GLR Forum

General Forum => Archives etc. => Topic started by: Feral on Wed, Feb 22, 2006, 04:45

Title: A Speech by Malcom X
Post by: Feral on Wed, Feb 22, 2006, 04:45
It is sometimes of benefit to consider what others have said (http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/malcolmxballot.htm) before us.

I would be among the first to say that the gay experience anywhere in the world bears no resemblance to the black experience in twentieth century America. Nationalism, however, and the arising need for it, is quite a different matter.
Title: Re: A Speach by Malcom X
Post by: K6 on Wed, Feb 22, 2006, 10:31

There`s one place in Malcom X`s discourse where I immediately recognized myself.That sentence where he says that the white man had made the mistake of letting him read his history books.I have been myself a voracious reader of history books since my early teens.That`s where I got the idea that we gays could also secede.

K6
Title: Re: A Speach by Malcom X
Post by: Mogul on Fri, Feb 24, 2006, 13:59
[..] I would be among the first to say that the gay experience anywhere in the world bears no resemblance to the black experience in twentieth century America. [..]

This is true: unlike the black minority in a white-dominated society, homosexuals are not visible at the first glance. This entails quite different strategies for both discrimination and survival. A member of the oppressed black minority has no difficulties to recognize his likes, neither tends he to deny his identity (which were not possible anyway). He can find help and assistence among his relatives, but is harrased and kept down when he enters the public space. Our experiences are quite the other way: homosexuals can easily disguise themselves and access all the benefits in the public space, as long as they stay closeted, and by coming out homosexuals very often loose support and assistance of their families and previously close friends.

Also the strategies for cultural progress, along with developement and heritage of cultural identity and values, are very different. Where the ethnic minorities can raise and educate their youth properly from the baby age, we are confronted with waste masses of gay individuals knowing nothing about gay history as a people, and often damaged by more or less intense psychological mistreatments. Every year of non-understood sexuality and missing contact to the gay cultural community is a lost year for any homosexual individual, the political developement may take additional decades.

[..] Nationalism, however, and the arising need for it, is quite a different matter.

In the first part of the his speech, Malcolm X effectively depicts the very nature of the modern nationalism: it is not about to "teach people hate others", but rather about teaching people to respect themselves.

"The political philosophy of Black Nationalism only means that the black man should control the politics and the politicians in his own community. [..] Black nationalism is a self-help philosophy. [..] This is a philosophy that eliminates the necessity for division and argument. 'Cause if you are black you should be thinking black, and if you are black and you not thinking black at this late date, well I’m sorry for you."

He also mentions a problem of internal discord and quarrel, a problem which appeared to me before as a particularly inherent to the gay community; now I know better. He describes the situation as follows:

"They don’t hang you because you’re a Baptist; they hang you 'cause you’re black. [..] We’re all in the same bag, in the same boat. We suffer political oppression, economic exploitation, and social degradation -- all of them from the same enemy. [..] So, I say in my conclusion the only way we're going to solve it – we’ve got to unite in unity and harmony, and black nationalism is the key. How we gonna overcome the tendency to be at each others throats that always exists  in our neighborhoods? And the reason this tendency exists, the strategy of the white man has always been divide and conquer. [..] He tells you I’m for separation and you for integration to keep us fighting with each other. No, I’m not for separation and you’re not for integration. What you and I is for is freedom. Only you think that integration would get you freedom, I think separation would get me freedom. We both got the same objective, we just got different ways of getting at it."

I could proceed with citations, but it is of nor more use than simply read the speech and draw analogies about the sense and usefullness of constructive nationalism.

There`s one place in Malcom X`s discourse where I immediately recognized myself.That sentence where he says that the white man had made the mistake of letting him read his history books.I have been myself a voracious reader of history books since my early teens.That`s where I got the idea that we gays could also secede.

History is a gorgeous thing, isn't it? Provided, one is able to understand analogies and draw the right conclusions.  :L
Title: Re: A Speach by Malcom X
Post by: K6 on Fri, Feb 24, 2006, 18:18
History is a gorgeous thing, isn't it? Provided, one is able to understand analogies and draw the right conclusions.  :L

There is a time when,having chosen some heterosexual historical role model (mine was Poland),a gay tends to identify with it beyond what analogy would require.Then there may be a sad moment,the one when a gay has to part from his historical role model and fly on his own.Heterosexual historical role models generally teach a gay separatist most of what he needs to know about various technical aspects of self-determination.Yet,
some other aspects remain to be invented.Our historical hethro role models were also once inventors,facing up to situations which had never been encountered before them.Just as we gays are nowadays,talking about self-determination and secession.

