Black is Black

According to Webster’s dictionary a few of the definitions of Black are (1) often capitalized: of or relating to any of various population groups having dark pigmentation of the skin (2): of or relating to the African-American people or their culture (3): typical or representative of the most readily perceived characteristics of black culture. The second and third definitions are the ones I want to address today. A couple of months ago former NBA player and current ESPN analyst Jalen Rose, in his documentary " The Fab Five" , talked about black Duke players being Uncle Toms etc. The program supposedly did not recruit inner city players like Rose. He was speaking from the perspective of a 17 year old kid. He has since reiterated, that he does not feel that way now.He respects the Duke players and organization as a whole. There was a big brouhaha, even a rebuttal in the NY times from Grant Hill, the most disrespected of the Duke Players.

Fast forward two weeks ago, boxer Blowhard, oops I mean Bernard Hopkins, a Philadelphia native and Eagles fan, promoting his title fight with Jean Pascal, slammed former Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb . Hopkins described McNabb as not black enough. “Forget this,” Hopkins said, pointing to his skin. “He’s got a suntan. That’s all.” He also made a slavery analogy in discussing McNabb’s relationship with the Eagles. “Why do you think McNabb felt he was betrayed? Because McNabb is the guy in the house, while everybody else is on the field. He’s the one who got the extra coat. The extra servings. ‘You’re our boy,’ ” Hopkins said. “He thought he was one of them.” I wasn't even going to talk about this issue at all, since there is no consensus "black experience". Jalen's teenage perspective is understandable, Hopkins middle aged one is not. When I was a teenager, I felt the same way that Jalen felt. There were people I knew, that had two parents at home, lived in a nice house, did well in school and spoke proper English. In my adolescent mind, they were not black enough or were sell outs. Of course as you get older, mature and learn about life, you know that these are just falsehoods. Bernard knows better, his rant was more about his personal dislike for Donovan, than any perceived blackness issue, he just made it racial.

We have people in our communities, even family members, who feel the same way Bernard "supposedly" does. They feel if you have lived a middle class or privileged upbringing, that makes you less black than those that had too struggle. My question is why? Why do we always have to have a designation on what blackness is or what it's supposed to be? What is a sell out? Am I a sell out because I don't want my kids to live in the hood, or because when I am having a business meeting I don't speak Ebonics? What the hell is Ebonics anyway? Trying to legitimize slang as a real language, for people who are too lazy to learn proper English, is like starting a professional basketball league for white guys, where dunking is outlawed. Sorry to get off subject, that's another blog for another day. The point I am trying to make is there is no one black experience. We are the only people who do this. We have to put everyone in a box; if you don't fit in the box then you are a sellout ,Uncle Tom or disgrace to the race. Every Asian man is not a math genius nor does every Asian woman "wanna love me long time". Every white woman doesn't have a flat ass, nor does every white man walk like he has a stick up his. Those ethnicity's never have this type of discussion .Well the white power contingent does, but you get the point. Nothing is black and white when talking about cultural characteristics ,sometimes Black is just Black.

Blast from the Past!!

Today I am re doing a blog I did two years ago, it was titled "Things done changed". It was about Derrion Albert a 16 year old Chicago honors student, who was brutally beaten and killed for being in the wrong place at the wrong time . The wrong place was the street was during a gang fight. The wrong time was after school. The only reason I wanted to re do this blog, is because of the senseless violence in my original hometown of Norwalk CT . Charlotte is where I am trying to put down roots, but Norwalk is the foundation.We would fought amongst each other all the time, but the next week it was all good .Over the years Norwalk has lost so many kids, that if I listed all of them this would be an obituary and not a blog . The point I wanted to make in this blast from the past is that we are all responsible for what goes on in our neighborhood.What are you going to do to make a difference. Remember each one teach one!!

