Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Ebony & Ivory Media Response to Shabazz Smackdown

"Right. Right, Right. When one group is in control, and the other is not, they can write the story. His-story. Not ours. Is that so strange? What, we don't have any history of this? Groups subjecting another group and rewriting the history to suit their purposes; or taking scripture to suit what they want to do?"
Royson James at The Star has a strong article on the black organizer's media conference of the turning back of
Malik Zulu Shabazz at Pearson yesterday. According to Royson, '26-year-old Nkem Anizor basically had the press for lunch'. I can picture Royson at the event; likely leaning against a wall or pillar, notebook in hand, bemused smile, admiring the young woman's guts and passion. As a black man, he sees far too little of such commitment and celebrates it. I can understand this.

Joe Warmington, at The Sun saw a different movie:
"It's a "Jewish conspiracy," was one of the many anti-Semitic slurs. It's the result of "white supremacy," was another common theme. They are "enslaved by the enslavers' children" and "to hell with diversity." Do you want to hear more nonsense from a group claiming to be running an Education not Incarceration campaign?"
Me? I attend a Jamaican church and am a very tiny white minority there. I see the work done by the members of the congregation and the pastor and elders. They don't scream anti-white and anti-semitic slogans. I have dozens and dozens of friends there that have survived difficult upbringings, avoided gangs and dealt with overt racism to succeed in their lives. The pastor does not get huge media attention because he is just a good shepherd, not one who yells loudly to attract wolves.

The so-called "black community" does need as much leadership as it can get (what community doesn't?). But not the kind that imagines hatred everywhere and responds with the literal form.

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