I Can't Call It.....

August 25 marked the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr's famous "I Have A Dream" speech.
This is a grand time for folks to get a chance to point at Black people and say things like, "Look, they still can't get it together! It's been fifty years and they are worse than before, lol."<< Get the Fuck Outta Here With That!

Now that I've got that out of the way. Here's how I really feel about it.

There have been so many blatant in your face gratuitous 'fuck yous' given to Black people over the years it's been ridiculous. It's not just White people giving them, but it's every immigrant who dares to move to the US has engaged in such sports (Bobby Jindal, cough) . We have a Black man who was elected for president twice, considering it was hell for a certain cross section of people to vote due to all of the obstacles presented in 2012, due to wait times, and changing the poll locations in the first place. Aside from that, Obama is not doing his job, and the same people who were mad about him being president the first time are still mad, while conveniently ignoring the fact that Congress had no interest in cooperating with the president.  I won't go into too much detail because I already covered the president's treatment in a previous blog, so I won't waste your time, but as you can see in all of my blogs, race relations are at an all time low.

Honestly, I am really glad race relations have gone completely downhill right now. This way, all of the crap that people were desperately and not so desperately trying so hard to hide can no longer be hidden and we can call them on their bullshit. Unfortunately sometimes their behavior looks like it's bringing us back into the 50s again (read as right where we left off before MLK Jr left this world).  Maybe it goes to show you that you really can't drag the ignorant kicking and screaming into a so called bright future. They will resist, and make sure it doesn't happen (read as you can't make a bunch of people like you regardless of how well you dress, how poised you are, or how beautiful you appear so stop trying).<< Boy were they correct on that one, but I digress.

As a result, I've been thinking a lot about what The States are going to look like in the future. I also think about what American history is going to look like. Things are looking really really bleak right now, so I have no idea what to expect, however as a result, I have had many dreams related to this and what may come out of it:

I can definitely see The States breaking away and forming their own countries later down the road. That may not necessarily be a bad thing. I honestly don't think this country could continue to be run by a group of people in a small district on one side of the country like it has been. I believe strongly that once the states secede, things will be easier for the citizens of said countries because they can govern themselves and have  more say in what's going on where they live. Big government is bad, it has been said and seen time and time again and it is also seen to the same effect in overcrowded schools. A teacher can't effectively teach 27 children, the classrooms have to be smaller in order to create a better experience.  On a brighter note, I can also see that Black people are killing it with technology right now. We have all of these online radio stations, blogs YouTube channels, and it's wonderful!  We have access to BandCamp and SoundCoud so we can put out meaningful music without being subject to a greedy record label whose only interest is to pimp so called "urban" images as a means to exploit 'what's hot' right now. This technological movement among Black people has me wondering, "What will go down in history? Is it possible that our future generations will read about the pioneers who made a way when the future was looking rather dim? Will the blogs be used as an archive to represent the latter part of Black history, with all of their sources tied in a neat (or not so neat) package?  Will our rants, raves, critiques, photos and events be looked at in several African -American Studies classes in the future?  How will our presence shape the North American continent? How will we be viewed all across the world?

I think  people overseas will eventually see what Black people have created and they will flock to those places like people in The States currently flock to various places in the Eastern Hemisphere. The North American continent will have it's own version of Black Rome (Detroit), people will study the Motown Era of Black music, and what caused the empire of Detroit to fall. Chicago will be visited for it's variation of blues,  1520 Sedgewick Ave in The Bronx will be the Hip Hop Motherland where all cultures interested in the music would flock just to get a taste of where it all began.  People will visit various places where early hip hop took place, they will dissect and be interested in what factors in said area influenced the rappers from that particular region, their style and what regional sounds influenced their production.  Watts and Compton will be the go to areas for California, people will want to know where and how Afro punk fits into Black culture as well, and will be enthusiastic about searching for its history.   They will examine our fashion, regional vernacular, and influences in other genres of hip hop and other art forms created by us, and people will search high and low to come up with obscure pieces of work done by early African Americans. Honestly, I think Blacks will be seen in a great light.  It may even be possible that others will see what's going on over here right now and American Whites  will end up being the ones who get treated like crap based on their history, and how they warped so many minds to think otherwise. Maybe they'll have to watch their Ps and Qs and be required to bend over backwards to prove they can spend time in a foreign country without attempting to destroy  every other culture in some random way that had been witnessed throughout American history.

Sometimes I wonder. Each generation says something to the effect of "I don't know what's wrong with kids today", or "This world is gone very bad. What happened?"  I can't tell if it's gotten worse, or if it's just our turn to see the same stuff.  The only difference is that our media scope is far greater than that of our grandparents. Hopefully we can use it to our fullest so others can read our stories and learn from them.  As of right now, I get very discouraged, but it was fun to dream about what greatness Blacks hold in their future.

I just hope I get to be alive and well enough to see and experience it, and maybe be a part of it.

Racial Inequality Is Because Minorities Are Too Proud of Their Heritage- According to Bobby Jindal

The Governor of Louisiana blamed racial inequality because minorities won't assimilate.  Okay, Bobby I see you. Yet another person trying to tell Black and Brown people to assimilate into the main stream culture, while pointing at Martin Luther King to set an example, except this one has a brown face, so I guess it's okay, right?  For those who didn't see this coming, or those who don't know exactly what I'm about to talk about, lets take a closer look at why his comment and others like it (regardless of the color of the person that says this kind of stuff) sounds like the same paternalistic patronizing tripe that North America continues to feed to it's citizens and those abroad:

1. The historically bad treatment of Blacks in North America

For those who haven't looked into American History, one can plainly see that Blacks were treated very very poorly, especially after the slaves were set free (read as let go). During these times, Blacks tried their hardest to assimilate and create new lives for themselves. They created schools, churches, stores and various other businesses. During the 1920s, A lot of Blacks were doing pretty well for themselves, until somebody somewhere decided otherwise. Granted there were some who were struggling, but it's what to expect when you analyse any cross sections of a population regardless of where and who is being examined.  Some folks were trying to go along to get along, and that didn't go so well.  Enter Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King Jr here.

