Volume 4 Issue 25…Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race… June 29, 2001

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. The DISH © 2001

By Yohannes Sharriff Smith

Processed by foreign hands, this place has a plastic feel.

These void consumer goods' family values

endlessly advertised and sold in a controlled market of wonders.

I stand on the platform of art, waxing conscious rhetoric.

Boycott the superficial corporeality.

Change reality by investing miscellaneous currency back into our Black communities.

Abandon the nigga noose.

Labels and golden chains purchased for fame.

Shackled sweet sun-ripened strange fruit dangling from ruby jeweled collars led by the master's reins.

I implore all who breathe to search for more than degrees.

Reject the assimilated zombie syndrome.

Lobotomized clones spreading dis-ease, moving street heat and empty Ph.D.'s,

blazing paths to wealth and prestige.

As whispering winds on the campus of this planet,

wisdom crafted by ancients canvasses youthful continents.

Through homes and hallowed halls,

T.H.I.N.C. finds evolving minds,

birthing the infant thoughts of tomorrow's hope.

In the struggle to freely express a personal definition of this existence,

only you can save your aware intellect from the death of enslavement.

by John Burl Smith

Goths’ pessimism reflects young people’s lack of trust in adults. As children, their parents extolled the virtues of personal rights, freedom, equality, truth, honesty, responsibility, etc., but now these parents deny them the right of self-expression and the right to make personal choices about sex, alcohol, friends, etc.

International bodies, such as the World Trade Organization, World Bank and G-8, exemplify adults’ refusal to engage young people in dialogue. With the US Supreme Court’s installation of G.W. Bush as President, international bodies, which oppose issues raised by the young, retreated behind closed doors.

In Canada, claiming to be the world’s greatest democracy, the US spearheaded the G-8's sharp right turn. Erecting a concrete wall between themselves and their children protesting outside in the streets, their message was clear. "We do what we want." Setting the stage for Italy, world leaders added a moat to the layers of protection. Like feudal lords faced with holding at bay thousands of peasant demonstrators or canceling their meeting, G-8 leaders plan to hobnob aboard a battleship in Genoa’s harbor.

A mourning shroud symbolizing the destruction of nature, Goth dress is an environmental death veil. The WTO meeting in Germany and Bush’s trip to Europe revealed deep divisions over globalization, environmental degradation and wealth concentrated in the hands of so few. Such issues have created a divide that runs through dinner tables and family rooms. In these households, children stare across skirmish lines at parents, like protesters facing the police. The question the G-8 and similar bodies must answer is: "How can a society at war with its children survive?" As Trinity told Neo, "You have been down that road before." John 2001

On his European trip, President Bush got mooned. Everywhere he went, protesters outnumbered fans. Not since Bush relative Richard Nixon has an American president been so unpopular. But, Bush got good press reviews. The low bar set for him during the presidential campaign continues. Sailing over it, the press hailed his trip 'successful.' Privately, these journalists are miffed because late night comedians use all the great material Bush creates while they are on mental lock-down.

Despite the over the moon press, Bush's favorability ratings at home plummeted seven points to a low 53 percent. Media savvy, Bush's handlers quickly point out that he is doing better or as well as Clinton and other Presidents during the first six months in office.

No one should be surprised by good Bush press coverage. After all, the one-mind media told Americans the Supreme Court could pick the president rather than the people and America would still be a democracy. As long as Bush keeps his campaign promises, do not be surprised if the good press continues.

Candidate George W. Bush, Jr. promised to bring integrity to the White House. Unlike Clinton, Lincoln bedroom sleepovers are forbidden. Now, contributors man nuclear submarines. Though a dangerous quid pro quo, there is no loss of integrity in killing, just ask Timothy McVeigh. Oops! Bush killed him!

On a fundamental level, McVeigh and Bush are kindred spirits. The deaths of those Japanese school children from the submarine accident and the 168 that died in the Oklahoma bombing were collateral damage. Bush kept his promise to a campaign contributor, and Timothy, the soldier, blew up a big bad government installation.

