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“Learning to Read” excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X

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Re: “Learning to Read” excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X

#131

Post by aptwebapps »

tim333 wrote: post #116
_nullandnull_ wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> even that up on Malcolm X Then you shouldn't comment on a subject that you know nothing about. Read his book, listen to his speeches, watch the movie, study the civil rights movements and then comment on what you feel is "iffy".

Maybe but I don't much like " are 'devils' that are superior to " bunk. Some of my family got gassed on account of that kind of stuff not long before Malcolm did his thing and it's still racist even if the speakers skin is dark in colour.

But what about the fact that he later rejected the "white devils" philosophy of the NOI? Doesn't that matter?

Re: “Learning to Read” excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X

#132

Post by [deleted] »

sq1020 wrote: post #130

For those who feel uncomfortable with Malcolm's former creed that white people are devils and the black race is superior to all others, please do take note of the fact that he did convert to mainstream Islam near the end of his life thus disavowing any such racism or black supremacy. As Malcolm so eloquently stated: "America needs to understand Islam, because this is the one religion that erases from its society the…

[deleted]

Re: “Learning to Read” excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X

#133

Post by Bulkington »

dwolfson20 wrote: post #2

Everyone should really just read the entire Autobiography. http://www.amazon.com/The-Autobiography-Malcolm-Told-Haley/d... Also, they should spell "Malcolm" correctly. :)

Agreed, mainly because the period is so alien to many sub-40s Americans today. Also resonant: Islam, race, ugly American politics. It's an easy read, written by Alex Haley, who also wrote Roots. (Don't read the book (Roots) if you can find the more culturally significant mini-series. LeVar Burton was an icon in the US in the late 70s, well before he boarded the Enterprise.) The Spike Lee movie on Maclolm X is interesting, but a significantly different experience than reading the book.

Re: “Learning to Read” excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X

#134

Post by JohnBooty »

omgtehblackbloc wrote: post #73
serf wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Klansmen and corrupt police from the 60s were racist. So was Malcolm X. "Usually the black racist has been produced by the white racist. In most cases where you see it, it is the reaction to white racism, and if you analyze it closely, it's not really black racism... If we react to white racism with a violent reaction, to me that's not black racism. If you come to put a rope around my neck and I hang you for it, to m…

"When one condemns a group for the actions of a few -- i'll never believe that to be correct." Racism in America is not an act , it's a caste system . It's not something you do, it's a form of social structuring. Black people are systematically disadvantaged, and white people receive privileges due to their race. So you're wrong that racism is just "the actions of a few". This implies that you are a neutral white per…

  In fact, the caste system of racism is maintained by all
  of us, in the same way the rest of the status quo is 
  maintained. Mostly just by people being comfortable 
  enough with the status quo that they don't try very hard 
  to change it
Thank you for posting this. This is so important for people to realize.

This finally "clicked" for me a few years ago when somebody explained it to me like this:

Murder is problem, right? And each of us knows that we have to go beyond simply not murdering people. We instinctively understand that if we witness an attempted murder in progress, we must do something: help, or call for help. We know that we need to punish murderers, maintain a police force to catch murderers, and hopefully defuse situations before they get to the point of people murdering each other.

Problems like racism are similar in one way: it's not enough for each of us to simply "not be racist."

(It's not an exact analogy, I know: racism is institutional whereas murder often isn't. However, it got me to think about racism differently...)

Re: “Learning to Read” excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X

#135

Post by novaomnidev »

jmaygarden wrote: post #80
pekk wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People give such speeches today in mainstream right-wing rallies and are not criticized for it at all, let alone as harshly as Malcolm X is criticized. That's apples to apples since it's still the time of newspapers and television.

Do you have examples of recent "mainstream" right-wing rallies that call for racial violence? That sounds absurd. I'd like to know more about it.

Malcolm x never called for racial violence. Ever.

Re: “Learning to Read” excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X

#136

Post by novacole »

ezy wrote: post #103
novacole wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lol I certainly don't think I or the majority of other black people are too incompetent to think. What I am saying is that if a white person has stupid racist views, I don't care. Unless that racist person is in power, what difference does it make that they are an idiot? Of course black people can hold racist views, just as whites can but blacks aren't the majority in power, and so those stupid views have no real eff…

A lot of this hinges on whether you believe you should be exempt from your own moral standard. The idea of "racism" as requiring a position of power comes most directly as a reaction to the "reverse racism" bullshit from racist apologists who want to roll back affirmative action and various other programs. The reaction comes from sympathetic academics and writers who would rather focus on words and philosophy, and ar…

I am not saying that racist views are acceptable. I am saying that racist views only matter if the racist is in power. You can't be racist in any meaningful way, such that your racism affects large parts of society, unless you are in power. That's all. Who cares about a powerless person's racist views? They are of no consequence. There is no redefinition of the term 'racism' involved. What does matter is if the congress, the police, the judges, etc are all white and consistently act on racist views.

Re: “Learning to Read” excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X

#137

Post by enraged_camel »

tomjen3 wrote: post #69
poolpool wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't politely ask your oppressors to give you the rights they have taken away from you.

Why not? It worked for King, it worked for Ghandi. Do you really think there could have been something like the civil rights laws -- born primarily of white people -- if the primary black person had been X and not King?

>>it worked for Ghandi.

Yet it was Ghandi himself who, when asked if his peaceful tactics would have worked against Hitler, said, "probably not."

I'm not suggesting that white people are literally Hitler, but simply that there's a time and place for everything, including peace and violence. And I say that as someone who has never called for violence on anything ever.

Re: “Learning to Read” excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X

#138

Post by [deleted] »

sq1020 wrote: post #130

For those who feel uncomfortable with Malcolm's former creed that white people are devils and the black race is superior to all others, please do take note of the fact that he did convert to mainstream Islam near the end of his life thus disavowing any such racism or black supremacy. As Malcolm so eloquently stated: "America needs to understand Islam, because this is the one religion that erases from its society the…

[deleted]

Re: “Learning to Read” excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X

#140

Post by Perceval »

sq1020 wrote: post #130

For those who feel uncomfortable with Malcolm's former creed that white people are devils and the black race is superior to all others, please do take note of the fact that he did convert to mainstream Islam near the end of his life thus disavowing any such racism or black supremacy. As Malcolm so eloquently stated: "America needs to understand Islam, because this is the one religion that erases from its society the…

> You see, orthodox Islam, from the very beginning, espoused equality for all races. In fact, race in Islam is an inconsequential matter.

Oh, is this why Muslim Arabs engaged in the enslaving, transportation, and sale of 10–18 million black Africans over the course of 13 centuries (650 AD – 1900 AD)?

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