Since folks want to have the benefit of propping up Martin Luther King Jr and his most famous speech when ever they see fit, why don't they take a step back and look at what happened with him. As mentioned in my other blogs, he was shot.  This was an educated Black man who 'spoke very well' (whatever that means) and dressed respectable. He never wore a hoodie, or any so called "non respectable" clothing. He was eloquent, clean shaven and quite handsome if I do say so myself.  He dressed like everyone during his day, and so did a lot of people all across the country.  He was still killed. Dare I say that he was killed for not assimilating?

Rosa Parks was a beautiful woman who carried herself well, and spoke as such. Both Martin Luther King Jr and Rosa attended church regularly.  Rosa was not shot, but she had been arrested for not conforming, like Martin Luther King Jr. Dare I say that she was arrested for not assimilating?

Countless Black people were either arrested or out right killed. For Example, Emmitt Till was killed for whistling at a White woman. Dare I say he was killed for not assimilating? Medgar Evers was killed as well. Was it because he wouldn't assimilate either?

2. Today

We have Black millionaires who have gone above and beyond in proving they can make it. Oprah Winfrey is a great example of that, but why did she experience bad treatment in Zurich while shopping? Why did the clerk lie about what happened? Paul Mooney has expressed his feelings on proper treatment as well, and so has Michael Eric Dyson on catching a cab in New York City while wearing his suit and tie. Henry Louis Gates, a professor at Cambridge University(for crying out loud)  was arrested because someone in his neighborhood thought he was trying to break into his own home.  These people are classified as highly educated, and have assimilated. Why did these things happen to them?

There was a case mentioned previously in my blog regarding a man who was mistaken for a burglar by his neighbor, causing him to get shot by the police.  He had assimilated, according to the so called standards set by Bobby Jindal. Why was he shot ?


Let's move on to the "melting pot" idea.

Take a look at each of these cases mentioned above. Honestly, I don't think there ever was such an ideology that was practiced in this country.  The Black people mentioned above were completely assimilated, and bad things happened to them.  People will argue and say, "That was a long time ago. Quit bringing up the past.", in reference to most of those posts. The comments on the  most recent incidents would play out like the following, "They were overreacting and crying racism. I'm so sick and tired of hearing Black people cry and whine about this stuff. They are always the victim, and need to stop the victim or poor me mentality and Get over it already." To them I say, "Explain this incident then.  This article mentions that a server in a South Carolina restaurant named Wild Wings Cafe denied service to a party of twenty five Black people because one White patron felt uncomfortable.

Now I'm sure there are people saying ? What? Really?  These people chose to keep one patron happy vs asking the uncomfortable person to leave so the bigger party could provide more money for the establishment is a "dead giveaway" (in my Charles Ramsey voice).   Who in their right mind would do such a thing? It is just bad business plain and simple.  However the interesting thing about it is that I am not surprised. Restaurants have the tendency to have the most racist folks running them sometimes.  Were these people assimilated?  I mean, they chose to eat at a homogeneous American restaurant right? They like the same food as the uncomfortable patron, so I guess that counts for something according to Mr Jindal.  These tactics were popular  for a long time, especially in the south, but they still happen all over the country in one way or another. Why? The same can be applied to Oprah's situation where the clerk said Oprah was a liar. Who in their right mind would miss out on obtaining such an astronomical commission? Maybe it's just me, but I wouldn't.

Since he wants to worry about people being too attached to their heritage, maybe he should start with the gun toting turbo Christian right wing people who secretly and not so secretly wish the south would rise again.  Maybe he should talk to those who don kilts, play bagpipes or engage in Renaissance fairs because some aspects of it may be part of their heritage. Maybe he should go after those who wear or keep early European artifacts due to their family tree being traced back to the war involving (insert European group here) in the year 600 AD.  After all, that's waaaay before slavery in the Americas started, so maybe they should get over it and stop trying to be something they clearly aren't. Surely, they would have decided to call themselves American by now, I mean, why don't they stop parading around in archaic European garb and join the twenty first century. Maybe they ought to stop pretending to be Irish on St. Patrick's day, or getting shamrock tattoos on their person.  Maybe he should talk to those who are hell bent on being cowboys, and embracing so called "redneck" culture. Maybe they should stop naming their kids Seamus, Sean, Riley, or any other ethnic name because they are American, right?  I guess that's why Mr Jindal changed his first name to "Bobby".  That's saying something because this guy comes from India, a country that was occupied by the British for so long that the effects are still there after they left.  That being said, it seems that when it comes to being Black or Brown in this country, everybody wants 'those people' to erase their heritage and as long as they are White, they are free to explore their heritage to their hearts content.

Some 'melting pot,' huh? << Get The Fuck Outta Here With That Bullshit.

Poverty Higher Among Blacks Because of All That Chicken and BBQ << Ah, Colorado...

That's right. Vickie Marble (R), a state Senator in Colorado actually said that. Here's the audio, and the article .  Vickie Marble needs to GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE WITH THAT BULLSHIT!!!

 Notice that in the audio, her statement is drawn out, and carefully thought out, so she can't say that she misspoke or she made a mistake.

But in all seriousness, this is very telling of Colorado and how some folks think out there. I wasn't all that surprised because the local KKK chapter still makes sure to recruit people especially when it becomes a pressing matter.  Now before you say that Colorado doesn't do that anymore  in 2012 there has been a rise in membership, and more hate groups popping up in the state. Anyway, back to Vickie Marble's ol' punk ass.

According to her, all of the White people must be flying down south to get some of that fried chicken and bbq and then coming back to Colorado to get fat or something.  Black people from down south must be rolling in that sweet fried chicken and barbeque restaurant moolah they're making, right?  The last time I checked Colorado had a small Black population, mostly seen in Denver, so that chicken and barbeque has to come from somewhere, and somebody's eating it. This thinking begs the question, Why are White people all across the country getting so fat?  I guess using her logic, I can flip it around and say that all of these White people really love them some Mc Donalds, Burger King, and insert any other fast food or chain restaurant here. I mean, they must love them some instant microwave anything. It seems to be the meat of what they purchase, especially twinkies. They really lost their minds when Hostess was going under. I thought all hell was going to break lose and people were going to commit suicide after finding out that Twinkies were about to disappear. People were selling them on E-bay, making DIY Twinkie kits and all kinds of foolishness and nobody said, "Gawd Damn...White people are acting like straight up pigs over twinkies.", or saying things like , "See, this is why America is so damn fat right now. Maybe if these lard assess would get out of their giant SUVs, turn off the TV, stop stuffing their giant barnyard animal faces with instant and fast crap and actually pay attention to what's really going on, then maybe this country could start making progress." But nope, I guess it's all Obama's fault.  

