Racism: Victim Complicity?

Fifteen years ago, the following exchange took place on a Seattle loading dock:

“Occum fody braid, mon, occum fody braid.”

Startled by the voice as I banged across the dock plate with a handtruck bearing trays laden with snack pies, I turned to see a heavy-set black man, in his late fifties, standing on the ground next to my trailer, hands planted firmly against the dock. “I’m sorry,” I yelled, “I couldn’t hear what you said. Would you mind repeating . . ..”

“Ahsayd occum fody braid, mon, occum fody braid.”

“I don’t understand . . .”

“Yodeefer, sump’n? Ahsayd occum fody braid, debraid, debraid, mon, juzz gimdy braid.”

So far, I haven’t understood a word this man has said, but there’s enough communication going between us that I can understand that his initial mild arrogance is progressing through various phases of surliness to outright hostility. I sense that if I don’t do something to placate the man, this situation is going to devolve into a physical confrontation.

“Oh, well, why didn’t you say so. Actually, I’m not a Gai’s employee, so I’m not authorized to take any action on my own. Let me get the dock supervisor. I’m sure he’ll be glad to take care of everything for you.”

It wasn’t until later that I learned the man wanted to pick up a load of three-day-old bread for a local food bank.

Thus, we come to Earl Ofari Hutchinson’s article posted on AlterNet, today. Earl laments that black males are victimized by a 40% unemployment rate, citing racism as the cause. But how much of black unemployment can be attributed to racism, and how much of it is culture related?

In academia, in business, in the public spotlight, perception is everything. Ineptitude with language reflects negatively on one’s (perceived) level of intelligence.

Racism played no part in preventing Ken Boddie, Rhonda Shelby, Bill Cosby, Oprah Winfrey, Denzel Washington, Marsha Thomason, Gabrielle Union, Dennis Haysbert and Halle Berry, all of whom are black (or, maybe, just lovely shades of brown), from achieving success. Character, talent, determination and perceived intelligence carried them every step of the way.

A white person meeting with a prospective employer for the first time doesn’t have any better chance of getting hired than a black person if he carries to that meeting a shitty attitude, bad manners, disrespect and a propensity to mumble unintelligibly. Most white people get it. Many black people don’t.

When people try to surpass inbred redneck Texas hillbillies in mangling the English language (as if such a thing were even possible), they can expect to be unemployed, as they rightly deserve to be.

Peak Oil & Rising Prices

Peak oil is something nearly everyone has heard about. It’s been bandied about on the Internet; it’s been the subject of countless print media articles and cocktail conversations, but it’s getting little, if any, TV exposure. Apparently, not enough people are taking it seriously. At least, they’re not taking it seriously enough to actually do something about it. You know, like change lifestyle behavior, or something.

Gas prices are already a buck higher than they were a couple of years ago, and they could go up another 50 cents or so before Labor Day. Have people cut back on their driving? Not enough for anyone to notice. People still fill their gas tanks (bitching the whole time about how the oil companies are ripping them off) before heading to the freeway.

Well, guess what, people. It’s not going to get better. It’s only going to get worse. Much worse! You ain’t seen nuthin’, yet.

Okay! Okay! Stop yer cryin’, it’s unbecoming of an adult. There are a few things you can do to make higher gas prices less painful. Stop driving!

Get rid of the SUV!

Get on your feet!

Get on your bike!

Get on a bus!

Alternatives abound, but you have to be smart enough to use them.

Earth Day and Hemp Awareness

Saturday’s Earth Day celebration at Sellwood Park, in southeast Portland, was about what I expected -- an eclectic mix of the curious and clueless, of passionate progressives and extreme environmentalists, of posturing politicos and crusading capitalists. Whether they came to learn or to teach, to share ideas, to promote public or private agendas, or just to enjoy fresh air and sunshine and music, everyone who showed had a personal reason for being there.

My own reason for showing up was straightforward, no less altruistic nor more selfish than any other. I wanted only to ask one question and gauge people’s response. The question, of course, is one that I’ve asked, in varying forms, for more than a decade. In essence, the question is this: Do you support the legalization of cannabis hemp, and if not, why not?

Responses varied from adamantly opposed to wildly enthusiastic. It’s not surprising that opponents outnumbered proponents by more than three to one, but it is discouraging. That so many people can remain ignorant in this age of computers and the Internet and Google searches and alternative media is truly mind-boggling.

In striking up a conversation with Jim Hill, democratic candidate for Oregon Governor, I asked, “Mr. Hill, if you’re elected governor, will you support the legalization of cannabis hemp?”

“Uhmm, no!” he replied, as if my question had triggered an automatic response. “With the medical marijuana laws we already have in place I don’t think we need to expand . . ..”

“But Mr. Hill, I wasn’t talking about marijuana, per se. I’m talking about cannabis hemp, about its industrial and commercial applications that go beyond what you’re likely to find in a sandwich bag.”

“Uh, oh, well . . ..”

Thus did Jim Hill reveal his ignorance. That someone who aspires to solve Oregon’s environmental, economic, educational, healthcare and energy crises, all of which loom large on the horizon, can remain so uninformed in a deluge of positive knowledge about something that can help achieve those worthy goals goes beyond belief. Ignorance of this magnitude strains credibility and speaks loudly of incompetence.

You can’t denounce hemp and save the planet at the same time, Mr. Hill. That’s being hypocritical. Especially on Earth Day.

