Volume 7 Issue 17…Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race…April 30, 2004

Sympathy

By Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872- 1906)

I know what the caged bird feels, alas!

When the sun is bright on the upland slopes;

When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass,

And the river flows like a stream of glass;

When the first bird sings and the first bud opes,

And the faint perfume from its chalice* steals

I know what the caged bird feels!

I know why the caged bird beats his wing

Till its blood is red on the cruel bars;

For he must fly back to his perch and cling

When he fain would be on the bough a-swing;

And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars

And they pulse again with a keener sting

I know why the caged beats his wing!

I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,

When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,

When he beats his bars and he would be free;

It is not a carol of joy or glee,

But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core,

But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings

I know why the caged bird sings!

About Me: Paul Laurence Dunbar, whose impressive literary contributions include poetry, essays, novels and short stories, often wrote about the hardships of black folks in America. From his book Lyrics of a Lowly Life, this Sympathy speaks to the ceaseless struggle against those things that limit freedom. The caged bird sings of resistance. For more Dunbar poetry and a snapshot of his prolific though brief life, see www.humboldt.edu/~engl406/2002e/Paul%20po.htm.

Kudos! The Dance of Fatherhood

Any successful stage performance should entertain and educate. In achieving those goals, the producers, cast and crew of The Dance of Fatherhood scored big time! Kudos to producers Mimi "Lady-Mi" Williams and Janean "Lady J" Hightower, whose dream and vision made The Dance of Fatherhood reality.

The play, which debuted April 21-22, elicited a range of emotions from its Kyle Theatre audiences. While this immensely entertaining grassroots-- no budget-- play was not funny, in the sense of slapstick comedy, there were humorous moments to which the audience responded uproariously. There were tears too as scenes reminiscent of the everyday drama of life tugged at the heartstrings of mothers and fathers alike.

The Dance explored the range of black male attitudes from those that embrace and relish fatherhood to those who seek to avoid its responsibility at all costs. At the latter extreme, Yohannes Sharriff played Rayquan, "The Dawg." His attitudes toward women and fatherhood were poignantly presented in a spoken word piece that worked beautifully to flesh out his character. In fact, the play cleverly used other soliloquies to add depth to some otherwise shadowy characters.

The DISH interviewed Yohannes about the play, lessons learned and future endeavors. After giving thanks to "the Most High," he praised the producers, cast and crew for their unselfish sacrifices of time, talent and energy to a no budget project. "The most important thing I learned or relearned is the power of an idea. This play started as an idea that would not rest until it was manifested. The other thing I learned is that acting is in my blood. I definitely want to do it again and again."

As for the future of The Dance of Fatherhood, it remains uncertain. It would, however, be tragic if this play is not presented to other audiences real soon.

Libyan Resistance to Italian Occupation

The Italian fleet invaded Libya in October 1911. Concentrating their attack on coastal cities, Italians controlled most of Libya but were unable to subdue the people. Resistance fighters called Mojahideen fought Italian occupation from the mountains. Omar Al-Muktar, one of the most revered Mojahideen leaders, re-ignited resistance against Italian occupation after World War I. Despite possessing only crude weapons, he made the Mojahideen an effective fighting force for 20 years.

Far more difficult than anticipated, Italians used the most inhumane measures in their efforts to quash the resistance. They terrorized city dwellers and desert nomads believed to be relatives or supporters of the Mojahideen. Fearing control of Libya was slipping away, Benito Mussolini, the infamous Italian dictator, sent Rodolfo Grasiani to pacify Libya. He told his cabinet that to defeat the Mojahideen anything and everything must be done. Mussolini agreed to let Grasiani "do the job without any consideration or respect for rules and laws in Italy or in the World."

Mussolini's motto was "If you are not with me, you are against me!" Under Grasiani, Italians publicly hanged and shot Libyans to demonstrate their power over them. Indirectly, they caused the death of half of Libya's men, women, elderly and childern by denying them food and healthcare. Grasiani isolated Libya completely and prevented any direct or indirect contact between Libyans and their neighbours from whom they received food, weapons and information. Grasiani built a wired wall 300 kilometers long, 2 meters high and 3 meters wide; it stretched from Bardiyat Slaiman port in the North to Al-Jagboub in the Southeast.

Grasiani's plan resembled Adolf Hitler's "final solution for Jews." He built concentration camps that housed thousands of Libyans. Tribes with sons fighting with the Mojahideen were forced to live in these miserable prisons. Thousands of Libyans died of hunger and illness, while others were hanged or shot because the Italians believed they supported the Mojahideen.

Libyan historian Mahmoud Ali At-Taeb said in the Libyan magazine Ash-Shoura (9-1979), "In November 1930 there were at least seventeen funerals a day in the camps due to hunger, illness and depression." The Italian Army Health Department Chairman, Dr. Todesky wrote in his book (Cerinaica Today), "From May to September 1930, more than 80,000 Libyans were forced to leave their land and live in concentration camps. By the end of 1930 all of Libya's tent dwelling nomads were forced to live in camps, where 55% died."