So they sit in front of their TVs, whine about not being able to purchase a big ass soda in New York, blame Obama about everything (cough, hurricane Katrina, cough), circle jerk about how it was so wonderful when Bush number two was in office, and spend money on the latest facebook game. They can miss me with that mess.

Tuition for Twerking ...(sigh)

That's right folks. All self described ratchet chicks and bad bitches step right up. Juicy J is giving away a 50K scholarship for the best girl who can twerk:

Tweets by @therealjuicyj

Get The Fuck Outta Here:

Really?  This is where hip hop is at? I can see it now.  A bunch of barely legal Miley Cyrus-es, Hanna Montanas', and aspiring Nikki Minaj-es lining up to shake dat ass.  All I can do is sigh.

Again, I can't tell somebody how to spend their money, or what scholarship to start, but out of all the reasons to start a scholarship, why choose twerking? I guess as long as he's going to make it rain, why not contribute to someone's education, right? That's a good thing, but damn starting scholarships that would go towards future doctors, or scientists because he wouldn't be able to get anything out of it I guess.
Nevermind getting the pleasure of seeing a young girl get the chance to go to medical school, find a cure for (insert any non curable disease here), or go into outer space, or start a business, or do anything empowering.  He just wants to see some ass! Then again,the chosen one just might use it for her med school tuition. She just might use it to float her until she finishes her unpaid internship and goes into grad school, or to pay for grad school. I don't know any of the girls or their plans at all, so who am I to get all critique-y like that with the potential contestants.

I don't know.

 It's just that I can imagine the amount of heat this will bring. He's going to get a bunch of videos from girls who are either barely of legal age or shy of becoming legal. What if their parents see the video (especially if they aren't legal) and they press charges? << Looks like ol Juicy J may end up going up shit creek without a paddle.

All I can say is, Be careful with that.



***Update

Looks like the tweet was deleted.

Score one for outrage

https://twitter.com/therealjuicyj/status/370407299401011200

Just Pray On It <<< For real?

Fair warning. I know I'm about to catch pure unadulterated hell for this post. I'm okay with that as long as you hear me out and fully examine exactly what I'm trying to say.

Again, I really don't pay attention to celebrities like that, but it seems that some issues surrounding them have really piqued my interest as of late. Today I bring the following to your attention. Here we have a young Black actor who committed suicide at the age of  29 years old by the name of Lee Thompson Young.  I asked myself these questions:  Why did he kill himself? What caused it? Was he depressed? How long had he been suffering? I confess, at first I didn't really put much thought into his situation, but then I found this article. Now let me give you guys a brief history of what really kicked this off. I was on Facebook (yeah you guys must think Facebook is paying me a lot of money to mention it because of how much I bring it up in my blog), and after seeing more nuggets of sadness,constantly dealing with some straight up bs in real life, while mulling over what I'm seeing in American culture, how it has affected people like me, while fighting against what is constantly fed to others regarding people like me through the media, and many other things I've seen and dealt with over the years has made me wonder if I will spend the rest of my days similar to the latter years of Louise Little's life. This was the reason I updated my status to "I'm mad today" followed by an angry face. I logged off of Facebook for about 8 hours and then came back to a particular reply "...just pray and everything will be okay."

All of a sudden, I wanted to rage. I logged out of Facebook. Those who know me are fully aware how I feel about that phrase and what that phrase tells me. Later, I stumbled upon the second article, titled "Black Suicide: When Prayer Is Not Enough."  I read the article and I couldn't shake it out of my mind. This article says exactly what I have said to several people who have told me to "pray about it" during various times throughout my life. The same people who say "Pray about it," are the first ones to stigmatize a person as soon as they say they are depressed. They say the most hurtful things like "Oh, they have a 'weak mind'", or call them "Crazy," or say something condescending like "It's all in your head", or  something ridiculous like, "Just don't think about it and it'll go away," or "Smile, it'll get better." or "Just be happy," or "Get over it.".  Instead of pulling a HULK SMASH on them and everything they should ever attempt to care about til death comes knocking at their door, I simply tell them to Get The Fuck Outta Here With That Bullshit.

Are they really serious with that escapist, head in the sand ass comment?! Sooo what, it's a good thing to be a bunch of ostriches now?!  All of the shit that has been and still is going on and they want to continue closing their eyes and ears and act like nothing is going on?  Oh, I get it, they know it's going on, but they want to hope and pray it'll get better. Well guess what? A person can hope and pray in one hand and shit in the other; which one gets full first? Look at how long it took for things to make a lazy,sorry, half ass attempt to get better for Black people? All of this hoping and praying and wishing isn't doing anybody any good. Hoping and praying is the same as saying, "I'm going to sit back and see what happens". Martin Luther King combined action with hope and prayer, and as I mentioned before, he got shot. I guess all of that hoping and praying didn't really do anything now did it?  Sure, we can quote his speech all day, but look at some of the things that are going on right now (in no particular order):

1. Blacks still get discriminated when looking for employment.
2. We get shot at by cops who mistake cell phones, water bottles, wallets, and any other piece of miscellaneous crap we have in our hands for weapons. 
3. We get stalked in stores.
4. We get shitty service in restaurants because somebody told someone else that Blacks don't tip, so that waitresses and waiters expect us not to, which in return causes them to not give good service and not receive a tip.
5. We get treated wrong for moving into neighborhoods that may not have a lot of Blacks in them. 
6. We get side eyed by others when we show pride in our heritage.
7. Even if we make a lot of money we still get treated like shit by other people because of something malicious they heard or saw in the media pertaining to us.
8. When we excel at a job, or even land the job in the first place, we get accused of getting the job not on merit, but by Affirmative Action (which wouldn't have been made necessary if Blacks weren't kept under thumb by various methods for so long in the first place. Remember Black Wall Street ?).
9. The Drug War
10. People can still be found swinging from trees
11. Clear Channel, Time Warner and Viacom all have their hands in controlling a piece of the privatized prison industry.
12. Interracial dating between Blacks and anyone else is still a hot topic.
13. When Blacks show interest in creating their own businesses, etc, they get called racist for doing so even if seeking employment with otherwise has proved a fruitless effort, especially in a crappy job market. (see #1, 8, and 7)

