1% and the Sadness of it All

Well, we now have over 80+ days left in our ground breaking United States election.   Why is it ground breaking, well our choices will show the world who we are as a country.  There are too many issues on both sides to count with this election, so I will narrow it down to one part of one issue with one candidate:  Racism against Americans with an African heritage (aka: African-Americans or Blacks). 

The Republican candidate for president has been accused of being racist towards African American repeatedly.  The accusation recently occurred after he gave a speech that was specifically aimed towards African Americans.  Pundits, Journalists and people in general have repeatedly stated this, but before we accuse someone who is applying for the highest office.  We should take a serious look at why this has been said.  So, I decided to create a timeline. 

70’s

The first documented account of racism for this candidate occurred in the early 70’s.  Trump Management Corporation was sued by the Justice Department twice (1973 and 1978), for not renting to black people.

80’s

There was almost no public record of Trump being racist towards blacks in the 80’s, until 1989 with the Central Park Five.  In the Central Park Five case five young black men were wrongfully convicted of raping a white female jogger in Central Park.  Before any of the youth were tried…

(Trump) He paid a reported $85,000 to take out advertising space in four of the city’s newspapers, including the New York Times. Under the headline “Bring Back The Death Penalty. Bring Back The Police!” and above his signature, Trump wrote: “I want to hate these muggers and murderers. They should be forced to suffer and, when they kill, they should be executed for their crimes. They must serve as examples so that others will think long and hard before committing a crime or an act of violence.”

Note:  In 2002, the actual rapist, who was already in prison, came forward.  It was proven that he alone had raped the jogger.   The Central Park Five were freed and later received a civil suit settlement for 41 million.   Trump responded in an opinion piece for the New York Daily News.   “In an opinion piece for the New York Daily News, he described the case as the “heist of the century”.

“Settling doesn’t mean innocence, but it indicates incompetence on several levels,” Trump wrote, alluding to how police and prosecutors initially involved in the case have long maintained the five boys were involved in the rape, even after the convictions were thrown out.

90’s

Trump disparaged his black casino employees as “lazy” in vividly bigoted terms, according to a 1991 book by John O’Donnell, a former president of Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino.

“And isn’t it funny. I’ve got black accountants at Trump Castle and Trump Plaza. Black guys counting my money! I hate it,” O’Donnell recalled Trump saying. “The only kind of people I want counting my money are short guys that wear yarmulkes every day.”

“I think the guy is lazy,” Trump said of a black employee, according to O’Donnell. “And it’s probably not his fault because laziness is a trait in blacks. It really is, I believe that. It’s not anything they can control.”

 In 1992, “The New Jersey Casino Control Commission fined the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino $200,000 in 1992 because managers would remove African-American card dealers at the request of a certain big-spending gambler. A state appeals court upheld the fine.”

In 1996, Trump has also faced charges of reneging on commitments to hire black people. In 1996, 20 African Americans in Indiana sued Trump for failing to honor a promise to hire mostly minority workers for a riverboat casino on Lake Michigan.

2000+

In the early 2000’s Trump took a break.  However, his public display of racism was apparent again after the nomination of our current President Barack Obama.  Here were his comments regarding our current president…

Trump: Obama a "Terrible Student" Not Good Enough for Harvard"   Manhattan real estate mogul Donald Trump suggested in an interview Monday that President Barack Obama had been a poor student who did not deserve to be admitted to the Ivy League universities he attended.Trump, who is mulling a bid for the Republican presidential nomination, offered no proof for his claim but said he would continue to press the matter as he has the legitimacy of the president's birth certificate."I heard he was a terrible student, terrible. How does a bad student go to Columbia and then to Harvard?" Trump said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I'm thinking about it, I'm certainly looking into it. Let him show his records."Obama graduated from Columbia University in New York in 1983 with a degree in political science after transferring from Occidental College in California. He went on to Harvard Law School, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude 1991 and was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review.

