Beneath the Spin*Eric L. Wattree
FEATURING PROFESSOR CARLON MANUEL, KANYE WEST, AND THE SORRY STATE OF OUR CURRENT EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
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TRUMP: I WISH THIS COON WOULD STOP
TOUCHING ME
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ISSUE:
KANYE IS AN IDIOT, AND HE SHOULD BE BOYCOTTED
BY ALL BLACK PEOPLE AS AN EXAMPLE TO ALL OTHER
POTENTIAL IDIOTS.
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PROF. MANUEL
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“Ya'll need to stop putting so much on what a moron says...Who appointed him as a spokesperson for us!!!...No one so let him fade in to the night and not give him any more fame.”
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Carlon, we're paying attention to him because he's making us ALL look like goddamn fools. In addition, there are people out there who are big enough fools to listen to him, and they can have an impact on the coming election - that's the only reason Trump wanted his dumb ass for a photo op in the first place. So when it comes to politics, you NEVER ignore ignorance. That's the mistake we made with Trump's silly ass. Nobody thought anyone was paying attention to him - but they were wrong, weren't they?
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PROF. MANUEL
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"He is not in any manner making me look like a fucking fool, he stands on his own lack of merit!!!...Who the fuck nominated his dumb ass to speak for anyone but himself!!!..."
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If you're Black, he's making you look like a damn fool to others, even though YOU may not realize it. Image is everything in this country. That's why people are treated differently based on their race in the first place, because people have a certain image of what your Black skin represents. But if you don't understand that, I don't have time to explain it to you, so I'll just move on.
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[
NOTE: I tried to move on and drop the discussion.]
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PROF. MANUEL
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“‘If you are black’ that statement alone qualifies your words as bullshit...Kanye stands on his own and you should stop worrying so much about what people think...African Americans being treated differently did not start with Kanye, if you truly know what you were talking about you wouldn't make that claim...”
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Carlon, you're clueless. What do you think the word profile means!!!? But I'm not even gonna to bother to debate this issue with you, because the concept is obviously going way over your head. What EVERY person does counts.
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When a well educated and intelligent young Black man puts on a suit and tie and goes out to interview for a job, whether he gets the job or not may depend on whether or not the employer saw the spectacle below the night before. It's called "subliminal imaging," or more commonly known as
"broad-brushing." When jurors let murderous cops go free they often think of the victim as some scary Black man they saw on television. And a lot of people are upset to see Bill Cosby go to jail because in their minds they see Cliff Huxtable being locked up. So what people think, and are made to think about us counts, because it has a direct impact on our lives. So, while you may be so bad and macho that you don't care, I have enough common sense and insight into human nature that I care very much.
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[
NOTE: I tried to move on a second time.]
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PROF. MANUEL
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“Get a fucking life, your unqualified at life ass can call no one clueless...”
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Carlon, when I called you clueless it wasn’t meant as an insult, I meant it as a fact. You obviously don't have a clue as to how people think, and the impact that stupidity has on our lives. Your comment above shows that you're more emotional than you are thoughtful, but the only thing that's going to move Black people forward is clear thinking.
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The White man didn't enslave Black people because he could beat us up, he enslaved us because he had a knowledge of gunpowder that we didn't possess. It was a lack of knowledge that enslaved us, and it's going to take the embrace of knowledge to liberate us, not goin' for bad and sayin' "I don't give a fuck!" And consider this, the White man didn't have Kanye up there coonin' for nothing. Whether you "give a fuck" or not, it could have a direct impact on your life in next month's election.
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PROF. MANUEL
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“Lol...Mr. Educated...”
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[
NOTE: Mocking Black intelligence.]
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I notice you're an adjunct professor at Cal. State Dominguez. I'm shocked! The conservative assault on our educational system is obviously far worse than I suspected. In fact, your last comment even seems to be anti-intellectual, like it was a slur. What's wrong with a brother being educated? Do you consider it uppity? You sound like you think Black people have a moral obligation to be stupid. Well, pardon me, brother, if I stepped out of my place, but that's just the way I am - and I always will be.
