Let's Make America Great Again!

[Troy]

Cynique, shared with us a picture of her childhood from 80 years ago.  It was an idyllic picture of an America--during the Great Depression no less.

When Donald Trump says "Lets Make America Great Again," what his supporters hear is a return to a time when kids can grow up like Cynique did. Black people like to interpret this to mean Trump wants Black people enslaved again.  

Today the white community is being ravished by a heroin epidemic; millions have lost their homes due to crooked Wall Street bankers; good paying jobs, for those without a college degrees have dried up; and those with a college degree struggle to find meaningful work that pays enough to get them out the oppressive debt they have piled on to attend schools which are really overpriced minor leagues for the NBA and NFL. White men are committing suicide at record numbers.

Of course when white folks catch a cold...

I'm not sure what percentage of Black folks, 80 years ago, grew up; without fear of violence; free of economic strife; and educated well; and how that compared to the way Cynique grew up.  I bet the comparison was not favorable.

I wonder what the percentage would be today.  Does anyone think is has changed from 80 years ago?

People want to go back to the way things were, but that is impossible, and for many Black Americans it would not be desireable.

[Cynique]

Everybody yearns for the good ol days. Humans think Life owes them something and then when it becomes more of an adversary than an ally, they filter out the good memories from the past and focus on them. This is an escape mechanism. 

Concerning blacks, when  I went to the U. of I, during the early 1950s, the black population on this huge campus of over 25,000 was about 500 at the most.  So all of us blacks associated and socialized with each other.  We came from little towns and villages from all up and down the state of Illinois as well larger places like Chicago and Springfield.  And many of my black school mates had backgrounds similar to mine. In their hometowns they were the minority where whites were the majority, and we were all able to co-exist in such environments because our small numbers made us nonthreatening.  We stayed to ourselves, and created our own little communities within the dominant one.  And we had all perfected our double consciousness, presenting one face for whites and one for our own folks.  And in my day, Maywood's sedate little black community was the recipient of many of the things that accrued to whites, especially when it came to the schools which were top notch during this time. I kinda think these are untold stories, and are not as rare as one might think.  In fact, my father who was raised on a Kansas farm, went to a one-room school house that was integrated, and he often talked about his "Tom Sawyer" way of life back in the early 1900s.  I'm sure, of course, it was quite different in the Jim Crow South. 

Nowadays my kids, who range in age from 45 to 58, have taken to talking about "the good old days", which they seem to measure in terms of music and styles.  They look back fondly on the '70s and '80s; the R&B Soul train times with the Afros, bell bottoms and platform shoes being the rage, and the MTV days with the videos of Prince and Michael Jackson, and the Disco era of Donna Summer.  And actually, those 2 decades were kind of a pleasant interlude.There was no major war, the economy was fairly stable, drugs had not yet reached epidemics portions in their environment and - best of all there was no social media to addict and stultify young folks. 

IMO, malcontents make up a large portion of Donald Trump's followers.  They don't like how Liberals expect them to be tolerant of those who are different,  They don't like what they perceive as interference by big Government in their lives, they don't like America being soft on terrorism but they love their guns and embrace their religious hypocrisy.  Above all, they don't like a nigger running the country or the prospects of a "cunt" replacing him.   When they say make America great again, they mean reaffirming their right to be assholes.  

 

[Troy]

A quarter of the Maywood residents voted against Barack Obama in the last election.  This is an increase over the 2008 election.  I wonder if the same significant portion of Maywood residents of Maywood (76% of whom are Black, and only 3% are white) would support Trump over Hillary, and if so, why?  I don't think it can all be explained by a desire to be assholes...

[Cynique]

I don't know about the presidential election, but for any state, country, or local elections, once it became predominately black in the late 1970s, Maywood with its population of about 27,000, would do good to muster up a voter turn-out of more than 25%.  People in this town became notorious for not voting, disgusted with their inept and corrupt village officials, not  to mention the county and state ones. Also, Maywood currently has a substantial Hispanic population and there is no clear reason as to whether they would be particularly devoted to Obama.  

In the last election Obama's Republican opponent, Mitt Romney, was a bland moderate, who blacks disenchanted with Obama may very well have voted for. But I don't think Trump will win very much of their vote in November.  

I'll admit i'm biased when it comes to Trump supporters. What would you call his supporters, eager to make America great again? 

