The Napoleon Complex



               The musical genre of hip-hop is a unique animal. No other genre is as closely rooted to the spirit of its people of origin, in terms of the constantly evolving narratives, as is hip-hop.  Don’t get me wrong, many genres of music reflect the mind state of large sects of people through its lyrics and even feel.  But hip-hop is so much different. No other genre of music reflects people who created it more than hip-hop. Mos Def said on his Black On Both Sides album “People be asking all the time ‘Yo Mos, what’s getting’ ready to happen with hip-hop’ I tell em ‘You know what’s gonna happen with hip-hop?  Whatever’s happening with us. If we smoked out, hip-hop is gonna be smoked out. If we alright hip-hop is gonna be alright’…hip-hop is going where we going…” And there it is ladies and gentlemen. That is a very profound statement that somehow has held very true since 1999 when Mos Def recorded that album.  So it really shouldn’t come as a surprise that since that time not only have the hip-hop’s people had a tough go, so has the genre itself.  Hip-hop has not only suffered from declining record sales and profits, but now the business of the genre reflects the same glass half empty mentality.  The hip-hop that people who grew up in the 80’s and 90’s knew is long gone. Rappers don’t take risks any more…either that or the labels themselves are too scared to take risks, and as a result all listeners of hip-hop have collectively suffered.  Hip-hop listeners are given two options: Either A. listen to the music the manages to make it onto TV and radio that basically is only talking about the same predictable materialistic, misogynistic messages that while, granted, have always been a huge part of hip-hop, haven’t had THIS sort of monopoly on what the radio and TV outlets offer to the consumer. Or B. Listen to good music that is put out by artist whose labels give their albums no promotion or artists who release everything independently or via the internet and mixtape downloads. And while I honestly think that hip-hop has somewhat been devoid of any REALLY transcendent album from a major record label in the past few years that KanYe West isn’t heavily involved with (not complaining, I’m a fan of KanYe’s music), the year 2012 actually threw us a huge curve ball and gave us two: enter Nas’ Life Is Good and Kendrick Lamar’s Good Kid, m.A.A.d City.

http://youtu.be/8BEg38-bWY8

                I won’t waste your time by doing an “Album review” of either album because that’s been done time and time over throughout the past couple of weeks.  But the reviews from most of the hip-hop magazines and blogs have all been pretty consistent; both of these are absolute stellar rap albums (http://tinyurl.com/cfrs7lv).  What I find fascinating about these two albums is how they reveal that hip-hop has both grown and evolved, yet the things that made great hip-hop in the 80’s and 90’s are still very prevalent. You have two men here who represent very different sides of the game. Nas as the established veteran at 39 years of age (38 when he released the album) and one of the last remnants of New York’s dominate era in hip-hop. Kendrick Lamar, the young 25 year old making his first major label release, and probably the brightest star of the new West Coast hip-hop scene taking over the digital side of hip-hop.  Life is Good is a great album, however it’s a unique album which makes it an important work in hip-hop, especially for Nas himself.  Nas illustrates his own growth through his songs about his struggles as an aging rap star dealing with a teenage daughter, an ever changing socio-economic world, and a divorce from his ex-wife Kelis.  Nas is our reminder that while the things that helped create the empire of hip-hop are hermetically sealed in time through magazines, albums and nostalgic artwork, that the figures who actually created that whole culture are actually growing old before us.  Our hip-hop gods are actually in mid-life and going through mid-life stuff like generation gaps (with a younger generation), health issues, and tax problems.  It’s humbling and reminds us of our own mortality…but it’s still truthful.  And that is hip-hop.  It was Russell Simmons who said that “Hip-hop was one’s truth”.  Life Is Good is a transcendent album because Nas still does the things that made Nas great from his Illmatic days, but we see that this man has evolved throughout his career and still has something unique and introspective to show ALL fans of hip-hop.

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                Kendrick Lamar and his debut major label release Good Kid, m.A.A.D. City is truly a special moment in hip-hop. Not just in the recent history of hip-hop, but I will be bold enough to say in the overall scope of the genre, both Kendrick and this album will be transcendent.  I confess, I was one of the people who heard GKMC and within about 3-4 listens was coining it a “Classic Ablum”…and I absolutely refuse to take it back.  First off, Kendrick Lamar is truly a “Special” artist, quoting a tweet from Little Brother’s Big Pooh.  The brother is right though, Kendrick has a lyrical ability and versatility that is unreal.  I don’t know if there’s a cadence Kendrick can’t master.  The people who’ve known about Kendrick for the last few years already know this.  It’s in this fact that we see why GKMC is a special album.  In the past decade or so, we’ve seen a number of rappers emerge with varying levels of talent, lyrically. The sad reality, especially as of the last 4-5 years, is that the major label album releases of many of these rappers are a real disappointment when compared to their own independently released albums or mixtapes (Big K.R.I.T., J-Cole, etc.).  Which in all fairness to these artists is the fault of the record labels more than anything, but because they’re the artists they absorb ALL the criticism.  This is what makes Kendrick’s GKMC so unique: this is one of the first times in a long while, that an artist’s lyrical talent shines and can’t really be suppressed by the record label.  Kendrick overcame the record labels that have seemingly been trying to monopolize and pigeonhole hip-hop in this new generation.  This album, for what it’s worth, is the proverbial anomaly in the Matrix.  This album is Kendrick Lamar’s “truth”.  A young man in Compton California, dealing with the problems of wanting to fit in with his peers, but also that subconscious yearning to have a life that has a greater purpose.  Kendrick Lamar is a young brother that, like ALL of us, has many layers.  But unlike most of his contemporaries in hip-hop, has an ability to voice those thoughts in a way that requires the type of honesty of a person lying on a therapist’s couch.  And to really put the narrative of this album in perspective are the interludes with the voicemails of his parents fussing at him for not being back with the van…front for social media all you want, I know this struggle, I listen to Kenrick’s parents talking and think “Ive heard these words from my own parents”.  Good Kid, m.A.A.d City is not just an emotionally involved lyrical piece of work…the joint rocks, quite frankly.  Kendrick, and his camp, have a great ear for what makes a great hip-hop record.  Whether that record is going to make it on the commercially driven radio, or whether it’s too high-minded for people like Debra Lee to put on her network because of the fear it might soar over the heads of its less savvy listeners.  Kendrick Lamar flies in the face of people like Debra Lee who don’t think that her audience will embrace more introspective hip-hop.  A number of hip-hop legends made their mark on the game simply with a classic first album (Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt, Nas’ Illmatic, Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle, Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor), and this album by Mr. Kendrick Lamar is no different, and you will be hearing a lot from this young man for years to come, God willing. We are now in the era of Kendrick and this hip-hop fan couldn’t feel any better about.  Rumble young man rumble.

http://youtu.be/iMR45VOKj58

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                2012 is a special time in hip-hop.  Ironically, it was Nas who, in 2006, created an album saying “Hip-hop is Dead”.  It’s only be fitting that Mr. Nasir Jones be involved in “exhuming the body” in the words of OutKast’s Big Boi.  I really don’t care about labels like “Classic” because they’re mostly relative to how much you know about the whole of any musical genre.  But for what it’s worth, Nas’ Life Is Good and Kendrick Lamar’s Good Kid, m.A.A.d City are the two best hip-hop albums, not just in 2012, but probably for about the past 4-5 years.  The beauty of these two albums being released in the same year is the way in which it allows a bridge in what seems to be a growingly divergent generational gap in the actual fans of hip-hop music.  The older and the younger fans of hip-hop both have something to be proud of as well as, maybe, learning something from the other side.  To my younger hip-hop heads; I encourage you to take a moment to listen to Life Is Good. Depending on how long you’ve been a fan of hip-hop, I would imagine you all have varying degrees of reverence for Nas and his place in this hip-hop game.  Either way, take notice of this album young folks.  Nas has been one of the pillars of hip-hop since 1994 where Illmatic was one of the lone voices taking New York hip-hop to a higher place during an era where west coast music was firmly in control of the rap game.  Nas has always been willing to be a dissenting voice in the genre and, throughout his career, has challenged the people who dare to listen.  There’s a reason that he gets to be around doing albums and shows at 38-39 years of age.  Fine wine gets better with age, and Nasir Jones is the example of what we should DEMAND out of our current young rappers;  to challenge themselves and take risks.  The impact on this whole hip-hop world is so much bigger, in the long run when our artists aren’t afraid to voice their truth, even when they KNOW we may not relate to them.  Young folks, if nothing else, just have this album and maybe come back to it once you’ve graduated from college or have your first child.  You’ll see that even in this young man’s game, there’s a lot of room to grow and make the music bigger than just what you say.  To my hip-hop old heads: Trust me on this one, give Kendrick Lamar a chance.  I’m not gonna sit here and try to draw some parallel between GKMC and some classic joint that came out in ’93…because I don’t have to.  Greatness will stand on its own and Kendrick stands on his own.  Even his independent album Section.80 is worth a critical listen.  The young man has a very good grasp on what it means to be able to express his truth.  And for those of you doubting his ability to make a classic album because of his age or experience In the game, don’t forget, Nas’ classic Illmatic was released when Nas was 18.  Kendrick is 25 now, that’s a weak argument.  This hip-hop thing is isn’t dead, so don’t let your own sense of hip-hop elitism cause you to miss out on this truly remarkable young man and his remarkable story and talent.  We are the ones who remember when Compton dominated rap music.  Kendrick (with some help from the rest of his Black Hippy crew, Dom Kennedy, MURS, Fashawn, etc.)  is bringing the west coast all the way back with quality music.  Don’t get left behind because your nose was turned up too far to notice the massive new movement taking place right underneath you.



