Womanist

Rants from a Jamaican British Woman

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Give it up Hilary. Barack can't do any worse than all the White President's who has been in power. Your husband has already done it. What is American politics becoming! Do you have to be related these days to be president of the USA? Frankly, let the Black man have it. He's worked hard for it. It will make a change. Black people in America deserve to see themselves represented. Think about the jobs for the boys when he starts messing up. A Black President, we told you he would mess up! What would you expect of a Black man?? Imagine when they find out that he smoke, but didn't inhale!! Imagine how much copy they'll get out of the Black President who slept with his intern or with anybody else for that matter, even his wife. They could talk about the sexual propensity of Black men forever then. And god help him if anyone in his administrator is found to have nicked the odd paper clip. Yo! Yo! You know you neva could trust them blacks...Of course the above scenarious are only possible if the secret service behave themselves and don't do him what they've always done to aspirational Blacks, or Blacks who dare talk politics. Good luck Barack, me I am rooting for ya..At best you can definitely do better than the pricks they've been putting in charge. Crass cinicism apart, I truly believe Barack Obama has a good attitude to politics and with the right support, he could go onto be the greatest president America has ever seen. American's need to be united as a people. They need to show more care and empathy for their fellow Americans and fellow human beings. They need to take more care in using and managing the worlds resources. They need to get rid of their warmongering status. They need to apologise to the world for their extraordinarily unfair and often riddiculous behaviours. Barack might be the first to offer Americans a way out of the perverse rut that they have allowed the likes of Bush and Bush to dig them into.

.: posted by womanist 11:09 AM

Boy, it's hard living one's life by passwords. I don't seem to be able to remember mine for more than a few seconds at a time.

.: posted by womanist 11:08 AM

The BBC is arrogant beyond belief. To try to convince the fee paying public that it is right to pay the likes of Johnathan Ross some 18 million pounds a year to trip over his tongue talking crap to a lot of hasbeens celebrities beggars belief. For the last 10 years, the BBC has churned out little more than rubbish which panders to people who live their lives vicariously. The fee charged is an insult to us the general public. Frankly the BBC should be paying us to even bother to switch on the box where we are guaranteed to be bombarded with endless reality rubbish, endless repeats of rubbish, repetitive news bulletins, endless parades of riddiculous people telling us the sun ain't going to shine tomorrow. I mean how many people do the BBC need to read from a screen tomorrow's weather condition. We have windows, we can look out of them and tell whether it's going to rain or shine. Johnathan isn't worth £50,000 never mind the vulgar sum of 18 million. Terry Wogan isn't worse the vast sums he's being paid either. Perhaps he could use a tiny proportion of his vulgar income to get himself a decent toupee. I would rather the BBC do something useful with my money such as give it to the people around the globe that it exploits to make some of its riddiculous programmes. If they put the licence fee up another penny I for one will chuck the little set I bother to have in the bin.

.: posted by womanist 10:50 AM

Out of the Mouths of 'babes'

So my two-year-old grand daughter complimented me recently. As I admired myself in my new pair of white jeans, she piped up. "You know nanny that's so pretty. You look so cute in that". Needless to say I have squashed my ample frame into the said white jeans wearing them at every possiblity. No more compliments since the grand daughter's though. She's coming at the weekend and I'll be fishing for compliments.

.: posted by womanist 10:46 AM

Brown! Brown! Brown! Isn't there a very British saying. 'Don't ask for something, you might get your wish' and so Brown got his wish to be PM and poor devil (smile) First he got foot and mouth, then Noah send him a bit of floodng, then Bush sent the credit crunch, and the young people or Britain started drinking more, smoking more evil stuff and then upping their fantastic disregard for each other's lives by shooting and stabbing each other at every opportunity, then we got Boris as Mayor and now we know for sure that the Tories are on their way back, and Gordon responded by taxing the poor in every manner possible, and now he's doing a Blair by getting tough on terror. Here's a little bit of advice Mr Brown, if you don't want to end up in the guiness book of records for being one of Britain's shortest lived and most incompetent PM, I suggest you find a little poor arse country to invade, get the media and people on your side by ensuring that we're convinced that there is exeptionally good reason for invasion. How about invading like .....St Kitts! They must have nuclear weapon! Oh but do they have any oil? Oh just invade South America, they're poor and they have lots of oil and other natural resources that we need. Look I want to be able to drive my car again and by the looks of things, I won't be able to unless you invade a country that has lots of oil and make the bastards hand it over for nothing, so that we can get cheap gas. Such an action will save your arse. Believe me.

