Unpacking Baggage

Just going through my luggage, clearing out some things to make way for enlightenment

I'll admit to having a problem with a few white folk, but most of them are dead. High at the top of my list are all the signers of the Declaration of Independence. It really should have been written plainly to say what was meant...that all white men are created equal. The damn constitution is not a hell of a lot better. There are a couple of clauses hinting that slavery was wrong, but never was the practice condemned. Steve Cobb sums it up so eloquently in his essay, "Under the "Three-Fifths Compromise," slaves were counted as three-fifths of a human being for the purpose of determining a state's representation in Congress. The same Founders who cried "no taxation without representation" must have seen the irony in giving representation to the slave-masters based on the quantity of their un-free, non-voting chattel.

Some folks refer to it as the 3/5 Myth. Those people are obviously idiots. There is not a damned thing mythical about it. Check out Article 1, Section 2; Clause 3.

That seems quite clear to me. I don't think I'm misinterpreting anything, but anyway, what's the difference? It's all water under the bridge now. Those folks are dead and their descendants have nothing to do with the sins of their forefathers... yadda yadda yadda. It's an imperfect world. I accept that I was born into a system in which I was never meant to fully participate, but that doesn't stop me from attempting to get into the game. White priveledge exists EVERYWHERE along with nepotism and favoritism. At one time or other I have enjoyed these things. After all... I have white friends. It must be clear to even the priveledged that the playing field is not level. Black folks are trying to run a ball up a hill against an opponent who has home field advantage.

Most of the time I feel like a man with no country (are the violins playing?). I'm an American by default. It's wonderful that the constitution was amended for my inclusion, but it's awful that no one really meant it. And don't be fooled. There are white folks out there trying to keep a brother down and preserve the good old boy way of life and this is not a Bush tirade either. I'll leave that to the more qualified bloggers. Things are unfair and they will not get fair in my lifetime. Damn! Damn! Damn! There. I've vented. Now on with the rest of the show.

So please... if I happen to write something that bashes white folks, please don't immediately become offended, unless you roll that way. I'm not a racist at all! But I can't stand an idiot. I don't give a damn what color he is.