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                This is a compelling topic; this whole natural hair argument for black women, in my humble opinion.  Mostly because it doesn’t directly affect me since I’m not a black woman, and thus forces me to look at the conversation from a totally different perspective. According to this poem, I and those of my kind (black men) are the primary reason for this confusion amongst black women about their hair.  I understand what she’s trying to say, but I wouldn’t say that black men are any more to blame for what may be a result of their conditioning as much as black women may suffer from their own, so I wouldn’t go that far.  However I understand and empathize with her message, it’s difficult to be made to feel “not wanted” by those whom you want; especially when they look just like you.  Sometimes the “preferences” (or even perceived preferences) of black men seem to point to the direction that we definitely  have been programmed to like women with fewer or less pronounced African physical features.  Whether that be black women who wear their hair relaxed or with weave, or black women of a fairer complexion, or even when black men date non-black women all together, I understand that people like to attribute that to our having being programmed to covet “the white man’s wealth” or in this case that dating a women that’s further removed from your own ancestry in Africa, that somehow that’s a step up in status.  I’ve read the letters from Willie Lynch on “How To Make A Slave” and Eldridge Cleaver’s “Soul On Ice”. I understand the programming that black people as a whole have been subjected to, from several different places that were designed to manipulate our thinking for decades.  Although I know the world may not see things the way that I do, please do not take for granted that the culture power structure of America HAS in fact tried to assimilate black people into American culture by conditioning us to subconsciously reject our own blackness and our own heritage.  Spike Lee even tries to show us the futility in our self-divisiveness using an HBCU as his backdrop in “School Daze”.  Lee show’s us how the subconscious messages we send about what’s beautiful and what’s desired horribly and pointlessly fractures us and makes us unable to connect with our brothers and sisters.  The conflict between the “Jigaboos” and the “Wannabes” unfortunately is based in a deep rooted truth about us as black people. And even with my understanding of the deep implications of the conditioning of black Americans, I still feel a certain level of “live and let live” when it comes to our choices.

                The truth of the matter is that to say some type of “conditioning” has and continues to manipulate the decisions a person makes is a moot point…conditioning leads to EVERY decision you ever, have ever, and will ever make.  Look around you; all of the stimuli of the environment you come up in are a part of your conditioning.  Your parents provided the most conditioning for your thinking and behavior in the modern day.  They laid the groundwork; they hopefully instilled their values and even beliefs into you, so that you would have something to build upon in your life.  And although we don’t always follow in their footsteps with everything we do, we are constantly aware of the watchful eye of our parents that hopefully has guided us to a place where we at least have the health and freedom to make our own grown-up decisions.  The days will come when many of our decisions become divergent from our background or perceived “conditioning”, and we decide to become our own men and women.  We see it all the time: people decide to work and study in a field that is completely different to anyone in their family or community, people choose to get jobs and live and work in parts of the country that are completely new to their families, or they even date someone from a different cultural background than anyone around them has become involved with. Which brings me to my point: Even with all the various forms of conditioning that people are supposedly influenced by, the individual person still has the free will to make any choice they want, even when it contradicts their “conditioning”.  How do we know this is true?  Because black women are, in larger numbers, making the “decision” to wear their hair natural even though they have been conditioned to see long, straight, silky hair as being beautiful.  Black men, who have been “conditioned” to believe that they are only good for their bodies and brute, physical strength, are entering college to become scientists, engineers, lawyers, doctors, business owners, law-makers, and educators.  People who grew up in the ghetto around drugs, gun violence, domestic violence, gangs, etc., in larger numbers than ever, are making the decision to pursue lives that don’t involve any of these things.  Often times so that their children don’t have to grow up around those things the way they did.  I’m not saying all this to throw out the notion that black Americans are heavily guided in many of their choices by the programming and conditioning placed on our culture by the psychological weight of slavery and being assimilated into a Eurocentric society.  I very much still believe that; what I’m saying is that some people make choices that appear to fall in line with that conditioning, while others make choices that definitively go in contradiction of it. Even though black women wearing their hair naturally without chemicals or weave is seen as going against their programming and embracing their “African-ness” most of the black women I asked, who wore their hair “naturally”, did it more-so because they said it was healthier on their hair and scalp.  Perfectly reasonable and practical, however the choice that these women made was done so not because it was a strike against their conditioning, but because it was simply the better option.  It just so happens that in this case, the “healthier option” also is perceived as a middle-finger to the established order.   

                The choices that black Americans make are often perceived in this way; as being a lot bigger than just the choice.  Our choices are often viewed as an indictment on our “blackness”.  Black women wearing their hair “naturally” is healthier for many of the people I’ve asked.  I have no idea what the costs/benefits of dating black women vs. dating non-black women are.  However, I confess, in my pretty young life, I have actually NEVER been romantically involved with a non-black woman…ever…I’ve never dated outside of my race.  Is that fact about me a singular choice? Or is it a series/pattern of choices that I’ve made in my relationship life?  I tend to think the latter.  I, at no point in my life, made a choice that I would never date a white woman, or Asian woman, or Indian woman, or what have you.  It just so happens that my luck as a young man on the dating scene consistently lands me paired up with a sister.  Does this somehow make me some type of relationship racist? Am I the antithesis of John Mayer?  Or is it even that deep?  I’ll be the first to admit, I’m attracted to women of all ethnicities, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I’ve been surrounded by all types of people.  Hell, if I had the opportunity to date Mila Kuniz, I probably would’ve taken it. I haven’t dated every attractive young woman with a killer personality I would have wanted to either.  Hell, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ve been rejected a few times in my life.  The young ladies who I have been fortunate enough in my life to date were people I was both physically attracted to and shared a profound, intangible relationship with.  Does this make me more black than the next man who may have dated a non-black woman? Or a man who currently is dating or engaged to or married to a non-black woman?  I find that a troubling path to go down.  Does this mean I have to take issue with EVERY black man that dates women who wear relaxers? Or what about women who bleach their skin or alter their appearance using plastic surgery?  I’ve dated plenty of women with relaxed hair, hell I grew up in Greensboro North Carolina: the home of Dudley’s hair care products and one of the Mecca’s or “creamy crack”.  I didn’t even start meeting women with natural hair until I got a lot older.  And although I think that skin bleaching and plastic surgery are grotesque and life-destructive, that’s my preference.  I can’t legislate the next man’s preference. Not only because I believe in and will defend another man’s right to his choice or opinion, even if I totally disagree with it.  But also because I understand how THAT sort of thinking is what the slave-masters sought to instill in us.  Divide us, by any means necessary; create differences amongst black people that would cause them to go against each other.  Truthfully, I don’t care if the next black man dates and marries only blonde haired white women, it’s not really my place to come at him for his choice; even if deep down I believe that his pattern of choices IS dictated by a social conditioning to fit into white America.  But in Black America, the weight of our choices is heavy, and is a burden we find ourselves carrying to the point where it comes across in all of our forms of expression.  So the comments in the “Beautiful Disaster” poem neither surprised nor offended me.  I was nodding the entire time, but at the same time it revealed the tragic irony in being black: Even the differences between how we respond to our conditioning becomes one more method of dividing us. It’s a catch-22: Black Americans have the same freedom of choice as any other human being, but because of our positioning in this world as the burden bearers of the most powerful nation on Earth, every aspect of our lives is complicated.  We’re confounded by our choices because we understand that in one sense it’s irrational to embrace any aspect of the culture that has oppressed and tried to destroy us, while at the same time understanding that, to a certain degree, we’re beholden to it to survive.  The dual-consciousness of being Black-American: the cross on our backs that we’re born with.  And the 2 options seem to be either to accept it completely and live in a “Matrix” like mind-state, or walk around with a sense of resentment at the established order…because you’re awake.  I’m fully aware of the psychological weight of being black and having to decide whether or not you can live at peace with your choices.  I mean, at the end of the day, self-preservation is the thing that drives most of anyone’s decisions, regardless of who they are.  So who am I to judge them?  Everyone isn’t ready to see the light, all I can be is a torch in the darkness.

                Natural hair, straight and silky, or augmented length and thickness (I wanted a fancier way of saying “to wear weaves”).  Black women can be gorgeous however they decide to go, and regardless of what you may see or think, there are men who love everything I just named.  Even if, maybe those meant aren’t the ones that are desired.  And maybe that’s, to at least some degree, the crux of the problem as it relates to some people.  Because truthfully, most black women that get up in arms about black men who date non-black women, are usually only speaking about the black men that THEY want.  They could care less when the janitor finds love with a lovely, racially ambiguous young woman.  And let’s just be honest; when you do happen to see a black man with a woman of another race, it’s not like he honestly choose between that non-black woman and EVERY Black woman on the planet.   It’s not like he chose that non-black woman over Sanaa Lathan.  A person’s choices are also a product of their available options. Which brings us right back down to the core of the whole thing; the choices of other black people and how we’re programmed to make judgments about them. So yes, while I absolutely agree that we as black men could maybe do better a little better at celebrating all of the different flavors of black women we’re blessed with…I can’t legislate people’s preferences.  They are what they are. Now keeping that in mind, go out there and find somebody who loves what YOU have to offer. 

               The Florida A&M University Marching 100 Hazing Death of Robert Champion…just the headline of this story is un-nerving. Not just because we are speaking of death, but an incident where someone was killed during an apparent hazing ritual…and for an HBCU marching band no less. So that pretty much alienates the vast majority of the populous.  I marched for a high-step band in high school and I am a former member of the North Carolina A&T State University Blue & Gold Marching Machine.  I am all too familiar with the world of marching band and even the world of ingrained hazing culture that exists within the construct of HBCU marching bands.  I said all that to say this: what happened to Mr. Champion is, unfortunately, not all that shocking.  Don’t misunderstand me, the RESULT of what happened to Mr. Champion is shocking, but the way that it happened honestly wasn’t as shocking as maybe it should be.  Let’s recap: Mr. Robert Champion, a drum major for the Florida A&M University Marching 100, was undergoing a ritual called “Crossing Bus C”.  This ritual involves running from the front of the bus to the back of the chartered bus while other band members beat you in the process.  Sounds extremely brutal and dangerous…and sadly, at the same time, I’ve heard about stuff worse than this.  Mr. Champion, later felt weary, and eventually collapsed and passed away from the internal injuries he suffered from this ritual.  I’ve heard and read all types of reactions from this story, and yet…I still feel like there are a number of questions to be answered.  Why does Florida A&M have drum majors who are, at this point, undergoing ANY type of hazing ritual for the band? Why are so many members of the Marching 100 academically ineligible to be participating in anything? Why was Mr. Champion brutalized as harshly as he was while, at that point, being a leader in the band? (some speculate because of his involvement with the Red Dawg Order, but out of respect for Mr. Champion’s family, the Marching 100, and the facts that haven’t all come out, I won’t comment on that at this time).  The details of this story, however, are not the issue at hand for me at this time though.  People are desperately trying to make sense of the culture of hazing that exists within colleges, universities, the military, and even, in some cases high school organizations.   The universal truth that I SEEM to be getting from any and everyone who has the intestinal fortitude to comment on these events is that every responsible adult on the face of the Earth is absolutely, and without regret, anti-hazing…bullshit.  Many of the people saying this stuff have undergone hazing rituals, and have put others through certain things. You wear the letters proudly today, while disavowing any knowledge of anything you’ve ever been subjected to.  I must admit, at this time, it is EXTREMELY difficult for me to take such a position, especially in the light of a young, black man’s death.  But I firmly believe that I, nor are most people actually “anti-hazing”. I am anti-brutality, anti-hitting with foreign objects, anti-making a person go swimming in the ocean shackled to others, anti-contusions, anti-making someone binge drink, anti-beating a person until they die from internal injuries…but not anti-hazing necessarily.  So where does a person like me draw the line?  Hopefully, we can draw the line at having to tell another mother her son or daughter was killed by the very people they were looking to be accepted by.

