Kill This Messenger: An Open Letter to America's Minority Children
Dear _____________:
I'm glad you took my advice and watched both the Presidential and Vice Presidential debates. While you may have gotten enough information for a terrific civics paper, you also got an important lesson on "real" life in this country. Learn from it.
In America, it is true that you can be practically anything you desire. And yes, you will have to work very hard for it. Harder than some of your friends. Your parents already told you that. But rarely do you really get to see what they were talking about play out right before your very eyes. You did last night. Learn from it.
When your parents demand that you speak clearly and in well-formed sentences, with proper syntax and without the slang, without the "you knows" and the "likes", they're not just being hard on you. They want the world to see and understand someone capable of articulating a coherent thought. When they chide you to stop listening to that music, turn off the TV and read a book -- big thick books with no pictures -- it's because they want you to learn how to think, not just repeat the last thing you heard.
You live in world where certain people -- this election cycle they have been called "regular" people -- can get by by doing less. Let's be honest: the standard for Gov. Palin's success was set so low last night, that failure for her was impossible. She could fumble her way through poorly memorized talking points, substitute phony beauty pageant charm for substance and come away a winner. You will not have that luxury.
Gov. Palin could spout nonsense in the white man's version of ebonics -- "get down to gettin' down to work," "give a shout out" to some classroom in Alaska -- "talk straight to the American people" in the most circuitous language ever delivered on a debate stage and get away with it because, in addition to being someone's definition of "cute," she is also white.
You betcha, I said it.
And if you watched the post debate "analysis" last evening and today, you saw white person after white person defend the indefensible. She was nervous, they said. She was folksy, they marveled. She connected with "us," they told you. And in this case "us" is not you. Had you or I or Barack danced through a debate like this, we would have been laughed not just off the stage, but out of the race.
Got that? You don't get to play "Debatin' With the Stars," doing flat-footed versions of the quick-step, jive and tango, and score perfect tens from biased judges.
Sarah Palin was given every benefit of the doubt, every available point for not drooling on her suit jacket, not farting loud enough for the microphone to pick up, not getting lipstick on her teeth. She earned extra credit for the beauty queen kiss blow to her "First Dude," for winking at the audience and not falling off her high heels. You would not be judged so lightly.
You must answer every question put to you, and anticipate every question that isn't. She can choose to not answer any. Ever. You must be on pains to have your facts and figures straight. She is at liberty to make hers up as she goes. She is free to lie at will. You are not. Um hum, I said it.
The expectations for you are always higher and harder and always changing. Barely graduating from decent state school is not enough. You need those "super student" credentials on your permanent record, and the better the schools you attend the better for you. But remember, in this topsy-turvy, "up is down" world, being a good student will be held against you. You will be called "arrogant" and "presumptuous" and "elitist."
When you speak carefully and thoughtfully, you will be called "professorial" and "articulate" or "an orator," as if those are bad things.
The Sarah Palins of the world will be hailed as brilliant for doing mundane things mundanely. You will not. You will be asked to give them a break, give them a pass, overlook their obvious failures while not getting any breaks or passes yourself. (And seriously, you don't want their breaks and passes. The cost is way too high, especially for your own self-esteem.)
The soft bigotry of low expectations is not your burden. You cannot get by with a pussycat purred, "That's hot." You cannot slip into presidential politics by winning Miss Congeniality or winning American Maverick. Your bar will always be set high.
Remember what you learned last night: You must be two or three times as good to earn half the credit. She only needs to show up. Quietly breathing through her nose is optional.
But everything you achieve, you will have earned. Fair and square.
Barack still has to follow Jackie Robinson rules. Biden also stayed absolutely, perfectly respectful, while dismissing the idiocies of his opponent with facts. There will, unfortunately, be people who won't and can't vote for a richer skin tone than blotchy pink, (or tanning-machine beige). It seems, for now, that those people will be on the losing side. Justice is possible.
October 3, 2008 7:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, I had my hopes up that your post would have involved more baby-killing but I suppose this was alright too.
One piece of advice, though, for an aspiring writer: your text is far too rooted in reality to be considered to pass the prestigious "political analysis" threshold. So, I think if you overall change the tone to more of an "America is perfect and if anyone says otherwise they hate America" vibe and play a little fast and loose with any facts that you would normally choose to include, you stand a good shot to be considered a solid mainstream political analyst and maybe land a gig repeating some outlandish lies on national TV.
October 3, 2008 7:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
I can only recommend once. Too bad!
October 3, 2008 8:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is excellent. Well said.
This Palin debacle is embarrassing for me as a white female (and as an American, for that matter). I hope people will learn from this so our culture will finally advance to the point where expectations for all Americans are as high as they should be.
Even if others think Gov. Palin is brilliant for being able to spout talking points, I don't. If I were her, I'd be ashamed of myself.
October 3, 2008 9:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
That's hot. ;)
October 3, 2008 9:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hi Jade,
I've been a writer for many years, and I've read millions of words during that time, but none so eloquently stated, and simply profound as these.
