I have been thinking about loss and the past, of regret, of expectations, of realities and truths this evening.  "You can't change the past."  "The past is the past." "Dwelling on the past solves nothing."  "You must let go."  You must move on." Lots of words.  I guess for some easy to do.  Not so much for me.  My father once told me my greatest weakness is my caring heart.  I disagree.  It is my inability to let go.  If I could let go then I would not be hurting from the past now.  It would not fester.  It would not keep bringing me back.  Loss past the "now" would not be a thing.  I envy those that can do that supposedly simple thing.  My heart and/or mind will not work in that way.  I have tried changing it for years.  I have sought guidance.  Professional advice.  Spiritual enlightenment.  While all have valid and in theory perfectly accurate solutions none have stuck and removed this flaw in me.  A flaw in my character?  Mind?  Mental illness?  Sometimes I wonder if this is Hell and death releases you from this reality into the next.  The question I have is does the energy you expend in this life attract repel or propagate in the next?  The energy does not just disappear.  Your compounds break down but the atoms do not.  They can separate and recombine but into what?  That energy that electrifies the mind goes somewhere.  That is your soul in my opinion.  It carries the frequencies and amplitudes that powered your mind long past the minds physical compounds decay recombining into dirt.  That is the where, what and how of what lies beyond physical death that bothers me.  When I die, will this flaw keep me from passing on?  Will that electric force become magnetic holding me?  I don't know.  I certainly don't want to go pass this flaw on to whatever my energy becomes next.  That scares me enough to not want to leave this reality now and keep fighting to defeat/correct/modify this flaw so it is no longer a fear.

In the end I would be a "better" person if I could correct this flaw.  I certainly would be less stressed with other drivers and rude people. That would be a good thing.  "Be like water." Bruce Lee said.  I think he stole that from some more ancient teaching.  "LIsten to the river." from the book Siddartha.  "Go with the flow." I guess would be a more modern reference.  All accurate.  All much easier said than done; at least for me.  

All of this reminds me of the use of the word "average".  Only 1% of 100% is actually average.  The other 99% is either above or below "average".  I hate that word.  A majority range is a more useful use of a statistic.  x% of y is useful for patterning data.  Enough mental BS for today.  I'm tired.  Good night all.

 

The Origin of White Privilege

By

Scott Smiley

 

                The topic of “white privilege” has troubled me for some time.  At first I denied it could exist in today’s society.  Federal Laws should be preventing this type of thing from happening.  The magnified loud speaker of social media would bring anyone who attempted to assert any type of privilege over another would be tarred and feathered.  But upon reflection I feel I was wrong.

                Before some of you start shouting either way I offer up some things to consider.  Firstly the power that allows privilege must be identified.  Per (Merriam-Webster) “2a. possession of control, authority, or influence over others.”  I am focusing on the United States of America primarily.  That said, it began even earlier than the finding of North America by the Europeans (The Chinese also claim the found America but that is still in debate).  Leif Erikson a Norse Viking, found North America in approximately c. 1000 CE (Groeneveld).  In 1492 Christopher Columbus an Italian, found the Bahamas (Robert Roy Britt).  Amerigo Vespucci another Italian, found America in 1502 (Robert Roy Britt).  America is named after Vespucci (Robert Roy Britt).  The first settlement was Jamestown founded by the English under a grant to the Virginia Company by Queen Elizabeth in 1602 (americaslibrary.gov) .  Then Christopher Jones an Englishman Captained the Mayflower to what is now called Massachusetts carrying the Pilgrims in 1620 (Brooks).  Other than the Native American’s all of the “explorer’s” were of European decent.  The next question is who held power in that time?  Well with the exception of a few Queens it was mostly held by men.  In particular Christian white men if history is to be trusted.  Women were considered more property than anything else and had few, if any Rights.  Most of these men were of European or British decent making them Caucasian thus “white”.   When this is combined you find only Christian Caucasian Males (referenced as CCM going forward) held the majority of power.  Power being defined as the wealth and authority to create and enforce societal rules.  Just as a note, south of the equator men still held power they were just not Christian or Caucasian. They were just men and that is another story for another time.

