Political News and Commentary with the Right Perspective. NAVIGATION
  • Front Page
  • News
  • Multimedia
  • Tags
  • RSS Feed


  • Advertise on RightMichigan.com


    NEWS TIPS!

    Get the RightMighigan.com toolbar!


    RightMichigan.com

    Buzz

    Who are the NERD fund donors Mr Snyder?

    Raise the curtain.

    Why am I the only black person at republican meetings? I have the answer!


    By Political Agenda, Section News
    Posted on Wed Nov 18, 2009 at 07:21:09 AM EST
    Tags: Black Conservatives, Civil Rights History, Michael Steele, RNC Chairman (all tags)

    Political Agenda with Danian Michael

    For as long as I can remember the Republican Party has been carrying a monkey on its back, and that monkey's name is Racist. For the purpose of brevity, I will not rehash the account of the civil rights movement and the pivotal role the Republican Party played in its success. I am of the opinion that if it weren't for Republicans, I might be writing this article from a cotton field right now. In any case, the history speaks for itself and if anyone wants to go do the research and learn why Black Americans owe a debt of gratitude to conservatives, I refer you to an article titled, "History of the Republican Party" written by Sean (only his first name is listed).

    The purpose of this article is not to analyze history; better historians than me have already done that. Rather, my purpose is to offer some perspective on the way things are today from the point of view of an outsider (for those of you who don't know, I was born in Jamaica). Besides, the Republican Party is not going to win over Black Americans by an appeal to history. We must change the worldview of Black Americans before any appeal to history can be fruitful,

    As I see it, here's the problem:

    Let me explain by way of an analogy. There is a room with dirty floors and in that room there is a black person sweeping. A Democrat (perhaps the owner of the building) walks in, sees this poor black man sweeping and immediately takes pity on him. The democrat then proceeds to take away the broom from the man and says, "You don't have to do that, here is twenty dollars, go home and I will send you one hundred dollars every month so that you don't have to sweep these dirty floors any more. The democrat then walks away, and as the black man is preparing to go home, a conservative walks in. The conservative sees the dirty floor, does not take pity on the man, and asks if he would sweep the floor for twenty dollars.

    If you happen to be a conservative, you can see how from the perspective of the black man, one pathway appears to be easier than the other. You can also imagine how the democrat could be perceived as being compassionate and the conservative as being indifferent. You throw in a lifetime of people telling him to be suspicious of white people -- and the journey from indifferent to racist becomes a very short one. It is not fair; believe me I know, but this is the hand we have been dealt. For being a black conservative, I am often accused of being brain washed and a victim of Stockholm syndrome. For those making that accusation, I'd just like to ask them: if thirty sheep are in the process of walking off a cliff and one of those sheep stops and asks why I should walk of this cliff, which is brainwashed; the thirty or the one?

    Now that's the problem! Here now is the solution:

    Right of the bat, I'd like to make it clear that being more like democrats is not the solution. I believe that despite its original good intentions (although I would argue that this has morphed in a desire to buy votes), what the democratic party has done is rob the black man of his dignity-- not only by seeing him as an inferior being, incapable of helping himself, but also by relegating him to a life of servitude (now dependent on the democrat for his livelihood). My fellow conservatives, if we make this about votes or about growing the Republican Party, we will loose and we will be susceptible to saying and doing anything. I want my fellow black Americans to join the conservative party not because I want to win elections but because I care about my fellow black Americans. Within the conservative family their dignity and liberty will be preserved. I was at a republican convention in Flint last year and one of the speakers said, "We need to be a party that is inclusive." I wanted to grab him and say, "Listen, we are inclusive." In all of my dealings with the Republican Party, I have felt nothing but appreciated and welcomed.

    Like I said before, conservatives can be perceived as being a bit callus and that is probably a valid criticism whenever it occurs. We conservatives, if we are going to help our fellow Americans who happen to be black, must let them know that as an American-- you are my brother, you are my sister, and I could not in good conscience deprive you of what is embodied in this broom; the opportunity for you to work so that you can eat. Moreover, we must explain that anyone who would deprive you of such a privilege may not have your best interest at heart. I guarantee you that if such an understanding can be reached between black Americans and conservatives, more fruitful communication will be possible, and appeals to history will not go unanswered.

    Take this approach my fellow conservatives and we will find ourselves looking across at the black community as in the final scene in the movie Casablanca, and saying, "This could be the start of a beautiful friendship."

    Danian Michael,
    Political Agenda.

    < Granholm in Mount Pleasant Thursday, 19 NOV 09 | In the MACKINAC CENTER Sphere Today >


    Share This: Digg! StumbleUpon del.icio.us reddit reddit


    Display: Sort:
    The best (none / 0) (#2)
    by jenkuz on Thu Nov 19, 2009 at 04:23:02 AM EST
    articulation of "inclusiveness" I have read.