 

 

[Troy]

I don't think Trump supporters are just one thing that are capable of being described with a broad brush.  Some I'm sure are just as you've described them, some are rabid racists, and others just want America to live up to it's potential.  This is why I'm not so willing to reduce his supporters to racist idiots.  Similarly I'm not willing to raise Hillary supporters to enlightened people...

The results of the election will be interesting.  I think the odds are that Hillary will prevail, but it will be interesting to see how many people come out to vote, who they select, and what happens as a result.  

I look forward to your commentary four years from now--either way.

[Cynique]

Some people can see past their noses and are able to embrace the broad scope of the real world which includes idyllic days, as opposed to others who are resentful, mentally stagnant and afflicted with the post traumatic stress of the dreary little worlds they grew up in, preferring to escape these flashbacks by romanticizing black Seminoles.  

America has never stopped being white so the interpretation of making it "white again" is not on point. A desperate Donald Trump is now inviting black people to join the ranks of his supporters, telling them they have nothing to lose.  It's not about white or black, it's more about lifestyles and mind-sets.  

[Troy]

Cynique the inability to appreciate a "broader scope" is one of the problems with the social media fueled internet. People share falsehoods very quickly making it hard to distinguish fact from fiction.  The death of journalism makes it even harder to learn the truth--at least online when many people now consumer "news."

Fortunately there are still some decent newspapers and many great books on most subjects, but fewer people read these, and those that do are not the ones sharing lies on social media or spending time trying to dispel them.

It should be obvious to anyone that the Trump photo, posted above, is fake, but once something like this get out it essentially impossible to take it back.  People convinced that Trump is the next Hitler, share these images, because it reinforces their world view, while others who are easily lead consume these lies as if they are the truth.  

I've decided that I would take a more proactive approach when it comes to the spreading of lies as it relates to the books I sell.  For example one lie that refused to die is the Willie Lynch Letter, but I'll post about that in a separate conversation 

[Cynique]

I applaud your mission to advocate for the truth, Troy.  But as a black person, by doing this, you risk dealing with some hard realities that may take you out of your comfort zone.  I have observed that when you point out certain things and tell people to "get real", others will regard you as being "negative".  That's why "it is, what it is", has become my credo. 

 

[Troy]

I hear you Cynique and know from experience what you say it true--in some instances.  But I also know that there is an audience for people that do not want to be deluded; people who chose to take the "Red Pill."  I also appreciate that this audience is in the minority.

I just finished the article about the WIllie Lynch Letter hoax.  I decided to put the article on my blog rather than a discussion forum conversation.  When you get a chance please take a look at it and let me know what you think about the article in the context of being perceived as too negative.

There are some that are really good at exposing truths without coming across too negative, most of these are satirists or comedians, who have the ability to inform folks about harsh realities and getting them to laugh at the same time.  This form of communication is not in my repertoire of skills, besides i'm more interested in getting people to do something about a situation not just laughing about it.

 

[harry brown]

Trump Vision Of America Being Great Again, White Supremacy, More Than It Is ,Hates Every Race But His Own. Glanced At C-Span News Channel, Conversation The End Of White Christian Religion, Few Seconds Then I Strolled Channels.Mary Francis Berry ,Was On Talking About Voting.Last Time When She Was On C_Span She Said, Democrats Take Black Votes For Granted...Black People Have Helped White Supremacy, Black People Enslave Themselves And The Black Community..

[Cynique]

@Troy When I first read the Willie Lynch letter, I thought to myself that the slave masters certainly were ahead of their time when it came to the techniques of mind control. But I had also heard how they refused to allow slaves to learn to read in order to keep them ignorant, so I figured this was just an extension of that. When I found out the letter was a hoax, my cynical reaction was that it was just like American history, full of half-truths and BS, and I filed it away with how the slave masters used the bible to justify slavery.

IMO, black people bought into this letter because it gave them a rationale as to why slaves were held down for so long and also allowed them to empathize with their forefathers and justify their own inadequacies and insecurities when it came to dealing with white America.  I further believe the slave masters did use physical abuse and brainwashing to intimidate and break down the slaves so, while the letter was a hoax, the reason why it was believable was because it made sense.  Do you think the letter did any harm?

[Pioneer1]

When I was in my 20s I was convinced that there was NOTHING about the "old way" or older eras of America that should be brought back.
I thought it was all slavery, lynching, and oppression.

Older Black people used to tell me that things were better back in the 40s and 50s for Black people (atleast in Detroit) than in the 90s and I didn't believe them.
I thought they were confused or something.

But after having lived through atleast 2 generations and seeing the difference between society today and society 30 years ago, I can agree somewhat that overall a lot of things have deteriorated.

