The Kyle Jenner Challenge << My take on the matter.

So I saw this thing called the ‪#‎kylejennerchallenge‬. It's a method that allows a person to plump up their lips by sucking on a shot glass or something similarly shaped to the point of bruising themselves. I have to say something about this because I remember White people making fun of those with "big" or "thick" lips. In fact, they also made fun of women with big butts. The women they talked about were Black. And now, they're clamoring to get big butts and lips in order to achieve that look. In fact, when Angelina Jolie got popular, folks were saying how beautiful her lips were, but would twist their faces up in disgust whenever they saw those same lips or butts on Black people.
I just find it interesting how trends are mostly started BY Black influence, but the Blackness is never appreciated in its original form. That seems to go for ALL American art, fashion, etc that started through Black people.
I'd like to take the time to let people know (I'm sure quite a few of you already know this, so I'm probably preaching to the choir at this point. ) that Blackness is NOT a commodity

Bill Cosby- I'm Going In

Every so often, I come across this quote from Bill Cosby:

Timeline Photos

BILL HAS GONE AND DONE IT AGAIN... 

They're standing on the corner and they can't speak English. 

I can't even talk the way these people talk: 

Why you ain't, 

Where you is, 

What he drive, 

Where he stay, 

Where he work, 

Who you be... 

And I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk. 

And then I heard the father talk. 

Everybody knows it's important to speak English except these knuckleheads. You can't be a doctor with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth.

In fact you will never get any kind of job making a decent living. 

People marched and were hit in the face with rocks to get an Education, and now we've got these knuckleheads walking around. 

The lower economic people are not holding up their end in this deal. 

These people are not parenting. They are buying things for kids. 

$500 sneakers for what? 

And they won't spend $200 for Hooked on Phonics.

I am talking about these people who cry when their son is standing there in an orange suit. 

Where were you when he was 2?

Where were you when he was 12? 

Where were you when he was 18 and how come you didn't know that he had a pistol? 

And where is the father? Or who is his father? 

People putting their clothes on backward: 

Isn't that a sign of something gone wrong? 

People with their hats on backward, pants down around the crack, isn't that a sign of something? 

Isn't it a sign of something when she has her dress all the way up and got all type of needles [piercing] going through her body? 

What part of Africa did this come from?? 

We are not Africans. Those people are not Africans; they don't know a thing about Africa ..... 

I say this all of the time. It would be like white people saying they are European-American. That is totally stupid. 

I was born here, and so were my parents and grand parents and, very likely my great grandparents. I don't have any connection to Africa, no more than white Americans have to Germany , Scotland , England , Ireland , or the Netherlands . The same applies to 99 percent of all the black Americans as regards to Africa . So stop, already! ! ! 

With names like Shaniqua, Taliqua and Mohammed and all of that crap ......... And all of them are in jail. 

Brown or black versus the Board of Education is no longer the white person's problem. 

We have got to take the neighborhood back. 

People used to be ashamed. Today a woman has eight children with eight different 'husbands' -- or men or whatever you call them now. 

We have millionaire football players who cannot read. 

We have million-dollar basketball players who can't write two paragraphs. We, as black folks have to do a better job. 

Someone working at Wal-Mart with seven kids, you are hurting us. 

We have to start holding each other to a higher standard..

We cannot blame the white people any longer.' 

~Dr.. William Henry 'Bill' Cosby, Jr., Ed..D. 

WELL SAID, BILL

It's NOT about color...

It's about behavior!!!

By: Diznee

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Every time I see this, I ask myself, "What kind of person would send this? Why do they feel the need to post it?"  Well, instead of ignoring it, I decided I'd go in on the subject. I posted this article and followed up with the following: 

Bill Cosby is right to an extent. He comes from a different era. Sure, it's fine to speak slang, but there is a time and place for it. Surely, a person can not work for a Fortune 500 company and not know how to communicate in a professional manner. No matter how you slice it, no one, and I mean no one in America speaks "proper English", unless they are a tourist from overseas, lol. And as far as naming your child goes, there are some very strange names out there, and unfortunately one must take that into consideration when living in The States, especially if you are Black. A person's name has the potential to make or break them no matter how qualified they are. 

Regarding the comment about "all type of needles (piercing) going through her body, and "What part of Africa did this come from": There are many parts of Africa and various tribes in the world who have piercings and various adornments on their body. I feel some research is in order.

Millionaire football players who can't read: The United States of America has an education system that has been broken for a very looooong time. Couple that with the antiquated idea of the American Dream, which is the idea that anyone can 'make it big' in the country regardless of education, and the results are the highly paid (and often uneducated)athlete , movie star or musician. Never mind that the school athletic departments have been getting funded before anything else, and schools are lauded for their athletic department because it is one of the main money makers for the school. This is why the sport stars are glorified so much that they get paid like that while the person with the PhD can't make enough to feed themselves or their family. This is not a new concept. Like it or not, that IS American Culture in a nutshell. It is why rappers spend so much time writing about riches, sex and material posessions. It is also why people are willing to go into bankruptcy in order to look like they can afford big homes, several cars, boats, RVs, etc. It is the reason why people have six hundred dollar cell phones, and two hundred dollar cable bills, and they are up to their ears in credit card debt. Honestly, I feel that Bill Cosby fails to see the big picture. No one is blaming white people. The stuff he mentioned pertains to American culture. Recently,"reality" TV shows called the following: "16 and Pregnant", "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" have popped up. I watched previews and pieces of the episodes only to be appalled by them. America rewards stupidity. It always has been and always will be, and that goes back to when Bill Cosby was a kid. Shows like Amos 'n' Andy , and I Love Lucy were just a couple of shows that rewarded stupidity during his day.  Don't get me wrong, I was one of the people who watched The Cosby Show and A Different World religiously. I grew up watching Fat Albert, and I am grateful for his contribution but I'm afraid he has selective memory, and will not recognize ALL of America's shortcomings, how they got there, and how long they have been there. His generation and the ones before have FAILED to recognize what could happen, and now the chips have fallen where they lay. However, as time goes by, I think there are some of us who see the problem and are actively working to rectify the situation. But it's a long and lumpy road to hoe. Instead of complaining, one must be solution oriented.

 Regarding the piece written by QuestLove. He is an educated and highly paid musician, but he still can't escape the treatment he received in the article. Chris Rock is a highly paid comedian who has made it known that he only has a GED (it's the alternative to a high school diploma for those who have not completed high school) and NO one, I mean NO one who is white would want to trade places with him, and he's RICH! If I could speak to Bill Cosby, I'd point out both situations described in my post and I'd ask him, "So which one is it Bill"?  With all due respect sir, get the fuck outta here with that mess.