Why race? Why now?

[Aaron (Al) Lewis]

Those are the questions. With a new president the country has been buzzing about race. Is the race issue over? Have African Americans finally arrived? You may have seen or heard these and other issues discussed on TV or radio. CNN is doing a part 2 to race in a few days.

They trot out the so called experts and they espouse all the power words, and phrases guaranteed to up the viewership. However, race remains a complex sensitive issue on our national and local landscape. Have you ever wondered why?

Tell me how did you get to be white or black or yellow or red? How long have you been white or black? Where did the concept of race by color come from? Who started it? In fact what is race?

Most conversations around this issue start at the end or in the middle. The assumption is you are what you already think you are. Well, what if you are not? What if you are something else and didn't know it?

What is culture? Who defined it for you? What is your heritage and who defined it for you? Where did you learn about these things? How do you know any of it is true? These are just a few of the questions from the buzz words around race. Upon close inspection and examination how they are used in present context may not stand up to logic and truth.

What if they didn't? What if this race issue was just something made up? What difference would it make? Before you answer that think about it and think about it deeply. Those are just some of the topics and issues we will address straight forward in the Red Pill II training. Let me assure you we will address some issues and facts that can be life changing if you look deeply enough.

To be or not to be, that is the question.

[Bryan Van Randall]

What is the full name of the author of this?  You cited Jensen...

[Rawin Thutmose]

The author's name you're inquiring about is Derrick Jensen.

http://www.derrickjensen.org/

[Bryan Van Randall]

Thank you.

[B. Crittenden Freeman]

Grok???? Oh My!! It's been well over 20 years since I've heard that term!!! Yes, 20+ years!!!


Aaron (Al) Lewis said:

Barry first off let me apologize for the typos in my last reply. I was on my way to the gym and my wife was rushing me, I didn't take time to proof and reproof what I wrote. Secondly, on one post I was signed in under her name. That was me posting back to you, not her, but I think she feels and thinks the same way.

Again I think this training has the potential to be dynamic and I would hope it will start to generate a whole new way of talking and thinking about this issue. As you are aware in our training we avoid argument at all cost. We especially avoid arguing anyone's opinions and beliefs because opinions and beliefs are not necessarily real and by their very meaning not provable and therefore it is feckless to argue them, pro or con.

I suspect because of the subject matter the attendees will be filled with opinion and belief so I think it important that we deal with that up front in a respectful and clean manner. If our opinions and beliefs could have navigated us through this morass of upsets and confusion it would be no need for any training around it.

You grok?

[B. Crittenden Freeman]

My experience was unusual. I was going through an illness that I found out later was an iron deficiency which affected my breathing and energy level (low levels of oxygen). Walking was difficult. Aside from the physical issues, It was the first time I was in an environment in a challenge to think and respond in real time, without the usual enforements of a pecking order, occurred. Of course, I still went through the usual "people view me as not good enough or not intelligent enough" and when I speak they feel a need to "top me". THat will always be there.

Overall, the training opened my mind to the larger issues of power and controlwithin society and how classes/groups of people can/are manipulated so that they don't empower themselves to a higher goal. I had never looked at things from that point of view before. I found that by looking at things from the POV of just "being a black man" and "Black vs. White" or "Black vs. the World" limited me from seeing bigger issues. So, it was worth every moment and penny of going out to Denver to experience this.

I'll give you an example. You know that in California there was a vote called Prop 8. That was a vote of removing the access for same-sex couples of marriage equality. When that Proposition passed, the media blitz was that the "swing vote" was the increase of Black folks who were voting for Barack Obama. See? The people controlling the media immediately creating an scenario of "Blacks vs. Gays" to remove attention fromthe truth. The truth was that the campaign raised by the Mormon church was very disciplined and well marketed. But, How many people would question what the media was purporting????? Just blame Black folks. AND it was not true!!!!

Aaron (Al) Lewis said:

Barry, you were an attendee of the original Red Pill training in Denver, CO. What was your experience like if you don't mind sharing?

[Aaron (Al) Lewis]

Barry that was astute and critical thinking. Anytime I allow anyone else to define anything for me, especially the media, I am sanctioning my own oppression. To offset that requires super vigilance on my part along with acquiring better than a working knowledge of language and how it works. By doing that I can then better understand of knowing works. People often assume that they know as in the scenario you just pointed out. That means they trusted the press to inform them. What I ask is where that trust came from?

