I was watching this brotha with a Ph.D. explain to Bill O’Reilly how Governor Palin and Senator McCain are speaking in “racist code” on the campaign trail.
“Hockey mom” is now code for an anti-black. “Joe Six Pack?” Get the rope and hood!
Right.
There is no decoder ring necessary when you read some of the overtly racist blog comments I received from Americans of African descent who support Barack Obama. Here’s one mild example:
“Hello you racist dog. You are officially dismissed from the African American Race. How discusting to see you on the television with your white racist friends McCain and Palin. To them you're just another Nigger. I hope you fry in hell for what you said about a decent person like Obama.”
“Go Obama-Biden08”
Nice.
It always surprises me how people can call me a hater as they spew hate. It’s so…
Hateful.
I stopped reading when my kids started to freak out. The death wishes really bothered them. They couldn’t understand why I was laughing and marveling at the level of vile vitriol. I mean it’s only political discourse, right?
“Daddy? Do people really hate you so much just because you’re voting for McCain?”
No. It seems they hate me because I’m a black conservative campaigning against the Chocolate Jesus. For me, it’s ideology. For them, it’s heresy.”
Seriously, I’ve received hundreds of e-mail messages and blog comments on my site from Americans of African descent, and 99% of them are drenched in racism.
Who’s “stepping and fetching” on the plantation, here?
I am an American of African descent with a conservative ideology being criticized for supporting that ideology, rather than supporting a candidate based solely on the color of his skin.
MLK, Jr. is rolling in his grave.
So, to all of you angry Obama supporters out there, I’m begging you, begging you…
Keep it coming!
Hey SAMBO, maybe Masta McCain will let you shine his shoes since you did such a good job.... BOY!
Posted by: Penelope Pitstop | October 10, 2008 at 08:30 AM
James,
Care to comment on McCain's tenuous relations with unrepentant Watergate criminal, G. Gordon Liddy? You guys are going down a slippery slope in a Hail Mary attempt to stave off an the electoral pounding your candidate will take in November. But keep up the screams, shout outs, and lynch mob mentality at those McCain rallies. The clips on the news and YouTube last night showed an irrational and reactionary crowd of wing nuts.
So you guys want to play this game of gotcha by association. Fine. Besides the G. Gordon Liddy lovefest outlined below, can you explain Todd Palin's membership in an organization that wants to split Alaska off from the US? I mean ripping a star off the American flag (Gasp!).
John McCain has had a field day with Barack Obama's tenuous associations with Bill Ayers, a former member of the Weather Underground who is now a Chicago professor.
Obama has said repeatedly that Ayers' radical past (he was involved in a handful of bombings in the 1960s) occurred when Barack was just a child, and he repudiates those actions. Nevertheless, McCain wants more. He claimed recently:
"I think not only a repudiation but an apology for ever having anything to do with an unrepentant terrorist is due the American people."
Now, however, the Chicago Tribune is pointing out McCain's own radical associations with G. Gordon Liddy:
How close are McCain and Liddy? At least as close as Obama and Ayers appear to be. In 1998, Liddy's home was the site of a McCain fundraiser. Over the years, he has made at least four contributions totaling $5,000 to the senator's campaigns--including $1,000 this year.
Last November, McCain went on his radio show. Liddy greeted him as "an old friend," and McCain sounded like one. "I'm proud of you, I'm proud of your family," he gushed. "It's always a pleasure for me to come on your program, Gordon, and congratulations on your continued success and adherence to the principles and philosophies that keep our nation great."
For those who are unaware, Liddy helped plan the Watergate break-in that would cost Nixon his presidency and landed Liddy a four-year jail sentence.
But Liddy's career of inflammatory statements and actions exceed his Watergate actions.
Liddy, on Vitenam:
"I wanted to bomb the Red River dykes [sic]. It would have drowned half the country and starved the other half. There would have been no way the Viet Cong could have operated if we had the will-power to do that."
