THINKING THROUGH RACISM

A Special Book Review by Carol Taylor

The United Independent Compensatory

Code/System/Concept: A Textbook/Workbook

For Thought, Speech and/or Action For Victims of Racism (white supremacy)

By Neely Fuller, Jr.

335 pages

Copyright Neely Fuller, Jr. 1969

Fuller, Jr. graphically begins his complex work with a definition of ‘the known universe’ with a list of three basic types of individuals (White people, Non-White people and White Supremacists).

Therefore, all world leaders, Administrators, Teachers, Anti-terrorists and anyone involved in research and/or organizing against racism/colorism should (or should’ve) read this epic literary investigation into the effects of color discrimination in, interestingly enough, the arenas of Economics, Education, Entertainment, Labor, Law, Politics, Religion, Sex and War.

However, this book should contain the warning, “If you can’t stand the truth – get the hell out of the kitchen!” Fuller, Jr. delivers an unending, non-compromising and consistent literary punch to the reader’s solar plexus, and if one doesn’t enjoy thinking deeply, he/she shouldn’t open this book.

I opened it and the following words hardly describe the resultant emotions: provocative, nettling, disturbing, exciting, saddening, frustrating, enlightening, exhilarating, maddening, wistful, stark, frightening and inspiring.

Among other important, distinctive charges the author makes are, “The only form of functional racism that exists among the people of the known universe is white supremacy.” And, “No major problem, that exists between the people of the known universe, can be eliminated until racism is eliminated.”

This monumental work is so intellectually complex that I had to extrapolate only some of the definitions in order to introduce the flavor, of Fuller’s thinking, of what I consider ‘extremes,’ check out “belly warming” and “maximum-emergency compensatory justice.”

The ultimate ‘Reflector,’ Fuller, Jr. has translated his extraordinary personal experience and cerebral peregrinations onto page after page of reverent explanation, not-so-gently guiding the reader through a maze of social interactions and into some rather heavy and startling conclusions.

It has, truthfully, taken me over a full year to review this massive work, and I’m left with the feeling that personally and literally, there’s so much more I could have covered.

But, open this book to any page – and be prepared to be inexorably drawn into Fuller’s thought processes - which smack you upside the head. For instance; page 35. 2 “Racistman and Racistwoman, are, collectively, the smartest, most powerful, most malicious, most deceitful, most technical, most efficient, most inventive and most skillfully violent of all of the people of the known universe,” and 6. “Racistman and Racistwoman, by practicing Racism (white supremacy) are the greatest promoters of falsehood, non-justice and incorrectness, among the people of the known universe.” If that were not incendiary enough, Fuller states categorically, on page 88, that there is no such thing as as a “working class!”

Neely Fuller, Jr. also states that “Justice is better than Racism.”

I believe that every literate human should read and re-read this workbook/reference/dictionary/social thesaurus.

(Then read it to others who can’t read!

You love your children – share this mighty Workbook with them.

Hon. Neely Fuller, Jr.

905 6^th St. S.W., #212B

Washington, D.C. 20024

(202) 484-5461

(4/29/2004 – Mr. Fuller, Jr. called me and said, “It’s the best review that’s been done – it’s a ‘word photograph’ you’ve captured what I meant!”)

WORD GRIPES:

It's NOT "physically searching!" - It's just plain "searching!" AWK!

(How do you speall 'r-e-d-u-n-d-a-n-t?')

I's NOT "tanight!" It's "tonight!" AWK!

And Oh Lawd! - It's NOT "He lays on the bed!" It's "He LIES on the bed!" GREAT GUGGAMOOGA! TRIPLE AWK!

It's NOT "I had went!" It's "I had gone!" DOUBLE AWK!

JUDGE RAGGI'S BACK OF THE (BUS) COURTROOM

(A June 24, 2002 First-Person Report by Carol Taylor R.N.)

I never ever thought I'd experience the humiliation Black folk felt in the Deep South, forced to ride in the back of the bus, but today, in Federal Court in Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A. on the first day of the Charles 'I-didn't-do-anything-to-Abner-Louima' Schwarz trial, I got the full-force brunt of what it means to be 'Black and in the Back.'

At 8:25am seven of us early-arrivers were led by Deputy Marshall Jaime Morales into 225 Tillary Street Federal Court, as New York's Press Corps stood behind hastily-erected barricades (the first time they were backed up that far into the nearby park), watching us being herded up to the metal detectors. When we arrived at the courtroom door, we were met by "Debbie," another Deputy Marshall who, in response to our queries about the fact that of five rows of seats, only one was 'for the public,' and that one was in the very back - holding only about ten persons on each side of the courtroom, said, that the "...seating is according to the judge...I have nothing to do with the seating...!" "This is outrageous!" - one older Black woman said as she took one of the seats upfrom "Scott," the tall white male Manhattan attorney, who had arrived at 7:10am - the very first 'member of the public' on the scene. "Why did you come here today?" -he was asked. "I came because it's an important case - an important issue." "Which is?" "Police conduct."

The case is about a Black man, Haitian Abner Louima, who was sodomized by now-jailed cop Justin Volpe and, as prosecution stated in the opening remarks, held down for the sodomizing by

Charles Scwarz. Incredibly, the young white (in fact, all of the gallery, including the judge was white) female prosecution attorney stated emphatically to the jury that "...this case is not about Black or white..." - (So why say that?) The jury was comprised of eight white males, two Black males and two white females - this in New York City where the population is 1.majority female and 2.majority people of color! In my opinion, the courtroom seating procedure and the jury selection process should contain some of that democracy they say have in the court proceedings!

