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Empower the Impoverished

As a white male in my 40s that grew up in middle-class suburbs of mostly white communities I have never really known the plight of anyone else who didn’t have similar circumstances, rich or poor. As I grew up I became more aware as I was exposed to people of all backgrounds then came the internet and with it a treasure trove of information and with it empathy and tacit understanding.

I am in full support of equality for all. This means true equality, which comes from socio-economic roots not the bandages our current society uses. These remedies may help those in a minority group but at the same time alienate a whole other section of the country. Our society tends to create these exclusive solutions rather than come up with inclusive ones.

This is why I harp about socio-economics. Blacks as a minority have never been able to achieve the same social and economic status as whites. States and the federal government have not made bringing economic equality a priority. Unfortunately blacks compared to whites have been undervalued and impoverished in this country what seems like time immemorial.

The way to empower the poor and bring about economic prosperity is not through conservative capitalist economics. Capitalism naturally feeds one off of another. The poor as a whole really never come out of poverty. Our current system is designed on purpose to feed off of everyone, especially the poor who are the most financially vulnerable.

The way to empower the poor is to pull communities up from poverty.

Schools need equivalent funding.

Community activities need to be robust.

Community action groups and community policing needs to work side by side with local sheriff and police departments.

Social rehabilitation and training for adults.

Schools empower youth through knowledge. Knowledge is the gateway to better employment. Unfortunately schools in impoverished communities do not have the tax base to effectively fund schools to teach our youth. A fair distribution of federal and/or state tax dollars and a subsequent increase in overall education expenditures which includes the arts and humanities as well as STEM would help bring quality education to all youth.

 Once a child graduates high school even with good grades they have the hurdle of paying for college. Free or subsidized, low cost public college for everyone is the best solution.

Citizens need to and want to be proud of their communities. Neighborhoods need to have an elected, volunteer or low-paid community action group which looks at ways to get the citizens in the community involved in constructive ways to make their neighborhood a safe and nurturing environment. These groups would have the ear of local government, social, health and safety services.

Community policing such as neighborhood watch is an effective way in which citizens can make a difference in making their communities safe. Neighborhood watch groups need to work dependently with professional policing to call attention to crime and prevent law enforcement overreach and abuse. Working side-by-side with professional policing helps to foster understanding and eventually trust between two groups that have never seen eye-to-eye.

Working age adults who have never gotten proper schooling or whom society has forgotten for a myriad of reasons need to be empowered financially. The community action groups can identify with the help of educators ways of bringing employment and education to these under-privileged and under-served adults.

Of course all of this takes true leadership, a clearly defined road-mapped plan and money. Surprisingly the money part is easy. We in our capitalist society have built too much dependence on certain sectors of our government, such as defense spending, that there are large amounts of waste that can be cleaned up through consolidation and properly planning. The money that could be saved through streamlining how the DoD spends money and removing the chains of defense contractor dependence could easily pay for these programs across the country (and then some).

A mix of beneficial social policies that protect the poor, benefit undervalued communities, and provide a path out of poverty couple with a fair, robust capitalist driven economy is the way to not only make black lives matter but also help to greatly reduce if not end poverty in this country.

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Playing the Trump Card

There is a brilliant phenomenon in the Trump candidacy; a muddled and varied electorate. Trump is a showman in an expensive suit. He knows more about pop culture politics than any other candidate. Trump knows how to steal the entertainment news cycle, which for good or bad/true or false is now what we are stuck with. This allows Trump’s wild sound bites to capture the attention of many fed-up Americans.

There is a lot of angst out there at the intransigence in the legislative branch. The inability to get even simple things done frustrates the Americans that voted for them. They may believe their current rep/senator is fine, it’s just the other 600+ that are causing issues. Many feel all politicians are suspect and none of them are really telling the truth partially because of the restraints of political correctness.

Trump basically sticks to his guns, as inaccurately aimed as they are and has been paid off in spades. The attention he has garnered has attracted democrats/republicans, and blue/white collar labor of all stripes. Sure many are white, that’s the biggest frustrated group of people. Many whites feel marginalized behind immigrants and minorities which also fuels an eagerness to have someone who ISN’T politically correct, who ISN’T afraid to speak their mind.

Do I agree with Trump? No, not really. Some of his ideas are good, but most of it is bull. However, I do feel this country needs a shake-up. A wake up call saying that if you have a single digit approval rating as a congress then there is something wrong and it needs to be fixed. Americans want to be listened to. For too long regular Americans who aren’t the vocal minority haven’t had their interests represented. Trump is just causality incarnate.

