Quote of the Day
Antigua is a small place, a small island. It is nine miles wide by twelve miles long. It was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1993. Not too long after, it was settled by human rubbish from Europe, who used enslaved but noble an exalted human beings from Africa (all masters of every stripe are rubbish, and all slaves of every stripe are noble and exalted; there can be no question about this) to satisfy their desire for wealth and power, to feel better about their own miserable existence, so that they could be less lonely and empty — a European disease. Eventually, the masters left, in a kind of way; eventually, the slaves were freed, in a kind of way. The people in Antigua now, the people who really think of themselves as Antiguans (and the people who would immediately come to your mind when you think about what Antiguans might be like; I mean, supposing you were to think about it), are the descendants of those noble and exalted people, the slaves. Of course, the whole thing is, once you cease to be a master, once you throw off your master’s yoke, you are no longer human rubbish, you are just a human being, and all the things that adds up to. So, too, with the slaves. Once they are no longer slaves, once they are free, they are no longer noble and exalted; they are just human beings.
— Jamaica Kinkaid
“Antigua is a small place, a small island. It is nine miles wide by twelve miles long. It was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1993.”
A world-historic event somehow crowded out of the headlines by the passage of NAFTA, the Blue Jays’ World Series repeat, and the special effects in Jurassic Park. I remember I’d ask my dad questions like, “But pops, how can Christopher Columbus just now be discovering America, when we’re European Americans and your granddad was here 90 years ago?” And he’d say, “What do I look like to you, a history teacher? Why don’t you go listen to Ugly Kid Joe and stop with all the stupid questions?”
A few years later I asked my mom if she felt like we still had some moral responsibility for the legacy of slavery and he said, “Well, seeing as how we own the Caribbean’s largest sugarcane plantation and the foundation of our wealth is manual labor provided by the burgeoning trans-Atlantic slave trade, I suppose you could say we indirectly benefit from slavery. On the other hand, look at Kobe Bryant—you don’t see him using slavery as an excuse for HIS problems.”
It was a confusing time for me.
— Charlie · Jun 23, 03:49 AM · #
I was gonna say this Charlie comment is a dickish response to a typo and then I read the whole thing. It almost makes me want to come up with a typo fo my own and see what he does with it.
— Matt Feeney · Jun 23, 04:44 AM · #
Just to be clear, it’s all in good fun—some amusing thoughts came to mind when I thought about Columbus discovering America in the 1990s so I figured I’d go with it. No offense intended.
— Charlie · Jun 23, 05:03 AM · #
Ambiguity is one of my favorite artistic devices.
— Tony Comstock · Jun 23, 12:02 PM · #
Being hilarious excuses most breaches of etiquette. That was some good shit, Charlie.
— Matt Feeney · Jun 23, 02:22 PM · #
Why are you posting this stuff?
— Dwight · Jun 23, 02:38 PM · #
Jamaica Kinkaid is a racist. Like black people are never lonely. Whatever. Except Joran Vander Sloot that guy’s an Antiguan with some real issues.
— BrianF · Jun 23, 04:47 PM · #
Conor,
You really shouldn’t post while drunk.
— m00se · Jun 23, 05:55 PM · #
“Why are you posting this stuff?”
So that others can read and discuss. This is what bloggers do!
And Charlie, I too applaud your comment, even if it did prevent me from quietly correcting my typo.
— Conor Friedersdorf · Jun 23, 08:52 PM · #
About a year and a half ago I was invited to screen Ashley and Kisha: Finding the Right Fit at the New York LGBT community center on 13 st. in the village. I told the the program director that I’d had never had the chance to see the film play before an audience, and asked if she could hold a couple of seats for me. I also offered, if she was intereted, to do a director’s q and a.
The screening went really well. An overflow crowd, of mostly African American women, a few Latinas, and a few white women. They laughed at the funny parts, signed at the sweet parts, got choked up at the emotional parts, and whooped at the sexy parts. My editor and I were the only men.
Afterwards I was introduced as the director. The crowd was put off balance by this. Some of the women were upset. Who was I and why did I make a film about two young black women? What was my standing? What was my stake? Did I presume to think I had any skin in the game? Explaining a passage about hair washing I dropped from the final cut because I thought it was “too hot for me to handle” I used the word “nappy” and a palpable shock went through the room.
—
I spent most of the last Winter anchored up in Gallows Bay, St. Croix USVI, under the guns of Ft. Christiansted. From my boat I could see no fewer than 6 ruined sugar mills. I dove on giant anchors cut loose from boats so they could carry a few more pounds of the precious cargo.
—-
1 oz Cruzan blackstrap, 4 oz ice cold soda. I just threw one down. I’ll get the fire going for dinner, then I’ll drink another; and maybe another after that.
— Tony Comstock · Jun 23, 09:19 PM · #
Conor, may all your typos be as innocuous. I’m glad you guys enjoyed that flight of fancy; it was fun to write. By the way, I have question I’d prefer to ask via email, if either of you has a public email address where I can drop you a line. Thanks!
— Charlie · Jun 23, 10:15 PM · #
so good,i like this!
— juicy couture · Jun 24, 03:34 AM · #
first name dot last name at gmail
— Conor Friedersdorf · Jun 24, 08:20 AM · #
I just jumped on board today. Regarding “Antigua…
“..once they are free…no longer noble and exalted; they are just human beings.”
Besides the eye-popping errors and racist rants, one thing that caught my eye was that once free, slaves’ newly recognized humanity did signify a further challenge to ideals such as exaltation and nobility. Maybe Kinkaid’s dramatic assignment of the roles of destiny were a literal pipe dream and not all of the people and places were accurately cast, but it caught my eye.
— brian burke · Jun 28, 02:54 PM · #