"This is such a farce!" said one Black spectator in an audience of approximately 114 whites, where only 16 obvious- Blacks were allowed. Lynch of the PBA, Steve Dunleavy (without the usual odor of stale alcohol) from a local newspaper rag, ex-politician from Staten Island, Guy Molinari, sitting next to Schwarz's wife, was there, large as life after putting up his own house as collateral for Schwarz. Defense attorney Fischetti was overheard asking "Debbie" - Deputy Marshall, for extra seats for "...some of my law students..."

The sign, reserving some of the seats..."Reserved for the official Press," made me wonder what

group comprised the ' un - official' Press. I asked the big fat white male guard squatting in the end seat his name..."We don't give our names," he growled. The all-white court players reminded me of nothing less than the expression - "...unearned privilege of white skin color...." As the Prosecution completed her opening address, an old Black woman in the back of the (bus) courtroom sat with her face solemn, tears coursing down her face - the scene, redolent of the 'Good Ol' South, humiliating, nauseating, insufferable, tragic and outrageous taking us "minorities" right straight back into history fifty years.

Just - US in America in 2002...Post Script: The young Black male who rose in court with a camera and asked the judge to be allowed to film was hastily escorted out of the courtroom on orders of Judge Raggi. He emerged from the courthouse, only to return to ask for a voucher for his videotape which Deputy Dan O'hearne had confiscated but hadn't given the required piece of paper; five or six deputy marshals surrounded him, along with uniformed Federal police officer Mathos and his Sargeant, took him down a long dark hallway - Black male surrounded by whites. I called his house later, hoping they hadn't "Ashcrofted" him...left a message. Chagrined and depressed, he called later and said they'd concocted some exuse to give him a summons and let him leave the building, with a voucher but without his property - his videotape. Just- US in America,2002 (718) 856 1271 www.racismtest.com

THE MORE THINGS 'CHANGE' - THE MORE THINGS STAY THE SAME:

Racism/Colorism Reigns

(Although this was written in 1984, the issues, raised about newsrooms and newscasters, remain unresolved even today in 2007)

"Bill Munroe

Executive Producer

Meet The Press TV

NBC NEWS

40001 Nebraska Avenue

Washington, D.C. 20016 April 8, 1984

Dear Mr. Munroe:

Re: Jesse Jackson

I do not send congratulations for today's program. Congratulations do not go to Marvin Kalb for his naive, fatuous, racist and potentially divisive question to Mr. Jackson about being a Black or an American first. In all my years of watching and doing television programs, I have never heard anyone ask a Jew, (or an Asian, a Native American, an Arab or any other ethnic person including a white person) "Are you a Jew first or an American first?"

Nor do congratulations go to you or Mr. Cohen, whose incendiary and extremely incompetent questions only revealed an overriding desperate need for anti racist re-education programming.

Not only did the whole panel's questions have just the opposite effect of what they were obviously trying to do, (with the exclusion of the Black reporter who was asking questions as though he were part of Jess's public relations department) but the program quite ironically only served to graphically illustrate the superiority with which Jackson expresses his ideas, in clear contrast to the other two relatively colorless presidential candidates. In addition, instead of Kalb doing his job as moderator accurately, it was Jesse who had to repeatedly return the program to the important issues. Moreover, Mr. Cohen should have known, if his professionalism hadn't been masked by his emotions, that there is no white or Black or reverse racism: there is only racism.

This sad display by topnotch newpeople doesn't surprise me. It seems that most of the white reporters (and that is still true of most networks in this multi-ethnic country, they're mostly white and, in spite of the over fifty-one per cent female population, still mostly male) do not know how to put intelligent, unbiased questions to people of color. Today's program was such a blatant and unfair battery of the guest by the panel members who didn't even realize that it was expressing its blind, unthinking fear of people of color, that I could not refrain from informing you that you people need help, and desperately so.

I am dismayed because your program is one of the best of the newsprograms and involves some of the most intelligent reviewers in the nation. This display just goes to show us that the racism which has been bred into all of us (unaware as most are) by an inherently racist society, is not dispelled by a high IQ, nor apparently, by advanced training and experience as journalists.

May I suggest, in order to quell some of the inevitable alienation of your viewers of goodwill, who feel as I do, that you quickly produce a program about today's program. This would be a social service that you might perform in expiation of today's program. Understand that I do not blame you all - we are all racists - but some of us are trying to do something about re-educating ourselves.

Quite frankly, I think Jesse should send you a thank-you note for inadvertently doing so much for his campaign; and all of this on prime time television on one of the best spots and programs in the U.S.A.

I am very sad, - is this what I, as the first Black Airline Hostess in the history of U.S.A. aviation fought so hard for way back in 1958? Today's program made it abundantly clear that there is still a great deal of hard work for all of us to do for a harmonious society.

Sincerely,

Carol Taylor

cc: Robert Mulholland: President & CEO NBC

Rev. Jesse Jackson"

WORD GRIPES:

It's NOT "join me" It's "join WITH me!" (repeat because so manyfolk misuse the expression) TRIPLE AWK!

It's NOT "stricly" It's "strictly!" AWK!

It's NOT, pleaseGod, "bi-racial!" It's "mixed ethnicity or colors!" QUADRUPLE AWK!!!!

SEX & TOURISM

(This is an article under the title "Pepperpot" I wrote for The Nation newspaper 'way back in 1974 - on Sunday, February 3, which caused quite a storm then; wonder whether the issues still obtain?)

"It is past time for communities like Barbados to deal effectively with that aspect of tourism which appears to be the unsavoury one - sex.

We stick our heads in the sand and refuse to acknowledge publicly that there are problems which seem insurmountable to those individuals who must daily face unpleasant encounters. I am speaking of the hotel and guest house managers.

Now, whether it is the myth of the Black male sexual superiority (I've capitalized 'Black' - back then, the Bajan editors wouldn't-heh heh) or whether it is the good work of the tourist board, the fact remains tha hundreds of female visitors are flocking to our shores here; some in search of sun sand and sea; some in search of the fourth 's' - sex.