Add all of that up, and step back for a second. This is just a small excerpt of what we may see, and some of which has already been discussed in previous blog entries. Imagine having to deal with that and keep moving like everything is fine. Sooner or later, a person will pop regardless of whether or not this stuff affects a person day to day.  Many people commit suicide each day due to various hardships in their own lives which may be very different than my experience. I don't know what the actor was going through, but it seemed like he really needed someone to reach out to him. I know that feeling very well.  Seeking help for mental issues is often looked down upon in general. I have seen psychiatrists and all of them were either quick to dismiss me by telling me I need to relax and exercise more,or give me a scary pill and send me on my way, only to end up feeling worse than I did before.  They'd always leave me wanting to say, "BITCH IF I COULD RELAX AND EXERCISE I WOULDN'T BE IN HERE YOU DUMBASS!!! AND I CERTAINLY WOULDN'T NEED TO PAY YOU TO TELL ME THAT. Get The Fuck On Somewhere. Are you crazy?!"

That's what gets me about therapy. I'd rather not pay to be insulted or treated wrong  like it was a part of some sexually masochistic pleasure thing. I have yet to have a good experience. Instead I kept getting narcissistic douchebags who left me with the impression that they like hearing other people's problems so they can get paid to take a dump on them.  

Some people say that not seeking therapy is just a part of American Black culture that no one wants to talk about. I find a bit of truth in that, however it doesn't explain why so many White people are committing suicide considering that getting therapy should be something a lot of them may be used to as long as they have the financial means to do so.  Maybe they received the same treatment I did when I attempted therapy. Who knows. I feel that whenever a person commits suicide and is seeing a psychiatrist, a full scale investigation on how the psychiatrist treats their clients should be completed.

I urge people to seek real compassion when someone approaches with a mental health issue or is troubled, and not to dismiss or condescend to the afflicted person. Because when that happens, there's no telling what can happen afterward. It's a huge disservice to say something like I mentioned above, and then turn around and say something like, "I don't know what happened or what brought this on. They were bright, they had a lot of things going on for them, they were smart, beautiful and kind. They were so nice and warm to everyone. I can't imagine why he (or she) would do such a thing (etc)."  And then they have the nerve to be dismayed and upset when something happens to the person whose issues were deflected and dismissed as excuses, laziness, or (insert any cold demeaning remark here).  Really, people?!

Bloomberg is Hell Bent on Finding Ways to Scrutinize Folks- my 9/11 rant for the year

I guess the backlash against the Stop and Frisk policies in New York has got the mayor of New York mad as hell. Now he wants to fingerprint people who live in public housing probably because in his head, all of "those" people are drug addicts and are going to magically get away with more crime than usual since the police force is under fire for racial profiling. "Those" people couldn't possibly be working honest jobs and or attempt to raise children or try to create a better life in a foreign country. I mean, they must be doing something wrong. He has to come up with a plan to protect them, I mean after all, isn't that what stop and frisk was supposed to be about? He obviously cares soooo much about these people that he's willing to make sure they get constantly searched and probed or fingerprinted to ensure their safety.  I'm going to have to tell Mike Bloomberg to Get The Fuck Outta here.

Time and time again we have been told that in order to be free, we must sacrifice something, especially after the whole 9/11 fiasco jumped off. People have argued about how the fingerprint policy is going to help determine which residents live there vs those who are visiting, or trespassing.  Why does he feel the need to monitor that? People have visitors all the time regardless if they live in public housing or not. I'm sure those who advocate the fingerprint policy would love to have their visitors and everyone in their residences get fingerprinted prior to entry. Why doesn't he implement these policies in his neighborhood to keep them safe? My guess is that his neighbors would hate him for it, and they'd be very upset about having their style cramped like that. Why not afford the same basic luxury to those in public housing?  I can hear some of these people now.  They may say something like, "These public housing units are being paid for by taxpayer's money, and I don't like the idea that these people are busy committing crimes on my dime. It's bad enough they're all on welfare...bla bla, bla (insert any and all stereotypical race baiting here while ignoring the fact that crime happens between people who live near each other in general)", followed up with their offers of  draconian crap like sterilization, forced abortion for all of those "baby mamas",  bulldozing the public housing units, or by letting them kill themselves and it'll all sort itself out etc."  To them, I present the following situation:

Let's play a game for a bit. What if Stop and Frisk were allowed in their own neighborhoods? What if the fingerprint policy were implemented?  How would things turn out?  I mean, how else are they going to have their dealers show up with whatever illegally procured drugs they use in the privacy and safety of their homes? What if they travel to their dealer's home to purchase it? Would they want to be stopped by police while on foot or driving?  What if they had a visitor in their home who happened to be a former convicted felon? What if it's a close family member who had a possession charge?  I would think they would say it isn't anybody's business whether or not a convicted felon or someone who was formerly in the prison system enters their home. I'm thinking they would say that it's up to the resident who decides which person gets the chance to enter their home.  Maybe it's just me, but I think they really wouldn't like the idea of being policed like that. I'm thinking they might even invent a term for it. I suspect they would call it "Martial Law" and they would fight tooth and nail to prevent it from happening.

 My initial instincts on Mayor Bloomberg's behavior indicate that he really doesn't care about safety of the citizens. He's acting like he may have a financial investment in the privatized prison industry and that he may have a vested interest in making sure the prisons have people in them, as in "more inmates equals more profit".  That being said, I feel some investigative reporting is in order.  Where are the potential inmates you ask? They can be found in public housing.   I guess it's easy to go after people that no one ever cared about. They have no money, they don't look or act like him and his friends.  It's like shooting fish in a barrel, or collecting the low hanging fruit, so to speak. In his eyes, and and others in this country who may not necessarily be rich, these people are vermin and it is their job to keep them in order.  It's too difficult to catch the crook in the suit with the attaché whose about to swindle millions of dollars out of a company, or the one who fooled a bunch of hard working Americans into giving away their life's savings under the promise of making a huge return on their investment, only to fuck off the money like entitled bratty spoiled trust fund babies.  <<But hey, at least they got that one, right?  It took a whole lot of work, but they got him so I guess there's that.  However, I'm waiting on them to get Larry Silverstein, the owner of the World Trade Towers who purchased them shortly before the 9/11 attacks and conveniently took out a multi million dollar insurance policy on the buildings only to have them burn down (insurance fraud?) while killing many innocent people at the same time, George W Bush, Dick Cheney, the bankers and CEOs who crashed the economy, and countless other people who made things very difficult for a lot of folks in this country. Maybe since I'm employed, and have a house, I should adopt an attitude that says "Well, better them than me."  The day I do that is the day I have to tell myself Get The Fuck Outta Here With That Bullshit because that's waaay out of character for me. I'd rather say something to the effect of, "See, look at everything I mentioned here in reference to Michael Bloomberg and his ilk. This is what happens when you let "those people" have money.