Liddy, advising Branch Davidians how to defend themselves from ATF agents during a radio show:
"If the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms insists upon a firefight, give them a firefight. Just remember, they're wearing flak jackets and you're better off shooting for the head."
Liddy, on the impact Adolf Hitler had on him as a child:
When he listened to Hitler on the radio, it "made me feel a strength inside I had never known before," he explains. "Hitler's sheer animal confidence and power of will [entranced me]. He sent an electric current through my body."
Posted by: Jim | October 10, 2008 at 08:38 AM
Like many people who saw yesterday's display, I spanned the internet searching James T. Harris out. "How could this be?? What would bring any smart thinking individual down to basic pandering??" I thought to myself.
As an American, one of the things I value most is the ability to speak freely and clearly about one's convictions. Thanks to the Constitution, it's all right there in black and white.
Funny how I said black and white.
Anyway, one of the things that makes free speech what it is happens to be the weight of the gift that we are given. Freedom is powerful, and when coupled with speech, that power becomes a blade sharper than any sword, but to shamelessly quote Stan Lee, "With great power, comes great responsibility."
It is important to consider what your freedoms bring to you in light of and in lieu of OUR history. The shared history of anyone of color. The path from there to here has been fraught with many obstacles. But, because of the sacrifices of others before us, many of us think we have reached our final destination.
I say we have not.
Now I will become opinionated.
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." That is a well known quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. I know you know that quote, and I know many of the people who both support and detract you know that quote.
I believe that you as an individual human being have the absolute right to believe in what you wish. This is your gift for being an American.
However as a man of color, a black man born in a nation that STILL harbors deep racist sentiment, I feel it was a sheer injustice to see you BEG a white man -- and may I add, a white man who voted AGAINST a holiday celebrating the life of MLK (Something that he has since regretted doing, at least in words) -- to attack a fellow man of color.
Whether or not you subscribe to this idea, our skin color brings us kinship. Kinship via shared struggle. Maybe not on a ground level, but on a level of ancestry. Many of our fellow brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, parents and grandparents laid their lives down so that you and I could share this discourse.
What you were filmed doing was an injustice to that spirit, and frankly, it made you no better than the Bull Connors, the Jesse Helmses, and all the other men, regardless of political affiliation who had no problem tearing a man down because of, or in spite of his race.
You hit a crossroads yesterday where your beliefs intersected with the virulent fodder needed, DESIRED by certain individuals to cheapen and detract from the campaign of Barack Obama. YOUR BROTHER. MY BROTHER.
You don't have to agree with him, you don't have to like him, but goddamn you, you had better RESPECT him. Not as an American, but as A BLACK MAN. And as a Black man, your words resonate far beyond your personal freedoms.
See, what you either fail to or choose to ignore is that whites who do hold prejudices absolutely love any opportunity to highlight any person of color who is willing to tear down another person of color if it advances their own ideology.
DIVIDE AND CONQUER. Simple as that.
So, as we roll into the election in less than a month, I implore you to think about what that image portrayed. It may have portrayed freedom and individuality to you, but to others, it portrayed a deep shame, and proof that images can still be used as weapons.
Your success is my success because we succeed at the behest of all of those who have fallen to make our paths possible. This is why I am not going to sit here and call you a Tom or a bootlick, because that does not help the discourse. I don't think you are an evil man, nor do I think John McCain is evil either (I have met the man and shook his hand.)
It's a shame Emmitt Till didn't get to live to see a Black man elected president. However, those who laugh at Emmitt's death, well, they also cheered and laughed when they saw your pleading display shown in snippets across the globe.
Think about that level of freedom.
Brother.
Posted by: Hashim R. Hathaway | October 10, 2008 at 08:39 AM
James you are absolutely correct to have your own opinion just as the Obama supporters have, but make no mistake about it you're the token BLACK man, and you were embraced by the little white man who shared your concerns, but I see it this way , your getting the attention you desired be it negative and/or positive. But I can assure of this my brother your skin color is still black and you are no different from the man you reference to as the Black Jesus. Your still a N-gga in there eyes will always be.