And it will do no good to deny the fourth 's' or try to believe that it does not exist.

So, we must try to make sure that confrontations which occur more and more frequently are resolved with the least amount of friction.

GODFATHERS

The confrontations to which I refer are those where the hotel managers believe that it is in the best interests of their guests to act like Caribbean Godfathers and to try to dictate to tourists just whom they may admit to their respective hotel rooms and who may not enter as guests.

There is legislation which states that hotel owners and managers may, in their discretion, stop certain people from visiting tourists (hotel guests), especially if they believe that the guests may be entering for purposes of sexual intercourse.

What confuses me is how on earth are these people (sorry) to determine who should enter their portals and who shouldn't?

How many is too many (especially if its good) and where does one stop the counting and start denying entry? In other words, if a Canadian female has two male visitors in one afternoon, or two male visitors a week, just how do these Godfathers decide which person to admit and which person to deny?

THE COLOUR

I know for a fact that in many cases it its not the number but the color of the prospective guests which is the determining factor. The blanket test (pardon the pun) seems to be, if the would-be guest is under thirty, Black, perhaps dressed only in casual shirt and slacks, brother, you've got a beach boy prospect, and almost automatically, that means the Godfathers can start giving a Valkyerie call and "we don't allow that kind of thing in our establishment!" and "you can't go up to her room (or apartment), she'll have to come down to you!"

I know of several of my friends, all Black, doctors, lawyers, bank clerks, construction men, teachers, ministers - on and on, who look extremely young (handsome too) and who, if they decided to call upon female friends from the cold North, would, and have been, stopped at the desk and told that they could not visit their friends in their accommodations.

The incidents are too numerous to recount here, but suffice it to say, they do and have been recurring with frightening regularity.

I will not comment upon the psychology involved of the managers and assistant managers having obvious hangups about 'mixed' relationships and who feel that they must protect "our fair visitors" from the predatory Black male locals.

What I will say, however, is that I beieve the local legislation which anachronistically deals with matters sexual, should be revised with a view to allowing consenting adults the freedom of choice which is an inalienabe right, especially when it comes to something as private as interpersonal relationships.

Surely, managers must try to see that these guests are not "bothered" and that they spend their time just the way they would like, without contravening local laws.

But, there is definitely a boundary, and it should be redefined now, in view of the modern day living to which visitors are accustomed and to which we Caribbean people must become accustomed if we intend to live in today's world.

AN EXCUSE

On the other hand, our leaders and especially our church people, who persist in denouncing overseas women for their "inappropriate attire" must stop giving our local men an excuse to attack "provocative" women, no matter who they may be.

It is only asking for trouble from those men who feel that "she deserved" an attack, when our church leaders say that the responsibility for an attack is squarely on the shoulders of women who, in their estimation, are not "covered" adequately.

I maintain tht even if a woman (of course she would have to be mentally unbalanced) walked up Broad Street in nothing that no man has any right to attack her, provocation or not.

Men here must realise that the law is the law and to break it means punishment, and their responsibility to this society is to obey the law, whether they feel like it or not! And it is not good enough for other men, church leaders, lawyers, judges, whoever, to make old fashioned cracks about "she deserved" to be raped, attacked or whatever.

MORE RAPES

I see that there are more and more rapes in this island; I predict tht there will be a continuing increase if we do not teach our own men to control themselves. Of course, this means a total revision of the male-female thinking and education patterns.

The Adam-was-tempted-by-Eve bit will have to go. Men have been copping out of responsibility for so long, that it has become ingrained in every sphere of our lives, to the extent that, as far as one of our leading industries - tourism, is concerned, it looms as a distinct threat to our social progress.

We could start by having seminars for public discussion of the sexual aspects of tourism, with participants from the ministries and the business and privte sectors of the comunity.

I would expect the Pride and Industry group to consider this a top priority if we are to try to save our tourism."

Addendum: One of the most influential Barbadian citizens, a goodlooking attorney, was summarily confronted at one of the island's many hotels; he later successfully sued the establishment! Big scandal...part of the island's telling social history.

WORD GRIPES:

It's NOT "speak verbally!" Yes, I did hear it! It's either "speak" or "verbally express"...or whatever! AWK!

According to Howard Zinn: "The war on terrorism" -thanks elbushito - is a contradiction in terms! War IS terrorism!

DUH!

It's NOT "free gift!" - It's either "free" OR a "gift!" - NOT BOTH, Doofus! A gift IS free! TRIPLE AWK!

IT HAD TO HAPPEN:

" I Wonder Why They Hate Us So Much?"

Quitting America:
The Departure of A Black Man From His Native Land
by Randall Robinson
pp245
Publisher: Penguin Group USA
ISBN#0-52594758-2
Copyright 2004 Randall Robinson
Book Reviewed by Carol Taylor

(I couldn't wait for them to send me a Review Copy, so I took the book out of the Brooklyn Central Public Library on Eastern Parkway, where, incredibly, they'd stuck a green "Black Interest" label on the spine of this book - which actually should be read by everyone everywhere. I didn't have time to check whether they'd labelled other books with stickers saying, "Yellow Interest," "White Interest," "Red Interest," or "Brown Interest")

One of the marks/indices of a great book is what I call its "Reference Quotient," the number of times, after reading it, you find yourself going back to it for 'refreshers.' "Quitting America" has a quintessential "Reference Quotient." I found it refreshingly and continually stimulating my thinking.

However, right up front, I realized that Randall Robinson can't 'quit' America - (he went to St. Kitts, West Indies) - not with the increasing octopus-thrust of American tourism taking its economic and social toll in the Caribbean. (I lived down there for 14 years - he'll find out!)

