget the wealth in circle also belongs to US. Who the fukk let's someone steal from them and says to the thief, "Go on and hold that. I'll just go get more?" That's OUR stuff they are holding/hoarding and using to make themselves rich. And thru not just legislation but just unending mental and emotional abuse, they've but us in a state where they can predict our behavior in reaction to what they do and anticipate we will not fight back in a real way.
To me, the way to recapture the wealth is to bust up the circle of white people hoarding it...and by busting it, I'm talking about war. Yvette's approach of black politics is one arm of the attack. Boyce's approach of creating business is another. Umar's call to be unapologetically black is another. Tapping back into the power of some of our ancient belief systems would be another. The point is, the fight against these people has to be waged from ALL sides of the circle, but the option of ignoring the circle to go do our own thing, if we were ever to employ this tactic, should be one of the tactics we would use to ultimately dismantle the circle of white supremacists and recapture what is rightfully ours, not just something we resort to because we are frustrated and sick of their shyt. They have created a system to hoard the wealth; thus, to take them down, we must create a multi-faceted system to combat it and confront them. Doing for self should be one arm of the solution, not the sole plan.
I believe it is easier - mentally and emotionally - when looking at the ancestors of the people who enslaved ours to tell them we will just do our own thing and not beseech anything of them, to just totally disengage them as much as we possibly can. It is easier because it doesn't rouse the anger one would have to feel by dealing with them every fukking day. James Baldwin already told us that being black here is to be in a constant state of rage, so I say, embrace it and use it to create a system of our own, not run away from the problem. Any time you deny a part of yourself, it creates a shadow side which haunts you and creates subconscious destructive behavior. We have to reintegrate our rage, grief and everything else and transform it into something which can help us rather than hurt us. Ignoring white people is not going to get it. Honestly, I think they have been expecting us to pull their card for a long time but that is another story.
No shade, but for the life of me, I cannot understand why some of us cannot understand what Yvette is saying. It seems clear as day to me. But I admit it is hard to embrace the possibility of having to life your life for helping us rather than just doing for yourself.
Telling our kids "go get a job" from some cac in a suit. I've kind of already accepted it's going to be like that though.
