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Casey J. Lartigue, Jr. 

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Here are some of our favorite pieces of work from Casey J. Lartigue, Jr.

The GOP's Next (Black) Idea? By Casey Lartigue, Jr. | TheRoot.com

Casey Lartigue, Jr., has a thought-provoking article on The Root.com.  Take a read and give Casey some feedback.   You can learn more about Casey at "Casey's Corner" at Black Men In America.com.

G.J. 

Trading slavery reparations for affirmative action.
 
Getty Images

March 3, 2008--Concerned that Republicans haven't tried hard enough to reach out to black voters, Bruce Bartlett, a former advisor to President Ronald Reagan and treasury official under President George H. W. Bush, suggests a shocker: Republicans should come out in favor of reparations for slavery.

Republicans for reparations? Bartlett makes the suggestion in Wrong on Race, an expose on the "hidden" racist history of the Democratic Party. Bartlett skewers former Democratic presidents such as Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson for bigotry and cowardice on the issue of race and assails a number of Democratic senators, representatives and governors for their do-or-die defense of slavery and Jim Crow.

Skipping ahead to today, Bartlett writes that black voters are taken for granted by Democrats and have been written off by Republicans. He argues that blacks would benefit from having the two parties compete for their votes.

But Republicans for reparations?  Click here to read the rest of the story.

 

 

MLK Would Agree With This Post

In Saturday's Washington Post, columnist Colbert I. King was axin' the question: "What Would Dr. King Think?"

After hearing this question over a number of years, from people on the left, right, center, fringe, etc., it seems that the answer is: MLK typically seems to think
whatever it is that the questioner thinks. Really, how often do people who aren't attacking MLK ask, "What would King think," and then answer, and then say, "And MLK would be WRONG!"

A few years ago I was asked by a TV producer to speculate what Dr. King would say today about various issues. I think that I gave the answer above, or something similar. I never got called back to be on the show.

A few months later I wrote a piece about what we can learn from MLK. I tried to avoid directly dealing with the question, What would King think. Instead of presuming that we would know what the guy thought 40 years later, I thought a better starting point would be: what can I learn from him and how could I apply it?

Because he was so thoughtful, it is difficult to predict how he might have thought 4 decades later. MLK could have been like Frederick Douglass, who remained remarkably consistent over several decades of activism. He could have turned out like intellectual W.E.B. Dubois, who got so fed up at the end of his life that he renounced his U.S. citizenship and became a naturalized citizen of Ghana (where he died at the age of 95, one day before MLK's I Have a Dream speech). MLK could have turned out like Marion Barry--we could be downloading copies of the MLK-Paris Hilton sex tapes. Or he could have turned out like the late John Wilson, a leftist D.C. activist who at the end of his life came to support charter schools.

Anyway, Colbert King did try to answer the question, What Would Dr. King think? But let's turn that question around and ask--What Would Colbert King think? I mean, could Colbert King's most faithful readers predict in advance what he would say in a column on a topic? Could they predict what he said in a column 10 or 20 years ago? That mind-reading stuff does appear to be a little difficult.

A radio host I occasionally sub for asked the question--what if MLK had run for office? He isn't sure that King would have been a shoo-in. I agree. As much as Rosa Parks was loved, she lost an election within the NAACP within the early 1980s. I believe that she was running for VP.

CJL

Monday, January 16, 2006

What's your error type (assuming that you make errors)?

Economist Walter E. Williams often notes that there are two types of errors that someone making a decision could make: Type 1 (being overly cautious) Type II (not being cautious enough).

For example: "Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials, in their drug approval process, can essentially make two errors. They can approve a drug that has unanticipated dangerous side effects (type II). Or, they can disapprove, or hold up approval of, a drug that's perfectly safe and effective (type I). In other words, they can err on the side of under-caution or err on the side of over-caution. Which error do FDA officials have the greater incentive to make?"

I was thinking about that as I read Radley Balko's post on his hometown Indianapolis Colts getting bounced from the playoffs again. The Colts had so much success during the latest regular season that they clinched home-field advantage with three or four weeks to go. Should they try to go undefeated or rest their players? The San Diego Chargers helped them with that the following week, defeating them and ruining their chance for a perfect season.