I trusted my parents, preachers, teachers, the press, the text books and politicians to tell me the truth about things and later found out they all lied to some degree. When I say this people are quick to point out that in many cases they did the best they could, but a lie is anything that is untrue and brother I have been bombarded with a mountain of untruths in my life by so called well meaning people. The results were still the same. I didn't know.

[B. Crittenden Freeman]

Hi Dr. Black, Thank you for answering the questions. I posed them because of so many people's needs that a person "have X-Y-Z qualifications" before they give attention to that person. Before Mr. Obama was elected, those opposing his election kept saying that he was not "qualified" and did not have "experience", (including Hillary Clinton).

I question that because people use those thoughts to be dismissive.

Clifford Black said:

Namaska Bro. Barry!!!
Glad to hear from you. I am happy to address your questions, because from prior interactions I know you are a serious person. Also I am aware that serious people like yourself are not interested in unfounded opinions and or assumptions about the realities that affect them as people.
In regard to your inquiry about the need for qualifications let me offer this thought. My Aunt discovered that her home was in need of electrical repair. She also told me that her pastor had said that he could fix the problem. I then asked her what were his qualifications relative to electricity. She told me that he was her pastor and he just knows about things. My advise to her was that she may want to depend on a repairperson that has the best quality of information, about electricity, in order to determine quailfications. A lack of qualifications may suggest a lack of quantity regarding information about electrical matters. This could create a dangerous situation. I advised my Auntie that the repairperson with the needed qulifications may be what you will need in order to prevent greater damage to your premise. In most cases even a contractor (who can build a house) will call the person with the greatess amount of insight into electrical matters.
Let me attempt to address your second question about the quality of people and the information that they might use to fix a problem. At some time in your life, like myself, you may need to have an operation on your heart. When you are the person, on the table, receiving the operation there is going to be an absolute interaction between yourself and the surgeon. The engagement is in most cases based on trust. Be of great care.
Relative to #3 let me say this.
I, like you, find myself fascinated by President Obama and his organizational skills. I have also had great respect for James Brown and his ability to sing, produce, organize and to accomplish. I do remember feeling that even though I love his song about being Black and Proud he is not qualified to be involved in a conversation about race {R] on the Merv G show. James Brown's song did not qualify him to be an electrician. President Obama seems to be bery good at his job, but he is also not an electrician.
As a side note.
My Aunt had her preacher deal with the problem. Her house burnt down!!!
Our hope is to help construct a greater capacity for perception so that if you need to rely on intuition, YOU WILL KNOW!!!!!!!!!
B. Crittenden Freeman said:

Hello Mr. Black. Nice to be chating here. A few questions first.
1. Why does one "need qualifications"?
2. Why must qualifications be "proven" or experience be "proven" before acceptance or engagement occurs?
3. I find Mr Obama's skills quite fascinating.

Thank you.

[B. Crittenden Freeman]

Hi Tim, Crittenden here. Many have stated what you have concerning MKP and its attempts to "be a home for all". I never attended I&I, so I can't speak on it. I do remember all the MCism courses that were necessary as a part of the Corporate Culture of AT&T (which I was a part of for 21 years). And all of that there.


Tim Johnson said:

A friend of mine suggested I come to this site. I am interested in this training, but I have some scheduling conflicts that I cannot cancel. First, will you be doing the training anyplace else? If so when?
Ok so I am a member of MKP and have attended a few of their training around multiculturalism. I am a white male. I make an above average salary and I live well. I don't remember much about the civil rights era. I was born in 1960 and by the time I came of age it was over. I live in a city that is deeply divided along racial lines. Most of the city officials are black. Most of the judges are black, most of school board members are black and most of the city is black.

I am not complaining about that. They do about a good or a poor a job as anyone who has held the positions. I do have a few close black friends. We avoid talking about race because none of us really know what to say or what to do. So we end up avoiding the topic. That was one of the reasons I attended the trainings on race. I wanted to know and see what, if anything, I could do to bridge the divide. I did not get much from them. I left thinking I was supposed to feel guilty because of my personal achievements that they called white privilege. Somehow it just didn't add up for me. I also got the impression that if I did acquiesce to their way of seeing things I would not up in the organization.