Posted by: RMG | October 10, 2008 at 08:48 AM
I'm not here to bash, everyone is entitled to vote for whomever they wish. But why didn't you ask Mccain to go at Obama with his polices on what he would do to help the economy, healthcare, Iraq policies, or stop acting as if he suffers from ADHD instead of imploring him to attack him so negatively? Instead you chose to ask him to go negative and you came off and have been type-casted as the angry-black!
Posted by: Why so negative! | October 10, 2008 at 08:51 AM
Mr. Hathaway,
It seems that you have missed the point. Mr. Harris believes as I do, that we are not black or white most importantly, but instead we are Americans, first and foremost. We stand by our convictions, and not by our color. I believe that racism, even in it's most disgusting forms, would be erased, if we could all (black, white, asian, etc) have the insight to see that we are Americans first, and it is the American spirit that binds us, not our color.
Posted by: Richard S. Price, Jr. | October 10, 2008 at 08:58 AM
One more thing it is my hope that "YOU" get no further acknowledgement of any kind, however I know differently part of the game for you is seek notariety, let's just call what it is the American born of African dissent". May if at all possible you can contact Michael Jackson get in touch with his plastic surgeons that aided him in bleaching his skin color, that way you don't have to acknowledge your race as and American of African dissent. You are no better than the ones that call you N gga or sellout or Uncle Tom or whatever names they have chosen to give you but what I do know, is that you're totally doing this for the sake of winning popularity. It is my hope that we don't give you to much attention. You just don't deserve it. The American of African dissent, "Please give me a break"
Posted by: RMG | October 10, 2008 at 09:04 AM
"Chocolate Jesus"???
Are you kidding me?
Perhaps that is why a lot of people can't have a civil discussion with you. Your derision is evident in your posts. It's also insulting that you would invoke Jesus' name in the manner in which you do.
It's one thing to receive death threats (which is wrong) but to read them to your kids is a new low. Why would you purposely upset them like that? The thing kids enjoy is security and a sense of comfort, especially as it relates to their parents. Why would you burden them with that fear?
Yes, MLK would be rolling in his grave, but I suspect not for the reasons you presume.
Posted by: JTaylor | October 10, 2008 at 09:10 AM
No one is attacking Mr. Harris for supporting McCain, just the way he did it. When I saw Mr. Harris I was in "shock and awe" that this man is BEGGING McCain to attack Sen. Obama. No no no, not on issues but on a personal level. That is where the shucking and jiving is coming in at.
Posted by: point missed | October 10, 2008 at 09:11 AM
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
THIS is what we're talking about. Reading through the above comments - they all say the same thing: How dare a black man vote for the white candidate.
It obviously doesn't matter if James - like me - has severe misgivings about Obama's past associations with unrepentant terrorists, his attendance at an American-bashing church, his socialist leanings, his fundamental disregard for the sanctity of human life, his ACORN ties and the current widespread investigations of ACORN, or the outrageous messiah complex surrounding the Obama campaign. In other words, his CHARACTER.
No.
All that matters to the commenter here - and to the media at large - is pushing the meme that anyone not voting for Obama is doing so because they're racist.
The best way I can relate to this is as a woman. I'm repeatedly told that I'm "brainwashed", "stupid", and not a "real woman" because I won't shut my mouth and vote for the Democrats like they want me to. The crap I take for being conservative, and for supporting a woman like Sarah Palin, is just disgusting.
In both instances, the party that claims to be about "tolerance", "diversity", and claims to carry the best interest of women and minorities at heart let the mask slip to review their true selves: Bigoted, intolerant, angry and hateful bullies who can't stand a when a member of the groups they consider "theirs" (women and minorities) dares to break free of the sheeple mentality pervading the Democratic party.
I used to be a liberal. I became a conservative when I realized the liberal movement was nothing but hypocrisy built on failed political ideologies.
