The Interrupting of the African evolutionary process! What was not discussed at the G8 Summit!
“Africa has the talent, but highly qualified scientist and technologist quit the continent in droves for a better life overseas. More than two out of every three medical officers trained in Ghana in the 1990’s work abroad, while more African scientist and engineers work in the U.S. than in the whole of Africa.”
In our continued quest to provide understanding if not redefine how the African in America, and in the Diaspora view our homeland, our condition and how we have progressed as a people over the past centuries we must take a look at the evolutionary process that is universal and is the natural process by which all societies progress. Every Society dating back to time immemorial have progressed from small social aggregates to large social aggregates i.e. Family, to Clan to Tribe to Nation to Continent. This is witnessed in the way the founding thugs established the U.S. They came as settlers, formed groups that led to the forming of states that led to the forming of the thirteen colonies that over time led to the establishment of the United States of America.
Many things happen during the evolutionary process that societies take; laws are established, political systems are formed, Educational institutions are set up, families are defined; culture is born by way of the interaction and activities of the people and their history but most of all the people within that society move forward as a group and benefit from all that their society do and accomplish.
I do not think there is anyone who will deny that most African Nations are behind the curve when it comes to being part of the developed world. The lack of running water, medical facilities, food supply paints a picture of Africa that would have one believe that these things are so because the African is inferior to all other people. However, intellectually honest students of history know this not to be true. Africa and African people has had our evolutionary process interrupted and the skill, intelligence and labor that was meant to help us along as we traversed the evolutionary ladder was co-opted and used to forward the evolutionary process of the European. The fallout from the interruption of our evolutionary process has led to most if not all African societies trailing far behind most developed nations.
The African is not the only people to have their evolutionary process interrupted, but what other people can claim to have their evolutionary process interrupted to the degree the African has and to the extent that the African has. People continue to make the mistake in thinking that America today is still America today without the enslaving of the African and murdering of the Native man and woman but what is even worse is the African in America who make the mistake in thinking that Africa today is Africa today without the removal of a hundred million plus of her people, without colonialism, imperialism and the spread of white Supremacy throughout the continent. The history and evolutionary process of the African has been so thoroughly interrupted that it is impossible to see what Africa today would look like without Colonialism, Imperialism and Slavery by the European and the Arab.
The African brain drain today is the continued manifestation of how far the interrupting of our evolutionary process has gone, when a people possess all the intelligence, and skill and know how to rebuild their homelands but prefer to take their skill elsewhere, what else can we say except they have forgotten the importance of building their own and growing with it rather than seeking individual wealth. The old saying that a big wave lift all ships is a lie when applied to Africa and African people, the resources that have been stolen, taken and simply extracted from Africa has been used to enrich other nations and other people as those who live in the country from which those natural resources originated live in poverty without electricity, without running water etc.
Today we are questioned and asked for proof that we “African People” can do for self and build our own lands up, but yet there is no offer to return that which has been taken in wealth and used for purposes other than to enrich the African. The whole of Africa has yet to be from under the grip of imperialism and colonialism for a century and yet progress in African nations are being judged or juxtaposed against nations that has had a three hundred year head start, not to mention access and usage of the very things that should have been used to make Africa the greatest and richest continent on the earth! These are the things that were not discussed at the recent G8 meeting as they wrestled over how to help Africa, nor were these things mentioned at the various concerts around the world.
posted by Faheem @ 7/12/2005 08:35:00 AM
9 comments
9 Comments:
Good points Fah...
I think in many ways, the Africa experience, or at least the indigenous African's experience is parralled to our development as a people in America. Brain drain, IE black middle class flight, lack of return to the urban environment that produced them with solutions etc.
Our great kingdoms were that long ago, I think Songhay lasted till the end of 1600's so I just wonder how 'white' countries will not consider the effect they had in creating the current conditions.