For all of his lamentations about skin color degradation in the U.S., however, I don't understand why he didn't capitalize the word "Black." But, the book is replete with potent, descriptive, mind-stirring phrases; "National genetic illness of America," "Commodification of life," "memory-erasing slavery," "Prophylactic slaughter," "self-exculpatory charity," "hierarchy of the ignored," "spiritually countryless," and "laser smiles." He uses slicing, acerbic sarcasm and scathing descriptions of Blacks as 'America's parentheticals.' (And - this is hysterical - he informs us that the name of the Lone Ranger's sidekick 'Tonto,' means "stupid" in Spanish! (Go on, blow holes in memories of childhood!)

Robinson has crafted an ineffable literary shriek of agony, an agglomeration of angst, along with a paean to 'little St. Kitts,' all in very professional literary brushstrokes. He says that "Americans wrap themselves so totally in the coarse cloth of their own everything that they can see little else beyond the shores of their own unmarked, unseen --- insularity." He describes the United
States as containing a collective national psychosis (refusal to acknowledge its past in continually trammeling - almost exclusively - countries and people of color) - "...exploit, dump and bury..." However, he speaks of black and brown cultures - page 134 - and not red and yellow, in several instances.

"Democracy's a pipe dream...the United States was never a democracy...not for the poor, not for women, not for Blacks, not for other people of color." He speaks of "a race cross," (I would emphasize that it is "a color cross") - and on page 145 - "It is the important fortune, the interior defining condition, the ageless unfed black self that cannot flourish within the culturally intolerant space of self-absorbed white America." Further, he uses the term "transracial," (a 'no-no') however, his writing is redolent of a deep almost instinctive thirst for knowledge of his Black Self, which I believe is shared by diasporic BlackFolk, at some level or other.

Waxing even more stridently, Robinson says that the majority of Americans are lemmings, with respect to their allowing "...the president's 75 Billion Dollar War Fandango..." (note his consistent use of the small letter 'p' when describing Bush) In fact, he presents the bushites as 'killers,' Colin Powell as "...a Reagan rectal success of a conscience-dead (gutless) black man..."

At present, there are, Robinson warns, 59 wars being fought, forty thousand lives a month lost, - the poor killing the poor to benefit the privileged, the U.S. Army (of miseducated whites and misled blacks) is 35% Black, - "There are no checks anymore on American power... America loathes (Haitian Aristide) him enough to ignore - no - to destroy his democracy and kill his country's children for the collateral mischief of it. Haiti, you must see, is the North Star of our past and the open window onto our psychic renewal, our joining of a lost past, to a found future. The way out is the way back through. In this hemisphere, the Africa of the shining ancients lives nowhere as it does in embattled Haiti. The U.S. is strangling the democratic government of Haiti. Haitian blood stains American hands."

Robinson states that "white American DNA" reveals U.S. hubris/arrogance, from the presidency of Thomas Jefferson through that of Abraham Lincoln, from Woodrow Wilson through to the unfinished work of G.W. Bush. He gives the example of Republican Chuck Hagen's statement that, "America owns (my emphasis) Iraq," and describes how "African Americans love (Bill) Clinton and know little to nothing about Dominica." (Randall says Clinton "...wrecked the economics of several banana-producing Caribbean countries, including Dominica, which received 85% of its income from the export of bananas.")

Finally, Robinson says that he tried to love America - but America betrayed him. (I wonder how many other Black and people of color, not only in the United States but around the world, feel the same betrayal?)

"Quitting America" just might reveal the answer to that querulous utterance, "...wonder why they hate us so much?" - Who "they?"

WORD GRIPES:

It's NOT (and I DID hear this one on WBAI Radio!: "see visually!" - It's just "see, baby) TRIPLE AWK!

It's NOT "bref!" It's "breath!"

It's NOT "FebUary!" It's "February"

"YOU PEOPLE NEED TO CALM DOWN!"

"YOU PEOPLE NEED TO CALM DOWN!"
(And Suffer in Silence?)

Well, well well. Like curdled pus squeezed out of a facial zit, the racist/colorist , venomous animus popped outta' the New York Police Department's Police Commissioner Ray Kelly as he sat in the hot seat at City Hall yesterday, facing City Councilman Charles Barron and other members of the New York City Council enquiring into police training and procedures with special reference to the cop-slaughter of Sean Bell.

Everyone should procure a copy of the Transcript of the contentious Hearing; I got so mad when I heard the intemperate Kelly statement in the face of the widespread angst about young Sean Bell's murder, that I got up and mopped my entire apartment!

I've been telling the folk who've been calling me about the vitriol at City Hall that Kelly's body language - the upheld 'quelling' hand, the turgid frowing face and especially his "...you people need to calm down...!" are more telling and illustrative of the urgent need for him and every other single individual police person to be tested with the Racism/Colorism Quotient Test to determine the relative degree of pathology when it comes to dysfunctional responses to color and cultural differences.

I've also been telling my disturbed, angry callers that this, at this time, was the best thing that could've happened in terms of the public recognizing the necessity for ferreting out the untreated racism/colorism within the NYPD. As a New York State-trained Registered Nurse, (Bellevue Hospital) I know that a disease is most easily treated when the symptoms present themselves; racism/colorism is a disease which requires application before and after testing, and it certainly reared its ugly entrenched head at the City Council Police Training & Procedures Hearing yesterday.

That the 'top cop' could so nakedly expose his own racism/colorism in a public forum graphically illustrates that untreated racism/colorism cuts across education and intellect precisely because the disease directly involves the emotions. Some of the brightest individuals in the world, history tells us, have harbored racist/colorist beliefs and were/are, as a Professor Worrell has written, stubborn racists. "Racism does all sorts of distortions," said writer/activist Jan Carew in his address to the recently held National Conference for Media, in Memphis, TN.

