Different Day, Same Shit.

On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress issued the Declaration of Independence, a document that declared the 13 colonies under the control of and at war with Great Britain to be independent entities. Within the document's Preamble is the following phrase:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Please note that at the time, these unalienable Rights were reserved only for the white male inhabitants of this burgeoning nation. Woman and African slaves were not afforded many, if any of the rights outlined here.

In 1789, the Articles of Confederation were replaced with what would be known as the United States Constitution. This document set the tone for law and order throughout the entire young nation. Once again, the rights defined in this document were reserved only for the white male inhabitants of this nation. Women and African slaves were not afforded many, if any of the rights outlined here.

The founding fathers' failure to put paid to the question of whether a country should actually declare itself a genuine symbol of freedom when it was willing to quietly tolerate and ignore the subjugation and enslavement of millions of people in its own borders eventually led to the American Civil War, in which the southern states sought to secede to protect their interest in the "peculiar institution," among other reasons. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, an executive order calling for the freedom of nearly 3.1 million slaves within the Confederate states. Approximately 50,000 were immediately set free, with more to come as Union troops made short work of Confederate forces.

Lincoln's gesture is sometimes seen as magnanimous, but it was more a tactical maneuver designed to deprive Confederate forces of their readily available pool of manual labor and a potential source of "volunteers" to draft into service. As Lincoln said himself in his August 1862 letter to Horace Greeley:

If there be those who would not save the Union, unless they could at the same time save slavery, I do not agree with them. If there be those who would not save the Union unless they could at the same time destroy slavery, I do not agree with them. My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union. . . . I have here stated my purpose according to my view of official duty; and I intend no modification of my oft-expressed personal wish that all men everywhere could be free.

Lincoln's first and foremost goal was to save the Union. Whether he realized that this action, along with the eventual defeat of the Confederacy in 1865 would sew the seeds of resentment, revenge and low-level retribution in the Deep South would remain uncertain, as he didn't live long enough to see any of that.

Hopscotching over the Black Codes, Jim Crow, Separate but Equal, the Civil Rights Movement and the pubic hair on Clarence Thomas' Coke can, we come to Chris Rock, whose Fourth of July tweet upset the delicate sensibilities of many Independence Day celebrators:

Happy white peoples independence day the slaves weren't free but I'm sure they enjoyed fireworks
— Chris Rock (@chrisrock) July 4, 2012

Yep, this is what got him yelled at throughout the Internet and Twitter. Maybe he should have let Louis C.K. or some other white American comic "unironically" fire this one off.

Look at it this way -- during the first 89 years or so of this country's official existence, black Americans had little, if nothing to celebrate about. Most were enslaved and the scant few fortunate enough to buy their freedom could not enjoy it as their white counterparts could. For at least a hundred years afterwards, black Americans were officially second-class citizens, denied the full and unalienable rights given to their white counterparts (which now included white women). Today, efforts continue to remind black Americans that even though a guy who mostly looks like them is now the President, their black asses are still not deemed worthy of the unalienable rights they fought and died to get and to enjoy.*

For the past 188 years or so, that part in the Preamble of the Declaration of Independence was, as far as blacks were concerned, a lie. And yet people still expect black Americans to suck it up, put on their patriotic faces and wave those flags around like good Americans. People expect the same of the native Americans, nevermind how the U.S., for all intents and purposes, ethnically cleansed tribe after tribe, leaving mere remnants to drink themselves into depression and death on the reservations. If someone did that to your people, it'd probably drive you to drink, too.

Black Americans have more to celebrate about Juneteenth than Independence Day. Too bad everyone tends to forget about Juneteenth. As Ta-Nehisi Coates once mentioned, everything surrounding the American Civil War is treated as a series of tragic events, at least outside of Confederate war re-enactments and antebellum society balls. Actually celebrating Juneteenth the same way we do the Fourth of July is more or less a breach of established decorum -- everything has to be Ken Burns-grade somber, like visiting the grave of an old friend. You wouldn't dance on your old friends grave...unless you hated him, right?

Perceived hatred. That's another thing that annoys me about the bitching that comes when black Americans speak up and speak out. Chris Rock's tweet was immediately construed as some sort of hatred for the Fourth of July and consequently, a hatred of white people and America. How the hell does that happen?

Apparently, unless black Americans remain in the role of white America's best (black) friend, offering only flattery, positive advice and a shoulder to lean on when they're not busy making white America look good, blacks are immediately assumed to harbor some sort of deep-seated hatred for white folk. It's almost as though it speaks to an innate fear that practically every white American has had since one of their forefathers came up with the idea of bringing black slaves onto the country: a sudden and swift revenge riot that ends with countless white heads on sticks and countless white women claimed as trophies. White America's been waiting for a "payback/revenge" plot** that most likely will never materialize. We've proven we're much better than that.

A lot of people don't want to hear the truth, especially when it comes to this country's screwed-up ethnic relations. Chris Rock tweeted an uncomfortable truth and many of us proved we couldn't handle it. We have to do something about that and it doesn't include shouting a great comedian into silence.☨ Maybe we should give that whole "unalienable rights" thing another go, this time, for all Americans, no matter their ethnicity.

* These days, even the white men and women whom were guaranteed these unalienable rights are losing them, bit by bit.
** If some of these folks started listening to James Brown's "The Payback," they'd probably get the wrong idea and piss themselves in a fit of conspiracy theorizing.
☨ Because if there's something that's practically impossible, it's shouting down a great comedian.

