Newspaper Page Text
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY, 25 • THE MAROON TIGER • PAGE 13
COMMEiIdXAifW
Political Meltdown
God seemed to be on the side of the protest
ers who marched from Morris Brown Col
lege to the Capitol Building Friday, Febru
ary 12 to burn the current Georgia State
Flag. It had rained steadily Thursday and
rain had been forecast to last through the
weekend, but Friday morning was beauti
fully sunny, with cotton-ball clouds only
adding to the quality of the sunlight rather
than detracting from it. To be more politi
cally correct relative to most of the march
ers, I should say that either the Ancestors
or Allah created such a beautiful day for
the marchers. Whoever was working it,
they did a great job.
I had decided not to participate in the
march in order to pursue my own public
political aims and because I was
unconvinced that the march was necessary
or that it would be successful. And like
most students, I had class anyway. These
three reasons in my mind were fairly well
destroyed by my mind as I thought about
them during the ten-minute drive from my
apartment to school. I’m going to share
them with you because I think that at least
one of them might have something useful
to consider as you think about the reasons
you do or don’t participate in pubic activi
ties of this sort.
My first reason for not going was that .I
had my own goals to strive to achieve. Our
Paper, the one in your hands, is being cen
sored by the administration and select mem
bers of the faculty of Morehouse. I had and
will continue to have a personal protest
outside of Gloster Hall until the newspaper
is no longer censored in this manner, and
that such journalistic freedom is put on
paper bv the administration. Or I might
eventually get tired of it all and quit. I
can’t lie. The time of the march conflicted
with the time I had decided to protest, 12
noon-lpm MWF.
But I realized that my problem wasn’t
going anywhere soon, and was certainly
not going anywhere
that day, while the march was that day
only. Consistency is the hobgoblin of petty
minds, and I almost didn’t go on the march
just to keep a date I made with myself to do
something for myself. But I decided that I
had a responsibility to put my personal
problems to the side in order to participate
in a larger public protest. I’m an individu
alist who realizes the need for a commu
nity, and I think that part of being in a
community is having the willingness to set
aside personal agendas in order to move
with the group, at least for a time. Too
often, our “movements” are or
become little more than vehicles for the
personal agendas of one or a few leaders,
and to the extent that I didn’t want to make
a similar selfish mistake in my own way, I
decided to join the march. The movement
needs individualism, but cannot tolerate
selfishness. Where and how those lines are
drawn will determine much of the success
of a movement. So I marched.
The second problem I had was that I
doubted whether the march was necessary,
and whether it could be “successful” in its
goals. From what I understood, they weren’t
protesting for anything much more than the
mayor, governor, or many other white and
black groups were already trying to do. It
seemed that students who are normally on
the cutting edge of political issues were
just bringing up the rear this time. I thought
that the timing of the march was bad and
that nothing much would come of it.
But then I thought that the effort itself
could be worth something. Rarely does any
one event change anything on its own, but
it is usually a series of events over time that
build upon each other that finally effect
changes.. No matter how small, each pro
test adds its weight to the general body of
protests and related activities in an effort
to make something large enough to wear
down its opposition. So even if it wasn’t
necessary, it at least added its presence to
that of the other groups, which was a good
enough reason for me to participate. So
what if nothing changed? At least the orga
nizers and participants in the march could
look at themselves and say, “Well, in that
way, I tried.” Which doesn’t mean they
should not try something else also, but this
time in this place, they can say they tried in
this way. How many of us can look back on
important times in our lives and honestly
say to ourselves, “I tried” ?
The last reason was one that was probably
on most minds: I had class. I’m in college
to go to class, TCB, and graduate, not to
mess around missing classes messing
around in the streets, right? If the protest
had been at a better time, or another day,
I’d go, but, well...you know.
For me, that was ridiculous. I’m not in
(Continued on Page 11)
Thomas Giovanni
Are We At War
By Troy Evans
"All's fair in love and war," a very wise
individual once said. However, I regret
fully state that there doesn't seem to be
much of a difference between the two.
Today, people are constantly engaging in
battles with their mate in which they insti
tute trickery, deceit, and ruthlessness in an
attempt to win the war of love.
On several occasions, I have witnessed
cruel and heartless acts by both males and
females toward their mates for no reason
other than revenge. These acts often result
in damage that is almost irreversible. A
lack of trust and an inability to commit
oneself to a serious relationship usually
stem from a prior hurtful relationship that a
person was involved in. Promising them
selves that they’d never be naive enough to
be a victim again, they "beef up their de
fenses," reluctant to commit to other rela
tionships.
I am also guilty of committing such treach
erous war crimes (in the past of course.)
After my first relationship, where my heart
became a casualty, I engaged in calculated
actions attempting to inflict pain and an
guish to my past, present, and future com
panions. All of these acts were instinctive,
finding their origins in the deepest hate
filled crevices of my soul. As I probed
deeper, I found that this hate was the poten
tial love that had not had the opportunity to
show itself. This hate/love lurked in the
abysses of my mind's memories waiting to
emerge and wreak havoc on unsuspecting
victims. However, is it necessary to con
trol the instinctive desire of revenge and
rationally enter into relationships not con
flicts.
Due to the constantly heard negative com
ments about black men, I used to believe
that black women had no respect, nor love,
for us. However, I was recently enlight
ened by an older black woman whose opin
ion I value and respect. She stated that, as
a black woman, she naturally wants to love
and be with her black man. Yet in a con
scious effort to prepare us for the war out
side the home, be it economical, racial, or
cultural women direct their energies to
ward methods that will strengthen black
men. This requires harshness and frank
ness that will assist in molding us into
strong black males.We often mistake this
process for a lack of support or understand
ing. To these wonderful women I pledge
my heart and mind. Today, however, I see
a growing number of women who engage in
male bashing and not support.
All blame cannot be placed upon the fe
male. Black men might have earned this
attitude due to their continuous search for
the quick "skiez"and disrespecting their
nubian princesses because they weren't
given the time of day. In a clear case of
shortsightedness, both genders engage in
fornication not recognizing the conse
quences of their unfaithful actions. These
actions break down the support needed to
produce a strong black race that will sur
vive and prosper instead of dwindling away.
Strong black families will naturally form if
there are loving couples at the helm. In
stead black men are "dipping out" on their
families and women are "gold digging" their
way into shallow imitations of relation
ships. Both black males and females are
guilty of interracially mixing, a clear sign
of giving up instead of persevering.
Although I have, on numerous occasions,
practiced regrettable acts of insensitive
behavior upon my female companions, I
can honestly state that I want nothing more
than a successful relationship in which I
can give love as well as receive it. I think
we all want this, but have been neglecting
the opportunity because someone messed it
up for us before we were even on the scene.
If there is a solution, it might be treating
our interactions with each other as rela
tionships, and not wars. Think about your
actions before you do them and remember
we may be good at the game, but we don't
have to play.
-rirr*