Snowjam Blame Racism
It could have been predicted. Atlanta made the national news this week, and did not look good. We all know this, and many have opinions as to the nature of the problem. Now, Slate magazine has their hypothesis, What Does Racism Have to Do With Gridlock?
Now, in this part of the world, race usually has something to do with just about anything. The lack of preparation, the skepticism about the warnings, and the disaster that ensued are all, to this author, subordinate to “the question of race.” The rest of America is amused.
“Exhibit A” is the failure of the T-SPLOST referendum. What the author fails to mention is that T-SPLOST was opposed by the local NAACP. They were upset because there were no plans for a rail line to South DeKalb county. T-SPLOST was opposed by many people, with a wide variety of labels.
T-SPLOST was a horribly flawed proposal. Two weeks before the referendum, the staff of Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed objected to being blamed for the problems with T-SPLOST, and wrote a tacky newspaper article. Wednesday morning, as Atlanta struggled to recover, Mr. Reed was widely quoted as saying “I’m not going to get into the blame game.”
Black people are a part of the political power structure, especially on the local and county level. Thirty percent of the voters statewide are Black, with majorities in many local areas. If the Black community does not work together with the White community, there are going to be problems. Whose fault is this? There is plenty of blame to go around for everyone.
The story quotes another piece on income inequality, saying that Atlanta leads the nation in this problem. Here is a case where you make your statistics tell whatever story you want them to tell. It says that this is the City of Atlanta, which has less than ten percent of the metro population. It also does not mention the large, affluent Black middle class. Black is no longer synonymous with poor.
To repeat the obvious, yes race was involved. But to *blame* this disaster on racism is not going to help. Finger pointing, and refusal to accept responsibility, is not going to accomplish anything. This is a time to work together. Blaming a disaster on racism is not going to help. Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Advice From Britney Spears
Twitter superstar @tejucole is on a roll. His 140 character droppings have been seen before. Earlier this morning, PG found a gutbomb in the archive. “The White Savior Industrial Complex is not about justice. It is about having a big emotional experience that validates privilege.”
The subject today is the culture of inspirational quotes. PG is in the choir loft for the sermon.
@tejucole Area Man Wins Irony Prize for Battling Quote Culture With Quotable Tweets
@tejucole Sentimentality culture is inspirational quotes, solutionism, white saviorism, un-intersectional feminism and, yes, the Global War on Terror.
@tejucole The mistake is to separate inspirational quotes mania from the ideological conditions that confine people in sentimentality culture.
@tejucole But (I warn myself): so much social critique comes down to “my consolations are superior to yours.” Why begrudge people their pleasures?
@tejucole Britney Spears and the Department of Defense: the reactionary, nonsensical aspects of quotation-madness are obvious.
@tejucole America itself becomes a quote-only zone. The politician’s “misspeak.” The president’s fine sentence in a speech. While the drones drone on.
@tejucole But none of us can resist the lure of these stupid aphorisms. Writing them, sharing them. Sugary calories in 140-character servings.
@tejucole Everything I feared and hated about “inspirational quote” culture came to pass here @tejucole To write less straight, more queer.
@tejucole Thinking about unquotability, irreducibility, downworthiness. About how the consolation of the quotation can short-circuit justice.
@tejucole It is a truth universally acknowledged that analysis, no matter how torturous, will be reduced to its most “inspirational” quote.
@tejucole There will be more photography of this weekend’s Super Bowl than there has been in a decade of a massively destructive War on Terror.
@tejucole “Never doubt yourself. Never change who you are. Don’t care what people think and just go for it.” Britney Spears
As much as PG enjoys Mr. Cole, he does not believe everything he reads on twitter. The BS quote required a bit of investigation. This gem appears in the embedded video at the 4:46 point. The interviewer asks three female entertainers if they have any advice for young people.
The next person to speak, after Miss Spears, was Mary J. Blidge. Her suggestion was to finish high school, put G-d first and final, and listen to your mother. Perhaps this is the quote that should be tweeted. Pictures are from The Library of Congress.
Chamblee54 
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