You know today I had a blog all ready to talk about Derrion Albert. The 16 year old honor student, who was brutally beaten last week and died from his injuries, I was ready to talk about the stupidity and lack of guidance in the lives of the young “men” that attacked and killed him. I was going to discuss the cause and affect of this type of ghetto mentality. I was all set to place the blame on everything from BET to Hip Hop music for their portrayal of black men in society. I had to take a long look in the mirror and place the blame where it belongs, squarely on our shoulders. Yes we are to blame for these incidents. As much as I want to disagree with Bill Cosby's comments on the black community, Dr Huxatble is on point.

Had this incident been racial, The NAACP, Al Sharpton and a host of others would be up in arms. Right now everyone is talking about it and saying what a tragedy it is. The problem is, it happens all the time. Nationally, homicide is the leading cause of death for black young men ages 10-24, and the second leading cause of death for black women ages 15-24. While African Americans comprise 13.5% of the U.S. Population, 43% of all murder victims in 2007 were African American. We are killing ourselves; we need to take responsibility for our actions. I want to see all the black organizations and so called black leaders take a stand against that. Right now we are our own worst enemies. When does it stop, when do we begin to take back our neighborhoods? We are going to mourn this young man as we should. What about all the others that have been lost to senseless violence.

The blame should be placed with us; the problem is what we do to correct the situation? I remember when I was young our neighbors could chastise us even spank us if we did wrong. Nowadays you will end up getting into an altercation with someone for trying to correct their child. In the words of The Notorious B.I.G “Things done changed”. I’m not going to blame it only on single parent households, the lack of black role models, Reaganomics or any of the other myriad of excuses we want to use. The problem is us and until we change us and our attitudes as a people, there will always be another Derrion Albert. I do send my condolences to the Albert family and all families that have lost a child to violence, as no parent should have to bury their child. We have to wake up and do something about the destruction of our people, and our communities. No jokes today, peace and love people.

Ring the Alarm!!

Obama killed Osama Bin Laden and he crushed Donald Trump. The President decimated Donald Trump so bad, that he went from first place in GOP opinion polls for the Presidency in 2012, to last place in the span of a week. President Obama's approval rating has hit its highest point in two years, 60 per cent. More than half of Americans now say he deserves to be re-elected, according to an Associated Press poll just taken. Since the President is riding high right now, it would not be normal politics if everything ran smoothly. The Republicans are now trying to say that George W Bush should get the credit for the Osama kill. They state it was "enhanced interrogation techniques’( torture) during the Bush administration that led to the Intel. The old crew was out in full force last week, Cheney, Rice, Rove and Rumsfeld claiming credit for Bush. Saying that George W should be credited along with the President, is like saying Shaq should be credited with helping Kobe win the championship last year.

I told you two weeks ago, politicians will try and use wedge issues to avoid real issues. Since the tactic of trying to diminish the President's accomplishment for killing Osama is not working, they are now trying to make a non issue into an issue. Sarah "I can see Russia from my porch" Palin and Faux News are trying to say that Common is a 'vile' rapper due to "controversial lyrics" from a poem he did. Common was invited to a White House Poetry event by the first lady. What makes this funny, well not even funny but sad, is last year, Fox News had a different take on Common. In an October 2010 report for FoxNews.com, reporter Jason Robinson interviewed Common and told him, "Your music is very positive. And you're known as the conscious rapper. How important is that to you, and how important do you think that is to our kids?" Now how did he go from being a conscious rapper to "vile"? I'll tell you how, the Right has been on a bit of a losing streak lately, from the failed attempt to cut Medicare to Obama's triumphs, They could not find a wedge issue so they created one .What better issue than using a black man who used the word gun in a poem.

Early one mornin' while makin' the rounds, I took a shot of cocaine and I shot my woman down
I went right home and I went to bed I stuck that lovin' 44 beneath my head.

Johnny Cash "Cocaine Blues" Honored at the White House in 2002 by George W Bush.

