2 seconds off yo ass!
I've got no patience now
So sick of complacency now
I've got no patience now
So sick of complacency now
Sick of sick of sick of sick of you
Time has come to pay...
Know your enemy!
- Rage Against The Machine
~~~~~~~~~~
A friend of mine once explained that what most white people get twisted is which Black people to fear. They think that thugged out brotha or loud-mouth video vixen dressed sista is the one they should stay clear of. As long as they don't live, work, play near those Black people, then they will be safe. What they don't realize is us intelligent, educated, middle/upper class, professional Black people are 2 seconds off their asses too! They see the "ghetto" denizens as angry, openly hostile. But the rest of us got that stealth anger going on and at any second that shit is gonna pop off. Fo' real!
~~~~~~~~~~
Tonight was my pop off. I'm currently in a principal preparation program. It's a small, elitist program - we are only the third cohort to go through, so I can accurately say I am one of only 60 R****** fellows in the world. We are the shit! My cohort has 18 people in it and I am pleased to say that 5 of us are Black, 3 are Latino, and 1 is Latino/Japanese. Pretty damn diverse considering this is Denver.
~~~~~~~~~~
So anyway there is this one white chick (yeah, I called her chick cuz that's about as much sense she has - a baby chicken) who is so stuck up and stuck on herself. The program kicked off with a week-long retreat at the end of the summer in this remote mountain ranch. No phone, no cell phone, no internet access, and only 2 TV channels. (Yeah, we was roughin' it in cabins.) A week with 22 strangers (3 facilitators & 1 other participant who has since quit the program). Not the the opportunity most people would be looking forward to but hey, you make the best of it. The purpose of the retreat, as you can guess, was to help us bond.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Everyone was doing their best to step out and do that. Everyone but white, skinny chic. From the word go (or the word whoa) she was standoff-ish, aloof, condescending, rude, evil, and just plain heifer-ish. So the rest of us just went on without her. My feeling about her almost from day one was she only deals with people who a) are on her "level", b) are above her "level", and c) have something she needs (i.e. the power to promote her ass). Therefore she quickly summed us all up and decided we couldn't do anything for her, were not of her "ilk" and dismissed us all. Especially the minorities. She spent the whole retreat lips pursed, legs crossed and sucking up to the facilitators. Whatever heifer!
~~~~~~~~~~
So now 5 months later, she's gotten a little better (I think because the facilitators told her she needed to play nice) but for the most part is still pulling her "I'm so much better than you all and you need to know that" routine. Fine. I don't want to be your friend. And I just keep my distance.
~~~~~~~~~~
Understand though that there is a difference between not liking you personally and respecting you as a person and/or professionally. I don't have to like you to work with you. And there are plenty of times in class when the facilitators will have us pair up, group up, to work together. Since I'm not usually sitting near her, we never have had to. Until tonight.
~~~~~~~~~~
Tonight I sat my stuff down then left the room. In the meantime she came into class and took the seat to my left. When I returned, I'll admit, I was like "Damn! I don't wanna sit by her." But I'm a professional, we only have to sit next to each other and if we do have to talk, I can do that without sneering or throwing up.
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Inevitability the moment comes tonight when the facilitators tell us to turn, pair up with a person and discuss ____________. Now normal, grown-ass people look to their left and their right and pair up as necessary. We are sitting such that she and I are numbers 3 and 4, respectfully, at the table. So naturally we should pair up.
~~~~~~~~~~
That heifer looks to her left (never looks right) and turns her back on me to start talking to the guy next to her. So now I'm sitting in the middle of the table with no one to talk to (people #5 & 6 logically start talking to each other; person #1 - who person #2 should have paired with - had gotten up to get some water but was on his way back). The guy she's talking to, looks over and says
C: "T, come on join us."
T: "No, that's okay, C. I got the message. I'm good."
SWC: "Oh, I'm sorry. Yes, join us." (dry tone of voice)
T: "Um, no. I got the message. You turned your back on me. Do what you do."
C: "Aaaa, no T join us."
T: "Naw, C - I'm good. Obviously SWC doesn't want anything to do with me."
At this point I'm getting up and walking outta the room to keep from slapping the ho.
C: "Come on T. You can join us."
T: "Naw, C - I'm straight."
~~~~~~~~~~
So the rest of the evening I sat next to the heifer and scared her ass. She sat wrapped so tight she was afraid to blink in case I might cut her ass. And I just stretched out and enjoyed the rest of my evening.
~~~~~~~~~~
The thing is... the thuggish, ruggish set may take your life; you end up dead. We intelligent, educated, professional types will take your life; make you wish you were dead.
How would you advise one of your students to deal with a similar situation?
Posted by
Anonymous |
11:15 AM, January 29, 2006
have you found solace(soulace)?
Posted by
T |
2:09 PM, January 30, 2006
Here they go with the anonymous ish...Way to go T. She is so lucky you didn't cluck that clucker...lol
Posted by
NameLiar |
2:42 PM, January 31, 2006
Hell, I just released my inner thug and I guess he will now become the dominant personality.
I still conduct business, still am researching my non profit and still am in the mood for love. Loving myself.
I need that thug to protect me from those that wanna take advantage. I seem a little too passive for some.
Fine then... good luck in dealing with me now. And you too.
You ain't did nothing wrong. Stand your ground dammit, and keep punking those that need to be punked. Sometimes even your students need to see that.
Posted by
The Brown Blogger |
7:01 AM, February 03, 2006