Strikingly similar in their reasoning, neither McVeigh nor Bush mind killing. The US military trained McVeigh to kill; Bush cut his teeth killing Texans. As governor, he made Texas the killingest state in the nation. Recalling its lynching past, Bush made killing chic again. En vogue, televised executions are just down the road. In the Lone Star State killing is so fashionable, a Texas mother used it to get her fifteen minutes of fame. With Bush killing for the entire nation, there is no telling what kill record America sets during his administration. Unlike Texas executions, federal ones mean Bush kills in all our names. A compassionate conservative Christian (CCC), Bush ‘believes’ to kill is a sin, but says the death penalty "saves lives."

A dangerous double-thinker, during campaign 2000 he promised to use strict construction - the political philosophy of white supremacy- as his litmus test for appointing judges. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is his standard. Having failed the American people by not protesting Florida’s Electoral College votes and the Supreme Court decision in Bush v. Gore, Democrats must kill this promise or admit they want to see American retreat on Dr. King’s dream and remain a republic built on slavery.

Disgruntled says: President-select Bush should find a more productive use for his soul-searching gift. He squanders it peeping Putin.

Disgruntled feels: Something is wrong! Most women suffer from postpartum depression; most do not kill their children. Texan Andrea Yates is ill and needs medical assistance. Society must show her some compassion, while demanding answers, which will not be forthcoming, if we just jail and kill.

Disgruntled wants to know: Conscious blacks do not celebrate the 4^th of July. Blacks were still slaves when America declared its independence from Great Britain. Like state representative Henri Brooks (D-TN), many of us do not stand for the National Anthem or pledge allegiance to the US flag and the republic for which it stands. But, we are torn about celebrating Juneteenth (June 19th), the day slaves in Texas were told Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Should conscious blacks celebrate this day?

The Dark Knight-Batman/White Ninja/Zorro is a conscientious fellow; paid responsibility is taken seriously. When asked for his unpaid weekly comments, he quickly replied, "My job is to get the mail from the mailbox, not small talk with Grandma Bat."

by John Burl Smith

I offer what is known about human nature to explain the dominance of Homo sapiens or Neanderthal genes on behavior today. Homo sapiens accepted the soul as a given; Neanderthals were motivated by survival of the fittest. Rather than spiritual guidance, Neanderthals adopted a kill or be killed mindset. Empathy or soul connects Homo sapiens mitigating the brutishness freely expressed by Neanderthals. Lacking precognition, humans do not have access to the mental lives of others. Neither telepathic nor clairvoyant, we cannot make definitive statements about an individual’s goodness or lack thereof.

After meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, President-select George W. Bush, Jr., said "I looked into his eyes and got a sense of his soul. I saw a good man." The only value in one having a soul is that it influences one’s behavior. If Bush truly does have such a gift, during Carla Faye Tucker’s final plea for mercy, he should have searched her soul. Instead, claiming to be a Christian, Bush said he, "searched his heart and could find no reason to believe her repentance was real." Not looking into Carla Faye’s soul, as he did Putin’s, Bush saw only what was in his heart, allowing her death sentence to be carried out. Possessing such a power, Bush should look into his daughters’ souls and see that they and other young people need the same level of freedom he enjoyed as a wild kid.

Only someone with abilities Homo sapiens do not possess could support zero tolerance. Gifted, only they can gaze into the future and definitively say a stupid act at age ten indicates a child’s value as an adult. Only through telepathy or telekinesis can one manipulate thoughts and events so as to know what is going on in the mind of a child on antidepressant drugs. Moreover, if seeing into souls is anything like seeing into the future, then Bush should already know the disastrous fate awaiting his administration and America, if he continues on his present course. Reading souls and inferring future behaviors are wasted when one is committed to reliving the past. John 2001

Nondiscrimination on the grounds of race has been one of the United Nations' guiding principles since its creation in 1945. In 1948, the UN adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It also held the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide following WWII atrocities.

South African apartheid and the black American civil rights struggle spurred its adoption in 1963 of the UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1963). The UN held the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in 1965. In 1973, it held the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid.

The UN designated three decades for action to combat racism. During the first (1973-1982), the UN held its first World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR) in Geneva in 1978. Programs for the first decade concerned worldwide education and measures the UN should take to eliminate racism. In its second decade (1983-1992), the UN held its second WCAR (1983). This WCAR focused on recourse procedures for the victims of racial discrimination. In addition to a public information campaign, the UN drafted model legislation to guide its members in the enactment of national legislation against racial discrimination.