Missouri, Are You Serious?!

The Missouri State Fair done  messed up.  Then again, I'm not really surprised.  Basically, somebody thought it would be a bright idea to find yet another way to disrespect the president.  This time, they did it at a rodeo. The rodeo clown dressed up as President Obama while the announcer asked the crowd if they wanted to see Obama get run over by a bull.  The audience went wild as the announcer asked them again and again each time while getting louder and louder. One of the clowns taunted the Obama clown by bobbling his lips, which added to the crowd's anticipation as he let the bull get really close to him. This made the crowd go nuts! They loved it, until the word got out, that is. The announcer flat out denied that he knew about the Obama clown and promptly blamed the clown, which resulted in the clown getting banned . << Get the fuck outta here. How is the announcer going to deny the whole thing when he was the main one getting the crowd amped up about it? I guess it's all fun and games until the rest of the country found out. Now I'm sure people reading this will think that I'm one of those "blind Obama supporters" who "can't stand to have their 'messiah' talked about in a less than favorable light" or "(insert any other Fox news piss and vitriol here)", but I'm not that person (as you can see in a previous blog), and people have the right to be mad, but let's be honest. Barak Obama has been the most disrespected president we have had in a very long time. Now people are going to say that we have had other bad presidents before, but there are people alive who loved them some Ronald Regan, and Richard Nixon, and will speak fondly of them to this day. I've even seen billboards depicting George W Bush as a great president who deserves to be missed, and the same for Ronald Regan.  That's saying something when George W was the one who created the Patriot Act, Homeland Security, gave millions of dollars that USA didn't have, to banks that were too big to fail, and not to mention how he made it such a pain in the ass to travel by airplane, etc.  I won't go too far into what George W Bush allowed to pass because I'd be accused of using the tired tactic of blaming Bush, but you get the point. People have been disrespecting the president from day one , and they have been doing it for so long that it looks to me like folks decided this particular president is exempt from being protected. It also seems that the disrespect is most solely related to race, and is not limited to his wife.  When G.W.Bush was elected and then re-elected, people were disrespecting him all over the place, but people would always follow up with something like " Al Gore/ Kerry lost, Get over it." , or something like, "You may not like his policies, but you still have to respect him. He is our president after all"  <<Where are those people now? I still have yet to see or hear something like that come out of their mouths. During all of the hell that was caught, I felt like I was the very very few who were telling people to wait for the next election day so they can vote somebody else in, and that either way, somebody is going to be pissed because their boy or representative didn't win, so why don't they just suck it up, cry me a river, build me a bridge and get over it already. I guess since now there is a Black face to go with the Bush/Cheney-esque dealings, all of a sudden, they can't take it.  This country is no longer fun to be a part of, all of a sudden this country has become fascist, and a dictatorship, and they don't feel so free anymore.  To those who feel that way, I just want to tell them to, "Get the fuck outta here with that bullshit, and here's why.

The US has been doing folks dirty in this country since it first started. It seems that ever sense the dirty dealings have affected White america, all of a sudden they want to cry foul. They want to be upset about having the phones tapped, all of their information available upon request, sub prime mortgages and high interest rates with the intent to swindle the applicant, having no jobs and repossessed homes as a result of property speculation, experiencing disillusionment about being in the military, and not having much to look forward to in general especially after obtaining a degree.  I completely understand those sentiments.  That is exactly how it feels to be Black in America, and it has been that way for many many years now. The thing is that when it was just those people fighting for their liberties, and those people who wanted to be respected, and wanted to be able to go where they wanted without being profiled, searched and or denied unless they complied with the ridiculousness, there were people who either made "lighthearted fun" of the Civil Rights Movement that ensued, they simply did nothing, or they scoffed at the ungrateful (insert your favorite plural version of a colorful racial slur here) who should be lucky they were tolerated for so long in the first place.  Now that the FBI, and CIA are all in their asses now, they want to complain and be mad.  I guess they can go ahead and be mad, because they shole weren't mad when the face of dirty deeds was White (read as Lyndon B Johnson Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George Bush Sr, and Jr).  In fact, everything was fine and dandy for the most part. All of the struggles inflicted on non Whites in this country had been acting as a proving ground. The powers that be already knew the rest of the country wouldn't give a good god damn about what was going on "over there". Now no one can hide from it and no one is excluded.  Maybe somebody should use everything I mentioned as a talking point to explain the "White American problem"and do it exactly how they like to go in on the "African American problem" and how past behaviors caused the chickens to come home to roost.  Then again, the last time somebody mentioned chickens coming home to roost when pertaining to White America,  that person got shot. But the real question I want to ask is, "If this person were White, how would it be received since people seem to like their political policies doled out to them as such?"

Don Lemon: Why Don't I Just Cut to the Chase and Tell You to Get The F*ck Outta Here With That Bullisht!!!!

If you haven't heard yet, Don Lemon, a news anchor for CNN decided to "go in" (depending on how you see it) on the problem with Black America. He said the usual stuff regarding sagging jeans, education and crime. He also said that Bill O'Reilly doesn't go far enough when he's talking about the so called crisis in the African American community. Needless to say it caused a lot of backlash and responses, one of which was a letter from Russell Simmons. He had to address Russell Simmons on the whole thing. He says to attack the problem and not the messenger, and then went in on sagging jeans, and how "saggin" spelled backwards spells n!ggas backwards (which has nothing at all to do with anything). He redeemed himself by thanking Russell Simmons for his letter. He also cut to the president speaking on the issue. Sure this video looks like a nice neat package of it's not us it's you and your fault why things are the way they are', but here's what I don't get.

