Dissin' Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor Oxymoron

Classic example of an oxymoron Glenn Beck/Restoring Honor

March Madness: Glenn Beck and the Death of Civil Rights

March Madness: Glenn Beck and the Death of Civil Rights.

Paul Scott



The date is August 28th 2010, and Glenn Beck stands before a crowd of 100,000 fellow Conservatives holding the severed head of a Martin Luther King Jr statue like a victorious Roman gladiator. With Sarah Palin by his side, he, triumphantly, yells, "free at last; free at last," as the civil rights leaders can only weep from afar...

There is an old saying that if you love something, set it free and if it doesn't come back it was never yours to begin with; so it is with Glenn Beck and the Right Wing's, upcoming, "Restoring Honor Rally" which is scheduled to take place this Saturday in Washington DC, commemorating the 47th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's "March on Washington."

Of course, some members of the civil rights generation are afraid that this is an attempt to kill their movement and are holding a counter rally called "Reclaim the Dream."

What must be noted is that for many African Americans who came into political consciousness during the Hip Hop Era, the Civil Rights Movement died a long time ago, as its end game strategy of cultural assimilation has proven to be unable to cure the societal ills facing the black community.

For nearly 50 years they have pushed a commercialized version of Dr. King's struggle for racial equality to this country. This is the version of black history that is easily co-opted by white America and of which Glenn Beck and others consider themselves the rightful heirs.

However, there is a non-commercial version of the African American experience that the Right Wing will not touch with a 10 foot pole. This is the ideology embraced by many younger African Americans that includes black empowerment , black self determination and an Afro-centric world view.

Can you imagine Sean Hannity holding one of his Freedom concerts at the site of the 1972 Wattstax Music Festival which commemorated the Watts Rebellion of 1965? Or do you really believe that Glenn Beck would hold an event on October 16 to commemorate the 1995, Minister Louis Farrakhan led, Million Man March/Day of Atonement and have a million white men gather to beg forgiveness for their crimes against non-white humanity?

Of course not. These events are pretty much off limits. However, the March on Washington is ripe for the pickin'.

Although, the conservative talking heads, constantly, refer to mainstream black leaders as "poverty pimps," who should not be in leadership positions, there is one major flaw in their criticisms. In some warped version of the Hegelian Dialectal Principle, they chose them. For the most part, the civil rights leaders have been ringers. (Or as we say in the 'hood marks.)

Now, you have to give it to the Tea Party people , when they roll out to a march they come to chew tobacco and kick butt and at this point they are all out of Red Man. As for the civil rights folks, they put so much emphasis on easing ,unfounded, white fears of a bloody revolution that everything else kinda gets lost in the translation.

"blah blah blah....NONVIOLENCE...blah blah blah"

This lack of aggression does not go over too well with a generation who grew up on rap videos and Grand Theft Auto video games.

Not to mention, the focus of the Civil Rights Movement on what writer Harold Cruse called "non-economic liberalism" is seen as outdated by members of a Hip Hop generation who consider black self -made millionaire entertainers as role models, some of whom got there start by selling cd's out of their car trunks.

Also, for a community that is suffering from black on black youth violence, an over emphasis on "little black boys holding hands with little white girls" is seen as treason.

As Hip Hop artist KRS once rapped "the civil rights leaders ain't seeing...they wanna be equal with the white...I wanna to be equal with the light...."

As we move toward the mid term elections and King's, prophetic, "difficult days ahead," America will see the rise of a new movement of younger, more Afro-centric thinkers, writers, activists and historians who believe the keys to solving our problems do not lie in the minds of white Americans but are buried deep within our African souls.

If more black folks knew the historical truth about Martin Luther King, instead of getting their underwear in a bundle over Beck's rally they would get quite a chuckle from the arrogant ignorance of the Right.

For most people, their knowledge of Dr. Martin Luther King ends, immediately, after his "I Have a Dream Speech"of 1963. However, the remaining years of his life found him, increasingly, sounding more like a black militant Marxist -Leninist than the Southern preacher of the Montgomery Bus Boycott fame.

Do the Right Wing champions of the white middle class realize that ,according to Kenneth O'Reilly in his book "Black Americans: The FBI Files," at the time of his death, King was planning a Washington Spring Project/Poor People's March which would have pressured the government to spend more money on the same social programs that are hated by Conservatives ?

