I try not to overreact to most incidents reported on in the media because it seems that most of what we consume in the news cycle is designed to inflame our passions. However after a news diet this last week filled with one white person (Rachel Dolezal) pretenting to be black and the other white person (Dylann Roof) killing 9 truly godly black people after praying for and hour with them; then I begin to wonder if the generations-long low-grade-war on blackness has been upgraded to whole -scale cultural and physical slaughter. What ethnic group on earth would submit to the continual degradation humiliation mutilation assassination that blacks have endured without resorting to violence to protect themselves. I think every white person should thank every black person they meet for being so pliant and understanding. For not burning the whole country to the ground.
With that being said I’m not sure how beneficial white-hot rage would be here. America loves violence and why feed the beast. This kid in South Carolina apparently wanted to start a new civil war. Someone should remind him that that particular war was one of the few times historically that white bodies paid a huge price for the nations sins, to the tune of something like 700,000 dead. Dystopian fantasies are the new pornography today, and like regular pornography the real thing feels so much better; seems to me some whites out there wanna know what it feels like to bleed.
It’s only now that the full extent of Rachel Dolezal’s offence to many blacks has become clear to me. When the controversy over her transracial identity came to light last week I didn’t really see it as that much of a big deal because of her long history of advocacy on behalf of blacks. After watching Melissa Harris-Perry’s initial interview on the issue last weekend I thought again this might just be a good moment to simply talk about race as a purely human and largely American construction. (See that initial interview http://player.theplatform.com/p/7wvmTC/MSNBCEmbeddedOffSite?guid=n_mhp_7rachel_150613_641954“here). Innocent enough right? But now I wonder how down-for-the-struggle Rachel Dolezal would be if she attended an AME church in South Carolina. In other words she has the delightful option to choosing. Mellisa Harris-Perry had a nice interview with Dolezal recently where I think Perry got to the heart of black frustration with Dolezal. (See that interview http://player.theplatform.com/p/7wvmTC/MSNBCEmbeddedOffSite?guid=n_mhp_dolezalfull_150616“>here.)
“Must be nice” my good friend Tanya said last week in a Facebook post on Dolezal. Must be nice indeed to not only get to define blackness for yourself but to also be a holy warrior defending whiteness and by extension America from those dirty black and brown people who rape pure white virgins and who are ruining the country with their rap music and socialism.
I’ve been looking for the perfect media drop to encapsulate my feelings from this last week and couldn’t quite find what I wanted but this little cartoon here I found on twitter comes close.
On a happier note, I finally finished the cloudscape for my 4th “Pilot” painting. I can finally see in my mind how it will turnout and I’m elated that I can still execute a large painting. It’s been about 10 years since I’ve worked this large. Here’s the painting as of yesterday. Until next time do be well.
Anthony Smith Jr. 