By Abba Tateq – There is no difference between a black snake and white snake – they both bite. That is what the first African American Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall said when asked if President Bush Sr. should appoint a black judge to the Supreme Court back in the early 1990’s.
For so long, Ethiopia (or Homer’s “Uthiopia” or “Utopia”) has maintained its independence and remained as a backdrop to a proud Black African heritage before the plague of slavery and later on colonization by white folks cursed the land. During those trying times, Ethiopia had maintained its independence for over 3,000 years by beating back every aggressor who came to wage war against her.
As a case in point, the Battle of Adowa in 1896 marked the first time a black African army obliterated a well-armed and trained European (Italian) army. That victory reverberated across the world and became the symbol of freedom for black and brown people and served as a call to rise up against their oppressors. Sadly, most African Americans do not know about this victory and its legacy nor do they know about its immediate outcome in America.
To better illustrate, the famous author Jack Landon and the press in general, used to refer to Heavyweight Champ Jack Johnson as the “Abyssinian” or “Ethiopian” back in early 1900’s in reverence to the collective victory of all black people at the Battle of Adowa in 1896. Nor do most African Americans know that the first flag that was hoisted on the North Pole by Mathew Henson, the AFRICAN AMERICAN AIDE to the white “explorer” (named Leary) who at the time was sick and unable to move, was the Ethiopian “Lion of Judah” Flag before the “explorer” got up from his sickbed to hoist the US flag.
The movie was titled “Glory & Honor” and even in this movie, Hollywood remained true to its racist and demeaning foundations and tries to “soften the blow” by showing a flag that looked like a kid’s painting of a tiger or some type of cat. Well, we know what kind of “cat” was on the flag and above all, we know Hollywood’s role regarding black and brown folks and the manner with which we are depicted on screen to this day.
US also showed its hand when it forbade African Americans from sailing to Ethiopia in 1935 as they rose up by the thousands to go help their black brothers and sisters in Ethiopia while the US did nothing as Italy used poison gas to bomb innocent civilians. So, what is going on now? Why are two powerful black women at the forefront of efforts to try and discredit or even destroy this land of their forefathers?
Why Ethiopia, one of the few remaining proud legacy of black people that has existed for millennia and will continue to exist despite the efforts of those amongst white folks who would want nothing but the destruction of this African miracle?
Shouldn’t the two of you black women work hard to support and maintain our collective African heritages and think beyond your fleeting 4 or 8 year terms in office for the sake of your kids, grand kids and generations to come?
Turning our attention to our current times, the Ethiopian army had left Tigray about two weeks ago so that, supposed benefactors could provide food and aid to the people of Tigray. The Ethiopian Government had also stipulated that it will check every aid vehicle in order to ensure that weapons are not snuck in and further exacerbate the war.
These measures are necessary since aid agencies and their age-old role in fomenting trouble across the world is well-documented. At any rate, the minute the Ethiopian Army left Tigray, western media started touting “TPLF victories”, an organization that has committed many atrocities against all Ethiopians (including Tigrayans) for more than 27 years and at one point in its history, was even officially labelled as a terrorist group by the West.
Thanks to tacit as well as public support by the West, TPLF immediately waged war against Eritrea and Amhara within hours of the unilateral ceasefire taken by the Federal Government. Why did the West remain quiet concerning renewed aggression and crimes of the TPLF, which occurred and continue to occur in Tigray since TPLF again took power in the region?
Most of us Africans clearly understand the West’s rhetoric about “ceasefire on all side” once it became clear that TPLF was going to lose again when the Ethiopia Army mobilized to retake the Region as TPLF forges ahead with its war plans in regards to neighboring Regions as well as Eritrea to the north.
So, it came as no surprise when USA’s UN Ambassador Linda Thomas hurriedly came out and DECLARED Amhara and the Federal Government should not stop TPLF’s aggression and resurgent land grab. It almost looks like the West was waiting for this occurrence and as if on cue, came out quickly with a statement in order to intervene on behalf of TPLF.
The US is really making a reckless gamble by standing on the side of an organization that is at war with everyone including neighboring countries Somalia, Sudan, Kenya while at the helm of the Ethiopian Government from 1991 to 2018.
One thing is for sure. Ethiopia is not Libya, Somalia, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and all of the countries of our world where America goes in “to help” using war and Human Rights as a premise and without fail leave these countries in tatters. It is clear that the same foreign policies that were pursued by Susan Rice and company prior to 2016 are being brushed up for use by the current administration.
The new combined forces of foreign policy team spearheaded by Secretary Blinken, Samantha Powell, Linda Thomas and Susan Rice have all lined up behind this outdated policy. Instead, this same group should think “outside the box” and chart a new path for US foreign policy and abandon the same old and tired Ivy League elitist viewpoint before formulating US plans for the rest of us common folk both in Ethiopia and USA.
“Coming out strong” against an ancient African country or any other less powerful nation and trying to use this hapless strategy as a springboard to announce to the world that “you have arrived again” is very shortsighted.
Being ready to ”reclaim and fulfill” America’s out-of-times perception of what world leadership means is simply at logger heads with a very different and changing world that has since moved on while the US was struggling to come up with a coherent foreign policy over the course of these last few years.
“Shoving” aside friends and allies in the hope of realizing America’s nostalgic foreign policy “illusion” has its costs, especially when US takes measures against a longstanding ally like Ethiopia. Foreign policy is not a linear affair. The US also needs to consider its recently dented reputation regarding its loyalty to its friends.
And then there are these thorny domestic issues you need to address … SAY MY NAME … BREONNA. Nor can America talk about democracy while 40 million+ Americans still believe Trump won the 2020 US elections or the fact that Southern States are racing unabated to legislate Jim Crow 2.0. On the legal front, the US Supreme Court is ardently and “conservatively” interpreting the US Constitution – whatever that means. For all their faults, the “Founding Fathers” of America were not dumb about their vision for the future of America.