Also, how can a bunch of folks who pride themselves as being the major advocates of big business embrace the ideology of a man who, the night before he was assassinated, delivered a speech not only calling for economic sanctions against Coca Cola and Wonder Bread but also asking African Americans in Memphis Tennessee to take their savings out of the white owned banks and put them in black ones?

Lastly, although the Tea Partiers constantly bash President Obama for hangin' with radical homeboys such as the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, according to Dr. Devin Fergus in his book, "Liberalism, Black Power and the Making of American Politics 1965-1980, the day of his assassination, King met with a gang called The Invaders, "a group patterned after the Black Panther Party" in order to "help the group secure funding for community programs."

If a bunch of intellectually, challenged yahoos whose resident genius is Sarah Palin can 'jack an event held so dear to the civil rights folks, more power to 'em.

Instead of "reclaiming the dream" we need to be reclaiming our history and cultural identity because ultimately, that is only the solution to our problems.

As Dr. King said "Yes, I'm black and proud of it! I'm black and beautiful !"

And that is something that Beck and company can never take away.

Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com. For more information on the Intelligence Over Ignorance lecture series on Race, Rap and Revolution contact (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com

Who Me..Racist?

Tonight, the NAACP passed a resolution against the Tea Party 's racism. Of course, the Tea Baggers ,vehemently, denied the accusation.

"Me a racist...forgetaboutit. I brought the first pair of Air Jordan sneakers when they came out and that first MC Hammer album was off the hook!"

As usual when it comes to the issue of race in America, we don't get the right answers because we don't ask the right questions.

Before you call out people for being racists, first you should ask them if racism still exists. Because if they say that racism ended when Lincoln gave his Emancipation Proclamation, or when Martin Luther King told America about his dream. Or when Hallie Berry won an Oscar for Monsters Ball... Then, of course the Tea Party can't be racists because racism no longer exists.

This country refuses to admit that black folks and white folks have different definitions of racism.

For black folks racism means white folks that deprive them from total equality, whether blatant or subtle. For white folks racism means wearing a white sheet in public and carrying around a Nazi swastika rubber stamp in one's pocket. So, unless you get caught with a can of gasoline and two pieces of ply wood in the form of a cross, then you are not racist...

Maybe, the NAACP should have used the word "white supremacist" instead of racist as one of the benefits of being a white supremacist is the power to define "racism."

So, the Tea Partier motto is "We ain't racist cause we say we ain't!. Now, get in the kitchen and fix me a fried chicken sandwich with a hunk of watermelon, boy!"

I'm not quote clear on what the resolution by the NAACP is supposed to accomplish. After all, they have never been known as the most militant group of people. Maybe if the New Black Panther Party passed a resolution at their convention...but the National Association for the Advancement of "Colored" People?

The Tea Baggers probably take the NAACP as seriously as Barney Fife guarding the mean streets of Mayberry with his bullet-less gun..

In North Carolina the resident racist Right Wing radio station, WRDU has made dissin' the state NAACP its raison d'etre and I have yet to see one bullhorn or protest sign in front of the station...

Now that the NAACP has passed the resolution, the obvious question is, "now what?" Are they going to sing "We Shall Over Come" or are they going to pump up the volume and rap "Fight the Power."


Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com. He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com

Is Hip Hop Scared of the Tea Party?

Open Challenge to Hip Hop regarding the lack of attention to the Tea Party

Presidents Day 2010: Right Wing, Racism and Reconstruction

Presidents Day 2010:
Right Wing, Racism and Reconstruction

Paul Scott



In Tennessee, a group of disgruntled white folks held their first national conference with the aim of snatchin' back their country from the undesirables, whom were bringing it to ruin. The conference ended with a roar of applause as the keynote speaker made an impassioned call for a revolution. No, I'm not talking about The National Tea Party Convention of 2010, I'm referring to the first Ku Klux Klan Convention of 1867...

Although, the two events took place almost a century and a half apart, I am sure that the sentiments in the room must have been, pretty much the same; white supremacy must be preserved by any means necessary.

Last weekend, the Tea Party folks held their first national convention, the $100,000 show stopper being Sarah Palin's announcement that "America is ready for another revolution."

Although, most Conservatives would deny it to the bitter end, many of those who hate President Barack Obama's guts do so because (dare I say it ?) he's black! And a black man as head of the free world just doesn't sit well with some folks whose dealings with African Americans are limited to the kid at McDonald's asking them if they want cheese on their Big Macs.