.: posted by womanist 10:33 AM

Well! Got that out of my system. I am just so fedup with the hypocracy of the West. The truth is everyone is screwing Africa. Any idiot knows that if you want to become, remain, or relaunch your country as a superpower, Africa is where its at. Africa has all the resources that spell out the word P O W E R. The magnificent continent has diamonds; gold, silver, copper; aluminuim, and a mountain of other natural resources. It has sun. It has everything to meet the vorocious appettite of the Western World, China and India. All of whom know full well how to give a little and take and take and take a lot. And it's so easy to take and give a little, because most Africans are so cut off from any possibility of reaching their potential as human beings, that frankly having enough to buy some fufu and banku seems to be all that many asked. Whilst there are now enough Africans living in the West who could probably return to their respective lands and make a difference, all their countries are being so summarily destroyed and undermined, they fear there is nothing to return to, so they stay and moan about their compromised existence.

.: posted by womanist 10:22 AM

I haven't blogged forever!! I guess this is because I'm in love and so obsessed with my new husband that I can't be bothered to worry about the world anymore. Ok call me selfish. Having said that I am at home with toothache today and have been staring at the telivision inbetween winces of pain, periods of wakefullness and trying to work out what the anti-biotics are doing to my body. So who did I see on it? Robert Mugabe of course giving a very eloquent speech in Rome. Now all my liberal friends are going to hate me for saying this, but a lot of what the man says makes sense. In fact all of what he said made sense. It may sound like he's trying to absent himself from any responsibilty for what is going on in Zimbabwe. Now in truth, what do we really know about Mugabe or his antics in recent years? We really only know what we are told by the British media, not known for it's fear appraisal of anything African or indeed of African politics and politicians. The stuff that comes at us about how Mugabe is starving his people does sound very concerning and credible, but then it's the same media that told us how much things in South Africa has changed for Blacks since the end of apartheid. Well I've been to South Africa and from what I can see, little has changed for the vast majority of Black people. South Africa is still divided into two distinctly different countries, one that houses wealthy Whites, and Black politicians prepared to accept the status quo as long as they get to live comfortable lives, and the other South Africa is one that is poverty stricken, aids ridden; people, Black people in the main living in 'shit' and dying like ants. Now I really don't know what Mugabe is up to, but I do understand that he is one of the few African leaders who has dared to stand up to its former colonisers. I also have no doubt that Britain has done all in its power to undermine Mugabe's rule and to de-stabilise Zimbabwe's economy. Britain's behaviour to its former colonies is no surprise, particularly where the people show interest in asserting their independence. Britain is still entrenched in appalling behaviours abroad. The West in general are the biggest contributors to Africa's continued dilemmas. It's because of our ultimate greed in the Western world that many African's are starving. Truth is, the West has little interest in the welfare of African people's. Africa still has resources to be exploited and if that means undermining its rulers or at least the ones that disagree or challenge the West approach, then that is what the West will do. We are always so willing to believe whatever we read in the media about Black rulers. Whilst White rulers seem able to get away with 'mass murder' literally. Mugabe is a very clever man, and this is not being said disparagingly. I believe his supherb intellect really 'pisses' the West off. Truth is the West does not want independent African States unless such a state is headed up by a White Government. Other African States are terrified of upsetting the Western world for fear of draconian economic sanctions being wreaked upon them. The West want Africa to be 'aided'. The West fears African's independence. Too many people; too much power to be conferred on one continent, so African Leaders however, amazing will always be piliorised, unless of course they are a 'Mandela' a man I think of massive integrity, who perhaps still believe the world is full of innately good people, likely to respond to reason and gentle compromise. It is more than easy to say Mugabe is 'mad'. It's a bit like the the violent husband who justifies hitting his wife by telling the judge that she nagged him. I hear that Mugabe is yet another leader that lives a lavish lifestyle whilst his people struggle. I don't doubt that story for a moment. Whilst in no way justifiable in my book, funding lavish lifestyles seem to be an occupational hazzard for world leaders. How many houses has Mr Blair bought and at what price whilst prime minister. British MP's don't pay bills. We pay for their incredible lifestyles through more and more of our income being taxed. In the meantime we the general public are experiencing more and more difficulties trying to keep up with basic living standards. Its strikes me that people who become leaders are on the whole egotistical, into self-aggrandisement etc. etc. I don't suppose Black Leaders on the whole are very different. Very few seems to go after the job for altrustic reasons. Many know from the beginning that they will become powerful men and women, able to continue living lifestyles, that most of the people they're suppose to be serving could not even dream of. I dare say that on the question of savile row suits, fabulous houses, cars, planes, boats, golfing when you should be working, Mugabe probably fit in very well.

