Message From Josie

This is a recent YouTube message from Josie to kids that are different like her.

You White Pro Birthers Never Cared About Black Lives Before And Still Don't

Like other people in the blogosphere, I have not been happy lately about the recent campaign of the pro birth movement trying to inject race in the abortion debate.and faux concern for African American lives.

First it was those jacked up 'endangered species' billboards.   Now comes Rick Santorum,  who as the former US senator for Pennsylvania earned F's on the NAACP Congressional Civil Rights report card delivering a twisted history comment aimed at President Obama's pro choice stance that only served to put the right wing hypocrisy about African American lives in full view

Since you're so concerned about us, I have to ask the following questions of you vanilla pro-birthers.

If you are so concerned with African-American babies, why aren't you supporting universal health care so those babies and their parents can grow up healthy?

Why are you pro-birthers opposing federally or state funded day care so that their mothers can work and earn decent paychecks to support these kids that you profess to love so much?  


Why aren't you supporting full funding for public schools and a 21st century curriculum that focuses on teaching math, facts based science and critical thinking skills in order for those babies to get into college?

Why are you cutting Pell grants and cutting funding for colleges and universities?   Some of those African-American babies will need to have those programs around so that they can get a good education and join the workforce with good jobs at good wages. 


It also goes without saying that people have to have jobs in order to earn the income to take care of a child after it comes out of the birth canal.

And segueing back to public schools for a moment, the best way to cut down the rate of abortions is to have comprehensive reality based sex education. The abstinence-only model that you endorsed doesn't work and sets up a fantasy world that even teen mother and spokesmodel for abstinence Bristol Palin couldn't live up to.


You conservative pro-birthers haven't cared about Black lives for 400 years and still don't, so how dare you part your lips to even try to claim that you do when your social policy stances factor into some of the reasons why Black women terminate their pregnancies in the first place?

What We Has Here Is A Fauxgressive Failure To Communicate 2

On Friday I posted the following comment on my Facebook page that grew into a TransGriot blog post about identity politics.

Yeah, I know y'all hate 'identity politics' but news flash people-all politics in the USA is identity politics. The sooner the GL community realizes that and adjusts their game plans to deal with that reality, the better.

The comment then grew into a thread on the issue in which Margaux Ayn Schaffer posted this response to the initial comment:

 What about our identity as Americans?  Being a hyphenated individual does nothing to unite us, it only further divides us. THAT IS SEPARATISM!

I responded with:

Margaux, white Americans have made it quite clear over the last 200 plus years that my identity as an American and any other POC is subject to their interpretation.

I went from being 3/5 of a human to full citizenship thanks to the 14th Amendment and 150 plus years of blood, sweat, tears and activism, and even still I'm only an 'American' when I'm needed to fight a war or pay taxes.

Why is it nobody has a problem with people claiming they are German American, Italian American or other hyphenated European ethnic groups, but let a POC proclaim they are African-American, Asian American or a Latino/a American and European descended Americans start trippin?

Being proud of where you come from is NOT separatism.

Margaux Ayn Schaffer America is supposed to be a melting pot, not a caldron.
Individual identity is not at issue, groupthink is.

Margaux Ayn Schaffer Fragmenting our national cohesion does little to unite us but serves only to further divide us. I find your rhetoric disingenuous and divisive.

btw: I am German/French/Cherokee.
Its easier to call myself an American.

Then I responded to those comments with: 
 @Margaux..your reaction is typical of someone who is wallowing in white privilege and just dismissed what my and my people's lived experience in America is

@margaux Me or anybody else calling ourselves African-American shouldn't bother you

After two other commenters expressed their thoughts Margaux lobbed this incendiary comment into the mix.   

Margaux Ayn Schaffer ‎@De, I just think Monica is being too confrontational and divisive.

Margaux Ayn Schaffer

I'm not bothered by how people identify. Far too much is being read into what I have stated. It's obvious that my opinions carry some participatory bias as does everyone else's. I just think that the hostility is palpable on both sides of t...he argument and people need to find the pause switch and press it then ask the right questions in a less accusitotory manner. Being bitter and combative (I'm not, just frustrated that people are isolationist in their outlook). I just think that whether or not your points are valid, it's not how you build bridges towards understanding others when you are just as full of hostility as you alledge me of being. I apologize if I have offended anyone.

Obviously  Margaux did care because she wouldn't have made the original 'hyphenated American' comment in the first place.   I also decided to point out she ignored what I had to say about Black citizenship being ignored and the silencing tactics she was engaging in. 

@Margaux, you prove my point with every post you make. I'm speaking my truth and my lived experience and you in your infinite vanilla flavored wisdom have dismissed it and deemed it 'divisive' and 'confrontational'

if you don't like me speaking the truth about the historical fact that POC status as Americans is subject to the whims of white people, e, you can always unfriend me..