                The act of hazing is defined as any act meant to harass or abuse by humiliating or excessive tactics.  One of the biggest problems with hazing is the subjectivity of what is actually considered hazing.  Besides the extreme physical acts that we hear about sending people to the emergency rooms, something as simple as yelling at someone is considered hazing too. Making someone run ‘excessive’ laps, even the simple act of lining people up by height are all considered hazing.  With this definition the line is very clear when it comes to the intake process of social or service organizations.  It isn’t hard to differentiate between what is a necessary step in bringing someone into the organization and when it becomes hazing.  However, with this same definition, comes the biggest problem with hazing is it relates to marching band.   The truth is that having someone yell at you or being forced to endure physically taxing exercises in the name of conditioning is a huge part of being a member of a high-step marching band.  Discipline is a main component of being able to create synergy and a sense of “oneness” amongst a group of 70-80 instrumentalists and auxiliary members…the Florida A&M “Marching 100” usually averages about 350-400 people.  The band I marched for was never that huge (around 160-180 usually), but as a person leading a section, I didn’t have the luxury of being a passive leader.  Every now and then you have to get in someone’s face or make someone run laps, or endure some type of physically taxing activity that would make them better trumpet players or bandsmen.  Punching someone doesn’t make them a better bandsmen, but making them do six inches absolutely does (helps you be able to play from your diaphragm with more power and a cleaner tone). But trust me, no matter how normal what a person has to go through to become a member of a marching band, there’s always going to be someone who’s too soft to even deal with that.  You will inevitably have people who sit on sidelines or sit out activities because they don’t have the heart to deal with the same hard work that everyone else deals with; it never fails.  Get in someone’s face or make them run laps because of their lack of effort, and they’ll cry that they were hazed.  It’s a no-win situation often times.  You don’t want to help add to a culture of senseless brutality and physical punishment that might send some young person to the hospital and land you in prison…but being perfectly honest…you don’t want the soft people in the band with you: truthfully speaking, you’d prefer if some people just quit.  No elite organization, band or otherwise, wants to make it easy for people to be a part of it.  Especially of there is a high standard of excellence that this organization is used to producing.  Buying into the program is part of the deal.  Physically beating on someone doesn’t have to be part of that process.  Until all organizations are willing to buy into this concept, what happened to Robert Champion is GOING to happen again, there’s no way around it.

                I think one of the most telling statements about Mr. Robert Champion was when his mother stated that Robert’s dedication and loyalty to the band was so pure, that HE would not have told anyone about what he was being forced to endure.  The above picture is actually the casket of Mr. Champion as he’s being taken to his funeral…the casket is being escorted by 2 of his fellow drum majors (who sadly are actually both being accused of being responsible for his injuries that lead to his death.) That’s a powerful piece of information; not just because it is a window into the heart of Mr. Champion…but because it’s a mentality that is all too familiar. Many of the people reading this right now, aren’t just familiar with the concept of hazing, but are first-hand witnesses not only to being on a line and getting hazed, but hazing some people that came behind you.  I’m not judging, because I am too, but let’s ask ourselves this question: At what point would YOU have told or dropped had it been you and your “process”?  See the answer for some of you is after it got a little crazy, some could tolerate more, some of you even more…then there are many of you who would answer this question simply “AT NO FUCKING POINT…” For many of you, the truth is at no point would you have told or dropped from your line, for whatever it was.  The answer is you would have toughed it out and got your letters…and as much as I respect that, that’s unfortunately the mentality that killed Mr. Champion.  Whatever level of respect he felt like he was going to receive for “Crossing Bus C”, he was up for it.  We don’t understand why, in his mind, the process was worth this brutality (or honestly if he even knew what he was in for) but he went through it.  And unfortunately, half the nature of why hazing takes place is because people want to prove themselves.  Prove that they can belong to whatever.  And listen, this isn’t the time to thumb your nose and take a pompous attitude about what YOU pledged and the letters YOU wear today as a result of your process. Make no mistake about it, the Florida A&M Marching 100 is honestly a bigger NATIONAL deal than any individual chapter of any Greek lettered organization that a person may endure hazing to be a part of, or anything else.  The fact of the matter is that hazing within the construct of HBCU marching band is shocking and seems weird to most people because MOST people didn’t attend an HBCU…nor one with an ELITE marching band program…nor did they participate in that marching band.  It gets deep; many of these programs have existed for decades as not only symbols of pride for the Universities they represent, but as a symbol of hope and a NEEDED distraction for young black kids in low income neighborhoods.  Is it still stupid to you? That instead of an AK-47, an adolescent black kid in a rough neighborhood picks up a trumpet, or a saxophone, or a mellowphone, or some sticks…which sounds more productive to you? It’s honestly an honor to take the field with the colors of an elite marching band on you while you perform for a crowd.  Florida A&M has performed for some of the hugest crowds in their history.  Super Bowls, presidential Inaugural parades, summer Olympics, the reality of the matter is that if you’ve had eyes and access to a television, YOU have seen The FAMU “Marching 100”.  This band is the equivalent of Alabama Crimson Tide football.  It’s an honor to take the field as a member of this group (it was an honor to compete against them), so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that there is a long history of hazing culture within the Marching 100.  To be perfectly honest and real…pretty much ANY elite HBCU marching band has some form of hazing, whether it’s in reference to a particular section or any organization within the construct of that band.  Trust me, you’re not just going to roll up in a high profile marching band and be respected simply on the strength of your playing ability.  Devin Miles (Nick Cannon) pretty much had a cakewalk getting into Atlanta A&T’s band in the movie “Drumline”.  It was a joke.  An HBO special just came on last year speaking about some of the horrible injuries people have suffered from coming into the Southern University “Human Jukebox”.  It was out of control.  But again, Southern University is one of the elite HBCU marching bands, so it’s a culture that’s ingrained in their history and contributes to their intensity. And this is why I feel that this type of brutal hazing is going to have to come to an end.  More people are telling, more people are sending complaints to school administrators now.  Hazing isn’t getting worse, it’s just reported more now.  You hear about it more now.  This is the information age, things just come to light significantly faster.

                It’s odd; years ago, when I was still a student at NC A&T SU, I used to talk about the “Drumline generation”.  I used to say that because of the nature of that movie and how it was somewhat of a Hollywood depiction of the marching band world, that it was actually going to adversely affect black college marching bands.  My theory was that it was going to cause many people to enter marching bands with a sense of naivety about the harshness of making it in this world.  I was right; the VERY next freshman class after the movie came out (fall 2003) showed exactly that at A&T and a number of other schools.  Young folks came in thinking the work wasn’t going to be as hard as it was, and it was a rude awakening for many.  And that was just practice and band camp…so God-forbid some of these folks were going to get put through a “process”.  To be perfectly candid, the main reason that people get so skittish when dealing with this subject of hazing is this new movement towards anti-bullying.  Hazing is a form of bullying in most people’s eyes…despite the fact that most hazing that takes place is mostly by choice.  Most organizations don’t force you to go through it, you choose to. The point is that times are changing: these new young people are not exactly ready to deal with same type of hazing that a number of our parents and even many of us endured, and truthfully, they shouldn’t have to.  The fact of the matter is that even though more young folks are telling authority figures about their particular hazing processes, this is not the time in history where we need to be beating and brutalizing young people who are in college to get an education.  The world is going to do plenty of that once they walk across the stage and receive their degree.  This isn’t just about HBCU marching bands…it’s about everything.  Every form of hazing has to get re-examined (Much to the chagrin of many of you).  It’s ALL tradition when you ask someone who’s involved in it.  You can’t have it both ways: you can’t be appalled by what happened to Robert Champion, but then turn around and rationalize what people go through in the name of a Greek lettered organization…that would make you hypocrite.  As I stated earlier, there is still A LOT more information that needs to come out about what happened, and my gut instinct tells me that there’s a lot more beneath the surface of what happened to Mr. Champion.  The most important thing, right now, is that the Champion family sees justice served for their son.  Nevertheless, I look forward to seeing the Florida A&M University Marching 100 return and be spectacular.  My prayers are with the entire Marching 100 family.

“The Powerful words of David Banner on Trayvon Martin”: http://youtu.be/H_jzYC2DQmY

“We have to get some type of legislation now, we have to do something that means something, because we march, we holler, we talk, but with no goals…”

                This statement is extremely true for a number of reasons.  Black America has not only had to sit back and watch these types of absurd injustices, but has also endured a blatant disrespect for our brothers and sisters in public, and to no avail.  Al Sharpton and Michael Eric Dyson go on national news programs to explain the outrage of black people, then it ultimately goes away in less than a week.  Michael Richards went on a comedy stage, got heckled, went on a racist rant, firing off the word “nigger” a few dozen times, only to end up going onto David Letterman to apologize.  Even with that, people were in the audience laughing.  Sadly, most Black Americans have become numb to the stone cold fact that in America, you can do black people wrong, and escape severe penalty.  Don Imus calls the Rutgers women’s basketball team a bunch of “Nappy Headed Hoes”, black people get upset, he goes on Al Sharpton’s radio show…all of a sudden it becomes a commentary about misogyny in hip-hop music and the NAACP decides to “bury” the “N-Word”. Sean Bell gets shot 50 times the night before his wedding by NYPD, black people get outraged, after a few weeks…it goes away.  Jena 6 arrests…black people all wear black across the nation, we march…and then it just goes away.  It’s a sad trend, but David Banner was absolutely correct; the outrage of black people and others who understand these types of injustices tends not to actually lead to a damn thing.  The Trayvon Martin incident HAS to be different.  Black injustices are seemingly the easiest for people to simply “get over and move past”.  When the LGBTQ community feels offended by something, someone usually loses their job (when was the last time you saw Isaiah Washington on ANYTHING?)  The truth of the matter is that what happened to Trayvon Martin is not just an indication of the danger of racist attitudes in people who hold positions of power (and in this case a loaded weapon), but also of the problems with the laws that allow people to get away with this type of crap.  

