African-American Radio and Conspiracy Theories
Sundays WaPost had an interesting piece in their editorial section about the experience of two African-American XM radio hosts who were cancelled after a battle over a conspiracy theory popular on African-American radio stations. I thought the other NG readers would find it interesting as well. (the following selections are not in the order they appear in the original).
A 1990 survey by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference found that one-third of black American churchgoers believed that AIDS was a form of genocide. One-third also believed that HIV was produced in a germ-warfare lab, and 40 percent of black college students in Washington, D.C., agreed. An even higher percentage of blacks polled said they thought that crack cocaine was custom-made to be planted in African American communities to keep them crime-ridden and poor and that the government deliberately targeted black elected officials to drive them from office. These beliefs keep some black Americans from having their children vaccinated, from receiving AIDS tests and early medical treatment, and from practicing safe sex or using clean needles, as Patricia A. Turner and Gary Alan Fine note in their book, "Whispers on the Color Line." They also make seeking the truth an uphill battle.
Reading Jesus: EGO & Treasures.
This EGO thing is real.
It amazes me the fight with my true self and false self. I would define my ego as my false self. It seems that the hurt and pain that I have caused any person has always stemmed from my ego or false self. I suspect that much of the pain I’ve felt has been a result of my ego. Perhaps it is the pain that has helped me build the defense structure called my ego. It’s the defended part of me; the projection of what I call an illusion.
As I Read Jesus, I see one who was accussed and constantly bombarded with folks attempting to trap him. He was betrayed by a kiss from one of his closest friends; others denied that they knew him, and yet, he never attempted to defend himself. It seems that the only way he could do this was that he lived from his deepest nature and identity. As I reflect on his life, I realize that I am not much like him, though I claim that I attempt to follow him. I also realize that when I am living from my defended, ego-self– my false self, I am not much like me either. Maybe the idea of “giving-up oneself” or “taking up one’s cross”, is perhaps dying to the false-self– the ego.
Everything is this world lures me– entices me to be defended; entices me to “store-up treasures”, to build bigger barns to hold the possessions of my false-self. Following Jesus is scary, for it requires me to let loose– to release my grip and to be released from all that grips me. Dying is a scary proposition, but according to jesus, it’s the way to life. Maybe if I lose my life (my false, ego-self), I will find it.
“For where your tresure is, there your heart is also.”
What do you treasure?
This is a question that I have to ask myself. Beneath the surface–the exterior, underneath it all, what do I truly tresure? That’s where my heart is.
sex
Ah, so I got your attention! Yesterday, I wrote my first poem in Esperanto… unfortunately, I neglected to save it on my computer, and when my machine did one of its random reboots, it was lost and I haven’t been able to recover it. However, I wasn’t going to post it, anyway. It was, ahem, […]
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