29 Feb 96 13:34:47 -5
Date: Thu, 29 Feb 96 13:34:23 EST
From: coatesrd@casmail.muohio.edu (Rodney Coates)
Reply-To: coatesrd@casmail.muohio.edu (Rodney Coates)
To: slein@e1m147.mpibpc.gwdg.de, revs@csf.colorado.edu
Subject: Re: Two Recent Items..
On Thu, 29 Feb 1996 17:04:34 +0100 you wrote:

> Hello:
>
>On Wed, Feb 7 1996 Mark sent a message "RE: Racism ... remember?"
>around REVS list.
>
>He wrote:
>
> > Two recent items in the 'discussion' caught my eye.
>
>First he dealt with the the question, what criteria are applicable when
>war crimes are discussed and he criticized that war crimes are often judged
>in a racialist manner, depending on which side people are on. In his opinion
>REVS list members were not radical enough in their criticism of war crimes
>respective racism commited by their own countries. Mark uttered dissatisfaction particularly with an article sent before by Rodney Coates, the "bLACK hISTORY
>bLUES" (the second item). Rodney deplored the lethargic mood of Blacks in his
>country during the February, the 'Black History Month'. And he had some
>suggestions how to celebrate the 'Black History Month', especially on an
>'Extra Day' on February, 29, more meaningfully.  
>
>Two sentences in his article may have upset Mark:
>
> >> Lethargic because all too often this period is spent bemoaning the
> >> victim status of blacks, re-identifying the age-old problems that
> >> too quickly forgotten; buying that dress or that tie, that book or
> >> that art work - overpriced, overly gaudy, and made in China.
>                                              ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>and:
>
> >> 1) Don't buy anything "Black" made in China, Korea -or by any one who
> >> isn't black
>
>Mark criticized:
>
> > Given all of this, it did surprise me that Rodney Coates' response to racism
> > - that experienced by the Japanese in WW2 and Black Americans today, is to
> > have a Black - sorry, Afro-centric - History day, on which he recommends the
> > participants purchase nothing from China or Korea.
> >  
> > So Rodney says 'buy American'.
> >  
> > The same place that bombed Korea, Vietnam, Japan and Iraq, to name a few?
>
>I don't see Mark's conclusion.
>I didn't hear Rodney say 'buy American'. And he didn't recommend purchasing
>*nothing* from China or Korea. He only said: 'Don't buy anything (pretending
>to be) "Black" from anywhere'.
>It's just a simile.
>You can buy a thing handmade of wood. And you can buy a thing looking the same
>made of plastic. What's the difference? Or you can have peas grown in your own
>garden. And you can have them purchased from the food industries. The latter
>will be greener as yours and will smell as peas can smell, but they won't have
>any nutritional value. Do you get the picture?
>
>After all, to discuss a bit caustically would be no loss!
>
>
>Greetings,
>
> Stephan Leineweber
>
>
>

First of all Stephan thanks for coming to my defense, I have been busy
grading papers and other bs associated with making a living..

And now Mark:

Excuse me if I did not make myself clear, but understand this...a
people, particularly an oppressed people, must understand the source,
consequences and reasons for their oppression.  The first act of
oppression is to deny the reality of the oppressed, to deny them the
ability to learn, and to deny them a platform from which to speak.

I have a serious problem with a market/object oriented system that
displaces original craftsmanship for that which is mass produced.  I
have a problem when a cultural item becomes the object of mass
production where local craft is displaced.  This becomes particularly
ugly, in my mind, when it further involves the usurpation of a culture
by organized business.  Even more insulting when these cultural
articles are mass produced by workers with no connection to the
culture, where the members of that culture are duped into buying such.
 Further, when racial identity is marketed, pimped, and prostituted
for the sake of mass marketing campaigns it further degenerates the
group.

If you do not understand that this is an aspect of oppression then you
need to remove your head from wherever it is and smell the
roses...later...
"Only when lions have Historians will hunters cease being heroes." 
African Proverb

UMOJA, 
Still in the struggle

Rodney D. Coates
Director of Black World Studies
Associate Professor of Sociology
Miami University 
Oxford, Ohio - 45056

PH: 513-5291235