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We Just Disagree

Dave Mason wrote “There ain’t no good guys, there ain’t no bad guys, there’s only you and me and we just disagree”.

A friend of mine on Facebook shared the SNL sketch “The Day Beyonce Turned Black”. A hilarious sketch that in many ways is sadly very true.

My thinking is that this is America. There is a predominant American culture shared by all citizens. If you’ve been here for decades or were born here then you probably should have already learned what that culture is and have adopted much of it into your daily life (knowingly or not).

When Americans use (or create) sub-cultures to differentiate ourselves or others we create disharmony and friction to some extent. In the SNL sketch the overarching theme was basically Beyonce wasn’t part of black culture (referenced as being “black”) because she sang lyrics that were easily understood by whites. Blacks in the sketch said “she’s always been black”.

Two things were referenced in the SNL sketch that gets my goat and that I feel drives a wedge between Americans.

The first notion is whites (or non-blacks) assuming if you are black and you use “proper English” that you are not “black” (alluding to being part of black culture).

The second reference is, well, black culture… not that there is black culture but how people use it. You don’t have to be black to appreciate or be a part of black culture. You can be black and not have any clue about black culture.

Some people* though use black culture in a negative way to set themselves apart from others or use it as a wedge to show how different they are and how they possibly couldn’t relate to one another or get along (*the word “people” could mean black or white).

Those that don’t accept black culture basically don’t understand it. The overarching theme with that is a lack of understanding, and what do the ignorant do when they don’t understand something? They fear it, and what do they do when they fear something? They lash out at it or avoid it rather than try to appreciate or understand.

This then becomes what many call racism.

So then this brings me to the last point. If a person accepts but does not appreciate or participate in black culture they are not a racist. It doesn't mean they hate black people. They are showing a preference. There is a difference. People need to figure out that just because one doesn’t agree with what the other does in their life doesn’t mean that they are a bigot. (Note: the use of "does" and not "is", what you are and what you do are two different things)

Personally, In my core I like to see people as I see myself. Then I, over time, discover what makes them different from me (good or bad). This could take anywhere from seconds to years. The differences could be general style of dress, hobbies, opinions, or what-have-you. In the end we are all different. I am not you and you are not me. This doesn’t mean I dislike you or don’t appreciate who you are. I just may not want to invite you over to dinner or grab a beer with you and hang out. Don’t take it personal because I certainly don’t. This is where I come from when I write about people.

There ain’t no good guys, there ain’t no bad guys, there’s only you and me and we just disagree.

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White 007 Black 007

Some heated much-ado-about-nothing on the INTERNETS about the incredibly talented Idris Elba possibly staring as 007 AKA James Bond. http://bit.ly/1Kpp4uj .

I just can’t restrain myself on this one. It’s not about; “OMFG I can’t believe someone of influence in the story telling world of 007 would rail against a black man being James Bond”. My issue is; “What? Did Bond writer Mr. Horowitz say this? No. Did he imply it? No one can really know.” What he said was that Mr. Elba was “too street” to play Bond and that there are OTHER black actors that would be better.  Not that NO black actors were worthy of being Bond. Who, specifically, those other actors are he did not say. Meh… I’d actually like to know who.

What is interesting is that the twittersphere is ablaze with people saying Horowitz just wants a white 007. Which, as stated above means ALL of the people espousing this message are wrong, at least on the surface. No one really knows what lurks in the depths of a person’s heart and what they TRULY feel about something or someone.

My view is; so what if he wanted to keep 007 homogenous? Is that a crime? Not hardly? It’s not even in bad taste, let alone racist. Do you think I want someone to reboot “Blade” with a white guy? Hell no, it was Wesley Snipes and he was bad-ass (speaking of which, Idris has my vote for a reboot of that franchise). Should we have Lethal Weapon’s Detective Murtaugh played by someone like Tom Hardy*? Or maybe Bad Boys 3 could have Zach Galifianakis* and Judd Apatow* instead. Sure we could have all of it, but honestly, why? Just because? To check a box? Look people, we’re inclusive because we had a black James Bond! Sure, we CAN have a black 007, and Elba would be great in my opinion. Just don’t make a big ass fuss if others don’t get all fired up about it.

*I’m just pulling white-looking actors randomly out of thin air.