I do not come from a rich or privileged family. I studied hard, made good grades and scored high on the college entrance exam and got a lucrative scholarship at one of the better schools. As I result I competed for and was awarded a great job on Wall St. Two years ago I left NYC and came back home, I still make a good living, but I must say the racial climate here is much more polarized that what I am used to.

The MC training really turned me off. I didn't like being preached to or have concepts told to me and I had to accept them. I feel very angry about that. I don't like anything being forced on and though MKP says they are not forcing, that is not what the undertow looks like. I know a few men in MKP that checked out because of this initiative. So I have some questions:

Is this training anyway related to the Isms and Issues, Multicultural Series 101 etc or the Bridges of Boundaries training?

Exactly what is your curriculum?

Will there be any attempt to force or coerce your viewpoints on the target audience?

What are you qualifications to facilitate this trainings?

How long have you been doing it?

I don't not mean to be offensive I just don't want to be talked down to or told what I have to believe or think again.

[Tim Johnson]

Ho, Barry, I apologize for not posting any sooner. For some reason I could not gain entry back onto the site.
I have been keeping up with the conversation. This whole notion of race is confusing to me.
When I am with blacks and they use the "n" word what am I supposed to do? When I am around whites and they use the "n" word I object and they look at me strangely. More than a few have ostracized me, (imhj) for my opinions on racism.

I guess I am racist in that I too have been the recipient of what I was told was what privilege, but to be honest any privilege feels good. I just refuse to feel ashamed about anything I have be it a gift or not.

In my family there are relatives who are avowed racists. Some of their thoughts are mean spirited. Some of them are subtle. One of my black friends once told me while we were chilling that I could go anywhere with him in his community and I would be safe. He asked me could I promise him that. The fact is I could not. I don't know if what he says is true or not. I think he believes that. I do not even come close to believing that.

What I do know is that I have visited with him in his community around his family and friends. Once they saw I was with him there was no tension. There is no way I would put him in that position with my family.

My feelings are sadness and confusion.

[B. Crittenden Freeman]

Hi Tim, Thanks for responding. I am uncomfortable with the n word period and don't like its usage around me. For me, though, what's more important is the choices made to include or exclude.

ME? I'm excluded by men of ALL colors because my thoughts & choices are very different than most. I walk to the beat of my own drummer. I'll give you an example: In MKP a man of the Jewish faith and culture exlcuded me from a MCism workshop that he was coordinating because his thoughts were that I:
1. Had a "real edge" on racism
2. Was not a "black enough" black man.
Now the illogic of the situation and what he was saying did not hit him. Only the emotion of the baggage he was carrying towards me. Years later he apologized. Interestingly, no one helo or holds him accountable for his behaviors.

The bottom line question though is "Just what was going on that that other made decided to exclude me."

[Aaron (Al) Lewis]

Barry, wrote "1. Had a "real edge" on racism
2. Was not a "black enough" black man."

What is a real edge on racism? I'd like to know what that means.

Not black enough? Black ? What then is black? Don't answer that question.

It seems with some information and knowledge a lot of conjecture and opinion can be cleared up.
I learned to be careful in reacting to the tools of the construct. Sometimes by rebelling I am then indeed just doing what I was set up to do without my knowledge or consent.

Hey Barry have you ever analyzed the conversation between Neo and the Architect? It comes from Matrix II. You can download a copy and read it. Sometimes that drummer aint as different as you'd imagine. I had to find that out the hard way. I was stunned to see that what I thought was a different drummer was just the same man behind the curtain.

Because of the way the construct is set up it needs people who rebel. They serve a vital purpose. Sometimes their exclusion really isn't what they may think. There is another way to be in this thing. But this isn't the place to discuss it.

[B. Crittenden Freeman]

Hey Al, To answer your questions:
1. What was "a real edge on racision"? I have no idea. What he said was "the MCism workshop was
for white men to do their work on racism and white men need to have a safe space to do that work
and he believes that it would not be safe if I was there." Again, years later he apologized
and said he realizes that my being there would make no difference.
2. What did he mean by "not black enough, black man"? That's an easy one. What he didn't know was that
I already knew that he had those thoughts about me, as many men do (regardless of color/race).
3. But, there was something underlying all of that.