Considering the institutionally racist/colorist mal-education system in this city and country, which perpetuates the 'BigWhiteLie' about the existance of "many races" and generally doesn't teach its multicolored students that they are all '...of African descent' no matter what color or ethnic background they are, it's a wonder that the police persons've not beaten, tasered, murdered, entrapped and disrespected even more of the City's inhabitants of color.

That the NYPD is totally out of control in dealing with the undetected/untreated racism/colorism in its officers is extremely frightening. This is eerily evident as the uniformed or out-of-uniformed police approach people of color on the neighborhood streets - and then, incredibly and unfairly, as folk of color - knowing the murderous history of the NYPD - run from the police - many are shot and killed as they flee. (It is awesome to note that the police do not shoot whitefolk in the back - but they do routinely shoot Black males and other people of color IN THE BACK!

So, it is quite shockingly evident that it should be a priority for any community in this racist/colorist country to demand, that police be tested - every single one of those gun-toting, billyclub-toting, taser-toting, mace & pepper spray-toting, life-and-death-deciding individuals who are police persons who've been socially-conditioned by an admittedly institutionally racist/colorist education system. Every single one of 'em should be given the Racism/Colorism Quotient Test and where they're found to be dysfunctional in their responses - be referred to psychiatric or psychological Counseling, depending upon the severity of their disease. And they should remain in counseling until they can recognize, acknowledge and be healed of their disease because they have the awesome power of life and death over us all.

Under escalating pressure from irate communities of color, the NYPD disturbingly continues to focus on everything BUT the crux/basis of its problems with people of color; this focus includes, among other things:

- firearms training, number of people-of-color Instructors, number of police recruits-of-color, length of police training, number of cops in various precincts, number of college degree holders, reformation of NYPD Training Academy, setting up more Investigative & Oversight Commissions, setting up Faith-based Coalitions, holding regular Precinct/Community Meetings, eliminating 'racial' profiling, hiring Consultants (like Rand), teaching the use of 'culturally-sensitive' language, expanding 'in-service' training, increasing 'interaction with culturally-diverse' community members - NOT ONE OF WHICH DEALS DIRECTLY WITH THE ISSUE OF RACISM/COLORISM WITHIN THE INDIVIDUAL POLICE PERSONS.

The examples in the NYPD Training Curriculum revealing an unaware racist/colorist milieu are, under Part B: "Police Professionally, Impartially and Legally:" in the section "Policing Professionally," third sentence - "...regardless of race..." and "...people who may not share their race..." and "...without regard to race..." and "...regardless of race..." - ! - it should be noted that any use of the word 'race' to suggest/imply that there is more than one hueman race, in a purportedly effective Training Program used to train police officers in how to view community inhabitants, shows up the dire need of The Racism/Colorism Quotient Test Program, to heal not only the Instructors and Trainers who use that Professional Training System but also the rank and file officers they purport to train to operate within the of-color communities!

No wonder the NYPD keeps slaughtering Black males and other people of color; it's

incredible but not surprising - given the now-obvious untreated racism/colorism of their leader - Police Commissioner Ray Kelly - but don't resign or fire 'em - test 'em and counsel 'em, just as you would a worker with alcoholism or any other addiction!

WORD GRIPES:

It's NOT "innocent bystander" - that's a POLICE term! (Who made them judge-jury and executioner?)

It's NOT "excalating" It's "escalating!" AWK!

It's NOT "fatally killed" booby - It's either "killed" or "fatally shot!" DUH!

@!!*#%!MISTAKE OF THE UNION:

Dissed Again!

Well, the Un-president GuantanamoGeorge's given "THE FINGER" to BlackFolk again! I'm told he didn't even mention Katrina's victims in his GrandPoobah media-hyped 'State of the Union" production. Kanye West's statement - "George Bush doesn't care about Black people" is true true. (I say "I'm told" because every time bush's in-the-back-pocket parroting media threaten to feature him, I tune 'im out; I don't inflict punishment on myself if I can avoid it - I'm not a masochist, so I don't ever listen to elbushito, or condosleezy, or dick-cheney...etc.)

'State of the Union?' - Crass Insanity!

To borrow a phrase from Rev. Al Sharpton, where is BlackFolks' "INSULT LEVEL?" And where is the INSULT LEVEL of the otherfolk in this crazy country as they ignore the fact that the squatter in the White House and his minions've S-T-O-L-E-N, S-T-O-L-E-N, S-T-O-L-E-N, S-T-O-L-E-N two (2000 & 2004) Presidential elections

and have led this country into an unprecedentendly-expensive Iraq INVASION which everyone I speak with sez elbushito lied to get us into!

'State of the Union?' Crass Insanity!

Thousands of 'Black' votes've been invalidated, destroyed or just thrown out by Jebbie & Kathy in Florida (Miami Herald newspaper report) and skullduggery in Ohio and only God knows how many other racist/colorist places - so how do Black politicians and so-called 'leaders' say "make sure y'all vote BlackFolk!" and expect to stay credible? ("Kick me again - the first/second times didn't hurt enuff!")

'State of the Union?' Crass Insanity!

When those sell-out Negroes (and other recruiters) sit up on college campuses - where untreated racism/colorism reigns - and LIE, LIE LIE to the youngsters - and one sees those who've believed the big white LIE - say in their TV Christmas messages, "I'm fighting for my country!" - and you don't immediately barf into yer popcorn - don't you feel like a hypocrite?

'State of the Union?' Crass Insanity!

And Oh, Hey! "Income" tax time's coming 'round again - that's where the government LIARS bludgeon the plebians outta' their hard-earned dollars - (illegally: there's no law which allows the IRS to dip its dirty fingers into the people's wages!)

'State of the Union?' Crass Insanity!

