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Volume 3 Issue 17…Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race… May 5, 2000

Note: The DISH is based on themes from T.H.I.N.C. (Teaching Humanity In New Consciousness): The Chrysalis of Evolution. According to the President's Initiative on Race, "The issues that this book brings to the forefront are important in our efforts to achieve the goals set forth by the President for the Initiative. This work will serve as a solid resource for us as we begin to examine these critical issues." For your copy of T.H.I.N.C., The DISH or to submit comments, contact ICIM, Inc. at (404) 244-6023 or email us at icim@bellsouth.net. All rights reserved © The DISH 2000

by John Burl Smith

"Surrendering to death's beckon, twilight is glimpsed anew. Fading thoughts of previously unseen beauty, a heavy heart laments."

Desperately struggling to reconcile an obvious lie with an even more obvious truth in South Carolina was definitely not Sen. John McCain's finest hour. A tortured man, he has not only awakened from that nightmare but has taken fundamental steps of atonement, recognition and confession. On stage, surrounded by his children, had to be a telling moment. "How does one look his children in the eyes, while trying to make a war that killed over fifty thousand people, simply to keep the right to enslave black people, something they should view with pride?"

South Carolina is the home of the oldest and longest serving United States Senator ever, Strom Thurmond. Somewhere on the dark side of ninety-five, he has seem this nation at the height of "xenophobia" in the early 1900s, through massacres and lynchings during the 20s and 30s, to supporting segregation and opposing civil rights, unbroken to the new millennium. Having been apart of lynching parties to protect white privilege and leading the present stand to keep the Confederate Flag flying, Strom has never come to Sen. McCain' realization.

Two different generations, McCain by facing his children avoids a lifetime of lying, justifying letting murderers off because the victim was black. Denying robbing black children of an education in order to give his advantage. Preaching to them, they are better than blacks and they must follow your example.

A diehard, Strom in nearly one hundred years has not learned anything. He truly believes the human spirit can be caged forever. Strom Thurmond could end the flag fight today. He is the Confederate flag. Unlike George Wallace, Strom will take his hatred to his grave. He has made a shroud for his great-great grandchildren. Their lives are monuments to dead traitors, who fought on the wrong side of humanity. So much beauty missed, creating ugly. John 2000

Hypocrisy 100: "Good" Christians

The time has come for all "good" Christians to fess up. Sooner or later, "good" Christians repent their sins and ask forgiveness. Organized religion in American supported slavery. Moreover, the problems of race today could not exit without the tacit support and sanction of organized religion. This 'free enterprise' Christianity supports the death penalty. And, the well-trained slaves to organized religion fail to see the pulpit hypocrisy.

"Good" Christians double-think to support contradictory positions, such as compassion and support for the death penalty. A way of life in organized religion, double-think perpetrates hypocrisy. Ironically, rather than seeing themselves as hypocrites, they call themselves pragmatists.

However, since the pope is fessing up for Catholics, it is time America's organized religion repent and atone for its sins. This is what Christians would do. America is not a Christian nation; it is a free enterprise system, and organized religion is big business. Its leaders are committed to "standing in the gap." In other words, they staunchly support the 3/5ths Compromise. In public, they parrot a belief in individual freedom and democracy. Like the founding fathers, those religious leaders, who whisper in politicians' ears, know no bounds when it comes to hypocrisy.

Southern Plantation Style

John Rocker is the American normal guy. His type runs the country. In every arena of American life, Rocker-types dominate and color the environment. What does that say about the country? Actually, it says a lot! The Rocker mindset, known as linear secularism, dictates the management philosophy within every American entity, private and public. Back in the early 1980's, Dot Smith termed the phrase "southern plantation style of management" to describe management guided by those exhibiting a Rocker-type mindset. This "antebellum, 19^th century mindset," as described by one attorney in a racial discrimination employment lawsuit filed against Waffle House, whether in the private or public sector of the economy, creates a wall of racism that is virtually impossible for minority Americans to overcome, especially African Americans.

Gassing My Vee

Contrary to those sexy commercials, my SUV is a real gas-guzzler. Remember the Cadillac? My Vee is its first-cousin. Since the oil crises when Carter was President, we, as a country, did nothing to change our foreign fuel dependence. Gas prices rose, but it remained relatively cheap. This time matters are worse; I commute to and from work. Like most folks, I gave up energy conservation. Encouraged by a good job that supported a decent lifestyle on credit, I bought a SUV. With gas prices way up, my entertainment budget is non-existent and the summer vacation is in jeopardy. I sure as hell am not driving the Vee long distance.