Why doesn't Don Lemon attack those who control the images of black people being beamed into millions of homes around the world, those who profit from exploiting those images and those who reward people for living up to the stereotype starting with corporate America? Why doesn't he really talk about the real issue pertaining to Black on Black crime (which I mentioned earlier in this blog)? Why doesn't he talk about how many Whites are hooked on meth, the destruction of families the drug has caused and how it not only destroys the user's health but it harms children and anyone who resides in the house where the meth was smoked even if the drug was used several years ago by completely different tenants? Why not discuss the pharm parties and excessive use of various other drugs legal or otherwise? Why not address the tendency to over medicate children in order to substitute for decent parenting? Why doesn't he address the fact that White kids are running around with giant holes in their ears, many big colorful tattoos, and saggin pants as well? The holes can take a very long time to heal and can greatly jeopardize a person's ability to find gainful employment (unless they are a tattoo artist or they pierce people for a living);in some cases a surgical procedure may be needed to stitch up larger holes. The kid with the sagging jeans can at least take his off or put on a belt in order to fix his image. I don't think there's any chance in saving this guy though.

Just when I couldn't get any more pissed at Don Lemon for not really talking about the so called "Negro problem" , Michael Eric Dyson gets him, and humanity is restored.


But what if all Blacks really did what Don Lemon was talking about? What if we did exactly what the hippies did after the summer of love was over (don't front, all they did was cut their hair, take showers and go get jobs). Let's imagine that everybody went to college, got a good ass job, started a business, etc and started making serious money. What if all of the absentee fathers magically appeared to raise their families, and if applicable, any and all prison records were whisked away only to resemble that of the so called squeaky clean American citizen? Would we all turn out like this guy? For some reason, I beg to differ. Just ask Oprah and Michael Eric Dyson.


I'd like to see Don Lemon try to catch a cab in New York while wearing his suit. As clean as he is, I don't think the cabbies will be itching to have him as a customer.

A Swiss Store Clerk Denied Oprah the Opportunity to Look at a Purse- Said She "Couldn't Afford It"-

So Oprah was doing some shopping in Zurich Switzerland at a very high end store by the name of Trois Pomme when she saw a purse that caught her eye. She asked the clerk to let her see the purse, and according to the article, she was denied. The clerk refused to show it to her , She said: 'No, no, no, you don't want to see that one. You want to see this one. Because that one will cost too much; you will not be able to afford that,'" but Oprah insisted that she wanted to see the original one. Apparently, this exchange happened two more times before Oprah left the store empty handed. Oprah said “I could have had the big blow-up thing and thrown down the black card and all that stuff, but why do that?”   Later, the story was tracked by the BBC, and that's when it got interesting. The clerk said that Oprah was allowed to see the original bag, and that the sales person wanted to give her the bag, but then she didn't want to see it. The owner of the boutique said that there was a misunderstanding and that the clerk was Italian, so her English may not be so good.  That being said <<Get the fuck outta here. The clerk understood that Oprah wanted to see the original bag on display well enough to not get it for her. She understood enough to tell Oprah that she couldn't afford the original bag she was interested in, and the clerk knew enough to find a lower priced bag for Oprah to see. Now as soon as they found out how much Oprah is worth, they wanna back peddle and make excuses for their prejudices.  Finally, the ordeal trickled up to a spokesperson for the tourist office and now they want to invite her to come back so they can show her a good time.  Are they serious?!  Really, it translates to, "Waaaiiiiit! Come back! We really want your money in our city! Pleeeeeease, let us help you spend it! We'll be nice to you (read as 'your money') we promise!" << That line from Kanye West's New Slaves comes to mind, '"That's that broke n!gga racism, that's that 'don't touch anything in the store'. There's that rich n!gga racism, 'come in, please buy more' ".

 Who are they kidding? Do they think she is stupid? Do they think we are stupid? Honestly, I've gotta give it up to Oprah for remaining classy about what happened, but here's what bothers me.  It seems no matter how much money a Black person makes, they will always get treated crazy.  It's funny how people in The States love to prattle on and preach about how all Black people need to do is pull their pants up, get an education and a good job and everything will fall into place.  This woman made 77 million last year alone and still can't go shopping overseas based solely on her skin color. This is why I feel that Black people in the US shouldn't buy from the people who treat us like that regardless if it's a salesperson, the owner,or fashion designer themselves (remember Tommy Hillfiger?).  I can't tell her or any other rich Black person where or how to spend their money, but If I were in that situation, I would have walked out and then bought a factory so I could make my own high end purses.  I'm just saying.

Justin Bieber Thinks He's Black- According to Sharon Osborne

I normally don't pay attention to celebrity gossip, but I kept seeing this in my feed. For those who may not be in the know, apparently Justin Bieber  has lost his mind. He has been seen spitting on his fans from a balcony, he was filmed while urinating in a mop bucket at a nightclub, and who knows what other foolishness he decided he wanted to do.  Originally, I shrugged it off because I never followed Justin Bieber nor do I know any of his songs. My only exposure of his music was a youtube video I saw long ago when he first started to get big. The boy can sing, so I'll give him that, but when Sharon Osborne (the wife of Ozzy Osbourne) decided to say that the source of Justin's behavior is because he thinks he's Black, the only thing I could say was, Get The Fuck Outta Here With That.  Justin's behavior is not the same as a person who thinks he's Black. This boy's behavior reminds me of  what one of those uncontrollable little suburban supermarket spawns act like when they become teenagers. I'd hate to say it, but his behavior matches that of his peers. Maybe he's acting out due to the combination of money and loneliness after all, his 'fiends' were filming and laughing while he added a little something extra to the mop bucket. He was also surrounded by friends when he was seen spitting on his fans. Maybe he's trying to convince his friends that he is "cool"?  Maybe those people really aren't his friends? What do his parents think of the stuff they hear about their son? Maybe they figure Justin is his own man now and they let him do what he wants. I have no idea about what's going on in that boy's head for real. But I will say this : Sharon Osbourne has a lot of nerve saying something like that. After all, she did marry a guy who bit the head off of a live bat, and a dove while on stage, he was known for very heavy drug and alcohol abuse for forty years, he got into fights, and he generally lived the whole sex, drugs rock and roll lifestyle. I guess with her logic, she must have thought she married the Blackest White person alive or something. Either that, or she's just running her mouth so her name could get out in the public again. Maybe that's one of the reasons why her other child still refuses to be associated with them even after the reality show.