"I'M THE DECIDER!" YEAH! - Dumb, Evil, Corrupt, Insulting, Disingenuous, Evasive and Repulsive! (And take yer pointy dirty euralien NOSE outta' my mail!)

'State of the Union?' Crass Insanity!

So 'the world can't wait,' 'not in my name,' and 'Impeach'im!' - y'all say you want the 'American' troops to stop killing & being killed and brought home and the Iraq 'war'/INVASION to end? Well, there's a real simple action for everyone who's dead serious about ending the carnage to take - and it's called:

"PENNIES FOR PEACE!"

Everyone who believes the U.S.A. should retire from Iraq should immediately start paying just part of fares, charges, bills, fees, taxes, bridge tolls (whenever money is spent) with perfectly LEGAL tender: pennies - "PENNIES FOR PEACE" until the Announcement comes right from the White House that "the U.S.A.'s INVASION of Iraq is over" and that the "U.S.A. troops've been withdrawn from Iraq" and called home! Hint - Hint: in less than one week- matter fixed! - the war/INVASION'S OVER!

Wall Street would make damn sure of that! This country couldn't stand more than a week of the "PENNIES FOR PEACE" Campaign

and no one would hafta' keep coming outta' their homes to spend time & money marching in D.C. in the cold weather begging Abu GhraibGeorge and his D.C. war dawgs to turn pacific - (instead of continuing to turn deaf ears to the pleas of war-weary not-in-my name constituents!)

'The State of the Union?' Crass Insanity!

No more INVASION DOLLARS to the PENTAGON!

Divert our money to:

KEEPING THE HOSPITALS OPEN!

PSYCH CARE FOR RETURNING VETERANS!

FEEDING THE HUNGRY - ESPECIALLY THE CHILDREN!

SHELTERING THE UNSHELTERED HUEMAN BEINGS

UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE FER CHRISSAKES!

EDUCATION - ADEQUATELY-PAYING THE TEACHERS!

REPARING THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE U.S.A.!

PAYING REPARATIONS TO DESCENDANTS OF THE ENSLAVED BLACK AFRICANS!

I could go on - but what the Hell? Crass Insanity Reigns! (How does Georgie-Porgie's finger feel?)

WHAT'S YOUR COLOR CHART?

(Dedicated to my Heroine Rose Maldonado)

She should've called the police. After all, this supposed to be a democracy, right? But when the dedicated activist, thinking she could learn from and contribute to a publicly-advertised forum - and although she had attended previous programs presented by the same organization, "they" wouldn't let her in! All of her remonstrating, her "...but you guys know me!..." were to no avail. She left, crushed, confused, perplexed, sad and understandably angry. She had been, for many years, 'active in the civil and human rights struggle.' Now to be summarily treated as one of 'the other," was almost too much to bear. Given no answer as to why she wasn't allowed entry, she could only assume that the 'issue' was her color: she knw that she had not done anything or said anything against the organization, so the only barrier left, was her color.

The organization did have an unwritten, understood policy of not admitting whites - although many of the 'people of color' who attended the decade-old weekly forums did not openly disagree with the 'Blacks only' policy,' (nor did she openly object) - they had not voiced their objections fearing that they'd be labeled as "sellouts" to their "race." (even though we know 'they' do not have 'their own' "race" - there's only one hueman race!) So, she thought, "It must be because of my color!" (For the record, she is a Puerto Rican - if you can tell her 'color' from that!)

It is instructive that she did not file suit against the organization or its Chief Officer, with the City's Human Rights Commission, as had another woman, Minoo Southgate, an Iranian teacher from Baruch College in previous years who was barred because of her color - although she was of darker hue and couldn't really be called 'white' - (If we must always use 'white' as the norm)

This unfortunate situation lies like a festering not-so-public sore on the community's body - divisive surely, although not yet publicized by the scandal-hungry media, and raises several critical issues for hueman beings, especially in these perilous times of worldwide color confrontation and subsequent life-threatening strife.

1. Who has issued a call for color discrimination here in the middle of our 'supposed' democracy? (or is it "dey-mock-us-you-see?")

2. Why were whites excluded?

3. Who is 'white' and who isn't 'white?' (Ha-ironic-Ha! Have you seen the recent idiot Census Board's division of THE hueman 'race' into ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTEEN 'RACES?' Divide and conquer tactics)*

4. Where's the at-the-door Color Chart to enable such a decision to be made?

5. What directions/orders had been given to the 'guardians/bouncers' at the door?

6. If the public advertisements for assemblies are indeed "public," how can members of that public be barred from entering?

7. Conseqently, is barring members of the public illegal?

8. If this practice is illegal, why aren't authorities enforcing the law?

9. If the (presumably) Blacks in charge of the organization are complaining about being discriminated against by whites, how are their discrimination acts againt whites (or any other color) credibly explained?

10. As this practice is revealed to the regular attendees, doesn't the apparent other way "reverse discrimination" cause an uneasiness, a sense of guilt, a corresponding divisiveness, indeed, crack in their loyalty to the organization's 'cause' and their leaders?

11. Why not?

12. If barring huemans from public assemblies by color is wrong, do two wrongs make a right?

13. How can Blacks assemble, organize as Blacks, act as an all-Black entity to establish and carry out specific-to-Black goals and aspirations?

It is my opinion that denying entry to a publicly-advertised forum on the basis of someone's perception of someone else's 'color' is morally and legally wrong and I have heard of no logical or moral argument which can support such discrimination.

I, as an individual who, all my life have suffered discrimination on several bases - color, gender, class, age and financial status - can certainly understand and identify with, on an intellectual basis, the continuous angst others experience upon being discriminated against. However, I also feel that to employ the same discriminatory methods to achieve whatever stated or unstated goals, is not only counterproductive, it is disingenuous, hypocritical and morally offensive to those who aspire to and take action for a quid pro quo, an equity between the earth's inhabitants.

