[Vision2020] I've heard the Lesley Gores singing, each to each.

[Joan Opyr]

In response to Keely, Ted Ryan writes:

>If what I am saying is true, that truth is not changed by my race.  If what I am saying is false, it is false regardless of my >race (still I find it interesting that it appears you have assumed me a "white American male", I don't believe that I >revealed this fact, wouldn't it be interesting if I was African American...)


Not only would it be interesting, it would guarantee you a prime-time speaking slot at the Republican National Convention.  I can see it now . . . Jenna Bush comes rushing up, all smiles, all giggles, all martinis:

"Welcome to the podium, Mr. Ryan!  Meet Clarence Thomas and Alan Keyes.  I'm sure the three of you have a lot in common.  Don't you miss the TV show Friends?  I know I do!  Oooh, and I just love that Alicia Keyes.  And Beyonce!  She's awesome.  Say, would you mind positioning yourselves in front of this camera here, the one in the center?  We really need to block out this uninterrupted sea of white people.  They really don't represent us, not at all.  Ours is a big, big tent, and ya'll are big, big members  The biggest!  Really!  Thank you, thank you so much.  Here are your complimentary tickets to the Holiday Inn Express in Harlem.  Yes, I know that the other speakers are staying at the Trump Towers and the Dakota, but, you know, when we got your tickets, those other places were all booked up.  Imagine!  Still the Express does offer a free continental breakfast and a tiny little coffee maker in every room!  And don't forget the mini-bar!  That's truly awesome.  Right, Barbara?  Ha, ha, ha."

Okay, I'm done now.  To address Mr. Ryan's original point, no, abstract truth is not changed by race.  What's changed by race is one's perception.  I might look at the world quite differently if I were straight, rich, and Christian.  Ted might view slavery and its aftermath differently if he were the descendant of slaves, the descendant of slave owners, or genuinely well-versed in the history of the ante-bellum South.   

In an earlier reply to Sunil, Ted wrote: "I do believe that the relationships between slave and master were generally good."  My question, of course, is how can that be?  I own my dog, Fergus.  He and I have a good relationship.  I feed him, I water him, and I walk him.  I also make him wear a collar with a name tag and I keep him in a sturdy steel pen so that he doesn't get out and do as he pleases, like chase deer or bite the meter-reader.  My dog is healthy and he seems to like me, but he is not free.  And that's okay because Fergus is a dog.  He's not a human being.   

There is categorically NO WAY that the relationship between a master and a slave -- between a human owner and his human property -- can be described as good.  I don't care how many kind ol' massas Ted cares to trot out.  The master might be kind, and the master might be generous, but to be owned is to be dehumanized.  It is to be less than a man, less than a woman.  It is to be not quite a human being; it's to be three-fifths of a human being, or so said our US Supreme Court.   

Dig around in the archives all you like.  Comb the Bible for justifications -- you'll find plenty, and for a multitude of sins.  Slavery?  Moses is a bit of a problem, but Paul will help you out.  Incest?  God didn't punish Lot.  Adultery?  Murder?  Genocide?  Those tactics didn't hinder David.  On the contrary, he was reckoned a great king.  The sad, hard truth is that it's never hard to find justification for our own iniquity.  What's hard is fessing up, admitting our moral failings, and making a genuine effort to do better.  I fail to see how a close study of Robert E. Lee's leadership skills could possibly help us along that path.  On the contrary, look at the nasty, festering sore Mr. Kimmell's presentation has managed to re-open in this town and on this list.   

Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment   

PS: Wait!  What's that I hear?  It's Lesley Gore, and she's singing, singing . . .  

You don't own us,  
We don't belong to Paul and Doug.
You don't own us,  
Let's pour some salt on this bad slug.

And don't tell us what to do
And don't tell us what to say
And please, when we post to this list,
Think before you respond right away!

You don't own us,  
Get back in your grave Robert E. Lee.
You don't own us,  
You're dry, you're dust, you're dead as can be!Get more from the Web.  FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com
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