While it may be a tad bit unfair to label everybody who attended the convention as bigots who ritually, relieve themselves on the grave of Thaddeus Stevens, to say that the Tea Party hoedown wasn't the choice vacation spot for racists last weekend is a little naive.

See, when these guys start talking about being "patriots" and "defending the Constitution" you have to understand the code words. They are talking about the original version of the Constitution that referred to a dude like me as only 3/5th of a man. And the "patriot" they talk about rallyin' isn't your friendly neighbor, Mrs. Robertson with the giant American flag hanging over her rose garden. Naw, they are after the dude with the Confederate baseball cap and the gun rack in the back of his pickup blastin' Lynard Skynard.


Although, the Convention got props from the Right Wing media, I wonder what their reaction would have been if a black leader called for the overthrow of the government at the all African American "Black Coffee, No Sugar, No Cream" Convention. You can bet that the talking heads on Fox News would be labeling him a terrorist and calling for a thorough investigation by the Justice Department.

Forgive me if I come off a little presumptuous but we, black folks, have seen this movie before.

Back in 1866, following the end of the Civil War, there was a dramatic surge in African American political power courtesy of a couple of handy amendments added to the Constitution. For the first time African Americans began to hold political offices, at what seemed for some to be an alarming rate.

Needless to say, just like after Obama's historic victory, November '08, some folks weren't exactly jerkin' for joy down Main Street.

Referring to Southern whites, historian Vincent Harding in his book "The Other American Revolution" writes, " by every possible legal and extralegal means they organized to oppose the new developments." Much of the extralegal activity was carried out by the KKK who, ironically, also held their first convention at a Nashville hotel.

Also, in his book "Before the Mayflower," Lerone Bennett wrote, " to justify the revolutionary methods by which these governments were overthrown, Southerners manufactured and perpetrated the twin myths of corruption and ignorance." Negro politicians, so the myths run ,were corrupt or ignorant."

Also, it must be noted that some historians have labeled the Civil Rights Era as the "second Reconstruction Era." The leaders of this era were also demonized; accused of trying to turn America into a Socialist (then the buzz word was "Communist") state.

Funny how the more things change...

While some will argue that it was the Democrats, not the angelic Republicans who were responsible for the end of Reconstruction. The truth is conservative bigotry is nonpartisan and changing a political party is as easy as changing socks. The Dixiecrats of yesterday are the Ultra Right Wing Republicans of today.

The Right Wing media have been riding Obama's back since day one. Ever since he took office he has been the nappy headed step child of American presidents.

The Rodney Dangerfield of DC...

The Charlie Brown of the....

Aw, you get the point.

The movers hadn't even finished unpacking Michelle Obama's shoes before the attacks started coming from the Conservatives.

To borrow from an old joke, if the reporters saw President Obama walking on water, the headlines the next morning would read, "Obama Can't Swim!"

Not only that, but the Right has continued an unrelenting, unmerciful attack on the whole Left Wing, branding them as an Obama inspired environmentalist cult waiting for the second coming of Karl Marx.

Now I'm not an Obama groupie but I, like many other folks, am tired of the Tea Party and the other Conservatives running around like the Broadstreet Bully jackin' nerdy Left wingers for their lunch money.

So, inspired by the success of the Tea Party, this Presidents Day, 2/15, I have decided to start my own political movement, "The Kick Rocks Coalition."

I am asking that those on the Left who don't wet their pants every time they hear the intro to Rush Limbaugh's radio show join me in telling the Right Wingers that we are sick and tired of their ruthless fear tactics.

It is past time to tell the Conservatives to get over it, Obama is the Prez and if you don't like it you can...

Well...kick rocks!


Paul Scott is a author of the blog, No Warning Shots Fired.com. He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com

NWSF Bullet: Dr. Sarah Palin on Africa

Last week the talking heads had a chuckle when reports circulated that Sarah Palin did not know that Africa is a continent...

Wow, what a news flash...

Let me let you in on a little secret. A lot of folks don't know that Africa is a continent. And quiet as it's kept, many black folks who spilled their Kool Aid laughing at homegirl couldn't name five countries in Africa, themselves.

Why? Because Africa is not really mentioned in this society and when it is, it is not shown in the best light. For most people, their vision of Africa comes straight from a Tarzan movie or one of those Sally Struthers "feed Ethiopia" commercials.

