RE: Avatar a critique/He is not one of Us.....

Greetings,

I have been for several days fighting the temptation to step back into this discussion, but after reading TJ’s message, I cannot help it any more. I will try to make this brief as I possibly can, so bare with me.

First of we are all here to make some sense of the crazy world we live in, we are trying and we are experiencing successes and a few failures along the way, and it is clear from the responses that everyone here cares about African descendant people and I would like to stretch this concern to all of mankind. Because if we only focus on our own needs despite the needs of others, if we only service ourselves, then we are mimicking the very one we are so tempted to denunciate.

For 11 years I was a member of the Nation Of Islam, and believed with all my heart, that the white man was the devil, in the flesh. Then my mother showed me my great grandmother who was French. And I wondered, what did that make me. Then I moved into African spirituality and found that people did not want white folks in their religion, because of a variety of sundry reasons. I understood that till one day my eyes were opened.

What I saw was that the Creator does not care about what color we are. We are “judged” by our deeds and it does not matter what color we are, sex we are, age we are or sexual orientation. When you delve into the realm of spirit, where all is one, then you understand, that your previous biases no longer matter because we live on a planet with many colors, many species and many manifestations of Creation. We live in a universe, one of millions, that is an expression of the Most High, Who felt like expressing itself in all types of creations. So, for sure if we spend time squabbling about something as insignificant as to whether Avatar is racist and miss the deeper meaning that we all, every single one of us, will have to go back home… Even that white boy, he had to go back home, to Nature, to the Communion with Nature, to the connection with Nature, to his most Intimate Connection with The Divine Creator, who created everything……. Even the so-called bad stuff.

We can go on and on about how he did this, and ignore the fact that many Black Civilizations have risen and fallen over the many millennia, and we cannot, nor should we blame the “so-called” white man who is a recent inhabitant of this planet. If we look at them as the cause of the Original Man’s demise, then what was that vulnerability that this “Original Man” had, that made him susceptible to the temptation?? Why was this Original Man weakened to the point of being over powered and subsequently destroyed by this new dude on the block? What happened to Kemet, to Songhai, to Ethiopia, to Mali, etc.?????? To Black folks a short 5-6 hundred years ago.

Which brings me to one of the most disconcerting aspect of our interactions with each other. How often have we had great leaders, and we did not support them until it was too late, or… until he passed the litmus test of approval by Mr. Charlie?? Why do we not support our own and cry out loud for that instead of spending endless time, dollars, energy and debate participating in a culture that will ultimately destroy us, all of us, no matter what color we are.

We fuss about a white savior, yet how can that change when for all accounts and purposes the white man’s face is on the cross, in the kitchen cabinets, in the classroom and on TV??? We are expecting people to act out of what they have been indoctrinated to do without any fore knowledge that they can trust and without good, viable, strong examples from the so-called conscious community. What do I mean by that??? I mean that many of these so-called conscious Black folks still call themselves Christians/Muslims/Jews and have little or no idea of the true root or even the psychical roots of these so called religions. Or, they will not even think about dealing with African spirituality…. And if they do, who is saying anything about it??? They have accepted that African spirituality is evil, primitive or backwards, and yet it is totally the spiritual message that AVATAR was talking about. African spirituality is ridiculed by the Black elite, the so-called conscious Black folks who do not understand the Spiritual underpinnings of it and it’s connection to the Earth and how it connects it’s initiates to the earth.

Avatar, was talking about the final goal of all human beings, all creatures and all of nature. We have got to realize our inner Divinity and start acting like Gods and Goddesses, not in words but in actions and deeds. We must first love the planet… and do all we can to preserve it. Then we have to love each other….. Period!!!! The Most High does not care about our tribal squabbles… It is about our values, our work, our participation in the Divine Laws of the Universe, and our willingness to come into the light. We have to be honest and admit that Black folks have done some really crappy things to each other and to our Mother Earth, and while we may want to ignore that, the All Knowing Knows what is in our hearts against each other. And until we begin to love each other, we cannot and will not transcend these petty differences about race and color.

Dude was used by the Powers That Be, not because he meant anything to them. And that is what must be remembered, once you mean nothing to them you are disposed off. He was a cripple, someone who in this culture would get a bad rap, mistreated, stared at and ridiculed. How come with all their technology they were not able to put him back together when he lost his legs fighting for them??? This white boy found freedom from a hate he was taught about from a young man! Imagine how freeing being released from hate can be??? This man transformed right in front of our eyes when he saw that he could walk, fly, soar and yes, assist others in a way he could only dream about. He was useless to everyone else, and found true power in his connection to the Earth Spirit. If all people would just do that, can you imagine the transformation that would take place on this planet. Yes, he started off as a white man, but what kind of soul was he, having suffered what he did for his so-called country?? He became a guinea pig, they only “used” him because he had the same DNA of his twin brother. What a smack in the face for the young men and women coming home now from wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. Homeless, unable to take care of their families, completely mentally damaged and what do they get? What have they gotten?? Experimented upon before, during and after their return.

So again, I cannot stress enough how important it is for us to get off the racist angle and get to the message here of uniting our Divine Essence with all Creatures of the Divine Creator. We look like babies squabbling over a toy in the play pin, when all of humanity is at risk now… All of humanity and this planet. Let’s move into 2010 with a renewed commitment to do all we can to save our planet. Stop buying stuff we do not need, stop eating food that kills us, stop hating your neighbor, do not support any place of business that is getting their products at the destruction of another’s self-respect, land, labor, health and wealth! Do some research and decide to dis-engage from all those movies about war, all those videos games about war and all those competitive sports that are not designed to heal the players but destroy them.

I always feel that we can complain and complain but until we change our behavior those complaints are hot air.. Be pro-active and if you don’t like a movie and it’s message, don’t spend your money on it then complain how much you didn’t like it. We have lost contact with our inner voice, because that voice, if heard, would have told you to stay home, because you were not going to like it.

Let’s support film makers who do give us a great message. Let’s go out of our way to make them feel supported. I am a cultural performing artist, and I am sad to say, that I get the most support from white folks… Why is that?? We have got to get a grip on our own self hatred and stop projecting it outside of ourselves to some enemy who only has the power over us that we give him.

Please, I apologize, this is way too long… but I’m just saying….. I am so tired of the senseless debate over AVATAR, when we are in such a sad state of affairs in our community and in our world. We need spiritual healing of the worst kind!