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January 19, 2003
Meh
From Voice of America:
President Bush has praised the late Martin Luther King, Junior as "a voice of conscience" whose words and actions continue to inspire courage.[. . .] Mr. Bush said Dr. King's non-violent activities and contributions serve as reminders that people "should not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
Quoting that phrase from the March on Washington speech automatically puts you on my shit list. Just so you know.
Our Lord President already occupies a high position. Jockeying for space at the very top with Lileks, he is.
At least you can make fun of Bush, though. Like the fun-loving scamps at WhiteHouse.org do. I especially liked President Bush Denounces Michigan Admissions Quotas: "Deserving Legacy 'C' Students Are Being Displaced by Uppity Negro Trash!":
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. It's a real pleasure to be here at Malcolm Shabazz High School. You know it's rare that I feel so totally comfortable and safe in the company of this many young coloreds. But then how could I not? Your school lobby has more metal detectors than O'Hare Airport.
Maybe it's possible to spoof Lileks, but I find it hard to even read the man anymore. I tried reading the god-I-hate-the-term "Fisking" of John Le Carré, because Eliot Gelwan linked it at Follow Me Here, and failed miserably, again. Annoying form plus annoying writer? Makes for one unreadable mess, as far as I'm concerned.
Nothing to say about National Sanctity of Life Day, either. Natasha covers the issue pretty well over at the watch, as does Lauren at Soapboxgirls, among many, many others.
And the global protests yesterday?
I sincerely hope no one got their heads kicked in. I don't think massive protests or civil disobedience are effective tools anymore, at least not for instituting large-scale changes. Or rather, for convincing our leaders, elected and unelected, to act in ways the demonstrators would prefer. Policy is too well insulated from politics for that at this point.
That's not all gloom and doom; I specifically said large-scale changes. They might change a few individuals' minds, and community building is always a Good Thing. And it isn't like the Civil Rights Movement mystically transformed the country overnight.
Sorry, heading towards gloom'n'doom again.
Um. Ronn mentioned the new blog from Farai Chideya a few days back. That's something to be hopeful about, I expect.
And there's some decent articles up at Pop and Politics. Not so sure about Yvonne Bynoe's "Reflections on , The New H.N.I.C.: The Death of Civil Rights and the Reign of Hip Hop":
In his provocative new book, “The New H.N.I.C.: The Death of Civil Rights and the Reign of Hip Hop,” University of Southern California film professor, Todd Boyd proclaims that the Hip Hop generation has eclipsed the Civil Rights generation as the arbiter of the “Black Experience.” Todd boldly states, “Hip Hop has rejected and now replaced the pious sanctimonious nature of civil rights as the defining moment of Blackness.”
But I'm skeptical about the notion of a, let alone the, "defining moment of Blackness" these days.
Eh. Wrote this last night, but didn't post it. I'd proofread it to make sure the tenses are right -- had to change "today" to "yesterday" in reference to the demonstrations -- but it's hard to work up the enthusiasm.
Basically, what Ginger said.
Posted by Aaron at January 19, 2003 11:25 AM
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