[Peace-discuss] My reply to e-mails

[Tchiguka at aol.com]

Tuesday, 15 July 2003

To Whomever Will Listen:

I would like to take this time to thank those individuals who took the time 
to read and respond to my e-mail. Most of the responses were positive; some 
were negative; some were unclear to me. Nonetheless, thank you.

Raia, Meghan, and Sarah, I'm a pessimist on the state of the world, but 
people like you give me hope-something I have lots of. I hope that you continue the 
antiracism struggle. We need more white people with a clear understanding of 
racism. 

Robert, why would you question the authorship of my e-mail? When Carl 
Estabrook sent his e-mail invoking COINTELPRO plots, you never replied by saying 
Carl's language sounds like Ward Churchill or Jim Vander Wall. Why question my 
authorship but not his? Is it because you think that blacks are incapable of 
independent thought? I had to put that on the table, Robert, because though most 
of the time you have very good things to say, you may harbor some racist 
notions. Please do not reply quickly to this; I want you to seriously think about 
why you sent that e-mail. I assure you that the thoughts expressed in my e-mail 
are my own. By the way, who is Hippie Joe?

Susan, I have several things to say to you. First, since you have not been to 
an AWARE meeting in over a year, you are not qualified to speak on behalf of 
AWARE currently. I have been to several AWARE meetings, so I know what's going 
on. Reading meeting minutes is not enough to know what's going on in AWARE. 
It would behoove you start attending the Sunday meetings. Nor are you qualified 
to speak to my personality and character, because you don't know me.

Second, I do not subscribe to white middle class norms of etiquette and 
propriety. I come from a black, urban, working class experience, so I'm not going 
to play by your rules; I'm new to this middle class shit. Where I'm from, if I 
have a problem with you, I will call you out directly. No beating around the 
bush. And that means naming names and finger pointing if need be.

Third, how do you talk about racism by not talking about racism? My use of 
the race card was appropriate given that race was the subject matter. The race 
card comment, Susan, bespeaks yet again white flight in dealing with race. 
Instead of commenting on my use of the race card, try commenting on AWARE's use of 
the race card in advertising to perspective members an antiracism commitment. 
Let's be fair.

Fourth, my activism is not of any consequence here. What is consequential, 
however, is that the Antiwar, Antiracism Effort professes nominally to be an 
antiracism movement, but actively does nothing regarding antiracism. I came into 
AWARE to do antiwar and antiracism work, which is explicit in the group's 
acronym. So please don't play the game of shifting the focus off AWARE and on me. 
I am the victim of AWARE's false advertising. Remember that.

Next, there is a big difference between an antiracist rushing to the exit 
door of struggle, so to speak, and an antiracist who is rushing to the exit door 
of an antiracism organization because of its lack of commitment towards racial 
justice. I am the latter. I'm in the antiracism struggle for the long haul. I 
have no choice. And although I deeply respect Bishop Desmond Tutu, I do not 
need him to remind me of my commitment to the antiracism movement. My heart and 
mind are my conscience.

And finally, your comment "rushing out of the exit door is something men are 
good at" is sexist. Men are not the only gender good for doing that sort of 
thing. In fact, I know of some women who are equally good at rushing out exit 
doors. I believe that we need an ideologically protean movement which 
understands the connections between concomitant xenophobia, i.e., racism, sexism, and 
homophobia; which understands that if you have racist sensibilities, then more 
than likely you have sexist, and homophobic sensibilities.

Carl, you're right about me: I am an agent provocateur for the FBI. We have 
been keeping a close eye on AWARE since its formation in 2001. In fact, AWARE 
is among the FBI's top ten list of subversive organizations seeking to 
undermine the U.S. government. The FBI, in conjunction with the Champaign Police 
Department, is desperately working on destroying this effective political group by 
having agents join AWARE to disintegrate it from within. Surveillance is 
planted throughout the room where AWARE meets every Sunday to keep track of its 
activities…

I hope you can laugh at this, Carl, and find the inanity and paranoia 
expressed in your e-mail. AWARE is hardly the Black Panthers, so come back down the 
Earth.

Sincerely,

Muata
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