With the perfect season no longer possible, the big question became: Rest or rust? Dungy went for rest. Radley says it was rust that doomed them yesterday in their loss to the Steelers. Either way, Dungy would have gotten criticized if his team lost. Go with a type I error and be overly cautious, and people note that the Colts hadn't played a competitive game in a month. Go with a Type II error, and have Marvin Harrison tear up a knee in a "meaningless" game, people would be saying that Dungy had not only wrecked the team's chances this year, but also next year.

Right now, the superintendent of DC public schools is actually risking making a type II error--he has notified 1,100 DC public school teachers that they'll be out of work if they don't acquire their credentials by June 30. Right now the editorial page is praising the threat, although we'll see if in June and July they'll be as steadfast once the metro section starts profiling teachers thrown out of work.

More than anything, this might be a message from superintendent Janey that a new sheriff is in town. Other superintendents have probably made similar threats and not followed through (which is why almost 25 percent of the teaching force lacks the credentials).

Now, what the Post needs to do is to examine what it means to be a certified teacher in D.C. What's on the exam? How rigorous is it? What are some of the commonly missed questions that are no longer used? I recall reading that the test given to D.C. teachers up to the late 1960s or mid-1970s was thrown out because too many black teachers were failing it. I would imagine that the test has only gotten easier since then.

CJL

 

Fighting and Talking 'Til He Dies

Mike Tyson, 38, is saying that he will retire from boxing. I'm betting a friend $500 that Tyson will be scheduled to fight in a boxing ring at least once by his 45th birthday. I figure that when I win the money that I'll be able to use it to fly round-trip and take a taxi to the hotel I'll stay in for the night.

One request for Tyson--could you shut up and do whatever it is that you are going to do next? Tyson is now talking about becoming a missionary in Africa. Football player Ricky Williams quit on the NFL two years ago, and is now thinking about coming back. He may be a chump, too, but at least he didn't talk endlessly to reporters about what he was going to do--he just did it! And he didn't even give two weeks notice.

CJL - Posted June 14, 2005

Cosmic Justice in the Classroom

I'm trying to get the NBA commissioner on the phone to tell him about my idea--give extra points for players depending upon their height. Players who are less than 6 feet tall should be awarded four points for each basket, players between 6 and 7 feet should get three points for each basket, and players above 7 feet tall should get two points for each basket.

Sounds crazy, I know, but that is the type of thinking behind educators who want to award students points for their effort or other factors unrelated to the key questions--have you mastered the material or answered the questions correctly? In today's Washington Post, there's an article about teachers who disagree on whether or not students should be given extra points for effort.

As a former teacher, I will admit that there were times that I felt sympathetic about students who were struggling, but apparently were studying hard. (I say "apparently" because some people know how to put on a good show; some students may only try hard when they are in class; and some people who try hard don't brag about it.) But I resisted the temptation to award extra points because it would have cheated the students who HAD mastered the material.

It would seem crazy for a sports team to award players who tried hard, but ultimately, can't put the ball in the hoop. Just as there are some students who might not have to study as hard as others, there are also some players who play the game naturally.

Grades aren't evil--they are there to give us signals about our performance. Unfortunately, to far too many educators, it makes perfect sense to toss a few extra points to a struggling student. It is yet another example of people wanting to play God on a daily basis, believing that they are smart enough, as Adam Smith wrote, to move people around as if they were pieces on a chess board.

CJL - Posted June 14, 2005

 

Some things that ought not be done, ought not be done well

Yes, I'm smart enough to wear a seat belt when I'm driving. I won't drive until my wife has put on her seat belt. And I remind all of my passengers that I often slam on the brakes.

Walter E. Williams was on the Rush Limbaugh Show on Friday talking about police in Maryland using night-vision goggles to catch people who aren't wearing their seat belts at night.

