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Mar. 31, 2006 Adjective - The part of speech that modifies a noun or other substantive by limiting, qualifying, or specifying and distinguished in English morphologically by one of several suffixes, such as -able, -ous, -er, and -est, or syntactically by position directly preceding a noun or nominal phrase. I was about to blast another 'black conservative' the other day for his particular rant on the rest of the 'stupid blacks' who aren't Republican. I didn't though. I really have been trying to not minor on the minutia. In other words, I want to stop wasting time on folks who really have relatively little influence on blacks and our experience and outlook in the world. This is difficult for me though, because I love deconstructing foolishness as much as my 9 month old son likes knocking down the big lego towers my daughter builds. So I am, just a little bit today, and in a general way going to knock down some fake black cons. First don't get me wrong, as I have stated before there are some conservative and Republican brothers and sisters I love. Many folks might view me as some what of a conservative depending on how you define that term, and that would be a fair assessment. But these are folks who have an ability to be introspective and critically reasoned, and not ideological buffoons parroting white conservatives and getting tossed scooby snacks. So the general thesis of my article today is that brothers need to detach the black from the conservative if you aren't a black applying the blackness to conservativism. Riddle me this huh? As stated above an adjective is a word used as a modifier and descriptive term for a noun. For example, if I say 'white' wall, then I have identified the wall by virtue of its color. Now when we use it for humans an adjective can be used as a state, or as an _expression. Check it out, “There is a 'black' guy down the corner” and “He is in a 'black' mood today”. The first adjective is state, IE the guy has dark melanin skin, his state is 'black'. The second adjective is an _expression; he is expressing himself through his 'black' mood. Now as this relates to the black conservative we have to ask ourselves if it is a state or an _expression. If it is a state, IE it is simply a 'black' guy who practices conservative ideology then there is really no purpose for being identified as a 'black' conservative because there is nothing materially different from a 'black' conservative and a 'white' one. However if it is an _expression, if the 'black' truly modifies the term conservative then this is much different. In this adjective scenario the conservative noun would be modified by 'blackness' meaning that the black conservative would be using conservative philosophy and innovative conservative thought specifically applied, derived from, and in relation to black American life and black historical experience here in America. It is my belief that most so-called 'black' conservatives are simply talking about state. They are 'black' but that blackness has nothing to do with their conservativism. They don't offer innovative conservative solutions to black life and culture, they don't offer critical conservative reasons specific to and derived from 'black' culture, they simply are what they are, conservatives. They parrot non-unique and standard conservative ideology, nothing more nothing less. To me they have no real relevance, and answer questions no differently as it relates to the black experience that we could not get answered from white conservatives. But the true 'black' conservative whose blackness colors and truly modifies his/her conservatism uses as a framework for innovative social change conservatism distinctly colored and applied to the very real conditions of black Americans. Although common principles may be seen in relation to white conservatives, the _expression of these principles is unique to the unique condition of blacks and the black culture which shapes this _expression. The reason Project 21 cats, and other so-called black conservatives are outcast, isolated, and deemed as foolish asses, is because the 'black' in the black conservative is a state, and being that it is a state, it has no relevance to the masses of us blacks. Why should I care about Armstrong Williams when I have a Rush Limbaugh who does conservatism twice as well? They should just drop the adjective 'black' all together, because it has no bearing on the _expression of their conservative ideology. But I think there is opportunity for true black conservatives who express blackness and black culture through conservatism and apply it for the betterment of the race to make some head way. We will see...but as long as Black Conservatives like Jesse Lee Peterson, Michael Massie, LaShawn Barber, Bob Parks among others are the leading voices of 'black' conservatives, those who truly could have a relevant conservative voice in our communities are getting drown out by those black conservatives who will never be relevant. ------------ About the author: Dell Gines is a columnist for the Omaha Star, Nebraska’s only black newspaper, and blogs at www.dellgines.com. Email: dellgines@yahoo.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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