Manliness - what doesnt kill you will make you stronger!

I really wondered if I should give Professor Harvey Mansfield anymore airtime by talking about him on The GlobalBlend. I realise that The GB doesnt have the same readership as, say, your local paper (LOL), but I found the latest thesis by Professor Mansfield in his latest book 'Manliness' so offensive that I wanted to ignore it, on principle. But then I watched a 'debate' produced by ABC featuring Mansfield and Naomi Wolf, author of The Beauty Myth.

That 10 minute piece, my friends, changed my mind. Knowledge is power, people and I want you to hear what 'the other side' has to say about gender rights in America. Mansfield was too much. I actually found him to be HILARIOUS! I sat at my computer SLACK JAWED as he waffled on about what 'Manliness' allegedly is. Click here to listen to the full thing.

Can someone tell me what planet Mansfield is on? He cant have left his house for at least 50 years - I actually think that his interview was conducted in his home, seriously. Mansfield says that women don't like taking risks - and taking risks is a 'manly' thing to do. I know women who take risks every day in their personal and professional lives! My mother (a very 'womanly' woman) took a risk by moving to a foreign country - just like my dad (a very 'manly' man). In history there have been women who have risked their lives in the pursuit of justice. The Pankhurst's, Yaa Asantewaa, probably your mother, grandmother... and um, what DIDNT Cindy Sheehan, the anti-war activist risk when she spoke out against the war that took her sons life...?! The government knows who she is and she is probably on all sorts of 'National Security' lists! Oh, he's got me started. Let me just say this - HOOORAY for Naomi Wolf correcting the record on behalf of all right thinking people...

Anyway, listen to the interview if you have 10 minutes and are in a reasonably good mood. Here are my personal favourites. Mansfield on women and cursing:

'Women are not as convincing when they try to be as vulgar as men. They just come off as women trying to imitate men. Today women are trying to imitate men, but men aren't trying to imitate women.

OK, so we don't spend half of our day scratching our balls (I could be a little cruder if you like...), but I know plenty of women who could out curse a man - if they chose to, without breaking into a sweat (myself included).

Mansfield on women and politics:

'Politics is a field of competition and women are less interested in competition, just as they're less interested in sports. And indeed, I think their interest in sports goes together with their interest in men, more than in sports or in politics directly.'

Humph. Women don't like sports? Um, tell that to Mia Hamm, Denise Lewis, the Williams sisters or any other female athlete - or sports fan. And we don't like politics?! Again, I don't even know where to begin with this. Some of the most intense political wonks I know are WOMEN!

And note, as you listen, who his 'manly' heroes are. Of course the token woman Maggie Thatcher gets a shout out - as does Hillary Clinton - after some coaxing. But apparently the RICHEST MAN in the world, Bill Gates isn't 'manly' (what, Bill Gates got that rich by locking himself in a padded room?!) and Leonardo Di Caprio is too pretty to even be considered - according to Mansfield. And Mansfield didn't want to comment on George Clooney's 'manliness' - maybe George is just too much man for him...

Mansfield reminded me of a man that I had to interview for a TV report I did on sexism in the 90s. The man in question was fighting for men's rights, and I had to ask him why he felt the way he did! Our situation certainly made for an interesting interview. I was a young black girl who wanted access to all the things that he as a older white man had (yes, race mattered in this instance, least of all because his experience with black people was not extensive). He didn't like that - I was told that I did well to get as much time with him as I did. There were parts of his argument echoed Mansfield's thesis, in that he believed that women wanted to take men's power by being like them. I thought those views were dangerous and archaic in 1994 - and I cant believe that those in power are REWARDING the likes of Mansfield in 2006!

Riots in Pareeee

Speaking of madness.. (in an east London accent) what about this malarkey in France, eh?! is it any surprise to anyone that young French people are protesting the French governments Contrat de première embauche (CPE - or in English, 'First Job Contract') workplace reform? Crowd estimations range from 1.3 to 1.4 million, with up to 400,000 of them in Paris. The Interior Ministry counted 503,000 nationwide, with 80,000 in Paris.

According to reports '...this legislation will allow employers to fire workers under the age of 26 without cause during their first two years of employment. The government has argued that the reform is necessary to reduce France’s youth unemployment rate of 23 percent...'

Clearly young French people do not feel that their government cares about them. Read what the wires reported earlier todayis what the wires reported earlier today:

In the western city of Rennes, students wore plastic garbage bags with signs declaring: "I am disposable."

