Hit more in the next entry for a few other Steve Biko quotes, but I thought this one really needed to go up front:
"We are not concerned with that curious bunch of non-conformists...that bunch of do-gooders that goes under all sorts of names - liberals, leftists, etc. These are all the people who argue that they are not responsible for white racism...These are all the people who claim that they too feel the oppression just as acutely as the blacks and therefore should be jointly involved in the black man's struggle.... In short, these are the people who say that they have black souls wrapped up in white skins."
Discuss.
Or don't.
Clearly, the conservative/libertarian crowd has exactly jack shit to contribute, and may remain silent.
Wait, change "may" to "should."
On second thought, make it "fucking well better."
One last comment- then I promise I'm done for the day & you smart kids can have the playground all to yourselves.
Is there a way we can disseminate Biko's quote to all the piping undergrads that'll flood this town in another 2 weeks? Pseudo-leftie/leftie student organizations are breeding grounds for this sort of mentality.
Stamp the quote on some bullets, then spray the crowd.
What? True, you'll have to use very small print. . .
This could go in either this thread or the other one on appropriation, but the white gay community is rife with examples. We can start with that ingratiating "inside every white queen there's a black woman struggling to get out."
No joke. They really tell me things like this, then expect me to laugh. Or nod affectionately. Or something.
But you can be white, unpatronising and still support anti-racism struggles, right?
Martin - that is always the hope.
Laura- will refrain from getting on my soapbox about bigotry in the queer community, but NO SHIT. Another good example are the over-theorized lesbian-set who preach until god's dead about leftie-inclusivity, but really only mean if you're a fellow white, middle-class lesbian- all other Need Not Apply. & woe unto you if you question their sincerity, then you are Shunned- Out of the Fold. [Sorry, will exit off soapbox now- but thanx for the comment- you madea a point that needs to be made more often.]
isn't it funny how said college kids love to sing along with ol' pete gabriel's song "BIKO" without having read his biography...i think they all watch that reality-edited-for-honkywood movie and identify sooo much with kevin cline...but if they actually read biko's own words they'd probably run screaming or, at the very least, we'd be burning the midnight HTML talking about hurt liberal whitey feelings?
i like how there's no vituperation or even ill will there, simply: "we are not concerned".
as for me, i can't help it if people mistake me for part of the problem due to my appearance, but i'll be good and goddamned if they'll mistake me due to my actions. and sometimes the best action i can take [difficult as it may be!] is to shut the fuck up! :)
finding biko quotes to post at my website now...ENGAGE...
Wait, first I find out (some of) the goth community isn't free from icky racial issues, and now you're telling me (some of) the queer community has them too?
Wow, guess I'll have to become a conservative. They don't have any problems like that. And they get really tired of niggers, faggots and lezzies saying they do.
God, I shouldn't have listened to that idiot's speech in front of the UN. Now I'll be in a pissy mood the rest of the day. . .
You listened to the speech, too? I was trapped in the van with children and nothing else to drown them out with (take THAT high school english teachers!).
So I listened.
And I can't tell you how many times I yelled "IT'S NU-CLEEE-UR, YOU FUCKER!!" at the fucking radio.
I mean, I'm assuming the guy can afford speech therapy.
OK, apologies to anyone who pronounces it nu-cue-ler...but COME ON, we're talking about the freaking president of the freaking united states, here. I think he owns a freaking dictionary.
Oh, and aside from that, he is a complete ass. I don't think I would mind Nu-cUE-ler so much if he wasn't a complete ass.
And, how come the "foreigners" have "weapons of mass MURDER" and we have "weapons of mass destruction"? If we're going to use the "M" word, let's use it unilaterally (unilateral being apparently the favorite word of the person who wrote today's speech).
OK, I should go back to my data entry now.
"Nuke-U-Ler, Lisa. It's pronounced Nuke-U-Ler."
By the way, when the four horsemen ride down from the fiery sky, I will more than likely yell "D'oh!".
or maybe, <comic guy voice>"Oh, I've wasted my life"</comic guy voice>
No, dru, we have defensive weapons. Or tactical weapons. Not weapons of destruction, no, never those.
We never destroy anything. We liberate, as God Almighty has called upon us to do.
Blah.
CSC, I intend to die in the classic Lorne Greene pose from "Battlestar Galactica." Best ... death ... ever!
I listened to the UN speech. I found myself wishing, hoping, very nearly praying that the unthinkable would happen and someone, in a fit of sensibility, would just shoot him. Preferably someone from some neutral country like Switzerland or Sweden (because we're not going to bomb the people with the banks or who make the Volvos, now, are we? and it couldn't be blamed on The Terrorists (TM) either.).