Hello again,i did so yesterday.Are you still planning on posting my defense with my post? Since I spoke with you last I got another piece of hate mail, which I felt strangely compelled to answer, in more depth and intensity than the letter seemed to merit.
I am curious about something: As an African-American, what is your reaction to that post, now that you know it is a parody? What racism do you find in the post in its new context?i actually haven't reread the piece since this correspondance opened up. the context of writing of the letter doesn't register with me quite as much as i think you might expect. that is because, as i implied earlier, parody is not work, and as effective as humor can be in derailing heated e-exchanges, it is not an effective anti-racist device. remember, you were in a public forum for white supremacy acting like a white supremacist, ingratiating yourself with them in an attempt to subtly undermine their logic. police may as well write gang grafitti and sell drugs. (then again, in los angeles, they do) the context of parody does demonstrate that your heart may be set in the right direction, but a compass alone does not blaze a trail.
i don't know whether or not you have reviewed 'the race man's home companion' also in the cool zone. it outlines my general disposition to matters of race. i assert that it is important that people recognize racism, but that recognition alone is not sufficient. a citizen has a certain responsibility to work against anti-democratic forces. it may be stating the obvious, but why is it that anti-racist work seems such an illusive concept? why indeed do white folk feel guilty?
the answer is that unless you do the work, you cannot truly appreciate its value, and in your responses to these letters, i am sure you are recognizing that it would have been time better spent in apwp had you organized such thoughts and propagandized in a less ironic manner. might you have felt 'politically correct'? what is it that makes you serious now, which didn't compel you to seriousness in the first place? perhaps it is because the burden is now on you. today you are guilty until proven innocent. what you assumed everyone might recognize in the content of your character was not shared and you find that you had not earned the privilege to jest as you did. but this is the choice you made and a problem you brought on yourself.
as an african american, i have realized as most of us must, that there are certain ways society works to constrain what privileges we feel we deserve. some of us are compelled to indignantly refuse to explain ourselves, that we are justified in any expression of what we know - our character speaks for itself and damn those who can't understand. some of us go to great lengths to clarify our positions and explain with patience and precision how we arrive at our arguments. few of us, however, ignore the reality that inevitably we are demanded an explanation whether or not our character merits such scrutiny - even if that inevitable demand comes from ourselves.
this is a consciousness instigated and sustained by the forces of white supremacy, latent and active in our society and history. it is not necessarily a burden but it does have weight and it is essential that we learn to carry it. doing so cripples some, slows others, strenghthens still more. it is from that strength that i respond and require as a matter of responsible citizenship that others begin to exercise. i don't beleive it is just or adequate that only african americans and non-whites work this work alone and that showing what we have learned is a unique gift to democracy and to the world.
so now the question turns to what you are now to say and do. you may feel quite the competent neo-nazi infiltrator. if so, more power to you. but i doubt that your anti-racist program is so sophisticated, and i suggest you stand and fight in a more conventional uniform.
m.d.c.bowen