                So, now let’s focus on North America.  The American Indian was quickly run over by these colonists.  The definition of an invader is “to encroach upon” and “to spread over or into as if invading” (Merriam-Webster).  These colonists were ruled by CCM’s for the most part.  Women could not own land.  Only land owners could vote.  The land was “granted” by royals from Europe.  This was the culture.  This was their way of life.  This trend continues through slavery, emancipation and the Civil Rights movements.  1492 through 1962 470 years of momentum of Power pushing its way forward originating from traditions and culture originating from Christian Caucasian Men, White Men.  Some statistics from the US Census Bureau:

 

2017 Population:

   Ethnic Group                     %            People              Economic Inertia              %            % Over $35k

White Non-Latino:           58.5%    186,809,170        $5,770,586,745.00            73%             73.9%

Latino:                                  18.1%      55,704,217           $874,316,548.00             11%             18.1%

Black or African:               13.4%      41,239,586           $684,265,226.00               9%             13.4%

Asian:                                      5.8%      17,849,970           $547,764,285.00               7%             78.7%

Two or More Races:          2.7%        8,309,469         Not broken out in data from published census

American Indian:                1.3%        4,000,855         Not broken out in data from published census

Native Hawaiian/

Pacific Islander:                  0.2%           615,516         Not broken out in data from published census   

 

 

 

 

Household Income:

 

		Percent distribution									Median income (dollars)
Race and Hispanic origin of householder and year	Number (thousands)	Under $15,000	$15,000 to $24,999	$25,000 to $34,999	$35,000 to $49,999	$50,000 to $74,999	$75,000 to $99,999	$100,000 to $149,999	$150,000 to $199,999	$200,000 and over	Estimate
WHITE ALONE, NOT HISPANIC	84,681	8.5	8.9	8.6	11.6	16.4	13.0	16.0	8.0	8.9	68,145
BLACK ALONE	16,997	19.9	12.7	11.6	14.1	15.7	9.8	9.5	3.5	3.1	40,258
ASIAN ALONE	6,735	9.0	6.6	5.8	9.6	14.5	12.9	16.3	10.8	14.6	81,331
HISPANIC (ANY RACE)	17,318	12.0	11.1	11.3	15.0	18.1	12.6	11.5	4.5	3.8	50,486

 

From this data it is easy to see that there are more “White” people and households than other ethnicities.  The income economic data is interesting.  78.7% of the Asian makes more than $35k while only 73.9% of White are in the same range.  The remaining two are as follows at $35k and above: Hispanic at 18.1% and Black 13.4%.  So, this disproves that the larger group will automatically suppress the smaller ones.  This does prove the Ethnic culture can affect its economic performance.  This begs the question is why does the one Ethnic group Black have such a disparity?  The CCM’s have treated Asian and Latino just a poorly as Black with the exception of slavery.  Does this one issue and how it has been handled cause this level of disparity?  “Yes” is the only answer I can come up with.  It is not the one I was looking for.

 

While I have a strong feeling that the Native American Indian (NAI) data will be similar to Black, I don’t have the data to substantiate the claim.  I also have the feeling that ever since the NAI’s have fought and won fights about casino’s and banking this growing economic inertia will change the NAI’s future statistics to be similar to Hispanic and Asian.  Time and more data will tell if my feelings are correct.

 

If the reaction and treatment of slavery is the causation is the initial trend then is it still the cause?  Since CCW’s still control 73% of the economic inertia which I believe also transfers to political power then again I believe the answer is “yes”.  This begs to ask what have CCW’s done that is consistent since the early 1900’s and what is different?  This also asks a bunch of social questions I have no idea of what they are or the answers.  Also, I ask why after 100 years the Black ethnic group has not begun to change.  Lot’s more questions I don’t have answers to.  Lastly, since the Hispanic, Asian and (I believe) the NAI groups are creating economic inertia that is opposite the Black group; at what point do we stop blaming the past cause of slavery and CCW’s actions and start looking at the Black social culture’s own responsibility for their future?  At some point there must be a tipping point in my mind.  I question if that point has already past or has yet to come.  Again more questions I don’t have answers to.

 

The original intent of this paper is to determine the existence of and origin of White Privilege.  My conclusion is “yes” it exists.  It began hundreds ago in Europe and was transferred here by the CCW’s.  It has been perpetuated through time via the economic engine created by the CCW’s who through this engine controlled the political and religious power in North America.  I also believe that this same economic inertia that enables power will be found in every other ethnic region on the planet.  The ethnic group that holds economic power controls political power and in most cases religious as well.  Now let the arguing, name calling and outrage begin. 