Next, Trump joined the birther movement.  An article in The New York Times suggests that he took advantage of other’s perceptions of the idea of having an African American president.

In the birther movement, Mr. Trump recognized an opportunity to connect with the electorate over an issue many considered taboo: the discomfort, in some quarters of American society, with the election of the nation’s first black president. He harnessed it for political gain, beginning his connection with the largely white Republican base that, in his 2016 campaign, helped clinch his party’s nomination.

However, based on Trump's past actions, I honestly believe that he was uncomfortable as well.  I don’t think he took advantage of it for political gain, I think that he actually felt this way. 

This brings us to the present.  Here is a more recent comment from Trump on racism and the current racially-motivated violence.

There’s no such thing as racism anymore.  We’ve had a black president so it’s not a question anymore.  Are they saying black lives should matter more than White lives or Asian lives? If Black lives matter, then go back to Africa?  We’ll see how much they matter there.

The going back to Africa has been a common response to African Americans in regards to racism for decades before, during and after the Civil Rights movement. 

Based on this history, mostly in his own words, it is easy to explain why many people became upset when at a June Rally, Trump said "Oh, look at my African-American over here. Look at him," "Are you the greatest?”  They were upset because there is a pattern.  It is a pattern for him that reaches back to the early 70’s and if you look at his father’s past, you will find that it had to be something that he was raised with.  The Trump family’s treatment of Blacks was even written in the lyrics of a Willie Guthrie song.  

This pattern continues and it isn’t going to stop.  This week Trump addressed African Americans at a rally in West Bend, Wisconsin.  The topic was the current violence in Milwaukee that has occurred due to another shooting of an African American.  This man stood in a predominately White community (94.8% White and 1% African American), with a predominantly White audience and asked African Americans to trust him, because we have been taken advantage of by the Democratic Nominee and the Democratic Party.   It is funny, African Americans are expected to take his word now, and ignore all of the other his other words and actions in previous decades.   Based on his speech, I have come to the conclusion that Trump must think that African Americans are too dumb to be aware of his actions and his past.  Or, believe that his actions matter.  Maybe, that is truly the final insult. 

Trump does have people and friends who have stated publicly that he is not a racist.   However, these people fall into two categories… they are either White, or if they are Black they are on the (Trump/RNC) payroll.   I haven't seen anyone else.  

Reviewing this timeline I have created, has caused me to ask a few questions.   

1. What is the 1% of African Americans who do support him thinking?
2.  When does he have time to be racist and discriminate against others (Mexicans, Women, Muslims, Disabled, etc.)? 
3. Why do people even bother to argue that he is not racist? 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-racist-examples_us_56d47177e4b03260bf777e83

http://www.celebtricity.com/donald-trump-if-black-lives-dont-matter-then-go-back-to-africa/

http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/03/politics/donald-trump-african-american/

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/03/us/politics/donald-trump-birther-obama.html

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Trump-Obama-Wasnt-Good-Enough-to-Get-into-Ivy-Schools-120657869.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Bend%2C_Wisconsin

#Trumpisaracist

#Trump_BlackLiesMatter

#Trump_GoBacktoAfrica

Thank You

Whoever is reading my posts.  Thank you.  I have been working and taking care of my mom, so I have not had time to write.    I have a lot of new stories, so I will be back.

The Woman Card

I have been busy, but I would like to thank Donald Trump for mentioning the Woman Card.   I would like to start using my immediately.  First, since I get paid 21% less.  I want a 21% discount on... everything.  Well, except feminine products and makeup, I want a 41% discount on those items.   Also, when it comes to being angry or upset the card should become a hormonal pass.  During these times, I need to be accommodated and receive whatever I want without question.  Also, because my mother was born a woman and was unable to pull her woman card, I believe that she should get back pay for all the discounts she missed.  Also, because I have deceased grandparents and great grandparents who were also born female, I think that there should be reparations.  I don't believe that I am the only female around, therefore I would appreciate any suggestions for additional Woman card benefits.  Ladies, just as Trump has admitted to taking advantage of laws that were not fair or right.  I think that it would be a bad business move to ignore this card or its advantage.