"I risk working for two years for nothing, just to be fired at any moment," said Paris student Coralie Huvet, 20, who had "No to the CPE" written on her forehead. Pointing to painted-on tears, she added: "That‘s depressing, that‘s why I‘m crying."

Organizers, who decry the CPE as a "Kleenex contract" that lets young workers be "thrown away like a paper tissue," said they hoped to have up to 1.5 million people out marching in the third national protest in six weeks...'

And, it would seem that people are still smarting from the protests in Paris, which exposed to the rest of the world the extent of France's racial divide. The World Socialist Web Site says :

A number of protestors referred to the government’s provocative and authoritarian response to last year’s youth disturbances in the suburbs of Paris. “Who’s the scum?” one banner carried in Le Havre read. “Who are the hooligans? Out, out, with this government.” Students from every strata of French society were represented at the demonstrations, including immigrant and black youth from the suburbs of Paris affected by last year’s riots. The participation of these young people in the anti-CPE movement refuted the Villepin government’s claim that its workplace reforms are designed to assist unemployed youth in impoverished areas.

Apparently there has been some violence too, I wonder if this will get labelled a 'riot' by any of the press... and I wonder what the political implications for the nations politicians will be?

Alabama: The Rosa Parks Act

I've just had another 'what century are we living in again??' moment. Check this out from the LA Times today. Wasnt it Martin Luther King who said 'justice too long delayed is justice denied...?! That said, acknowledgement does make a statement, so maybe I should not be too harsh...

'Civil rights activists and others convicted under laws that enforced racial discrimination would be eligible for a pardon from the state of Alabama under a bill working its way through the Legislature, the bill's sponsor said Friday (March 17).

Rep. Thad McClammy said that his proposed "Rosa Parks Act" would serve the symbolic purpose of bestowing posthumous pardons on activists like Parks, whose 1955 arrest sparked the 381-day Montgomery bus boycott.

But McClammy, a Democrat, said the pardons also could help living veterans of the segregated South, who still may have trouble explaining away their arrests when applying for jobs or loans.

"If they do a background check, they say: 'Oh my … this person was arrested five times,' " McClammy said. "It follows you. What we're saying is, not only should individuals be pardoned, but the record should be expunged. These were illegal laws."

Read the rest here... http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-pardon18mar18,1,3742792.story?coll=la-news-a_section

Out of this world: Me, Walter Mosley and Montana

No, they are not related. These are just two more things I wanted to mention...

Walter Mosley, thinks I'm a'ight (at least I think). He came on our show last sunday to talk about his new meditation on the African American community, called 'Life Out of Context. You can read a piece based on the book here. He was very nice to me (and complimentary - yes I am easily pleased you know - even if my boyfriend would argue to the contrary..). Anyway, back to this 'Life Out of Context' book. Its a short read and enjoyable read and I recommend anyone who is looking for ways to create a more representative democracy - wherever they live - to read it. In the book, Mosley suggests that one way for African Americans to get what they need from the American political system is to start their own party - A Black Party. And in doing so, all Americans could begin a people's revolution, with smaller political groups, based on specific interests, representing EVERYONE's civic and political needs. Needless to say, I have become a little obsessed with Mosley's writing and am reading one of his Sci Fi boos, Futureland. Lovin' it.

Meanwhile, this week, I discovered that Montana - yes Montana, probably has one of THE most progressive State constitutions in the US! I realise this is totally geeky, but I cant help myself. Now, dont get me wrong, there are some things in it, that I cant be dealing with, but you know, we cant get it right every time... I mean, check out what the consitution (which was re written in 1972) says about maintaining the heritage and self determination of the American Indian community: 'The state recognizes the distinct and unique cultural heritage of American Indians and is committed in its educational goals to the preservation of their cultural integrity' That is NOT to say that its all sweet there. As Pat Williams, a Montana Legislator points out, American's still know little about the Indian community. In fact, its only since the newley elected Democratic governor took office in 2004, that things seem to be moving forward. I talked with Anna Whiting-Sorrell, the policy advisor for Governor Brian Schweitzer last week. And she said, that this administration is moving to develop the curriculum so that ALL of Montanas history (yes, including the history of the Indian community) will be taught in their schools.

And she assured me that it was happening! Maybe a few other states (or countries) could take a leaf out of their book...

EVERYONE WATCH Dave Chappelle's Block Party

I cant believe that I forgot to mention the fact that I saw Dave Chappelle's Block Party last week. That film was EXCELLENT. And pretty moving too. I have told everyone that I know to go and see it. Your head will fall off with all of the head nodding you do while you listen to Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Dead Prez, The Roots, Talib, Common, Most Def and The Fugees (I am sure I have missed someone out, but you get the point). That's if you dont die laughing first. That's all I have to say on that. I dont want to spoil it for you. But needless to say I will be buying the film on DVD as soon as it comes out. And on a not entirely unrelated note, I KEEP on missing Chappelle on 'In the Actor's Studio. I hear its brilliant and he makes some very poignant points..

