Posts by Cady

46

Moral Poverty Costs New Orleans

by Frannie Banannie in

wouldn't it be great if the media went to this guy for quotes, rather than jesse jackson???

moral poverty cost blacks

posted: september 21, 2005.

Cady

We do need to be able to talk about this stuff. You know, we have intense discussions about all sorts
of topics in classes at the school I go to, and it's that rapid-fire, high-paced sort of discussion that seems
to bring out great ideas and solutions. It's a combo of brain-storming mixed with a slightly adversarial
process that culls things down very quickly. But we don't have that with race b/c we're constantly
censoring ourselves for fear of moral judgements by others.

Interestingly, a prof at UW did a great study that basically showed that everyone has the tendency
to group ppl by race. Even most people of color had a difficult time disassociating negative images
from their own racial group. This does not speak about the moral quality of a group (which I've already
stated that I think is a ridiculous and stupid thing to even attempt to do and the very concept is invalid)
but that we have absorbed the history of this country from long ago. Perhaps the reason we still
carry around this baggage is b/c we haven't been brave enough to face up to it, to hold it up to the light and
see it for what it is.

I don't know - is it possible for us to have an intense, heated discussion with the understanding that we are all good people dedicated to figuring out how best to live our lives; to allow each other to truly examine the things we have been indoctrinated with via our culture etc.; and then to not hate each other for those things? We say we're beyond what the Witnesses teach - but if we still hate each those
who disagree w/us, we haven't come very far. Which makes me think about my negative attitudes towards
Farrakhan and Jesse Jackson.

46

Moral Poverty Costs New Orleans

by Frannie Banannie in

wouldn't it be great if the media went to this guy for quotes, rather than jesse jackson???

moral poverty cost blacks

posted: september 21, 2005.

Cady

Farrakhan, Jackson, and other race hustlers are to be repudiated - they will only perpetuate this problem by stirring up hatred and applauding moral corruption. , to the extent it is to be rebuilt, should be remade into a dependency-free, morally strong city where corruption is opposed and success is applauded. Blacks are obligated to help themselves and not depend on the government to care for them.

To address this point by point (and you can all yell at me later):

Farrakhan says horrible things. I work in the inner-city and it feels just lovely to see people distributing The Monitor (I think that's the name) which preaches Farrakhan's doctrine: hate the evil white race. I'm sorry, but I work with young black men who I care for deeply. I've spent many sleepless nights worrying about them; I've spent more than I've made some shifts to buy them things; I've cried many tears. But does it help for them to read articles that pour out hatred of "the evil white man"? Hate is hate, whatever group or individual it's directed towards. The difference is if you choose to hate an individual's actions, that's based on choices that individual made and how you've chosen to react to such. But to hate a whole racial/ethnic group is just stupidity, unless you believe every person in that group fully supports the behavior of every other individual in that group (and if you believe that I don't have any idea how to help you).

Next, what I saw in the Astrodome:

Beautiful, amazing people working their a**es off, two men who came to me needing transportation to the job interview they'd arranged. They'd done so by researching via the internet available jobs, calling the guy from a phone in the Astrodome, then realizing that the bus wouldn't take them to the interview location. They didn't actually own a change of clothes but already had interviews that were basically a sure thing. Btw, the jobs they were getting sucked: hard, manual labor. Stuff that would turn most of us into whiny infants before two hours were through. So the bs garbage about blacks lacking in morality is just that.

What else I saw: people who weren't leaving the Astrodome till the gvmnt handed them an apartment and monthly checks. They'd lived this way for a long time and were choosing to continue this. A white guy (one of the few I saw) who stole a credit card etc. from the home of the family who opened up their home to him. A young man who yelled at me b/c I asked him to fill out a form (the form consisted of four lines of info) b/c he was a victim of the hurricane and I'd better give him what he deserved and NOW.

What else: A black preacher from Washington DC who came down to help with a passion unlike any I've seen.

The stupidity in all of this is that you just can't start grouping ppl and judging them that way! There are wonderful/horrible people of every race.

Btw, sorry if the anger in this is obvious. But I've been called a white-trash f** b** by kids I work with (and at 7 you didn't think up those words on your own) and at the same time been loved and adored by them. A white kid I work with told me "well you know how Mexicans are." And the worst part is I don't have a solution, hence the frustration just grows and grows.

46

Moral Poverty Costs New Orleans

by Frannie Banannie in

wouldn't it be great if the media went to this guy for quotes, rather than jesse jackson???

moral poverty cost blacks

posted: september 21, 2005.

Cady

I spent 8 days in Houston voluntering at the Astrodome. I hate Jesse Jackson. I wasn't thrilled w/him before, but after he yelled like an idiot and decided that making a large crowd of stressed out people even more stresed out while in a closed environment...I might have had some respect for him if he got his hands dirty, say did something other than cause problems. The time for anger among the evacuees was later, not while they were barely surviving day to day life.

I noticed a comment earlier about white, black and others being among those who couldn't or didn't leave New Orleans. I'm not making any kind of judgements as to why this is the case, nor arguing for or against the article posted at the start, but I saw perhaps 10 white evacuees among probably 20,000.

