Dinner Guest: Me

by Langston Hughes

I know I am
The Negro Problem
Being wined and dined,
Answering the usual questions
That come to white mind
Which seeks demurely
To probe in polite way
The why and wherewithal
Of darkness U.S.A -
Wondering how things got this way
In current democratic night,
Murmuring gently
Over fraises du bois,
"I'm so ashamed of being white."

The lobster is delicious,
The wine divine,
And center of attention
At the damask table, mine.
To be a Problem on
Park Avenue at eight
Is not so bad.
Solutions to the Problem,
Of corse, wait.

From: Randall, Dudley (Ed) (1971) The Black Poets

Comment: It is now 2020 and we have not really progressed that much, have we?

A poem to start the year

I ended 2019 with a poem, and I find myself starting 2020 with one too. Yes, it is a bit lazy, but that might also depend on one's goals.

I am currently reading The Black Poets by Dudley Randall and this is one by the editor, which has an important message (as all good poems should, having said which, see the HML principle).

Black Poet, White Critic 
by Dudley Randall

A critic advises
not to write on controversial subjects
like freedom or murder,
but to treat universal themes
and timeless symbols
like the white unicorn.

A white unicorn?

Was wondering if I should comment on the poem, but realised that would be whitesplaining.

So will leave the poem to speak for itself.

If the rest of the world cannot see the difference?

Then maybe they're not the problem. 

It has worried me for a while the USian church's complicity with Donald Trump and the politics he espouses. Or perhaps one's choice of words should reveal where one's sympathies lie, and as such the idea of colonisation and appropriation as used by Critical Discourse Analysis comes to mind rather to describe the USian's relationship to Donald Trump. It is however ironic. The community of people who claim that Jesus Christ of Nazareth, as described and known through the Bible, has allowed itself to be colonised by "the world". And I do absolutely believe that. Only it is nothing new. Rather I consider this current revelation of this relationship to be nothing more than a ripping away of the veil of what has been the case for centuries. Christendom has a dialectical relationship with Western Europe and its values. And thanks to technological developments like the internet and the emergence of values such as free speech, the veneer is gone.

I grew up in apartheid South Africa. At some point I wondered why christians had done so little to fight the injustice. There was also the question of the rise of Nazism. The past three years have answered that question beyond any reasonable doubt. So to be clear, I am pretty sure it is a white, Western thing, not an USian thing.

Time for a reckoning. Time to reclaim the Jesus and God that I know from the Bible. Time to decolonise this too.

 

Article can be found here

Article can be found here

Time to decolonise South African history

I grew up in South Africa during apartheid. Which means my education has significant gaps, not least of which is the history of my own country. As part of my self-education, and also so as to be able to engage with my father, who is obviously also a product of the Union of South Africa, I started reading a book I bought a while ago, The History of South Africa, by one Frank Welsh.

I purchased the book quite a while ago (as I am wont to do - books need to gather a fair amount of dust in my bookshelves before I embark on reading them). Perhaps before I underwent my own awakening as to the racism and white supremacy of my upbringing and childhood world. (Yes, it was apartheid South Africa, but to the best of their ability raised me to know that all people were equal and that our society was deeply unjust and wrong). Nevertheless, despite already getting rid of Martin Meredith's The state of Africa for its distinct colonial 'whiteness', I decided to give Frank Welsh a shot.

It has been interesting, and not as bad as Meredith's book. It provides a fair amount of information as to the history of black (and brown) South Africans which was exactly what I was after. I realised that I would have to accept that it could not be comprehensive (what exactly is the relationship between the Xhosa and the Thembu? Where did the Griqua's come from?), but it was not bad.

Except for one thing. He is far too comfortable using archaic terms which in this day and age are simply offensive and inappropriate. I am not even convinced that it would be necessary to quote writers who use it, but when he uses a term when not quoting? Why? WHY?? (In case you're wondering I refer to use of the k-word and - the camel that broke the straw's back, as it were - the n-word as well!).

