Move Over Tom, Make Room For Uncle Tavis
Have you ever witnessed the actions of crabs in a steamer pot? Ever
noticed
how the crabs, in their effort to escape, pull one another down into the
pots? They walk over the bodies of the weaker crabs, and claw and snap,
push
and shove without regards for the other crabs.
My father once likened African Americans to crabs in a pot, and I used to
just blow off his words; however, as I have grown, I began to realize that
my father was not so far off the beaten path after all. There are assorted
sizes of crabs in this pot, and perhaps one of the biggest crabs of all in
Tavis Smiley.
The older folk would call him a "Tom" which is a modernized version of the
term "Uncle Tom", or another word for one who sells out his people for his
own selfish gain. Strong words considering that I do not know the man
personally;however, I know his actions, and they are extremely "Tom like".
Here we are in the middle of a presidential election cycle, and the front
running Democrat is Barack Obama, a black man. Barack has his hands full
trying to fend off slanderous attacks from his rival Hillary, and trying
to
drum up voters in key states. To say he is busy is an understatement, for
Barack has to go none stop to maintain his momentum. Most reasonable
people
would understand that, but then again, most reasonable people are not
Tavis
Smiley.
Tavis decides to hold his "State of The Black Union" conference smack in
the
middle of the primaries. Not to take anything away from that, for I feel
it
is a good idea to have such a conference, but I think the timing was poor.
Tavis wants the conference to be a success, so he invites Barack Obama to
speak. There is a problem with that, Obama is campaigning for the office
of
President of The United States and his schedule will not permit to
deviate.
Now, Barack Obama offers a concession by suggesting that his spouse
Michelle, also an eloquent speaker, stand in for him. In all honesty, that
would not have been a bad thing at all. Barack is an awesome speaker, but
Michelle can move the pulse of the crowd. I would have said yes, but as it
appears, Michelle is not good enough for Tavis Smiley.
So now Tavis is in a situation, for he could not get Barack Obama to break
away from the campaign trail and come to his conference; what does Tavis
decide to do? He openly slanders Barack Obama, attacking Obama's
credibility
in the African American community. In other words, Tavis Smiley openly
illustrates his sup****t for the Clinton campaign by attacking the one
person
Hillary cannot handle. Just as with Uncle Tom's cabin, we are now
presented
with a new breed of sell out. Perhaps we should call this story "Uncle
Tavis's Crib", for just as with Uncle Tom, Massah Clinton got his best boy
to do his dirty work for him.
Like crabs in the steaming pot, so are the adventures of Uncle Tavis.
|
