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Rope a Dope
By Joe C. Hopkins, Journal Publisher 10/8/20

Muhammad Ali, Mr. Float like a Butterfly, Sting like a Bee, in his famous rumble in the jungle fight against George Foreman used his rope-a-dope technique to win the fight.  The technique is one fighter feigns being beaten up by his opponent while, in fact, the fighter that is pretending to be beaten up is preserving his energy and his opponent is exhausting all his. After a while the pretender comes to life and starts fighting and is victorious. In the first 2020 Presidential Debate between the incumbent president and the former vice president, Vice President Biden accepted the name calling, lies, intimidation and bullying from President Trump.  I look forward to Biden’s rope-a-dope performance in future debates, if any.

The history of slavery as taught in American schools provides lies and gives aid and comfort to those who provide support to those who connect to and continue to support slavery and the losing side of the history of racism. The Dixiecrats and the Ronald Regan initiated southern strategy are still there voting for today’s racist President . . .

In 2016, 52 % of white women still voted for the president, in spite of the derogatory things he said and did to and against women.  As a black man in America, nearing 80 years of age, I still believe there will be a large percentage of white folks who believe in white supremacy and love this President and will vote for him again. They have no problem with his separating children from their parents, pretending to be a Christian, lying and cheating on his Income Taxes, cheating on his spouse, open racism, building a wall to keep brown people out of the country and keeping my people out of certain neighborhoods, certain schools, certain jobs and certain professions. They feel no pain in keeping Harriet Tubman off the $ 20.00 bill or another black man out of the presidency.

I know who David Duke is and I know who the Proud Boys are. These are the same people who tried every trick in the book to keep black folks from voting by having them guessing how many beans were in a jar, naming every judge, naming every Congressman, stating how many bubbles were in a bar of soap, citing the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, from memory, though they couldn’t go to school at the time.  They had poll taxes blacks couldn’t pay and grandfather clauses. If your grandfather didn’t vote because he couldn’t as a slave, then neither could you. I appreciate the right to vote, the right to go to school and get a decent job. I also know about LiFo, meaning last hired, first fired. I know that all these rights were fought for. My ancestors fought and died for these rights, we won, but there are still battles to be fought. 

I heard the thug president talking against Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and his crowd shouting, “Lock Her UP”. These people supported George Wallace, but this President won’t denounce white racism.  He’s saying that racial sensitivity training is racist so he’s cut it out of the American vocabulary because it can’t be tolerated.  We need to VOTE! 
​

I’ve lived a charmed life, being raised in California by Christian parents in a twelve-room house with three siblings, three of which with College Degrees and a family that was always employed or in a family business. Funny thing was that the family business was a secondhand store. We sold used clothes and used furniture. I say it’s funny because my peers made fun of me, but many of their parents shopped at our store. I was called, “Secondhand Joe”, but I lived and dressed better than most of my peers.  I and two of my siblings went to college. Our occupations include barber, teacher, counselor, and attorney. Life has been good. There remains the question, “Is Trump trying to trick us to get sympathy?” If not, then as Malcolm X said, "The chickens come home to roost" (i.e., the consequences of one's evil actions catch up with them.)
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  • Black History Reflections with Dr. Jamal-Dominique Hopkins
  • Online Subscription
  • Business-community-connection
  • 5-26-22 Front Page
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  • Congratulations To Newly Appointed LA County Judge Pamela Dansby
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