I put the book aside this afternoon, irritated and after a few hours I realise that I simply have no further interest in reading it any further. I feel a mite intolerant, perhaps, but really, it is 2019. It is time for a decolonised historical narrative which breaks from the past. Even if the book was first published twenty years ago, these were not terms which were acceptable even then. It is time for literature and history which explains and creates a new decolonised and respectful narrative. We do not have to use terms which are offensive and hurtful to people. This book is not that. I am not sure such a book even exists.

Perhaps it is up to me to write it in that case. This book, though by far not overtly racist or even particularly biased is nevertheless headed for the bin.

Or maybe not. I have been searching (my whole life) for a writing project. Perhaps I have just found it.

Charlotteville and confronting whiteness

America. 2017. pic.twitter.com/idE2JK8Jtn

— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) 12. august 2017

I have come to the conclusion that this blog is a kind of therapy for me. A place to think aloud. Now, yes, you are probably right - I should just get a therapist and yes, does the world need yet another white voice? No. On the other hand, as a white person coming to grips with the inherent racism in Western society (my society) and not to mention white supremacy, not to mention because I am "stuck" here in Norway and so cannot go join a march somewhere in the US (nor am I engaged in such a manner as to be aware should someone here in Oslo be taking such an initiative, something I would be inclined to organise if I myself were an organiser, yes, yes, excuses, excuse).

Anyway, let me continue. My mind is, well percolating on the events in Charlottesville, Virginia and the USA at large (including their stooge-in-chief) and there is just so much which can and should be said (and a few thing which probably should not).

Inspired by Zizek, I am trying to not get distracted by leaves or even trees when there is a wicked forest we have to deal with. So, for example, blaming Trump is just stupid. Yes, he has emboldened the monster to come out of hiding, but truth is that Clinton would simply have chopped off the head of the hydra (presumably) and the beast would go back into hiding (and if you know about hydras, you will get that analogy without further explanation). Like Zizek implied, some beasts must be dealt with (see my previous post) in the open.

Secondly, it will be typical white supremacy if the death of a white woman actually contributes to the recognition that there is a problem. But at this point I am starting to feel that better that than the alternative if this actually does contribute to realising what we are in fact dealing with. The resilience of our ability to avoid and forget is however perhaps the only human quality comparable to our general stupidity (ref. Einstein attributed quote: "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe").

He said he would 'Make America Great Again.'#Charlottesville pic.twitter.com/BQd1jyhbyv

— James Melville (@JamesMelville) 12. august 2017

I have now posted two tweets with pictures, which in conclusion I want to make some observations about, which I feel kind of sum up what we as whites need to chew on, but in particular whites in the USA.

With respect to the first picture, there are three things that strike me:
1. The Nazi salute(s) on the right of the picutre;
2. The red, so-called kleagle KKK robe being worn by the guy behind the policeman; and
3. the poster being held by the guy on the right, which is both Anti-Semitic and goes as far as to quote New Testament scriptures to justify this.

With respect to the second twitter, note that these participants consider it entirely acceptable and even appropriate to wield a Nazi Swastika and the Confederate flag in tandem.

Let all of this sink in.

I have a thousand problems with these two images, but the one which outrages me the most is the one where there is a clear and unmistakable part for Christianity in this situation. You who claim you love Jesus Christ of Nazareth and support the stooge-in-chief, take a good long hard look at yourselves, and preferably also your Bibles. Because something is, well, just a tad awry, and as you guys would claim: 'it ain't the Bible'. (Will leave it at that for now).

This must be roundly condemned by all who do not want to be associated with these unmistakable and egregious symbols. And we whites living in other parts of the world should not fall into the trap of seeking to merely 'other' the whites in the USA. Last time it was it's worst, it was us. The TV, entertainment and technology we enjoy are from this country. We need to be more considered in our response to it, because truth is, it is not as far removed from our white and Western lives as we would like it to be at this moment.