Got this column from Prometheus who himself cribbed it from George. This is one of those columns that resonates on a few different levels and should cause a number of political minded black bloggers to give pause.
Scholars like Adolph Reed, Harold Cruse, and Cathy Cohen on the left, and Thomas Sowell on the right have long argued against the brokerage model of black political leadership. Sharpton, Jackson, and even someone like Bond are no more than brokers, cutting deals with "the man" supposedly on our behalf. And while Bond at least has a visible constituency that can vote him up or down, neither Jackson nor Sharpton have anything of the sort.
Where I think they go wrong though is in their focus on post-traumatic stress disorder and slavery. I think this argument is absolute bunk. Physiological changes that are somehow transferable INTER-GENERATIONALLY? You've got to be kidding me. They are (as Prometheus points out) also mistaken in their assumption that this phenomenon is only happening to black constituencies. It isn't.
Now their solution naturally emanates from their assessment of the problem...I'm of a mind to toss this out too. If they believe that black people have a unique problem that emanates from some type of psychological trauma that began during slavery and somehow CONTINUES, then they've got some unlearning to do. If they believe that black people don't already have a history of self-determination that has been in some real ways BEATEN into them, they have some unlearning to do.
BUT.
In order to engage in the type of local organizing that I feel needs to be done, we have to rebuild bonds of trust and communication. And I cannot say at this point that "healing" isn't part of that struggle.
Posted by at November 26, 2004 11:53 AM | TrackBackThe physiological changes are transmitted intergenerationally as a distinct set of moving and emotional center adaptations that we might term *Hurtz* or simply *blackness*. This is the deeply ingrained lens through which we epistemically view the world, and, its *advantages* remain untypified or unquantified - at this time.
The article also touches on the demise of the socio-economic topology that lent itself to what has now been proven a tenuous degree of group cohesion. So, studious self and group assessment, redefinition, and reorganization are of paramount importance to any who intend to stay here in the belly of the beast.
Posted by: cnulan at November 26, 2004 01:18 PM"NEED" is a strong word, but w.r.t.:
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"Rather than propping up a few individuals as leaders, a better plan may be to instill self-determination and cultural grounding in all black Americans.
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Wouldn't that (the instilling) be the chief role of a Black Leader today?
Posted by: memer at November 26, 2004 01:40 PMYes. Healing has been done. Which is why today's 'political consciousness' is all about indoctrination in an elevated sense of sensitivity to wrongs. It's about 'broadening' the mind to see racism everywhere. This is what Sowell derides as 'cosmic justice'. And it's practically a truism that the solution 'just get over it' is really all that needs to be done. These are imaginary worlds of hurt.
When instead one focuses on curing, then one must get practical. And it is a focus on this practical aspect of the solution that brings one to bread and butter issues. Politically, one has to pay attention to the viability of solutions which means people have to acknowledge how much that which gets done owes to bipartisanship.
Republicans say 'heal your damned self', and when it comes to resources for healing, 'stand in line'. It's this harsh attitude that keeps lazy black politicos and pundits on the side of the cosmos and cosmic vengeance, 'revolution' and other radical pipe dreams. Again, they're searching for healing.
Nothing makes this distinction so clearly as the issue of reparations. Do you want an apology or do you want cash? Healing vs Curing.
Posted by: Cobb at November 26, 2004 03:21 PMCnulan, this is the scientist in me coming out. I know how to measure longitudinal change. The concept of intergenerational post-traumatic stress disorder is a concept that has a TON of methodological weaknesses that give me pause. So in "normal" post-traumatic stress disorder as I understand it, a given trigger can create a response. Something that sounds like a gunshot may trigger flashbacks in a Vietnam vet.
What are the triggers here? Seeing a house that looks like a plantation? Seeing a whip on Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom? What?
Furthermore, how can we differentiate the response from responses to contemporary conditions of subjugation?
Another question: Does the severity of the disorder diminish, stay stable, or increase over time? Why?
You feeling me?
Memer: I think the logic embedded in your question is sound. But I'd say the answer is a resounding no.
Posted by: Lester Spence at November 26, 2004 05:25 PMLet's take the Ron Artest episode as an example. He reacted instinctively to an insult or trigger. I doubt he had ever been trained to consider the consequences of his action. I doubt he had ever thought through beforehand "What if...?"
How many of us have this crucial bit of education (or training, if you prefer) drilled home at an early age?
How far will we progress in society without this training?
Posted by: True_Liberal at November 28, 2004 11:39 AMI doubt he had ever been trained to consider the consequences of his action.