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PROF. MANUEL
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“Stop smoking and drinking it is bad for your logic...You sound like a fool and really almost like Kanye...Birds of a feather...”
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Carlon, you're a professor. Remember back when you took 8th grade English and the teacher told you that whenever you made an assertion to start backing it up in the following sentence? Well, you just left a fully unsubstantiated assertion just dangling in mid air. Back it up so I'll have something to get my teeth into. You sound like you'd be tons of fun. So let's have it. Let's see how big a fool I am. Enlighten me, professor.
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Hmmm, it's been an hour, professor, and not a word. I guess it's just as I thought - all jingle and no bells.
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PROF. MANUEL
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“I have better things to do like actually making and supporting changes in people's lives...You should try it instead of pontificating and not doing a damn thing for anyone...”
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Carlon, believe me, I'm doing much more educating than you are. I'm over here scratching my head - how in the hell can you be an educator when you NEED an education? I went through college in the seventies, but I had enough education not to spew the nonsense that got me started on you when I entered Fremont High School, because we were taught very early the importance of representing our people well.
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But let me remain focused, I'm waiting for my enlightenment, so let's not change the subject. I'll be waiting anxiously to partake of your wisdom. And don't forget, that's what this medium is for - to educate and to be educated. So if you truly want to educate your people, there's no better way. Spread your hustle, and don't limit your wisdom to the classroom. I'm certainly anxious to get a taste of it. So I sincerely hope you'll reconsider.
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PROF. MANUEL
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“So how does Bill Cosby represent you???...”
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Bill is Black and had world fame as "America's dad." Yet, when 60 (count 'em - SIXTY!!!) women said that he drugged and assaulted them, for many, it serves to justify their racism. When a lot of people in this country see that, they think, "Just as I thought, NO Black man can be trusted." That's why when a perfectly innocent Black man wearing a suit and tie gets into an elevator with some White women they'll put a tighter grip on their purse. Or when a clearly murderous cop goes on trial after he's seen ON VIDEO killing a Black man for absolutely no reason, White jurors will let him off, because they'll think, "Well, that Black man probably did something we didn't see OFF video." All of that is a result of our failing to challenge public perception of who we are.
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If the corporate media portrayed White people in the same way they do Blacks, we'd think that ALL White folks were barefoot Hillbillies. Corporations spend BILLIONS of dollars on commercials every year to improve the image of their brand. They’re not giving that money away for nothing, so Black people would be fools not to protect and enhance our public image as well. As a so-called "educator" it would seem that you'd not only know that, but would be teaching it tirelessly to your students. So what's all this swaggering "fuck Kanye" macho bullshit you're engaged in? You should be teaching your students to be thoughtful, not swaggerin' idiots.
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If Black people EVER intend to liberate ourselves we've got to address our image and cultural mores to NOT reflect us as the most swaggerin' people on the planet, but the most thoughtful and knowledgeable. That way, when a Black applicant walks into a corporation to apply for a job the employer will think, "I want to hire this person, because Black people are known for being brilliant and creative." So we've got to strive to make knowledge the new soul.
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PROF. MANUEL
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“What was your masters degree in again???...”
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[
NOTE: He asked a question and then sidestepped the answer, and mocked Black intelligence again.]
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Carlon, I don't have a masters degree, but my educational background is in psychology, just like yours. In fact, I had planned to become a clinical psychologist, but once I had a daughter and son, I decided to put my efforts into grooming them, and I was quite successful at it. My son grew up to become a federal agent, and my daughter is currently a Human Resources Specialist for Citrus College and President of her chapter of the California School Employees Association. My only granddaughter will be a medical doctor soon, and she won the Bill Clinton Award in high school. I also have 5 grandsons right behind her - and not one fool in the bunch.
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In fact, I would challenge you to debate even my youngest grandson, Miles Coltrane Wattree-Jackson. He's not even out of high school yet, but based on what I'm seeing here, he'd drag you through the mud, because he was raised to be a thinker, not an emoter. So he would very methodically tear your arguments apart. That's the skill we must develop as Black people. Anybody can swagger and try to go for bad. We must learn to THINK.
