At Booker Rising, Molotov does a mini-fisking of statements from rapper KRS-ONE (real name: Kris Parker) regarding alleged black American reactions to 9/11.
The hip-hop anarchist has declared his solidarity with al Qaeda by asserting that he and other African-Americans ''cheered when 9/11 happened,'' reports the New York Daily News. [SNIP]
''I say that proudly,'' the Boogie Down Productions founder went on, insisting that, before the attack, security guards kept black people out of the World Trade Center ``because of the way we talk and dress.
'So when the planes hit the building, we were like, `Mmmm -- justice.' ''
The atrocity of 9/11 ''doesn't affect us [the hip-hop community],'' he said. ''9/11 happened to them, not us,'' he added, explaining that by ''them'' he meant ``the rich . . . those who are oppressing us. RCA or BMG, Universal, the radio stations.'' [SNIP]
''Voting in a corrupt society adds more corruption,'' he added. ``America has to commit suicide if the world is to be a better place.''Few expect rappers in general to be rocket scientists or practitioners of politically-correct rhetoric of any stripe. However, this, of course, is well over any imaginable line. Molotov wonders
Why ain't your black a** living in Tora Bora, Afghanistan backing up your beliefs with action?Unfortunately, this attitude isn't all that rare. On the very day of 9/11/01, I was in the cleaners picking up the military uniform that I was pretty sure that I'd need soon. The black proprietor had the TV on, of course. Then another black patron walked in. We watched the coverage in silence for a bit. Then the patron spewed this: “Serves them white people right.”
I whirled on him. “What? You think no black people work in the World Trade Center or the Pentagon? You think no black people travel by air? What the heck are you talking about?”
Of course some did and do.
The man did not respond to my tirade. I didn’t get the chance to discuss whether “white people” deserved what happened to “them” or not, since I grabbed my uniform and hurried out of there to keep from getting violent myself.
Molotov also points to Mr. Parker’s rebuttal in which he claims to have been quoted out of context, then goes on to repeat most of the same inflammatory rhetoric.
As others have said, some Americans are American in spirit and just waiting to get here. Others—like Mr. Parker and the man in the cleaners, are born to it and just as American. What spirit may move them is anyone’s guess, however.
LOGISTICS SUPPORT AREA ANACONDA, Balad, Iraq, Oct. 13, 2004 — Forty-eight non-U.S. citizen service members raised their right hands, took the Oath of Allegiance to the United States of America and became naturalized U.S. citizens at Camp Victory in Baghdad, Oct. 3.
Prior to Oct. 1, legislation stated that an applicant for U.S. citizenship had to take the exam and oath on U.S. soil. Effective Oct. 1, Congress granted the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, formerly the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the authority to allow applicants to take the exam, interview and oath at certain overseas locations.
“The United States recognizes the contributions non-citizen service members make in ensuring we remain a free nation, and as a sign of appreciation, the United States has expedited the naturalization process for non-U.S. citizens who serve on active duty during Operation Iraqi Freedom,” said Capt. Marc Defreyn, chief of client services, LSA Anaconda Consolidated Legal Center. [SNIP]
Spc. Jote Aga, a native of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and a truck driver with the 630th Transportation Company here, immigrated to the United States with his parents in 1997.
He applied for citizenship in 2003, but due to this deployment was unable to attend his naturalization appointment, where he would have taken the exam and completed his interview. After passing the exam and interview in Baghdad, Aga was able to join the other applicants who took the Oath of Allegiance to the United States.
“I wasn't planning to get sworn in over here,” Aga said. “The U.S. gave me the opportunity to pursue my goals.” [SNIP]
“This means a lot to me. I'm so happy I'm serving the country. It's nice to become a citizen,” Aga said.One wonders what kind of life Specialist Aga, his family and others like him lead before they immigrated to the US. It’s safe to assume that Ethiopians in general have more to worry about than being turned out of an office building for being too loud and/or dressing inappropriately.
Congratulations, new Americans. You’ve more than earned your recent status. See you when you come back home.
(Thanks to Blackfive)
UPDATE: Other Conservative Brotherhood members weigh in on Kris Parker's comments:
This election has given me some good fodder for a future "Celebrities gone wild" DVD series.Cobb:
Intemoleckshual [--ed. italics mine] rapper KRS-One recently confirmed his solidarity with the imaginary class of the permanently oppressed American - the All-Purpose N*gger. The APN cannot overcome, cannot rise, cannot succeed and is permamently under the thumb of 'history' and is incapable of any emotions other than alienation, paranoia and fantasies of revenge.Michael K.:
It sounds like when common sense was handed out, he missed the delivery.
UPDATE: Here's a profile of Leroy W. Homer, Jr., Major, USAFR, co-pilot of the famed and heroic Flight 93; an American who happened to be black.