Should ‘Crash' have won the 'Best Film' Oscar?

Yes. Since the Oscars on March 5, I have heard quite a few people say they were upset about Crash winning. But, I would say that in the same way Brokeback Mountain touched us, Crash challenged us. Some people say Crash had no storyline. I would say that the film was more of a character study. Others say the film is unrealistic - no sane woman would stand there as she got assaulted by a police officer in the way Thandie Newton’s character did. True, I would not have let a cop get away with trying to – cop a feel (scuse the pun..). And then, are also those who say Crash didn’t go far enough to expose racism in a ‘multicultural’ society.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson this week wrote, ‘many blacks take it as an article of faith that that most whites are hopelessly racist’. And the new FX Channel (for US viewers) documentary series ‘Black. White.’ (on the FX channel in the US), illustrates just how differently people of different races, specifically Black and White people, view the existence of racism in America. In my experience, I have heard too many people say, ‘racism doesn’t exist, it’s actually ignorance’. Fact is, most of us who live in ‘multicultural’ societies are far too neurotic to have an open and honest conversation about race and racism – with people of other races. Therefore, in attempting to call out EVERYONE’S racial bias and by making public the conversations that most of us only have with our families or people of the same race, Crash is both a brave and important film.

And Crash succeeded in trying to get us all to talk about it. The film has got those people who have their heads stuck in the sand – and the rest of us - to re evaluate how we interact with each other, and look at the source of our collective racism (and no, having friends or a partner of another race does NOT make you exempt from having racial bias). I know it succeeded because I saw the film with a reasonably diverse group of people. I observed how people of different races laughed, sucked their teeth (me – hahahha), got angry and felt empathy – or sympathy for each of the (flawed) characters. For example, I sympathized (against my better judgment) with Matt Dillon’s character when I discovered how his racial bias stemmed from. He was still a hateful man, but I all of a sudden I empathized with him. He became more tragic then evil. And while I was indignant when Sandra Bullock’s character clutched her bag as two young black men (played by Ludacris and Larenz Tate) walk past her, many of the white people in the audience were embarrassed by her behavior…. And I found myself asking why they were embarrassed - was it because they could relate to her?! Then, less than five minutes later, EVERYBODY was stunned when the two young black men turned out not to be what we thought they were.

Yeah, Crash messed with us. And it made us think about how we all judge each other, where the source of that judgment comes from and what the consequences are. Crash started a public conversation about race in many quarters – and that is a good start. Few films have attempted to do that – or do it successfully.

Ali Farka Toure

Ali Farka Toure, the Malian blues musician, best known to international audienes for his 1994 collaboration with American guitarist Ry Cooder on "Talking Timbuktu", died earlier today in his sleep from bone cancer. He was 60 years old. The International Herald Tribune published an interesting piece on him. Click here .

World Food Agency running out of food...

This is obscene. From USA Today (via AP): 'The U.N. food agency will soon run out of food necessary to feed some 3.5 million Kenyans facing shortages caused by prolonged drought because it has received just over a tenth of required funding, a spokesman said Saturday. ..

"If we don't get any more food aid it will be a catastrophe," Smerdon (Peter Smeardon, spokesman for teh UN World Food Agency) said. "We are already on the edge because food is running out and we are supposed to be feeding people until February next year." Click here to read the rest of the article.

Meanwhile, according to Reuters, by 2010, 'the number of overweight and obese youngsters in the European Union nations is expected to hit 26 million. An estimated 20,000 obese youngsters will have type 2 diabetes, a previously adult disease.

What was that about Free Trade and fair markets and all of that good stuff from G8?! Yeah, lets not forget...

Leeds, Ellis and that flaming 'Bell Curve' ...

I was alerted to a story about a race row started by Frank Ellis, a lecturer in Russian and Slavonic studies at Leeds University in England. Ellis said:

'Multiculturalism is doomed to failure - and is failing - because it is based on the lie that all people, races and cultures are equal; that no one race or culture is better (superior) than any other.' Such lies were propagated by the 'Guardian-reading classes', he said. He also made insulting remarks about Africans, citing research that claimed the average IQ on that continent was 70. He said: 'In the West, an individual with an IQ of 70 would be regarded as being very close [to], or within the range of, mental retardation.'

