My Dinner With Andre/Zeke, Chapter II, President Obama and Charles Rangel
The characters in this blog
ZEKE- right wing fanatic
Charles Blow, African American Op-Ed Columnist for the New York Times
LIBBY- Dartmouth Coed
MY DINNER WITH ANDRE/ZEKE, CHAPTER I
http://gerrymaxeyworkshop.com/blogging/?p=2732
One of the fascinatig anomalies about my dinner with Zeke, the right winger andLibby,the liberal coed,was the background noise in Zeke’s home. The TV was always tuned to the liberal bloc of programs on MSNBC.
Libby noted, “You don”t watch Fox News?”
Zeke, “Never.”
Libby, “I am surprised, I would have thought….”
Zeke interrupted her, ” I never watch people I agree with, besides if my cabal wins, I should have a death list ready, MSNBC helps me do that.” (I think he was kidding)
Sitting with Zeke, watching MSNBC and HARDBALL came on; Charles Blow came on.
Mr. Blow’s comments were;
BLOW: …. I think there was an expectation, particularly among African-Americans, that the first African-American president would at least be vocal about feeling their pain. And I think that that has not been the case. The president had given a couple of speeches and he has been very heavy on the stick and not very heavy with the carrot. And I think just in the ability for him to commiserate with that group of people, people feel a bit deflated, because he has—last week, with “USA Today,” he basically said he‘s not going to focus separately on African-American issues at all. I think that let a lot of people down. ”
Zeke was leaning back in his chair and nursing a Kirin Beer, (for all of his right wing nativism, Zeke loves his Japanese beer).
“African Americans should not be surprised that Obama has disappointed them …he can’t feel their pain.”
Libby lit up like a firecracker, “Why? Because you think he was born in Kenya?”
Zeke’s soft Confederate drawl, congealed, “No ma’m, I am not a birther; I firmly believe the President was born in Hawaii. But the disappointment of African Americans in this President was inevitable inexorable, and inescapable. What did the blacks expect?The first African American President they elected does not have a drop of slave blood in him. He has no black American folklore, none of his family has been lynched, none of his family rousted by the Klan, no relative of his had to step off the sidewak when my father walked by, none of his grandparents had to sit on their porches at night with a shotgun watching the Klan drive by; he never had to drink from a colored water fountain, He never had to get out of the pool by 3Pm, so they could drain the pool for the white kids coming down from Stone Mountain. He has no blood history of the suffering of black people in America, how can he not disappoint black people? That is his real problem, he has no slave blood in him. It is all intellectual to him, we are,both white people and black people, ants to him, ants in the Professor’s ant farm.”
“You want me to believe you would have voted for a black man for President?”
Zeke smiled, “Yes.”
Libby, “Who?”
Zeke, “Charles Rangel.”
Libby reverted to her Dartmouth language, “He is a man of dubious character.”
Zeke “Not dubious enough, if he had been more dubious, he would have been President of the United States. “
Zeke was a little flushed, “Who cares about Rangel’s tax issues; in Korea his men were surrounded by hordes of Red Chinese, and as a private, with the officer dead, he led them out alive. “
Lbby was flushed, “What does that prove?”
Zeke, “That Rangel cares…it was an all black platoon, Rangel has shown he will not disappoint desperate black people, damn right I would vote for him.”
The desert wind picked up outside, as everyone got quiet inside, on the High Desert.
SIDEBAR
Charles Rangel then enlisted in the United States Army, and served from 1948 to 1952. During the Korean War, he was a member of the all-black 503rd Field Artillery Battalion in the 2nd Infantry Division.] In late November 1950, this unit was caught up in heavy fighting in North Korea as part of the U.N. forces retreat from the Yalu River. In the Battle of Kunu-Ri, Rangel was part of a vehicle column that was trapped and attacked by the Chinese Army]In the subzero cold, Rangel was injured by shrapnel from a Chinese shell Some U.S. soldiers were being taken prisoner, but others looked to Rangel, who though only a private first classhad a reputation for leadership in the unit. Rangel led some 40 men from his unit, during three days of freezing weather, out of the Chinese encirclement; nearly half of the battalion was killed in the overall battle.]Rangel was awarded a Purple Heart for his wounds and the Bronze Star with Valor for his actions in the face of death.] He was also awarded the Presidential Unit Citation,] the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, and three battle stars.]In 2000, Rangel reflected with CBS Newsthat “Since Kunu Ri – and I mean it with all my heart, I have never, never had a bad day.”
Charles Rangel
Tags: Battle of Kunu-Ri, Charles Blow, Charles Rangel, Chinese Army, MSNBC, President Obama, Retreat from the Yalu River
December 18th, 2009 at 9:36 am
Gerry,
Amazing isn’t it? Conservatives and liberals are two people’s separated by a common language. (to borrow from Bernard Shaw)
I attended a roundtable discussion with our livestock association a while back. One of the main topics was about the animal rights groups wishing to put all animal agriculture in America out of business. Forever.
It had been determined that people who were brought up Chrisitian were more likely to eat meat, wear leather, etc. The belief being animals and plants are here to serve man.
The anti-meat, anti-fur, anti-etc. people are Darwinist’s. They believe that everything is equal and that animals shouldn’t be “murdered” for food and clothing.
Last Saturday we helped four Burmese refugees butcher a hog at our place. Last summer we helped butcher a beef (raised on our place) for other Burmese, who were priests and nuns who had escaped persecution. They had been in the middle of all the chaos in Burma with the sunami and the warlords. They KNOW what it is like to go hungry. During the butchering process, they didn’t let very much go to waste. Fresh meat is like candy to them. Coming from a country that is fish, rice, and some fruits, they want meat. If they had access to any meat it happend when a plow ox got old.
Do you think they had time to go throw paint on a fur coat? Or send money to HSUS?
They wanted pork for their holiday celebration. Last summer they wanted beef for their traditional Burmese dishes (which are delicious) and to make jerky with ( done the way the American Indian did it). Trends don’t mean anything to these people. They have never had disposable income to become “activists”. They want to eat and not be hungry.
Never again.
Sorry to ramble, but you got me going! If you want to read more about the Burmese check out our blog post at: http://agopinion.blogspot.com/2009/12/if-only-everyone-loved-to-eat-meat-like.html
DLD