Laughing has gotten some of us killed. If one can imagine that being interpreted as "uppity," can endanger one's life, and least of all, bar one from advancement you may understand the context of this. I've hit that ceiling more times than I can count, although I do not seek celebrity at all, but I do seek my just desserts.
This document, “An Extravagance of Laughter by Ralph Ellison” referenced by Dr. Eddie Glaude, Jr. in the video below, outlines the politics of Black Laughter.
This is an AI generated summary of it:
The document discusses Ralph Ellison's work "An Extravagance of Laughter," focusing on the role of laughter in society, particularly in the context of racial discrimination and violence in the early 1900s. Ellison highlights how laughter, despite being seen as disrespectful in times of sorrow, can bring unity, tolerance, and relief from pain. Through personal anecdotes and examples, Ellison emphasizes the power of humor to transcend racial divides, promote empathy, and increase awareness, ultimately advocating for laughter as a tool for resilience and understanding in challenging times.
It is indeed "a train that is never late" as Errin Haines of the 19th* said.
I hear the corruption, incompetence and other conjecture flung at me and others who look like me, as projection. I never fail to hear it that way, or as Errin said, “…more about them,” than about me.
They have been saying the “quiet part out loud” for a long time now. I am glad they are finally being more outright about it. A “foghorn” as Dr. Eddie Glaude said here. For those of us who have had enough “reps” with this as Dr. Resmaa Menakem would say, we can be galvanized and energized by it more quickly than debilitated and stopped by it.
As VP Harris said in the outtake, there is breaking involved and we do get cut. As Maya Wiley followed, “We have lived that cut… We know that cut...” And it happens multiple times in our lives and from many different directions.
Some operate as if they are “…victimized by fairness.” And “victimized by competition by the competent” as Maya Wiley also said.
As Dr. Menakem says, the wounding can both be “vertical” and “horizontal,” and “not defective,” it is “protective.” The protective nature of the cuts whether vertical and horizontal definitely makes me grateful for continuing in practicing Cultural Somatic Abolitionism and the muscles I have gained before knowing of this practice.
I, like VP Kamala Devi Harris come from women who have loud and distinctive laughs. I am so thankful that my mother and grandmother inspired mine. I am thankful for the Bent women that I did not receive shrinking from their example. It is up to me to learn and emerge how to continue to live out my version well.
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