The weeks in review................
So, I know that I promised to be more vigilant about updating my blogs, but you know how those New Year's Eve resolutions can go. (Right down the toilet.) But I'm back with you now, and that's all that matters, right? (Don't look at me like that)
So, I have several things I can catch you guys up on.
1. Snow. Isn't it funny, that as children, we LOVE the snow. Just can't get enough of it. Jumping in it, falling in it, sticking our tongues in it (hey, you know you did that!), etc, etc, etc. Well, not so much anymore. If the snow doesn't yield a snowday, I have absolutely no use for it. And we got a lot of it last week. Well, Springfield got a lot. I was extremely blessed in that I happened to be in Chicago when the windfall came. I only have a Tuesday & Wednesday night class, so after I heard that classes were cancelled on Tuesday night, I stayed in Chicago. Then I heard that classes were cancelled on Wednesday night, so that meant I didn't have to be back in Springfield until this Tuesday (tomorrow)! Yay! So, I basically parlayed what was supposed to be a long weekend into an extra Spring Break. Whoo-hoo!
And let me tell ya, that's a good thing. I love UIS and everything, but these people have NO CLUE as to how to handle snow. It really dumbfounds me as to why snow confounds them all the time. They have this policy about not using salt (instead they use sand, which does absolutely nothing except make your apartment floors a filthy mess) so you pretty much slip and slide your way across campus until it gets warm enough for the snow and ice to melt. I have to tell ya, that peeves me to no end. Can we shovel some ice here! I mean, there are people who get around the campus with wheelchairs, for heaven's sake! If not for my convenience, at least do it for their safety.
2. The untimely demise of Chief Illiniwek. Yes, I know he belongs to UIUC, and not UIS, but I thought I'd comment anyway. The reason why his demise is untimely is because he should've got axed YEARS ago. The fact is, the Chief is a racist symbol. Ever heard of Blackface? That's when white performers would put coal on their faces and pretend to be Black but supposedly mimicking Black people. Well, the Chief is what I call "redface." A white person (or in a couple of cases, a Latino or Fillipino person...still not a Native American) pretending to be Native American by painting their face and hopping around. It's not a genuine representation of the Illiniwek (who, by the way, were forced off of their land and made to move onto reservations in Oklahoma by the white settlers...but, of course, people fail to mention that). The dance was made up by white people, the music he dances to was composed by white people, and the actual desendants of the Illinwek are opposed to the "Chief."
And don't tell me about it being a "time-honored tradition." So what? There were many places, all across the country, that would take a Black person (back then they called them "negroes" or the other "n" word) and lynch that person for fun. It was a time-honored tradition. But we all know that's wrong, and we've all stopped doing that, right? (Well, hopefully.) Slavery was a time-honored tradition. Arranged marriages were a time-honored tradition. There are many time honored traditions that have been retired because the only people they honored were white men.
And don't tell me about the fact that only a minority of the people want him to be retired. Of course only a minority want him to be retired! Why? Because the people whom the "Chief" disrespects the most were forced to be a minority when European settlers stole their land from them and committed a mass genocide of their ethnic group. During the Civil Rights Movement, only a minority of people favored Civil Rights for African-Americans. The rest were very comfortable with Blacks being forced to live in dilapidated conditions, sit in the back of buses, get their food at the back door of restaurants, and be in constant fear of violence from whites. Was that treatment correct because only a minority of Americans had an issue with it? No.
The "Chief" is not a "proud" symbol of the Illiniwek. How can you claim to be honoring a group of people who don't at all feel honored by what you're doing? That's like when a woman walks down the street and men whistle and make lewd comments to her. They might feel as if they're complimenting her on her good looks, but if she feels uncomfortable and disrespected, they haven't honored her at all. But of course, this is America, and none of this is new. It’s not new that minorities are forced to inaccurate and hurtful representations of themselves and then told that it’s all in “good & clean fun.” Of course, the majority of people who are having "fun" at their expense know nothing about the plight of minorities in this country and don't care at all to be sensitive about how harmful and hurtful those stereotypes can be.
All that I can say is, "so long 'Chief!' I hope to never see your racist behind again!"
3. It's Black History Month! That's right. For 28 days, a lot of people have to pretend that they like Black people. Isn't that wonderful? The only problem with it is that it's turned into a month where all we do is quote the "I Have A Dream" speech (which wasn't even the correct name of the speech), and reduce African-American accomplishments to a list of people who did things like make gas masks, find new uses for peanut butter, and break the color barrier in American baseball.
Well, I'm here to tell you (if you didn't already know this) that the Black experience in America is about sooooooo much more than tired lists of achievements and inventions or old speeches taken completely out of context. It's about a people, a struggle, a joy, an overcoming, and a rising. And all that can't be forced into 28 days.
But, I will give UIS for doing a better job at honoring BHM than I've seen them do in the previous 2 years. Keep up the good work!
Well, I think that's enough ranting for now (or at least, all that you guys can take), so I'll retire. Until next time, keep fighting the powers that be!