The Genius of Trump???

I stopped complaining about Donald J. Trump.  Well at least as much as I could, and I took a step back.  Then I realized...

Trump isn't as dumb as he seems, and here's why. First, there are his impromptu phone interviews.  The way he conducted them always bothered me   He always calls in.  It always freakin' annoyed me.  Why didn't he show up like everyone else?  I pictured him sitting at his desk, just calling in.  His tweets and his debate strategy annoyed me too, but it wasn't because he was winning, it just struck me funny.  But, I couldn't figure out why.  Then, there are his Political Rallies and the divisiveness.   It never made any sense, and then it came to me... Trump is running his campaign like a business.  And he communicates, debates and competes in the same manner.  He is hard to debate because he approaches the podium like he already has the job.  Or, at least one like it. His opponents are trying to get to his status.  Also, in the debates, he approaches the podium like everyone else is beneath him.  Because to him, running a company is like being President of the United States and he has been doing that for years.  Knowing Trump, he has been running our country in his mind for a long time.  The funny part is, people believe him, even though it isn't true.  His company and brand are successful, but running his type company is not the same as running GE or General Motors.   He is a Real Estate Magnate.  He has mostly negotiated deals related to property, not people.   Even his international experience is has been mostly related to Real Estate.  And it shows, especially when it comes to diplomacy.  He doesn't understand what it is.  He views lack of diplomacy as not having political correct skills, but it is closer to lack of people skills.

Trump's campaign and debate strategy was brilliant.  There is an old saying, "Businessmen have no stomach for politics."  I did not expect Trump to be this successful.  I thought that Jeb Bush and the other Republicans were going to chew him up and spit him out.   And, Trump would not have been able to beat the other Republicans playing the political game.  So, Trump changed the game to something he knew, and no one else knew his rules or his court.  Therefore, he had home court advantage at each debate.  He did have trouble keeping that advantage with Fox News.  And since he couldn't control them, he refused to attend.  He also did the same thing with the call in interviews and the Tweets.  By calling in, he controlled the conversation and he dictated the rules.  He was and is almost always in control.  This is why he is winning.  This is another business tactic.

Then, there's the divisiveness.... Well, many companies have used that to get the best out of their employees.  Companies like IBM used to pit departments/teams against each other and it worked well until it didn't.  Theoretically, you could use a race as department/teams.  The only difference is that you are using a business tactic to create a dangerous social experiment.  And it is an experiment that can ignite and turn into something very dangerous not only in the White House but it could affect our national and international policy.

There is one other thing about Trump that he knows makes him appealing to a good portion of the United States.  He looks like many of his constituents.  Yes, I am saying he is White, not just the complexion, but good ole' White Anglo Saxon Protestant.  And, some are voting for him for that reason alone.  He can do no wrong, because he looks like us.

And, there you have it, the success of Trump in a nutshell. It is based on changing the political game to suit him and genetics. 

God help us all.

#DonaldJTrump

#LCD_LowestCommonDonald

#DJT_AmericanEmbarrasment

#DonaldDrumpf

#TrumpRallies

#TrumpRiots

#DonaldtheJackass

Not Your heritage, but OUR Heritage

I wrote a comment (well more of a rant), about the Confederate Flag on my Facebook page.   Some said it was well written, so I decided to add it to my blog.  It was in response to Ben Carson’s original statement and the flag and what it represents as a whole.   Here is my statement, with some corrections. 

I think that Ben Carson may have a brain tumor.  Well at least something is wrong with him.  He believes that there should be a discussion on whether the Confederate flag should fly in South Carolina, because of its Southern history.  We should find a way to coexist.  I find it funny that people don't realize that it has historical importance to both blacks and whites.  It is just that one group is standing up proud with the foot on the neck of the other group.  There are no proud memories for the group who lies between the foot and the ground.   What annoys me the most is that people who love this flag act like that they were going to separate from the Union without their slaves.  Or, they ignore the fact that slaves fought on the Confederate side, some willingly and many not.

