I would like to start this post by apologizing to my college roommate,Devon, for that prank that caused him to be stuck damn near all night on a lonely road in the middle of Alabama. I would also like to apologize to my sister for stealing her magazines from her bedroom when we were growing up.
Wow, that actually felt kind of good, to be able to get past transgressions off of my chest in a public way. I think one day I will dedicate an entire post to people I have wronged in the past, and like my man Earl, I will spend the entire post telling each and every one of them that I am sorry.
This seems to be what law makers in that great Commonwealth of Virginia did recently. They voted unanimously in both houses in the former capital of the confederacy, (96-0 and 40-0) to apologize for Virginia's role in enslaving African Americans, and their regrets for the exploitation of Native Americans. Well good for them, that must have been so cathartic for my friends from the Commonwealth. I can just hear the African Americans across that state now: "Isn't this great they are really sorry for what they did to our people. I am so glad I live in Virginia"
Well not so fast. See folks, it's like this. My friend Devon is still alive, and he will read this blog and realize that I was the SOB that set him up that night. My sister is still alive, and she will read this blog and realize that I was the SOB that kept stealing her magazines. She, along with Devon, will read my apology, and realize that I am sorry. Unfortunately, the apology to my ancestors is about 400 years too f*****g late. Sorry, I am not one of these black folks who is going to jump for joy over an apology. They needed to be apologizing to the people that had to endure the slave masters whips, and the dehumanization, and exploitation of their families. I will be fine, their apologies don't mean a damn thing to me, because a bunch of state elected officials in Virginia-including 80 year old Frank D. Hargrove, who told black folks in Virginia to" get over slavery"-won't affect my life one way or the other. And I suspect, it won't affect any of the black people living in Virginia either.
If you really want to apologize, you might ant to give every African American high school kid in Virginia who graduates high school with a "B" average and scores at least 1,000 on the SAT, a guaranteed four year scholarship to a public University in that state. You might want to give every black person in Virginia shares of stock in Virginia Companies like Phillip Morris, and Ameri -Group. Or, you might want to name a couple of buildings on the campus of UVA after Thomas Jefferson's mistress, Sally Hemmings. That would be a start. And then you can follow all of that up by tearing down those mother fu****g confederate statutes in the middle of Richmond. That's how you could apologize to the field. I am sure my dead ancestors would appreciate that a whole lot more than your fu****g resolutions and proclamations.
I mean your resolutions sure sounds nice: [Government sanctioned] "slavery ranks as the most horrendous of all depredations of our founding ideals of our nation's history..." blah, blah,blah. But it's the white people of James Town way back in 1619 who should have been feeling this way. Somehow 400 years later it just doesn't mean s**t , unless you can back it up with something meaningful that black people can benefit from.
So sorry folks, if the field was in the Virginia state house the vote would have been 95-1. Because I will be damn if I give those mother fu****s the pleasure of clearing their conscience at the expense of my vote. Nope, they will have to live with what they did to my people. Apology not accepted.
Now I hear that Missouri is considering a similar measure, and who knows which state will be next. Please, let's stop the charade right now. Sometimes sorry is just not enough, not when the people you should have told it to are no longer here to accept it.
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