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And with respect to your master's degree (if that’s what you have), I’d have to be prone to reckless assumption to assume that the White boy who conferred it upon you wasn’t a fool, and I’m not prone to reckless assumptions. Some of the greatest minds I’ve ever known held court while sitting on empty milk crates in the parking lots of ghetto liquor stores, and some of the weakest minds I’ve ever known roamed the campuses of colleges and universities in search of credentials in lieu of knowledge. In addition, the United States Congress is filled with people with advanced degrees, yet, it’s the biggest assemblage of absolute idiots in the world today.
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So the mere fact that you would even ask, “And your master's degree is in . . .?” betrays the fact that you’ve been completely brainwashed. Socrates (you’ve heard of him, right?), who is accepted by most scholars as the father of modern thought wasn’t a scholar, he was a stonemason. We wouldn’t even know who he was if it weren’t for people like Plato, Aristotle, and Xenophon who listened to him holding court on the block. So what’s your point? Assess me based on my ability to think, not on how many receipts I possess, because that's how I'm assessing you.
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Here's what the United States Air Force had to say about my son:
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MEMORANDUM FOR OFFICER TRAINING SCHOOL SELECTION COMMITTEE
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FROM: 92 SFS/SFO
2 E. ARNOLD STREET
FAIRCHILD AFB, WA 99011
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SUBJECT: Recommendation for Staff Sergeant Eric L. Wattree
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1. I wholeheartedly concur with Staff Sergeant Wattree’s request to attend Officer Training School. He represents the enlisted ranks with the highest standard and will bring that dedication and professionalism to the officer corps.
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2. Eric continues to lead a stellar military career; his enlisted performance reports speak for themselves. His leadership and experience, especially in contingency environments, remains a vital asset to our unit and wing. As one of my primary Phoenix Raven team leaders, he’s propelled to the forefront of all major deployments throughout the world. He’s repeatedly secured aircraft and crews, supporting a wide variety of missions, in the most austere and terrorist-ridden environments where security is severely inadequate. The diversity of these missions never limited SSgt Wattree’s capacity to adapt to each situation. For this reason, Eric was selected as our 2000 Outstanding Phoenix Raven Member of the Year and the 2001 Air Force Reserve Component Airman of the Year for the 92d Security Forces Squadron.
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3. Whether operating under peacetime or contingency operations, Eric easily assumes control and tackles every situation with meticulous tenacity, a quality highly desired in our Air Force officers. Requested by name, Sergeant Wattree, provided security for presidential Banner missions throughout Greece, Peru and Viet Nam. While deployed to Afghanistan, he flew numerous combat missions in our nation’s pursuit to eradicate terrorism through Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. Additionally, he provided round-the-clock force protection for aircraft in other high-threat environments including Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Oman.
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4. Sergeant Wattree motivated his personnel during the worst conditions and raised the level of esprit de corps to integrate personnel from other Air Force specialties into a cohesive team. His leadership, integrity and devotion to our Air Force play an integral part in our future leadership. Eric has what it takes to become a commissioned officer and earns my full support to attend Officer Training School.
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FRANK HELLSTERN, JR., Captain, USAF
Operations Officer
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So, Professor, my knowledge is not theoretical, it's practical, tried, and true. So here's my Ph.D. Compare it to your piece of paper.
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PROF. MANUEL
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“You have a lot of time on your hands to be on Facebook this much...You should really get some mental health help...To say Kanye doesn't speak for any of us only himself has driven you to such great lengths to prove your point/thoughts are correct for all black folks, sounds a little like fascism to me...I spend too much time actually doing the work of being a service to others not like you being a Facebook god...While you have created a master race super intellectual people in your family, I highly doubt that when it comes to a debate you could hold a glass of water to me...I am happy however to be the person who has given you a reason to be motivated to get off your ass and bring change to the world outside your home...As a US Marine, I would laugh at your boasting about your Air Force service but I have friends who have served in the Air Force and are not so tightly wrapped, I hope you are getting your VA compensation for that ailment...I am still chuckling at your excuse for not finishing school but yet you rail me for completing the task which makes you a hypocrite...Congratulations on creating the master race of beings in your house, you must take great pride in feeling like a demigod...lol...My position remains the same and you keep proving me correct, every man is his own individual and represents himself...Do me a favor, please explain the following black folk; Jim Brown, Bill Cosby, Kanye and all sorts of other asinine acting black men who represent YOU not me...Glad to see your became a Chair Force officer, sorry for you not getting there...Seems you have a life unfulfilled but you are making up for it with all the time you spend on Facebook acting like a superior race know it all...LOL...Get a life...”