.: posted by womanist 9:07 AM

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

I listened with interest this morning to a radio four's discussion on why so many young men get involve in robbery and violence on our streets. John App Rhys Price whose son was brutually murdered for a mobile phone and £20 was dignified and restrained in his comments and see a lack of facilities for excluded and bored young people as a part of the problem. Camilla Batman-Ghaleigh and another young ladies name who I did not catch describe a wider more endemic problem. I tend to agree with them that it is a systemic problem and one that starts even before some of these young people are born. Many are coming from homes, where they have been brought up with little sense of responsibility. Their homes are often not safe secure places, but where violence between spouses are commonplace, as is violence towards children. Family members as well as the children within those families often feel excluded from wider society, by virtue of their status which might include, poor and overcrowded homes, lack of educational attainments, lack of jobs, lack of access to facilities that more contained families may see as normal. Other issues such as racism and deliberate exclusion and oppressive behaviours towards some minority ethnic groups can lead to some young people feeling that there is nothing in wider society to align themselves to. Gang membership and the inclusion that they offer becomes a way of life for some. As a single parent who have brought up three wonderful children, and I speak for many other single mothers I know who have all brought up wonderful young people, I would absolutely assert that what happens to our children, how they turn out cannot be divorced from the stories they live within their immediate families. Parents need to love, respect and value the children they bring into this world. Being a single parent should not in itself be a pre-rquisite for parenting alone. Fact is most children do have two parent's and whatever the differences that develop between them as adults, it is important that wherever possible they try to keep in mind the needs of their children and make every effort to input and impact positively on their children's upbringing. It is parents who are responsible for giving their children a 'good start'. We cannot wait for children to become teenagers, before we start trying to fix them. By that time, we as parents and the wider society will already have failed them miserably. I will also add that it imperative that part of state intervention in families lives have to start with ensuring that all children are given a chance to thrive, and that includes ensuring and helping parents provide a decent physical space for their children and themselves from which they can create a home. Children need, physical, moral, spritual and psychological, and material input. It is difficult for many parents to achieve these ideals if their physical living condition is cause for concern. Everything that has been done up to date is simply half measures. With RIGHTS comes RESPONSIBILITIES. Conversations about what it means to be a parent needs to happen in homes and schools. Never mind sex education, parenting education would go some way to stop disaffected young people rushing into parenthood and then turning into another generation of neglecting parents. Fit young people who see nothing for them because of having no secure base, need frankly to be made to work, or put into the armed forces (that said coming from a pacifist). My point is simply sitting on street corners and or using idle hands to make mischief should not be an option. When I was bringing up my children, I was not afraid to tell them that living off me/and or the State was not an option. It was university or work. They all choose the former, followed by the latter. It seems to me that if parents cannot help their children to make decisions other than ones that continue to brutalise them and others, then the State need to assume responsibility for these young people and make sure they are channelled into edcuation and/or careers. The cost to us as a society in the long run will be so much less. Prisons and Mental Health instutions cost us the taxpayers a fortune, not to mention the impact on us as a society of the mindless violence being carried out by these young people. How many more mothers must mourn the gun/knife murder of a son? How many more App Rhy's Prices? No family rich or poor deserve to bury a child because of the mindless, thoughtless, needless violence of another. Let's all try to genuinely make the effort to build a society where such acts of violence truly become abhorent. Let's inspire and enable our all our children. Respecting children and young people, building their self-esteem and self-confidence will go a long way to changing our society.

.: posted by womanist 1:46 AM

Monday, October 09, 2006

I guess the war in Iraq is over and now the war on the Nicab has started. Well done Jack.