I can't remember learning too much about Africa in school, either. That is except for Black History Month when they taught about where slaves came from.

Not much talk about Ghana, Mali, Songhai, Egypt (Kemet), etc...

Do yourself a favor and pick up a book by Dr. Yosef ben Jochannan, Ivan Van Sertima or Basil Davidson about African history, this weekend.

Or until then, check out an article I wrote a few months back "Afrocentricty for Dummies (and other Conservatives)

http://nowarningshotsfired.blogspot.com/2008/03/afrocentricity-for-dummies-and-other.html

America Mourns the Death of Joe the Racist

America Mourns the Death of Joe the Racist:

Will Racism Rest in Peace?:


Paul Scott





For half of America, the outcome of the last election was seen as a time to celebrate the birth of a new era of change. For the other half, it was a funeral to mourn the death of Racism and the idea that America is "a white man's country." While both of these scenarios made good headlines, neither represents reality; historically nor in real time.

This may come as a shock for the overly optimistic but Racism is not dead. Matter of fact, it has more lives than Jason from the Friday the 13th movie series. Just when you think you've finally laid him to eternal rest , you hear that annoying horror movie music and teenage campers start going missing at the lake.

The reason for the resilience of Racism is mostly because most people don't have a working definition of the term. While the dictionary may define it as "the notion that one's own ethnic stock is superior," the functional definition digs deeper into the social and economic roots of the "notion" of racial superiority. Racism is the ability for one's race to impose its will on another race. And to quote writer Neely Fuller, "the only form of functional Racism that exists among the people of the known universe is White Supremacy." Therefore, as a group, black people cannot be racist nor do we have any real power to dictate the terms of this country's race relations. In reality, the only black person in this country that has that power is Barack Obama, himself.

Historically speaking, this is not the first time that Racism has flat lined. From the time of the Emancipation Proclamation to Reconstruction to the election of President John F. Kennedy, many have prematurely declared Racism dead. Even in recent times, in the sometimes shallow world of Hip Hop , some have seen the popularity of white rappers such as Vanilla Ice and Eminem as evidence that Racism was on its last legs.

Racism is a horrible burden to bear for black folks and it is understandable why some are quick to report that "Joe the Racist" has died of pneumonia when, in actuality, he only had a cold.

For some, the reasons are economically motivated . It has always been a feeling among some African Americans that in order to move up in the world, you have to "act white" and deny your own culture. So, the upwardly mobile middle class no longer have to worry about being called "Oreos, sell-outs or Uncle Toms" at this year's Thanksgiving dinner by less affluent family members. If Racism is dead then everyone has equal opportunity.

There is also a sexual component to the need to break down racial barriers. For many years white women have been the forbidden fruit. There are black men who champion a color blind society for no other reason than to have a better chance of dating Sarah Palin.

But despite all the wishful thinking, there are reasons why Racism has more lives than Garfield.

First, as activists like the late Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichel) were quick to point out, Capitalism, needs Racism in order to survive. There has to be a permanent underclass and this underclass has been made up, primarily, of people of color.

Also, fighting Racism is in and of itself a business. If Racism ends, many civil rights leaders will be in line at Wall Mart trying to hook up a job for the Christmas season.

Lastly, for a large segment of the population, the only way that you will remove the sceptre of white supremacy is from their cold dead hands. If one truly needs to to know that Racism is alive and kicking one needs only to flip his radio dial to the local conservative talk radio station.

As long as you have right wing conduits such as Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and Mike Savage holding daily seances on radio and TV shows, it won't be long before the white sheet wearing specter of Racism rises from the dead saying,

"Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated."


Paul Scott's , "the Hip Hop TRUTH Minista" blog is http://www.nowarningshotsfired.com/ He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 info@nowarningshotsfired.com

Why Some Black Folks Don't Vote

Why Black Folks Don't Vote

Paul Scott



"Politics and hypocrites turning us all into lunatics..."

"You're the Man" Marvin Gaye


I was hangin' at the spot a while back with one of the homies when he asked me to fill out a voter registration form.

"You know I ain't votin'," I said in faux anger.

(This year, I was joking. Other years, I have been dead serious.)

All of the sudden, I turned around and was face to face with an Obama-ite pointing her finger about an inch away from my nose. "You're ancestors died so you can have the right to vote," she yelled in a voice usually reserved for someone who went too far with a "yo mama is so fat" joke.