There is a saying that when the government does stuff it shouldn't be doing, then it probably isn't doing stuff that it should be doing. Truly, there must be some other crimes going on in which people clearly are being victimized and are more worthy of being targeted by law enforcement resources.

Ah, but wearing a seat belt supposedly doesn't just impact you. The seat belt prevents you from using your body as a weapon as it is tossed from your vehicle when you rammed into an 18-wheeler.

A problem with government being an organization of busybodies is that modern technology is helping it become more efficient at bothering the rest of us.

Posted June 14, 2005

Black People versus Niggers

Chris Rock got it right--there's a civil war going on. On one side, we've got black people. On the other side--Niggers. Niggers have got to go!

Black hoodlums punish black people who are law-abiding citizens every day. Not only are the hoodlums more likely to kill other black people, but they also impose a cost in interactions black people have with other people, including other black people.

Yesterday I took a cab to a breakfast meeting. As usual, I handed my money to the cab driver early. I hate it when people wait until they reach their destination before they remember they've got to pay for the ride. I mean it isn't a surprise that the cab driver will be expecting some money. Then the riders waste time fumbling through their purses, either holding up traffic or the next person waiting to use the cab. I remember watching other cabs pass by while waiting for one woman to find her money. It reminds me of being at the supermarket when a shopper will wait until everything has been bagged before remembering, "Well, I guess I should search through my entire purse now so I can write a check for $147.12."

A second reason I pay early: I don't want to forget to ask for a receipt so I can get reimbursed.

Yesterday the cabbie thanked me when I paid, then I complained about those shoppers who hold up the lines. He agreed. He said that Friday and Saturday nights are his toughest, because he has to deal with drunken people getting into his cab. Then during the conversation he began to complain about blacks who hop out of his cab without paying. Of course it isn't just blacks who do that, but he answered that probably 99 percent of his customers who have hopped out without paying have been black people. The white people who haven't paid have been so drunk that by the time he got them to their destination, that he just rolled them out of the cab or had to get someone at the destination to come out and get the person and pay. But he was still really angry about the blacks who hop out of his cab without paying. The cabbie said, "I'm black. I know people won't like it when I say this. I get ripped off, what am I supposed to do? People who say I have to pick up everybody don't care about my safety and they don't care that I keep getting ripped off. The worst thing is that some of them, when I'm ready to drop them off, will just look at me and say, 'I don't have any money.'"

Yes, Niggers have got to go!

I warned the cabbie that he might not want to repeat his remarks to other people--there are too many lawyers in town, he might pick up some fool from the ACLU and get hit with a lawsuit.

What bothers me is that cab drivers profile black men who wouldn’t think about hopping out of a cab or robbing a cabbie. This means that black men who are not professionally dressed are even more likely to get discriminated against. We all must pay the price in general for the hoodlums who live among us. Security guards, home security alarm systems, metal bars on our homes or businesses, guns, higher insurance premiums become even more necessary because we've got fools in this society who don't respect private property or other people. I read years ago that one of the reasons bus companies were eager to move from accepting cash to token or cards is that people bus drivers were getting held up, sometimes for just a few dollars.

I realize that some people get angry at the cab drivers for passing up blacks, but I focus my attention on the robbers and cab-hoppers that justify the feelings of those cab drivers. There are some times that black men must go out of their way not to appear dangerous. In a 1986 essay, Brent Staples said that he whistled classical music tunes when he was out walking so that white pedestrians wouldn't fear him. Thankfully, my prediction that black rapists would start learning classical music tunes was wrong.

Learning classical music or being professionally dressed isn't enough, however. There are some well-dressed Niggers doing some evil things. According to today's Washington Post: "In varying ways, hotels throughout the region are tightening security and posting information -- in numerous languages -- about the well-dressed black man in his twenties or thirties who police believe raped four employees while they were cleaning rooms at hotels in the District and its suburbs over the past four weeks."

