This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.
My dad was a good guy. He never set out to hurt anything. I never heard him speak ill of anyone. He was also a Jewish man and I always just assumed that he had witnessed enough anti-semitism, racism and gender inequality in his time to see the silliness in it all.... peoples need for otherness. A need that says I may not be great but I’m better than him, her or them.... the other. Usually, the weaker folks feel about themselves the greater the need for the other. Unless you were the other. In those cases you were hip to it all, had faced the stiff jawed icey look of false superiority, fought it, bore it or silently withdrew in a peaceful warrior mode that saved itself for another time.
My dad was a good guy, quiet and thoughtful. He knew better. I always just assumed that he came down on the side of judging a man or woman by the color of their character, not their skin. I always just assumed....
One day driving through town, dad spotted a black man and white woman walking down the street together, obviously and by their body language a couple. Dad saw me see him see them. He glanced over and said Black and White Cookie* and that was the end of it. But in that one moment, that one glance and those four words I knew that my assumptions about him were wrong. There was a mocking disapproval in dad’s look and voice that let me know he too needed the concept of the other to make him feel bigger, better and more powerful.
Advertisement
Before I was Dr. Robert I was an up and coming musician and recording artist in L.A....I was a contender. One of the great acts I was in was called The Balding Brothers, a seasoned bare bones 4 piece that could rock the house. We all had BBros names. There was Tank Barstow on bass, Larry Jones guitar singa superba, Tommy D beating the drum and me Butch Balding or Butchie B. And while we loved writing a good love song we also recognized the artist’s job of mirroring the world; musical food for thought with a melody and a beat.
A tune we felt particularly strong about was one called Living in the Darkness, a same as it ever was tale of the other. This was several years before Rodney King and the L.A. riots but we were street enough guys to know, to understand the unspoken codes of separation and where the lines of otherness were drawn. So when years later, a video beating surfaced highlighting otherness and then a trial consummating the deal concluded with a firestorm to mark the occasion, we were not surprised.
Much has been written and re-written about those times so that there is no need for further comment here. However, it does seem natural and right to present that tune here for your listening pleasure. Tank, forever holding down the bottom, was kind enough to go into the public domain and find some footage to accompany the audio.
Advertisement
So, and without further ado:
Living in the Darkness (c)1982 The Balding Brothers
There’s a part of the city where the white man never goes
Down in the projects it’s the land of the negro
Gangs rule there with their own unwritten law
Police speed through you know they know the score
Tired of the justice they got in the white folks’ land
Where your color and your pocketbook’s the measure of a man
They gave up and formed their own state
and being whites’ illegal in that place
Living in the darkness waiting for a change
wondering if the sun will ever shine again
Oh no its a cryin’ shame Oh no in the USA
the words for which we stand
don’t stand for every man
When you take a lion and put him in a cage
remember in that cage he’s still a king
so if you forage in there you might feel his rage
especially if its you that put him in
Black and White Cookie*: an oversized cake like cookie covered half and half with vanilla and chocolate icing, usually found in your favorite Deli.
Dr. Robert Lusson is a licensed clinical psychologist currently living and working in Los Angeles, Ca. He may be contacted at lusson@gmail.com
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.