Now usually, that would have been a good opportunity to engage someone in a debate about the short comings of the two party system but this lady was seriously about to give me a beat down so I cruised on out the door mouthin' a weak...

"I was just playin'..."

Every four years, black folks are bombarded with dark tales of the Apocalypse. If every black person in America doesn't vote and vote for the Democratic Party, something very wicked this way comes. And any black person who even dares to question the relevance of voting risks being tarred and feathered and run out of tha hood.

At the risk of blasphemy, I have to say that even in this election year there is a sizable part of the African American population that doesn't vote or questions the dedication of either the Donkey or the Elephant in solving the problems of the non middle class black community. What bothers me most is that the same folks who wouldn't engage in any conversation deeper than a discussion over the latest Tyler Perry movie or who's going to win the Super Bowl have now become overnight political scientists.

I mean, the same folks who you couldn't drag to a school board meeting, six months ago and couldn't find their way to City Hall if you paid them are now threatening to round up black folks and march them to the polls en mass at gunpoint on November 4th. While the stereotype of a non voting black person is an apathetic bum who sits around the crib all day playing PlayStation and eating Fruit Loops straight out the box, many vote virgins have a good reason for abstinence.

But instead of asking the simple question "Why don't you vote ?" We come up with urban legends and doomsday sayings such as "vote or die" which may scare Tyrone into taking five minutes out of his day to go to the polls but does not, in anyway, make him more politically educated. The myth that our ancestors died so we could vote doesn't quite match up with historical facts.

If you look at the whole Civil Rights Era, voting was simply a means to an end. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a staunch advocate for the poor who caught hell regardless of who was in office. Also it must be noted that much of his activism was under the Kennedy/Johnson Administration which, by the way, allowed the FBI to bug his phone. And these were supposed to be the good guy Democrats. Also, one cannot forget Malcolm X's stern warning about the "Dixiecrats."

Secondly, while the idea of a great conspiracy to deprive black folks of their rights to vote has merit, many times it is overblown. While history is full of instances of threats, poll taxes and other tricks of disenfranchisement, in reality voting is a necessary evil in a Democracy. As I heard a news commentator say one time, " voting is a Democracy's alternative to rioting in the streets." The promise of a vote, in and of itself, substantially changing the reality of the poor is needed to keep the natives from getting restless. That is why the urban legend of black folks losing their right to vote every 25 years is laughable. However, the same people who would dismiss the idea that the CIA had something to do with drugs being brought into Los Angeles believe this conspiracy theory, whole heartedly.

Thirdly, the idea that the world will end on November 4th if the Democratic candidate of choice does not win points more at short sightedness than political sophistication. I guarantee Conservatives are having meetings all over the country coming up with a plan B, while many black folks are planning the big election night victory party at Magic Fingers Strip Club.

It must be noted that the "angry white man" reaction to the Democratic victory in '92 gave rise to the "Republican Revolution" of 1994. We must also remember that while black dj's were busy debating who had the better rappers, the East Coast or the West Coast, Right Wing radio was becoming a major political force. It must be noted that for every one Hip Hop radio station that plays the latest Lil Wayne jam, there are five conservative talk radio stations that feature Bill O'Reilly, Mike Savage and Neil Bortz 24 hours a day.

Also, although the efforts of Hip Hoppers and black radio stations to get young black folks to vote should be applauded, after the election, Conservative radio will go into over-drive plotting the Republican Revolution (The Sequal), while black radio will go back to playing "booty bounce, booty bounce," in continuous rotation.

As a matter of full disclosure, I already early voted but my decision was not based on some messianic vision of a political Promise Land. Call me shallow, but the Right Wing's fear of Obama rollin' like Robin Hood; stickin' it to the rich and giving to the poor made me (an Independent) 'rep for the Democrats this year. Not to mention, the thrill of the possibility of seeing Sean Hannity's mug having to announce the selection of the first black president was a little hard to resist.

However, I am under no illusion that anything will change unless the black community finds a way to harness the energy that was generated during the election and ration it out over the next four years in daily doses.

As Thomas Jefferson once said, "The price of Freedom is eternal vigilance."

Word up!


Paul Scott's blog is http://www.nowarningshotsfired.com/ He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 info@nowarningshotsfired.com