.: posted by womanist 12:58 AM

Sunday, October 08, 2006

I am trying hard to recall that little poem which I believe was written by Ezra someone or another, but I may be wrong. The first line reads I think; "First they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out; and so on and so, ending with; "Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak.... something like that. The recent attacks on Brown skinned Muslims is to my mind unprecendented, since the attacks on Black Caribbean immigrants to this country. Throughout the 60's 70's and some of the 80's, Black young people and Black families seemed to be blamed for every ill this country suffered. They suffered mostly in silence apart from the odd uprisings or 'Riots' as some in the press like to describe the behaviour in the early 80's of a number of disenchanted and disenfranchised young Black males mostly of African/Caribbean descent. Of course the way Black people dressed was all wrong as well. The so called 'Afro hair style' was seen as a threat to White communities. Of course it wasn't really the hair style that was the threat, but the meaning ascribed to it. Black people in England were genuinely saying through their huge Afro's that they were Black and proud. The messages that were being conveyed by Blacks in America had finally reached these shores. Of course Black people in this country do not share one particular religious belief system so there was nothing to jump on there, so clothes, hairstyles, dating White women, all became points of attack. Black people have of course learn over time not to react to today's garrish headlines. It's simply not worth the energy. After all, there's always a new enemy of the State waiting in the wings for the onslaught of the British Press seeming determination to stir up zenophobia and general racial hatred. My advice to British Brown skinned Muslims is stop feeling you have to react to every headline. Remember that people stating their differences in their style of dress is nothing new in this country. Infact it is positively encouraged, from endless different school uniforms, sincluding those that clearly show who are state/privately educated, scouts, bikers, politicians, judges, city gents, mohicans, skinheads, very strange looking young people with tattooes and rings coming out of every orifice (usually to be spotted in Camden Market) Nuns, Priests, rich kids, poor kids. sloane rangers, the green welly types, Rastas, Jews, Hindus, Amishes, soldiers, policemen, firemen, ambulance people, doctors, nurses, porters, doormen, people who work in stores, on airplanes, all public transport. You name it, we love uniforms. So worry not Muslim women. Keep dressing in any manner that you feel comfortable. It's legitimate part of your culture, religion or maybe just personal taste. I'm just off to have my leg, arm and neck irons replaced. I wouldn't want to upset the Powers that be by pretending I am free.

.: posted by womanist 10:42 AM

Sunday, October 01, 2006

Womanist

Oh my God! John Reed for prime minister. That loudmouth, arrogant, lecturing, egotistical .........I think Reed would be a fail safe person to ensure that a Labour Government is never returned to power. The Tories must be clapping their little blue paws in glee at such a hideous possibility. The man would be lucky to get too Muslim votes after his condescending lecture to Muslim parents encouraging them to spy on their children. Didn't hear anyone asking Irish parents to spy on their children when young IRA terrorists were blowing people up Northern Ireland and England. Never heard government appealing to the parents of BNP members who went around attacking and even murdering Black people. It has to be highly convenient that this government is apparently allowing a few hothead young people who have Muslim tagged to their identity to dictate the foreign policies of this country, amongst other things like changing fundamental principles of law and generally harrasing vast numbers of Muslim people. What really is the hidden agenda? I was also fascinated by credit given to the converted Muslim who heckled Reed. 'Delroy' as I prefer to call him probably know as much about Islam as I know about why someone like John Reed believes more than 3 people would want to see him a prime minister of this country. I suspect 'Delroy' is nothing but an agent provocuteur, bought in to help Reed make his point. I have a feeling that the Muslims born and bred who were present took exception to the upstart trying to high jack the time that they could have usefully use to tell John Reed what they thought of his bullying tactics.

.: posted by womanist 4:34 AM

I've been trying to find out who actually own my car. I certainly bought it. I remember that. I taxed it. I serviced it. I insured. I upkeep it. But do I really own it? Having duly had it MOT'd. Then pay nearly £200 for road tax, a huge amount of money for insurance, I now have to pay £50 to park the thing outside my front door on the road. I thought I was already paying road tax for driving and parking on the road, but apparently not. Since I now have to pay more money for parking outside my house, another £50 for parking at work. I can't of course park the same car in two places at the same time, so I am screwed. If I stop at my local shop to pick up a pint of milk, it will cost me between 30 and 60 pence to park for a few minutes. If I stop in certain boroughs to adjust my seat, I am likely to lift up my head to see a traffic warden, camera and ticket at the ready. If I accidentally lose my way and stray into a bus lane as I did yesterday having mistakenly took the wrong turning to get over London bridge that will probably be £100 fine. I am waiting with bated breath for the fine to pop in the post. It was of course a genuine mistake and I turned around as soon as I could safely do so, but drivers are not allowed to make any kind of mistake anymore. In fact drivers are more likely to get away with driving whilst drunk and running over a passerby and killing them than they are to get away with straying accidentally into a bus lane. I guess there's no money in it for the government if knock a cyclist down or run over someone crossing the road. I wouldn't mind if drivers were being taxed in order to get them off the road. I completely agree with the congestion charge and I do agree that it is the job of local authorities to ensure that drivers don't just randomly park their cars, particularly in place where it is unsafe for other drivers and pedestrians. But of course that's not what local authorities are about. They're about making maximum income out of car owners. Go up to Cricklewood in London and you will see what I mean. Brent council have actually drawn parking bays halfway on the road and halfway on the pavement. There's is no need for that kind of greed. There are no residential properties where these road markings are and a nearby store has its own parking. Its hard to imagine just how much money local authorities are making out of drivers. And just look at some of our roads and pavements. What exactly are they spending the money on? And whoever owns my car, can you please own up because I am certainly not getting value for money out of it.

