Below is a post comment email I recently received from “Tom,” who came across a post from my old blog titled “Fa’ Shizzle,” one of my favorite pieces to write. I’m posting his comment in its entirety with no retorts (for now). Read away.
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I watched a few of your ball handling videos on YouTube and thought that you might have a few deeper insights into foot work and positioning in regards to scoring zones on your website DreAllDay.com, which has unfortunately led me here.
I’m white, 21, and a basketball player. Obviously playing a predominately black sport, and playing it well I might add, has given me a a solid mix of friends and acquaintances and the only thing I will never understand about black culture is the use of “N word.” (well that and their fascination with self-serving rappers like Mike Jones and Snoop circa 2009.) Why is it okay for one group to express rights that another group cannot? Equality, unwavering equality should be our ultimate goal. Black America is still not a free America, not completely, but by making ethnic/cultural distinction, as well as affording ethnic privileges to a select few, only separates us further. Part of today’s racism still lingers from yesterday’s mentality, but it also stems from how the hip-hop culture portrays itself. You wanna be a gansta? Well don’t expect to be taken that seriously.
By forcing this lifestyle down our throats you force us to take notice of just how different we really are. The actions of a popular few are defining an entire generation of Americans, black and white.
On top of the damage you’re doing to your own culture, it’s also unfair. Logically a word is just a noise that we associate with an object or idea. So why the uproar? Intelligent, rational people will understand that the only words that matter are the ones that motivate love or hate. The casual use of the “N word” does neither. And who made you or anyone else a member of the secret English police? Who has the right to say what I can and cannot say. I live in TN and hear Christian propaganda every time I start a conversation or turn on the radio, but until I hear those words uttered by a public official in an official statement or at a public proceeding I have no right to be angry, they are merely expressing their right to free speech. I believe on your FAQ someone asked why you talk shit or something of that nature and your response was free speech. Why the double standard? Equality is not a destination, it is a journey. A journey that no one person can undertake alone, yet each step must be taken individually. As we approach our goals the dangers of complacency become more prevalent, allowing falsehoods to permeate our collective minds, turning reality into reality TV and taking power away from the free spirit. Damning us with popular culture.
Also why the distinction between Latin cats and Asians? Asians suffered the same plight Latinos face today in the late 1800′s to early 1900′s. The Irish, Polish, and Italian immigrants also faced prejudice and persecution, it just wasn’t as well documented. How about Native Americans? And why do mixed ethnicities get a pass? What if a half black, half white guy looks and acts white, can he say it? How about a 1/8 black, 1/4 Latino, 5/8 Asian guy? Could the late Michael Jackson say it? How about Steve Martin’s character from “The Jerk”? If I have a black child can I say it? If teach black lab to speak, is this a word I should omit from it its vocabulary? Or is it cool because it’s black?
How about s non-American black person, they face none of the same prejudices you do, have they earned the right to say the heralded “N word”?
Anyway, nice ball handling vids, watched some of your shooting videos, pretty consistent mechanics, just a little slow on the release (maybe its different in person) Well I hope you make it to the NBA, and I hope you continue to motivate young people to get out of their houses. Peace.
Posted 8 months, 2 weeks ago at 12:41 PM. Add a comment
Tell Rush Lim-baugh to get off my balls...
So Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson want to block Rush Limbaugh from purchasing an NFL franchise, citing the perception of Rush as a racist and “anti-NFL.” While I do agree with the move to keep Rush from being part of NFL ownership, the “why” of it is a rather weak argument, as explored by many in the media (including this TIME article). Now it’s my turn.
In my mind, I place Limbaugh in the same room as Bill O’Reilly — middle-aged conservative White men who seem to have a problem with minorities in general, especially Hip-Hop and its generation of followers. Limbaugh left a job at ESPN over some racially-charged comments about Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb several years ago. O’Reilly pressured Pepsi to back out of a sponsorship agreement with Ludacris over some out-of-context lyrics O’Reilly recited on his FOX News show.
