2002.1215.2130

what have you done for me lately, elephant man?

from my perspective, the republican party offers african americans today the same thing the jim crow south offered 50 years ago, a sterling opportunity to be turned around.

the republican party, much like american cities before black mayors, simply doesn't have the bodies at the top nor the ability to correctly interpret expressions from outside. in other words, you are going to have to wait for extraordinary blacks to bust a power move and throw out dozens of bums. it's wishful thinking to believe it *can* happen any other way. when the republican party gets the institutional memory of black leadership, then it will be over and done within a matter of years. a friend of mine is tight with the political leadership somewhere around northwest dallas. plano, lewisville, denton - that area. it's not so distant as one would think.

in the mean time, individual blackfolks are going to have to tough it out. they have to be the j.j. walkers before there are the denzel washingtons. (as you can see, we are clearly still at the j.j. walker stage).

the fundamental problem with a lot of conservatives is that they are not so willing to be worldly. in other words, they spend a great deal of time and effort trying to get into a situation that works and then they defend and freeze that worldview. this works very well with voters who break their necks to get into the 'right' suburb, the 'right' schools, the 'right' congregation, etc. when you get over that middleclass hump and live in that zone for a dozen years, it's very difficult to understand where the rest of the world is coming from. cons think everybody is jealous of their 'values' and 'lifestyles' and 'freedoms', but they are only marginally correct.

the elephant men of the republican party are gross and disgusting. revolting even, but deep down inside they are human beings.