In fact, the Post mentions three times in the today's article that the accused rapist is well dressed. Until the rapist is caught, any well-dressed black man at a hotel who vaguely fits the description of the alleged rapist will be seen as a suspect. Even a Brooks Brother suit can't protect a black man from being perceived as a rapist! I'm not saying, by the way, that this is the first time there has ever been a well-dressed rapist. But I live in the Washington D.C. area and the fool is supplying bullets to people who want to portray all black men as potential rapists. I don't have any love for the rapists and thugs who make the media images believable. Again, to quote Chris Rock--I don't have three guns in my house because of the media.

Of course by saying this, some people are going to think I'm singling myself out as being a victim, that I'm saying I'm better than other black people, that I'm ashamed to be black, or some other nonsense. Nope. As a friend of mine has said: I'm not ashamed to be black. If anything, I'm ashamed that there are some niggers who are seen as being black.

So here's another case that doesn't involve me, and is on-going—Radio Talk show host Joe Madison recently moved into southeast D.C. From his description of the area, it's a dangerous part of southeast, where the store owners have Plexiglas to protect themselves from the customers. Madison is a black professional in his 50s who has three kids who have graduated from or are in college. In addition to his radio show, he often makes appearances on national television shows. His wife is also a professional, working in the airline industry. He often talks about "giving back" to the community. He buys products from black-owned stores whenever possible. Many people respect him.

It is becoming increasingly clear that he should have rented, not bought, his southeast home. Based on what he has said, he is fighting a civil war in southeast--and losing.

He has complained on his radio show about the litter, the crime, and the lack of respect for people or property. He worries about his wife or daughters walking out alone.

Earlier this week, he was wondering why there are dead white roosters being left on a road about a block from his house. I don't mean to profile everyone in southeast, but based on my visits to the area, I doubt that there are many farmers in southeast D.C. It turns out that dead roosters being left on the side of the road signals to drug buyers in the area that drugs are available. He says he has noticed a lot of activity in the area after the dead roosters are left on the side of the road. These are just the types of things that a middle-class man is usually ignorant about or hears second-hand from others, unless he is looking for drugs.

I suspect that Madison believed he could make a change in the community. I won't say that he won't. But so far, he is losing the civil war. He talked the other day about when he was young, his older relatives told him that you can "be poor, but you don't have to be dirty." I was reminded of a friend who says that "poor people may not choose where they live, but they can choose how they live."

These days that might sound like blaming the victim, but just because you are poor doesn't mean you should write on the walls, pee in front of a grocery store, or buy a DVD player instead of a book for your child.

I remember hearing about black pride in the past in the face of racism. For example, Walter Williams has written about black people being able to sleep on their porches in poor areas even in the 1950s. Crime was slightly worse in black areas, but nothing compared to crime rates in the 1960s. Williams, who could be accurately described as conservative or libertarian, would probably differ on a lot of issues with Madison, a community activist with radical left leanings. (Plus, you can tell the difference in the way the two have treated me on the radio. Williams invited me to be a guest on the Rush Limbaugh; Madison ranted about me one day for at least 15 minutes, and on another day, after I called in to argue with him, he and his guests ranted about me for much of the next hour.)

Madison, who spends much of his time on-air bashing president Bush, then said: We can't blame white people for this. We can't blame Bush for this. This is really our problem. I don't see how you can live in a community that is . . . trashy. I'm not looking for excuses; I'm looking for what's going on in people's minds. Why do black people lower their standard of living? He noted that there are four things you can find in any black neighborhood: 1) Black people. 2) Liquor stores. 3) Cigarette ads. 4) Litter.

If Rush Limbaugh said such things, Madison would probably still devote four hours to his next show about white racism (probably an oxymoron to Madison). But Madison has the type of street credibility that he can get away with it.

Madison has said the obvious--this is a problem black people must deal with. Yet, other days, he treats the obvious as being taboo. Most days he is ranting about conservatives, the media, institutional racism, president Bush. I seriously doubt that white conservatives are sneaking into black neighborhoods at night to write graffiti on the walls. It isn't the media that pees or litters in front of the stores. It isn't institutional racism hopping out of cabs. It isn't president Bush who will buy a DVD player before buying his kids some books.