The NFL employs a lot of young Black men. Al and Jesse say that Limbaugh’s anti-minority stances over the years (wishing Obama to fail, the McNabb remarks, the Jay-Z, um, situation) do not fit with what the NFL is all about. That franchise ownership is a privilege, not a right, and Sharpton is urging current and former players to step up and speak out against Rush.
I agree with Al and Jesse on the front that Limbaugh and O’Reilly would do the same to them if the roles were reversed. Pepsi hired Ludacris because Ludacris would have helped sell cans of soda, plain and simple. Pepsi knows this. O’Reilly used his position of power to take that away from Ludacris and reveled in his accomplishment. And sometimes when dealing with an opponent who uses dirty tactics such as what O’Reilly did, we have to get our hands dirty. Stoop to their level and beat them at their own game. It is necessary in this case, and it is time for it to happen. This, I agree with.
What I don’t agree with, however, is the terms “racial justice,” “inclusion,” and “not going backwards” being thrown around. Despite the high salaries of pro athletes, we are, at the end of the day, still employees — $40 Million Dollar Slaves, if you will — who have the equity, as far as physically performing is concerned, squeezed out of us and are consequently discarded. All of our work belongs to the team and the league — it says so right there in the contract — and the owner moves “On To the Next One.” The director of the NFL Players Association said the players should “embrace their roles… as partners in the business of the NFL” and get involved in speaking out against Rush — Huh? Who are you fooling, Mr. Director??? In the NFL the players are far from partners — they own nothing, the contracts aren’t guaranteed, and many can’t even work post-NFL because of injuries sustained. If you ever have to go to your boss or superior hat in hand and ask for more, you are an employee — not a partner.
Now, I have never met either Bill or Rush — all I know about them is what I see on TV and the Internet, not exactly the best way to really know one’s character — but it is clear to me that Rush Limbaugh won’t be making an appearance on Ocean Drive during Memorial Day weekend any time soon. But being a racist — even if Rush was open and brash about it — does not preclude him from owning a professional sports franchise. In order to take over ownership of a franchise, the prospective buyers need to be approved by the other NFL owners, and what speaks to the other owners sure as hell is not the moral high ground. What does speak to them? Money! If Rush — who, despite whatever prejudices he may harbor, has made enough money in what he does to be shopping for a franchise — can afford to buy the St. Louis Rams, and the other owners see Rush as a money-generating improvement over the current Rams owners, Rush very well could end up in the owner’s suite.
And there ain’t a damned thing Al, Jesse, and all the players put together could do about it.
Posted 10 months, 3 weeks ago at 4:45 PM. 2 comments
Here is an article I just read on Stephen Strasburg, the “the best amateur pitcher I’ve [MLB super-agent Scott Boras] seen” on ESPN.com. And here’s Sports Illustrated’s 1995 cover piece on a 19 year-old coming straight from high school named Kevin Garnett.
It is interesting to me how the piece on Strasburg discusses his fastball, how much money his super-agent will be able to fetch him in contract negotiations, and how teams with no chance of acquiring him are sending scouts to watch him anyway, because of what a treat it is just to see the kid perform. How the crux of the column is how much guaranteed money the young pitcher will receive from the team that drafts him, and how negotiation will set a new standard for top-flight draftees.
While the Garnett piece (also this, this, this, and this), paradoxically, discusses how overwhelming the whole situation may be for the young basketball player, how the money he is set to receive is “like… Monopoly money” to him, and how there is a strong possibility (along with past cases as evidence) that he might fail.
I know this issue has been talked about ad nauseum over the years, and fired up again last yer when Brandon Jennings ditched the NCAA for Europe and this year when Jeremy Tyler passed up his senior year of high school for the pros overseas. It’s just crazy that Lebron James and Kevin Garnett’s initial NBA contracts were worth less than $25 million COMBINED (note: the NBA installed a rookie pay scale in 1998; LBJ’s rookie year was 2003-04; and KG’s yearly salaries can be seen here), and Strasburg’s agent has MLB general managers talking in the $50 million range and there is nary a word of how overwhelming that may be for Strasburg or how he may have to worry about keeping childhood friends from pulling him in all directions or how he very well may fail, or how his example of being super-talented sets a bad precedent for less-gifted amateurs who may attempt following in his footsteps.