Ellis also said that if one took out 'white' and 'male' 'out of science and technology, one would have no science, just witchcraft, third world squalor, misery and mega-incompetence."

Wow. First, Ellis needs a history lesson. But to me, what is worse is this: while some students want him out, a Leeds University spokeswoman said, 'there was no evidence his extreme theories had affected his teaching'.

OK then....

Let me just say this before someone comes out screaming 'freedom of speech' at me. And I know those who support Ellis will accuse his opponents of trying to stifle freedom of speech. The thing is, Ellis is in a position of power, so I DO have a problem with Ellis a) possibly expressing his (scientifically flawed) views during one of his classes, and b) potentially tutoring someone that is not white - someone who he claims is inferior. That is if he doesn’t refuse to teach them in the first place.

I have had teachers who have treated me like I was 'less than' my white counterparts. Certainly, they were not as extreme as Ellis by any stretch of the imagination. The first time it happened to me (as far as I am aware), was when I was eight years old. The culprit was a teacher in training, and from day one, no matter how much I tried (and I did!), she gave me a harder time than the other kids. She even marked me down a few times. Even the other kids remarked that she wasn’t as nice to me. After a few months, I figured out that it must have had something to do with my race (I was the only black kid in my class, and trust me, you see patterns of behaviour fast when things happen to you on even a semi-regular basis). One day, toward the end of her time with us, we had a maths test and the girl sitting next to me was copying me – blatantly so. And this teacher saw her do it. At the end of the school day, the teacher told us both to stay behind – and she accused me of copying, even though my grades had consistently been the higher of the two students – and despite the fact that she saw the other student copy me, as I mentioned before. I protested, but we took the test and the results revealed who was copying who. I got an apology, from the trainee teacher, but she was upset that she had to admit she was wrong. And I stopped trying with her anymore. I believe she qualified, so if I do the math, she has probably been teaching for at least 20 years now.

Needless to say, I don’t feel comfortable with Leeds University’s claim that Ellis’ beliefs have not ‘affected his teaching’.

One cant help but look at the British education system each time figures come out, claiming that black males are failing in schools in the UK - especially after this latest debacle. After all, how can a student succeed in a system where teachers who have obvious and extreme biases against any group – and who don’t believe in equality - are not challenged (or rewarded) by the system? And what message does Leeds University think it is sending to its current and potential students by not challenging Ellis?

One of my earliest memories was being told that as a Black Female, I would have to work twice as hard as my white contemporaries if I ever wanted to fulfil my career dreams. I thought it wouldn’t be the case, because things change. Unfortunately, it was - and still is the case. And I really hoped that I wouldn’t have to tell my kids, or my grandchildren the same thing, but I guess I will.

Ghanaian Independence day

I said last week that it was ‘Ghana Time’ and I meant it! Today marks Ghana’s 49^th year as an independent state. But (and I say this again), what does it mean? The Ghanaian newspaper, Graphic Ghana says that, for those who took part in the struggle for independence, ‘March 6 represents a mixture of feelings of joy and glory as well as guilt and a sense of failure’. That’s deep.

But no nation is perfect, but, symbolically, we celebrate Ghana’s independence as the start of a freedom movement – but, freedom and development go hand in hand, right? Do all Ghanaians have access to basic healthcare and education, for example? The answer is no. Why? I suspect that it might have something to do with economic global legacy – and today’s global market. But I am not an economist. Graphic Ghana has some thoughts on that. Read the article: http://www.graphicghana.info/article.asp?artid=10851 .

Now, I don’t feel that I can fully answer this question – or other questions as they pertain to Ghanaian domestic politics fully, afterall, I don’t live there, but while Ghanaian’s at home hope for more fundamental changes to their lives, what does the Diaspora community want?

Or rather, should the question right now, SHOULD be, how can we CONTRIBUTE to Ghana's development as interested Diaspora Ghanaians, so that in a years time, we can see celebrate Ghana's growth?! Afterall, if I don’t want to just go to a party to celebrate Ghana’s independence, what can I do to help the situation, right?

I watched a moving programme featuring India.Arie and Ashley Judd. Both reports were moving, but India.Arie’s story touched me the most. During her trip to Kenya, she met two amazing women. Both were contracted HIV from their partners. One woman (who found out that she had HIV from her partner, when he decided to tell her on his deathbed) was in good health and now focuses on fighting the stigma – and educating people. The other had two young children and was on the verge of death. But her simple act blew me away. She spent the rest of her days making a memory book for her children. In the memory book was not just pictures of the ‘good old days’, she put down basic information – her date of birth, because, she wanted her children to know ‘who they were and where they came from’.