    I was at the Republican Convention earlier this year and the word "inclusive" irritated me as well.

    For one, the intent of the word was to be accepting of black people, and therefore, it's utterance was an assumption that the room was full of racists.

    Two, the other manner in which it was used was a direct attempt at "softening the party" on social issues such as abortion.

    Put 'em together, and the message was--let's be like the democrats and kill the innocents you racist bastards.

    • Re: The Best by Political Agenda, 11/20/2009 01:03:58 PM EST (none / 0)
    It's a fantastic post and I agree but (none / 0) (#3)
    by maidintheus on Thu Nov 19, 2009 at 07:52:05 AM EST
    I also have some thoughts and questions.

    Do you have time for some conversation?

    valid criticism: (none / 0) (#5)
    by maidintheus on Thu Nov 19, 2009 at 10:07:40 AM EST
    I can see where an inability to relate and understand could be valid but I don't see where callus is valid criticism. I think resentment is understandable. The fostering of said resentment, not so much. The ONLY people making out from this said resentment are the politicians, celebrities, and unions, who are all capitalist but say they're not.

    Even when work/eat/own is exampled by a majority of people, it's viewed as something white folk get to do 'cause they're white. Even when one has clearly shared about the work/eat and OWN, it's strenuously rejected for a preference for redistribution. The resentment behind this ideology is driven by the rich and powerful who are highly educated, mostly politicians, celebrities, and educators.

    The (driven) ideology causes many black folk to view their fellow citizens (who happen to be white) as the bad guys who are powerful and keeping them down or not hiring them. The same 'drivers' of said ideology are the ones who lock people into schools that refuse to teach them any better: See DPS's. This also causes a lack of education in even the most entry level jobs where simple arithmetic and literacy would be required. Attempted discussion on this vicious cycle has been met with resentment, part of the vicious cycle of the driven ideology.

    The truth is, the fellow citizens who happen to be white and black and know better, are not the rulers of anything. They are just the ones left holding the bag.

    The real median earnings of men who worked full time year-round, climbed in 2006/2007 from about $43K to $45K. If they get married to a woman who is gainfully employed there is the added burden of being moved into a higher taxed bracket. These people are treated like the enemy who are keeping others down when actually they are being kept down. How does one get the focus onto the real problem?

    How does one continue to share this with those who don't WANT to hear? How does one share with those who say that 'others' need to reach out, yet are rejected and ridiculed in the very areas explicitly requested? What does one do about an obvious 'busy work' at play here with a 'please lobby me' on something I already know I'll reject? How does one explain that the focus is on the fellow citizens who deal with these same policies and the focus should be on those who actually create the policies and school districts and union thugs who take everyone's money in order to support said policy? How does one point out that the ONLY people who are making out are these unions, celebrities, and politicians? How does one say, look at Michael Moore? Isn't he saying that capital is bad while he continues to increase his capital?

    How can the game of fostering understandable resentment be overcome so it isn't a personal pathology predominate in the black community?  

       

    Great Post (none / 0) (#6)
    by Rougman on Thu Nov 19, 2009 at 12:56:08 PM EST
    I am at a loss as to what an old fart white guy can do about much of this.  I'm already friendly to every person that I meet but I have to admit I've never run into Michael Moore at the craps table.  

    I think for too long the Republican Party has tried to make itself more attractive to certain constituencies by remolding itself for the sake of recruitment.  This is how we have come to find some Republican legislators favoring minimum wage hikes and why others can buy into whatever the bailout of the month special happens to be.  There are countless other examples and they all hurt the party.

    There are few constituencies that have been more bombarded with the messages of entitlement, envy, and victimhood than has the black community.  Socialism sells quite well regardless of where it is being sold, but when specific communities hear the same message from nearly all angles it becomes particularly effective.

    I believe that whites can help with the recruitment of black people into the conservative movement, but it will still have to be accomplished primarily at the street level.  It will have to be accomplished through the teaching of sound economics in school.  It will have to be taught through the rewards of hard work in teenage jobs.  It will have to be taught through the structure of a nurturing family.  It will have to be taught above the blatherings of self proclaimed black leaders such as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. (Thomas Sowell, anyone?)

    Sadly, what we have in place now is a teaching industry beholden to union economic theory, a job market wiped out by a government that punishes successful businesses, and a family unit being attacked by government policy that has systematically rewarded family dysfunction.  

    It is going to be a long tough slog.  

    • Re: Great Post by Political Agenda, 11/20/2009 01:52:29 PM EST (none / 0)
    Display: Sort:

    Login

    Make a new account

    Username:
    Password:
    Tweet along with RightMichigan by
    following us on Twitter HERE!
    create account | faq | search