The weekend conference was primarily attended by black scholars from several continents, to include Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Europe and the Land Down Under. The full title of my paper was and is: The Historical Successes and Failures of Black Male Leadership: On the Contents of Africa, in the Americas and in the Land Down under.
Having said that, the thrust of my message today is not in any way being directed, exclusively, at black males. And the latter should not be interpreted as if I have suddenly had an epiphany with regard to the historical success and failures of male leadership by and in other racial and cultural groups.
However, given all of what is going on in and around the world today, the good, bad and the ugly, all too often males dominate, and are given too much credit when it comes to the associated successes, and not enough pointed blame when it comes to the failures.
My subject matter at the time, just as it is today, has to do today with a broader group of males, who need to take responsibility for their failures in leadership, independent of any other sub-groups. And this is important given that it is practically a world-wide phenomenon, good or bad, that male-dominance is the accepted and irreversible norm.
The scholars at the UC Berkeley Conference, all writers or professors, were somewhat taken back, initially, by the audacity of the title, the thought behind and the scope of my paper, that is until I began to expand upon its meaning, successes and failures.
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When something works, all of us like to take credit, however, when something fails, it tends to be the nature of the human beast to run away from any responsibility that is associated with the attendant or associated failure. Oftentimes, in those instances of failure, the fault or reason for the failure lies elsewhere. It is not uncommon to hear excuses, rationalizations or expressions like, "if only they had listened to me"!
I stood my ground, with both groups, being flanked in the front and from the rear by some fairly angry all black Africans at Koret. However, by the end of each conference, I was able to convince both the speakers and members of both august bodies, to sit their pride aside for a minute, and to listen to what I was saying. Perhaps someday, each one of us who hasn't learned yet that suppression, and saying what we believe out loud, neither makes the context nor the content correct. The latter should also apply to other disciplines like science and religion.
Afterward, I received invitations to come to Nigeria, Portugal, the Fiji's in order to participate in other international conferences and goodwill visits, however, when it comes to inter-continental travel, I am kind of a homeboy. In other words, if I can't fly there in 5 hours or less, it is very likely that you will ever see me there, just call me Mr. T!
Saying it loud, should not make one proud, neither should idea suppression. Are the 2 mutually exclusive? It would seem so at times. All of us have likely been audience members at some pogrom, where either one side, or the other is determined not to let up until their opposition has been obliterated. And it is a known fact that just because one silences the speaker, the message still lives on. Jesus Christ, Dr. Martin Luther King, Bobby King, John F. Kennedy, Nat Turner ... come to mind.
What we are witnessing in our nation's capitol today, with respect to the debt crisis and the raising of the debt ceiling, showcases individuals who are engaged in the business of ideas suppression, nullification and obliteration of their opponents, if they were foreigners, one side would likely nuke 'the Democrats'. And sadly, some of our Representatives seem to believe, and perhaps they are correct, that the best way to destroy an idea, is to destroy the person right along with the idea, whether by rote, scandal, humiliation or denigration.
The only difference between what the American military's hired assassin's and paid mercenaries do and have done to America's foreign enemies and occasionally to their domestic enemies, is that they don't kill each other outright with a weapon of mass physical destruction. And what is sad but telling is, that there is another often muted voice in the world, that has unjustifiably been the target of suppression and male dominant nullification Sadly, if the majoritarian female voice would have been added to the to the narrative, the Earth would likely have returned to balance, thousands of years before.
I can recall a client who kept having repetitive nightmares. During each nightmare, she was just about to deliver, when this evil dark dark force would stand by and snatch the fetus away once it was delivered. And isn't that all too often what happens when the baby's are delivered, a male dominated society steps in, snatches away and destroys the fetus?
And it not just the Charles Taylors of the world that I am referring to, the same problem has persisted in the United States, for over 235 years now. BTW, someone once asked, "you hate America don't you"? And on another occasion someone said, "you will tell the truth even if it hurts you, won't? Only one of these speakers was correct!
Now, on the other hand, there is more than anecdotal proof to show that many of the same individuals who have distanced themselves, or refuse to take responsibility for America's current mess, which has impacted other economies of the world were and are responsible for the mess that the nation and much of the world finds itself in today.