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[
NOTE: Notice that the professor is now engaged in mindless rambling, unstructured and disorganized thinking, and even bad punctuation. He's also attacking Black knowledge and family pride. He seems to be taking the position that a Black man is being uppity and grossly presumptuous to have the audacity to try to think. In addition, he's conflated the concepts of Black people being
"represented" as oppose to being poorly
"reflected upon" by the character and behavior of people like Kanye West. So obviously, all the professor has gained from the master's degree that he's so proud of is how to take on the White establishment's arrogant attitude toward Black people. But that's quite alright, because now he's faced with getting another kind of education, and he’s beginning to realize that. At this point he's desperate and in the final stage of the defeated intellect syndrome, and I'm about to ram that point home.]
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Carlon, you’re suffering from a severe case of the Defeated Intellect Syndrome.
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THE DEFEATED INTELLECT SYNDROME
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I’ve dealt with people like you so often I can almost sleep through it. The only reason I don’t actually go to sleep is I enjoy watching their agony as they go down in humiliating defeat. The humiliation begins with condescension, and their arrogant assumption of superiority, then when that assumption is challenged, they resort to angry defensiveness. Finally, when they find that they’ve made a fool of themselves and that they’re clearly in over their head, they descend to desperate name-calling in an attempt to camouflage their humiliation. It’s always the same, and I enjoy it more each and every time I watch it.
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You said, "I highly doubt that when it comes to a debate you could hold a glass of water to me." Well, here's your opportunity to demonstrate that. But, of course, you're going to come up with an excuse, any excuse, to escape that slow and agonizing death, right? Of course you are. You see, I know you, because I deal with people like you ALL the time, and I truly love watching you wiggle. Because, you see, even after I walk away from this debate, and your inane attempt to defend your tattered ego, you'll continue to think about this. I understand how the human mind works, because when I got my lowly degree in psychology, I actually absorbed the knowledge. So let me tell you your next move. You're gonna come back and say, "When I walk away from this discussion I'm not gonna give you a second thought." But you're lying, so you can just save yourself the keystrokes. Because like I said, I know you, probably better than you know your master-degreed self. So deal with it.
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And by the way, I was also a Marine.
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PROF. MANUEL
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“Back to my point Mr. Superior Race...How does Kanye reflect negatively on your family to which you have boasted so much about their accomplishments!!!...You are seriously off if you still think he represents any of us...”
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[
NOTE: Mocked Black intelligence as presumptuous yet again.]
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I've already explained that to you above, Carlon. Has the memory of it slipped through that sieve you allege is a mind so soon?
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PROF. MANUEL
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“Let's debate at a coffee shop and bring your data.... Man up and get you and your wheelchair to the nearest Starbucks so we can debate like men...”
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[
NOTE: The great escape.]
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Listen, Carlon, if you disagree with me, I'll be happy to hear your point of view, because disagreement is a potential source of growth. Many of the positions that I hold today are a result of my being educated by thoughtful and intelligent people who had opposing points of view. That’s what the internet is about at its best - educating, and being educated. The downside of the internet, however, is due to its egalitarian nature, unlike in our private lives we can’t pick and choose the caliber of people that we come into contact with. As a result, we’re exposed to every manner of fool, so we’ve got to learn to weed them out.