.: posted by womanist 3:48 AM

Why is the British public so overwhelmed with Tony's goodbye goodbye goodbye ....................speech? Being a good orator does not excuse the fact that he joined Bush in starting an illegal war in Iraq. The man is an actor, and I for one wouldn't be surprise to see him starring in a Hollywood movie in a few years time. Perhaps his first movie could be called 'Tony. My Super Ego'.

.: posted by womanist 3:43 AM

So the CIA and British Intelligence are agreed that the Iraqi conflict has been a catalyst in radicalizing young Muslims. They agree that there are now more terrorists than ever before and that the world has become a less safe place post Iraq. What a surprise!

.: posted by womanist 3:33 AM

Thursday, August 24, 2006

This government is nothing if not clever. So Ruth Kelly has instructed the nation to debate mult-culturalism. How very convenient to shift the heat from what should be the real debate. 'British Foreign Policy'. Lovely Ruth, do what successive governments have always done. Set people against each other. Blame new immigrants for nicking the jobs of poor Whites, and blame every other behaviour on religion. What's new? It was pretty much the same scenario with the Irish, the Jews, the Blacks, the Bangladeshi's. Older Black were grateful for the grumbs from the Whites table. Remember the early 80's. Younger Black British people were not, and they behaved very badly indeed in order to perturb government complicity in keeping them as an underclass. Black people, unlike the Irish, Jews, Muslims did not have religion to bind them. They are people of the diaspora. Everything had been taken from them by White colonizers, so all they had were their voices and homemade petrol bombs or whatever else they found to uprise in the street. Do not be fooled, this government is deliberately burying its collective head in the sand in order to shift the heat from the ungainly, ungodly mess of a war in Iraq; from their abject failure to work to prevent the escalation of violence in Lebanon and Israel; from Afghanistan; from a multitude of oppressive policies in All of Africa, Much of Asia, the Caribbean and wherever else in the world that they find they continuing their insidious plundering. It is not naivity that stops the government recognising that it is their foregin policies that breeds the terrorist. It's deliberate bloodimindedness. And the sad truth is, everyone of us including your terrorist and wood be terrorist are benefitting from our government's policy. As I sit here in my nice house at my flashy computer, wearing my latest cheap but attractive clothing having just returned from driving my car to the shops where I purchased ludicrous amounts of food, having choosen from a phenomenal variety laid out on stuffed shelves. I know jolly well that I am part of the problem. Our goverment is acting to meet our insatiable greed. We have all bought into the notion that we need all kinds of luxious goods in order to be happy. We are all at some level ignoring the fact that we have what we have because in the main the people who producing us with our endless luxuries have nothing.
How long do we really believe poor and oppressed nations are going to just lie there and starve?
If Ruth Kelly and her ilk want to see real changes and people of whatever ethnicity/cultures/religion getting on better, why not set up a debate to encourage people to genuinely think about ways each and everyone of us can work to contribute to fairer societies,
starting with government showing a genuine commitment to stop screwing the people in non-European countries.

.: posted by womanist 3:09 AM

Monday, August 21, 2006

I almost found myself liking John Prescott, which believe me would have meant me reaching somewhere very far inside my inards. It was his comment about Bush that got me thinking, this old bulldog ain't just another Blair boy, and then as soon as the words dropped out of his mouth, he allowed the gutter press to force them right back and offer that mealy mouth apology that only politicians know how to do, something about him being quoted out of context. Yes right!

Now the Chinese Ambassador I like. "Shut up" he told the Americans when they try to moralize about how the Chinese should conduct their political life. Yes most ordinary folks do wish the American Government would indeed just shut up and go spend some time sorting their mess of a country. Look the Americans have some of the fattest, greediest and morally suspect people in world. Telling everyone else how they should be behaving is just a way of not acknowledging all the crap that's under their own nose.