THE EDUCATION OF A TRUMP-LOVIN' FRIEND

Beneath the Spin*Eric L. Wattree 

EXCELLENCE IS THE KEY TO BLACK EQUALITY 

 

THE EDUCATION OF A TRUMP-LOVIN' FRIEND 

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I have a friend by the name of Howard. Politically, we’re as different as the day is long. He’s a devout conservative who thrives on Donald Trump’s every word, and I’m an independent-thinking progressive who’s convinced that Trump is the consummate self-serving idiot. Yet, Howard and I like one another. Probably, because we’re both widowers who miss our late wives desperately, and we’re both musicians – I’ve played sax since I was 12 years old, and he’s trying to get to know the instrument better. We also have an agreement that binds us. We’ve agreed to always feel free to be honest with one another and say what’s on our minds. That way, we can both grow from our knowledge of how the other side thinks – and it works. 

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I recently got on Howard's case by sending him my article, TRUMP AND THE REPUBLICAN PARTY REPRESENT A PORTRAIT IN FASCISM. He responded as follows: 

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Howard: 

 It's 3 hours behind East Coast time. Shouldn't you be sleeping? 

Me: 

Howard, I take catnaps between research and writing sessions. That's why I said you can't challenge me - I'm thinking and growing while you're asleep. A juvenile officer once made the mistake of laughing at how "dumb" I was as a child when I was in one of their institutions - that was one of their favorite pastimes, laughing at Black kids who were in trouble. Even as a child, I didn't appreciate being laughed at, and especially being called dumb, because we weren't dumb, we were simply undereducated. But that's when I decided to remedy that, and I set upon my mission to correct that shortcoming. I've been on that mission ever since, and now I'm the one doing the laughing. I've also dedicated my life to getting young Black people to adopt my passion for knowledge, because knowledge is power, and what we casually refer to as Black "soul", is actually Black creative brilliance straining to be unleashed. 
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Much like those juvenile officers, many White people have a propensity to underestimate Black people due to their desperate need to feel superior. But as a direct result of that propensity, along with their need to be dismissive of Black people, we know you much better than you know us. That places you at a severe disadvantage. My grandfather once told me as a child, “Eric, never tell others everything you know, because then, they not only know everything you know, but what they already knew, and that’ll make them smarter than you.” 

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That’s the position that many conservative White people have place themselves in with respect to Black people. Black people know everything about you, but due to your arrogance and dismissive attitude towards Black people, you know next to nothing about Black people and our capabilities, and that’s to our advantage. That’s why I advise every young Black person that I come into contact with to avoid wasting their time on the frivolous, and focus on developing their minds. 
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Thomas Jefferson once said with respect to Black people, “In music they are more generally gifted than the whites, with accurate ears for tune and time, and they have been found capable of imagining a small catch. Whether they will be equal to the composition of a more extensive run of melody, or of complicated harmony, is yet to be proved.” That comment is laughable today, and in the future, we’re going to be laughing even harder at some of your current misconceptions. 

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I was fortunate enough to learn what it meant to be Black as a child.  Look at the video below of Miles Davis and John Coltrane and learn what I did at 12 years old, not just about music, but about demeanor, excellence, and the importance of taking myself seriously. That’s the key to life - self-esteem, having the common sense to define yourself, and not allowing anyone else to do it for you. I don't care if you call me a nigger, because I don't identify with the word. That just gives me more information about you. Black conservatives have yet to learned that simple lesson. They’ve taken ownership of the word, and they’ll do anything to keep you from thinking of them in that way. But I know who I am, so I don’t give a damn what you think, or say. Why should I? Who the hell are you?
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Notice how dead serious every member of this group is in representing their culture. There’s no struttin’ around, bouncin’ their heads, or acting like damn fools for the benefit of the television audience. They simply put on, without any fanfare, an incredible display of pure artistic genius - and without bustin' one sweat bubble. This wasn’t “Hee Haw”, or “Can we all get along?” This was pure, unadulterated Blackness in all its glory, allowing America to either take it or leave it. 
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Unlike today, Miles, Coltrane and the group, simply represented the dignity of their people. They didn’t try to tell the White man who we are – they weren’t interested in what he thought. They simply demonstrated what it meant to be Black, and in a very matter-of-fact way. That’s identical to how I view life. I neither love White folks nor hate them. They just happen to be around, and that’s fine with me, as long as they don’t step on my groove. 

This video was recorded in 1959 when you rarely even saw Black people on television. Yet, they weren't fazed a bit. None of them even bothered to look into the camera - in fact, at one point you can see Coltrane even turn away from it. They were so solemn, dedicated, and dead-serious about what they were doing, in fact, that Robert Herridge, the White man who introduces them, whispers their introduction in complete awe, and the White musicians who were fortunate enough to be on stage with them obviously considered it a great honor - and check out their effortless groove! They were laid-back and completely in their zone - their Black zone. 
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So young people, don’t buy into the bullshit. In the introduction Robert Herridge points out that "There are many ways of telling a story." Well, Miles is telling you yours. He's telling you who you really are, so listen and take heed. You’re not the product of idiots and clowns who have to tap dance, denigrate your culture, and put on a minstrel show for the White man. You’re the product of masters and true intellectual giants. I grew up understanding that fact. That’s why today, I’m a proud Black man, and no one can ever take that away from me. 
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But Howard, you might say, that's just music, but life is about more than music. That's true, but music is the most complexed endeavor that man can engage in. Math has only ten numbers, yet, those numbers can be manipulated in an infinite number of ways. But music has twelve notes, so it's even more complexed than math, and any competent jazz musician can manipulate the complexity of those notes off the top of his or her head, and at breakneck speed. That's why jazz is not as popular as many other forms of music, because it's so complexed that the average mind can't keep up with it.
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That's the power of the Black mind, and we can take that power and apply it to math, physics, philosophy, engineering, or anything we choose. I've applied it to writing this piece. You're also a writer, Howard - a White writer. So, write me back, and show this uppity Black man how it's done . . . if you can. But let me warn you - to underestimate the Black mind is an exercise in gross stupidity. Because, again, I'm up thinking while you're asleep. Perhaps that's why I'm immune to Trump's bullshit and I can see him for exactly what he is - a self-serving and mindless idiot with the spoiled and petulant disposition of an 8-year-old. 

BELOW IS A SCIENTIFIC STUDY ON MUSIC AND THE MIND

Eric L. Wattree 
Http://wattree.blogspot.com 

Ewattree@Gmail.com 
Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA) 
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Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.