RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - The latest allegations in the New York Post surrounding the DSK Affair

I stated that I was out of here, but Ikhide's statement below has lured me back:

 

"The part that I really find frustrating, and I admit that sometimes I don't handle it well, is the fact that many of us do not pay attention to the seductive power of words and how they are increasingly being used to stamp Africans into the permanent (sub)human other. In the 21st century. People are getting away with murder."

 

I have been following the on-going Women's World Cup and Under 17 World Cup, and sometimes am shocked by words and sub-human physical concepts deployed by soccer commentators  to describe African/black players.

 

Kwabena 

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From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] on behalf of Ikhide [xokigbo@yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday, July 04, 2011 1:32 PM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - The latest allegations in the New York Post surrounding the DSK Affair

"gloria is right to rewrite the narrative, and give an alternative
explanation. let's assume, however, that the post is right and she was a
prostitute doing business while being lodged in the hotel by the DA.
logically, under the circumstances, this seems more like sci-fi than
realism, but even if it were true, it is the comments to this story
(which is there on-line, following the link gloria provided), which is
the most revealing. the readers all love the scandal, love that this
black woman is so terrible, love that the black muslim is now a sinner
and liar, etc etc.
you don't have to speculate about what happened to get to the truth of
what these people think: they tell you directly, and it is very ugly.
and the newspaper is no different. it elicited these responses by its
dirty yellow journalism beginning with the line "she was turning tricks
with taxspayers' money"; not "she might have been turning tricks...."
all the french screaming about dsk being prejudged by bad publicity
(which is, in fact, the only reproach Le Monde made about the whole
affair) is nothing compared to this "lynching."
yes, it is reflective of the divide in the u.s. between races, of the
racism and much more."
ken

Interesting comments. I would like to explore the issue further in certain different trajectories. Clearly, barring any earth-shattering revelations against Dominique Strauss-Kahn (DSK), this case is done and we are all sticking a global fork in it. Let's have a little clarity in the issue. Regardless of the complexity of her circumstances, she has no credibility and whether we like it or not, credibility is huge in American courts. That is how the US judicial system rolls; if the glove doesn't fit, the guilty won't fit in prison. BTW, if it is true that the alleged victim was turning tricks in the space alloted to her by the prosecution, then she is audacious and stupid to boot.

 

 As an aside, I write as someone who tries to study how technology is currently shaping the world and forcing the tide of immigration. A decade ago, it would have taken upwards of a year for the prosecution to get information from the IRS, the banks, etc. Many of us as immigrants were able to turn many analog tricks in order to stay here AND survive. Technology is changing everything and this has great implications for the fate of those who are here because of the irresponsible, thieving and abusive ways of the men-leaders of Africa. Thanks to technology, it is now possible to determine immediately from a routine traffic stop, the immigration status of an individual. These are frightening times if you are an "undocumented alien." My sympathies are with the alleged victim on that level. Regardless of the outcome, she will always be my sister and I will always love her. We all do what we have to do. America is increasingly being run by a cognitive elite of armed robbers who prey on the rest of us in any way that they can. Their criminal acts have been codified as legal; that is why it is possible for them to charge us usurious fees on credit cards (as much as 40%) and get away with it in an era when the president of this nation is a black man. Whatever this sister has taken or done pales in comparison with how corporate America screws us and the world daily. But the law is the law and it appears she has been furtively living a criminal life in America. She will pay dearly for it. But don't grieve for her; she would probably tell you that it is the cost of doing business. And she would probably tell you that she is not a prostitute, that the real prostitutes are the men and women in power in much of black Africa forcing our young men and women to swim great raging rivers in order to become warriors in Babylon. I salute her and every one of them that toils daily without the resources and skillsets afforded those of us in this forum.  Again, just to be clear, I do think that it is not so much about her past and her present, but the fact that she repeatedly lied. Credibility is huge in an American court of law. Stick a fork in this one; it is most probably done.

 

It is sad all around. I wish we had the power to control the narrative, we just don't and we are reduced to doing what we do best - complain about it Indeed, the story of our journeys in Babylon would be incomplete without the lies. I have said it elsewhere and I repeat it here, this is why the written word distorts history. There are no mysteries, there are lies ;-)  When you think about it, this is also a story about how people of color are seen as the other. It is a commentary on the politics of race how this whole issue is unfolding. The case did not make much sense from the beginning and many of us said it loudly. The part that I really find frustrating, and I admit that sometimes I don't handle it well, is the fact that many of us do not pay attention to the seductive power of words and how they are increasingly being used to stamp Africans into the permanent (sub)human other. In the 21st century. People are getting away with murder.

 

I ask you to go back to the press releases; they were breathless in how they described this "poor African woman" who escaped extreme deprivation - they even went to her "village" and took breathless pictures of pristine innocence - we saw pictures of huts and stuff - and get this, we were told that no one really knew for sure how she ended up in New York. Why, she must have flown in on a magic broomA bit of magical realism trumps credulity. White folks became duped by their own prejudices - they saw "a timid black woman" who would do the bidding of a rumpled beaten up sixty two year old man. It would never occur to them in a million life times that this woman was capable of fighting back, not even remotely. Nobody dared ask that question so as not to be labeled sexist, racist, blah, blah, blah. I call that one of the many unintended consequences of do-gooder liberalism. 

 

Here is a public official registered in the mother of all hotels IN his own name, a 62 year old man, one of the most powerful men in the world, chasing down a young woman, and forcing her to perform oral sex. Under those circumstances, it was legitimate to ask logical questions. Because for me, it was not really so much about the individual case, it was about how they see us. Even now, the press reports are incredulous with shock that this "black African private sweet submissive" woman has any demons in her. They can't understand why this woman who used to sleep in "huts under moonlit star riddled skies" (insert your favorite African writer njakiri here) is sophisticated enough to own bank accounts and actually engage in activities that ensure that hundreds of dollars pass through them daily. She is the pretty tip of the ice-berg, white folks are being duped by their own prejudices. All over the West, the allegedly dispossessed are whimpering all the way to the bank.

 

I have of course no sympathies for DSK. Once he put himself in the sordid position he was caught in, he lost the right to lead. Public officials should lead by example and hold themselves to a higher set of standards than those they subject their followers to. Once you become a distraction instead of a leader, then it is time to go.  I fully expect him to be an asset if not a candidate in the presidential elections of his country. Which is a big shame, misogyny seems to be celebrated in France. Cultures are different and it would appear that from where he came these kinds of things are no big deal over there. Which is a big shame. DSK is a misogynic jerk and he should simply go manage his demons rather than seeking to be a leader. 

 

It did not make sense. Still does not make sense. But know this, we are not the sub-humans that they are trying to make us out to be. They are finding out every day.

 

- Ikhide

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