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Personally, I have very little patience for the ignorance and immaturity of grey-headed children with whiskers and cellulite who have nothing better to do than sit up in front of the computer in their draws (sic) and get into spitball fights with all the “un-Godly” people who don’t happen to share their point of view. So if you’re one of those people, please spare me your ignorance and go seek out someone who shares your intellectual disposition, because I have a very low threshold for stupidity. This is my final word on the matter.
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PROF. MANUEL
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“Now you want to take the high road and act scholarly, you are a hypocrite...Name the coffee shop and bring your data so we can have this so called debate on Kanye making all us black folk look bad...The first part of being a scholar is to learn how to listen and accept the points of views of others...This all started when I disagreed with your point and you wanted pontificate to me about your upper echelon genealogy...You are full of shit and always will be, I have very little regard for your Wikipedia degree...”
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Carlon, if you really want to debate, we can do it right here. That way you can make a fool of yourself on the record. Man, this is the internet, that's what it's designed for. I'm not going to take the time to have coffee with every fool I meet online. And as for your degree, don't tell me about it, show me its value. Show me, and the world, that it's not just a receipt from some ignorant-ass White boy. Demonstrate its value right here, and right now. Otherwise, go away. I predicted you down to a tee, and let me repeat:
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I told you, and I quote:
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"I’ve dealt with people like you so often I can almost sleep through it. The only reason I don’t actually go to sleep is I enjoy watching their agony as they go down in humiliating defeat. The humiliation begins with condescension, and their arrogant assumption of superiority, then when that assumption is challenged, they resort to angry defensiveness. Finally, when they find that they’ve made a fool of themselves and that they’re clearly in over their head, they descend to desperate name-calling in an attempt to camouflage their humiliation. It’s always the same, and I enjoy it more every time I watch it."
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I also told you that when I walked away you weren't gonna be able to get past this, and look at you. I have a degree in psychology, though, not a master's degree, but that doesn't matter. I'm carrying my Ph.D. in my mind, where it has value, and I can demonstrate it, right here, and right now. I don't have to go to Starbucks to debate in private in order to hide my public humiliation and ignorance.
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You're in the final stage of the defeated intellect syndrome, and you're desperately trying to find a graceful way out in order to preserve your dignity. But face it - there is no way out. You've made a fool of yourself, professor, and that's not gonna go away, believe me. So YOU go away. Go lick your wounds somewhere else, because I can't help you at this point. I'm not gonna waste one more brain cell on your attempt to try to salvage your dignity, because trust me, you can't. All you can do now is try to prepare yourself to prevent this from ever happening again. Now, be gone, and live with it.
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EPILOGUE
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McGuail Cropp:
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Of course Trump would choose an idiot to represent "the Black American" no proud Black American, freedom fighter, man of and about the upliftment of Black Americans, would fit his agenda. But what do I know....I just have a B.S. in Marketing....and yes we individually represent our ppl, so how one behaves publicly has an impact on the whole....Also Kanye should be boycotted, for not being a man of Black Awareness yet posing as one who cares, final note as intelligent black leaders, it's important to debate without attacking one personally...many some u don't know look up to you and expect, you to represent gracefully, were they cannot.
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To McGuail
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You're absolutely right on every issue you addressed, McGuail, and especially your last. I thought long and hard before posting the above, because I didn't think it reflected well on how I like to present myself in articles I present for publication. But I decided that I had to because it reflected truth on two counts:
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First, the professor’s attitude reflected an anti-intellectualism that is essential to the promotion of White Supremacy. White conservatives have lodged a brutal assault on our educational system as a matter of survival, because efficient thought is the biggest threat to their viability. In order for them to survive they must promote hatred, bigotry, and division over logical thought. So the professor got off on the wrong foot with me with his very first word - “Y’all.” With that one word, he was promoting division, and separating his illustrious personage from the masses. So I tried to make that point, and then, either engage in a civil debate, or move on, but he wouldn’t let me. Then, he went on to characterize what I considered a very reasonable position as “bullshit,” and that’s what brought out the hood rat in me. At that point my primary goal was to demonstrate as quickly as possible that he was brandishing a puddle of pus for brains.