One cannot, in good conscience, forever quote the U.S.A.'s Constitution whenever it suits her/him, in efforts to achieve equity for one set of hueman 'colors' and then turn around and attempt to deny others of different colors, the same constitutional coverage because "they did it to us first!"

The only places Color Charts should be used is in hospitals (for purposes of diagnosing disorders) and in a Census count (to allow for doing away with bogus, meaningless terms such as "multiracial," - there's only one race - no 's' at the end of the word 'race') - for accurate accounting for, if "we" must, what 'colors' are in which districts. (However, incredibly, the 2000 CensusFolk have displayed their deep-seated, untreated racism/colorism by dividing the hueman race into ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTEEN 'RACES;* woefully perpetuating the colorist conditioning of the U.S.A., ensuring that white supremacy is maintained and that their illegally-collected income tax dollars from the people's wages are viciously diverted from people of color.

Furthermore, the idea that Black people and other 'people of color' are automatically different from 'lighter' or 'white' people, caused the wars (invasions) we have read about and the wars (invasions) we experience today. It is ironic that all of the countries which the U.S.A. has attacked with violence and armaments, have been countries of color. The U.S.A. is supposed to be a country of 'diversity,' a country which affords equal treatment to all colors - it has never lived up to these espousals, unfortunately, but because the country is still 'on the road' to recovery from its oppression and discrimination against people of color, is in no way to be used as an excuse for anyone, of any color, to engage in what they say they've started: an organization to fight against such discrimination in the first place! Oi!

What makes the thorny issue of color so abysmally complex is that dominant, eurocentric education systems including current ones for the most part, have failed utterly to acknowledge that there is only one race, the hueman race (spelled with an 'e' because the majority is 'of color' - hence 'hue') - which originated on the continent of Africa, and was Blue-Black in color - hue. The systems also, shortsightedly, refrain from teaching the truth that all of us huemans are African (and we can't seem to stop 'going back' in history to claim various bits of euralien land-and-folk ancestry at the drop of a hat!) All huemans could 'go back' far enough to find, in their genetic history, a Blue-Black ancestor even though some of us are more 'rinsed out' than others.

It would seem to me, if indeed 'Peace on Earth' is the wished-for consensus of sane folk and war/invasions are not desirable, the exclusion of, discrimination against, and targetting-for-death-and-destruction of huemans on the basis of color, all of it, has to be stopped. (And so should discrimination on the bais of cultural differences, national origin, ethnic background, age, gender, perceived or stated sexual proclivities, class or level of income)

I'm for 94 degrees of TOGETHERNESS, not "Six Degrees of Separation!" And the only reason I'm (temporarily - 'the Worm Turns kinda' thing' - forgive me) delighted that the majority in this world is people of color, is that all my life I've been lied to: people telling me and mine that we people of color are "minority!" HorsePucky!

TRUTH CRUSHED TO EARTH WILL RISE AGAIN!

The only way for evil to flourish - is for people of goodwill to do nothing in the face of it.

TOURISM and TRAUMA

Gosh! Was it really thirty-three years ago that I wrote this article for the Caribbean Review magazine? (JulyAugust/September 1974 Vol. VI No.3) Interesting how things hardly change with respect to attitudes and practices.

If tourism is not to destroy political and economic growth in the Caribbean, psychological problems connected to the tourist industry must be defined and then dealt with in a forthright manner.

We in the Caribbean have been left with very real problems of: 1) a virtually non-disciplined and fast growing young population which is anti any kind of authority (over 60% of the population in Trinidad & Tobago is under thirty); 2) a mass of people in senior, influential positions (especially in civil services) who have not been taught to make decisions and who, for the most part can't make them; and 3) an increased tourist flow with its concommitant social repercussions. These problems, if they remain unresolved, stand in the way of meaningful progress in the newly developing Caribbean countries because they prevent the leaders from leading (because they're too busy trying to maintain civil order), the businesses from flourishing (because they have tremendous production problems) and the people from receiving their full measure of human and civil rights (because everyone's liberty is affected when they have to suppress public meetings and stifle the press).

A major part of the inherited colonial pecking order is colour. In Caribbean countries white was (and still is in many countries) right, rich and remote, in addition to whites (and near whites) being major realtors,* restaurateurs, resort owners, retailers, receivers, most generally in top administrative positions and most importantly of all, firmly entrenched in the owning and running of commercial banks.

The psychological effects of meeting, seeing, hearing whites in these important positions continuously, of having most of the advertising media projecting 'white,' have to be experienced to really be believed. The psychological effects of continuous exclusion from what is known to be the mainstream of Caribbean development exert violently destructive influences on the psyches of the Black masses of people. To these frustrating factors, add the influx of tourists, with their different mores and behaviour patterns, mix in the fact that most of these tourists are white and you must come up with a boiling cauldron.

Do not forget to admit the widely believed myth of Black male sexual superiority and its sub-conscious effect on white and Black hotel and guest house managers, administrators and the general public and most notably the white female tourists, and what we have in the Caribbean is a combination of forces, all working toward social and economic chaos, unless very drastic unpopular action is taken by some of the very same ex-colonialists who have also been conditioned by the old masters.

How do we start to halt the evolution? With massive psychological and psychiatric testing for our educators? How do we do this with North American or English oriented testing facilities which have the standard behaviour and social patterns of North Americans or English people as their "norms?" With massive revision of educational material and teaching methods? While our educators are teaching, where will they find time and money for the revision? At what age does the re-conditioning have most effect? And while the law enforcers are dealing with that section of the population which is resistant to adult education and re-conditioning, isn't their work being undermined by the steady influx of Wang-Yu and Black-liberation-from-North-American-English-repression movies and television?