Anyway, I'm saying too much.

Random Thought #1

We interrupt all of this seriousness to bring you a random thought. I don't know if there's going to be any more random thoughts posted in the future. Anyway, this is strictly for anybody else who could relate.

I still want to know, why come (I had to say it like that)  my mom had to press hair all the way down close between my shoulder blades. I didn't even know I had important hair right there.

Eff poppin mollys. I'm getting my hair pressed, I'm sweatin'!

That is all.

Many Americans Have No Friends Outside of their Race. Why is that?

Apparently a poll  said that forty percent of Whites and twenty five percent of non whites have no close friends outside of their race.  I really don't know what to think about this. Is this an attempt to race bait, or pit the non Whites against the Whites? I don't know.  However, I can tell you that I got to experience both worlds. I used to live on the south side of Saint Louis (Mc Ree and Tower Grove to be exact, for those who want to question the credentials, lol) when I was a kid, the neighborhood and schools I went to were very diverse. I had friends and neighbors of many different races and cultures.  Later I moved more west, I lived in an all black neighborhood and went to two all  black schools. In high school,  I was a part of the deseg program, and went to school with everybody again. Now I live out of state, and have friends of different races.  Here's the thing that wasn't discussed in the article:

Some people choose who they want to be associated with. Some are willing to 'self segregate'. I guess it depends on the person and their experiences. When I was in high school, this was seen in the Commons (cafeteria) area. All of the Black people were on one side and all of the White people had the areas they chose. There were various cliques as well, so all of the "outsiders" just kind of sat around the majority of kids like hyenas waiting for the pack of lions to leave so they can have the remains of the carcass.  Unfortunately, I fit in none of the cliques, but I did notice what was going on. I was even asked, "Why all of the Black people sit together? I didn't have an answer since I told the person that I didn't fit anywhere, nor did I feel welcome in any area, so I was one of the hyenas so to speak. In my senior year, I sat in the senior area with all of the Blacks in my graduating class. I had a few non black friends, but we weren't really close. It wasn't because they were non Black, it was because I was a very shy teenager with social anxiety issues which made it very very hard to fully open up to people in general.

However I also think in some instances, people don't have many friends of different races because there may be some regional differences, or how they were raised. For example, there are some areas where very few non White people exist. Therefore, it decreases the likely hood of a White person becoming friends with a non white person. The same goes with small towns with stationary populations. If everyone in a small town grew up together, and the town wasn't very diverse, chances are high that the newcomer will not be welcomed.  If the outsider is lucky, they may make school friends with some or one of the local kids assuming the parents allow it.  If a person was raised to not mingle with people who don't look like them, then it is what is regardless of what race they belonged to.

This sort of thing reminds me of my experiences in Sociology class when I was in college, which can be found in the Black on Black Crime vs Crime blog I wrote in July. That being said, they need to Get the Fuck outta here with that mess, and here's why:

Why did they have to create this poll? What was the purpose of it?  Why did they even need to ask? Was it really that hard to figure out? I think the average Joe, Jane, Iesha, Darius, Carlos, Maria, etc would have been able to figure out why many Americans don't have close friends outside of their race. It's common sense really. Maybe I think too much and it really isn't common sense. Maybe we need a team of sociology professors to create a poll so they can analyze this because they are the only ones who can tell us what we need to know regarding this topic, I mean, they are the experts after all,right?  Maybe we are incapable of putting on our thinking caps to the point where we are unable to ask ourselves "Why" and we don't have enough brain cells to rub together in order to independently come to a conclusion when it comes to anything in particular.  I don't know. I mean, somebody had to gather professors together in order to find this out, and I figured it out just like that?

Really tho?! Really?

Rachet Behavior Assigned Solely to Black People?! << I Know They Didn't!

First, lets take a look at some of the various definitions of the word, "ratchet".  I was under the impression that it came from a rapper by the name of Hurricaine Chris back in 2009, but I found no actual definitions that traced it back to him even though that's where I thought I first heard the term.  However, I did find two interesting  definitions, listed on a blog which explored where the writer thought it came from. The blogger mentions that it may be possible that the first use of the word came from a character in the book "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest". The character's name was "Nurse Ratchet". For those who hadn't read the book or need their memory refreshed, Nurse Ratchet was described as not a very nice woman. She was cold, calculating, manipulative, and controlling especially when things didn't go her way.  Some may go out of their way to describe her as a "bitch" but I'll get to that term a bit later.

The second idea the blogger had was that it came from the word "wretched", which can be described as deplorably bad , miserable or distressing.  It seems that the author was on to something here.

I looked a bit further and I couldn't help but start to see a pattern. Urban Dictionary.Com, Ny Mag.com, YahooAnswers, all imply that ratchet is a term meant to be applied to "ghetto",or "urban" people,(read Black people) in particular.  When I saw that, I said, "Get the fuck outta here!". One must not simply deem a whole section of people as "ratchet" just because the term was heard in a couple of songs by a particular group of people within said group who coined the term to describe generally tacky behavior. If all Black people are ratchet based on that, what does that make everyone else?  The real difference is what each sub culture calls this type of behavior, and how it is presented. For example, many movies have been centered around that behavior. Some television shows often have mean girls (or women in this case) nicely tucked into the story to keep things going.  In these cases, we are likely to watch these kinds of shows and are quick to give the character with ratchet behavior the title of "bitch" if she's a woman, or "mean girl" if she's not classified as a woman yet. Do we go around and label all women in the subculture represented here as ratchet ass females, or ratchet hoes? No, they get to be called mean girls, or bitches. And what about the guys? If they are ratchet, we call them douchebags, assholes,dicks (see 2nd definition) or alpha males. Don't front like this behavior is not celebrated in America by one sub culture of people verses the majority.  Not taking the time to look at both sides of the coin in attempts to demonize an entire culture is ratchet in itself.  America as a whole LOVES that crap. Why do some people reward this behavior? Why does the ratchet person get rooted for in the movies by some people? Why are people getting rewarded with the chance to be on a reality tv show with the promise of fame and money as long as they act as sorry as possible?  Why do we have ratchet cartoons? I can't act like I'm not guilty of enjoying a bit of ratchetness, in fact, that cartoon I listed is something I watch in small doses when I'm in the mood. Others watch Family Guy, South Park (which has some good social commentary sometimes), and many more. I just find it very interesting when Black people came up with the term, all of a sudden, all Black people get assigned to being ratchet.  Get the fuck outta here with that.

