Michael Jackson is a genius… and he still has your mind trying to resolve a conundrum. The one America still will not confront… .RACE.,
Some day when people finally figure out that michael jackson’s obsession with race and his own racial identity has everything to do with why he had children under such unusual circumstances and that they, dispite obvious logic.. and countless years of understanding the subtlties of race, still have people thinking that they are his.His as in biologically his…
No one touched the story before because well.. no one has a clue about race, what it is .. and the science behind it.. (most slept during biology.. and Gregor Mendel probably means nothing to 99.9% of the people reading these words. )
Mind you.. race is not a biologic designation it is a sociologic construct. Yet phenotypic.. ie., how someone looks plays a role. These are not so called “biracial children” phenotypically. Saying that they have x feature of michael or Y feature given that other than teenage and childhood pictures people don’t have a clue how michael really looks , is ridiculous. The Jacksons themselves have very unique features even among African Americans .. nothing subtle about them at all.
Take a look at Jermaine Jackson’s “biracial children ”
I dare say I can IMMEDIATELY see a family resemblance
. As the legal cutody battles rage.. they will eventually be shown not to be his.. the chatter has begun.
Most people have not caught on to why Michael Jackson changed his looks.. why he would be the only person who , while denying that he had plastic surgery, and claiming vitiligo (he would be the rare case of vitaligo totalis.. ie., every sqaure inch of his body within 1 year lost pigment) , metamorphosized and was able to even change his genetic make up.
This is why people are able to be manipulated so easily because their basis of knowlege is supported only by opinions. Science..which our current president wants to restore.. would first of all let you realized that Michael Jackson’s mental and psychological state is something of a phenomenon on its own.
Look carefully at that picture above and see “normalcy”. Michael Jackson was a genius. A genius.. his understanding of the world surpassed most. This is why he was able to influence such a large segment of the near 6 billion people on this planet…
Take a look at his videos.. “black or white” might be a good place to start. Understand that his goal was to transcend race.. even attempting to do it on his own.. to the point of becoming “white” and being able to produce “white children”. 1000 years from now.. Michael Jackson will not be bound by race… his name will not tie him to Africa and if he was to pull it off.. his royally named offspring will be carrying on the legacy of a man with African roots… time will reveal so much and the west’s racial conundrum will have a trickster who added a little twist.. Michael Jackson…
in Conclusion.. who cares right.. ? No one really.. except for the sensibilities of those who refuse to be ignorant and have their mind manipulated by the purveyors of garbage.. I pray for peace to the Jackson family and am comforted by the fact that Michael’s tortured soul is at rest.
Black women she says has to work harder at beautiful……. she thanks Madame C.J Walker . Wow how lost are we….. really ?
and one person’s response
I am not a black woman… and just as I tell black women not to assume they know what it is like to be a black man, I don’t presume to understand all the pressures faced by a black women. I can only imagine and that is where it ends. Women, I have come to understand, have a constant pressure to look aesthetically pleasing at all times. So much so is there this constant pressure that there is a fine line between being able to focus on those things that matter such as job performance and basic functioning in society and at the same time make sure everyone finds them sexually attractive… or not sexually attractive.. or too sexually attractive.. . depending on the situation . Most of this effort is geared towards the opposite sex.
Much of it however is geared towards the wider society in general and being accepted in this society. Like black men, black women are scrutinized in any number of ways from the way they dress to the way they talk to even how they way. The way they choose to groom themselves as well in this highly racialized society has played a role. Each side making sometimes overt, but most times subtle gestures across the racial lines to remind the other that there is a difference and one worth defending…
After hundreds of thousands of years living on planet earth, the black woman waited until the last century to decide that her hair was no longer acceptable in the form that it emerges from the scalp. Undoubtely like all women throughout humanity’s history , she has dyed it, braided it (more than any other woman in human history), woven things in it… made ornaments for it, twisted it and placed all manner of things in it in order to accentuate its and her overall beauty. That is universal.
There is no evidence however that she ever sought to mask it’s real nature, even starting in early childhood, from the rest of society. This is a very new twist in the long history of women of African descent. There was obviously no need to obscure the real nature of how black hair actually grew and looked for the last 10,000 years. It wasn’t shielded under specially made hats, or covered over by animal hair not just for adornment but rather for the expressed purpose of hiding its true texture. The one feature unique to her kind more so than dark skin itself. The young girls weren’t reminded how difficult their hair was every morning and certainly the “fine toothed comb” is not an African invention… I guarantee you that if it was ..it was used to torture. I do believe 90% of black people if asked, without chemical alteration of their hair, to run a fine tooth comb through their hair would recoil at the thought.
It is now possible that fewer people now than ever before will have seen a black woman expose her natural hair throughout the course of her life. More than likely they will see the her chemically alter her hair from the roots, not occasionally .. but throughout her entire life.