I am not saying anything against Johnny Cash, but there wasn't a peep about lyrical content by anyone, on The Right or Left. You have to understand what is going on right now, this isn't even about Common or lyrics. Obama is winning right now. The more energy we expend talking about this non controversy, the more time we waste not talking about pertinent issues. The Right doesn't have any new ideas, solutions or clues on what the hell they are going to do in 2012. This is the new talking point, rather the old talking point with a new face on it. Common is now supposed to be Bill Ayers and Rev Wright 2.0. They are using the rallying cry from 2008, "Who does Obama pal around with?" to “Misogynistic rapper Obama pals around with”. It didn't work then, and it shouldn't work now. We can't fall for the Okie doke. Start asking them what their plans are for the economy, the price of gas and unemployment. Instead of focusing on Common, they need to focus on a common solution to fix these problems. In 2012 when you go to vote make sure you know the person's position , their platform and you agree with it. Remember each one teach one

Welcome to the Terrordome !!!

The President had a phenomenal weekend. Saturday at the White House correspondence dinner, the President was in the same room as Donald Trump for the first time since the birther issue.Obama came out slinging one liners like he was Chris Rock.He proceeded to tell The Donald “Now that his birth was no longer an issue, Trump can now move on to more pressing matters like 'Did we fake the moon landing, what happened at Roswell and where are Biggie and Tupac "? The room erupted in laughter, and so did I. After Obama finished skewering Sir Combover, Seth Meyers of SNL took the podium and also poked fun at Trump, MSNBC and the President himself. One telling moment was when Meyers was poking fun at C-Span's viewership or lack thereof and said "Osama Bin Laden hosts a daytime show on the network". Pretty funny stuff to be sure, but unbeknownst to anyone outside the Presidents inner circle, the day before the dinner, President Obama gave the order to Seal Team 6 to capture or kill Osama Bin Laden; Code name Geronimo. Bin Laden had apparently been living in Pakistan for the past 6 years... Yes Pakistan, one of our "allies" in the War on Terror, whom we give billions in aid every year. They have been adamant in recent years that Bin Laden was not hiding out there. They were correct, he was not hiding at all, he was in plain sight, in a million dollar compound. His house was 8 times larger than any other house in the neighborhood, of retired Pakistani military officials. CIA Chief Leon Panetta was quoted saying " either they knew he was there, or they are inept, neither of which is a good place to be"

Sunday night the President announced that Osama Bin Laden was dead. He had been killed in a firefight, in Abbottabad Pakistan . The catalyst for 9/11 was finally dead. I always thought of Bin Laden as the Boogeyman. I remember as a child I was scared of the darkness under my bed. I would turn off my bedroom light ,run and jump in the bed before whatever was under there could grab my leg and pull me under. I got older and realized there was no Boogeyman under the bed; there were far worse Boogeymen in the world. The irrational fear receded in my mind,as I became preoccupied with puberty and girls . Bin Laden was the same, the elusive Boogeyman under all of our beds, who receded from our consciousness as we dealt with other issues. The price of gas, two wars, rising unemployment,home foreclosures and wall street bailouts were on our minds. Bin Laden would emerge in our thoughts sporadically over the years like a whisper. Whenever we took a flight and had to give up that full size shampoo, he was there. Whenever we had to take our shoes off and be groped intimately, by a sweaty guy who didn't buy us dinner before or after the grope, Bin Laden was there. He was like smoke, an irritant until we got to our destination. The President, with a plethora of domestic and foreign issues to deal with, never wavered. He kept the Boogeyman in his crosshairs.

