watched a great movie the other day called the edukators. its a german flick about three activists who break into the homes of the wealthy. they dont steal anything...simply rearrange the furniture and leave a note, "your days of plenty are numbered" in an attempt to make their affluent victims feel unsafe--the very thing their wealth was designed to prevent. And then, as always...something goes wrong. i wont give away the rest of the movie but its really good. and it reminded me a lot of my relationship with my parents.
see, when they were young, and during the early years of my life, they were very active black nationalists. i can recall attending rallys as a kid and having all kinds of activists over to the house for dinner and discussions. i listened to their stories of protest and rebellion and encounters and adventures with comrades and friends like stokley, h. rap, huey, bobby, maulana ron and others who started small and went on to gain local, regional or national prominence. i grew up as a young revolutionary of a sort as the namesakes for my legal name are from two pan-african freedom fighters. we celebrated kwanzaa before it was trendy and i was raised to be aware of and never forget the history of cointelpro and other methods of oppression against people of color worldwide.
and then my parents sold out. even though my mom was always a bit more bourgeoise than my dad, they both had modest and humble beginnings. but as they got more successful in their careers, they amassed more and more success and wealth until they turned into people i struggle to recoginze and understand today. the expensive house. the luxury cars. the lavish vacations. i mean, i cant knock it totally as i too benefited financially from some (fuck it...a LOT) of their success. but i cant help feeling as though they have both lost their souls to a degree. they are both so incredibly engrossed with their careers that they hardly ever have time for family. that doesnt really matter much to me as im older. but i think its kind of fucked up for their grandkids.
there is shit that i see, think and feel that they just cannot seem to understand. shit i LEARNED from them that is now just so foregin to them. they have stopped questioning. they have grown comfortable. and i often feel pressure (real and implied) to reach the same level. but thats not what i want. dont get me wrong, i am far from a radical revolutionary. after all, i run a website that features me having sex with white women. thats about as counter revolutionary as you can get (although my parents and others would tell you that MOST of the brothers in the movement thought that one of the best ways to stick to the man was to stick it in his woman...but i digress). i am committed to supporting a larger goal of unification and freedom. they have significantly more power and influence and do so little. they do things..but nothing like what they could. and while i am not here to argue about who is more revolutionary than the other, i do feel that they are turning a blind eye to a lot of things that they shouldnt. and trying to discuss some of those things with them has not been fruitful on any level.
not really sure where im goin with this entry. just venting i suppose. but i think its unfortunate that when i finally get to the point where i see and understand all that they were fighting for...they have completely lost the fight.
see, when they were young, and during the early years of my life, they were very active black nationalists. i can recall attending rallys as a kid and having all kinds of activists over to the house for dinner and discussions. i listened to their stories of protest and rebellion and encounters and adventures with comrades and friends like stokley, h. rap, huey, bobby, maulana ron and others who started small and went on to gain local, regional or national prominence. i grew up as a young revolutionary of a sort as the namesakes for my legal name are from two pan-african freedom fighters. we celebrated kwanzaa before it was trendy and i was raised to be aware of and never forget the history of cointelpro and other methods of oppression against people of color worldwide.
and then my parents sold out. even though my mom was always a bit more bourgeoise than my dad, they both had modest and humble beginnings. but as they got more successful in their careers, they amassed more and more success and wealth until they turned into people i struggle to recoginze and understand today. the expensive house. the luxury cars. the lavish vacations. i mean, i cant knock it totally as i too benefited financially from some (fuck it...a LOT) of their success. but i cant help feeling as though they have both lost their souls to a degree. they are both so incredibly engrossed with their careers that they hardly ever have time for family. that doesnt really matter much to me as im older. but i think its kind of fucked up for their grandkids.
there is shit that i see, think and feel that they just cannot seem to understand. shit i LEARNED from them that is now just so foregin to them. they have stopped questioning. they have grown comfortable. and i often feel pressure (real and implied) to reach the same level. but thats not what i want. dont get me wrong, i am far from a radical revolutionary. after all, i run a website that features me having sex with white women. thats about as counter revolutionary as you can get (although my parents and others would tell you that MOST of the brothers in the movement thought that one of the best ways to stick to the man was to stick it in his woman...but i digress). i am committed to supporting a larger goal of unification and freedom. they have significantly more power and influence and do so little. they do things..but nothing like what they could. and while i am not here to argue about who is more revolutionary than the other, i do feel that they are turning a blind eye to a lot of things that they shouldnt. and trying to discuss some of those things with them has not been fruitful on any level.
not really sure where im goin with this entry. just venting i suppose. but i think its unfortunate that when i finally get to the point where i see and understand all that they were fighting for...they have completely lost the fight.
Perhaps they wanted to enjoy what so many have sacrificed for?