Post
by DeeeEsss » Thu Sep 16, 2004 11:11 am
So I've heard the Larry Harvey analysis, which is amusingly synonymous with the analyses of many Burners:
"...if there were real coverage of Blacks in America or Mexicans in America, it would be apparent that they have a cultural wealth that the White people don ’t have. So why would you, if you have that; if you have a community so vital it produces a thing like Rap Music, you know... why would you travel thousands of miles to a desert to be with a bunch of White people? ”
I've heard this stuff come from the mouths of more people than just Harvey, though (as in: I was standing right there when someone said it) .
Now, I'ma tell you like this, and you can take issue with it if you WANT to:
Just as my own blakness is a part of my being, so is my freakiness.
I KNOW how imperative it is to retain your sense of self--as blakfolx, it's true that we're HUGE on that. "Remember where you came from, remember the struggle, remember your people." Our historical experience in this country has AMPLIFIED that need to retain the sense of self, the sense of blakness.
HOWEVER! The desire for adventure--the desire to explore those facets of the human experience that lie beyond our peripheral vision (be it psychedelic, communal, "alternative" or whatever)--can capture ANY BEING OF HUMAN ORIGIN. So you're treading on dangerous ground when you draw conclusions about where I'm at. Maybe something like Freaknik would make me feel uncomfortable--maybe not.
You have to understand that the greatest flaw in Harvey's conclusion lies in the assumption that he has made here. It is an unfortunate and monolithic assumption. On the other side of the spectrum, though, it IS seen by many of our folx as a "white hippie thing"--and WHY? Although we know that BM extends an open invitation to all, what informs that conclusion? Think that over.
Staying on topic, though--I attend BM and involve myself in BM in order to flex the muscles that I'VE developed as an artist, as a musician and as a seeker of humanity. If I choose to limit myself to the rituals that (unfortunately) Harvey and many white Burners feel I only wish to exist in, I am operating against my own nature as an individual--an individual with the freedom to choose. I sought out BM and I chose it--I have to take a break from it every now-and-again, but it's still a part of my life.
Being blak doesn't bar us from being human. The only prison that anyone can freely place themselves in is the one that exempts them from the right to seek communion anywhere they choose. It doesn't mean you're without a base or without a home--at the same time, it doesn't mean that your home's not good enough for you--at the same time, it doesn't mean that you're not happy in your home.
Do y'all follow that?
Yeah what she said.....