Older Black people told me about all the businesses Black folks used to have and I wasn't around to see it in the 30s or 40s but I DO remember parts of the 70s and 80s where there were more Black businesses that were more successfully ran back then than there are today.

I do believe we can walk a fine line between bringing back some of the good of the "good ole days" of America while leaving the worse behind.

-More good paying blue collar jobs.
-More intact Black communities where the poor and middle class lived next door.
-Good music without the lyrics the promote violence and mayhem
-Easier relationships between males and females and stronger families

Just simpler times in general where people of average intelligence could navigate easily through society with no legal, financial, or social problems.
I think society has gotten far too complicated.

Troy

How do we know that the Willie Lynch letter was a "lie"?

We know slavery and the management of slaves weren't an isolated event, the slavers HAD to have conspired together to not only import slaves but maintain a system to keep them under control.

I'm not saying that I know the letter is true, I have no proof one way or the other....but what proof is there that it was false?

 

[Troy]

Cynique, to answer your question simply, in the overall scheme of things the letter is of no significant consequence.  The problem with the letter is that if we assume assume the tactics outlined in it are the root cause of our problems, we will never solve anything.  

Pioneer, your question illustrates exactly why the letter itself is so problematic.  Rather than me answer your questions directly I'll point you to the blog post where you will see a book (which can be read in an hour or two), that will answer your questions.

I think one of the consequences of getting older is that we think the past was just better.  As the dominant culture ages this feeling becomes part of the zeitgeist.

As much as I gripe about contemporary America, I would not trade it for the America of 30 years ago.

But if I was an adult 60 years ago I might feel differently.  But I doubt it.  I enjoy the American south, and I'm sure I'd prefer the post Jim Crow version.  Plus modern technology is just fantastic!

I think smart people can make reasonable argument about the relative superiority of any era over another.

Maybe we were better off in a pre industrial age, when there was clean air, food and water.  A time where we were largely ignorant of the the rest of the world and no one traveled more than a few miles from where the were born.  We were in tune with nature and God.  Maybe we were better off back then...

[Cynique]

My, my, we've been busy haven't we?  Probably spent the whole week-end going over in your head how you were going to storm onto  Cynique's Corner and show some balls!   LMAO.   I can see you now, frantically writing and rewriting your rebuttals which are nothing more than you putting your spin on issues in a lame attempt to dazzle people with a lot of convoluted drivel and, as usual, quotes from other people. Yawn.

And I'm still chuckling at your error-filled dissertation, telling black folks that they once knew how to swim.  No shit.  Who doesn't know that any athlete of any color can become a good swimmer, under the right conditions. Puleeze. Nobody is surprised that black people were and can be good swimmers because we all know people who were and are. You are deluded into thinking that everything you say or write is a great revelation rather than something that anybody with any critical thinking skills can't figure out for themselves. But critical thinking is a foreign concept to you.  And why don't you get some new material?  That tired old distorted reference about Emmitt Till and Rosa Parks is so played out, along with the flashbacks that enable you to go into intricate detail about the habits of old women because being raised by such women made you an expert on them.  For somebody who thinks they are so sharp, you are really dim-witted. 

You need to step back and ask yourself why my reminiscences offend you so? You are fixated on them! Why do they send you into such a frenzy? They don't  bother anybody but you. I have noted that my childhood is not as rare as some people might perceive it to be.  Others are the ones who find it different . What distinguishes my reflections is that they span  83 years of the American experience, Dummy.  But because you are such a pathological liar, you think everybody else is, and you want everyone to focus on your "easy-A" black history ramblings that anybody who attended a community college can yap about.   ROTFLOL  Transparency, thy name is sara.

[Cynique]

Since you're so good at delving back into the archives and have the gall to  attempt to discuss the subject of irony, why don't you show some guts and print exactly what I said about Emmit Till's death  which was that I found it ironic that 3 years before his lynching I was living in a newly integrated dorm on the campus of the university of Illinois where we had maid service and were served by white waiters in the dining room.  Stop using this story as a smoke screen for your lies and distortions and misinterpretations, and tell the truth. Hard for you to do I know.  But I'm not surprised at how low you would stoop to save face. You're pathetic. 

[Cynique]

Can you be specific?  You're a desperate fool, grasping at straws and obviously don't know what irony in all of its usages means.  Look it up, Dummy. And when you're done, go jump in the lake.  We know you don't want to get your weave wet, but you surely must know how to swim.