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
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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!
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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.