A friend, bless his heart, took a downgrade and joined his company's satellite office, which is a lot closer to his home. Taking fewer amenities into consideration, the result is a pay increase because it means less gas, wear and tear on his car commuting to and from work. Plus, there is more time to spend with his family. He was lucky; most folks are being stretched to the limit with no viable alternative on the near horizon. Nerves frayed, we hope Clinton finds a foreign policy legacy among those oil producing countries supplying America. Otherwise, I will have to downgrade from my gas guzzling Vee to a VW Beetle! What autos are you recommending?

Young Blacks Avoid Mecca's Diss!

By Dot

Kudos to those who chose to avoid the Mecca during Freaknik, Atlanta's black college spring break fleecing. Your refusal to be dissed makes you better off for having avoided the disrespect. By staying away, you foiled the planned violation of your human rights and the annual fleecing organized by Georgia Highway Patrol and Atlanta, DeKalb and Fulton Police Departments. Instead of being bled dry, your absence forced them, especially Atlanta, to eat its intrusive and costly public safety measures. Imagine the disappointment of all those anxious tow truckers skulking Atlanta, eager to tow cars for overzealous police. The independents probably lost money over this Freaknik weekend; whereas, those with ties to Atlanta city government probably fared only marginally better off, with so few towing opportunities, since there were no black people to fleece. Kudos young people. You respected yourselves and assumed individual responsibility. Only you can end discriminatory and predatory practices against yourselves and other people of color. Continue to support the Georgia, Mississippi and South Carolina boycott! Where and how you spend your money talk! Stop supporting entities that diss you on a daily. Make a statement with the dollars you spend. Refuse to do business with those who insist on treating people of color like second class citizens.

Disgruntled says: The stock market is gambling! Buying and selling paper is a crafty art. Dominated by dot coms, it is not for the faint of heart.

Disgruntled feels: Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, a Methodist, claims to exemplify sterling ethics, which is why he asked Attorney General Thurbert Baker to okay hiding deals he made "robbing" the public!

Disgruntled wants to know: The church supported slavery. When will we examine its historical and contemporary role in educating John Rocker-types to believe the 3/5ths Compromise makes them superior in a democracy?

The Justice Policy Institute analysis of juvenile adult court transfers in California paints an unpleasant picture of juvenile justice in America. It replicates other studies, which show that juveniles of color are far more likely to be punished for violent and non-violent offenses than their white counterparts. Moreover, minority youth are more likely than their white counterparts to be treated like an adult in the criminal justice system. Read the study at http://www.cjcj.org/colorofjustice/index.html. It provides one more academic examination of crime and punishment and gives us another reason to blah the United Nations for refusing to look at America's institutionalized racism as a human rights violation.

Got Milk! Got Trouble!

Remember when the tobacco industry tried to convince consumers that all was well with cigarettes and other tobacco products. Consumers were told, there is nothing to worry about. Remember? We face a similar dilemma with diary. Visit http://www.foxBGHsuit.com/ for the scoop on the dangers of consuming milk from cows given the Monsanto product Posilac, a bovine growth hormone. Former Fox News reporters are blowing the whistle on Fox. Allegedly, they were fired when they refused to hide the truth about the dangers posed in consuming milk produced by cows injected with Posilac. Monsanto is a big Fox advertiser. Obviously, Fox's bottom-line is more important than public health in its failure to reveal their findings, which are supported by other research, as well as everyday experiences.

On Oprah Winfrey, a mother told of her child's constant ear infections. The family spent time and money on pediatricians and antibiotics. It turns out, the problem was a protein in milk. Taking her child off milk improved their lives. Doctors are not telling parents of the dangers posed by dairy products from treated cows. Blah on Fox for not airing all the information. Blah on the Food and Drug Administration for allowing this altered product to reach the marketplace without our knowledge and due regard for the public's welfare. Got milk! Get rid of it. In addition to making our young children very sick now, it could cause breast and colon cancer down the line. Kill the moustache now! Write your congressperson and demand a second look at the implications of human consumption of BGH.

On Crushed Horizons

by Dot

"Crushed Horizons" is the title of my on-line autobiography. Like me, it is a work in progress. I wish to share it with my readers, because it says a great deal about being an African American.

As a child, I wondered how my folks could work so hard, yet we were so poor. My parents slaved every day, save Sunday; they were religious. Daddy did any job to feed us. He chopped and/or picked cotton on Saturdays, depending on the season, even when he had a full-time construction job. When jobs were few, he chopped soybeans in Arkansas, and we did too. Imagine the stigma of living in the city, if that is what one calls Memphis' black ghettoes, but you worked in the field. I vividly recall the lash of embarrassment.