“If you don’t make me comfortable, nigger I’ll kill you”

                If you’re not comfortable dealing with issues of race, I would imagine this is the part of my post where you might either stop reading or tune me out altogether…I really don’t give a damn though.  The truth of the matter is that not only is this comment accurate and poignant, it represents the same attitude that has either outwardly or subconsciously existed about black folks since this country was “discovered” in the first place.  FEAR for black folks is one of the oldest elements to the human race and no one ever wants to just say it because they’re afraid of how they’ll be perceived.  White people don’t want to say it because they don’t want to be perceived as being racists.  Black people don’t want to make statements like this publicly because quite frankly, unless we have the level of celebrity of a David Banner, we know this can alienate us from the white people who we aspire to either work for or be given the breaks of this world from.  I know this seems like a troublesome mentality when I express it in these terms, but let’s be honest about something, success in America, as a black person, rarely comes from radical views about race and sharply worded rhetoric about race…it comes from the ability to be useful in a White Man’s World.  As black people, we find ourselves, CONSTANTLY trying to prove and reprove ourselves to the established order just so we can be accepted…we’re still finding ourselves having to “assimilate” into a culture that hates and fears us.  The idiotic excuses of many of the people who have defended George Zimmerman have basically told us that maybe if Trayvon Martin had been tap dancing to his dad’s girlfriend’s house, with a tuxedo, and had a copy of a I.D., immunization records, taped to his back, and had been doing jazz hands the minute Zimmerman started following him, then maybe he’d be alive today.  Maybe it’s just that difficult to get a man with a gun and an inflated sense of authority to feel “comfortable” when you’re black…

“They knew how they treated us, and now they scared because they feel like we should have done something back to them and we didn’t…”

                This statement probably strikes many people as being extremely radical; maybe even insightful, and one that most people don’t want to deal with…which is EXACTLY why I have to deal with it.  This is one of those statements that many of us, white and black and any other ethnicity (because God knows blacks in America aren’t the only minority that have been mistreated by the established order), think in the back of our minds and honestly NEVER verbalize.  Reverend Jeremiah Wright was made into a social pariah for a sermon implying that America had its comeuppance coming when 9/11 happened.  But let’s look at the reality of this great nation.  This nation was “discovered” with native people who were eventually slaughtered  and move further and further west until they were only granted small sections of lands we call reservations.  Then this country built its equity by going to Africa and robbing that land of entire generations of young, strong men and women to work in this country for free and become “civilized” by their new masters.  And to add to that, no one ever talks about the impact slavery actually had on Africa.  Look how American slavery robbed Africa of its young citizens.  How advanced would Africa be today if those people were never kidnapped and forced to work in this country.  They probably wouldn’t be fighting civil wars and killing their own people to accumulate the wealth of the west to this day…but I digress.  Even in recent history, look at how America treated Asian Americans after Pearl Harbor was bombed.  Asian Americans were put into camps and monitored, out of fear.  Observe how America treated and continues, to treat Muslim Americans because of the fear that came from the attacks on September 11, 2001.  America has continually used its sense of fear to impose itself on the rest of the world and on cultures that don’t slide into the good ole American melting pot.  America has done a fantastic job pacifying black America and the world’s people by selling American dreams that end up in a paper chase to nowhere.   But sometimes we wake up from our pacified state.  Incidents like the Trayvon Martin’s murder hit Black America right in the heart.  They speak to our conscious and reignite our desires to be truly free.   All of a sudden people are gathered in rallies and calling news and radio shows voicing their outrage. Years of frustration are brought to a head.  The fact of the matter is that most of the folks you see activated by the Sanford Florida incident have felt this way for some time, but this was the gust that blew us over the edge (yes, I said “us”).  I don’t advocate senseless violence against white Americans or lynch mobs going to people’s houses, however I don’t feel like George Zimmerman or the legal system that is keeping him home, chillin’ right now, need a moment of rest until we’re satisfied; and even then it still may not be enough, but it will be a start…

“…It’s way bigger than black and white… the real game is poor and rich…”

                David Banner nailed this.  He’s absolutely right; the thing we see as boiling down to another conflict between black and white is a lot bigger than black and white; it comes right back to the same class warfare that has been dividing our country for decades and is becoming more pronounced.  What happened to Trayvon Martin wasn’t just a teenage black kid dying as the result of a culture of fear against black men; it’s part of the American imperialistic attitude of “the others” and how “the others” don’t deserve a voice in this culture.  “The Other” is essentially anyone who isn’t a White, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant, Heterosexual.   So that means Blacks, Hispanics, Muslims, Homosexuals, etc. are all seen as these dangerous “others.”  Fueling the belief that these groups are, in fact, dangerous are laws which consistently find a way to keep our Hispanic and Black American brothers in prison.  It’s easy to paint these young men as being a physical danger in this country.  The bulk of the gang violence is perpetuated by black and Hispanic gang members (nevermind the fact that most of this violence is perpetuated against other blacks and Hispanics).  The American fear of fundamentalist Islamic terrorists has made it ok for Muslims to be mistreated.  The FEAR of homosexuals has created a culture that makes it ok to deprive American citizens of rights that others take for granted daily.  The common thread is that all these groups find themselves disenfranchised, not because they are under-represented, but because they don’t have the money to make sure they’re represented politically.  There’s a reason that funds from people like the Koch Brothers have gone to politicians who have supported resegregating schools in Wake County North Carolina: one of the nation’s highest excelling school districts.  There’s a reason why billionaires and corporate funds have gone towards changes in the voter registration laws that have effectively made it more difficult for students and disabled citizens to vote all across the US.   Money talks in this country, and unfortunately, if the people with money don’t have your best interests in mind, then you can expect harmful legislation that disproportionately effects those already being battered by the system.  Even recently in DC, where I reside, the gun ban was lifted.  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see who this affects most immediately.  The peope who are in charge of lifting the DC gun ban don’t take up residence in the District.  It affects the mostly brown and black residents who already deal with gun violence in the high schools and backyards.  It should come as no surprise that the same problematic and subjective “Stand Your Ground” law that allowing George Zimmerman to be a free man, is heavily backed by the National Rifle Association and The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).  I’m no expert on the law or anything, but being able to use deadly force on a person because you feel threatened by their presence in your neighborhood or space sounds oddly familiar to me…oh that’s right… I know of plenty of people who have been “Standing their ground” for decades now; We generally call them Bloods, Crips, Vice Lords, Gansta Disciples, Latin Kings, Maniac Latin Disciples, MS-13, etc.   Oddly, it never gets considered “Standing You Ground” with them…it’s just gang-banging.  But I guess when the NRA and conservative politicians sign off on it, it becomes a proper means of legal self-defense.  It seems like there is no shortage of ways to make it ok to kill those who don’t have the funds to have a voice.

“America only fears two things: Fear and finance…if we don’t affect their money, or we don’t, literally do something about this, it’ll never change..”

              As stated earlier, finance and the power of the purse are the biggest driving forces behind politics and social change in this country.  The reason the sit-in movement and the Montgomery bus boycotts effectively got the attention of the powers that be during the Civil Rights movement wasn’t just because they were inspiring demonstrations.  They were powerful because they directly affected the income of entities that needed black dollars no matter how unfairly black people were being treated.  One of the main reasons that complaint tweets don’t do anything to affect the type of music that gets on the radio and the stuff that’s shown on BET is simple…because people are still tuning in.  People simultaneously complain about the misogyny in the hip-hop that makes it onto the airwaves and are still clicking their radios to the stations that play the songs.  People sat around for months and bitched about how coonish BET made the show “The Game”…yet tuned in every week.  See unfortunately, a big part of why we don’t make social change in this country is because it actually takes effort on the part of EVERYONE.   I’ve observed, over the past couple of weeks, people be upset about what happened to Trayvon Martin, but then in their fatigue, simply stop trying to deal with it.  I’m fully aware that as citizens of this nation, we all have our individual issues, and many of us who would like to see this change in the world simply have too much invested in our system to become full time revolutionaries (myself included).  But the cynical “What’s wearing a hoodie and going to rallies gonna do?” attitude that I’ve watched many of you, black folks, take on in your exhaustion, damn sure ain’t doing a damn thing.  Trust me on this one, if you’re a young black person watching this bullshit play out the way I am, you probably do, at times, feel a sense of helplessness.  But that’s why we gotta try something.  The truth of the matter is that when the Jena 6 thing went down, the reason nothing happened after the marches and all is because we let America forget.  The reason Don Imus still has a job today, is because WE let America forget.  It’s difficult for me to sit here and suggest ways for us to affect the money of the power structure that’s keeping George Zimmerman free, but trust and believe, I’m not about to let this one die, and neither should you.  Many of you reading this right now are directly employed by the very power structure that we’re trying to fight, and let’s be honest; success in America, as a black person, rarely comes from radical views and sharply worded rhetoric about race. However, the truth of the matter is that this is the reason America doesn’t fear what Black people might do if another innocent black child is murdered.  They know the truth: Our generation isn’t about to do shit anyway, because if we do, there goes your American dream.  We’ll tweet about it for a little while, then we’ll be focused on some other trivial shit a week later.  They don’t have a reason to fear us.  We’ve all been taught to value this American Dream, but what good is it if we have to listen to the cries of a 17 year old young man plead for his life only to be silenced by the gunshot of a coward? I’m not trying to preach or tell you how to live your lives.  I just want you to understand that there are people out there right now who are defending George Zimmerman because they don’t understand why we’re outraged.  Two maniacs went on a shooting spree in Tulsa Oklahoma shooting 5 random black people and killing 3.  You can stand to the side if you want to but KNOW that this is a watermark moment for our generation.  The rapper Nasir Jones once said, “No revolutionary gets old, or so I’m told you get left full of bullet holes when you tell the people go free, oh…it’s just a matter of days before they come and take me…”  The world is still watching us…what’s OUR generation gonna do?