Where do we begin when even the people who are purportedly our most intelligent, most educated, most erudite leaders are not aware of the psychological aspects of ever-growing tourism? For instance, I cite as an example, the setting up of a management and productivity organization in one of the newly independent countries where tourism is almost the number one industry and means of employment for many locals. Their object is to train people who are already in top and middle management positions to be 'professional.' The first student graduate they chose to address the assembly at graduation was white. (in a predominantly Black nation)

One of the first market research studies of top and middle management people in that community dealt with persons by age, sex, national origin (local or overseas), length of tenure, position, duties and industries, but completely ignored the necessity for market research of Black/white top and middle management people.

Consequently, we in the Caribbean have yet to deal effectively with the tourist industy because we have not defined the psychological problems nor set up additional crash programs to deal with those problems. Until we do this, the very fabric of our Caribbean society continues to be eroded. We must wake up to those realities, although I have serious doubts as to whether it is already almost too late.

*These realtors have, in the last thirty years, made sure that white expatriate investors have acquired what purports to be inordinately huge portions of the most prime properties in many Caribbean countries of color. The new owners have set up insulting barriers to the local population - mostly 'of color' residents - social and physical barriers which are meant to separate 'de tourisses' from 'de people.' Before long, if this euralien invasion/encroachment is allowed to continue unabated, the BlackFolks' Caribbean will look like another Europe or (middle) North America...with its attendant roiling social upheavals ruining the heretofore rustic ways of life of 'the islands.' What a damn neo-colonial shame!

MANY COLORS – ONE ‘RACE’

My Race Is The Human Race:

So Stop Calling Me Outta’ My Race!

“As even well intentioned folk use

the tragically incorrect phrases:

‘races,’ ‘mixed races,’ ‘two races,’

‘biracial,’ ‘interracial,’ and other similar

misconstructions, they unknowingly

perpetuate the human artificial divisions

they profess to hate.”

- Carol Taylor R.N.

Lakota/Nakota/Dakota saying: “MITAKOYE OYASIN” – “We Are All Related”

Irrespective of the millions of euro-mis-educated people’s conditioned beliefs and reductive terminology, all human beings belong to one ‘race,’ – the same human race.

NEWSFLASH: BlackFolk do not belong to another ‘race!’ – we do not have ‘our own race!’ – we’ve gotta stop denying that we belong to the human race by claiming ‘our own race!’

The usual retorts when I raise this issue, “Oh, that’s just semantics!” or, “there are more important issues!” or, “you know what I mean!” – don’t hold water.

Language shapes behavior; behavior can be brutal, like: burning crosses, colortargeting – beating/killing Black males (by other Black males and by cops of any color who routinely get away with these murders), showing that you have low expectations of Black children, referring to people of color as “minorities,” destroying BlackFolks’ electoral votes, jailing a million Black males (and “deathRowing” them) “Myrtle Beaching” (South Carolina closing restaurants and issuing restrictive traffic rules) against Black motorcyclists, 50% unemployment rate for Black males in New York City, to mention just a few.

Against all sorts of ingrained but mistaken habit, against the unfortunate lazy practices of most of U.S.A. academia, whatever the hue, I’ve maintained a lonely but determined and continuous fight to persuade stubborn intellectuals and even committed activists to pay attention to and finally acknowledge linguistically the paleontological, anthropological, historical, DNA-researched and supported evidence that not only is there just one human race to which we all belong, but that it began in Africa and it began Black.

Moreover, a dismal tendency, by professionals and other procrustean folk, especially those who host talk shows, those who are called journalists, writers, preachers, politicians and yes, professors, to ‘pooh-pooh’ efforts to change their bad habits of euphemistically referring to Black people, other people of color and whites as “different races,” would be laughable if its effects – perpetuating artificial barriers amongst human beings – were not so catastrophic.

Certainly it is catastrophic (and outrageous) to continually mislead and miseducate millions of our children by teaching them that there is more than one ‘race’ on earth, and by inference, depending upon what “Third World” country we’re warring on, that some of those ‘races’ are inferior.

Repercussions from this retrograde widespread practice, taken to their chilling, unnatural conclusion, are actual wars. Consider the color of most of the countries on which the U.S.A. has made its predatory wars within the last fifty years. Countries of color they are – not the least of which was grossly and immorally ‘treated’ to two atomic bombings. I, like many others, believe that if Japan were a white country, the U.S.A. would never have used atomic bombs.

Thus the issue, then, is color – not ‘race!’ (If you mean Black, say Black!) For people to continue to use phrases like, “out of her/his race,” “different races,” “groups of races,” “biracial,” “transracial,” “multiracial” and so many other in-yer-face mind-boggling inaccuracies, is to at the very least, perpetuate the gross ignorance in this world, which behavior, it must be seen, leads to oppression and war.

Those of us not lazy, not afraid and with a conscience, for all of our sakes, urgently need to change language calling folk outta’ the human race!

ONE RACE – MANY COLORS!

Finally, if you want to know how many people have been bitten and infected by untreated racism/colorism, check out who’s using colorBigot talk:

“Races” indeed!

To paraphrase luminary W.E.B. DuBois: “The problem of the twenty-first century is the problem humans have with color.”

(Dr. Spencer Wells, Geneticist says: “We’re all African!” (“The Journey of Man”)

E-mail:www.racismtest.com

Carol Taylor R.N.

First Black U.S.A. Flight Attendant

590 Flatbush Avenue, BK NY 11225 - U.S.A.- (718) 856 1271

WORD GRIPES:

It's NOT "conscious" - It's "conscience!" AWK!

It's NOT "pichas" - It's "pictures!" DOUBKLE AWK!

It's NOT, please God, "san-wich" - It's "sandwich!" TRIPLE AWK!