His father is saying otherwise. His father is saying Artest has had anger management counseling.
Too little, too late, methinks.
Posted by: True_Liberal at November 28, 2004 03:15 PMAnger mgt. counseling is after the fact,Artest has a group of nieces and nephew's totaling in the 30s that depend on him for education.After the brawl Ron call home and told his Father he had let the kids down ,my point is you must be accountable for your action whether your 13 or 33.
tootsie
LKS wrote;
"Cnulan, this is the scientist in me coming out. I know how to measure longitudinal change. The concept of intergenerational post-traumatic stress disorder is a concept that has a TON of methodological weaknesses that give me pause. So in "normal" post-traumatic stress disorder as I understand it, a given trigger can create a response. Something that sounds like a gunshot may trigger flashbacks in a Vietnam vet."
CN replies - Let's drop the post-traumatic stress appellation. I wasn't with that from the word go. My take on it was that black folk have been on the receiving end of generations of pain. In my generation, I've witnessed an ample amount of pain transference on my generation and younger who have not personally or directly experienced the woes that my parents, grandparents, and others did. Sensibilities, sensitivities, associative identifications attuned to a pre-civil rights era is very problematic, especially as an obstacle to obtaining the widest possible access and exposure within the encompassing anglospheric culture. I consider the real and the imaginal emotional responses/reflexes as being serious barriers to conscious experience.
LKS wrote - "What are the triggers here? Seeing a house that looks like a plantation? Seeing a whip on Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom? What? "
CN replies - Varies from person to person. But I'd say it's as fundamental as the psychological garment of blackness itself. We're all cultural heirs of the anglosphere, insofar as we think and experience life through the lens of the english language. How then account for the non-essentialist behavioural expressions associable with *blackness*?
LKS wrote - "Furthermore, how can we differentiate the response from responses to contemporary conditions of subjugation?"
CN replies - Neither you or I have been personally subjugated in any comparatively meaningful way. And to have responses that would've been common and practical to my grandfather makes no sense in todays context.
LKS wrote - "Another question: Does the severity of the disorder diminish, stay stable, or increase over time? Why?"
CN - It all depends on how you've been brought up. To the best of my ability, I bring my children up to understand that there are people who care for you and people who do not. Into the latter camp fall people who will diss you for the color of your skin. They are insane and the problem is theirs. If they violate your space or pose a serious threat, destroy them. (so much for Artest like restraint, but you know my stance on the question of violence.)
LKS wrote - "You feeling me?"
This is the entire value of WORK as a means by which one frees the mind from useless cultural baggage.
Posted by: cnulan at November 29, 2004 03:36 PMHm. How many organized games has Ron Artest played since high school? How many games has Ron Artest played since he was signed with the Bulls?
Let's say five hundred or so. And all of these games were games conducted in the spotlight.
Now in how many of those games was Ron called out of his name by an opposing player? By a fan? In how many games was he spat on by fans? Did he have objects thrown at him?
In how many games did he have a "legitimate" reason to knock someone out?
NOW.
How many times DID he even come close?
* He broke Michael Jordan's ribs.
* He broke a camera.
* He committed flagrant fouls DURING THE COURSE OF GAMEPLAY.
* He went after a fan.
I can think of four categories. Unless someone knows more than me about Artest's background, this doesn't sound like someone who is out of control. He needs counseling, sure.
But to say he wasn't properly trained? You've either never played organized sports of any kind, you don't have a real job that requires discipline and structure, or you are more interested in making comments off the cuff than you are in really thinking about these issues.
"...NOW.
How many times DID he even come close?
* He broke Michael Jordan's ribs.
* He broke a camera.
* He committed flagrant fouls DURING THE COURSE OF GAMEPLAY.
* He went after a fan..."
And the NBA waited 'til NOW to take real discipline?
No wonder we're in trouble. What a fine role model.
Posted by: True_Liberal at November 30, 2004 08:39 AMHe broke Jordan's ribs during a pickup game in the offseason. He should be policed for that?
He was suspended after damaging the camera. The NBA already has rules regarding flagrant fouls.
what are you talking about?
Posted by: Lester Spence at November 30, 2004 01:47 PM
Though I would hesitate to call it post traumatic stress disorder, I believe that there IS an intergenerational malaise that is transmitted culturally and can easily be typified.
Second, though it happens to other ethnic minorities in the U.S., as well, our continued feature role in american pop-culture minstrelsy makes us singularly susceptible to continuous recontamination and amplifies the effects of this malaise exponentially. XM
Posted by: xavier at November 26, 2004 01:01 PM