Posted by: Amy P. | October 10, 2008 at 09:11 AM
you think people are upset at you cause you support McCain/Palin for president? Hopefully one day you will figure it out. JT good luck in all your furture endeavors but one day you will pray for forgiveness for your stunt
Posted by: rowdy | October 10, 2008 at 09:17 AM
McCain can't win on issues. He must start desperately attacking. Which is sad because his character was maligned by the same people that he surrounds himself with.
How McCain has fallen...
And he has a supporter BEGGING him to do so. Says a lot.
Posted by: JTaylor | October 10, 2008 at 09:23 AM
As an African American mother of two 12 year boys and a wife of a veteran, I am disappointed not mad or filled with hatred that you support McCain. You actually got on national television begging the white man to save you (that's sad). What's even sadder is that you participated in a rally with McCain who has uses fear and hatred to excite the crowd and gain votes. I could care less who you support that is your white man given right (for now). But because McCain has no solutions for middle-class issues and veterans, he has to go for the character of his opponent. "Fair game okay". Just like you have done your research on Obama, I have done mine on McCain and Palin. Based on that research, McCain (SideKick not Maverick) is not for the middle class or veterans and neither is the hockey mom.
To keep it short here are a few sites
McCain Exploded With Rage During Gambling Outing: huffingtonpost.com
New VoteVets Ad:
tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com
Youtube:
John McCain - Lost in Space
KEATING ECONOMICS John McCain & The Making of a Financial Crisis
Maybe we should ask his ex-wife about his character. Or his fellow POWs that were left behind and McCain voted for the files to be sealed (soldout his fellow POWs). My husband says only a soldier who doesn't follow orders gets caught. So if you want to vote for McCain that is your right (as long as they keep slavery illegal), but remember at the end of the day your just a nigger to them (that's character even you can't deny).
youtube.com: Israelis For Obama
Obama/Biden 2008
Posted by: Sonja Warren | October 10, 2008 at 09:25 AM
Amy P read the posts again, no one cares who you vote for...oh forget it
Posted by: rowdy | October 10, 2008 at 09:28 AM
Amy P read the posts again, no one cares who you vote for...oh forget it
Yeah...except for all the "we don't care who you vote for, but shame on you for supporting McCain" double talk.
If people didn't care, this wouldn't be an issue.
But they do.
Posted by: Amy P. | October 10, 2008 at 09:37 AM
All I can do is laugh, Mr. Harris has the right to vote for anyone he so desire, I just laugh at all the white folks at the Wisconsin Rally who had that frighten look that a blk man is so close to the office that white america had control of for over 200 years, Well Mr. Harris your antics last night was hillarious, I'm sorry your getting death threats and I know deep down you don't want anything bad to happen to Barack Obama, my prayers are with you and your family that he will keep you safe...
Posted by: Greg | October 10, 2008 at 09:41 AM
In RE: Richard Price and Amy P.
In the spirit of constructive discourse, I appreciate both of your comments, but I think you're both approaching it a bit short sighted.
"It seems that you have missed the point. Mr. Harris believes as I do, that we are not black or white most importantly, but instead we are Americans, first and foremost. We stand by our convictions, and not by our color. I believe that racism, even in it's most disgusting forms, would be erased, if we could all (black, white, asian, etc) have the insight to see that we are Americans first, and it is the American spirit that binds us, not our color."
I wish I could hold hands with you and wave the magic wand that would erase the ugly spectre of racism from the globe, but the reality is that racism is generational, and coupled with living in an image-based society, race matters still.
The only way for us to achieve a colorblind society is for all of us to be literally blind.
Whether or not James T. like it, the first thing white people see and recognize is his skin color. When he begged McCain to attack Obama when our economies both domestic and abroad are necrotic at best, people who didn't know him saw a black man beg a white man to attack another black man.