At no time in her life will this fundamental part of her physical being be allowed to occur naturally . Especially if it is too …….NAPPY. That is to say , if she doesn’t have “good hair”. I won’t even go down that sad path. The denial on this topic is still so entrenched that it is utterly embarrassing to have to air that.. or at least it should be.
Why has the black woman felt, this particular need to do all that is humanly and scientifically possible to mask this one feature more than any other… That answer is in what context is all this occurring?
In a time when a black man , with a black woman by his side is about to preside over the most powerful government in the world today, there are questions about his middle name . In many ways a name that is ubiquitous throughout a world filled with probably hundreds of thousands of people , if not millions with the same name, is being asked to be suppressed for nothing else but fear and bigotry.
Hussein was masked in the president’s name to please a society that is so xenophobic that a relatively superfiscial thing such as a name, in a society that really doesn’t put a lot of stock otherwise on names, isa big issue.
In this society this often is what makes the difference in perception however.. how a particular group choses to wear their hair like wise can play a role. Why ? It plays a role because , like a name that is not European, it signifies our difference.
Like wise the persistent melanin production in black skin ties a people simultaneously to a legacy of glory , shame and now increasingly more frequent redemption If skin bleaching was more convenient and would not render people totally unrecognizable to their own family .. how many women would in conjunction to breaking the the disulfide bonds in her hair chemically, what give it its texture and stregnth (scientific FACT alert…search tensile stregnth of un permed black hair) would not also try to erase the very melanin that has offered us the abilty to live in harmony with the sun ?
It would be done at it still is being done. In essense it is a form of self mutilation with an industry willing to oblige and yet isn’t t even financially benifiting the very women who support it the most. . a double wammy, that bothers only but a few.
Judging…by no means not. Most women are oblivious to this line of reasoning. Hair is trivial in man respects… but so is a cough, yet it can be a sign of something much deeper. The reason is this particular pathology is so wide spread that most women by the time they reach any age of awareness are completely conditioned to associate this practice with basic hygiene and social responsibilty. It is their duty to look “presentable”. .. presentable to whom ?
They feel they wouldn’t be able to get a job if they left their hair natural. Because they aren’t educated about how to care for their hair…a solid 400 years of deconditioning did that. ..no pun intended, they feel convenience is an relatively expensive biweekly..even weekly practice that is more than justified .Why confront an unaccepting society when with a special blend of chemicals the illusion of at least acquiring one of the highly prized traits.. (non kinky hair) can be temporarily achieved.
They may feel that the, equally deconditioned, black male will not find them as attractive as the celebreties that wear the ultra expensive Asian women derived hair extensions as their own. (Even doing commercials for hair products that proportedly gave them that hair) …. deception at the shock and awe level no less.
In the CNN clip, posted, on black women in America a woman commented that “many think that a black woman’s hair style gives a window into her soul”.. she contends that “it does not” and follows by stating that many black women.. take out their braids before going to a job interview so that it does not detract in anyway …thus making a statement about her that she would not want the employer to know…”
If that doesn’t give a window into the soul.. the conflicted,…. deeply conflicted soul of a black women with these thoughts.. what does ? That statement says it all ..
What in fact would this prospective employer think if she wore these braids , a natural cut, an afro, twists, locs, her hair the way it actually grew neatly coiffed.. ? She is a radical from the 60s here to do subversive acts while at work ? She is comfortable with her own natural beauty ? She is in tuned with her heritage ? She can’t afford a perm ? (short for permanent if you haven’t heard…. as Stokely Carmichael use to say … truly just a “temporary” )
The fact is white people forced black people to do a lot of things… forced fed them religion, forced them into labor, forced them to relinquish family ties…. but there a lot of things that black people have done in response …. almost in a plea for mercy .. for acceptance. They have decided to voluntarily subjugate all that is overtly black… hide the Africaness whenever possible. That which is truly hated.
The very thing they were castigated for … it is only natural to built resentment towards.. yet it is the very essense of strength. Every last element of it.
Carter G Woodson , author of Miseducation of the Negro onces said “If you can control a man’s [woman's] thinking, you don’t have to worry about his[her] actions. If you can determine what a man [woman] thinks you do not have worry about what he will do. If you can make a man [woman] believe that he [she] is inferior, you don’t have to compel him [her] to seek an inferior status, he [she] will do so without being told and if you can make a man [woman] believe that he [she] is justly an outcast, you don’t have to order him[her] to the back door, he [she] will go to the back door on his [her] own and if there is no back door, the very nature of the man [woman] will demand that you build one.â€
The hair perming therefore is at the very least a subconscious response to this overall belief in the supremacy of those who need not take that “extra step” to look beautiful.. this “work” that is not done by others means simply by default that beauty is more effortless for others. The only way that statement is true is if in fact the accepted standard of beauty… the European model is in fact absolute truth. [If there is even a debate in your mind on that fact... it is time to rethink a lot of things you feel about your self, I assure you]
This barrier to beauty , most black women feel , needs to be crossed as conveniently as possible.. even if it is in no way convenient…. the curlers,pins, hats, the head ties, the avoidance of the elements (rain , snow, sleet, sun) ..lifelong maintenance with epxensive chemicals , conditioners, extensions, 1/3 of a day long removal of extensions ….