The President kept a promise he made in 2008 in a televised debate with John McCain. He said “If we have Osama Bin Laden in our sights and the Pakistani government is unable or unwilling to act, we will take him out “. He did just that, with no hesitation. He acted Presidential ,he weighed the options, made his choice and stuck with it. Where do we go from here? People are already clamoring to see the pictures of Osama dead. The White House has said it will not release the photos. I agree wholeheartedly, there is no reason to release them. People who don’t believe Osama is dead will not be swayed by a photograph. ”It’s doctored”, It’s a fake” etc will still be proclaimed, by the conspiracy minded. As I said, where do we go from here? We continue to live our lives. We celebrate this victory and move on. Whether you cheered ,danced in the streets or just did a small fist pump as I did, we savor the moment. We live in an imperfect America, but it's our America! On Sunday night no matter what your race, religion or political affiliation,you were proud of the President. You were proud of what was accomplished. The euphoria is dwindling and party politics are back in play,but for a few days we stood united, and genuinely happy that The Boogeyman was banished under the bed for good. Evil is still out there, and always will be. so remember 1Peter 5:8 "Be sober-minded; be watchful Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." Well Done Mr President.

Politrix are for kids

I was not going to do an entire blog on the Presidents birth certificate controversy, but changed my mind. I will say this, in my opinion he should not have shown them the long form certificate at all. What he did was, legitimize Donald Trump of all people as a viable political rival in 2012. I don't think anybody in their right mind was going to vote for, much less take Sir Combover seriously. Now that he has basically made the President call his bluff, he is taking credit for "Having done a great service to the American people". The thing is, it doesn't matter what President Obama showed these "birthers",(I refuse to capitalize their name) they are never going to allow themselves to see logic and believe he was born in Hawaii .Now Trump wants his academic records from Occidental, and Harvard. Where will it end, with Trump wanting to speak with professors, students and cafeteria workers at those institutions?

Sharon Guthrie, the legislative director for a Texas state representative backing a bill requiring proof of citizenship for presidential ballot access, told Slate.com "What they produced today still says certificate of live birth across the top," . "We want to see a 'birth certificate.' The one that we have that says 'birth certificate' is from Mombasa , Kenya , with his footprint on it. He has still not produced an American birth certificate." Now my question to her is "where is this birth certificate of the President, and where did you get it? Do you really think if John McCain had won the election, they would have made a peep about the fact that he was born in Panama ? That would be a resounding NO! Some people are going to always question his place of birth. Emory University 's Drew Westen, author of the "The Political Brain" and an informal advisor to Obama's 2008 campaign told CNN “the birther issue will continue to be political fodder until a critical mass of Republican leaders decides it's making the GOP look foolish and hurting the party among independent voters.”

There will always be controversy surrounding presidents. There will always be fringe people who believe The Clinton's had Vince Foster killed,that baby Bush knew beforehand or even orchestrated 911 and that Lyndon Johnson had a hand in the Kennedy assassination etc. Do not forget that the media plays a hand in this. If they would not report the rubbish nobody would pay attention. I watched the major news networks yesterday FOX; MSNBC and CNN after the President released his birth certificate. They all asked the question "Will this be the end of the controversy?" They all then proceeded to say "We will be right back with our panel of experts to discuss it". Now how redundant is that? Don't be distracted by wedge issues. When people started questioning the war in Iraq , they used Gay marriage as a wedge issue. When people start to question the price of gas, the loss of jobs and homes, they reignite an issue that was only being supported by a bunch of loonies. They are afraid of the black man in office and will believe anything to discredit him…facts be damned. I leave you with this quote from our second president John Adams "Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence".

Politics as usual

Last year Roy Ashburn was arrested on DUI charges after leaving a gay nightclub near the Capitol. Ashburn a California Republican state senator who consistently voted against gay rights measures during his 14 years in statewide office, came out in an interview with KERN radio in Bakersfield, Ashburn said he felt compelled to address rumors "I am gay those are the words that have been so difficult for me for so long," Ashburn told conservative talk show host Inga Barks. The 55-year-old father of four said he had tried to keep his personal life separate from his professional life until his March 3, 2010 arrest. Ashburn had voted against a number of gay rights measures, including efforts to expand anti-discrimination laws and recognize out-of-state gay marriages. In 2009, he opposed a bill to establish a day of recognition to honor slain gay rights activist Harvey Milk. Last year, he opposed a bill to establish a day of recognition to honor slain gay rights activist Harvey Milk. A group that advocates for expanded gay rights and other issues Equality California said it consistently gave Ashburn a 0 rating on its scorecard. The senator did say however that his voting record reflected how his constituents wanted him to vote. I always thought you voted on what you felt was right. I guess if your constituents want you to vote against your lifestyle and what you believe in, in the interest of political expediency and self hatred you will go along with it.