Images like that are corrosive and serve as fodder for that 6% of AMERICANS polled who said they would NOT vote for Obama based on race. Six percent. That is nothing to sneeze at, Rich.
I suggest you seek out a copy of "Race Matters" by Professor Cornel West. It is an eye-opening treatise into why it is race sticks into our daily lives. Cornel is no racist, far from it.
As for you, Amy P.,
"I used to be a liberal. I became a conservative when I realized the liberal movement was nothing but hypocrisy built on failed political ideologies."
I ask you, what then of the hypocrisy surrounding the daughter of Gov. Palin's daughter? When the reports came out that her daughter was underage and pregnant, she was lauded for essentially advancing the reality of teen pregnancy by ensuring that her daughter WOULD be having the child. What if it were that one of Barack's daughter's came up pregnant? Many Republicans have used the image of underage black teenage mothers as a problematic cause and effect when speaking on issues of value to them.
You may disagree with me, Amy, but Gov. Palin has been more derogatory to the woman's movement than any other political figure I can remember. Her lack of knowledge and willingness to flaunt her gender on a subtle level spits in the face of the scores of women who HAVE fought to bring true gender equality.
You can spit out the term liberal, yet can't take the criticism for being conservative? Sounds like a case of sour grapes.
Posted by: Hashim R. Hathaway | October 10, 2008 at 09:54 AM
Mr. Harris,
First off, I'm a black conservative as well. And, up until a couple days ago, I was a staunch McCain supporter.
I heard your little questioning of McCain and your "begging" him to go after Obama on Wright, Ayers, etc.
Now, in full disclosure, I've gone after Rev. Wright myself, on the fact that he essentially equated US military actions as "terrorism." As a vet, I took offense to that, and voiced my opinion. So that's out there.
Back to you: in my opinion, you really made yourself look stupid. What possessed you to "beg" McCain for anything? Do you have any idea what that made you look like? Mind you, I didn't actually see you on TV, but just from hearing you, you sounded weak.
Secondly, McCain lost my support for making the non-issues of Wright/Ayers into issues, when there's much bigger things that should be being discussed. So maybe you can tell me why that's a good strategy because from where I sit, it reads as a dumb one. The only people for whom Wright/Ayers are issues are those who weren't going to vote for Obama anyway. What's the point in bringing them up now?
Look forward to hearing from you (and I'll post your response on my blog as well),
-D.
Posted by: D. | October 10, 2008 at 09:56 AM
To understand this, you have to go back to what [the] young brother here referred to as the house Negro and the field Negro -- back during slavery. There was two kinds of slaves. There was the house Negro and the field Negro. The house Negroes - they lived in the house with master, they dressed pretty good, they ate good 'cause they ate his food -- what he left. They lived in the attic or the basement, but still they lived near the master; and they loved their master more than the master loved himself. They would give their life to save the master's house quicker than the master would. The house Negro, if the master said, "We got a good house here," the house Negro would say, "Yeah, we got a good house here." Whenever the master said "we," he said "we." That's how you can tell a house Negro.
If the master's house caught on fire, the house Negro would fight harder to put the blaze out than the master would. If the master got sick, the house Negro would say, "What's the matter, boss, we sick?" We sick! He identified himself with his master more than his master identified with himself. And if you came to the house Negro and said, "Let's run away, let's escape, let's separate," the house Negro would look at you and say, "Man, you crazy. What you mean, separate? Where is there a better house than this? Where can I wear better clothes than this? Where can I eat better food than this?" That was that house Negro. In those days he was called a "house nigger." And that's what we call him today, because we've still got some house niggers running around here.
This modern house Negro loves his master. He wants to live near him. He'll pay three times as much as the house is worth just to live near his master, and then brag about "I'm the only Negro out here." "I'm the only one on my job." "I'm the only one in this school." You're nothing but a house Negro. And if someone comes to you right now and says, "Let's separate," you say the same thing that the house Negro said on the plantation. "What you mean, separate? From America? This good white man? Where you going to get a better job than you get here?" I mean, this is what you say. "I ain't left nothing in Africa," that's what you say. Why, you left your mind in Africa.