Outside the camps, in the mountains, the Mojahideen continued fighting Italian occupation, but by 1931, they were out of food and ammunitions. A number of senior clerics wanted to surrender to Italian occupation. They demanded "The Lion of the Desert," Omar Al-Muktar, go into exile, so they could make peace. Refusing their demand, they betrayed him. Libyans were forced to watch Italians in their land, hang their hero Omar Al-Muktar (9-16-31). Defying international law and WWI treaties, Italy remained in control of Libya until 1943. Allied Armies occupied it until December 24, 1951 when Libya achieved independence. (Sources: Encyclopedia Britannica and www.ourworld.compuserve.com)

Resisting the Draft

Few people, if anyone, were surprised when Rachel and Charity Witmer, sisters of Spc. Michelle Witmer, 20, who was killed in Iraq on April 9, decided against returning to the war zone. No one should be surprised that other soldiers in that arena balked at having their length of service extended. Preventing these soldiers from leaving the military or returning stateside after their tour of duty is tantamount to involuntary servitude, which is the same as a draft.

With so many hawks beating their "patriotic" breasts in support of naked aggression, one would think there would be no need to take such drastic measures or reinstating the draft. Yet, as Vice President Dick Cheney's avoidance of the Vietnam-era draft illustrates, war hawks have "other priorities than military service."

Since well-heeled hawks stay securely ensconced out of harm's way, a draft becomes necessary to wage an endless war on terror. Groundwork for reinstatement of the draft in early 2005 has already been laid. Ironically, Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) has helped break the ground by co-sponsoring legislation in the House of Representatives (HR 163) that will reinstate the draft. A similar bill has been introduced in the Senate (S 89).

To protect the current and future generation, write your elected representatives and demand that they cast no votes on the Selective Service bills HR 163 and S 89. Become a draft resister! Say no to endless war!

By John Burl Smith

A part of The DISH's dialogue on race, Poets For Peace declared a war of words on August 16, 2001 in support of the United Nations World Conference Against Racism, Discrimination and other Intolerance (WCAR). The group called for a speak out to support American slave descendants' demand for redress against the United States and European nations that profited from slavery. Shortly thereafter, 9-11 gave those already planning war a "green light" for unlimited aggression by painting legitimate opposition to oppression as terrorism.

Strangely enough, Project for a New American Century (PNAC) was George W. Bush's plan, but the strategy came straight out of Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler's handbook. Bush's approach to the world mirrors Mussolini's, "You're either with us or against us." Comparing the triple alliance of Ariel Sharon, Tony Blair and Bush with the axis powers of WWII shows clearly where we are headed in Iraq and Palestine.

The US siege of Fallujah can be juxtaposed on the Warsaw ghetto under assault from Nazis. Whereas, Sharon's wall comes from a page in Mussolini's occupation of Ethiopia and Libya. Under a guise of pacifying an occupied people, Bush's axis is emulating Hitler and Mussolini's death and destruction. Coupled with the cost in human misery suffered by children, women and elderly deprived of food and healthcare, reason begs the question, was "getting rid of Saddam Hussein" worth turning Iraq into a terrorist magnet?

Bush began his Iraq adventure like an arrogant tyrant drunk on power, claiming "we will be greeted as heros with flowers." Does this remind anyone of Hitler's rationale for moving into Sudetenland? Bush's invasion was the easy part, breaking the will of Iraqis and forcing them to submit to occupation are what make Iraq a quagmire. The nightmare of Vietnam's quagmire was the killing machines' need for more and more lives.

Obviously, young Americans are not stupid enough to volunteer to become sitting ducks in Iraq's shooting gallery to keep troop strength up. Unfortunately, the US is at the bottom of the slippery slope of reinstating the draft which is Bush's only hope to sustain troop demands in Iraq, Afghanistan and other targets of his global war on terror. Fortunately, those 18 to 25 have a vote and should recognize that "a vote for Bush is a vote to reinstate the draft." Remember, when Bush's time came to make the sacrifice he is demanding of our sons and daughters, he hid out in a National Guard unit to avoid the killing fields of Vietnam.

Sir Winston Churchill sounded the alarm to stop the wolf at the gate or in the yard, if possible, but at the door by any means necessary. Now that he is in the house, how does one avoid destroying it? Sharon's wall and Bush's Iraqi invasion, like Hitler's blitzkrieg though Poland and Mussolini's Libyan occupation, have placed Palestinians and Iraqis in similarly dire straits. Yasser Arafat and cleric Mogtada al-Sadr are in the unenviable position of Omar al-Muktar. His response was, "You never have to agree with someone's right to oppress you. If they have the power, they will do what they want. Why must I agree? I follow the will of Allah!"