In the free market, old money and seasoned capitalist will be the primary beneficiary of the expansion of capitalism and free markets. Again, it is akin to a Monopoly game that has been going of for sometime, within new entries on to the board. Well, as everyone who has played monopoly can attest to, when you enter the game late you will always be landing or existing on other peoples property and they will make you pay for the right to do so, if not, you go strait to jail from the wrong roll of the dice. Of course, some will say that in the real world that the board is not static, but dynamic and growing. This is true, but it does not change the fact that those best positioned to own new resources and property are those with the deepest pockets who can afford to purchase them. So the rich just keep getting richer.
As a result of the global game of monopoly, a game were most of the wealth was accumulated through conquest of land and exploitation and not free market capitalism, the wealth that is truly the worlds is now pooled in the West. Consequently, people in the third world who want opportunity and money go where money is circulating to the greatest degree, which is the West. The West remains prosperous because its keeps dollars circulating in its economy several times, creating opportunities in the exchanges. When money goes to Africa, it usually is spent to purchase Western goods and services, which means that the profit and opportunity for jobs go back to the West. As Faheem noted, even brains are free market commodities attracted to the gravitational pull of massive dollars that exist in the West, largely the product of thievery and exploitation of world’s peoples. It’s the world’s money and wealth extracted and accrued from centuries of imperialism, colonization, slavery and exploitation. Now black folks need to come to white folks just to get a little of it back, but only at the profit of whites in the exchange.
Question Faheem:
If we view the series of conflicts and developments in Asia and Europe and then make an extrapolation toward Africa, would you agree that the land mass called Africa, with it's diverse population of people, ABSENT THE INVASION FORCES OF THE EUROPEAN would too had to face the conflicts to have it settle upon a certain culture in this evolution that you speak of?
There is no doubt that this process was interupted and hijacked for the benefit of outsiders via their theft of resources.
Where I challenge you and others is to realize that REPAIR today would come if we consider THE STATE THAT THESE AFRICANS WOULD BE OPERATING AT TODAY ABSENT THE MOLESTATION AND ATTEMPT TO GROW TOWARD THAT STANDARD TODAY, WITHOUT THE RECEIPT OF ANY REPARATION.
Is it not true that if the European was to give up his opposition to reparations and give you a significant portion of that which he owes you that IN YOUR CURRENT STATE YOU ARE NOT PREPARED TO ACCEPT IT AND USE IT IN THE MAXIMUM PREDUCTIVE WAY.
I get the sense that we can't start our "repair" until success is had at receiving pennance from White folks.
I don't see how internal repair is linked to and dependent upon the claim against the European.
Can you help me out on this one?
The absurdity of your line of reasoning is freighting CF. No great nation was built via a volunteer economy, at least not in the last 1000 or so years. Consequently, the fruition of any plan requires the energy of humans and capital all which require MONEY. Giving people hand outs cost money and teaching people and development of the infrastructure and institutions for self sufficiency all require MONEY. What is a characteristic of the poor CF? THEY LACK MONEY. Thus, can you see why black people seek reparations from those who lifted themselves up by putting black folks down?
You are in an infinite loop of ignorance, born from a biased and closed mind or simply that of being the Devils advocate in order to feed your addiction to debate. Are you Lonely or something? Do you need a pen pal?
"IN YOUR CURRENT STATE YOU ARE NOT PREPARED TO ACCEPT IT AND USE IT IN THE MAXIMUM PREDUCTIVE WAY?"
My God Renaldo, I have no idea why you think so less of Black people and so much of everyone else. Your question implies that Black men and women would not know how to properly use reparation to benefit us. I will respond to this in two ways.
The way in which the offended party spend, parlays or blow that which is given to them from the offending party is not and never will be a means by which it is determined if they should be given or deserve reparations. If we do not use it in the maximum productive way, what ever that is, it has no bearing on if we deserve it or not.