I hope you don't mind that I've copied this for distribution.
Wattree
October 3, 2008 9:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Jade...I feel so badly that everything you said is completely true. As a white person, I can never fully appreciate how difficult it must be to be black in this country.
I am not a racist, in spite of my upbringing to the contrary. I have mentioned many times that Palin's family has been forgiven many times for things that, had they been done by the Obama's would have gotten them trashed. And it breaks my heart. Until this election cycle, I would have thought that racism in America was all but dead. It makes my heart literally ache to have to admit that I was wrong.
I hope it helps to know that there are many of us who were equally appalled at the low class language of a person who could be our next vice president. It's embarrassing on so many levels.
I hope you are in a position in the real world to have an impact on young people. You have a good message.
October 3, 2008 9:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
What a great read that also brings raises the important point that although the fact that any person has to work harder for the same recognition is just plain wrong, it also has some advantages. It's a reminder of the silver lining and that we gain some of our most valuable strengths when we work hard to overcome the biggest and most unwelcome challenges.
October 3, 2008 9:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
Chris Rock has some wonderful lines here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frO6AC6wAc0
See 1:30 - 3:15
October 4, 2008 3:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
Rec'd! I love this Jade.
October 4, 2008 4:11 AM | Reply | Permalink
Jade,
But don't forget that there is also an up side to injustice. It was these very conditions that went into making Barack who he is.
Every experience is a source of knowledge--including injustice. Thus, simply having to deal with injustice, if perceived as a challenge rather a complaint, will serve to make us more, rather than less.
If life was without challenge we would never grow. We grow as a result of having to overcome adversity. It is a law of nature. In fact, evolution itself is nothing less than the process of adapting to adversity.
Man first arrived on Earth as a naked ape--he was neither as strong as the elephant, as ferocious as the lion, nor could he soar like the eagle. So it became necessary for us to develop our intellect to simply survive. As a result, we are now the absolute king of our domain--we've developed machines that are stronger than any elephant, weapons that make us much more fierce than any lion, and jets that fly far beyond the eagle's domain.
The key, therefore, is to teach our young people that it is an honor to have been chosen by nature to challenge adversity, because it now falls upon us to drag mankind, kicking and screaming, to a higher level of humanity. That was Martin, and now Obama's role, and the world's response to both of these men clearly demonstrates that all of mankind recognizes this fact on a very fundamental, if, in many cases, unconscious level.
So I take great pride in being the product of adversity, because simply having survived provides me with unassailable credentials.
Wattree
October 4, 2008 6:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
Jade,
This is the best I've read today. You will do every child justice by having their teacher read this (at the very least) and if he/she reads it to the class--all the better.
This needs to be sent out to the schools. Every one of them. Every school has a website that has a email contact--let's do it!
Thank you for putting my disorganized thoughts into perspicuous words. Rec'd big time!
October 4, 2008 7:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you for writing this! Moving because it is absolutely true, and unfair, and a mark on our country.
But the children you speak to are agents of the future. We will all need them to achieve the incredibly high standards you mention if we are ever going to put these dark years behind us. These children will be called upon.
And when they lead, others who were given a pass will reveal what they really are: powerless.
October 4, 2008 10:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
Jade,
My personal history somewhat mirrors Obama's. My mother is African & my father is from Wyoming. (He once voted for Dick Cheney for an office at Boy's State in High School - a vote he sincerely regrets now!) I understand the circumstances so eloquently expressed in this post. I too attended several "elite" institutions in pursuit of my medical degree and at every stage had people question whether I received unfair advantages because of my race. My parents always advised me to excel because no one can question your success when it's clear that you deserve it. This is a reality of life for most minorities.
However, I am very heartened by the fact that now that I have succeeded and am a practicing physician, in the red state of Tennessee no less, that my patients don't seem to view me through that light. I see women of all races and ages, most of whom are referred by friends, family or co-workers, and they only seem to be concerned about my ability to take care of them well, not about my race. My sincere hope is that this election will be a moment that we can look back on as an event that moved us forward and united the country in a rejection of so many of these long held racist attitudes.
October 4, 2008 11:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
McCain/PygPalin 2008BC
Watch how John McCain fools the voters by putting lipstick on his PygPalin.
By Jove; I think she's got it! You betcha, Yup! Yup! Mr. Shaw, may I call you George?
Say it aint so George.
Mavericks Mavericks Mavericks Mavericks.
October 4, 2008 11:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
My profound thanks, Jade, for stating so eloquently what has been on my mind, disturbing my peace, for some time now. I was considering posting about this myself; I'm glad I didn't as I doubt I would have been able to put it as well as you have. Too emotional. All of those "she's just like us" have been tranparent. There are too many of us being excluded from "us", and the delight with which those comments are uttered (squealed, actually) sends chills of foreboding down my spine. Too little progress, and dark night.