A few years ago Louis Farrakhan referred to non-black merchants working in black areas as "bloodsuckers." But he was wrong. The real bloodsuckers are the hoodlums in those areas. Black people shouldn't be afraid to say that aloud, even when white people are around. A decade ago Jesse Jackson famously said, "There is nothing more painful to me at this stage in my life than to walk down the street and hear footsteps and start thinking about robbery. Then look around and see someone white and feel relieved."

Once conservatives jumped on that statement, Jesse backed down. It was okay for him to dole out some reality when he was talking with black people, but he wouldn't want his words to be used to justify racial profiling. Defeating racial profiling is more important than cracking down on crime, for some people.

The time has come for black people to declare war on the Niggers screwing up everything.

Posted November 2003


Posted Monday, March 07, 2005

Hot Off the Presses: The Latest Black Urban Legends

By Casey J. Lartigue, Jr.

Within the last few days, I've been sent this e-mail by three or four people:

Thurgood Marshall, Roy Wilkins, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Patricia Roberts Harris are all on these stamps. Please forward this and buy a book of our stamps ASAP. The P.O. will DESTROY all remaining African American Heritage stamps at theend of the month instead of following their usual procedure of selling themuntil they are depleted. Why? Because we're not buying them! However, ourpostal workers are asking patrons to complain to the Post Master, via acomplaint form. Please ask for and complete the form (at the post office).Skip the love, flag, rose or teddy- bear stamps that they offer youautomatically, Request African-American stamps every time. If we don't buythem, nobody will. We need to keep the little things that we do get. Pleasesend this email to all your friends so we can keep BLACK STAMPS incirculation!!!!

I get that e-mail about once a year, especially around Black History Month. There is a pattern to these e-mails:

1) Please forward.
2) Something outrageous is being done.
3) "We" aren't doing something to stop it.
4) Buy a certain item, vote, or protest in some other way.

The Internet makes it easier to pass around bad information. The first Urban Legend I heard was that Alfonso Ribero had broken his neck while break-dancing.

The first Urban Legend that I got in e-mail informed me that 14 black colleges were about to be closed.

14 BLACK COLLEGES TO CLOSE DOWN FOREVER?
1. Allen Univ.. (Columbia, SC)
2. Arkansas Baptist College (Little Rock, AK)
3. Barber-Scotia College (Concord, NC)
4. Central State Univ.. (Wilberforce, OH)
5. Houston-Tillotson College (Austin, TX)
6. Jarvis Christian College (Hawkins, TX)
7. Lane College (Jackson, TN)
8. Mary Holmes College (West Point, MS)
9. Miles College (Birmingham, AL)
10. Paul Quinn College (Dallas, TX)
11. Southwestern Christian College (Terrell, TX)
12. Texas College (Tyler, TX)
13. Texas Southern Univ.. (Houston, TX)
14. Wiley College (Marshall, TX)

Isn't it interesting that seven of these colleges are in Texas? Who is the Governor, running for President in that state again? Who is the one claiming to be the leader in 'Education' throughout the U.S.? Please forward this information to all the brothers and sisters you know, (especially those who vote!)


Of course I was suspicious because this one was being passed around before the presidential election and was playing to people's fears.

I picked up the phone and called either alumni affairs or admissions at Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas. I patiently explained to a woman why I was calling and she sighed: "I've been sent this e-mail so many times. I don't know why people still send this around. It must be fun to scare people."

She thanked me for calling because people will pass around the e-mail without bothering to check it out.

Actually, any e-mails involving Bush and black people citing something bad should be treated with suspicion.

Texas governor George W. Bush "refused to sell his home to Blacks."

In early 2002, some Bush-haters were having fun with another story about Bush. At a meeting in November 2001, president Bush supposedly asked the president of Brazil, "Do you have blacks, too?"

The original source was a link
that is now dead reported that Condi Rice, rather dramatically, corrected the president. That should have raised red flags, for two reasons. One, there's no way anyone would have that type of story without Nation magazine or Mother Jones featuring it. Two, the advisors of presidents aren't known for correcting the president on the spot.