Secondly, as long as you are Black and receive part of our would be reparations package we know it will be used in the maximum productive way, so I guess that answers your questions unless you will not use your share in the maximum productive way. Your view of Black men and women is clearly clouded by living amongst non-Black folk and visiting poor Black folk and using them as the template by which you see all Black people. Is it possible you see more irresponsible Black people in a month than you do responsible Black men and women? If that is the case, it is clear you need to include in the places you frequent places where responsible Black men and women gather or maybe you only see irresponsible Black folk because you seek them out to make yourself feel good.
Lastly, your inability to see how Black upward mobility is being hindered by white folk is due to your own Blindness and love of whitey. I talk to plenty of well educated Black folk and they all have the same complaints but go about their day as if nothing is wrong around white folk out of fear of being fired, loosing their job or not getting a promotion. I can say of them at least they realize why they have not been promoted and so on, while little good Negro men and women like you think if you work a little bit harder the good white man will give you what you deserve. You have a sick dependency on the nobility of the white man while we see things as they are, you are happy to get on an elevator with a white man without him tripping you or calling you a nigger as demonstrated by what your wrote on aa.org. Now you tell me how sick is that?
It is funny and sad at the same time that in both of your responses, with the assumption that both of you are "Afro-Centrics" are couched upon references to WHITE FOLKS.
Resentment plays such a large party in both of you'all's core being.
I made my statement NOT as an insult to Blacks.
I made my statement about how the money is going to be used because I see the TEXTURE that is present in this American CAPITALISM of TODAY that has GENERATED THE EXPONENTIAL GROWTH IN WEALTH SINCE THE LAST SLAVE HAD BEEN TORTURED INTO PERFORMING WORK WITHOUT COMPENSATION.
The question to you that I has has been floating around for a long while as I debate you and others is:
How do you expect to generate the continued wealth that capitalism generates as the markets that are within this system CREATE VALUE since you REJECT many of these core components of this system THAT GENERATE THIS VALUE as being against everything that you stand for?
(Please reject this assertion if I am mischaracterizing you)
So by definition if there is a transfer of assets from AMERICA to you in the name of Reparations since you reject the financial infrastructure that causes these assets to GROW you will preside over the spending of these resources and the consumption of the balance not leveraging the money in the existing capitalistic markets which create growth.
When finite natural resources, such as petroleum, embark upon diminishing returns and the ecological system teeters on the brink, then talk to me about the virtues of the “system”. No one doubts the productivity of the “System”. What “I” doubt is the sustainability of it. When you start paying 5 dollars for a gallon of gas, in the next 5 years…you will see what I am talking about.
Every movement requires a source of energy and the hyper movements of capitalism depletes the finite supply of fossil fuels. Of course, you will argue that America will “reinvent itself”, the popular catch phrase, but the fallout from “peak oil” will happen much faster than the reinvention. The subsequent “shock” to the economic system will create a depression like collapse.
Again, you refuse to deal with what is being said. Have you noticed Renaldo that no matter the place, no matter the discussion, you can never stay on topic? We often accommodate your inability to stay on topic by refuting your off topic none sense and your response is to run to a new topic. It is getting really old.
So in keeping with our tradition of running you down as you run from topic to topic I will add this;
You make a lot of assumption and ask a lot of questions about how we will use or how we will spend reparations, so I ask; what is the relevancy of your assumptions and your questions in regards to the fact that reparations are due and owed. Are you making the bogus argument that reparation should not be giving simply because of how it may be used? I have no way of knowing how we all would use reparations, I would imagine we would use it the same way Black folk with money use their money today, to buy homes, send our children to college, purchase cars, invest and yes buy fancy clothes and care along with countless other things. Contrary to the picture you paint there are still more in fact, far more Black men and women driving cars without dvd's in them, without big wheels and rims on them who do use their money wisely if they have any so I find it odd and some what disturbing that you do not draw examples of what Black men and women will do with reparations from these men and women of which I am one.
i see someone is actually lacking knowledge enough to join Noah on this blog. I see he does have a faithful few, who pat him on his back. Few challenge his utter ignorance.
LOL.
what a joke.
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