Americas problem didn't just suddenly occur, that is without the direct involvement of its male-dominant policy-makers. Don't be surprised for example, if Representative John Bonehead (pardon me), doesn't suddenly announce that he is running for President of the USA. Remember, you heard it here first. Representative Bonehead, is only one of example of failed male leadership in America.
Now given the examples that each of us have witnessed coming out of Washington DC, from Mr. Bonehead and others like him, it does not in any way diminish the contributions that of dominate males from outside of Washington DC. Reverend Solomon, shouldn't you show a United States Representative more respect. Answer: He said it, I didn't, that he is not, in other words, a United States Representative, he is there, and Speaker of the House, to represent a faction of the American people, therefore, in my opinion, he is Mr. Bonehead!
Does Mr. Bonehead from Ohio, 'that fox', know a thing about leadership? In my opinion, he mistakes suppression for leadership. Who created this notion, that representatives are in place to represent only a certain faction of the American people? Answers, males invented it! Presidents, Representatives, Governors ... should never say "I am here to represent the people who placed me here". What if Mr. Bonehead's people resurrected the idea of enslaving certain Americans, what would he do? I can only imagine ...
So, similar to what I explained before at the UC Berkeley conference, when discussing my polemic, males have a lot that they can be proud of, even though truthfully, what has been done in the past ignores the contributions of females. Females certainly have been responsible for the successes of male leaders, even though their contributions have often been overlooked. Let's give the Catholics credit for the practice of Maryology, the honor of the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus, a tradition that can be traced back to Africa, that actually preceded the establishment of the Catholic Church and the practice.
Females are inseminated and afterward, carry, deliver, nurse and raise the babies and are soon after are forced into the background. All too often the feminine voice has been completely ignored, or met with disdain. When it came down to some of the ridiculous choices and policies that have been put into place by objectionable males, I have to wonder how the world would have progressed if that had not been the case.
How advanced we would be as a people, all humans that is, had it not been for the historical and ongoing suppression of the feminine voice. Perhaps, there would have been a Pelopennesian, American or Great War for that matter. And perhaps there would not be any weapons of mass destruction .... or no one, who knows, would have ever received a black eye.
Speaking of discovering hidden treasures, I suspect that someday, someone will discover a treasure has been with us for centuries, and at the same time ignored, given that we did not understand its value. It is truly amazing, the amount of money that has been spent by American decision and policy makers to foment war. The last I heard, the amount that American politicians expend to engage in war, equals that of all other nations of the world. Er her! And people are starving? Mr. Boehner and his crowd would ask, and what is your point?.
On the other hand, it is equally amazing just how small of an investment the same males will invest in bringing in addressing legitimate social issues. Why is that the strong male warrior fears women? I suppose that it has to do with an innate fear of the purported weaker vessels.
Am I unique in this regard? well, to be honest, I am doing a better job today, not perfect, than I did prior to my epiphany. I began, as most males that I knew did, with an intrinsic understanding that I was supposed to dominate my female counterpart, in other words, I was to be, "Da Man", and God planned it that way. So, like most males, my primary objective in life was to be "Da Man". I can still recall when I was in the 5th grade, when my male 5th grade teacher taught our elementary school class about the about the dominance of males, and the recessivness of females.
The idea of female suppression, not only in this instance, but at church, at home and everywhere else, it would seem, even by women, was either being taught or re-enforced at churches, in schools and everywhere else. Most of us can recall the scene in the blockbuster movie, The Color Purple, when the character Ms. Ciely, a female, instructed her step-son Harpo, that he should beat his wife. At the same time, Ms. Ciely, was experiencing the same kind of brutality and suppression from her husband who was Harpo's father. Harpo came to Ceily, to learn what he needed to do about his wife who refused to submit to him.
The movie, art imitating life, was both shocking and in some instances reveling. It caused me to think more about the nature vs nurture argument, when it comes to female suppression by both males and even females. And the latter is even more pointed, when it comes to ones religious indoctrination and persuasion (for all of us know that God "a Spirit", was somehow "a male Spirit that elected not to, for some reason, thave a divine Spirit wife". but the rest of us males, were expected to dominate our women)! Er herm! And, the females were supposed to submit.