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While going raw reflects a part of myself that I may not always want to present formally, it is, nevertheless, very much a part of who I am. I take a lot of pride in my intellectual pursuits, but I also take a lot of pride in the fact that I’m a product of the street. I never let myself forget that, because I view that as my strength. As the son of a lifelong heroin dealer, one of the first lessons I learned about survival is to ALWAYS respond to an individual in the EXACT same tone in which I’m addressed. I was raised to believe that anything short of that is all but inviting abuse. So while the intellectual in me always craves civil discourse, the hood rat in me don’t tolerate no bullshit.
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I have a friend who’s a world-renowned entertainer, and she had a problem with my raw edges as well. So I wrote her a poem to explain them to her, and she finally got the point. I'm not Mr. Rogers. I'm a product of my environment, and I take great pride in what that environment made me:
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THE HOOD RAT
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Baby,
I’m sure you know that I love you.
You’re everything I need.
You fit the bill of all my desires,
a perfect match for all of my dreams.
From the moment I first laid eyes on you,
You were everything I craved -
that luscious vision from across the tracks,
that delicate flower, beyond my blade.
*
But what you ask is foreign to me.
You need something that I’m not.
You said, just tweak my nature a little bit,
and you’ll give everything you’ve got.
*
But that "tweak" you need is who I am -
it’s my essence, can’t you see?
How can you speak of loving my soul, but
not the hood rat that is me?
*
While "hood rat" may seem trite to you,
it’s the essence of my being.
So forget about what all the other’s say,
here’s what it means to me:
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I’ve been brutally dragged through the pits of hell,
yet, managed to survive,
well educated and fully functional,
when I came out the other side.
I scrounged the lessons taught at Harvard,
because knowledge, I found, was free.
But they’ll never obtain the lessons I’ve learned,
or the knowledge that makes me, me.
*
While the "elite" may have heard a mournful Trane,
or Miles muted in the night,
but not in the context of hunger and pain,
or hopelessness, hatred, and blight.
*
So while I've lived the life of a hood rat,
I’ve reaped a knowledge that money can't buy;
a knowledge passed on to my son and daughter,
which has greatly enhanced their lives.
*
Thus, I wouldn't change a single thing in my life -
I’ve faced Hell and passed the test.
I have a PhD in adversity,
that's made me more,
rather than less.
*
So unlike the people at Harvard and Yale, who
try to buy intellectual clout,
they only study the genius of Miles and Trane,
while I'm who they’re blowin' about.
*
So when snobs try to slur me as "just a hood rat,"
I say, "thank you," and don’t take offense.
I take great pride in surviving the travails in my life,
That’s what gives me my confidence.
*
The Ivy League degrees of those of means
are only paper compared to mine;
while they have a "receipt" for knowledge obtained,
my knowledge is ETCHED within my mind.
*
I can teach philosophy to Aristotle
with the adversity that I’ve endured,
so any snob who tries to match my wit,
will come up short, and that’s for sure.
*
Snobs walk about quoting Socrates and such,
through their "education" they are prone;
but while they’re spewing the thoughts of various dead men,
I spend my time developing my own.
*
Never give the thoughts of ANY man
priority over our own;
You must collect the facts, and think for yourself,
that’s where Harvard and Yale has gone wrong.
*
Preacher, politician, potentate,
whatever their point of view,
God didn't bless them with any knowledge
he didn't also bestow on you.
*
So being seen as a hood rat has its advantages
against racists of limited wit;
I simply quietly wait for their condescension,
then show ‘em that they ain’t shit.
*
While God made birds to fly and fish to swim,
he made man to think and that's the key.
So any man that thinks he's superior
will have to PROVE his wit to me.
*
Thus, knowledge is the key to set us free,
no matter what the people say,
and there’s nothing more formidable than
a knowledgeable hood rat, and
that’s what you’re looking upon today.
*
Yet, these are the things you want me to purge,
and spurn the life I’ve led,
but I’m sorry, my love,
as much as I love you, the soul of a
hood rat is my edge.
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. . . AND ORDINARY BLACK MEN DESTROY FOOLS
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.
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