Black History Month is Racist

In response to Adrianne Curry's boycott of BET and Black History Month:

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She makes a valid point, but unfortunately America is not yet at that stage in collective thinking. It is very difficult to truly teach and preach equality when we find so many different categories by which to segregate ourselves. I'm not gonna get into naming these things but people are historically elitist to a certain extent, but now we have gotten clever and masked these actions by making them formal rules or policies that apply to everyone in theory, but only a certain few in practice. I feel black history month is necessary and relevant in today's world because it "forces" at least some parts of the story that are often times left out, to be told. Hell, alot places only talk about MLK and Malcolm X or Langston Hughes anyway. I am all for exposing the country to more Native American or Jewish history, however ( I may have a slight bias here) considering the number of "blacks" in America, the blatant injustice that has extended well beyond slavery into 2007, and the numerous contributions made by that same group to America, it is nothing short of pathetic how little those people are recognized or celebrated. Black history month is a necessary evil if you will. It sucks that we have to explicitly set aside time in the year to ensure that the people that have been labeled as "Black" can have their story told, but I also know that somewhere, that story wouldn't be told in the absence of such an event. Eventually maybe people in general, not just Americans, will grow to be fully accepting of all people as people and honor their stories and achievements and compile them into the great human diaspora, but until that day comes, alot of people have to be force fed.

I Think I Think 2 Much: Relationships

I'm tired and its late. For those that have been on the receiving end of some of lunar rants, you should already know that the night brings out my analytical side. Well on this evening / morning I've turned my all seeing eye towards Chris Rock's latest film effort, I Think I Love My Wife. For those who haven't seen the movie, Rock stars as a middle-aged investment banker Richard Cooper, that is happily married to the mother of his two kids. Unfortunately he is (as only he can exclaim) "Bored out of his fucking mind!!" That is until Kerry Washington (from The Last King of Scotland and to the guys reading, she was in She Hate Me) shows up as super sexy ex-girlfriend, and predictable madness ensues.

Now while this movie isn't the pinnacle of greatness in movie making, storytelling, or anything at all for that matter., it does raise some interesting things about relationships in general. (Hell, Chris Rock is known for his blunt honesty.) The entire movie plays out with Rock basically deciding between his wife and his ex. A friend of mine is famous for his adage of ,"A man is only as faithful as his options. As long as you you remain his best choice, he isn't going anywhere."
Well long story short, Cooper is looking at his options. On one hand he has his wife. Great mother, independent woman, loving wife, but routine and in his eyes boring. On the other he has Nikki, Washington's character, who is young, fresh, wears sexy panties, and needs Cooper. Nikki is the brand new Porsche while his wife is a minivan. Nikki is everything he feels he is missing in his relationship.

So the Porsche is the better option right? Not necessarily. When you want to be flashy at the club, yes. You just want to look good, sure. Live fast, you only live once, and all that other stuff. But when you have weight you need to carry, you need a minivan. When there is baggage, when or when someone else is depending on you for a ride, you need a minivan. A Porsche is flashy, a minivan is functional. The minivan isn't gonna roll 24s, nor will King Kong reside in its cargo bay, but down the line its the best choice for you. (Of course this whole analogy is relative to what you need in your life, but your smart and get the idea, right?)

Everyone who has been in a relationship before knows there will be hard times. And any guy or girl for that matter would be lying if they said they never for one second entertained the idea of being either single or with someone else in their head when those tough times were their toughest. Relationship difficulties are a universal occurance and are probably one of the most relatable experiences. Everyone is differnet, yet they are all the same. Im not discouraging anyone from looking at their options. I just ask that when you are looking at your options, make sure the bling from the chromed out Porsche doesn't blind you, when you know damn well yo kids cant ride in that.

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952.

Stop With the Stop Snitchin' Foolishness: Follow Up

Thankfully, I am not the only person with the sentiment that the Stop Snitching movement is crap. In a recent SOHH conducted survey, 86% of respondents said that unlike the Pink Panther himself, would in fact tell the police if the serial killer was in "4E". That to me is a positive sign that fellow hip-hop fans are also tired of violence and crime ruling our neighborhoods.

SOHH Survey

Stop With the Stop Snitchin' Foolishness

Anderson cooper did a story on the movement and how in urban area's police are having a hard time getting cooperation when tryin to solve crimes, but not just from witnesses (because poorer people or people living in less wealthy areas tend to not like police anyway.) Victims are also not cooperating and they think its partially because of the commercialization of stop snitchin. In the interview Camron says, and i quote "If the serial killer is next door, I'm not gonna go run and tell anybody. I'm gonna move, but i aint gonna be like the killer is in 4E." Also a dude got killed at the video shoot for busta's touch it video, and of the 20 or so people in the room when he got shot, including Busta himself, not one will coop with the police cause they don't wanna lose "street cred". Not to mention the tagline for Lil Kim's show on BET that chronicled her days before going to jail for purjury was, "She's going to jail with her mouth closed and her head held high." Then black people are quick to complain about why we cant come up and grow as a people. We blame the whiteman or the mexican, and look at what we do to each other. We complain about being forced to live in bad neighborhoods but when in reality, we creatin the bad neighborhoods by not snitchin. Whites snitch all the time, and look at their neighborhoods. We don't snitch, but we are scared to come home at night because we might get robbed. Not that their arent bad white neighborhoods or good black ones, but you get the point. We are too busy trying to be cool and have street cred and all this stuff, that we dont report crimes that happen on our block or in our homes. We spend so much time and energy trying to be hard that we just end up makin life hard for ourselves, our families, our kids, and everybody else in the process. And then we wonder why we are in the predicament we are now.

To clarify, I'm not saying to go be a taddle tale or whatever term you would like to use, but I am saying that we should stop complaining about problems that we perpetuate through our mindset. Just so that there is no confusion, I am not a snitch but if the serial killer lives in 4E and I know he/she lives in 4E, so do the cops. Not because I like seeing my brothers and sisters (of any race) behind bars, but because I'm tired of seeing those same brothers and sisters in body bags.

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I'm Growin Up

On April 18, 2007 I will turn 20 years old. Looking back through the years and recognizing how while I have lived a lot of life and learned a lot of things, its still only the beginning. I am definitely at a checkpoint in life where you up the difficulty. Switching from rookie to pro if you will.

For instance, previously you were "the kids". Now there is a generation below you. Before if one of your friends had a child, the response was, "Aww, poor ______." Now that response is shifting to, "Awwww, thats wonderful!" and soon enough it will be, "Well its about damn time!" Hell, when my parents were my age, they had less than five years until I was around and asking whats for dinner. I don't have the slightest clue what I would do with a child now or anytime in the foreseeable future. The closeness of all these things are really hitting me lately. In two years I need to be doing something I plan on doing for the rest of my working life, married two years after that, with a family in another three. Damn.

Think about this. Now your expected to give more Christmas gifts than you get, or at least as many, cause its not about you anymore, its about this new generation. This generation that doesn't know the original Power Rangers, or that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles real enemy is Shredder and would never work with the Foot (and why isn't April a TV reporter anymore? What is this businesswoman/South American ancient history buff/ninja crap?).

But its just a part of life that all of us go through. I enjoyed my childhood and my adolescence. Now its time to move on to adulthood. Bring it on, I'm ready.

Another sign that your old, not only do you kind of forget that your birthday is coming up, you have absolutely no clue what you want for it!