If the president of the United States said he had just seen Elvis, NO ONE who works for the president would correct him on the spot unless it had been scripted in advance. They'll let the president finish what he was saying, then later various spokesmen would explain that the president meant to say that he wishes he could see Elvis or that the president had a dream about Elvis.

The Washington Post
later checked out Bush's alleged question, but seemed skeptical.

Some of my liberal discussion buddies were besides themselves from the get-go, however. They started in with their typical points--Bush is stooopid! Bush doesn't know anything about blacks! Bush is an affirmative action president! Bush, a Yale graduate, doesn't know world history! Bush is a lightweight, an opportunist! He's lazy! Bush has never had a real job! Bush went AWOL during Vietnam! Bush stole the election! He's not my president, I didn't vote for him, my vote was stolen, blah, blah, blah!

I made two points at the time--one, does the presence of blacks mean that Bush should change his policy towards Brazil? If not, it doesn't seem to be important for him to know the racial composition of a different country.

Two, I asked if there were any blacks of influence in Brazil who would be present at meetings with the president of the U.S.? That would have answered Bush's question...

Well, we have some breaking news on that. Shortly after that, the president of Brazil appointed Rio De Janeiro prosecutor Joaquim Benedito Barbosa Gomes as the country's first black Supreme Court Justice.

According to a BBC
article: "Although more than half of Bazilians are descended from Africans there are only a handful of black faces in positions of power in Brasilia."

Some of these Urban Legends are relatively innocent.

The Statue of Liberty was erected as a tribute to the accomplishments of Black soldiers in the Civil War, and a Black woman served as the model for Lady Liberty
.

But we know that can't be true--black women have wide hips: Designer Liz Claiborne appeared on a popular television talk show and announced that she doesn't design clothes for black women because "their hips are too big
."

The U.S. government assigns Social Security numbers on the basis of race
, a practice which permits employers to prescreen applicants to weed out those of color.

A nervous old lady dives for the elevator floor when a black man gets on and gruffly asks her to 'hit four.'
The man turns out to be Eddie Murphy, and as a gallant gesture he pays the lady's hotel bill.

There's also one not yet on the Urban Legends site.

It has the pattern I mentioned above. And don't forget, a white person supposedly wrote this.

"BLACKS DON'T READ"

Please Note:

For those of you who heard it, this is the article Dee Lee was reading this morning on a New York radio station. For those of you who didn't hear it, this is very deep and true! BLACKS DON'T READ.

This is a heavy piece and a Caucasian wrote it.

THEY ARE STILL OUR SLAVES

We can continue to reap profits from the Blacks without the effort of
physical slavery. Look at the current methods of containment that they use on
themselves: IGNORANCE, GREED, and SELFISHNESS. Their IGNORANCE is the primary weapon
of containment. A great man once said, "The best way to hide something from
Black people is to put it in a book." We now live in the Information Age. They
have gained the opportunity to read any book on any subject through the efforts
of their fight for freedom, yet they refuse to read.

There are numerous books readily available at Borders, Barnes &Noble, and
Amazon.com, not to mention their own Black Bookstores that provide solid
blueprints to reach economic equality (which should have been their fight all along), but few read consistently, if at all. GREED is another powerful weapon of
containment.

Blacks, since the abolition of slavery, have had large amounts of money at
their disposal. Last year they spent 10 billion dollars during Christmas, out of
their 450 billion dollars in total yearly income (2.22%). Any of us can use
them as our target market, for any business venture we care to dream up, no matter how outlandish, they will buy into it.


Being primarily a consumer!people, they function totally by greed. They
continually want more, with little thought for saving or investing.They would
rather buy some new sneaker than invest in starting a business. Some even neglect
their children to have the latest Tommy or FUBU, And they still think that
having a Mercedes, and a big house givesthem "Status" or that they have achieved
the American Dream. They are fools!