And again, whether it was nature or nurture, I lived up to expectation, and made sure that in every area of my youthful life, I did all that I could to ensure that I outran, out talked, out achieved ... my female counterparts. I can still recall an incident during prepubescence, when my female cousin, who was the same age as I was, showed up at our house, and it was proudly announced that she could tie her shoes.
I immediately got down on my knees, and tied my shoes for the first time in my life. Er herm! In other words, no female was going to tie her shoes before I could tie my shoes. What was up with that, I showed her?
Also, no female was going to outrun me ... I made sure of that. At some point I discovered that I had a real problem, and even to this day, I haven't fully resolved the religious-cultural shaping, that I received and accepted as a child. However, I continue to navigate throughout the rich [mindfield] of males and Ms. Ciely females, who still try to tell me what I am supposed to be doing, or how I should behave from their points of view.
There are females who still expect to be dominated by males, and males who feel better, after the have dominated a female. While working through this process, I tend not to date at all now. Frankly, I have not had a girlfriend, been married or dated for years, and frankly, I kind of like it this way. Don't get me wrong, I still look, hmm baby! Sorry Lord.
Move over Jesus, and the Apostle Paul, I'm doing what you two did, and I found out long ago, that what I really like to do is to watch sports or spend time in Lake Tahoe or Hawaii!
Now don't get me wrong, good-looking stud that I am with an ego (and a slight bulge), 'Oh yeah, I can still get a girlfriend anytime that I want one", er herm! But having said that I discovered a long time ago that it is simpler to walk alone, no arguments and zero expectations, or male/female relationship confusion.
However, I have always had friends, enemies ... that were and some still are not comfortable with my decision to walk alone. I often find myself being labeled gay, mostly by females (and the fact that i live in the Gay Area, doesn't help). Why females? Well, from what I can determine, if you don't want one of them, then something must be wrong with you. More of that Ms. Ciely confusion I call it.
On the other hand, I haven't spent a single minute desiring to or being gay. On the other hand, according to several males in the area, who know nothing about my non-existent sex life, I hear that I am some kind of a lover stud, who is hitting it four times a day. Er herm! Now don't misunderstand me, I do have an ego, and would likely hit it more than one time a day, er herm <-:)-
I often wonder, where does this stuff come from, given that I don't waste a minute of my life wondering or caring about someone else's sex life, so why are so many people concerned about mine, other than it being a part of this male-female confusion dynamic. Frankly, I am still flattered by the 3 or 4 females that I once dated, who asked, why haven't you tried anything with me?
Back in the day when I was dating, I cannot tell you how many times I was asked by Christian women, who I dated at the time, why I never tried to do anything with them. And some of them even asked me, "are you gay", as if to say that anyone who wasn't after their pants, had to be gay! What an ego. I reminded them on most every occasion, (well there was that one time) er herm, aren't we supposed to be Christians?
I suppose that it would be humorous, if it wasn't for the fact that what I have been experiencing at the hands of both females and males, points to a deeper historical problem, that has to do with the confusion inherent in the male female dynamic. Have you ever noticed that the more powerful males become politically, that the more sexual scandals are associated with them? Who Da Man? It was just announced earlier today, that another Representative, not Mr. Wiener, has to step down because of sexual impropriety.
to be continued ... Male leadership? There is more out of control testosterone, in Washington DC, I suspect than anywhere else on the planet ... We had better get more women down there, if we expect to survive dominant male leadership like John Bonehead and others in Washington DC. And if you are offended by my adroitness, you know preachers aren't suppose to say certain things, get over it - someone needs to keep it real!
Next: More on the historical failure of male-dominant leadership!
Solomon
Kathleen Barry, Professor Emerita of Penn State University. Barry's latest book, Unmaking War, Remaking Men,
Solomon
Check out Kathleen Barry's Site:
Her book: Unmaking War Unmaking Men
http://www.kathleenbarry.net
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