I've come to grips with the fact that a lot of the beloved icons Americans take for granted have been given the acceptable veneer of Anglo-Saxon normalcy. In a country where folks largely of British and European descent not only make up the majority of the population, but also dominate in the socioeconomic sense, it's expected of us to see icons like Santa Claus mirror the appearance and expectations of the majority, nevermind how an icon's supposed to be enjoyed by all.

Sadly, whenever someone attempts to overturn the apple cart that is the sacrosanct vision of whiteness for beloved icons, it invariably upsets a lot of people.

Take Megyn Kelly, for instance. Fox News' bleached-blonde fantasy trophy wife and designated eye candy for male conservative viewers took offense to a recent essay by Aisha Harris challenging the status quo of St. Nick's ethnic heritage, as seen in the above video. Kelly's response to an age-old assumption rooted in cultural privilege being challenged by some uppity minority was to firmly reinforce that sacrosanct vision of whiteness:

Santa just is white … Just because it makes you feel uncomfortable doesn’t mean it has to change, you know?

Translation: Santa is white, Jesus is white and why can't these uppity minorities just shut up and accept our vision of what they look like?

But why should we?

And that's what Aisha Harris asks in her essay. Why not turn Santa Claus into an anthropomorphic entity that can be genuinely enjoyed by all? A penguin works just as well - they're cute, adored by all (seriously, have you seen Ice Age?) and the mythos surrounding Santa Claus stays the same albeit with a few small tweaks - swap the North Pole for South and you're golden. Considering how much the big guy's been appropriated and transformed over the ages, losing his human form in favor of a cute and friendly penguin isn't much of a stretch.

Yes, Santa Claus is Nordic in origin, but his evolution into an anthropomorphic entity won't entail throwing his heritage down the memory hole. And by suggesting a species change instead of a "colors of Benetton" version of Santa, Harris does her best to sidestep the age-old accusation posited by the Fox News crowd - that [add person here] is angry because [add figure here] isn't black.

In the meantime, scores of black, Asian, native and Hispanic kids are assumed and expected to overlook the jolly red giant's complexion, while attempts to transform Santa Claus into a more relatable figure are considered cheap dime-store knockoffs that aren't worthy of real consideration:

My father replied that Santa was every color. Whatever house he visited, jolly old St. Nicholas magically turned into the likeness of the family that lived there.

In hindsight, I see this explanation as the great Hollywood spec script it really is. (Just picture the past-their-prime actors who could share the role. Robert De Niro! Eddie Murphy! Jackie Chan! I smell a camp classic.) But at the time, I didn’t buy it. I remember feeling slightly ashamed that our black Santa wasn’t the “real thing.” Because when you’re a kid and you’re inundated with the imagery of a pale seasonal visitor—and you notice that even some black families decorate their houses with white Santas—you’re likely to accept the consensus view, despite your parents’ noble intentions.

Having your culture considered second-best and second class wears on a kid's self-image and self-esteem. It's bad enough that adult minorities have to deal with the constant drumbeat of mainstream media deeming their culture as fundamentally worthless by having the most negative aspects of it played up and assumed the norm.

Meanwhile, Megyn Kelly's reaction mirrors the fear-induced response of a culture that believes itself to be under siege. It's the zero-sum assumption that moving away from a white-dominated point of view represents a grievous loss of societal power and prestige for whites and a victory for whatever brown hoard is at the gates at that moment. It's a POV that drives the average Fox News viewer into an epileptic fit when confronting anything that happens to give minority groups a helping hand.

That feeling isn't just limited to the Fox News crowd. See the controversy surrounding Amandla Stenberg's role as Rue in The Hunger Games, the guffaws over Idris Elba as Thor or the shitfest that happens anytime anyone asks what if a black guy was cast as James Bond. When characters and icons are firmly established as white, it's hard introducing a non-white perspective without incurring a backlash.

On the other hand, white Americans are curiously silent when it comes to whitewashing ethnic icons and characters. The disastrous U.S. live-action adaptations of Street Fighter and Dragonball come to mind. Traditionally ethnic icons, roles and holidays wind up lightened up and made safe for general consumption.

The Fox News crowd wants us to shut the hell up and accept things as they are right now, because doing otherwise makes them feel uncomfortable and threatened. The rest of us just want to celebrate the holidays without being reminded that we're forever stuck on the outside looking in when it comes to culture.

Today's the day set aside by the nation to commemorate and honor those who've served in our armed forces, many with distinction and valor.

In the midst of honoring our veterans, we should also reflect on the decisions made by our military and political leaders - decisions that have not only had broad consequences, but are also likely to reverberate for years to come.

We should also reflect on how we treat our veterans, many whom are often neglected and forgotten. Many of our veterans find it supremely difficult to get the help and care they need. This is where countless organizations, such as the one represented in the video below, attempt to step in to offer that help.

While scores of mothers across the United States will be able to share this day with their kids and loved ones, many parents won't be able to for a variety of reasons, many of them excruciatingly painful. For many, Mother's Day is a painful reminder of not being able to have their child by their side. No gifts, no happy greetings of "happy Mother's Day," no way of both mother and children expressing the love they have for one another.

Sadly, there are those who believe any time is a great time to be an asshole:


I suppose Sabine's not having that great of a Mother's Day. Such a hate-filled message has no place on a day like this, or any other day for that matter.