Just interesting to me.
Posted 1 year, 3 months ago at 10:21 PM. Add a comment
The story of 6 Black high school students in Jena, Louisianna being railroaded for a racially- motivated schoolyard fight.
I know you probably don’t read much, so my ‘strong suggestion’ for you to take this in won’t matter much if you just came here to skim in the first place.
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The “white tree”
At Jena High School, students of different races customarily seldom sat together. Black students traditionally sat on bleachers near the auditorium, while white students sat under a large shade tree, referred to as the “white tree,” in the center of the school courtyard.[1]
During a school assembly on August 31, 2006, a black male freshman student asked permission from the principal to sit in the shade of the “white tree.”[2] According to the recounting of events given by U.S. Attorney Donald Washington, the question was posed in a “jocular fashion.”[3] The principal told the students they could “sit wherever they wanted.”[2]
The following morning, three nooses were discovered hanging from the tree. Anthony Jackson, one of two black teachers at the high school, recalled, “I jokingly said to another teacher, ‘One’s for you, one’s for me. Who’s the other one for?’” Jena’s principal learned that three white students were responsible and recommended expulsion. The board of education overruled his recommendation, to which Superintendent Roy Breithaupt agreed. The punishment was reduced to three days of in-school suspension.[1][4] The school superintendent was quoted as saying, “Adolescents play pranks. I don’t think it was a threat against anybody.”[5] Black residents of Jena claim that this decision stoked racial tensions that led to subsequent events.[4] The school district and parents who were aware of the incident did not report it to the police or any legal authority, though such incidents may be prosecuted as federal hate crimes by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.[3]
District Attorney Reed Walters and the “pen statement”
Accounts differ as to what happened afterward. According to some accounts, on September 5, a number of black students organized a peaceful sit-in under the white tree in response to the commuted punishment of the perpetrators. The protest was then dispersed by police.[6][7] U.S. Attorney Washington, speaking in July 2007, stated he could find no confirmation of this protest occurring. He could confirm that police were called to the school several times in the days after the noose incident in response to a rash of interracial fights between students.[3]
The principal called an impromptu assembly on September 6, in which students segregated themselves into white and black sections. The Jena Police Department asked LaSalle Parish District Attorney Reed Walters to attend and speak at the assembly. Walters was unhappy with the request because he was busy preparing for a case and, upon arrival, felt that the students were not paying proper attention to him.[3] Walters is alleged to have threatened the protesters if they didn’t stop fussing over an “innocent prank” and to have stated, “See this pen? I can end your lives with the stroke of a pen.” Black students state that Walters looked specifically at members of the black audience as he said this. Walters and school board member Billy Fowler, also present, deny that the comments were specifically directed at black students.[1] Nevertheless, police began patrolling the halls of Jena High on September 7, and the school was declared to be in total lockdown the day after.[8]
On September 10, several dozen black students attempted to address the school board concerning the recent events but were refused because the board was of the opinion that “the noose issue” had been adequately resolved.[9] Racial tensions and fights continued through the fall but were held in check by the ongoing football season. The high school team was doing unusually well, in large part due to efforts of several star black players, and students were unwilling to do anything to upset the season.[1]
Events prior to the Jena Six assault
On 30 November 2006, the main building of the high school was set on fire. The building was gutted and had to be later demolished. Blacks and whites accused each other of the arson.[1][10]
On Friday, December 1, there was a private party, attended mostly by whites, at the Fair Barn. Five black youths, including 16-year-old Robert Bailey, attempted to enter the party at about 11pm. According to U.S. Attorney Washington, they were told by a woman that they were not allowed inside without an invitation. The five youths persisted, stating that some friends were already in attendance at the party. A white man, who was not a student,[3] then jumped in front of the woman and instigated a fight. After the fight was broken up, the woman told both the white man and five black youths to leave the party. Once outside, the black students were involved in another fight with a group of white men, who also were not students.[3] Police were then called to investigate. Several months later, Justin Sloan, a white male, was charged with simple battery for his role in the fight and was put on probation. Bailey later stated that one of the white men had broken a beer bottle over his head,[4] but there are no records of medical treatment being given.[3]