I remember too the blues of those jack hammer summers. A powerful tool, the hammer worked my daddy something fierce. A big robust man, he came home those summer days drenched in sweat, smelly and dirty; his limbs shook as if he still held that hammer. But, the next day, my daddy would be back on the job, a slave to the hammer for pennies an hour, because he had a family to feed; he loved his family. Daddy's hard work was not rewarded, even though he exemplified qualities that are supposed to be rewarded in the labor market; we live in a free enterprise democracy. As a child, I wondered what was wrong with their work. It is difficult when a child is forced to ask, what is wrong with my people? I did, then I researched it as a scientist. I know there is nothing wrong with us. Many of us are tremendously talented. When given opportunities to succeed, we do so. Therefore, the problem is not us, rather, it is the nature of the society we live in.

Crushed Horizons is my experience in America's hostile work environment. Start with Description for a look of what happens when Rocker-types control the workplace. My effort to get unemployment compensation gave birth to The DISH. The first issue TheDISHv1no1.html is a letter to IRS' Inspector General. "Crushed Horizons" provide an up close and personal look at institutionalized racism.

Making Consciousness Butterfly

Returning home from Georgia Southern University in the spring of 1996 Yohannes expressed deep disappointment over his generation having become so apathetic and commercial minded about being black. Born into an environment of black power, Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, The Invaders, Big Brothers Jr. Achievers, Richard L. Kirksey, Jr. and Derrick "Teddy" Withers, he expected his generation to take it place in line fighting for black liberation. GSU had been a rude awakening, given the absence of prospects for young black men in America and the bull's-eye on them when on the streets. Back in the ATL, the scene was even bleaker.

Confiding his desire to make "consciousness butterfly," Yohannes resolved to teach humanity a new consciousness about "individual responsibility." Merging poetry he wrote and lessons learned his first two years at GSU into the language of his generation, Yohannes used personal experience as the backdrop for some haunting realities penetratingly presented in his book T.H.I.N.C. (Teaching Humanity In New Consciousness): The Chrysalis of Evolution. By chance, one January night Yohannes happened to check out the Patti Hut Café and ran into spoken word. An old friend of sorts, this venue brought his poetry to life. Infused with true emotions of being black, young black people openly expressed deep pains, guilty pleasures and fears long buried, freeing up their spirits. Black is beautiful. Although there were some elders sharing their knowledge, Yohannes felt, "This is my generation, not apathetic, nor commercial in their attitudes, but liberated from their slave mentality." Like a sponge drinking to some unknown capacity, Yohannes realized "spoken word makes consciousness butterfly."

On what planet does Georgia's politicians and media people reside? They are busy trying to convince us they do not feel the Georgia groundswell to change the state's flag. Yet, there is not doubt Georgia is experiencing seismic tremors. Opponents of Georgia's flag are gearing up for May 20, 2000. We have already asked President Romeo Prodi of the European Union and others to support the international Confederate flag boycott of Georgia, Mississippi and South Carolina. The boycott's official kickoff day is May 20^th, in conjunction with the 2^nd Annual National Black Day Out!

South DeKalb taxpayers do not support the proposed MARTA fare increase! The DISH survey of 1,630 south DeKalb County residents shows the majority (83%) opposed the proposed MARTA fare increase. Of those who use MARTA as a primary source of transportation, 49% felt the fare was already too steep. Poor people with shallow pockets say they have to dig deep to afford the current fare. Denied rail, they are stuck using time-consuming buses. Homeowners among the respondents believe the MARTA sales tax should be eliminated.

These taxpayers wonder why they pay this tax, when the services it affords go to others, who refused to approve the referendum that created MARTA. Now, with a proposed fare increase on the drawing board, MARTA's decision will be made by those interested in aiding Clayton, Cobb and Gwinnett Counties where MARTA's sales tax is not even imposed.

South DeKalb residents bear the greatest share of the burden in financing MARTA, yet this section of the county has the least say so in how MARTA spends tax dollars collected from county residents. This is taxation without representation. With silence from our elected representatives, MARTA officials can plan to give us buses, rather than the rail we paid for and continue to subsidize for other non-MARTA sales tax areas. This situation makes south DeKalb synonymous with a cash cow.

Remember when cotton was king before the gin? Slaves were put in the fields to chop and pick cotton. Now, people's incomes are farmed; the system use fines, fees, taxes and imprisonment to suck people dry. South DeKalb residents are the obvious victims of this kind of neo-slavery.

South DeKalb residents demand the same level of rapid rail service that is available leaving downtown Atlanta headed to other areas, especially northern DeKalb and Fulton Counties. South DeKalb residents oppose the MARTA proposed fare increase. Moreover, they demand the removal of the MARTA sales tax, since they have fulfilled the original referendum obligation, and the legislature illegally extended the life of this regressive tax without referendum. (See MARTA_Tax_Sucks.com for all the issues surrounding MARTA's unfair sales tax.)

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