We cannot simply dismiss the possibility that they were fully aware of the future of America and the role that black and brown people would one day play in its future. when they quoted “ … that all men are created equal …” by simply stating “they were slave owners”. No. They were in the perfect position to observe the potential of black and brown people given (even) the personal relationships that they had with the black folk living in their homes.
It is to belittle them by stating the Constitution is unchangeable when the very strength of US Constitution lies in its ability to adapt eternally with the times. As the bible states, “Man was not created for the Sabbath. The Sabbath is created for man”. Frankly, Dems should be worried about what is going in their own backyards and upcoming 2022 elections instead of pushing outdated “divide-and-conquer” games in the face of a “woke” world.
The AU’s unfettered and sole responsibility in the GERD negotiation underscores this fact. Heck, America and the entire world HAS CHANGED since George Floyd’s murder. Remember this, the searing memory of George Floyd’s suffering now belongs to the world and the US will always be viewed through that prism, especially amongst all black and brown peoples of our world unless it takes measures to reverse its image in this regard.
There is a lot America needs to exorcise in front of the world and trying to force Ethiopia will only backfire on many fronts and further leave America and the West even more alienated from Black Africa.
Just as importantly, America’s Foreign Policy should not be determined based upon personal and close relationships between current and past US officials and TPLF or its agents or even the advice of White House and UN officials who hail from Tigray in one form or another? To reiterate, times have changed and the West should heed these words if it wants to remain relevant in the NEW AGE.
No matter, Ethiopia’s strength is not just the bravery of its people but it is also BECAUSE WE HAVE GOD ON OUR SIDE. These are not empty words. We are the first believers of the One God since the times of Enoch and MelkeTsedeq and we have a spiritual connection to God that most materialists will never understand. That land has been chanting to the One God for more than three thousand years.
It is truly a Holy Land with a holy people that have TEMPORARILY lost their holy ways. Our religious books tell us who we are as a people living in a country that is designated as the Dominion of the REAL Holy Mary and Jesus.
Not the ones depicted by Hollywood – you only need to visit 1,000+ year old single-rock hewn Churches of Ethiopia in order to gain a glimpse into the many Ethiopian truths western media tries to hide from the rest of the world. If Blinken, Powell, Rice, Thomas and company had any inkling about what happened in the USA on January 6, 2021 at the spiritual level … the day America almost lost its weakening democracy … they would have clearly seen the parallels to farcical Ethiopian elections back in 2012, which was endorsed by Ms.
Susan Rice as a legitimate 100% win for her friends TPLF and could not even stop herself from laughing when she made the announcement. And this with backdrop of thousands of Ethiopians who died while trying to exercise their rights to vote. Do you now sense the inevitable divine retribution that had to happen on January 6, 2021?
Can you now understand that you cannot laugh at elections in one part of the world without the world laughing back at you regarding democracy in America? America really needs to wake up like the black, brown and thousands of decent white folks who came out in numbers after the horrendous murder of George Floyd and collectively denounced systemic racism in America.
Otherwise, it will slide down the same historical path to decay and obscurity, which inevitably ends all civilizations. Again, we should know this given our ancient history and self-governance for 3,000+ years, long before civilization ever got to Europe.
Moreover, the West’s continued reliance on Machiavellian principles is bound to fail in this day and age of abundant information and interactions between global citizens. BTW: Ethiopian scholars believe that Machiavelli’s writings were one of our ancient books that were pilfered from Ethiopia, pecifically the Book of the Philosopher – “Metsafe Felasfa” (a collection of ancient Ethiopian writings taught to our Emperors). To this end, even us Ethiopians who are the authors of Machiavelli’s principles fully understand that Machiavelli is over and done with in today’s world.
It is like the old Ethiopian saying “Lej le enatewa mitt astemarech” or roughly translated, it is like a daughter teaching her mom how to birth a child. Hello there Harvard, Yale and Ivy League, we think you should use this as a heads-up and revisit what you teach your students about the New Age (and not about the New World Order) so that they do not go around and screwup the rest of the world. For starters, you should recruit students like those kids who stood up against systemic racism in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder – for the sake of America and the world.
The saddest observation concerning current US foreign policy is the fact that there are two black women at the forefront of efforts to try and destroy one of the last remaining ancient and proud black legacies that has survived white domination over the past 400 years of our 3,000+ years existence as an independent African nation.
To be frank, both of you black women should instead spearhead a long-needed paradigm shift and take American foreign policy along with you if the US is to continue having a hand in a world that clearly understands your outdated neocolonialist ways.
Ms. Linda Thomas and Ms. Susan Rice, this is your “Capre Diem” moment. This is when you stop this “runaway train” and do right by USA as US officials as well as fulfill your added responsibility of maintaining the interest of black and brown people as members of the Greater African Diaspora scattered across the world. By so doing, you can help America atone for slavery.
This is where it started and this is where it begins for America. It really befalls both Ms. Linda Thomas and Ms. Susan Rice (in the background) to throw out their useless Ivy League education out the window and rein in America’s aggressive posture towards Ethiopia.
Like it or not, history will not be “color blind” and will judge you as the Africans who had a hand in efforts to destroy, this Black African miracle called Ethiopia. Otherwise, you will be judged through Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall’s PRISM when he said, “there is no difference between a Black Snake and White Snake – they both bite”.
Oh Yeah! Last but not least, please do not forget the thousands of Ethiopian voters who overwhelmingly and loyally voted Democrat and thereby helped our party get “over the hump” in Georgia and other swing States. We deserve better.