Once again Margaux, check the history books. heard of a case called Dred Scott v Sanford?

If it's not the case that POC US citizenship is subject to the whim of white people, explain the efforts by Tea Klux Klan members and the conservafool movement to repeal the 14th Amendment, deny the children of undocumented immigrants born on American soil and who are Americans their citizenship, and the proposals to take away citzenship from people deemed 'terrorists'

Funny the people overwhelmingly backing those proposed laws share your ethnic heritage.

Margaux Ayn Schaffer

‎@Monica, I am not a revisionist. I know my history.

On the other hand, the question is how do we build a bridge to the future. How do we move forward. Mutual respect is a good place to start. But you need to consider whether you seek to preach to the choir or reach out to a broader community. You catch more bees with honey than vinegar.

I just think that painting white people (and myself in particular) is not the way to win hearts and minds.

People are factionalizing. Tribalism is coming back.

After two other comments, tried to get the discussion back on track after finally having enough of Margaux and blocking her.

Monica Roberts on that note now can we get back to what this community needs to do to realize that identity politics are alive and well, aren't going away any time soon, and what this community needs to do to pass our political and social agenda in light of that fact

Nope...Two more people besides Margaux picked up the 'Monica is a 'divisive racist' meme and you know I wasn't having that BS continue on my own FB page.
 

It's at 31 comments as I write this, and y'all can read how it developed for yourselves.  

Once again this is a classic example of a person of color making a statement in online discourse that doesn't fit the vanilla flavored worldview of some white people.   They don't like it and either try to ignore it, or flip the script and attack the POC by deeming them as 'racist', 'confrontational' or 'angry' in order to silence them and therefore get the last word in.

The insidiousness and insanity of 'whiteness' and 'white privilege'.  All this drama I wasn't looking for that day when I simply posted a comment on my own FB page that wasn't in the spirit of being confrontational. 

For you peeps that accused me in that thread of being confrontational, when I want to be confrontational, trust me, there will be no doubt in yours and anyone else's minds when I do go there.

NFL Picks-Championship Sunday

Well, did a little better during the divisional round than I did during the wildcard round of the NFL playoffs in picking winners.   Went 2-2 this weekend to get the overall record up to 3-5.

While I picked Chicago and Pittsburgh correctly, didn't count on both number one seeeds in the NFC and the AFC going down to defeat.

It's Championship Sunday, and it's time for Moni to pick the winners of the AFC and NFC title games and see if I get it right as to which teams end up in the Jerrydome on February 6 to play in Super Bowl XLV.

AFC Championship
New York Jets at Pittsburgh

The Steelers knocked off their bitter rivals the Baltimore Ravens 31-24 in the Divisional round to earn their 15th trip to the AFC title game and their first since 2008..   

The Jets made it to their second consecutive AFC Championship game and 4th overall by beating the Indianapolis Colts and the Number one seeded New England Patriots on the road in consecutive weekends in the playoffs.  It's a feat only the 2002 Tennessee Traitors have managed to pull off in NFL history.  They also beat the Steelers 22-17 at Heinz Field on December 19.

But don't get happy Jets fans, Troy Polamalu didn't play in that game.  With 2:08 remaining, Ben Roethlisberger drove the Steelers 82 yards to the Jets' 10 yard line only to throw two incomplete end zone passes as time expired.   

The Jets are also winless in AFC Championship game appearances with an 0-3 record while the Steelers are 7-7.   Their last win was in 2008 enroute to their seventh NFL championship.

In this rematch,  while the Jets come in on a roll, so are the Steelers.  I see Pittsburgh hoisting the Lamar Hunt trophy at the end of the game.


NFC Championship
Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears.

It's only the second time in NFL history these longtime NFL rivals have met in the playoffs, with the last meeting being a 33-14 Chicago victory at Wrigley Field in 1941. 

Da Bears stunned Seattle with some early offensive fireworks to take a 21-0 halftime lead in their Divisional round playoff game and held on to beat the Seahawks 35-24 and earn their 5th NFC title game appearance.  

It's the Green Bay Packers 5th NFC championship game appearance as well.   They knocked off the Philadelphia Eagles in the wildcard round 21-16 and beat down the number one seeded Atlanta Falcons 48-21 

They split the season series with the Bears.    Chicago beat them 20-17 at Soldier Field back on September 27.   Green Bay returned the favor with a 10-3 win over the Bears at Lambeau Field on January 7 that clinched the Packers playoff spot. 

While Green Bay is the hottest team in the NFC and probably the playoffs right now, Chicago's defense is also playing well.   They will also have the incentive of playing for an NFC championship trophy named for their legendary NFL Hall of Fame owner as well.  

Both teams have identical 2-2 records in their previous NFC title game tilts.  Green Bay's last win was in 1997 and the Bears win was in 2006. 

Chicago will be picking up the George Halas Trophy at the end of the evening.