On that same plantation, there was the field Negro. The field Negro -- those were the masses. There were always more Negroes in the field than there was Negroes in the house. The Negro in the field caught hell. He ate leftovers. In the house they ate high up on the hog. The Negro in the field didn't get nothing but what was left of the insides of the hog. They call 'em "chitt'lin'" nowadays. In those days they called them what they were: guts. That's what you were -- a gut-eater. And some of you all still gut-eaters.
The field Negro was beaten from morning to night. He lived in a shack, in a hut; He wore old, castoff clothes. He hated his master. I say he hated his master. He was intelligent. That house Negro loved his master. But that field Negro -- remember, they were in the majority, and they hated the master. When the house caught on fire, he didn't try and put it out; that field Negro prayed for a wind, for a breeze. When the master got sick, the field Negro prayed that he'd die. If someone come [sic] to the field Negro and said, "Let's separate, let's run," he didn't say "Where we going?" He'd say, "Any place is better than here." You've got field Negroes in America today. I'm a field Negro. The masses are the field Negroes. When they see this man's house on fire, you don't hear these little Negroes talking about "our government is in trouble." They say, "The government is in trouble." Imagine a Negro: "Our government"! I even heard one say "our astronauts." They won't even let him near the plant -- and "our astronauts"! "Our Navy" -- that's a Negro that's out of his mind. That's a Negro that's out of his mind.
Just as the slavemaster of that day used Tom, the house Negro, to keep the field Negroes in check, the same old slavemaster today has Negroes who are nothing but modern Uncle Toms, 20th century Uncle Toms, to keep you and me in check, keep us under control, keep us passive and peaceful and nonviolent. That's Tom making you nonviolent. It's like when you go to the dentist, and the man's going to take your tooth. You're going to fight him when he starts pulling. So he squirts some stuff in your jaw called novocaine, to make you think they're not doing anything to you. So you sit there and 'cause you've got all of that novocaine in your jaw, you suffer peacefully. Blood running all down your jaw, and you don't know what's happening. 'Cause someone has taught you to suffer -- peacefully.
Posted by: Detroit Red | October 10, 2008 at 10:02 AM
Detroit Red, if you are going to use the immortal words of El Hajj Malik el-Shabazz (Malcolm X), at least attribute the quote to the brother...Ha, but then again...maybe you did, Detroit Red. Well played, sir.
Posted by: Hashim R. Hathaway | October 10, 2008 at 10:06 AM
"Whether or not James T. like it, the first thing white people see and recognize is his skin color. When he begged McCain to attack Obama when our economies both domestic and abroad are necrotic at best, people who didn't know him saw a black man beg a white man to attack another black man."
I'm white. I see a conservative asking another conservative to attack a liberal during an election. Shouldn't be surprising or enraging.
Posted by: Al | October 10, 2008 at 10:14 AM
Most of you commenting are absolutely clueless about who James is and what he stands for. He is all-the-way Republican. Not for superficial partisan hack reasons, but because he is pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, anti-taxes, etc. (Walk around any African-American neighborhood, and you'll hear 90 percent of the people espousing the same views.) Even the liberal talking heads in Milwaukee respect James for this reason; he has always been consistent. (His daughter is named Reagan for crying out loud!) Those of you who think this is merely a publicity stunt are blasting your ignorance all of over the internet.
Posted by: inner city kid | October 10, 2008 at 10:17 AM
I congratulate you man. McCain has not wanted to be thought of as racist. that's why he has not gotten into it. But Praise to the Lord, people are waking up and hearing. there is a lawsuit also asking Obama fro his documents. Let's see how the federal judge rules on that. http://obamacrimes.com
Posted by: Dr. bobbi Anne white | October 10, 2008 at 10:21 AM
Al, no offense, but...you wouldn't see it.
