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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 9, 2016)
Page 2 The Skanner November 9, 2016 Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now Bernie Foster Founder/Publisher Bobbie Dore Foster Executive Editor Jerry Foster Advertising Manager Christen McCurdy News Editor Patricia Irvin Graphic Designer Arashi Young Reporter Monica J. Foster Seattle Office Coordinator Susan Fried Photographer 2016 MERIT AWARD WINNER The Skanner Newspaper, es- tablished in October 1975, is a weekly publication, published every Wednesday by IMM Publi- cations Inc. 415 N. Killingsworth St. P.O. Box 5455 Portland, OR 97228 Telephone (503) 285-5555 Fax: (503) 285-2900 info@theskanner.com Opinion Blackonomics: Elections Won’t Change Anything, Until We Vote with Our Wallets B y the time you read this, I trust you will have wiped away the slime and the grunge, regurgi- tated a few times, taken a good bath or shower, relentlessly scrubbed the stench from your bodies, and maybe even found it necessary to delouse, because the dirty, filthy, hate- ful, distasteful, embarrass- ing, vile, toxic, grimy, pollut- ed campaign we all witnessed is likely the worst in the histo- ry of electing a President. At the time of this writing (Nov. 4, 2016) the results are unknown, but in light of the lies, slander, vitriol, vulgari- ty, hypocrisy, hyperbole, false accusations, innuendo, leaks, assaults, and even physical threats of murder, it matters less than usual who wins. No matter the result, there will be millions of people in this country who will be so an- gry that very little will get done for “The People.” Jan. 20, 2017 will be a very sad day for many voters depending on which side is victorious. That’s a terrible commentary on this country, and an even worse reflection on the lead- ership we have chosen. But what does it say about us? We have fought one an- James Clingman NNPA Columnist other over the two candi- dates, neither of whom is held in high regard by the majority of the electorate. It has been suggested that our choice is between the “lesser of two evils,” and some say the “evil of two lessers.” Some have even dropped “ way, so why care about it at all? We have former candidates who called the two finalists in- sulting names: “pathological liar,” “con man,” “woefully un- qualified,” “criminal,” “pred- ator,” and the like; but those same self-righteous folks, some of whom profess to be of high moral character, are telling us to vote for the very persons they disdained and denigrated during the prima- ries. What kind of people are they? Talk about trouble, folks, we are deep into it. This nation is Irrespective of who won this elec- tion, Blacks and poor folks are go- ing to be in the same shape we have been in for awhile out of the system altogether because they cannot stand to be a part of such downright evilness. Some have said they will start a civil war if their candidate does not win; some say they will “take out” one of the candidates if things don’t go their way; some have said they will move to anoth- er country; and some say the whole system is corrupt any- split nearly 50/50, so there is very little room for compro- mise or concession on either side, and we are right in the middle of this mess. Yes, the nirvana and utopia, called Barack and Michelle, that many Black people thought we were living in is all over— gone. What shall we do now? Truthfully, irrespective of who wins this election, Blacks and poor folks are going to be in the same shape we have been in for awhile. Maybe this will be the final wake-up call Black people need to understand that un- til we get our economic act together, we will continue to be viewed as mere child-like voters instead of a true force to be reckoned with. Here’s a solution: If you are a conscious and consci- entious Black person, go to www.iamoneofthemillion. com and join the movement as we move closer to econom- ic and political empower- ment. We know that in order to attain the levels of power and influence we seek there must be an organized critical mass of people and a vehicle through which that can be done. This is not a knock on anything anyone else is do- ing; it’s simply a call for just two percent of Black people in this country to join forces, of- fering their time, talent, and treasure to help our people. The One Million is the only active movement of its kind. So after you have cleaned up and disinfected yourself on November 9th, get into a game you can win—The One Million! www.TheSkanner.com The Skanner is a member of the National Newspaper Pub lishers Association and West Coast Black Pub lishers Association. All photos submitted become the property of The Skanner. We are not re spon sible for lost or damaged photos either solicited or unsolicited. ©2016 The Skanner. All rights re served. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission prohibited. Local News Pacific NW News World News Opinions Jobs, Bids Entertainment Community Calendar RSS feeds BE A PART OF THE CONVERSATION #SkNews The 2016 Presidential Election Exposed America’s Racist and Sexist Patriarchy for the World to See J ust a few days before the corrosive 2016 election, it occured to me that no mat- ter what the outcome, our social fabric has been shred- ded by the ugliness of this campaign. Sure, there have been ugly campaigns before, but this one has revealed the extent to which racism and sexism are acceptable fea- tures of life in these United States. Women, including Hil- lary Clinton, have been rou- tinely disparaged, not only in politics, but also in their roles as television talking heads and anchors. While I’m not weeping for Megyn Kelly (she’s a big girl, and she can take care of herself ), her on-air collision with Newt Gingrich was classic — with a jowly male bully loudly talking over a television host and accusing her of being “ob- sessed” with sex. And the dis- paragement of women flowed down the ticket – in Illinois, Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) had the nerve to disparage chal- lenger Rep. Tammy Duck- worth (D-Ill.) because of her Thai heritage. Her dad traces his family’s military service back to the eighteenth cen- tury, while her Mom is from Thailand. When she cited her military background, Kirk nastily said he was unaware that her family had come all Julianne Malveaux NNPA Columnist the way from Thailand to fight for the United States. Shame on Kirk for demonstrating his ignorance by criticizing the military service of a woman who lost both her legs in the “ don’t even bother to use code words. The backlash from eight years of the Obama presi- dency means that plenty of racists have come out to play. I thought we’d seen the last of David Duke, the reported KKK member who again ran for the U.S. Senate from Lou- isiana. Instead, he seems to have slithered from under some rock, just in time to en- dorse Donald Trump, throw shade on Evan McMullin Gendered criticism is woven into the fabric of our nation’s racist pa- triarchy Iraq war. All’s fair, they say, in love and war, and many see politics as a special kind of war. And certainly, those women who play the politics game have to have thick skin and broad shoulders, because men are not likely to treat women with kid gloves because of their gender. However, gen- dered criticism (“she lacks stamina,” “look at that face”) is woven into the fabric of our nation’s racist patriarchy, and the “other” (women, people of color) is often put down using gendered or racialized code words. In some cases, as with Tammy Duckworth, people (the Utah native and former CIA operative who is run- ning a long-shot campaign for President), and attack Jewish people. Most listeners recoiled from Duke’s hateful words, and the Trump cam- paign quickly distanced itself from the Duke endorsement. Shocking, though, that this level of racist hate is so open. And Mr. Trump’s racial rhet- oric suggests that the Duke endorsement, if unwelcome, was at least somewhat con- sistent with that which Mr. Trump has been preaching. The use of terms like “law and order” or “stop and frisk” ignores the issues the Black Lives Matter Movement has raised, not the least of which are the police killings of young Black people. And the Black Lives Matter Movement has been routinely been dis- paraged during this 2016 cam- paign. The disparagement of the Black Lives Matter Move- ment really disparages all Black people and reminds us that, despite progress, race still matters. If racism and sexism are woven into the fabric of our nation, how do we pull those threads out without ruining the fabric? Or has the fabric al- ready been so fully shredded that we have the opportunity to “start over.” Actually, there will be no starting over. Our economic structure and the credo of predatory capitalism depend on the ability of capi- talists to extract surplus val- ue from the work of those that are “other.” Capitalists max- imize profits by minimizing expenses. Thus enslavement, though an inhumane institu- tion, was also an efficient one for those who were able to use free labor. We’ve come a long way from enslavement, but the exploitation of workers continues, which is why the “Fight for $15,” which will dis- proportionately benefit wom- en and people of color, is so important.
