A Rebroadcast.....Highlighting an interesting Esquire Article

First, I have to give many thanks to Mat Johnson(of the blog, Niggerati Manor)for bringing this particular article to my attention. I have no idea how I missed this issue of Esquire as I have been an avid reader of the magazine for what seems like an eon. This month's Esquire has a feature story entitled, "The Manifesto of Ascendancy for the Modern American Nigger," written by author and sometime tv media pundit, John Ridley.

In this case the talented Mr. Ridley(not to be confused with Ripley) lays down the gauntlet by clearly making the distinction between Black people and niggas. In my estimation, Ridley's manifesto is a codified version of Chris Rock's infamous Niggas versus Black people routine from his Bring the Pain HBO special. Unfortunately, I believe that many people will delve into a controversy surrounding semantics as opposed to analyzing the validity of the piece. It may be a painful assertion, but street life has risen from societal symptomology to a distinct culture; pretty much in the same vein as its White trash counterpart. And as I alluded to in the comment section of Niggerati, people of color are predisposed to participate in a Kirbyesque Uni-Mind mentality.

Humor me as I go onto geek mode. If anyone is familiar with Jack Kirby's run of the Eternals comic series, the protagonists are a race of Godlike beings (akin to Asgardians or Olympians) when faced by a common threat merge into a single uni-mind entity. This uni-mind is essentially what Black people are forced to become in order to combat their problems. Ridley's article also gives high marks to Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell for their display of diplomatic aplomb during the 2001 Hanna island crisis which resulted in the release of the crew of an American surveillance plane ("spy craft" in Mandarin) downed in Chinese territory.

Ridley posits that Rice and Powell were not able to receive their just accolades due to a competing story involving the Black underclass riots in Cincinnati, Ohio. In Ridley's colorful language, Black excellence lost out to niggas during this period. One may feel uncomfortable with Mr. Ridley's manifesto, but I do believe that a diversity of thought, art, politics and imagery is necessary for African-Americans to move forward as individuals and not one massive automaton. Bravo John Ridley. Bravo. For more on the Ridley piece and Mat Johnson's review click on the links below:

The Manifesto of Ascendancy for the Modern American Nigger

N vs BP

Next up, my impression of the Queens police brutality shooting(or 50 cent for 50 bullets).