Not only can ratchet behavior be celebrated on TV, but it is also lauded as a sign of leadership in some circles (hence the alpha male title).  I already mentioned the Washington Post article  about what happens when mean girls grow up. The article also points out ratchetness in the work place and how the behavior may not necessarily be a bad thing. Let's be honest, we have all had a boss or co workers (male or female) who acted crazy from time to time. That behavior may include passive aggressiveness, snarkiness disguised as sarcasm,general bitchiness, and quite possibly verbal abuse. Last time I checked, that kind of behavior makes for a caustic workplace environment, and yet, some people can still get ahead using those tactics and are seen as straight forward, assertive and bold.

Maybe it really isn't like that for some people. Maybe we can blame their ratchet behavior on genes rather than poor parenting. Maybe they had O.D.D as kids and didn't grow out of it. Maybe we can come up with all kinds of euphemisms to describe otherwise tasteless behavior while ignoring the fact that it exists in this country. This way, we can sit on our high horses and call every Black person ratchet all day and every day while turning a blind eye to The Dunkin' Doughnuts incident sort of thing, this lady going batshit crazy over Obama's re election, the Huntington Beach Riots, the entire cast of Jersey Shore, Lindsy Lohan, Cory Monteith's death, and Heath Ledger's death. But waaaait. Celebrities don't coooouuunnnt. They're entertaaaaainers, and some of them are troooooubled. It's really haaaard to be a star. They have so much pressure put on them and some handle it better than others.  <<Get the fuck outta here and tell that to Whitney Houston especially after reading all of the comments on any article pertaining to her eventual death after the discovery of her drug use that was strewn all across the internet. Let Amy Winehouse know about it also. I guess she was different since people judged her anyway because she was White and from the UK. I just never heard anybody refer to her as ratchet.

That is all.

Dying to Be Beautiful << -_-

I thought the plastic surgery trend would have died out by now. I thought people would have looked at all of these celebrities, and said Daaaaaammmmnnn! I don't want to turn out like that. Nope, people kept doing what they were going to do regardless. The next trend that popped up was when Nikki Minaj decided she wanted a new ass, and wow, she got one. Unfortunately women are willing to go to the black market to do so, which results in death in some cases.  In this instance a woman went to get her butt injected with silicone. Not the same silicone that had been used in the past with breast implants mind you, but the type of silicone you buy in a tube from the hardware store.

Let me get this straight. She let some unknown woman with no medical background what so ever inject some hardware store material used to seal a bathtub to a cheap vinyl shower wall, and she failed to see that as dangerous? O_o  Is she even serious?!    That being said, people in general are hell bent on making themselves more attractive to the opposite sex.  We take supplements, herbs, minerals and formulas that promise rock hard abs, dramatic weight loss, bigger um...assets, whiter teeth and so on and so fourth. We undergo cosmetic surgeries, and inject botox to prevent aging, or to have fuller features. Why is this even okay? Has there ever been a time when it was okay to not enhance yourself by taking drastic measures?  Then again, what is considered drastic? Are there any people out there that may say getting braces to fix crooked teeth is drastic but wouldn't scoff at the idea of getting breast augmentation, or liposuction?  In all honesty, I feel that if a person has to poison themselves by injection via medical professional or otherwise strictly for vanity purposes, something is very wrong here.  Are we really that vain? Has there ever been a time where a person's personality mattered before anything else?

Before you start wondering. I am not a model by any means.  Never in my natural Black life have I been described as a 'dime'. Hell, I don't think anybody has described me as a dub when it comes to my appearance. Now that I look back I think the last time I was called cute was when I had all my baby teeth at age 5.  When I was a teenager, I had some serious self esteem issues to the point where I would sit in the bathroom mirror and imagine myself with smaller lips and a skinnier nose due to all the hate I received by my peers and  even adults.  When no one was looking, I even thought of killing myself.  But those days are long gone. I'm happy with my Black nose and my thick kissable lips. I don't wear makeup, and I took the time to learn to take care of my skin so I wouldn't have to. Unfortunately, nobody told me that when I hit the 30s, Puberty 2.0 was going to set in, and  I was going to get some crazy acne that doesn't take the same treatment that it did when I was a teenager, and that the blemishes left behind are going to be something awful, but anyway, this article is not about my ug'lass so I'll stop here.

Why are people constantly being bombarded with all of this stuff that will improve (insert whatever thing we should be worrying about here)? Why are people getting their butt holes bleached, I mean, I never see my butt hole, but shouldn't keeping it clean be enough? Then again, I don't think I want to know why somebody would want it bleached in the first place. That right there is a sign that vanity is king and it doesn't matter how ratchet a person is, as long as they look good while being ratchet, all is well. That being said << Get the Fuck Outta Here with that bullshit. How is a so called fine ass person going to get through life with an attitude like hot dookie juice? I suspect that eventually people would get tired of them and their shit, and not deal with them anymore. Do they think they are going to continue to look like that for the rest of their lives or something? Do they think the more surgery and stuff they get done, the better they will age? What kind of broke logic is that?  The same goes with naturally beautiful people with bad attitudes. Maybe people are afraid of getting old. Why is that? Maybe I'm okay with it because I'm already kinda funny looking, so getting old must not be so bad. I mean I've already accumulated years of not caring about what people think about my looks, so I must be a veteran to them. They must see me and be like, "Wow, is she serious?! How does she even live like that?" I don't know what they think, I only know my life experience. I guess I'm going to keep doing what I do. People always say that "beauty is only skin deep, but ugly is to the bone". Go ahead and keep saying that. But I don't think anybody is going to catch me looking like this, this, this or this at any stage in my life because I'm afraid to get old. I'm just saying,  I've seen really old wedding pictures of beautiful people when they were full of vitality and youth, but you'd never know it when looking at them at their current state.

Anyway, plastic surgery... bad. Loving the skin you're in...good.  RIP Michael Jackson.