Let's Go Shopping! NOT

In the past week. we have had a bunch of incidents where Blacks have been denied the ability to purchase high end goods. The first incident was when a 19 year old Black engineering student who went to purchase a $350.00 belt at Barneys of New York. A second incident at the same store involved a 21 year old Black nursing student who wanted to purchase a $2500.00 purse at the same location. Then a third incident involving an actor who went to Macey's in order to purchase a $1350.00 watch for his mother. The first incident involved the 19 year old getting detained at the police station for 45 minutes and then he was released after the police were able to verify his ID. Later he ended up returning the belt and getting his money back. The second incident involving her making the transaction without incident, but she was later attacked and pinned up against the turnstile in the subway station three blocks away by four plain clothed cops. The third incident caused the actor to be automatically cuffed even after he told them to check his ID. He had several pieces of identification on him, but the officers insisted that his ID was fake. He was held for 45 minutes and then released without charges.

To shake things up, Jay Z happens to have a clothing line with Barneys.  In fact, he issued a statement regarding the incidents at the location.

I honestly don't know how to feel about Hova's statement.  On one hand, his clothing line helps Black kids get the chance to go to college. On the other hand, he's partners with a place that doesn't like 'his kind' shopping there. Again, I can't tell rich people how to spend their money, but why couldn't he house his clothing line in it's own building? Why doesn't he have his own storefront? Why did he partner with these guys?


On a separate note, over the years, I have switched to online shopping because of my own instances like these. One in particular stands out the most. It took place back in 2000 at a small Sam Goody location in the local mall. As soon as I came in, the clerk made sure to ask if she could help me. I knew exactly where I wanted to go, so I said no and proceeded to visit the section I wanted to browse. At the time, I was looking to purchase Common's "One Day It'll All Make Sense" album, as I had been looking EVERYWHERE for that album and I was hoping to scoop it up. As I was browsing, two little girls (one blonde, and one brunette) around the age of 8 and 9 came into the location. The blonde girl had a big black duffel bag. The attendant kept her eyes on me and it started to make me nervous, so I milled around in the other sections just to see what she was going to do.  In the process, I managed to see the two little girls attempt to steal a CD. The shelf they were hiding behind was kind of short, and thin, meaning they weren't really hiding all that well. On top of that I was able to get close enough to see them handling a Limp Bizkit CD. I could tell which album it was and everything. I kept trying to get closer in hopes the clerk could see them trying to steal it. She didn't say anything to the girls. I watched them make a clumsy attempt to take off the plastic security barrier off the album with little success.  I went to the desk and told the clerk about what I was seeing. Do you know this dumb bitch proceeded to question me about it?!  I told her that some little girls are in the store trying to steal a Limp Bizkit CD while she was watching me.  She had the nerve to ask me where they were. All I could think of was, "This store is small and her ignorant ass can't see where they were?! They were still making an attempt (a very poor one at that) to hide behind the shelf with a big ass duffel bag. I pointed at them, and said they were "right there".  I told her that instead of watching the Black person, she needs to be paying attention to ALL of her customers. I left the store empty handed while the girls were still in the store.

Now before you guys start judging me and calling me a snitch, I'm going to have to stop you right there and tell you to GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE WITH THAT BULLSHIT! Here's why:

I have told this story numerous times and I have said the following:

1. Why did I need to protect those girls? They don't give a damn about me, nor would they ever do so. Would you be willing to sacrifice yourself so some little girls could get away with stolen merchandise while unknowingly (or knowingly) using you as a decoy while there is no real gain for you?
2. What do I look like letting them take that CD and letting the clerk treat me any way she wants?   I could see it all unfold like this
   A. Lets say I stay in the store while the girls get away with the CD. They make their escape while I'm still in the store.  Chances are, they discard the plastic security thing around the CD they stole. The clerk confronts me about a missing CD, and produces the empty security mechanism. She calls her manager and the cops, and I try to tell them that I didn't steal the CD. They don't believe me, and I have to deal with getting searched, fingerprinted and booked for a damn CD that I didn't even steal.
  B. Lets say the kids get away with the CD, and I leave the store. The mall cops get called, and they follow me throughout the mall. More and more of them show up, and I get to enjoy being cornered by these guys plus a few actual cops and the clerk. EVERYBODY,their parents and babies get to see this mess unfold. Not only do I get embarrassed by everybody in the entire mall. The clerk gets to look all smug and righteous because "she caught one" and "knew it all along" as this ordeal unfolds.   She gets to crow about it, tell her friends, and maybe, just maybe get a promotion at the best case scenario. She gets to validate all of her racist bullshit that was probably passed down from several generations in her family, and stroke her ego, and everybody in the mall gets to do the same as well.  <<The fuck I look like!? Are they really serious!?

This kind of stuff has made me avoid stores all together for the most part. I have resorted to doing a lot of shopping online.  I don't even really like going to the grocery stores anymore in fear somebody will harass me. God forbid I actually want to purchase any food. I must not ever have any money because after all, all Blacks are lazy and don't have jobs. If I say I have a job, they have to ask where I work at and they expect me to tell them when I work, how much money I make and what's my job description, meanwhile they get offended if you ask them all of that information because according to 'them' if Blacks have money, they must be on welfare and are getting all kinds of benefits that Joe White Guy can't get because he was brave enough to work and pay taxes like a good American should.

