One of the former goals of the Civil Rights movement was to see that negro children received a good education. But not Harry Belafonte.
Supporters of civil rights believed that a good education would help children attain successful careers with good paying jobs. But not Harry Belafonte.
Belefonte believes that every good little negro boy and girl should want to grow up to be a basketball player or a rap star or the mother of 6 or 8 illegitimate children. How do I know this? Harry told me. He told me when he called Colin Powell and Condi Rice "House Niggers".
According to Harry, if you are a black child and you work hard at school and get good grades and get a good job where you will work alongside white folks, you have betrayed your race. Powell and Rice sold out.
Of coure, Belafonte is not the problem. There are a lot of people who think the way Belafonte does. Among negros, the worst names that you can call another negro are "Uncle Tom", "Oreo" (black on the outside and white on the inside), etc. Psychologists, sociologists, et. al. can give you chapter and verse on the whys of this phenomenon. We no longer have time for profound discussions on the history of the world. We have a problem and, sooner rather than later, we must face it.
As we have noted elsewhere, there are two ways to deal with a problem:
A. Look for a solution, or
B. Look for someone to blame it on.
Gresham's Law of problem solving tells us that B. will kick the shit out of A. seven days a week.
If you let it.
To understand Harry, you must take an unbiased view of the civil rights movement. The civil rights movement became the Civil Rights Industry, Inc. about 30 years ago. We were traumatized by the sixties, proud of the changes and ready to move forward as a unified nation. Were we perfect? Of course not, but we were willing to try. At that time, a group of opportunists stepped forward and offered to help. You know who the opportunists were. They are still here. Like Castro and certain U. S. Senators, they have been with us as long as we can remember and they are not going away. You see the civil rights pros on TV every time there is a camera turned on.
Is this a bad thing? You bet. First, it is a bad thing because of their motivation. They know very well that if the civil rights problem in the U.S. is resolved, they are out of business. Second, it is bad because of the tactics they employ. If they can accuse a person or group of beng anti- negro, they can convince you to dislike and avoid that person or group. If that person or group fails to kiss your butt, you may believe that they are "against you". Of course, kissing your butt may be the worst thing that an educator, employer or law enforcement official can do. Tough love works, but no one dares to try it on a negro for fear of appearing to be a racist. Throw in the Belafonte factor and many negros will not only not get the discipline that they need but they will be afraid to try to succeed for fear of beng called an oreo.
In the period from 1948 to 1973 we made tremendous progress in integrating our society. Since about 1973, we have seen remarkably little progress by the negro in the integrated society. The primary cause of this failure lies with the civil rights industry.
Martin King said that he had a dream of a society where individuals were judged, not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. The civil rights industry says screw you, Martin. I don't want to be judged by my character or by my performance in school or on the job. I want all the freebies I can get. It's payback time, baby. Gimme, gimme, gimme. Affirmative Action, as it is practiced, is diametrically to King's dream. Even after it has failed, even after it has been shown to be a cash cow for the "Industry", negros who are being hurt by it hang on to it like a dog with a bone. Did you ever try to explain to a dog that there is little or no nutritional value in his bone?
The first half of the civil rights period provided opportunity after opportunity for negros who were finally receiving their chance. Painfully few took advntage of it. Big problem. The opportunities looked like work. Be honest with yurself. Let's take two scenarios. First, you are told that you can have a job that would be a challenge and you would succeed with hard work and discipline, including giving your superiors some respect. Second, a civil rights pro tells you that you have a right to a job and a right to promotions and a right to wage increases and you don't have to take any shit from anybody. Which job would you prefer? I know damn well that, as a young man, I would take the second job. I would not ask what kind of employer doesn't care if I am giving my best effort. I wouldn't ask where do I get self respect. These are things that you learn in the real world. My civil rights professional will protect me from all the lessons of life. Even the well meaning civil rights people will try to protect me from reality.
So we find tht the Belafonte factor is just the tip of the iceberg. The movement has been off the tracks for a generation and we are all afraid to tell them. Only a racist bastard would criticize a civil rights pro, right?
Cervantes had a device to protect his society from the damage being created by a well-meaning buffoon. He concocted the Knight of the Mirrors and had the Quixote see himself as he really was. How do we get the civil rights professionals to look in the mirror?