The vast majority of their people are still in poverty because their greed
holds them back from collectively making better communities. With the help of
BET, and the rest of their black media that often broadcasts destructive images
into their own homes, we will continue to see huge profits like those of Tommy and Nike. (Tommy Hilfiger has even jeered them, saying he doesn't want their money, and look at how the fools spend more with him than ever before!). They'll continue to show off to each other while we build solid communities with! the profits from our
businesses that we market to them.


SELFISHNESS, ingrained in their minds through slavery, is one of the major
ways we can continue to contain them. One of their own, Dubois said that there
was an innate division in their culture. A "Talented Tenth" he called it. He
was correct in his deduction that there are segments of their culture that has
achieved some "form" of success. However, that segment missed the fullness of
his work. They didn't read that the "Talented Tenth" was then responsible to
aid The Non-Talented Ninety Percent in achieving a better life.


Instead, that segment has created another class, a Buppie class that looks
down on their people or aids them in a condescending manner. They will never
achieve what we have. Their selfishness does not allow them to be able to work
together on any project or endeavor of substance. When they do get together, their selfishness lets their egos get in the way of their goal. Their so-called help organizations seem to only want to promote their name without making any real change in their community. They are content to sit in conferences and conventions in our
hotels, and talk about what they will do, while they award plaques to the best
speakers, not the best doers. Is there no end to their selfishness?

They steadfastly refuse to see that TOGETHER EACH ACHIEVES MORE (TEAM)! They
do not understand that they are no better than each other of what they own in
fact, most of those Buppies are but one or two paychecks away from poverty.
All of which is under the control of our pens in our offices and our rooms. Yes,
we will continue to contain them as long as they refuse to read, continue to
buy anything they want, and keep thinking they are "helping" their communities
by paying dues to organizations which do little other than hold lavish
conventions in our hotels. By the way, don't worry about any of them reading this letter, remember, 'THEY DON'T READ!!!!
(Prove them wrong. Please pass this on! After Reading it..)


But there are some bad ones:
African-Americans are entitled to a $5,000 slavery reparation tax credit
. Of course, I'll take just about any excuse for a tax credit. I read in the Washington Post a while ago that some black people were getting prosecuted for attempting to claim that tax credit. But then, that could be an Urban Legend, considering the source...

Blacks will lose the right to vote in 2007.

The worst one:

Interview with Serena Williams

Interviewer - Ms. Williams we are all interested in your new boyfriend.

Serena : There is no new boyfriend. I stopped playing with boys when I stopped dating black guys. I have a new man in my life and yes, he's white.

Interviewer - So you prefer to date white men instead of black guys?

Serena : let's be real. If you are a successful black female you only have two choices....date outside of your race or date other successful black females.

Interviewer - Are you saying there are no successful black men to date?

Serena : Of course not but lets face it, if Oprah would date outside of her race she would be married with children now. The state of most black men is so low the only thing you can do is love them. Like a poor homeless dog. You can't expect it to protect you. You can only offer shelter and love and watch as our neighbor's pitbull protects his home and family. I, unlike Oprah, am not forced to stay within those boundaries. I was born into a new generation of black women.

Interviewer - And you think the best man is a non-black man?

Serena : I think if there's a better choice for me, God would have shown me. I am in the public so I get to meet lots of people from all over the world athletes, celebs etc.I am wealthy so I am invited and have traveled to the most prestigious events all over the world. Out of all those people, places and events....I had to choose the right man for me. Like it or not with very few exceptions) a white man is the only real choice for a successful black female.


As the Urban Legends site says, Williams herself has responded:

Words cannot express how upset I am to find out that someone has deliberately attempted to ruin my reputation and image.

I would never, ever, under any circumstance, be so disrespectful. Whoever decided to write this garbage does not know Serena Williams. It is not my thinking nor my being. I want to find out who is behind this, and have them prosecuted within the fullest extend of the law. I am hoping that there will be more policing over the Internet, in order to find out immediately the origin of this kind of treachery. No one deserves to be humiliated and defamed this way.


I've only focused on Urban Legends about black people because those are the ones I receive. But white people have their own Urban Legends
.

Of course, the Urban Legends site debunking these Urban Legends may be part of "The Plan" to oppress people.


 


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