One thing I will say, in pure admiration: nobody heard about the numerous Vietnamese refugees who later became evacuees from Katrina, and that's b/c organizations like Boat People SOS did such an amazing job absorbing their fellow Vietnamese into homes in unaffected areas.

Before you brand me a racist for any of the above comments, I grew up in a black neighborhood, was practically raised by my best-friend's mom (also black) and work at a group home for young men of color. Oh and my aunt and cousins are black.

Hugs, Cady

5

No more reciepts for the flowers bought after the District Assembly...

by What_is_ur_point in

.

sorry to say now that the 2005 district assembly will not be giving out any reciepts for tax deductable purposes... sorry bout that..

Cady

I have no idea why but it makes me feel warm and fuzzy to hear that - not b/c I give a care about the flowers, but somehow the fact that everyone here knows exactly what you're talking about makes me feel a little less alone in the world. I moved to Seattle a bit ago and a bit lost for awhile, and even now w/friends it's hard for them to get this old part of my life that was being a jw. But somehow here, that phrase - and no, I'm not drinking! lol Which is too bad, b/c at least then I'd have an excuse for such a ridiculous comment!

Hugs, Cady

28

What do you think of Paris Hilton?

by free2beme in

jw
friends

today on cnn.com, i saw they had a story about paris hilton ending her engagement.

well, i don't know about you, but i find this woman to be a waste of time.

why do people care about this woman?

Cady

Maybe the fascination is that she has a gorgeous body, tons of money and seems to get anything she wants. But - and here's the key - she's easy to hate! If she had something upstanding she'd done or was really nice, etc., and was also sexy and wealthy she would just make us feel insecure and so we'd ignore her.

35

Tattoo you?

by mrsjones5 in

jw
friends

ok, i've been watching the show "inked" on a&e and i think it's a really cool show about tattoo artists in las vegas.

and lately i've been thinking about getting a tattoo somewhere on my body, possiblely my lower back.

my sister has one there and i think it's really cool.

Cady

I got my tattoo about a year and a half ago and I love it!! At first it just felt like someone firmly scratching my skin, but after awhile it did start to feel pretty raw and hurt. Mine had a lot of color though and took about 2 hours, which I think is kind of awhile for such a relatively small one. The other thing is it's on my right shoulder blade, which is ideal for me: I can show it or hide it depending on the occasion. I also don't see it myself all the time so I don't really get tired of it.

9

What did you want to be when you grew up? Did you live your dream?

by coffee_black in

jw
friends

i know things would have been different if i had not been raised as a dub.

since i left the borg, i've been making up for lost time, but still did not fully become what i wanted to be.

i wanted to be an artist... i do some artwork, but it's only a small part of what i do for a living.. how about you?

Cady

When I was little I used to write a lot and thought I could become a writer (but then so do a lot of kids lol). As I got older I became very practical and learned to short-circuit any personal desires. I would be a pioneer, regardless of the fact that I hated service. After I left the dubs, I realized I loved people and the way the mind works fascinates me. I'm in Psych now, so my dream is real now.

25

Welcome a friend of mine, a newbie, saverio 44!!!!!!!!!!

by ButtLight in

jw
friends

he hasnt posted yet, but everyone please welcome him!

and could you all please give him a hard time for me?

Cady

Welcome sav! Glad you're here! :-)

30

OK, fess up. . . has anyone tried internet dating?

by carefully faded in

i recently signed up on a couple of internet dating sites.

i've been talking with one guy for about a week now and he's asked to meet for coffee.

i'm a little nervous and wanted to hear how many others have tried this.

Cady

lol Yeah - not that it's something I'm exactly happy to have done...not sure why, but it's a bit disconcerting.

So one guy had his pager out w/in a few minutes - turns out he had a good amount of money on the football game that night. Apparently he actually has a bookie. Umm...

The problem is that until you actually meet you don't know if the chemistry will be there. If you've ended up talking too much to someone and then you find out the chemistry isn't there it can be difficult.

35

My Dad Isn't There Anymore

by BrendaCloutier in

it really struck me last night that my dad is pretty much gone.

he has advanced alzheimers, and is slowly dying of kidney failure from 40 years of diabetes.

the family stepped in and said no to dialysis, because it would be 5 hours per day 3 days per week - minimum, for limited return on quality of life.

Cady

Brenda,

Hey sweetie. I remember us talking maybe a year ago? (I got divorced and changed my name so that's why you prob don't recognize the name.) I went to Irvington Cong and my grandparents to Mocks Crest, so I've met your dad quite a few times. He was an intelligent man, and he was always kind to me. Even though I must have known him when I was very young and don't remember talking to him too much, I've always always just held this impression of a kind and caring grandpa'ish man who I really liked. The world will be a little quieter and sadder without him.

My grandpa died of Alzheimers (or something very like it) and I remember how much it hurt my mom. What do they call it, the long goodbye? And every bit of it hurts and is terrible.

Hang in there dear woman, you have the love of everyone here.

Love, Cady