It boggles me that when I hear defenders talk about the flag.   You hear the statements about “our heritage” or “our pride” meaning southern white heritage or pride.  I am always amazed that the defenders are capable of talking about the South or and the great soldiers and generals of the Confederate, yet, ignore blacks altogether.  Blacks did not fight on the Confederate side until near the end of the war.   But, you almost have to be an ignorant fool to believe that they were not there as slaves and they did not support the war effort on both sides. 

One of the most respected and revered Generals, (not just the Confederate) Robert E. Lee grew up on a plantation with slaves.   His parents may have run the plantation; however the actual maintenance was performed by slaves.  In the civil war, the soldiers were white, but running and maintaining a military takes a lot more than soldiers.  Someone has to grow and harvest the food that they eat.   Equipment and weapons had to be created and maintained.   Also, someone had to take care of the horses.   And, of course there was other manual labor that needed to be performed.  The majority of that work was performed by slave labor.  If the Confederate military had no food, no clothing and no equipment, the Union military would have won a lot faster. 

My point is that flag represents a lot more that people seem to claim.   It represents the United States of America’s Southern history both Caucasian and African American, equally.   As I said in my Facebook statement, the flag has “…historical importance to both blacks and whites.  It is just that one group is standing up proud with the foot on the neck of the other group.  There are no proud memories for the group who lies between the foot and the ground.”  And, they should equally have a say on whether or not it remains on State property or in a museum.   

In a way, it is kind of funny, the argument is often heard, “you have Black or African American history, why can’t we have ours?”   But, Black history was not created because we (Negros, Blacks, or African Americans) needed our own; it was created, because American historians pretended like we weren’t there.  We were just hanging out in the background, instead of the ones who helped build this nation and performed a large majority of the free labor.   The quote “My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right.” has and should have a profoundly different meaning for the ancestors of slaves.

If ifs and buts were candy and nuts….

Last night when I went to bed, my mother made an uncomfortable statement about the dream she had had the previous night.  She dreamed that she was in the classroom, and she was trying unsuccessfully to get control of her class.  My mother did not always have trouble getting control of her class, but in her last years, just before she retired, she did, and she did not always have support of her administration and the staff.  Upon reflection, she said that her life would have been easier, if she had been like some of her other co-workers and taught just the basic math in her classroom and not tried to teach the actual subject.  If she had done that, all of her students would have passed her classes, they would have gotten along with her, because she would have been an easy ”A” teacher, and the administration would have liked her because all of her students would have passed her classes.  There would have been no frustration between her and other teachers, who did not teach.  Her life would have been so much easier, there would have been less stress and my childhood would have been easier too.  But, I couldn't support her statement.

My mother was right, her life would have been easier, but I reminded her that she thought that her students should get a good education.  My mother taught 43 years in Detroit Public Schools.  And she believed that her students deserved to get a quality education.  She believed, that they should be able to graduate from high school and be prepared to compete with any other high school graduate in Michigan, whether that was at the university level or in the work force.  These were great ideals, but they came with a price.  Sometimes there were issues with other teachers, because their students did not have the skills needed for my mother’s classes, even though they had taken the prerequisite.  And, my mother would be left with the choice of either helping the students get up to speed or failing them.  Students who were used to skating by in their classes were not able to skate through my mother’s class if they did not do the work.  Some students would take time to learn, others would drop her classes, and however some students were had other issues and they were angry and confrontational.  Most confrontations were verbal, however some were physical, and those were the scary ones, usually because, my mother did not have the support of the administration within her school when they occurred.  I can recall three separate incidences when my mother was assaulted at work.  I won’t go into details of those incidences but my mother’s career produced a lot of stress.  The last few years were especially stressful, because there was a lot of upheaval and politics that occurred regarding Detroit Public Schools.  But, I think what probably hurt most was the way that she was treated when she retired.  There was no nice send off, instead she was asked to pay for her own retirement dinner.  Unfortunately, I was still living in Maryland and I was unable to provide her a nice retirement celebration and I always regretted that…

In the end, doing the right thing or having strong beliefs doesn't guarantee a happy ending like it does in the movies.  I think that my mother would have had an easier career if she had played the game, but I think that not doing the right thing would have bothered her.  I think that in the end, it is about being able to lay your head down with a clear conscience and knowing that you have done the best you can.  And, that is all, nothing else is guaranteed.    