For the third decade (1994-2003), the UN will tackle the roots of racism. The third WCAR will be held in Durban, South Africa August 31- September 7, 2001. According to http://www.un.org/WCAR, the 1997 resolution calling for this conference "reflects the growing international concern for the rise in the incidents of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance."

News You Use

The seven identified goals of WCAR3 are as follows. (1) Review progress made in the fight against racism. (2) Consider ways and means to better ensure application of existing standards. (3) Increase the level of global racism awareness. (4) Formulate concrete recommendations on ways to increase the effectiveness of UN programs to combat racism. (5) Review political, historical, economic, social, cultural and other factors leading to racism. (6) Formulate concrete recommendations to further action-oriented national, regional and international measures aimed at combating all forms of racism. (7) Draw up concrete recommendations to ensure that the UN has the necessary resources for its activities to combat racism.

A worldwide call to build an International Day of Action Against Racism - (IDAAR 2001) has been called to support WCAR. Poets for Peace have joined other activists in calling on people around the world to organize an International Day of Action against Racism (IDAAR) August 31, 2001 to coincide with the opening of the third World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa. All progressive forces in the world are asked to join the effort to bring attention to WCAR 2001. To endorse and help build IDAAR 2001, contact: Bob Brown by voice mail at: (773) 377-5001 x 6779; Fax: (775) 806-7369 or Email: IDAAR2001@onebox.com

Only a handful of Americans will be involved in formal WCAR discussions. Because there have been and continue to be extensive human rights violations, we have a strong case for reparations. Those speaking on our behalf must do so fully, forcefully and factually. It is crucial that they clearly state our strongest argument for reparations. US Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA), Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Task Force on WCAR, hosted a June 19, 2001 roundtable discussion of WCAR with the Bush Administration, WCAR activists, and representatives of other Congressional Caucuses. In a McKinney press release, she stated, "Racism in the United States is a human rights issue and US participation in this particular conference is very important to Americans of color who have felt the sting of racism."

by Dot

In Unplugging Keyes, (The DISH Vol.3 No 3), I discussed Alan Keyes’ false assumption that the noble principles of the Declaration of Independence, i.e., "all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," are law.

I explained that American law does not recognize all men as equal, i.e., (x = y). If x = 1, y = 1, then x/y = 1, x-y = 0 and x + y = 2. Instead, in the US Constitution x = 3/5y, where x and y are black and white, respectively. This inequality is borne out in the national historic experience of black and white Americans.

In the 2000 presidential campaign, candidate Bush promised to appoint judges that "strictly interpret the Constitution." The DISH identified this as code for preserving those traditional family values. These values go to the heart of the institutionalized racism of Article 1 Section 2, the first slave law, the roots of US racism.

Using income and employment data, I showed that the black to white median family income ratio reflects the Great Compromise that legalized slavery. This is the great hypocrisy that did away with democracy and the noble principles of the Declaration of Independence. Rather than liberty and equality for all, blacks got slavery and the 3/5ths traditional family value for blacks that is embedded in the American social fabric and reflected in current outcomes in America’s marketplace for goods and services.

With Smith’s Paradigm or chasm of inequality analysis, we show black does not equal white (x …y, where x is black and y is white). In fact, black is 3/5ths white, such that x = .6y, where y = 1, a white person. Whenever, x < 1, then x + y … 2, rather x + z + y = 2, where z is the residual; it represents the productivity of black labor not accruing to blacks as income. Since labor productivity is race neutral, z measures the economic welfare loss experienced by black families. Z quantifies institutionalized racism. It is found by substituting values for blacks and whites into the equation x + z + y =2. (When x = .6y, z = .4y).

Historically, the black to white income ratio has fluctuated along the narrow interval of .5 to .65. In 1975, it reached a high of .653. According to the 1999 figures, the latest year for which median family income data is available, the black to white median family income ratio was .657 for incomes of $27,910 and $42,504, for blacks and whites, respectively. This is the highest this ratio has been in recorded history.

The chasm analysis provides a scientific method to examine the welfare loss experienced by the victims of American racism. If those who speak/act on behalf of slave descendants at WCAR use this scientific evidence, the US will be directed to pay reparations for its human rights violations. It is a given the Bush administration opposes reparations. However, this is not about Bush; it is about America, proclaimed leader of the free world and the world’s greatest democracy, living up to its billing. If those who speak/act on our behalf present our analysis, WCAR will order America to pay reparations and abolish its economic slavery.

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