Rodney's Rambling's

  Know Who you are not what you are  File under a little knowledge is a dangerous thing: So many folks think all it takes to be black is to put on some African inspired garb, made in china, spout some notions of Afro-centricity, from folks that have never been to Africa or apparently the hood, and change their name to Kunta Kente. Black is not about form but substance, it is not about externalization but internalization, it is not about perpetrating but representing. Strange our grandparents and their parents knew this, lived this, and essentialized this. Perhaps we need to study them a bit more, and ignore the "black" fad- or is it flavor of the week.. rodney d. coates// Bridges over troubled waters Friends are those that celebrate your victories, enemies ignore them. Friends hold you accountable, enemies encourage you to screw up. Friends are there when things go wrong, enemies plan parties to celebrate. Friends welcome you, enemies forsake you. Friends cry when you mourn...

I)  The original underclass - often mislabeled as white working-class voters by politicians and pollsters          Typically used to define anyone without a four-year degree          describes over a third of the electorate totally ignores differences in geography, ethnicity, and culture 2) label actually a kind of Stock story where they are envisioned as salt-of-the-earth citizens, living and working in wide open spaces between coasts           CONNOTES VIRTUE/INTEGRITY 3.     Actually, it is the less privileged white Americans in crisis     a. social breakdown of families and community, much like that which impacted African Americans decades earlier b) rates of out-of-wedlock births and male joblessness rising sharply. c) rising mortality rates (including suicide) among middle-aged whites d) opioid addiction II) On the Right we find Barely suppressed contempt characterized muc...