Monthly Archives: February 2007

soapbox

Racism

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Time for a soapbox moment.

Racism is still rife in our culture, and our politicians are showing our nation’s true colors more clearly than they have in years.

The Racial Politics of Speaking Well, by Lynette Clemetson, explains the insidious and pervasive racism that still permeates our culture as it relates to our country’s tendency to condescend and patronize successful African Americans. The article discusses Senator Joseph Biden’s use of the word “articulate” to describe Barack Obama.

Okay, his whole description was something more befitting a classical movie racist turned liberal, rather than a democratic presidential contender, the description being: “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy”.

Hmmmm…. well who wouldn’t be flattered by such uh… glowing … praise?

“Hello, I am your fellow contender for the presidency, I graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard Law School in 1991, was President of the Harvard Law Review, am a US Senator for Illinois, lectured at the University of Chicago, oh, and I’m black.”

“Well I am surprised! You are so clean, so nice looking, and you can TALK!!”

Sigh. Back to the focus of the article.

Why would a black man disdain being called articulate? Well, let’s begin with the definition of the word.

articulate adjective |ärˈtikyəlit| 1 (of a person or a person’s words) having or showing the ability to speak fluently and coherently : an articulate account of their experiences.

Okay, so the fellow democratic contender for the presidency finds Barack Obama to be capable of fluent and coherent speech.

In my opinion, Senator Biden is either a condescending ass-hat, or is inarticulate. (The irony!) If he intended to actually compliment his fellow presidential contender, he should have had the foresight to first open a dictionary. The following words are within the dictionary, and would be far more apt compliments to a good public speaker:

1. orator |ˈôrətər; ˈär-| noun a public speaker, esp. one who is eloquent or skilled.
2. rhetorician |ˌretəˈri sh ən| noun an expert in formal rhetoric. • a speaker whose words are primarily intended to impress or persuade.

Then Biden should have decided whether or not he really wanted to impugn years of African American history by calling Obama the first clean articulate black speaker. I do realize that our nation’s text books pay scant attention to non white contributors, but even so, the last time I opened a history book, there were many more Black Leaders with the ability to shower and capacity for speech.

The article is eloquent in expressing a problem faced by any non white male in our culture. Our culture, legally, legislatively, politically, and more, places white men as the norm. Therefore we compare all other people in our culture, consciously or unconsciously, to white men. Therefore white men are stereotyped as articulate, well dressed, presentable men. Black men are not stereotyped that way. When Senator Biden said Barack Obama was articulate, he meant, for a black guy.

Whew. That is offensive. I don’t know about you, but I have heard some black people who spoke with words powerful enough to bring down thunderous applause, who can craft speeches that are still taught and remembered today, whose words carried the power to lift your heart and mind to heaven and beyond. When Al Sharpton was speaking in the last presidential race, he brought me to tears, something none of the white speakers were able to do. (Especially not Bush.)

Barack Obama is not articulate. He is a masterful oratorical speaker. Joseph Biden is clearly neither articulate, nor is he a good orator. His remarks concerning Obama were condescending and eye opening. This culture is deeply wrong to still be surprised at a black man’s ability to express himself, and our denial of pervasive racism in this country is beyond naive.

I for one am embarrassed that Senator Biden should purport to speak for me.

Food, Monkey

Popcorn balls..

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Popcorn balls! An easy to make classroom treat! (Warning: Do not eat these at home if you intend to keep your teeth!)

I am making popcorn balls for Monkey’s class. They are celebrating their 100th day in school with a popcorn party. Lee and I have about 10 pounds of gourmet popcorn available so I thought I would make some sweet chewy popcorn balls for the party.

They are simple, they are easy, and boy, eating one almost made my teeth fall out of my head.

The ingredients are simple.

12 cups popcorn
1 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1 package flavored gelatin

You boil the sugar and syrup, add the gelatin, and then stir in the popcorn and shape and let dry. After making the popcorn, it really only took about 10 minutes to make 13 small popcorn balls.

However, they are all sugar. They actually made my teeth hurt. I am not kidding, the first bite was good, until I started to chew and began to notice pain in my back teeth. Yeesh! I am committed to bringing them to this class party, but next time I will be researching the hippie peanut butter version.

I did discover you can pop plain popcorn in the microwave. All you need is a paper bag, a handful of kernels, and two minutes. It made the popcorn preparation a little easier, though popping 12 cups is no joke. (Make sure to remove the unpopped kernels before making the balls, otherwise you really will have no teeth.)

The end product tastes a little like popcorn, a little like Jello, and a lot like sugar. Hopefully the children will have a less discerning palate, or my sticky treat may go the way of the Dodo.

Actually, I think I am going to throw this batch out and try making popcorn balls with marshmallows. They should taste better, be healthier, and not send all the children into sugar shock.

Shudder

pregnancy

Birthing class…

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A chance to practice breathing, a chance to meet other couples about to be blessed with a new baby, and a chance to be a trouble maker!!

I have been reading “Birthing from Within“, “Spiritual Midwifery“, and other lovely books given to me by Ellen, my Doula. I have been using these books to prepare myself for a natural childbirth and have been working with my doctor for the course of our pregnancy on creating a hospital environment that will support my natural birthing preference.

Which is why I was a bit of a trouble maker in the birthing class yesterday. For example, the nurse showed us three labor positions, and all of them involved raising your legs and sitting while you push. I calmly explained to Lee that these positions contribute to the need for an episiotomy, and asked the teacher if the hospital staff and doctors were open to any other birthing positions.

I was suprised to learn that they are open to birthing in almost any position. Unlike most places, Monmouth Hospital has beds that convert to allow women to birth in a kneeling position, a sitting position, various squatting positions, side lying, using a bar to squat with, etc. Then she thanked me for asking her.

Then of course we had a lovely discussion about whether I had to have an IV or a Heparin Lock while laboring, which did not go as pleasantly. She would really prefer I did, I would really prefer not to.

Then she discussed breathing patterns, and I told Lee, quietly, that the breathe, hold, and push method espoused as the way to go by hospitals all around the nation has a tendency to increase fetal distress as the breath holding limits oxygenation for the mom and the baby, and it tires moms out more quickly than natural pushing. Natual pushing being a small series of grunts and pushes. I asked a series of questions about the hospital staff’s willingness to try other pushing techniques and she said I can try anything I want for an hour, but if I am not progressing she wants me to try her way.

Hmmm…. we shall see.

Afterwards we went to see the rooms, and they are well set up for our water birth, with a large room with lots of light, nearby kitchens, foldout beds for dad, and a really nice staff.

They are also supportive of laboring women having juice and clear fluids, including soups and broth, so we will be better suited than I thought we would be. In fact, I am not sure I would find as progressive a hospital in Denver. Which is odd.

Happily the class was only one day, which is good as Lee and I can now focus on breathing exercises from the books, which are sources more geared towards using women’s natural laboring techniques, instead of forced ones. We did find interesting and helpful techniques for stopping pushing when we can’t and ways for Lee to get my attention when I am climbing the rafters, but it was definately a class designed for those who haven’t been reading all these books and working with a doula.