March 24, 2012

Well here it is.  After almost a month of this young man’s life was taken in an unimaginable tragedy on February 26, the nation seems to be stirred up. This is gonna be it right here, this is gonna be the moment when the shit really goes down, when we stand up and say enough…at least I hope so.  The sad thing is this isn’t the first time this has happened or something of the like.  This is just more of the same and I’m just gonna be honest man…I’m exhausted.  I don’t really feel like talking or writing about this whole mess anymore, but yet I feel compelled to push on. Why?  It’s not because I have another pompous, intellectual or even angry black man post right now.   I’m exhausted talking about it yet, I also am aware that I don’t have room to judge anyone for not “Doing enough” to prevent young black men from being gunned down for stupid reasons.  There’s plenty of blame to go around, and I’m 100% positive there is more that I can do (that’s right). I can do more…therefore I’m not here to judge anyone.  Now after the horrid comments made by Geraldo Rivera trying to make a comment about attire, I’m just exhausted. I don’t have any conclusions for you, because I don’t see this as the end of anything…it’s the beginning. I don’t know what this is the beginning of, but my gut instinct tells me this is the beginning of something. I won’t accept anything less from myself in terms of using this tragedy to “begin” something, so I’m gonna approach it like the journey that I know it is. In the meanwhile I pray for the family of young Trayvon Martin and I pray that justice is truly served.  That’s what I hope for at the moment.  But this is the beginning.  Growth starts when life springs forth.  I’m blessed to feel alive and I know we’ll do a better job growing, because I think that this death has caused many of YOU to feel alive in a grateful way…and I’m glad. Now let’s make “something” happen.

Yes, the image you see is an actual bumper sticker, on an actual car of an actual American citizen (I’m guessing). Nevertheless, this is clearly, at least in the eyes of reasonable people, unacceptable. Even for an opponent or someone who isn’t a supporter of Barack Obama-The President of the United States Of America.  The level of absurdity of THIS type of racism is almost 1980’s Spike Lee movie-ish…like it isn’t even fathomable.  Or at least it shouldn’t be fathomable, and unfortunately, in the past 4 years we’ve actually had to grown accustomed to this.  Nah, I’m not ok with that…

The idea that we’re living in a post-racial world, simply because as a country we elected a black president, is laughable. If anything the election of President Obama has shown that not only is this country NOT past the issue of race, but that we’re searching for a stronger deodorant to that as time progresses.  Instead of embracing a President who looks different than what the world is used to seeing in such a position of power in this country, we see a media try to paint him as a socialist and an extremist.  The fact that we’re seeing a statistic that says that 52% of people surveyed in the state of Mississippi believe that President Obama is a Muslim is absurd.  I mean, I’m well aware that America is a culture of anti-intellectual and image obsessed sentiment, largely, but that is just insane. How do that many people believe something that is couldn’t be further from the truth? Even  the Right-Wing rhetoric about First Lady Obama is offensive.  She focuses her time on programs to get our young kids healthier and more active, and for her trouble conservatives make comments about her large posterior. I’m sorry, excuse my language, but what the fuck man??!?  No one made comments about Laura Bush and how she looks like an Amityville child all grown-up(I kid I kid…), but it’s ok to attack the black first lady. And on a personal note, can I just say that anyway that’s speaking negatively about the First Lady and her Presidential lady humps is a hater.  I love the fact that not only is my first lady a lovely black woman, but a real black woman…table top booty and all.

  But in the bigger and more serious picture, this is all evidence of how this country isn’t over the issue of race. The country may be used to people of different ethnicities, but we a FAR from being able to celebrate and understand the different cultures when they are brought into the light of the mainstream world.  The incendiary comments of conservative outlets like Fox News are dangerous to say the least.  It’s completely irresponsible to use the fact that President Obama is different to incite resentment from people who may not have his level of education by implying he is an elitist.  Or to incite fear of a “Muslim takeover” always by constantly referring to his roots being exposed to different cultures early in life.

I am thoroughly and completely sick of Democrats. Democrats are pussies (as I stated in an earlier post), but this takes the cake to me. How is it that the first President of the United States of color can be referred to in such racist and degrading ways and these same fools pandering for our votes won’t even step up and defend him!?!?!? As a black man who votes Democratic (mostly because it’s the lesser of 2 evils) I’m incensed, not just by the racist and misguided venom that comes at President Obama from the Right, but from the fact that President Obama deals with all of this completely by hisself, with no support from his party. This is why I’ve been saying that black people have absolutely ZERO reason to be loyal to the Democratic Party.  Besides the fact that, historically, it was the democratic party that adamantly fought to preserve the right to continue holding onto their slaves in the 1860’s, the Democrats only seem to make the issues of helping out people of color in election years.  I don’t think that the Democrats are all bad, that’s not what I’m saying. What I’m saying is that President Obama has not had a strong team behind him when he has been fighting for things like healthcare reform which took embarrassingly long to pass even the simplest of measures that would benefit Americans in need of help…regardless of race. Instead Obama is like LeBron James in his days as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers; leading a hapless group of role players to victories, all on his shoulders. The truth of the matter is that this isn’t an issue of differences in political ideologies…it’s about the man. It’s not that they don’t want to stand in the corner of the democratic president…they just don’t want to stand in HIS corner. And it’s sickening.  People have too quickly forgotten about the racist venom that came from supporters of Hillary Clinton, when she was on the campaign trail against Obama for the Democratic nomination. But even George W. Bush, and his completely incompetent and often times completely unilateral and bull-headed methods of leading were STRONGLY supported by the Republicans.  Even when the Republicans knew he was ridiculous.  Colin Powell knew to distance himself from former President Bush, he’s conservative but he isn’t stupid.  Which leads one to wonder…what is REALLY to become of the democratic party, in terms of the presidency, when we can’t vote for President Obama any more?  Most progressives in America, regardless of race have serious issues trying to reconcile the logic of the Republicans sometimes (especially domestically).  But when we look at the Democratic party, I mean my God, what do we really have to look forward to?  Liberals are literally looking for the next Cam Newton of politics to come along and be a Democrat who wants to actually be president…yeah, that whole 3rd part thing is seeming less and less crazy by the year.

It’s crazy, that before maybe 2007, I didn’t think America could handle a black president.  It’s 2012 now, and I have no doubt in my mind…America REALLY CAN NOT handle having a black man as president. Despite all the built up frustration though, I know that many Americans, and even citizens of the world have grown in their world view. Not just because a black man is President of the United States…but because America has a dynamic human being and example of a REAL MAN as our president…and he just so happens to be a brotha. SO GET OVER IT!!!! And get ready for 4 more years…

“Should NCAA athletes be paid?” This is the question that manages to come up every year whenever some major NCAA Division I athletic program gets slammed with sanctions from the NCAA for some recruiting violating or an athlete receiving some type of improper benefit from someone loosely affiliated with the institution. It never fails, and just like clock-work, the masses react in the moment and always say the same thing: “It’s about time we start paying these guys!!!!!”  Slow down barking seals, nothing is ever that easy. I personally have a somewhat different position on this than you may would assume: I don’t think NCAA athletes should be paid at all, they’re compensated enough.  For the record, I’m fully aware of the hypocrisy of the NCAA as well as that of the institutions they are affiliated with.  I’m well aware that schools like UNC Chapel Hill and Auburn University sell the jerseys of athletes while not allowing the actual students to take home any of that profit.  I’ll be the first to admit that there’s absolutely no justification for this level of hypocrisy, but one must also examine this situation closely.

First off, let’s get one thing perfectly clear: NCAA athletes are compensated very well.  A full ride to attend a really good and sometimes even academically elite university that many of these guys wouldn’t have been able to attend on their own academic merit is probably the biggest.  Not only is that huge because of the cost of attending some of these institutions, but then these athletes aren’t even having to deal with Sallie Mae in their late 20’s…than in itself is a MAJOR benefit of playing a sport in college even if you don’t go to the pros.  Spare me all the “Yeah but they don’t have time to study! They’re always in practice!” Miss me with that; Vince Carter left Carolina early to go to the NBA and FINISHED his degree while the Raptors were in the playoffs that year.  Not every athlete who attends a major division I school has trouble in the classroom; in fact, statistics have shown that college athletes, percentage wise, have a lower dropout rate than students who don’t play a sport.  People have got to stop acting like these young men and women don’t have control over their own destiny. Several of these athletes are excelling in the classroom and on the field, so what’s the excuse for the rest of them? Remember Myron Rolle? He was an All-ACC defensive back…AND A RHODE SCHOLAR!!! Miss me with the notion that these guys don’t have the ability to be serious students and have academic interests outside of football. College is a place of opportunity whether or not you’re apart of a sport or activity, at the end of the day, you have to get yours. On top of that, these institutions spend a great deal of money and resources on these athletes (scholarships, housing, meal plans, facilities, etc.) and truthfully MOST of these athletes don’t end up making a career out of sports. And to compound that, many of these young guys actually end up bringing embarrassment to the institutions they attend. Remember the Jeremiah Masoli mess up at the University of Oregon? (Reminder——> http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4990555 ) I totally get that these are college kids and quite frankly, I’d prefer not to have many of my indiscretions from when I was 18-21 brought to light either.  But it’s different when you’re a member of a nationally recognized athletic program, and your “boys will be boys” moment is the subject of a Sportscenter segment. 

                  A number of different reasons are given for why NCAA athletes should receive monetary compensation.  The main being that the time and work these guys put in facilitates the need for them to have access to deposable income since they can’t have jobs or do work study like traditional students.  Not to mention that the universities and the athletic departments make gobs of revenue through the games, merchandise and concessions.  There’s a great deal of money that gets generated…well kinda. See that’s one of the first places the argument to pay NCAA athletes becomes problematic. All NCAA sports don’t generate revenue.  In fact outside of football and college basketball at SOME schools (some men’s programs, significantly fewer women’s programs.), most college sports actually lose revenue.  But at the end of the day the guy on the bowling team and the young lady on the women’s lacrosse team are absolutely NCAA athletes as the starting point guard for the Final Four basketball team and star free safety of the winners of last year’s Cotton Bowl. Here’s the problem: Under Title IX, if any part of the institution receives federal funding, then the institution is required to evaluate all aspects of their institution to make sure that men and women receive equal opportunities and benefits through the athletic department: everything from housing and financial aid, to allowances and access to facilities.

So what does this all mean? How does a provision that allows for equality across the sexes present a problem for the idea of paying NCAA athletes? Well it presents a couple of very difficult questions; the first of which being “Who gets paid?”  Every sports analyst and fan who gets upset about the NCAA coming down hard on institutions and athletes who have been involved in giving/receiving illegal benefits always say “These guys should be paid anyway!!!” without ever addressing the point of WHO are you actually gonna pay as an athletic department. Are you only gonna pay stay players? Only the Cam Newton’s and Carmelo Anthony’s of a college program get compensated?  Well obviously that’s problematic, because you’d be creating a system of unbalanced benefits for different players, even though they may be of different value.  A university athletic department is not a corporation; therefore they aren’t allowed to give different “compensation” to different players (that are also students), it would have to be equal for every member of the football or the basketball team.  But then, here again, remember that whole Title IX thing I spoke about earlier? Well if you’re compensating your revenue generating sports athletes, you would have to also pay money (still the same amount of money) to your non-revenue generating athletes and all of your women athletes(golf, lacrosse, cheerleading, tennis, bowling…sports that typically lose the institution money already).  See the slippery slope this whole thing begins to take?