Strictly Constructing Choice

On Sunday (4-25-04), demonstrators from across America and the world rallied on the National Mall in support of women's reproductive freedom. An estimated 800,000 gathered to hear speakers, including Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), press the need to preserve Roe v Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, and to fight efforts to restrict women's rights to make their own reproductive choices.

The march and rally's organizers contend women must be vigilant to counter the extremism of the religious right and the Bush administration's anti-choice agenda, which is gradually eroding choice, curtailing access to family planning and other reproductive health services in the US and abroad. While George W. Bush claims to be pro-life and speaks of building a "culture of life, his code for an anti-choice policy, he is a rabid supporter of the death penalty. Demonstrators at the "March for Women's Lives" called for an end to Bush's hypocrisy.

The march's organizers and supporters set up voter registration tables and stressed the importance of maintaining the pro-choice make up of the Supreme Court. Within the next four years, chances are excellent one or more justices will retire. If Bush wins reelection, he has promised to use strict construction as his litmus test in appointing judges to the court. Such a change in judicial philosophy will definitely alter the court's current makeup and would likely mean the end of Roe v Wade.

A small counter demonstration lined portions of the mall to protest what they called a "death march." Neither presidential candidate attended the event.

Cheney's Resistance to FACA Rules

In 2001, Justice Watch, a government watchdog group, and the environmental group Sierra Club sued over Vice President Dick Cheney's private meetings with energy industry representatives. These groups contend, energy industry movers and shakers, such as former Enron CEO Ken Lay, exerted undue influence in the formulation of Bush administration energy policy.

While the case never went to trial, a federal judge ordered the White House to turn over the energy task force records. On appeal, the lower court decision was affirmed. The White House asked the Supreme Court to decide whether or not Cheney's energy task force operated in excessive secrecy in violation of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA).

Under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), which established the system governing the creation and operation of advisory committees in the executive branch and for other purposes, the public has a right to know what transpired and who attended Cheney's energy task force meetings. However, the White House is asserting the Constitution gives the president and vice president the power to gather advice and make decisions in secret without revealing sources and methods. Not since former President Richard Nixon asserted executive privilege during the Watergate investigation has a White House been more secretive or more aggressive in its defense of that secrecy under what it perceives as inherent power of the executive branch.

Overshadowing the case's legal issues is the controversy surrounding the relationship between Dick Cheney and Justice Antonin Scalia. Within weeks of the Supreme Court's decision to hear Cheney v US District Court, Scalia and Cheney flew together on a government jet to Louisiana for a duck hunt at a secluded camp owned by an oil rig services executive. Scalia, who did not consider the private social function a conflict of interest, refused to recuse himself from the case.

On Tuesday, April 27, 2004, the full Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Cheney v US District Court, 03-475. The court is expected to hand down its ruling in July. Regardless of how the court rules, its decision will certainly add fuel to the political debate, (Note: For more about March for Women, see www.marchforwomen.org. You can read the text of FACA at www.accessreports.com/statutes/FACA.htm)

Disgruntled wants to know: Howard Zinn's April 26, 2004 essay published at www.commondreams.org cites Amnesty International statistics on the "collateral damage" of the Iraqi invasion, death tolls from the Vietnam incursion and a brief history of US military occupations in other Third World nations. Apropos, he points out that these occupations did not lead to security or democracy. Yet, the same justifications are being employed in the deadly Iraqi occupation. Rather than staying the course, Zinn and others who wish for peace must ask, what do we do now?

Disgruntled says: White House strategist Karl Rove has employed every dirty trick to make George W. Bush "the resolute wartime President." Unlike John Kerry, the presumptive Democratic nominee, Bush's Vietnam-era National Guard service record has raised more questions than earned him commendations. To overcome his lengthy absence from Guard duty, which has been linked to mandatory community service resulting from a cocaine conviction, Bush donned a fighter pilot's flight suit to announce "mission accomplished" in Iraq and dared the insurgents to "bring it on!" When the facts support it, resolution is fine. But, changing one's mind when faced with contrary information is not a sign of weakness, rather a hallmark of intelligence.

Disgruntled feels: Dismay! On Monday, fifty-two former British diplomats signed a letter to Prime Minister Tony Blair criticizing his Middle East policy. Citing the apparent lack of a coherent and effective post-war strategy in Iraq and the evident disregard for the lives of civilians, the group called on Blair to exert his influence on George W. Bush to end his doomed policies or stop supporting them. Like yours truly, the group expressed collective dismay at the step backwards Bush and Blair took in supporting Ariel Sharon's unilateral departure from international efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Dark Knight-Batman/White Ninja/Zorro is into winning friends and influencing people. He erroneously thinks he can reclaim certain privileges by making comments sure to please his grandmother. For instance, this week the Dark One/Ninja/Zorro said, "I need to read more and improve my social studies' grade."

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