I'm not a psychologist, but some of us need some therapy.
This is not necessarily about Anna Nicole Smith. When I read about her, her biography in wikipedia, I find that her parents are of my generation. They are my generation. Small Texas town, but my generation.
There are many Mexicans in that small Texas town. America also has a Mexico, N. Y. How many Mexicans in Mexico, N. Y.
This is called creative non-fiction. But we all have our creative fictions.
Marilyn was somebody's child. Elvis was somebody's child. Martin was somebody's child. John was somebody's child. Bobby was somebody's child. We are all somebody's child.
And most of us are sold and resold even in America. We might not all be fishing children. All over the world many of us are sold and resold. Some of us do the selling and the reselling.
Even Oprah is sold and resold--an Africa in America. But she's the first African female billionaire in America. Good for Oprah she's using "the wisdom of her elders" and "the wisdom of her ancestors," and we assume that she is guided and can be guided by the divine. I assume that she assumes that she is so guided. Like many Africans she understand the need to be a spiritual person even with all her money.
She appears to be a leader of a new generation. I'm older, however, than Oprah. Oprah is not exactly a child. But we know who's child Oprah is. Oprah makes sure to let us know. Oprah has her style of leadership for her generation. She appears to be defining "female leadership."
But what of all these children?
Since I was a child myself I didn't recognize any of these children. If I was a child watching American Idol and witnessing these children crying their sad tears of rejecting and dejecting--I wouldn't recognize these children.
I work and have worked with the rejected, dejected and denied of many civilizations. I am older than many of them. I have been rejected, dejected, denied, destroyed, everything you can imagine just like many of them. Set up and set up and reset up and reset up some more and destroyed, witnessing my own rejected, dejected, denied, and destroyed friends (and enemies) helping to reject, deject, deny, and destroy others.
We're all a real bunch. Many of us are in our various exiles. Some continue to appear on TV--but we are the elders. Some have a role in the new world. Others are calling each other names. Who to blame for the failures--or the successes?--of our generation? None of us are who we thought we might become or should have become.
Some of us--in retirement--are writing for the internet. Many of us don't even use our own names. What freedom. Writers have always preferred pen names and anonymity.
Ernest Hemingway should have written in a pen name.
Thomas Hardy should have written in a pen name.
Richard Wright should have written in a pen name.
But who would play Ernest Hemingway, or Thomas Hardy, or Richard Wright in the movies. I'm still waiting for "The Richard Wright Story." I mean the true story.
Richard Wright--probably the first real star, the first genuine star among the African American writers.
Ralph Ellison could not compete with Richard Wright.
James Baldwin could not compete with Richard Wright.
Toni Morrison is no Richard Wright.
But we are all somebody's children. So let's not scapegoat each other--too much.
However, of course, we have to continue our civilizations and find the best of the best among us to play the great roles. And to find the best of the best we have to destroy those who are not good enough, for whatever reason we decide upon. We are creating and destroying people all the time, selling and reselling each other. We are all fishing children. But certainly we've got to save the fishing children. All our fishing children. Certainly we can help Oprah to save these fishing children, if we think that will save us.
Some of us are not smart enough, some of us are not talented enough, some of us are not sweet enough, some of us are not agreeable enough, some of us are the wrong color, some of us are the wrong religion, some of us are the right color, some of us are the right religion, some of us don't have any money, some of us have too much money, some of us have just enough money, some of us speak the wrong language, some of us speak the right language, some of us speak few languages, some of us speak many languages, some of us don't speak enough, some of us don't have enough education, some of us have too much education, some of us have just the right amount of education, some of us don't deserve to win, some of us do deserve to win, some of us are....