 Now consider this: Would different NCAA institutions be allowed to pay players different rates? There isn’t an easy answer to that either.  It should be obvious that University of Texas football generates a hell of a lot more revenue than Texas Christian University, or University of Kansas basketball generates a lot more revenue than Jackson State University basketball.  But at the end of the day would they be allowed to pay athletes different rates? If all NCAA recognized schools were required to pay their athletes the exact same rate across the board, it would have different implications on the financial impact it had on each school all together. Florida A&M University doesn’t have the ability to absorb the same type of financial hit as Florida State University that would inevitably be brought upon by the prospect of paying every NCAA recognized athlete on their campus the exact same thing. And I guarantee, Florida A&M doesn’t offer as many sports as Florida State, so there’s clearly a huge separation right there. That discrepancy has the ability to kill off the athletic departments at some smaller schools while allowing the bigger and more popular or prestigious programs to flourish…so how’s that fair?  That’s equivalent to a recent college graduate and a 20 year CEO of a Fortune 500 company both being required to pay the exact same tax rate.  But then let’s consider the opposite alternative to that; what if they are allowed to pay different rates at different schools?  Well, at face value the first thing that sticks out like a sore thumb is that would then represent a MASSIVE advantage (and in most cases disadvantage) in terms of recruiting players into your program. The MAIN reason the NCAA comes down so hard over the issue of improper benefits is because of how it shifts the balance of recruiting. Don’t be blind people, wake up and smell the coffee; there’s a reason why the University of Alabama  has won two National Championships in the last three years AND has also had to vacate 3 seasons worth of wins this past decade for players receiving free textbooks (2005-07)(Which, by the way, was Alabama’s third time receiving probation from the NCAA within the decade).  There’s a reason USC dominated college football for the first half of the last decade AND is just now coming off a 2 year bowl suspension this upcoming season for illegal benefits received by Reggie Bush (who helped them win the National Championship). There’s a reason John Calipari keeps putting teams in the Final four and players in the NBA AND has had to vacate a couple of seasons for NCAA eligibility violations (including the Final Four run with Memphis lead by Derrick Rose who was later found to be ineligible).  The fact that Auburn won the National Championship on the shoulders of Cam Newton, who was caught up in a major NCAA investigation involving his father and a “pay to play” situation that may have pushed him to go to Auburn in the first place, is absolutely not a coincidence.  Athletes being promised under-the-table compensation, from individuals and boosters closely tied to the university athletic departments, is an unfair recruiting method that pretty much guarantees that some of these guys will choose one institution over another.  Or if athletes are given these “improper benefits” once they are already on campus, it usually guarantees that the athlete in question won’t think about transferring, and possibly that other kids from where he/she is from will know that playing for that school will be a big step in them being “taken care of” when they are choosing schools.  As much as the NCAA and the schools themselves(*rolls eyes*) put an emphasis in eliminating these boosters and these people from giving the young athletes these improper benefits, allowing universities to pay their players differing amounts based on the particular institution would only further the gap in recruiting between the big athletic departments and the smaller or up and coming ones.  I don’t know how much money any professed sports expert or analyst is saying these kids should be compensated from the university, but what makes them or anyone think that it’ll be enough to STOP the allocation of improper benefits cold in its tracks?  I mean we’ve heard of athletes receiving as much as $20,000 to $50,000 to cars to even houses for members of these athletes’ families. How is ANY university supposed to come up with a pay rate that’s going to make a kid NOT also take an under the table amount of money too? This is why paying college athletes may seem like the right thing to do, but if schools actually did it, not only would it NOT stop the allocation of improper benefits, but it would probably make it worse. If you’re creating a climate where your university athletic department is handing out thousands of dollars to college students, you think that’s gonna lead to less irresponsible behavior?  Why not just pass out loaded hand guns to a kindergarten class?

 Parochial fans only see the money generated by the institution and assume that when an athlete does receive improper benefits, it’s just a matter of getting what they deserved anyway.  Honestly, I don’t disagree with that sentiment at all. I DO feel like there’s a significant level of corruption that takes place both the NCAA and the individual schools involved.  Ohio State can sell players’  jerseys like hot cakes but when Terrelle Pryor sells his jersey, it’s an NCAA violation. Listen, the NCAA is absolutely full of hypocrisy, and this is no different.  The NCAA and the schools are able to take advantage of almost limitless amounts of advertising revenue; from the pointless and ridiculous amount of corporate sponsored bowl games at the end of a college football season(and the ads) to the fact the the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is now broadcast on about half a dozen or so channels now.  College sports is a cash cow in itself, but it was never designed to be. College sports has always, more or less been designed to be nothing more than a showcase of amateur sports for young people who are students at these particular institutions. There-in lies the problem: while the athletes are indeed students, many of them are at the school for the SOLE purpose of becoming professional athletes, and have no interest in the academic offerings of that particular institution. This is what causes situations like what happened with Derrick Rose: another person allegedly took his SAT for him. This helped him be granted access into the University of Memphis, where he played for one season, made it to the Final Four, and is now in the NBA doing his thing. I honestly do not think it is or should be the business of the NBA or any other professional sports league to protect the NCAA. The NCAA has shown that is unable to police some of its own regulations and that universities themselves show a massive lack of institutional control in policing their athletic departments.  The answer to controlling crystal meth, isn’t to just “allow” people to manufacture and sell crystal meth.

When I examine everything around this argument, one point does remain the constant: the main reason corruption exists in college sports is simply because of its fantastic ability to generate money. Any time millions of dollars become involved with something, everyone begins trying to figure out how they’re gonna get their piece of the pie.  I honestly do not blame NCAA athletes for wanting to be compensated. Even when you listen to the compelling story of the Fab Five up at Michigan in the early 90’s, the underlying message is that feeling that they felt like they deserved more. And who can honestly blame them? Look what they did, not just for Michigan, but for college basketball as a whole. To be honest, I think that there should be some type of provision to allow athletes to be able to get a percentage of merchandise sold that involves their likeness or number. So I guess I don’t TOTALLY think athlete shouldn’t receive some compensate, but I still don’t think you can pay them a salaried amount, I don’t think that’s the answer.  What people don’t understand is that the source of the problems with the NCAA are rooted in us, the fans. The people who watch college sports are the ones who contribute to the ratings, thus creating the gateway for the advertising revenue. The only way to end the corruption in college sports would be stop watching them altogether…thus cutting off the ad revenue. And quite frankly, neither myself nor most of you is willing to do that.  So it’ll continue to be a never ending argument. Oh well, happy March Madness people…now get those brackets filled out…

            One of my favorite genres of movies to actually go to the theatre and view is, without hesitation, horror movies!!! Nothing is better than going to see a good (or often horrible and cheesy) scary movie with a young lady. I mean either way you win as a guy accompanied by a lady. She’s either the type of lady like me who laughs at scary movies, and we’ll have a great time together, or she’ll be scared, covering her eyes close to your shoulder…still winning.  One thing about scary movies that does tend to add to the fun of critiquing them is the stupidity of the situations themselves.  The fact that most scary movies have plots and stories about white people not only doesn’t surprise nor offend me, it usually creates one of two questions in the mind of cautious young black man like myself: Why don’t white people ever leave the house?? & White people: Why the hell is yall’s asses even out there??? I’ve determined that most scary movies starring white folks tend to fall in one of these 2 categories, so let’s examine shall we? Oh, and lemme just go head and tell you, this post is filled with spoilers if you haven’t seen some of these movies so…yeah, read it anyway.

Poltergeist: Classic movie, one of my favorites. So this white family moves into this really nice house for a great price. It starts off with the little girl having an imaginary friend. Eventually these people have chairs moving and stacking themselves, hallucinations, trees trying to grab the boy, then the baby girl is up here talking to static on the TV before eventually getting sucked in. They even told the dad the house was on an ancient Indian burial ground; why isn’t that enough to just leave right then??? Black people are baffled already. So then once the momma goes into the portal to get the child and they both come out covered in demon placenta, THEY SLEEP THERE THE NEXT DAY!! What did y’all think was gonna happen!?! I mean, I’m pretty sure grandma wouldn’t mind you settling in for a few days so you could at least talk to your Realtor. WHITE PEOPLE…WHY DON’T Y’ALL EVER JUST LEAVE THE HOUSE!?!?! 

The Blair Witch Project: Ok lemme get this straight, these 3 white kids are gonna go out into the woods and look for this witch which was rumored to kill children? Now hypothetically, if they find the witch, they’re gonna do what, sit her down and have a Katy Couric interview? I mean seriously, how was this experiment supposed to work out? They finding little witch symbols strung up around there camp area. They hearing stuff outside the tents. The Bama done threw the map away, one of them goes missing and they can hear him screaming in the distance. You wake up in the morning and find some of his skin and teeth. Then she loses the other one, she gets scared and has snot hanging out her nose crying. She goes to a house only to find her friend facing a wall while she gets her head split wide open. SMH WHITE PEOPLE…WHY ARE Y’ALL EVEN OUT THERE!?!? 

The Paranormal Activity Series: This series of movies obviously had a white cast, because there’s clearly no way you could’ve had three of these damn movies with black people. This grainy, and shaky handheld camera movie was hug, and to this day, most black people are baffled as to why. First of all, I don’t give a damn how long we had been in that damn relationship, if I was Nima the second I find out my girlfriend is being haunted by demon, we don’t go together no damn more. Ta hell wit that, I feel like that’s a deal-breaker, especially if both of our names are on the lease or mortgage. Most black guys I know only need to see the girl get drug down the hall one time before they’re out, and we damn sure ain’t bout to bring a damn ouiji board!! Hell why do y’all think there were no priests “available” to talk to them? Watch the reaction of the priest they called in the first movie when he steps into the house in the first movie, he knew what was up. And that poor little Hispanic cleaning lady in the second movie was the only one who seemed to have ANY damn sense. I saw all three of these movies, I still have yet to understand why anyone is dating the women of this family.