To Jim Hill’s credit, he did indicate a willingness to reevaluate his position if presented with a suitable amount of credible evidence that hemp legalization would be a net gain for society. In which case I’ll have to reevaluate my decision not to vote for him.

Rethink marijuana policy!

Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., opposes medical marijuana initiatives because he thinks they're "a front" to legalize all uses of marijuana. Before I weigh in on the subject, let's define "marijuana."

Marijuana is a Mexican slang term that refers to the leaves and flower tops of cannabis sativa, the common hemp plant. The U.S. Government expanded its definition of marijuana to include stalks, branches, stems, seeds, roots, and root balls of both cannabis sativa and cannabis indica. Never mind that only the leaves and flower tops contain enough THC (the active ingredient in marijuana) to actually get someone high.

Rather than using lame-brained arguments to maintain a strict ban on marijuana, maybe we should more closely scrutinize the government's obsession with marijuana prohibition. And maybe we should try to figure out what constitutes "all uses" of marijuana. Does it mean that some people might smoke marijuana recreationally instead of medicinally? So what if they do? Or does it imply that marijuana -- more specifically, cannabis hemp -- has industrial uses that, if allowed free rein in a market-driven economy, would threaten to upset the status quo?

Stay tuned! I'll explore this issue in greater detail in an upcoming issue of Petey's Pipeline E-zine.

Gas prices heading north!

Back in mid-September of last year, in issue #15 of Petey’s Pipeline E-zine, I stated unequivocally that gasoline prices would turn upward in the spring of this year, eventually hitting $3.50 per gallon before Labor Day. How prophetic is that?

Yesterday, crude oil closed at a record high $74 per barrel, ratcheting gasoline prices closer toward $3.00 per gallon – to about where they were in the days immediately following Katrina. Last year, gas prices topped $3.00 per gallon before settling back into the $2.20—2.30 range. Now, prices are on the move again, and the direction they’re heading is north.

Not to worry, though. Summer is still two months off, and Labor Day nearly two-and-a-half months beyond that –- plenty of time for my prediction to come true.

In fact, I’m so confident about my gas price prediction that I’m going to make a couple more. Quite a few people are going to cancel or change vacation plans, this year, and quite a few are going to get reacquainted with walking and/or their bikes. But, hey! Walking isn’t so bad. After awhile, you get used to it. And bike riding? Well, that's just plain fun.

In case you’re wondering why I’m sounding so smug about this, it’s because I sold my car nearly five years ago. No more $300 per month car payments, no more $60 per month insurance payments, no more rush hour frustration, no more gas pump blues.

I’m feeling good about higher gas prices. Are you?

There's a good reason for . . .!

When I started Petey's Pipeline Blog, my intention was to post once or twice a week on topics that would later be explained in greater detail in a forthcoming issue of Petey's Pipeline E-zine. As you can see, it hasn't exactly turned out that way. So far, I've been compelled to post daily, largely because I find blogging to be more gratifying and satisfying, and certainly more exhilarating, than trying to meet a publication deadline for a bi-monthly e-zine. In short, the blog has turned into what Random Ramblings & Miscellaneous Musings (in the e-zine) was originally meant to be.

That’s not likely to change in the near future, especially because short opinion pieces, memoirs, and social and political commentary are particularly well-suited to subtle applications of irony and satire, with an occasional dash of sarcasm thrown in for effect.

There are different ways of perceiving reality, probably as many different ways as there are people. Most people see only a version of reality that, from their unique perspective, allows them to focus on comfortable fictions that obscure a grimmer reality behind a veil of glitz, glitter and hype. They're more concerned with the latest gossip about Brad and Jen or Tom and Katie -- or which NBA team is going to win the championship -- than they are about corporate or political malfeasance.

We live in unsettled times; global environments, global politics, and global economies are undergoing profound changes, but many people seem oblivious to the upheavals taking place all around them, blind to the changes yet to come. The raison d’être for Petey's Pipeline (both e-zine and blog) is to challenge popular perceptions of reality, to rouse people from their lethargic apathy, to encourage them to take off or shake off the blinders that confine them to a narrow world view. We are a society set to self-destruct, and each day brings us closer to that end.

We know who the "Hot Dogs" are; they occupy corporate boardrooms and political capitols everywhere. They've already exposed themselves and revealed, if obliquely, their scurrilous plans. Join me in turning up the heat. It's time we had ourselves a "weenie" roast.


Read the latest issue (#29) of Petey's Pipeline E-zine on-line.

Utopian dreams?

Pantisocracy is a term, coined by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, used by idealists to describe a classless utopian society in which all people have equal rights and all people rule. Is it possible to create such a society? Nah! Not even close.

In the first place, a pantisocracy implies that my 98-year old blind aunt has as much right to drive a Champ car or an Indy car as Catherine Legge or Danica Patrick. Actually, I don't see that happening anytime soon. There are just too many legitimate reasons why people can't, or shouldn't, be treated as equals, but that's not to say that people shouldn't be treated fairly.

In the second place, in order to establish a true pantisocracy, the privileged elite 1% of the population that hoards 80% of the nation's wealth would have to give up a significant portion of that wealth, and I don't see that happening anytime soon, either.

To round out the top three reasons why a pantisocracy won't soon replace our current arrangement, corporations would have to give up virtually all of the power they've managed to grab over the last 120 years or so. What are the chances of that happening? Jesus, I can hear them howling already.

No, I don't think we'll soon see our current form of government replaced by a pantisocracy. Too many people benefit from the kleptocracy that's already in place. And too many people are afraid to change the status quo.