"Asking," as you suggested, is fair game. "Begging," however, relegates you to a level of subservience.
Posted by: D. | October 10, 2008 at 10:22 AM
To understand this, you have to go back to what [the] young brother here referred to as the house Negro and the field Negro -- back during slavery. There was two kinds of slaves. There was the house Negro and the field Negro. The house Negroes - they lived in the house with master, they dressed pretty good, they ate good 'cause they ate his food -- what he left. They lived in the attic or the basement, but still they lived near the master; and they loved their master more than the master loved himself. They would give their life to save the master's house quicker than the master would. The house Negro, if the master said, "We got a good house here," the house Negro would say, "Yeah, we got a good house here." Whenever the master said "we," he said "we." That's how you can tell a house Negro.
If the master's house caught on fire, the house Negro would fight harder to put the blaze out than the master would. If the master got sick, the house Negro would say, "What's the matter, boss, we sick?" We sick! He identified himself with his master more than his master identified with himself. And if you came to the house Negro and said, "Let's run away, let's escape, let's separate," the house Negro would look at you and say, "Man, you crazy. What you mean, separate? Where is there a better house than this? Where can I wear better clothes than this? Where can I eat better food than this?" That was that house Negro. In those days he was called a "house nigger." And that's what we call him today, because we've still got some house niggers running around here.
This modern house Negro loves his master. He wants to live near him. He'll pay three times as much as the house is worth just to live near his master, and then brag about "I'm the only Negro out here." "I'm the only one on my job." "I'm the only one in this school." You're nothing but a house Negro. And if someone comes to you right now and says, "Let's separate," you say the same thing that the house Negro said on the plantation. "What you mean, separate? From America? This good white man? Where you going to get a better job than you get here?" I mean, this is what you say. "I ain't left nothing in Africa," that's what you say. Why, you left your mind in Africa.
On that same plantation, there was the field Negro. The field Negro -- those were the masses. There were always more Negroes in the field than there was Negroes in the house. The Negro in the field caught hell. He ate leftovers. In the house they ate high up on the hog. The Negro in the field didn't get nothing but what was left of the insides of the hog. They call 'em "chitt'lin'" nowadays. In those days they called them what they were: guts. That's what you were -- a gut-eater. And some of you all still gut-eaters.
The field Negro was beaten from morning to night. He lived in a shack, in a hut; He wore old, castoff clothes. He hated his master. I say he hated his master. He was intelligent. That house Negro loved his master. But that field Negro -- remember, they were in the majority, and they hated the master. When the house caught on fire, he didn't try and put it out; that field Negro prayed for a wind, for a breeze. When the master got sick, the field Negro prayed that he'd die. If someone come [sic] to the field Negro and said, "Let's separate, let's run," he didn't say "Where we going?" He'd say, "Any place is better than here." You've got field Negroes in America today. I'm a field Negro. The masses are the field Negroes. When they see this man's house on fire, you don't hear these little Negroes talking about "our government is in trouble." They say, "The government is in trouble." Imagine a Negro: "Our government"! I even heard one say "our astronauts." They won't even let him near the plant -- and "our astronauts"! "Our Navy" -- that's a Negro that's out of his mind. That's a Negro that's out of his mind.
Just as the slavemaster of that day used Tom, the house Negro, to keep the field Negroes in check, the same old slavemaster today has Negroes who are nothing but modern Uncle Toms, 20th century Uncle Toms, to keep you and me in check, keep us under control, keep us passive and peaceful and nonviolent. That's Tom making you nonviolent. It's like when you go to the dentist, and the man's going to take your tooth. You're going to fight him when he starts pulling. So he squirts some stuff in your jaw called novocaine, to make you think they're not doing anything to you. So you sit there and 'cause you've got all of that novocaine in your jaw, you suffer peacefully. Blood running all down your jaw, and you don't know what's happening. 'Cause someone has taught you to suffer -- peacefully.
Posted by: Detroit Red | October 10, 2008 at 10:23 AM