The Nightmare on Elm Street series: You got kids all up and down the neighborhood showing up at school talking about the same person in their dreams, coming to school with blade scratches and traumatized from seeing the same crispity-crunchety man in a sweater in a nightmare. People mysteriously dying all around the neighborhood, yet somehow still, ain’t nobody went to church, ain’t no priests blessing the street, ain’t nobody sprankled no holy water nothing, but y’all still stay. How did this franchise end up with this many movies??? Black people would’ve been left that neighborhood after the whole murder of the child molesting janitor.  To this day I still don’t understand why nobody ever went on trial for that whole thing. WHITE PEOPLE…WHY DON’T Y’ALL EVER JUST LEAVE THE HOUSE!?!? OR THE NEIGHBORHOOD?!?!?!

The Grudge: So this white family bought this nice little Japanese house in Tokyo. But then stuff keeps happening to them. You got people killing themselves, you feeling hands on you while you’re in the shower, you see little mysterious gray Asian children crawling down the steps at night. What more do you need to have happen!?! This little Japanese girl clearly doesn’t want y’all there. Then in the Grudge 2, these little high school girls, gonna go in the house in the same closet. Now everybody gotta get killed, cause y’all stupid!?! A black family clearly would’ve only had to see the little Asain child “meow” at them one time before they call the real estate agent. WHITE PEOPLE…WHY DON’T Y’ALL EVER JUST LEAVE THE HOUSE!?!? 

The Hills Have Eyes: So this white family goes out on vacation with their trailer, the wheels on the car get damage(shocker), and they have to set up in the middle of nowhere in the mountains. For what!?! You don’t need to go to the beach or whatever that badly. They start hearin’ stuff at night, stuff gets stolen. Crazy psycho mutants are roaming around in the mountains. They kill the family dog, because that what weird hillbilly mutants do. Then what happens? People start getting stabbed and impaled, the daddy gets crucified and burned alive. One of the girls gets raped and shot, the baby gets stolen by crazy hillbillies. What did y’all really think was gonna happen out there?! WHITE PEOPLE…WHY ARE Y’ALL EVEN OUT THERE!?!? 

Texas Chainsaw Massacre: This group of white kids driving through rural Texas pick up some desheveled lookin girl off the road. See, right there, that ain’t got nothing to do with you, you need to keep on driving. Now the girl done got in the back seat and blew her head off in the car, messing up all your uphostery. You get pulled over by some redneck sheriff(surprise), and now you gotta go to some plantation looking house. Next thing you know, the whole family is crazy they drugging people, friends getting chopped and chainsawed up. Dude with the leatherface is puttin your friends on meat hooks and got them hanging up in a a freezer like a deli.  Listen, spoiler alert, but “Wrong Turn” is basically the same movie set in West Virginia. Does anything good ever come from going to rural Texas? Isn’t that where Dick Cheney shot that guy in the face? Who goes to Mexico by driving through there? Nothing good is gonna happen driving through rural Texas…it never does. I mean seriously has ANYTHING positive for black people ever come out of rural Texas????? 

…I rest my case…moving along though

The Friday The 13th Series: Why do y’all keep going to Camp Crystal Lake!?!? Who keeps sending out pamplets from there!?! Why are there so many of these movies!?! Do they grow weed out there or something? I mean seriously, who is doing the advertising for this camp? Do y’all not know what’s going on? Don’t nobody ever return from camp there, yet y’all keep going out there! And then y’all clearly hear the “ch-ch-ch-ch ka-ka-ka-ka”, and y’all ain’t left yet!?! To this day, you can’t get a black kid born in the 80’s or 90’s to go to camp unless it’s for basketball. WHITE PEOPLE…WHY ARE Y’ALL EVEN OUT THERE!?!?! 

The Descent: So these four white women decide to go spelunking (Which is deep cavern exploration cause I know black people have no idea what that is because we don’t do it). And one of them decides that she gonna take them to this uncharted cavern. They get down there, they’re crawling through all this little borrows and craneys. Next thing u know their getting attacked and killed by these little demonic creatures that live down there(surprise). One of them breaks their leg and they can’t figure out how to get out. I mean seriously, why do white people go on vacations in places like this? See this is why u never see black people in movies like this, because it’s hard to shoot a horror movie in Myrtle Beach, Vegas, or Miami. WHITE PEOPLE…WHY ARE Y’ALL EVEN OUT THERE!?!? 

The Ruins: So this group white kids is on vacation or something out in the jungles of South America, and as they’re driving they come up on this Mayan temple looking pyramid structure (see, right there). They decide to go climb up the structure, one of their people falls into a cavern. He sees some leaves that are apparently humming, then touches one. By the time he climbs up he has plants growing out of his veins. They try to go back down, and they get surrounded by natives who shoot one of the guys in the heart and force them to go back up there with the killer leaves. Then they end up having to cut roots out of one of the girls’ skin and she goes insane. I mean serously, how do you not see this happening? Why are u even in an area like this without a tour guide? Snoop goes to South America with Pharrell and they end up partying with a bunch of Brazilian dime pieces, white kids go to SouthAmerica, and they end up getting killed by humming plants. Anybody notice a pattern here? WHITE PEOPLE…WHY ARE Y’ALL EVEN OUT THERE!?!?

So in conclusion, I still don’t understand how Hollywood keeps managing to make these movies with these ridiculous ass plots…but quite frankly I’m entertained, so keep in going…

                I’m probably not the best person to blog about political issues because quite frankly I hate politics. The last time I remember honestly being really into politics was in 2007-2008 when now President Obama was the unlikely Democrat having to deal with Hillary Clinton and the old guard of the Black American community (Remember the Andrew Young comment? And the bullshit Jesse Jackson got caught saying on Bill O’Reilly?). But honestly ever since President Obama has been in office, I’ve steadily grown to loathe American politics. When people ask me today, I profess that I mostly vote Democrat because I agree with most of their ideologies.  But even with that, the Democrats do an excellent job in pissing me off. When did being a Democrat come with being a passive aggressive pussy that’s scared to push your political agenda? All politicians play politics and say things they may not be able to accomplish or mean. But at least the conservatives in this country stay on message and actually make head-way with their politics. Democrats take forever to galvanize and push legislation through, because they’re too scared to lose the NEXT election.   

                This isn’t a political rant though, I’ll save that for another post…or not, I don’t know. Political ideology is fascinating to me, but the actual political process in America finds a way to marginalize many important issues, and it’s nauseating.  Every time I even get the urge to sit and watch MSNBC, CNN, or even *gasp* Fox News, I can only take it for about 4 minutes before I’m ready to turn to a rerun of “30 Rock” or “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia”. Recently we have seen something far more detrimental (in my humble opinion) that is stopping the progress in this country cold in its tracks: Fundamental Christian Conservatism, and the use of faith and Bible texts (specifically by Christians) to inform and guide a person’s political views and even actions.  Now, this is obviously by no means a new phenomenon, it’s one of the oldest systems of oppression in this country (People used Bible text to legitimize and defend keeping slaves).  However the issues that have absolutely gotten my attention are the efforts to block same-sex marriage on the state level and even a Constitutional Amendment that may make it legal nationally, and the most recent and shocking; the legislating of women’s contraception and birth control in relation to President Obama’s Universal Healthcare Plan.  As a person who admittedly hates the current political climate, these two issues take the cake for me right now. I feel like both of these issues are no-brainers and the debate is about as silly as the points used to defend the conservative positions for both.

                First off, full disclosure: I’m neither a homosexual nor a woman. The reason I say this is because I’ve come to see that as a young, college educated black male in his 20’s who professes to being a Christian, no one expects me to have a strong opinion about either of these issues. I guess because people don’t see how either of them affect me directly…which neither really does. However as a Christian I have to admit, that the debates about these things almost makes me ashamed to say that I worship the same Lord and savior as the idiots fighting these two issues.  It brings to light the disturbing realization that a great deal of people who espouse to a faith, spend the better part of their lives rationalizing it to fit the lifestyle they want to guiltlessly be able to live.  It’s almost like people treat having a faith like ordering a sandwich at Subway: “Yeah I’ll take some of that, some of that, leave that off, none of that, OOoo and lemme get a whole lot of that…” It isn’t difficult to see why some people don’t take religion or faith seriously.   I’m going to be frank; I’ve been getting myself caught up in these debates since college and have had to come to my own understanding about how I feel.  Just like mankind, I don’t feel like my beliefs have always been perfect, but life and experience have shown me the way.  However as a young black man and Christian, I’m also fully aware of the culture of homophobia that exists amongst people of my ilk. Making it all that more important that people like me step up and speak out against what I see as wrong. I’m not saying I’m more informed on these issues than the next blog you might read, I’m saying that as someone who is familiar with being a misunderstood group (college educated black male, HBCU graduate, working class, etc.) my voice in this matter is that of someone who has nothing to gain but to see this country began to match up with the ideals that we are so good at selling everyone else: justice and equality.

                I support a constitutional amendment to allow same-sex marriage. As a younger man, I was somewhat vexed by this issue, mainly because I’d get caught up on one main point: Is homosexuality a choice? Even though my bible does describe homosexual behavior as an “abomination” unless you’re going to argue that being gay is definitively a choice, it’s problematic to really justify calling it a “sin”. A sin is a choice of action that is definitively against God’s will. But if a person’s sexual orientation isn’t a choice, wouldn’t that make God unjust in judging those people? I ask myself these types of questions daily, but it’s apparent from the rhetoric of many Christians that they flat out never ask themselves these questions. The main reason for this encouraged and acceptable ignorance, has been rooted in the fear of questioning God or God’s wisdom. Really? That’s weird, because I COMPLETELY disagree.  God didn’t physically write the Bible, man did. And the Bible reflects the wisdom of men who existed in the Bronze Age. The people who wrote the Bible didn’t have an understanding of evolution, hence the reason we have a creation story that tells of human beings that were molded from clay (and a rib) as opposed to the evolution of man from primordial hominids and apes.  They also didn’t have an understanding that homosexual behavior actually exists in nature. Researcher Bruce Bagemihi observed some type of homosexual behavior in over 1,500 species in nature. Even in the Old Testament where God deemed pork as cursed (Later blessed in the New Testament, amen), it was probably because those people didn’t understand the disease that can come from meat that isn’t cooked well, the leaching of animal waste in the meat that was consumed, or even the longer term health implications that still exist from eating pork and red meat.  My point is this; the people who wrote the Bible had an understanding of the world and science that was significantly more primitive than what we have today, so it’s pointless to use a book that was written in that time period to inform one’s belief about science today. Hence the reason that people who espouse Creationism look silly in today’s culture.  If you truly believe in God, then you would understand that God gave man the ability to evolve not just physically and physiologically, but intellectually as well. God gave us the ability to observe and experiment in order for us to come into a greater understanding of physical existence. If your argument against same-sex marriage is that the “definition” is between a man and a woman and the Constitution would have to change that, you’re still only half correct. Actually the original definition of marriage in America was between a man and a woman “of like Christian faith”: meaning the Constitution did allow for a change in the definition of marriage…between people who aren’t even necessarily of the same faith.  Nevertheless, no matter how you personally may view homosexuality, at the end of the day, one thing is not debatable: a person’s sexual orientation is still a hell of a lot less of a choice than the religion they choose to practice.  I never made a conscious choice to be heterosexual, that’s what I’ve been for as long as I remember. However I, daily, make the choice of whether or not to walk the path God says I should walk and be the man God said that I am to be. Being a Christian means accepting that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior; a choice.  But at the end of the day the government and the Constitution are set up to protect my right to practice my Christianity without fear of being harmed or denied basic human rights. However homosexuals can’t even receive life insurance benefits, custody of a child, and or hospital visitation rights. No part of that sounds like the love that I ‘believe’ God has for me…so why should I believe that it’s in God’s plan to deny those people, even if I’m not like them?