The names are running jokes now Larry Craig who was arrested in 2007 for allegedly attempting to solicit sex in a Minneapolis International Airport bathroom from an undercover officer. According to the police report, Sgt. Dave Karsnia, who was investigating allegations of illicit sexual activity in the airport men’s room, entered a bathroom stall on June 11. Craig entered the adjacent stall and then began to “send signals” to Karsnia that he wanted to engage in sexual activity. He of course resigned to "weigh his options". Mark Foley (R-FL) resigned in 2006 after questionable IM's he sent to a 16 year congressional page surfaced. Bob Allen, Florida Chairman of John McCain's presidential campaign and a Member of the House of Representatives, offered an undercover officer $20 to blow the officer. Allen was one of 21 Florida legislators to sign Gov. Jeb Bush’s friend of the court brief supporting the state’s ban on gays adopting children. 2007 Glenn Murphy Jr National Chairman of the Young Republicans, Chairman of the Clark County Republican Party, got a fellow Young Republican drunk and then spent the night at his house. The Young Republican woke up to find Murphy performing fellatio on him. Murphy was a well-paid political consultant for Republican candidates and advised them to use gay marriage as a wedge issue to paint their opponents as out of touch with traditional values.

We hear about these stories all the time. I will reiterate this is not about anyone’s sexual preference; it's about the hypocrisy in society. The same pervasive message in Hip Hop that being Gay is something to be ashamed of, even though they promote a homosexual agenda on the downlow (pun intended) is the same Hypocrisy in the church. You have affluent preachers, Bishops and pastors denigrating the sins of homosexuality, yet engaging in homosexual acts. The politicians, who we vote into office, that vote for and introduce legislation against same sex marriage,same sex benefits and gay adoptions, are no better. We have to hold them up to a different standard, they are here to represent the people and some of the people are gay. It would not be that bad if they were not so vociferous in their opposition to a gay lifestyle, yet live one. If you can't be true to yourself, how you can be true to the people who put you in office? There are a number of openly gay politicians Barny Frank, Former Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman, Steve Gunderson to name a few. Who have been honest and mostly open about their sexual preferences. Not all of them have the same views on same sex marriages or even "don't ask don't tell', but at least they admit who they are. The problems I have are with the ones who keep it in the closet, but try to tell me about family values. Don’t think I have left out the straight politicians who also preach family values, but sleep around. That is for another blog, on another day. So until next week, I leave you with this "The true hypocrite is the one who ceases to perceive his deception, the one who lies with sincerity." ~André Gide, 1947 Nobel Prize winner for literature

Road to Damascus

2006 Ted Haggard resigned as National Evangelical Association president, where he had clout in Washington and condemned homosexuality on a regular basis, after Mike Jones...Who!? Mike Jones!! A male escort, not to be confused with the Houston rapper, claimed to have had drug-fueled homosexual trysts with him. Haggard placed himself on administrative leave from the 14,000-member New Life Church, which he founded in the 1980s.He was eventually fired by the Overseer Board of the church. Haggard of course denied the allegations at first, but finally admitted to masturbating, massages and methamphetamine use with Jones. Of course his role in the Christian Evangelical movement, where he was a major player with influence over an estimated 34 million members, was downplayed during the scandal by the likes of James Dobson and Pat Robertson. Also in 2006 the Rev. Paul Barnes of Grace Chapel in Douglas County CO, preached to his 2,100-member congregation about integrity and grace in the aftermath of the Ted Haggard drugs-and-gay-sex scandal. Barnes ended up joining Haggard as a fallen evangelical minister. He also preached that homosexuality was a sin but grappled with a hidden life. "I have struggled with homosexuality since I was a 5-year-old boy," Barnes said at the time in a 32- minute video to his congregation. “I can't tell you the number of nights I have cried myself to sleep, begging God to take this away." Now unlike Haggard, who had White House connections, Barnes was not a household name outside of Colorado. In a recent GQ profile, Haggard addresses the continued assumptions that he's gay, saying "I think that probably, if I were 21 in this society, I would identify myself as a bisexual."How noble of you