Wow, got me right there. It just takes the small things. A memory book?! Now, this is all related you because I think at the heart of the question of ‘what does Ghanaian independence mean to me’ for Diaspora Ghanaian’s is about identity and how to maintain it. But I think that the way to kep that link alive – maintain the continuum, is by getting involved – or at least by properly engaging. I mean, I take the fact that I can blog on my da off for granted, yet one of my grandmothers never saw a telephone until she came to visit my parents in the early 90's. Had my parents made a decision to return to Ghana when I was younger (which they nearly did), life would have been much different - not worse, just different. Its always the small things.

My thoughts aren’t complete – this is a work in progress – but I feel my thoughts coming together. Nevertheless, I think that the next 12 months will be interesting.

Serena Williams' Post Oscar Snafu - and Three 6 Mafia's win..

OK, let me have this little moment to enjoy some Oscar gossip... Serena Williams messed up Philip Seymour Hoffman’s name in the most unfortunate way. Philip Seaman Hoffer?! Dang. That was deep. It had us howling for a good while. But Venus didn’t look too impressed. And she promptly took control of the situation by making sure that she answered any questions that followed. And when they walked away from the celebrity reporter, I know she was telling her sister what went down.

Wow...

And CONGRATS to Three 6 Mafia on their win! Their win gave me great joy, not because I love the song, quite frankly, I have many issues with the song, but as Ludacris said (several times that night), this is huge for hip hop. So, OK, a Hip Hop song with progressive and politically conscious lyrics winning would have been ideal, but you cant have it all. It’s a start. And to see those guys bounding on stage, in complete shock?! It was brilliant, I was very very happy for them. And doesn’t it say something about the American Movie Academy…?!! And Shahina - even though I wasnt sure about Charlize Theron's dress and I know you will cuss me - I liked it man. I really was feeling it - including the silly bow that looked bigger than her head...

GHANA's Independence, what's that all about??!

‘There is no use screaming about how independent you are by driving away the colonialists if you do not make independence meaningful.’ -- Ama Ata Aidoo

March is an important month for The GB. First of all, there nine birthdays to cater to – including my parents (that’s a lot of presents people!). Secondly March 6 is Ghanaian Independence day. Yup, on March 6, 1957, my family’s country of origin, Ghana, became the first black African country to gain independence.

But despite the significance of this event (Ghana’s independence signaled the start of the post colonial era – and was a hopeful time for many people across the world), I feel that not enough time is spent thinking about the meaning of this event. Going to an independence day party - sorry, I mean function (LOL) - might help me meet some nice people (and that is always good), but it won’t help me understand the significance of what the day means, beyond gaining political freedom from the British Colonialists and being free (in theory) to determine what the nations future would be. Did colonialism improve the lives of all Ghanaians? And how? Also, what does independence mean for the generations that have, and will follow - and how are Ghanaians succeeding to forge a national identity, given the wealth of diverse cultures within the nation itself? How is Ghana’s economy and culture(s) are surviving with the effects of globalization?

After years of talking to elders, reading and discussing, I STILL don’t feel like I have a real sense of what Ghanaian independence means to Ghanaians all over the world. And I have met some people doing some good work, like the guys at the African Development Institute in NYC. I know we have achieved a lot – Ama Ata Aidoo; Ozwald Boateng, the clothing designer and Kofi Annan (or uncle Kofi, as I like to call him – btw - the way my spell check STILL doesn’t recognize the man’s name, after all this time…come on Bill!!). Likewise, Ghanaians have contributed to science, education, law to name just three industries. And watch out this year, I think we might have a nice win over the US at the World Cup… But how does all of this impact on our national cultural identity – and impact on the daily lives of Ghanaians, if at all? Who benefits the most from the work of Ghanaian doctors who are doing great work on sickle cell?

And to those who have no relationship with Ghana, but are passionate about human rights and equality - does anyone really SEE the global significance of the FIRST sub-Saharan country gaining independence? Should this be a period of reflection on global race relations, trade, for example?

Last year, I tried to do something different to commemorate Independence Day; I decided I wanted to spread the word. I was working, so I prepped a few Hi Life and Hip Life songs to play during our radio show. We asked our (progressive and smart) audience why we were playing these songs. We got a few excited calls from our West African listeners – and our non West African listeners had fun doing their research too…

This year, I want to find out from you, what you think Ghanaian independence means – and hear your reflections on Ghana’s achievements and challenges. It doesn’t matter if you are from the region or not, if you are interested, or curious, let me know.