Happy Friday, All!
I am still a little corny sometimes because it lets me act childish or silly without any serious repercussions. So, let’s do a cheer or a thought of gratitude or whatever you want … or not! Yet for me, a simple TGIF suffices. Do your thing!
As events from the USA begin to make more international news like trials involving racial injustice, and as more youngsters (white ones, too!) are getting guns and committing horrific gun crimes … at another school in Michigan even, it’s becoming more challenging for other countries to consider requests from the American government seriously. There are problems with racial injustices in China regarding the treatment of the Uyghurs. The Chinese point out the injustices that have been committed on the African American community (and others) in the US. One representative stated that the US needs to handle its own problems before getting involved in pointing fingers at other countries with social justice issues. The Chinese state that what happened in the US Capitol would NEVER happen in China due to communism and its dictates. Still to this day, Russia’s Putin ignores anything that the US criticizes him about as he did relentlessly during #45’s administration. People disappear in and around Russia and there are human rights violation issues there, too. In fact, Russia seems to be threatening Ukraine and lying about their aggression, just as they did both times in Crimea!
I write about things in the USA because that’s where I was born and raised as we have been known to say! To sit by and watch is NOT an option for me. In these pieces, I attempt to share the good words about us being “one” humankind, not races of people as we have been trained to think by former colonial and imperialist practices that divided the world into areas where their colonization practices would take place and their imperial control would be imposed upon others. This is why it’s important to know the “history” of capitalism as it was spread during the European “Age of Discovery”. The Native Americans were already here when Columbus came. A good example of this is understanding the concept of how the “sun never set on the British Empire”. India was colonized by England as the British also carved up the then “13 colonies” for “settlement” as well as France, Spain … even the Dutch in “New York”. This is where keen insight and an intellectual understanding are both required and necessary to see how the roots of racism were bestowed upon “their” New World! (Aren’t Native Americans entitled to THEIR OWN land?!)! Or, don’t “we” want to talk about that?!?
The world is on edge to see how the more recently evolved “Super Powers” are handling the growing problems around the Planet. If you look at Afghanistan today, we see the conflict in and over THEIR land and culture. As some of them are permitted to enter the USA and receive “diplomatic treatment”, there are “Americans” (not Native) who don’t want the government to help these people even after these workers helped the USA. In fact, even one female Muslim representative in Congress, Ilhan Omar, received a racist death threat in a voicemail. She was referred to as a “sand ni**er” and it was emphasized that “they” would like to kill her or see her be killed! So now, we can notice how comments like these reflect the thinking of some Americans. If you know the history of the USA, including the treatment of African slaves and Native Americans being forced off of their land onto reservations by the imperialist colonizers, one can see the cultural mess that has been put in place by the colonizers. In order to understand the developments of racial tensions in the USA today and worldwide (as we witnessed the English citizenry owning up to their historically disruptive behavior by bringing down statues of those who benefitted from the slave trade), we need to know the history and origins of colonization and imperialism. If one cannot be intelligent enough to come to grips with the fact that many wrongs have been committed and need to be acknowledged there in the States and worldwide, one can never solve “the problems”. It takes not only maturity but humanity as well!
In closing, I just want to say that we as humans owe it to the people who have been exploited throughout our recent history. It cannot be uncomfortable to simply talk about how other humans have been and are still being forced to live today. Show some humanity, and if necessary, come down off of your high horse built on the backs of and at the expense of other humans! Truth, unity, and respect are the required ingredients.
Peace,
John I. Cook, Director
ps. – Thanks for reading!
Educational Excellence 