 

As usual my journey has taken another jink to the side in a direction I was aware of but not really wanting to go.  Fortunately the good of the situation jumped up at me and reminded me that unplanned trips can create some of the best adventures and memories. 

So, the next time life bumps you off the path you were planning on look around.  Perhaps there is a reason.  Perhaps there is good you just haven't seen yet.  So before you start cussing and lamenting your fate, be mindful (Yes, Buddhist saying can have relevance.) of what you affect and what effects are caused by this change.  You may just be surprised.

I was thinking today about what memories I have that seem to pop up regularly. I will admit that most of my early memories are not happy ones. I seem to remember the things that hurt much more easily than those that did not. I guess that speaks to my state of mind more than I like.

There are a few people that almost always come to mind in a happy loving way. First is my daughter Elisabeth, even when she's mad at me she still makes me smile. The second is my brother John. He is always there and always supportive. My mother, Rebecca of whom I have no bad memories of. Just shame in how I treated her. Grandmother Elizabeth L. Smiley who always tried to teach me something. As a teenager I had no concept of how good she was to me. As a parent I now see and shake my head at how selfish I was.

As an adult I try and focus on the positive things in my life. I look for the good in all things. I understand that which I see is filtered and colored by my life experiences. It is important to remove those glasses of Life and look on things from outside your point of view. In my arrogance I think that makes me different from most. I guess I still have a lot to learn.

Whether you are religious, spiritual or just a human; there are times you must remember the good that has befallen you.  This is called many things.  The two I remember most are “Counting your blessings” and “Being thankful”.  In the United States of America (Yes, I like the full name of our nation.  Shortening it seems to devalue its meaning.) we have a national holiday called Thanksgiving.  It is good that we gather together at least once per year for this purpose.  Today though I propose that we do so many more times each year informally.  At times when you see, hear, taste, touch or feel something that makes you smile perhaps you should just stop and be thankful for that unique moment in time.  Perhaps, you could reflect on all the other moments that touched you in similar ways.  In that moment of reflection be thankful you were there at that singular moment of time to experience it.  That time will never occur that exact way again.  It was and is unique to every moment of time before or yet to be.  It is a rare thing to be present during those moments, cherish them.

Soap Box Moment (SBM): 
In as much as I dislike Moore, Clinton, Bloomberg, Obama and that type of extreme liberal view point and their opposites in the extreme Right; I must respect their Right to express their views. For if we silence one then who is to say we are not the next to be silenced? Our Constitution secures these Rights and I once swore to defend that document against all enemies foreign and domestic. While I hate much of what they say, I will defend their Right to say it. For in the end, it is not them I am defending but my own Rights as well. 

Perhaps one day (I'm not too hopeful on this one.) they will understand that in between the extremes is where most of us live. It is in that in between place where we need to strengthen ourselves as a Nation. Our core will need to be tolerant and respectful. It will need to be mindful of the forest and not the tree. It will need to be willing to understand the Constitution protects the single Citizen against the People as it does the People against the Government. That core must be stronger than the extremes lest we tumble over and fall as a People and a Nation. This my friends is my greatest fear. 

I fear that we are falling to apathy of the "It's not my problem" and the "It doesn't affect me." crowd that seems to grow daily accepting the mediocre and average as acceptable norms. We seem to have lost the Will to be the best as a Nation. We have lost the vision of a future where We The People means every Citizen of our Nation. Our government has lost its mandate to watch over our future in favor of what is popular or gets them re-elected. We have lost our way and I have no good solution for finding it again. This is my fear for my child's and all our children's futures. I am attacking our drug like dependence on fossil fuels. I am gambling everything because if my child's future is in jeopardy then mine is meaningless. 

So I ask you, what are you doing to secure those futures?

Tangled Dreams Seeking Peace

Tis time to sleep and travel a dream,

In Dreams fine time distance does not have its means,

Twas a dream that caused and holds sway,

It is the dream that is the key that unlocks what it held at bay,

In Shakespeare’s name “What dreams may come?”,

What travels this day is known to some.

In dreams half-light covered darkness flight.

Our minds message telling us of our plight.

Do we listen?  Do we pay heed?

No, we continue with our mindless greed.

Is it greed to want a life of peace?

Nay, perhaps not for we seek solace in sleep.

So find your peace and forget William’s play!

In the end of the day, in the end of night “…we sleep no more.” Some say.

Some say.