Friday, January 17, 2014

Bob Marley and the Whiners - Why Do Half Cracker Celebs Always Choose Black?

Its a crying shame when people who are in a position of power and influence ignore the opportunity to use it positively, but choose instead to do the opposite by promoting victimhood, division and hatred.

This pertains particularly to celebrities of mixed race parents who have achieved global fame and fortune and who's following consists of millions of people of all races, religions and age groups. They are especially influential among the impressionable young and those who don't have the intellectual ability to see through the slick marketing of their various PR machines.

The late Bob Marley is a classic example of this sad waste of opportunity and he is only one among many as will be highlighted later.

Bob Marley is not only credited with making reggae/Caribbean music globally popular but also for drawing attention to the trans-Atlantic slave trade from the viewpoint of a victim.

One gullible adolescent commented that ''his haunting lyrics and their unique delivery pierce the heart and he has the ability to generate emotions that should cover any self respecting white person with shame.''  It is views such as these that demonstrate the effectiveness of people like Marley in stirring up divisiveness, self loathing and hatred.

Bob Marley's crusade would hold a lot more credibility if he really was a victim descended from slaves and his lyrics reflected actual history instead of distortions and outright falsification.

Marley's father was a white plantation overseer who's family hailed from Sussex and there is no place more quintessentially English than Sussex.

No plantation for our Bob, he was born on his grandfather's farm in St Anne's, one of the more salubrious areas of Jamaica. Being of mixed race, he could have used his fame and influence to heal and bring people together; he could have extolled the virtues of both white and black people. He could have demonstrated that the offspring of inter racial marriages can be talented and achieve anything they set their minds to do.

Instead he chose to adopt the 'victim-of-slavery' persona which engenders division, self loathing and racial animosity.

The lyrics of his song, "Buffalo Soldier" is a classic example of distorting history to stir up negative emotions.

"There was a buffalo soldier in the heart of America

  Stolen from Africa, brought to America

  Fighting on arrival, fighting for survival"

Marley would have known that the American and Caribbean slave trades were entirely separate. The British and French shipped Africans and others directly to the Caribbean not via America. He would also have known that the buffalo soldiers were fed and watered the same way as any other regiment in the US army. If they were fighting for survival then so were the other soldiers.

Black people were not the only victims of the Caribbean plantation owners. He is ignoring the fact that there were white indentured workers on the plantations before the Africans arrived.  There were also Irish slave girls, press-ganged workers and convicts all "stolen from Great Britain and brought to the Caribbean".

In Bob Marley's case 'Stolen from Sussex' would be a valid lyric but it wouldn't have the same emotional impact.

"If you know your history
 
Then you would know where your coming from

Then you wouldn't have to ask me

Who the 'eck do I think I am"

From these lyrics it would appear that Marley is ignoring the fact that his own history includes the English county of Sussex and he is denying it in order to identify himself with the victims of slavery.

"Said he was a buffalo soldier, win the war for America
 
 Buffalo soldier, dreadlock rasta

 Fighting on arrival, fighting for survival

 Driven from the mainland to the heart of the Caribbean"

'Win the war for America' and 'Driven from the mainland to the heart of the Caribbean' is taking poetic licence and distortion of history a tad too far.

Unfortunately Bob Marley is not alone in wasting the opportunity of being of mixed race to heal divisions and bring people together.

Halle Berry and Beyoncé, two of the worlds most recognizable celebrities both dishonour their parents by identifying themselves exclusively with their black half. So does Eric Holder, Susan Rice and the ultimate black impostor, Barry Obama.

By indentifying himself exclusively with his African father he is insulting his white mother. Obama senior was a serial womanizer and a drunk who abandoned Barry when he was young. In his book 'Dreams From My Father', he admits he only has a single month worth of memories of his father.

Being a native of Kenya, Obama senior, and by extension Obama junior, had no connection whatsoever with slavery.  Barry himself was brought up in Indonesia and spent his formative years in Hawaii.

It should be obvious to everyone that Barry Obama is adopting his African-American, victim-of-slavery persona to harvest the votes of the black community together with those of the 'progressive', self loathing white community. These deluded people are under the illusion that they are going to escape unscathed if Barry's divisive racial agenda spills over into violence.

This is cynical manipulation of the media and the people at its worse and it is a mystery why the people can't see through it and understand the peril they have brought upon themselves.

"Honour thy father and thy mother that thy days be long upon the land" - 5th Commandment



3 comments:

  1. While I agree with the Maria Carrie and Tiger Woods argument. Bob Marley had a whole realm of knowledge and expression. "I don't stand for black man's side, I don't stand for white man's side, I stand for God's side.”

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    1. Thanks commenting and apologies for my late response. You have highlighted Bob Marley's ability to come out with a very humane expression but is this one genuine or just a sound bite thought up by his PR machine. The statement you have shared doesn't really stand up to scrutiny.

      By becoming a drug taking Rastafarian, fathering multiple children by multiple women
      and living a generally leading a hedonistic life style he is hardly 'standing for God's side'.

      By wearing dreadlocks, expressing the emotions that he did and adopting the lifestyle as mentioned above he has completely rejected the 'white mans side' and stands full square on 'the black mans side.'

      I would add that I am a fan of his music and recognize his talent as a live performer and entertainer.

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