K6
Title: Re: A Speach by Malcom X
Post by: Feral on Sat, Feb 25, 2006, 04:44
If you are gay you should be thinking gay, and if you are gay and you not thinking gay at this late date, well I’m sorry for you.

Gay people and str8 people are not the same thing.
Title: Re: A Speach by Malcom X
Post by: Mogul on Sat, Feb 25, 2006, 06:10
[..] Heterosexual historical role models generally teach a gay separatist most of what he needs to know about various technical aspects of self-determination.Yet, some other aspects remain to be invented. [..]

Konfuzius tald his fellow Chinese:

"Learn as much as possible, re-think thy knowledge, and thou will become teacher to others".

Isn't this what makes the progress and innovation? A critical analysis of previous experience and invention of new solutions for new problems.

If you are gay you should be thinking gay, and if you are gay and you not thinking gay at this late date, well I’m sorry for you. [..]

Gays being a pretty diverse bunch, there is still much space left for freedom of conscience and thought.  ;D
Title: Re: A Speach by Malcom X
Post by: K6 on Sat, Feb 25, 2006, 08:04
If you are gay you should be thinking gay, and if you are gay and you not thinking gay at this late date, well I’m sorry for you.

Gay people and str8 people are not the same thing.

One wonders wether someone who is not capable of thinking,say through sheer intellectual lazyness,is even capable of being or remaining gay
against the odds of this world.Heterosexuals are provided everything by way of cultural transmission,out of knowledge accumulated over centuries
and millenia.Gays must continually invent or discover,or perish,as primeval and quintessential human beings.

K6
Title: Re: A Speach by Malcom X
Post by: Mogul on Sun, Feb 26, 2006, 15:19
One wonders wether someone who is not capable of thinking,say through sheer intellectual lazyness,is even capable of being or remaining gay
against the odds of this world.Heterosexuals are provided everything by way of cultural transmission,out of knowledge accumulated over centuries
and millenia.Gays must continually invent or discover,or perish,as primeval and quintessential human beings.

K6

This would explain to some extent, why many older research papers suggested that people with higher education were more likely do fall pray to homosexuality, than simple workers. Not that than simple workers are necessarily less intelligent than said intellectuals, but the experience with analytical work indeed makes it easier for a man to understand what's all about being gay. In our days, in the western world any worker is as well able to gain access to information about homosexuality as any univiersity student, but some 50 years ago the knowledge of ancient Greek literature was mostly preserved to the privileged classes. Certainly anyone can grasp the desire to have sex with same-sex partners, but the capacity to overcome the mighty religious and social pressure requires certain knowledges of history and positive role models.
Title: Re: A Speach by Malcom X
Post by: K6 on Sun, Feb 26, 2006, 17:47
This would explain to some extent, why many older research papers suggested that people with higher education were more likely do fall pray to homosexuality, than simple workers. Not that than simple workers are necessarily less intelligent than said intellectuals, but the experience with analytical work indeed makes it easier for a man to understand what's all about being gay.

A gay has to size up quickly the situation he is in,without any direct or intended support from the heterosexual society.He has to do so early in his
life.He has to be analytical as no heterosexual ever had to be.So,gayness is not for everybody.It is for curious,analytical and I would add either courageous of very egoistic people.I credit courage,gay self-determination needs courage.But I would tend to trust more egoism as a motivation to be and remain gay.I am myself gay mainly because I like guys.But I also like guys because I see no advantage to be reaped out of an intimate relation with a person of the opposite sex.On the contrary,I see in heterosexuality a raw deal,very disavantageous and thus to be avoided.Even against the advice and pressure of a whole heterosexual political body.

K6
Title: Re: A Speach by Malcom X
Post by: Mogul on Wed, Mar 01, 2006, 20:07
One passage in Malcolm X's speech disturbed me a little bit: when he sneered about the participants of those "We will overcome" pickets and sit-ins. Though he aptly wraps his irony in a brilliant teasing and is not without sympathy for those brothers and sistas, I think that he is wrong with his contempt for such actions. Though these protests were probably not instantly successfull, they most certainly contributed to the sensibilization of public opinion for concerns of black citizens. The ones who stayed in home at any occasion had to be blamed instead of those who participated in the movement how they thought was the best.

In analogy, we should also recognize efforts of other organizations and gay activists, who have in quite work achieved progresses for the gay Volk.