FARRAKHAN WAS RIGHT

One of the diseases that hinders Black people from success is the malady called envy.

Ain't that the truth.  So afraid that someone else's success highlights your real or imagined failures.

Hi g23obama,

                                 This little dust up( if I can call it that because it's actually overstated to deem it as such) between Jesse and Obama seems to be a microcosm of the greater Black community that illustrates the Old Black Guard versus the New Black Guard. Sometimes our well meaning Black elders forget that there is a time and season for everything. While Jesse Jackson has undoubtedly helped to carry the banner for Black equality , he must learn to loosen the grip on the baton that has been passed from one generation to the next. The young Black guard must also heed some of the advice that Black elders provide but not to the point that it will cloud the bigger picture... The bigger picture being continued progress in the 21st century as a people.

   This incident involving Jesse's "crude remarks" towards Obama reminds me of behavior I witnessed in my former church. Some of our elderly Black church members   were openly hostile and felt threaten over the idea that some young upstart would  take over their position and  render them completely  irrelevent in their minds. While most appreciate  the tireless contributions of"Mother Sister" and 'Father Brother" and offer them their due respect that does not mean that the torch should be perpetually held by them. If it is held too long that is when things become stagnant thus leaving little room for continued growth. To give credence to my point, look at the NAACP over just  the last 5-10 years and their leadership problems. Now we can only hope that the new  NAACP president will be allowed to breathe new life into this historical organization.

  This is all to say that I believe that  different times  sometimes call for different measures. A case in point is the rise of Kevin Powell ( early MTV Real World series personality among other things on his resume') who is challenging a long time incumbent congressmen in his district. Imho, I think that both generations can work together for the common good if all egos are cast aside.

Ain't that the truth.  So afraid that someone else's success highlights your real or imagined failures.

I hate to admit it but it's so typical. It's hard enough trying to deal with the negative external forces but, it's made even harder when one has   to deal with the negative forces internal to our own dear community. When will we OVERCOME this need to  create more stumbling blocks for one another? Talk about Shakespeare's "Othello" and the green eyed monster of ENVY.  Sometimes I believe that these "Iago" types in our community couldn't exist unless they have somebody to undermine. The adage of " Misery loves company" is definately apropo when describing them.