BLT

Dear Hive Mind, I wrote this post in response to an old acquaintance who finds Kamala Harris's accent swapping or changes highly suspect. In addition he suggested/predicted that African Americans would suffer tragically under the leadership of Kamala Harris. He presented no evidence or anecdotal evidence. Here are my thoughts. I hope they help someone: Dear [name excluded] No. They, we [African Americans] will not. You presented no logic. You said the "African American US citizen will suffer..." but you didn't say what the cause of the suffering would be or what it would look like. You point to Kamala changing her accent as evidence of something but you don't say what. You allude to the making of fried chicken and collard greens on TV as evidence of something but you don't say what it is evidence of. Then you turn to an old "gotcha" of race baiting about pointing out that the identity/alignment of the Democratic and Republican parties has changed over the years since the end of the Civil War in 1865. It's kind of a non starter because-- s**t changes over time. There could be some kind of argument there but you didn't really make it. So, I don't know what you were trying to say about that either. Then you start talking about illegals being funded by someone; in this case I think you mean hired or paid by the government, to apply for jobs and take them from ordinary every citizens but you don't identify the illegal alien groups/people and you don't say what jobs are at risk. My guess is that you don't know that many of the illegals you are concerned about are hiding out in corporate America and crossed the border in one of our airports because they were brought here by businesses/owners who claim there were no "qualified American Workers". That is why it is such an important issue. The folks crossing our southern border; the folks who are trying to escape oppression and put food on the table are being scapegoated by corporations who want to hide their complicity in the immigration issue. Southern border crossers do not have the skill set to compete with corporate job postings. And they are not so much taking jobs as it is that jobs are being made undesirable by attaching them to low wages and non existent benefits. That in turn creates a job vacuum that is most often filled by people who are easily exploited by their so called employers for s*x and cheap labor while enduring the perils of unsafe working conditions and environments. But I digress. You say my rhetoric serves my ideological belief but you don't say what rhetoric or which belief. I have ranted many times and espoused many more beliefs but I can't respond to that because you didn't say which. I looked at history, specifically ours, yours and mine and Sam's and Tom's, at your request and remember the way I was constantly chided and interrogated for not speaking the right way as a kid. People were really confused, especially some of our parents and, when I got older, police officers as well, by the fact that my English was so clear. I was told, "you just want to be white!" My friends parents and officers asked, "where you from son? Cause you ain't from around here." I was accused of trying to act proper and so I changed the way I spoke to try and fit in only to be told once again that I was, "trying to act white". The theater folks loved me as did my teachers and many, just wanted to kick my ass or ridicule me because my tone and my manner confused them. I was asked if I, "thought I was better than them". Eventually, I spoke 3 street languages, 1 for my teachers, 1 for school friends, my classmates, 1 for my cousins and other black folks in Joliet. Then I learned to speak some French, German and Chicago's Spanglish over the years. I would eventually learn that in academia this is called Code Switching. It's how you survive diverse and sometimes intolerant communities. Your comment doesn't really have any points other than the fact that she speaks differently at different times and I am ignoring the fact that you don't present any examples. However, I have to call you out for "white-splaining". That is the act of being white and trying to explain the experience of black people to a black man. You shouldn't do it. It just makes you look bad. And in the end, Sam's post was blocked because the information was false. I think that you are at a disadvantage because you never had to adjust your being to survive or, if you did, you haven't connected the dots yet. I don't know. As for Kamala's ever changing ways, it's about being a minority and trying to survive in a world that is predominately white. In her case you have to consider what steps a woman goes through to be accepted as an equal by men in corporations. It is called adapting or Code Switching. Code Switching is not a lie. It's a survival tool. Look it up.