I think it's long past the time for Blacks to stop patronizing these businesses that don't want us around. I think we should find all of the Black designers, and house any and all clothing brands started by Blacks and open up a bunch of Black owned locations. This way, if a Black person wants to buy a $350.00 belt or a $1300.00 watch or a $2500.00 purse, then it's Black money endorsing Black products and putting money in Black hands.

So far, I've found the following resources:

A Natural hair care product line for children with the option of setting up fundraisers
Facebook page with a lot of items of interest
Handmade hats for those with locs. They also have earrings
Lots of women's clothing. Some of the links are busted, but there are a lot of active ones to chose from.
Women's accessories

Halloween! Oh goodie! [/sarcasm]

Halloween is approaching and people are getting excited. Businesses have already set up their displays and people are purchasing decorations. So many people are discussing what they plan on wearing and what events they'll be attending. I've never really been a Halloween fanatic to be honest. I think the most I've done is dress up in some sort of half ass costume that revolves around my outfit somehow. I've handed out candy to kids, and one year, I even decorated my house, which was pushing it. As far as I was concerned, it was a day where a person could eat a bunch of candy, make pumpkin seeds,dress up and watch scary movies. Some people have gone pretty over the top with it and I still can't see what the big deal is. Is there something wrong with me? I don't know. But I will say this.

There is nothing wrong with dressing up for Halloween in general, but when I see stuff like this


 this,

this,

this,

or this,


then I have a problem. I have no idea why someone would think these are great ideas, take pictures of themselves dressed as such and or tell someone they dressed up like that. Some years ago, someone once felt compelled to tell me that they dressed up as a Klansman for Halloween. I asked him, Why would you dress up as something like that? Why did you feel the need to tell me you dressed up as that, Where did you even FIND the suit? Why would you even have something like that? Now granted, that costume has a scary reputation, but why would somebody want to be seen in it at all? I don't remember what he said in response to my barrage of questions, but when I asked him if anybody reacted to the costume, he said no one reacted over it. I remember saying that I really wanted to know where he got the costume from, and he mentioned a local costume store. I never went to the costume store to confirm, but I was too busy being upset about the whole thing. It reminds me of the instance of being the only Black person at a party. Of course some 'edgy' person is going to say or do something classless because they claim they were under the influence, but when you add Halloween in the mix, I've come to the conclusion that something will go down, be it somebody showing up as a Confederate Soldier, with a Southern Belle and a slave in tow,somebody showing up in Blackface (which is almost always at one of these parties), or somebody showing up as a 'type of person' and blatantly making fun of the culture associated with that. Those people made the conscious decision to do this before they ingested alcohol, so they can never say that they were just drunk. It's more like No, they're either ignorant and clueless, or they're just an asshole who uses holidays to show their true colors.

I'm not trying to put a damper on anybodies Halloween, but it takes time and effort to come up with an amazing costume. If they don't want to spoil it for others, they should check this out before they get all dressed up. I'll list a few more links just in case you guys decide to spread the word or have any questions:


Is My Costume Racist?


My Culture Isn't a Trend to Participate In


For those who wish to rock Women's Indian attire as a fashion statement

My Brief Take On The Government Shutdown << I Know, I'm Late

Originally, I wasn't going to write anything about the United States government shutdown because these days, I have no sympathy for the people running the country, nor do I have any for a lot of people in it. Then I realized that I was just being angry and selfish to an extent, so I decided I'd say a little something.

For starters, when I first heard about the shut down, all I could say is, " I bet they'll keep the departments responsible for policing us up and running smoothly. I can also guarantee that Congress, The House and Senate (basically all of those in the DC district deemed "important enough" will be getting paid as well, and if this does affect anybody, it'll be on the so called, 'lowest rungs' of the ladder.) I was correct there. However it is starting to affect anybody who needs to fill out a government application to get approved for, SSI, FHA Loans, Visa, Passports, Gun permits, etc, which was honestly something I expected. However, I didn't expect all of this to happen because Congress didn't like what Obamacare had to offer. At first I thought it was just old news and talk because they have been fighting the Affordable Healthcare Act since day one. But that's not all, they decided to throw a temper tantrum and rage quit their job. Now I don't know about you but I'd get fired if I walked out on my job. Why do they still get paid? But then again, why would I expect them to not get paid. They are not us, nor have they ever been. All in all, it looks just like some spoiled kid in the supermarket who got mad because they didn't get what they wanted. Obama negotiated and negotiated with them and they still wouldn't budge, much like the suburban mother does when pleading with her child to behave. Thanks to these guys, kids will be denied the chance to be a part of the Head Start Program, Mothers with children will not be receiving vouchers via the WIC program, all national parks and monuments will be closed to the public and those who worked at those establishments will be furloughed until further notice. Death and burial befits for the families of deceased veterans have been denied. I'm sure libraries will be affected by this as well, meaning, not only will libraries be closed, but those who manage the libraries will be out of the job. The real questions I want to ask are, why doesn't Obama stop babying these people, get hood on em and beat some ass so he could at least do his job? How long will this mess last? As far as I know, the longest government shutdown ran for 21 days during 1995. At the time, I was a jobless teenager, so I don't know if it affected anybody or not. This time will be different since I'm an adult. All I can say is we'll see what happens next. Hopefully, something could get done before too long, as long as the decision doesn't hurt the citizens too much.