Shameless Political Grandstanding

Case 1 - Nikki Giovanni

What an outrage! This self-styled "poet" gave the closing remarks at the Virginia Tech memorial convocation in which she equated the "plight" of baby elephants with the mass human slaughter that occurred Monday at VT. Here are a couple of lines from her speech:

"We know we did not deserve it but neither does a child in Africa dying of AIDS, but neither do the invisible children walking the night to avoid being captured by a rogue army. Neither does the baby elephant watching his community be devastated for ivory; neither does the Appalachian infant killed in the middle of the night in his crib in the home his father built with his own hands being run over by a boulder because the land was destabilized. No one deserves a tragedy."

So Nikki Giovanni would have us believe that there is some sort of equivocation between elephants, their ivory, and the cold, calculating, maniacal murder of humans on a grand scale such as we saw this past Monday in Blacksburg, Virginia. Nikki Giovanni somehow makes a connection between the tragedy of AIDS, ongoing wars in Africa, and the violent denial of life last Monday by a crazed lunatic. AIDS and warfare, as devastating as they may be, cannot in any way be made to correspond to or equate with deliberate mass murder by a deranged individual.

Elephant hunting is another matter entirely. It is one of those "causes" about which some people feel strongly. But it is a cause that stems from opinion; many people would have another opinion. The moralilty of homicide, however, is something that is not subject to opinion, at least in a civilized society.

So, what is Nikki Giovani's purpose in attempting to make these connections? Since there is clearly no moral equivocation here, it becomes obvious that these comments are agenda driven. Giovanni, like so many liberals, simply seizes on any opportunity presented to her to press the liberal agenda.

I am particularly dumbfounded by the last part of her tirade. What is she talking about when referring to a baby killed in bed because a boulder apparently rolled down a hill and into the house and into the crib? Is this something that really happened, or is it just more drama from the left in pursuit of a political end? I suspect that this may have something to do with the "plight of poor people." But there is also no equivocation here. Does Nikki Giovanni really want to suggest that rich people are responsible for the poor being poor and, therefore, rich people are responsible for the murder of college students at Virginia Tech? This seems to be exactly what she is trying to portray. This clearly places Nikki Giovanni "off the reservation," in this writer's opinion.

Liberals like Nikki Giovanni are shameless; they will take any opportunity to advance their liberal agenda, absolutely any opportunity. It is truly a disgrace.

I was also interested in reading that Giovanni was the guest speaker at the re-dedication of Fountain Square in Cincinnati last year. She manages to inject her vitriol into a ceremony that should have been meant to bring a community together. Instead of presenting a celebratory speech for a family-oriented community festivity, Giovanni takes aim at the Cincinnati police and then calls Secretary of State Kenny Blackwell a "son of a bitch"--Blackwell, who was running for Governor at the time, also happens to be a black man and a conservative (a combination that sends liberals into a rage). Her diatribe in the guise of a "dedication speech" is truly "hate speech" by any definition. Judge it for yourself. Here are her Cincinnati remarks:

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

"I Am Cincinnati" - By Nikki Giovanni

I am Cincinnati…
I ran from the whips and the dogs … across the frozen pond ...
I made my home in the West End …
When The Civil War came I dug the trenches … showing the South: Free men Live Here, who are unwilling to yield …
I kept the city safe

I am the 7 Hills …
I am neighborhoods, community centers, shopping malls, churches, libraries
I am the Bengals, the Reds, the incomparable Underground Railroad Museum …
I am history

I am Findlay Street Market …
I am the best three-way chili in the world …
I am Montgomery ribs …
I am the University of Cincinnati …
I am Xavier …
I am Sister Jean Patrice Harrington bringing Mount St. Joseph into the 21st Century

I am Eden Park and the Conservatory of Music …
I am Symphony Hall and the oldest Opera company at one of the world’s greatest teaching zoos …
I am Spring Grove Cemetery - my dead rest in peace and beauty

I am Marion Spencer …
I have watched segregation reign and have built a bridge between that Island and the City …
I have watched policemen shoot young black men in the back, and have watched my community respond …
A people who once saved this city will not willingly allow prejudice a purchase

I am the Winold Reiss Murals of the Cincinnati Union Terminal though I now domicile in another state …
I am the Cincinnati Western and Southern Tennis Championships though I am played in Mason …
I can Kentucky you in at the Cincinnati International Airport in Erlanger

I am not a son of a bitch like Kenny Blackwell …
I will not sell my soul for my ambition …
I do not use the color of my skin to cover the hatred in my heart …
I am not a political whore - jumping from bed to bed to see who will stoke my need …
I am Mark Mallory - talking to everyone - walking with everyone - listening to everyone … leading by consensus not fear

I am Cincinnati …
I slaughtered hogs and made soap …
I am the biggest October Fest outside Munich, Germany …
Though I have been boycotted …
I am not shirking my responsibilities to the next generation …
I am finding a way to be great again

I am the Lady in the Fountain …
Let my waters cleanse and refresh you - let my waters heal

Together
We still can save this City

What a piece of work this woman is. And these are the kind of people that we put into places of responsibility to teach our children, and to shape their future thinking. If we think that these people are fit to be educators, we need to have our collective national head examined.

Nikki Giovanni--Off the reservation, and called on the carpet!