I had one of those interesting and unique moments that life occasionally offers up recently.
One in which I found out that something I had always thought was one way was in fact another. This interesting moment occurred as I was watching a fascinating mini-series on Netflix called “Manhunt” (if you haven’t seen it I would highly recommend…) that chronicles the pursuit and capture of Ted Kaczynski…(aka) the infamous “Unabomber”. Without spoiling it for you, in case you do decide to take my advice and go ahead and watch, one of the FBI agents notices in a letter from Kaczynski that he says the following: “You can’t eat your cake and have it too”.
Question: Did anything stand out in that quote for you? Did you maybe notice anything different about that often quoted phrase? If you are like me you didn’t. It was so subtle that you might have missed the fact that the common way to state that phrase is actually: “You can’t HAVE your cake and EAT it too”. A particular scene in this mini-series details how Kaczynski switched those two words around in a letter an agent working his case came across…and he adeptly spotted it unlike yours truly. Good thing I am not an FBI agent!
And, here’s what’s even more interesting…the way Kaczynski wrote it was actually the right format; as a matter of technical correctness. Over time the word sequencing was universally altered to the modern form of the phrase used around the globe. But, hold that thought for now and we will come back to that point later.
I was recently having a conversation with a friend about a very odd phenomenon that plays out within the context of the ongoing saga of racism in America. He had sent me an article detailing an image of a defaced sign on which racial epithets had been spray painted disparaging black people. We began discussing how dark and depraved the hearts are of people who engage in such ugly acts and the state of America in 2018 @ matters of race. The conversation eventually landed on what I think is a profound point which I will present in the form of a question:
How is it that black people…who have been the victims of heinous crimes against humanity dating back to the beginning…kidnapped…sold into slavery….beaten….lynched….spat upon – tear gassed….attacked by police dogs and police MEN (including being killed)…segregated by law….gerry-mandered….racially profiled….and ostracized in every other conceivable manner you can imagine to this very day…how is it then that WE are the ones who are hated in this country and in fact around the globe? Counterintuitive is it not?
After all, WE are the ones who have been terrorized as a people.
WE are the ones who have been disenfranchised. WE are the ones who have been stripped not only of any significant or meaningful resources (collectively speaking) but of our very humanity. “And, yet, you mean to tell me YOU hate US” (we said shaking our heads in disbelief)?? As that conversation continued my friend and I realized something even MORE profound than all of the above if you can believe it. Despite being the victims of an unfathomably foul history – at the hands of predominately individuals of European descent (here at home and around the globe) – black people…as a rule…literally do not know how to hate white people the way they hate us. And we never have.
We did not hate white people while we were in chains – or while we sat on the back of the bus – or while we had to go around the back to pick up food at restaurants. And we do not hate white people today when being shot down in the street by those sworn to protect us or when the President of these United States calls black NFL players “sons of bitches” for engaging in a silent protest against police brutality in America – OR – when he states in so many words that he doesn’t want immigrants coming to America from “s@&$hole countries”; like those in Africa or from Haiti or El Salvador.
In spite of all of these tragic tales and endless more: maybe the greatest irony in the history of this planet is that the victims of these indescribable injustices – the recipients of so much unwarranted vitriol – Black people – have never learned to hate the perpetrator of these injustices – White people. Meanwhile, far too many among their ranks have learned to hate us with a determined passion. It is a mystery to be sure…but one that I think I can explain.
You, see dear reader, that is how vicious White Supremacy is as an institution.
It cannot just EAT the cake it has to HAVE it too. White Supremacy has an insatiable appetite that can never be satisfied and its ONLY God is its own belly. It’s not good enough to be in absolute control – it’s not good enough to be in possession of nearly all of the earth’s resources. White Supremacy must also demean – devalue – humiliate – insult – and in the end it must exonerate itself of any blame for its misdeeds. I guess that is because White Supremacy has no soul – no empathy – no conscious. And therefore those who adopt its beliefs cannot be in possession of these supposed innate qualities either.
I digress. I mentioned earlier that we would revisit the subtle difference between Kaczynski’s way of saying the phrase highlighted earlier: (Eat your cake and have it too) and the now conventional way of saying the phrase: (Have your cake and eat it too). The former (original way Kaczynski used) is correct because it makes sense from a literal perspective. Author John Simon put it like this regarding the correct nomenclature: “The first form makes sense: once you’ve eaten the damned thing, you can no longer have it. Not so the latter, corrupt form: you can have your cake — enjoy looking at it, or keep it in the freezer, or have it set aside for you at the bakery — and then, at the proper moment, eat it, too.” So in other words you CAN have the cake and eat it too.
The first form – the original form – is precisely what White Supremacy has done in America. It has devoured “the damn thing” and yet it STILL wants to have it too. After causing an absolute social and spiritual debacle of epic proportions to transpire in this nation for centuries – beginning with the displacement of the Native Americans – transitioning on into Slavery (which are just two examples of the oppression that has continued on in many other forms)…and all of this without ever having made any sort of meaningful recompense mind you – White Supremacy in 2018 STILL wants to then place all the blame on the black community for the social ills of which it suffers.
The legacy of white supremacy in America is clear. But, it does not begin and end with the obvious (i.e. someone yelling the “N-Word” or spraying it on a sign @ article mentioned earlier). While there are certainly those who are unashamedly racist and unabashed white supremacists…there are ALSO those who do not necessarily condone White Supremacy on its face and yet have unwittingly accepted its tenants. These are individuals who are indifferent in some cases – and/or – who are completely unaware that America (and beyond) is completely immersed in the tenants of white supremacy. Which in many ways is even more dangerous than being an avowed white supremacists.
We will discuss that truth next week in Part 2 of this series entitled: “CAKE”.
Make sure you grab some “Oreos to go” below:
Daniel Kaluuya – the main character from the critically acclaimed film “Get Out”: poses the question I began to explore above in a frank but powerful way during a forum about the movie. DEFINITELY worth watching this short clip:
“Follow me” in Main Menu above
More than a blog. It’s a movement.
Though there is much more that could be said, I will have to stop for now. But hopefully you will continue the conversation in your living rooms, at your places of worship, and even with that person of another race you just met as you were walking down the street in your neighborhood.
And also I do have what I think is another interesting plate of cookies on a platter for next Monday (you can share via social media buttons below), when I hope you will join me again to talk some more oreos.
Talking Oreos 