That is not Stir-Fry??!!

I have been working to get settled in at home, and it has been difficult to work on my blogs since I have so much to do, including looking for a job.  On Wednesday, I had the pleasure of taking a break and having lunch with some old friends that I have not seen in years.  However, I didn't really feel like going shopping and cooking dinner afterwards, however, I had too. You see, the face in the corner was what I had faced the night before.  When I lived at home and sometimes when my mother would visit me, I would fix Stir-fry.  And she likes it a lot, but she loves it when I fix it.  Well, Tuesday evening, she went to the store and she said that she was going to purchase the ingredients for Stir-fry.  When she came home, I should have known that something was wrong.  She said that what she bought just needed to be cooked, but it was a lot more expensive than what she remembered.  Also, she told me that I could just add more peppers and onions to stretch it.  I said  When I lived at home and sometimes when my mother would visit me, I would fix Stir-fry.  And she likes it a lot, but she loves it when I fix it.  Well, Tuesday evening, she went to the store and she said that she was going to purchase the ingredients for Stir-fry.  When she came home, I should have known that something was wrong.  She said that what she bought just needed to be cooked, but it was a lot more expensive than what she remembered.  Also, she told me that I could just add more peppers and onions to stretch it.    I said OKd , but you can add mo e than peppers and onions to a stir-fry.  When I went into the kitchen, I started looking in the freezer for the frozen vegetables and meet, but they were in the refrigerator in one container.  I read the container, and I looked up and said, “Mom, you bought Chicken fajitas.  That was why it is so expensive.”  She shrugged her shoulders and asked if we could still have it over brown rice.  I told her sure.  Well, as you know, Chicken Fajitas is not Chicken Stir-fry, so when she fixed her plate, a very small plate, she picked around her food, pouted and ate.  Later she came back and fixed a salmon burger because she was still hungry.  It was not my fault, but I still felt bad.  So, after my Wednesday lunch, I went to Kroger’s.    When I went into the kitchen, I started looking in the freezer for the frozen vegetables and meet, but they were in the refrigerator in one container.  I read the container, and I looked up and said, “Mom, you bought Chicken fajitas.  That was why it is so expensive.”  She shrugged her shoulders and asked if we could still have it over brown rice.  I told her sure.  Well, as you know, Chicken Fajitas is not Chicken Stir-fry, so when she fixed her plate, a very small plate, she picked around her food, pouted and ate.  Later she came back and fixed a salmon burger because she was still hungry.  It was not my fault, but I still felt bad.  So, after my Wednesday lunch, I went to Kroger’s. 

Kroger’s has a new organic/natural brand called Simple Truth; well at least it is new to me.  There are no Kroger’s in Albany.  I got lucky because I was able to use my eCoupon to purchase fresh cut Stir-fry vegetable and fully cooked Fajita steak strips.  I decided to get the Fajita steak strips for two reasons, the first was because we have been eating a lot of chicken, the second because I always season my meat when I stir-fry.  The meat was just going to have an Asian-Mexican fusion thing going on.  This made preparing stir-fry much easier, I did not feel like doing all of that chopping.  So, Wednesday night, my mother had the Beef stir fry which she said was great.  I don’t know how it tasted, I ate my leftovers that night for dinner, and she ate the rest of the stir-fry for lunch the next day.  But, I was happy that I did not have to look at that sad face at dinner time.  

#Kroger

#fusion