A fine tooth comb says nothing about perfection… it is a test that simple doesn’t fit.
It is true that most black women will only cling harder to anything that will move them closure towards their subconsciously held ideal of beauty . This of course depends on how accessible they feel it is .. resources help. Beyonce, Lil Kim, Eve, .. every major black actress and celebrity down to the first lady elect has stated, by action, that very tightly curled hair is unattractive and not acceptable in the upper eschelons of society. This practice is rationalized when all else fails as a “necissary evil”. It is stated that we have not gotten to the point yet where we can in essense be ourselves. It is one of the strange definitions of freedom the melanized accept. Self subjugation and sabbotage.. … undoubtedly for fear, fear of further rejection and disenfranchisement. Yet it is considered not that deep.
I only have to wonder though… as we now see more and more black people ascend to the highest eschelons of this still European derived society if we will see more less evidence of this deeply entrenched self loathing….throughout the diapora ? The hair is just one of many symptoms…. undoubtely time will remove all stigma attached to “nappy hair”. There will be a time when the very notion of trying to make what is not straight … straight in order to fit in to broad society will seem…. well downright silly, if not just plain sad. Just one of the many things historians of the future will puzzle at.
I won’t lie to you. I am a internet addict. Back in 1999 when I really started seriously “web surfing” I realized that I could spend countless hours at the computer. If it wasn’t Aol Instant Messenger it was some social networking site. Back then there were two in the running Black Voices and Black Planet. I was there the day Black Planet was featured on Oprah and the hits went through the roof as I watched thousands of people begin to register online. Yep I even spent the Millenium online as the clock struck midnight changing from 1999 to the year 2000.
I thought to myself, if the world was going to come to an end, why not know the latest up to the minute ? Certainly it was obvious that the internet was far more current than any other source of information. I could communicate with any number of people INSTANTLY. The familiar chime of the instant messenger confirmed it.
I finally got my internet browsing below 1 hour a day and I once again strayed out into the sunshine. I have seen my share of drama online. Break ups, fights, ……and more than enough convincing reasons why I still to this day will not get a webcam.
What quickly became apparent though, is that with this much information at one’s beckon call, it is easy to just surf aimlessly and without a purpose. You can click on all the pictures of your favorite starts, follow all the links and end up on some russian site with enough adware and pop ups to freeze your computer cold. .. and in a flash there goes two hours of your time.
Blogging came along and most people puzzled over their purpose. They were just getting used to what a website was and whether or not they really needed one. They tried to figure out how many pages they might need and what would go on each page.
I’ve seen a few site go up. I launched a few in my life time and before long it would be quite obvious how much work went into just keeping them up. No one likes a site that has the same information on it day in and day out. The net is for people who want new and relevant information.
Blogs… simply became the most popular way for those who are internet savvy to launch their ideas effortlessly onto the world wide web. By using an interface that is as familiar as the one on hotmail it was easy to just write and post any old thought… like this one, and all the other rants I felt just had to be aired.
Before long however one wonders.. is it serving a purpose ? Is any one actually reading these words. I mean this one right here… and this one and those and all the ones that will follow this question mark right here ?
If it is relevant yes.
Melafela is my experimental platform. I came up with the name ,.. yep back in 1999. I thought I was being clever. I figured hey I had a lot of melanin in my skin and mela did mean dark, black etc. Yep Roca Fella did influence me… come on now Hov are you kidding ? I was just getting to learn more about Fela and Fela Kuti from my Nigerian Friends , plus every time I was on AIM .. I kept getting asked.. hey are you Fela… ? I guess I was. Mela Fela. I thought of myself and still do as pretty “laid back” . I probably have a twinge of type A in me from time to time but in reality most things flow off. I have been described as being mellow and you get it … a Mellow fellow. Mela Fela.
ok so it wasn’t that great.. but I kept it and everyone who knew how to reach me, knew that alias.
So now what. I will rant.. things that make a mela, mellow, fellow , fela curious. Yes the melanized theme will stay.. but I need more. I have broad interest. I have career interests. The blog allows one to manage content like nothing else. To organize ones views and thoughts and express them as such.
I’ve lauched two new blogs and I will let you know how they go very soon .. because frankly I think I’ve finally figured out my niche on the web.
I’ve been using an old blogging program for almost two years now because I just wasn’t sharp enough I guess till now to see the beauty of using something like a wordpress blogging tool. This now gives me the capability to essentially have a full fledged website to keep all my ramblings all in one place. You can visit the old blog by clicking here
For now I will doing my best to keep up with this man… Barack Obama. A man that has single handedly shifted the paradigm for black male behavior.Â
