by Meg Dare
Dear FLOTUS,
How are you? How’s
the family? How’s that garden you were workin’ on? I’m doin’ fine, dear. I’ve
recently gone through quite a few transitional life changes, but nothing I
can’t handle. You know me. Oh, wait, you don’t. Actually, it seems we could
fill quite a few books with things you don’t seem to know. I mean that with the
utmost respect, Madame. I’ve even been practicing my curtsy.
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| Photo Credit |
No,
I am not going to go into your lack of knowledge in regard to proper nutrition
not only for the public, but also for children in schools (including lunches
you would never have served to your children on your gold platters). I’m not
going to talk about your lack of awareness when it comes to proper and
respectful protocol when hearing the national anthem or seeing our flag. Nor am
I here to bash you for your inexplicable deficiency in the acquaintance of
fashion. I am here to shed some light on a recent quote of yours, showing that,
and I’m sure Malcom Reynolds of Firefly would agree, “you weren’t burdened with
an overabundance of schooling,” methinks.
“I wake up each day in a house built by slaves” was the quote, ma’am. Really, FLOTUS? Really? First, before I
rant, for clarification, are you including the multitudes of times a year you
are waking up in Hawaii or all the hotels next to shopping malls or the purely diplomatic trips you take to Paris and
the like? I’m sure all those shoes you bought needed diplomacy.
I’ve
read up on some history; I don’t know if you have, ma’am. By the ignorant
things that escape your mouth, I would assume you haven’t really. And before
your fan-girls give me a holler, yes, I know you went to an Ivy League school.
But I’m not even going to get into why that means nothing to me. School of Hard
Knocks vs. Ivy League?? Imma take Hard Knocks. Princeton is a far cry from its
original intent and classical education style.
Well,
sweetie the reason why your statement is so ignorant is because of what it
implies. Most institutions were built on the backs of others. Look at Egyptians
enslaving the Jews to play Stack the Rocks. Look at England who looked down at
us for the enslavement of the pigment-ally gifted, while they were enslaving
Irish because of their supposed inferiority, religion, and the funny way they
talked. Let us not forget my personal favorite, the enslavement of Africans by
Africans. That’s right. It was more of a class thing; but still, black kings
and noblemen would hire bounty hunters to capture impoverished black citizens
for their own amusement and to be sold in the open market.
Human
history is a long and painful look at - how greed and selfish desire drive us to
do wicked things to each other while rationalizing it by any means. While that
sucks, I recognize that history belongs to the conquerors. For example, I have
always had a heart for the Native Americans. But had they been more advanced,
they would have had a chance against Whitey. I want to help them get out of
their drunken poverty-stricken rut, but I am not about to go give them land
back and apologize for something I didn’t do. White privilege was designed by a
masochist, just so you know. At Christmas I have saved to buy a Native American
family a stove or food, but I do not hand it to them and apologize and ask for
some well-deserved ancestral lashings. Not only would that be stupid, but
it would also be patronizing to them.
So
the next time you want to talk about being reminded of slave ancestry while
sitting in luxury I can’t even fathom, having been in a poor, rural family who
knows of welfare and shame, remember that there is a difference between living
in a building that was built by slaves and living in a lie that was built by
the descendants of those slaves. Which is better? Lying and harkening the
slave-days with tear-soaked sermons to score some votes from people who believe
you because of your pigmentation OR living in a house that was built by slaves
but working to make the lives of their descendants better with truth and a hand
up rather than a hand out?
Anyway,
darling, I must dash. Say “hi” to the fam for me and I’m sure we’ll be talking
again soon.
XO
Meg
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