2010 George Rekers a Christian leader who co-founded the Family Research Council with evangelist James Dobson,yes the same James Dobson from 2006 who downplayed Ted Haggard’s involvement with the evangelical Christian movement once his escapades came to light, took a ten-day European vacation with a callboy he met through RentBoy.com. He was caught in an airport with the escort by a Miami newspaper. The escort said he had met the professor of Neuro-psychiatry and Behavioral Science, on RentBoy.com (a gay escort service). Rekers didn't deny that he'd met the callboy online, but said he had hired him to help him carry his baggage. Said Rekers "I had surgery, and I can't lift luggage. That's why I hired him." If you say so. Then we have Bishop Eddie Long ...you knew it was coming (no pun intended), a married father of four has been an outspoken opponent of gay marriage at his Mega church. His church counsels gay members to become straight. He was sued in September by four young men from his congregation for claims of sexual misconduct. The young men say he enticed them with trips to exotic locales, cars, jewelry and money. They say he targeted them after they enrolled in the Long Fellows Youth Academy, a program at the church that taught teens about sexual, physical and financial discipline. The Bishop stated he would fight the lawsuits in court, and promised in church sermons he would not let the legal troubles prevent him from doing his job. His attorney has denied the allegations on his behalf. For his part Long stated “I feel like David against Goliath, “But I got five rocks, and I haven’t thrown one yet.” The young men's attorney says she plans to subpoena records from Long that will show he traveled with the young men to New Zealand and elsewhere, which is not a crime. Long, said in documents that he often encouraged New Birth Missionary Church members to call him “daddy” and even “granddaddy,” as a sign of respect. Now I don't know about you, but the only men I have ever or will ever call daddy or granddaddy are my daddy and granddaddy. That sounds like a Pimp telling his ho how to address him. Long did admit that he sometimes shares rooms with some of his parishioners on trips. He also admitted to giving the plaintiffs gifts, he said he often provided many members of his church with financial assistance. Long became one of the nation’s most powerful church leaders over the past two decades, transforming a suburban Atlanta congregation of 150 into a powerhouse of 25,000 members that includes high-profile athletes, entertainers and politicians.

Stories like this happen everyday. People in these positions of authority who are supposed to be leaders of men, the moral backbone of the community, above reproach are being outed as wolves in sheep's clothing. The point is these men preach against homosexuality, gay marriage and a gay lifestyle in general vehemently. They use bible scripture to promote their own agenda and then live a lie. Once they are caught then all of a sudden they have a problem they have been wrestling with their entire life. The hypocrisy is appalling. I don't know how the Eddie Long saga will play out, but usually where there is smoke there is fire. My opinion, and this is "Opinionated" after all, is that it will be settled out of court with hush money, a gag order and no public admission of guilt. I just want to know why a grown man is texting pics of himself, in the bathroom wearing a tight muscle shirt and biker shorts to teenage boys? I'm just saying. This blog is not to demonize them for being gay or allegedly gay; it's about the forked tongues they speak with. The people they have influenced to hate gays or make people think they can be "cured" of who they are. They rail against same sex relationships and gay marriages based on Bible scripture, ignorance and their own self hatred. To learn more about this issue, read "Snakes in The Pulpit" by Reuben Armstrong. I will be back next week with the 3rd and final installment in this blog series entitled Homosexuality and Hypocrisy from Hip Hop to the ballot box. Remember "what's done in the dark, will always comes to light."