Wild Indigenous Cab Ride, KevinAThompson: Recent Comments

Comment on PJ O'Roarke, and How US Cities are Going to the Dogs

2010-07-30T08:02:20Z

A nice article and so nice to read it very interesting one thanks for sharing the article through this blog.......

Comment on Christianity on the Defensive--Tribal future of the Church

2010-07-29T03:39:39Z

A vital reason for the decline of Christianity in Europe is that the Catholic Church played the role of both the church and the state .They was so oppressive in both the arenas. Now Secularism is on the rise in Europe. But I don’t believe that secularism is the reason for the decline of the churches influence. They still relay on antiquated methods. They failed to change themselves with the developments of science and technology.

Comment on Zero-Sum Thinking a dead-end equation

2010-07-26T17:02:54Z

atlantic monthly was toying with this in the form of "femi-nazi" thinking. ina recent cover story "the end of men", males are now supposedly obsolete because women are increasingly educated. one author, pamela paul, even stated that fathers were no longer "necessary." who sets these "objective" standards? this is true nazi thinking being indulged by privileged women who ignore dangerous work done by men to erect the office towers where they work desk jobs. is a person's value measured by paycheck. paul was actually making the case for lesbian couples raising children. paul made the same argument i saw elsewhere that the heterosexual male could be replaced by a welfare check. this looks to me like a white supremacist attempt to remove even more fathers of color from our families.

Comment on Craig Womack Expands the Boundaries of Sovereignty

2010-07-18T05:33:26Z

I have always been an ardent reader and listener of Craig Womack. In my view he is an intellectual genius. I have read his masterpiece “Red on Red: Native American Literary Separatism” and found it really interesting. I am happy to note that the blogger is a friend of this great man. I am indeed astonished to note that the blogger still has got friends who will be communicating with him in handwritten letters. It goes on to show much his friends love him. He is lucky because he is endowed with good friends.

Comment on My Return to the Blogosphere--Random Thoughts

2010-07-18T05:30:18Z

This indeed is a really sweet blog. The author points out that he has returned to the woods. Now he is actively engaged in his garden where he has grown the three sisters - corn, beans and squash. I am happy to note that the author is having a really wonderful time. In fact I am also tempted to spend some time in the woods. I have lived and worked in New York all my life, and now I really want to spend some quiet time close to nature.

Comment on The Irene Cara Factor and Latina/o Casting

2010-07-07T02:05:40Z

When my extended family was entirely in the South, we had a range of appearances that would likely allowed many my kinfolk to identify as white, Indian or mestizo/a. But there were no "middle" categories, and we came to be accepted as "negro" by default, in the eyes of whites, and also proudly Negro, by choice. This flies in the face of "black self-hatred," because some of my white and Indian ancestors actually chose to be black!

As you mentioned, its also astonishingly easy to be taken for something other than "African American" with only slight alterations of mannerisms and accent!

Comment on The Irene Cara Factor and Latina/o Casting

2010-07-05T07:10:39Z

I proudly identify as Black, as African American. If you were to trace my lineage you would find Black people (descended from West Africa via the trans-Atlantic slave trade), Native American, German, and Irish people. My father, who has a German surname, is a dark brown man with blue eyes. And in fact his father and a few of his siblings also have blue eyes. My maternal grandfather was a cafe au lait man with straight hair. He is half Native American/ half African American. His wife was a beautiful, dark-skinned African American woman, and they were blessed to have 14 children who range in skin color from very light to very dark, some with wavy, thick hair (one who is even dark blond... don't know where that came from) and others with coarse hair (not dependent upon skin coloration). It was a blessing to be surrounded by Black beauty that was never conditioned by skin tone or hair texture (at least within the comfort of Family). I was born and raised in the South during a time when you were either Black, White or Asian. There were few, if any Latinos (they have only recently migrated), and they were often lumped into the Black category. I continued my education in NYC in the mid '90s and was greeted by the rich diversity of race and culture that makes the Big Apple the Melting Pot. I remember meeting a young woman I thought was Black (she was very, very dark-skinned). FYI - I have what would be considered a medium skin tone (not light and not dark), like creamy milk chocolate. Anyway, she quickly let me know that she was NOT BLACK, she was Latina! And on several occasions since I have lived in NYC, I have encountered "Black" (Caribbean descended/ English descended/ French descended/ Dutch descended/ Spanish descended/ Portuguese descended/ AFRICAN descended) people who will indignantly let me know they are NOT BLACK. I have come to realize that being BLACK in this country carries with it an immense amount of shame. I have been told that BLACK people are shiftless and lazy, that we want and expect a hand out, that I (because I am educated and successful, have traveled the world extensively, am bi-lingual) am not like THEM. But I am THEM and THEY are me, and I would never deny my connection to the richness that is being an African descended person. Our brilliance is denied. History has been rewritten and Whitened to confuse our people [and the rest of the world]. We are the builders of the monolithic pyramids of Egypt, we practiced astrology, mathematics, medicine, had rich artwork and music, and circumnavigated the globe while Europeans still believed the Earth was flat. And somehow BLACK is a dirty word, a filthy association. Our beauty is only acknowledged when it somehow shows resemblance to Europeans. It should also be noted that there are in the Americas Afro-Latinos in countries like Honduras, Peru, Venezuela, Brazil, etc. And like most of the Black people of the USA, their ancestors were slaves, descended from European colonialism.

Comment on Bliss Broyard, Creoles and Native Americans

2010-06-23T02:37:54Z

I use the term "Native American" because it is commonly used today. I don't use it to offend other native-born US citizens. I actually prefer "American Indian," which is still used by many Indian people today when we aren't being specific about which Indian nation we come from. Likewise, I remember a time when terms like "colored people" and "Negro" were still in common use. All of these terms have their limits, but at one time they fit societal needs and eventually they will fall away.
In fact, the term "Native American" is alreay falling away because of its obvious inappropriateness when dealing with First Nations people of Canada or other countries. The term "Indigenous" has more widespread acceptance, having been enshrined in the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People, and I expect it to grow in popularity.

Comment on Bliss Broyard, Creoles and Native Americans

2010-06-20T00:58:34Z

I am a native American, having been born in Brooklyn, New York. I am not, however, an American Indian. I object to the locution "Native American" for American Indians. "American Indian" is the locution, going back 600 years.

Comment on American Lives--PBS and DNA Trickery

2010-06-05T06:46:44Z

Valuable information! Looking forward to seeing your notes posted.