And yet, as Wattree says, there is a silver lining, and hope, and secret pride to be passed to our children. We can, and will, generate excellence.
October 4, 2008 1:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Rec'd.!
October 4, 2008 1:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Wow. Thank you for writing this! I hadn't thought of the debates in those terms before. You are absolutely right.
October 4, 2008 1:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Jade, I am shooting your letter off into cyberspace with but one message attached: Kids, of all ages, listen up!
Thank you.
October 4, 2008 1:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is extremely well done. You captured two things that have been bouncing around my head since the VP debate:
1. If Sarah Palin had looked like Barack Obama, we'd be hearing an awful lot of complaining about her use of "non-standard English".
2. Why weren't we hearing the phrase "soft bigotry of low expectations" from Democratic talking heads? It's a perfect expression of the ridiculously low expectations for her, and the irony of using a Bush-ism to expose the absurdity of it all would have been sweet.
Here's hoping our children or our children's children will have less of this to deal with.
October 4, 2008 1:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Your experience may vary, but suppressing one's farts below the audible threshold doesn't really count as an achievement, even among us over privileged white folks.
Still, I don't get the sense that ripping an unforgivable, room clearing cheek flapper would've hurt Palin's chances any.
October 4, 2008 2:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
SBDs...why do you think she's giggling all the time?
Palin: "Oops, I made a smelly...hee hee hee"
McCain: "No bitch, I think you shit!"
(courtesy Richard Pryor)
October 4, 2008 3:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
Wonderful letter Jade. The minority kids definitely need to hear it.
So does the rest of America.
Thanks.
October 4, 2008 3:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
Jade, that is stunning! In the best possible way.
And I hope you'll pass on these words of mine:
My dear young person:
You will never regret working hard for what you achieve. And I hope you aim high and achieve a whole lot. Your sense of accomplishment will be far greater than those who didn't work hard. Even if you have to work harder than some and even if you see some given more for doing less, I hope you will not only make something of yourself. But I hope you will use those achievements on behalf of making the world a better place.
And try to remember this: Just as you at times must fear that white people don't see you for the beautiful person you are, keep in mind that some of us white folks are also in the same boat, fearing that we may be automatically cast in the pigeon hole of racists. I wish there was a badge we could wear, saying UNITY. So you'd know who I was if we crossed paths. I'm forever looking into the eyes of people - hoping they'll read that very thing - that we're fellow travelers in this difficult world. I find as I grow older, I love people more and more. Let yourself look for me, cuz I don't think I'm the only one.
I'm an old lady at this point. An old white lady. But you have no idea how desperately I truly have longed for a man like Barack Obama and the kind of unity and coming together that I'm hoping will happen under his presidency. I'm jealous in a way that you, as a young person, will have the great privilege of a Black President at this early point in your life. I told something similar to a young African American child of about 4 this afternoon in a hospital where I volunteer. I bent down and asked him if he'd heard of Barack Obama. (he had) And I told him, you're a lucky boy to grow up with Obama as president.
Gosh, I felt happy that kid! And I feel happy for you too. When you get to a certain age, you realize you're passing the world on to younger people. And I hope you'll make a better world of the one I'm passing on.
October 4, 2008 5:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
I must confess, I thought writing this would help me feel better. But no. I grow angrier and angrier at the fraud of a Sarah Palin being considered "worthy" of the second highest office in our government and the deceit of a John McCain thinking he could "pull a fast one" and voters would swallow it whole.
Thank goodness I can watch a Barack Obama or a Joe Biden and feel better. I can believe that 31 days from now voters will do the right thing and elect the best people for the job -- because they are intelligent and competent -- and those people are Barack and Joe.
October 4, 2008 5:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
Here's what galled me back on 8/31/08, quoting from my blog at the time:
"I’m more concerned that people have been side tracked by her family secrets rather than the mystery of why a Trophy Running Mate is being foisted onto the American public. Frankly, it’s like giving us the finger, folks! And if you’re a woman, as I am, it’s insulting to have a Trophy female, rather than someone with a long list of accomplishments, slated for an office which so far exceeds her experience or her political skill, that the whole world is a risk should John McCain be incapacitated."
I've added italics and bold to make my points.
Jade, you are a tpm treasure. I salute you!
October 5, 2008 9:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
Will this make you feel better?
My 3 daughters were born and have lived all their lives in Germany. They have read your letter (over here, they are most definitely minority children!), and have had intense discussion with me over its content and the implications for their lives as American citizens on foreign soil. They will be voting for the first time in this election.
You made us feel better. Thanks.
And, by the way, I'm madder than a wet hen that my time is being taken up with any discussion whatsoever of Sarah Palin!
So, you're not alone. Wet hens of the world unite!
October 4, 2008 6:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
I love it!!!
Indeed, I had stayed away from blogging for months and months. But Palin, to me, was like mcShame giving American voters the finger. And that galvanized me. But I'm done with her. I'm in detox, where she's concerned.
October 5, 2008 9:18 AM | Reply | Permalink