                Recently, Congress has been locked in a heated debate about President Obama requiring free insurance coverage to also cover women’s contraception. Now, this debate really highlights why, as a country, we have ABSOLUTELY got to stop using religion as a means of informing and dictating our policies.  I mean these debates are insane, and to make it 1000 times worse, Congress had a panel on this issue…and the only two women to speak on the issue both opposed the President. Meaning, no women who have a reasonable perspective on why the President’s plan is beneficial were even allowed to be heard. Truthfully, it makes my head hurt to consider that one of the primary arguments conservatives used last Thursday in the hearing was that President Obama’s plan would require religious organizations and universities to still provide contraceptive coverage for women, even though the President’s office has reaffirmed that in actuality his proposal provides a small exclusion for employers affiliated with religious institutions that oppose contraception for one year while the details are worked out.  The irony of this is here again, we have religious leaders in America playing the victim, talking about how religion is under attack from the government, and who continue to use the 1^st Amendment to say that the government is attacking their religious practices and beliefs.  When in reality, women don’t just use birth control as a means of contraception, but also to address certain health concerns. This is a women’s health issue (that women have seemingly been boxed out of participating in) and it’s being made into a debate about the separation between church and state.  We have unfortunately grown accustomed to conservatives using their ill-informed beliefs to create policy, but now we failing to use common sense to make policies that will help our citizens.  The irony of religious leaders crying about the government attacking religion, when these are the same people who are granted tax exempt status allowing them to bring in millions of dollars every year, could probably be cut with a knife and spread on a bagel (see what I did there?)  Faith is supposed to be a conduit for people to get guidance and uplift, not a place where women can continue to be objectified and have their own choices objectified for political reasons.  And those who don’t see this as a sexist issue, also probably aren’t aware that the President’s free healthcare would cover drugs such as Viagra and Cialis. So for those keeping score; women’s contraception covered under free healthcare=an attack on religious freedom. Men’s erectile dysfunction pills covered under free healthcare=Ehhhhhhhhhhhh, that’s not a big deal.

                Even as I’m sitting here writing this, I just saw a report saying that the Senate just advanced a bill allowing same sex marriage in the state of Maryland that will be voted on by the entire state senate sometime this week.  Progress and evolution are like trees; no matter how much opposition you might think stands in its way, it will bust through and flourish because, above all, it’s rooted in something solid.  In this instance, the social progress of our country is rooted in the folks who are able to see past the archaic standards of those who are maybe only a generation or two ahead of us.  As a young black man, people probably look for me to have opinions about some things while tacitly accepting the injustices of those who aren’t like me. Surprise! I’m not alone in my thinking that as a citizen of the world, inequality in any form is something that strikes a chord with me, especially when people use the faith that I believe in to hold down people who have a different lifestyle than my own. It really is unfortunate that with that great amount of progress women have made in this country, that a debate about something that’s almost exclusively an issue of women (and no one else really) is being legislated by men who care more about their own agendas than actually helping people…which sadly, in the bigger picture, is one of the biggest flaw of the church today (that’s a post for another day…or later today).  To sit back and be silent about the hypocrisy of the US democracy isn’t any different than believing in and voting for the ignorance as well. If you take nothing else from me, just remember; no progress can be made without discourse…speak up and have something to say.

Clarity

Clarity is light replacing the light bulb in a junky room…

You may not like what is illuminated, but you can’t do anything but thank God for your ability to see it now.

       Listen folks, I’m not a sports writer, nor a professed sports blogger. I’m just a regular guy with eyeballs and opinions. I love sports and, full-disclosure, my first love in sports is absolutely basketball. I grew up in North Carolina, so I’ve been surrounded by college and even pro-basketball culture for as long as I can remember.  Recently, the basketball Gods have shined upon all of us NBA fans and given us the 6’3” Asian American point guard from Harvard who had been cut from the Houston Rockets and was given his first start with the New York Knicks a little over a week ago, where he has absolutely torched.  If you’ve been in a coma this entire time, you’re just waking up, first let me thank you for choosing my blog as your recovery, secondly here you go http://www.nba.com/playerfile/jeremy_lin/. Lin has started 9 games in which the Knicks have won 8 and has been the leading scorer for most of this run (although at the time Carmelo Anthony has been injured. Tonight marks his return so we’ll see how that goes).

                Now besides the somewhat obvious underdog story of Lin’s rise to the opportunity is the thing that ESPN analysts and writers salivate over, not to mention that Lin basically has saved the Knicks’ season this year (so far). But then those who “get” sports media also understand how this is the perfect storm for the NBA and all NBA devoted news people and bloggers: Underdog story, unlikely new NBA hero (Asian American point-guard), probably the biggest sports market in the world coming off of another unlikely Super Bowl win, now this (New York, New York!!!).  Trust me on this one, David Stern giggles every time he sees this young guy make a defending PG look silly or when he knocks down one of those clutch three-pointers.  The whole ending to this lock-out could not have worked more in his favor . Say what you will about the NBA, but if you’re paying attention, one thing cannot be disputed right now…the NBA is back and better than ever baby.

As great as all of this sounds, there’s always 2 sides to a coin and this situation is no different.  Instead of talking about how Jeremy Lin is averaging around 6-7 turnovers a game or how he’s a scoring point-guard on a team with Carmelo Anthony I won’t be the stick in the mud. I’ll let what happens on the court be what it is. No, there are much bigger elements we have to keep ourselves cautioned from; mainly the hype around Lin. Unfortunately all the things that make this story so compelling are actually a double-edged sword that could have very detrimental results.  Throughout Mr. Lin’s success we can’t lose sight of the fan-base whose hopes are on his shoulders right now…New York. As wonderful as New York is when you win, it’s one of the absolute worst and most critical when you don’t, ask Eli Manning and Mark Sanchez. Honestly just watching Lin’s game, I really do think he’s going to be a good PG. He fits perfectly into Mike D’Antoni’s system although his scoring numbers are a bit of an anomaly and I really don’t see him putting up a 20 ppg average for too much longer. Besides, he a point-guard on the same team as Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony; you really don’t want him taking that many shots anyway. Even with that, he’s only 9 starts in with the Knicks, and has already created not just a national hype, but significantly higher expectations.  And though his rise has been fast and intense, everything that we would expect from spontaneous notoriety is beginning to occur already: Kim Kardashian is checking for him (He says she’s not his type…good kid) and I even heard him today pleading with members of the media to NOT bother is family over in Taiwan. It’s a whirlwind for Jeremy Lin already, and he isn’t even past the month of February yet.  That’s a great deal of pressure on a young guard. Most 1^st year starters don’t have to deal with this level of expectation…then again most young guards don’t have record scoring numbers in their first 5 starts either.

Looking at the big picture though, many of these things about Jeremy Lin don’t at all surprise me.  It didn’t surprise me that after Lin’s first 3-4 performances as a starter, people on Twitter immediately started throwing out the Tim Tebow comparisons.   As if we hadn’t talked enough about Tim Tebow up to this point, but I remain completely opposed to this comparison; Tim Tebow was a 2 time National Champion who won the Heisman trophy as a Junior and was taken as a first round pick. People connected to NBA basketball didn’t see Jeremy Lin coming, all of us with a TV that got ESPN saw Tim Tebow coming. Tim Tebow is a horrible pass-thrower who manages games and makes a few big plays to put the Broncos in position to win. Jeremy Lin is on the court with no gimmicks, just straight-up outplaying other guards. Tim Tebow was a manufactured underdog story, Jeremy Lin is a legitimate obscurity to fame sports story.  The Tim Tebow comparison to Jeremy Lin only serves to point out my biggest takeaway from all this “Linsanity”: the age of information and technology has created a world of people who are absolute victims of the moment.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to be a stick-in-the-mud, but not everyone is having a reasonable reaction to this Jeremy Lin thing.  To say that the New York Knicks are a team with new potential going into the postseason is an appropriate reaction. If you’re saying that Jeremy Lin needs to be in the MVP conversation, you’re an insane person.   Remember Derek Anderson? How bout Peyton Hillis?  You remember them, but you remember them for the ONE season each of them had where they put up Pro-Bowl level numbers and for a second fooled all of us.  I’m not saying Lin will be that, all I am saying is in the greater scheme of things coaches and players study film, they figure guys out. Lin has to be able to have success in not just more games, but in more meaningful games as well. My point is this: sports media isn’t stupid, they know how to emotionally pimp you…and they’re doing an excellent job on this shoulders of Jeremy Lin.

                At the end of the day, I really do think Jeremy Lin will be a solid point guard, but in the big picture we still seem to be victims of the moment, especially when it comes to sports. I’m not telling you not to be excited about what happens, but be able to step back and have a reasonable judgment about things before you allow the media to bait you into these insane reactions. That’s the hustle baby, they have papers to sell, tv ratings to grab, and advertisers whose money they need. The media is always gonna throw the bait, it’s up to you to have perspective. But with that, be able to see the real substance of these types of triumphs, and know when there’s real potential to inspire people. A double-edged sword, but that’s power of the information and technology age.  Everything comes at you faster, more intensely, with bigger reactions, all in real time.  Just remember: Proximity and time away from any situation will usually increase your level of judgment about it.