The following day, an incident apparently stemming from this fight occurred at a local convenience store. A student who had attended the party encountered Bailey and several friends. An argument ensued, after which the white student ran to his pickup truck and produced a pistol-grip shotgun. Bailey ran after the white student and wrestled him for control of the gun. Bailey’s friends intervened in the scuffle and took the gun away. Bailey refused to return it and ultimately took it home with him. Local police reported that the accounts of the white student and black students contradicted each other and formed a report based on testimony taken from eyewitnesses. This resulted in Bailey being charged with three counts: theft of a firearm, second-degree robbery and disturbing the peace. The white student who had produced the weapon was not charged.[1][3]
Jena Six assault
The following Monday, December 4, a white student named Justin Barker, aged 17, loudly discussed – “bragged,” as characterized by National Public Radio – how Bailey had been beaten up by a white man that Friday night.[1] When Barker walked out of the school gymnasium into the courtyard later that day, he was assaulted by Bailey and five other black students, and was temporarily knocked unconscious. The concussion he suffered has been described in the media as resulting either from a punch to the face or from hitting his head on concrete when thrown to the ground. While on the ground, Barker was kicked repeatedly. Barker was examined by a doctor at the local hospital.[2][1] After two hours of treatment and observation for his concussion and an eye that had swollen shut, Barker was discharged in time to go to the school Ring Ceremony that evening.[4] In the meantime the six black students, eventually dubbed the “Jena Six”[11], were arrested.
Trial, prosecution, and legal proceedings
The six students – Robert Bailey, Mychal Bell, Carwin Jones, Bryant Purvis, Theo Shaw, and an unidentified minor[12] – were initially charged with aggravated assault. However, District Attorney Walters increased the charges to attempted second-degree murder, provoking protests from black residents that the charges, which could result in the defendants being imprisoned past age 50, were disproportional to the crime.[4]
On June 26, 2007, the first day of trial for defendant Mychal Bell, Walters agreed to reduce the charges for Bell to aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated second-degree battery.[13] A charge of aggravated battery requires the use of a “deadly weapon”. Walters thus argued that the tennis shoes that Bell was wearing and used to kick Barker were deadly weapons, an argument with which the all-white jury agreed. Despite conflicting witness accounts on whether he was even involved in the attack[14], Bell was found guilty and will face the possibility of up to 22 years in prison when he is sentenced on September 20, 2007.
In late July, U.S. Attorney Donald Washington noted the lack of connection between the noose incident and the beating at Jena High school, noting that the more than 40 statements all failed to mention the noose incident.[3]
The case is currently in dispute as the court-appointed public defender did not call a single witness in his attempt to defend Bell.[14] Bell’s new defense attorneys, Louis Scott and Carol Powell-Lexing, requested that a new trial be held on the grounds that Bell should not have been tried as an adult and that the trial should have been held in another parish.[15] On September 4, 2007, a judge dismissed the conspiracy charge but let the battery conviction stand, though he agreed that Bell should have been tried as a juvenile.[16]
On September 4, 2007, Carwin Jones and Theo Shaw also had their charges reduced to aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy.[17]
Bell’s criminal history
Mychal Bell’s juvenile record was recently released, revealing that he had been previously convicted of four other crimes. Bell was put on probation for a battery that occurred December 25, 2005, and he was later convicted of yet another battery charge and two charges of criminal damage to property.[18]
Public outcry
In the wake of these events, numerous groups in support of the “Jena Six” and against the way the cases were and are being handled have appeared on social networking site Facebook,[19] as well as an online petition circulating boasting over 179,162 signatures as of September 7, 2007
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chances are you’re not a lawyer. you may not have even heard about this story. you may not have the means to donate to the cause (and i wouldnt reccomend you do until you know all the facts of the situation. what you can do, is
sign the online petition, read the above story, and give mediatakeout.com a rest for an hour or so.
if you happen to already have knowledge of this case and i’m the late-comer, please share your insights, thughts,a nd additional info.
1,000.
Posted 2 years, 12 months ago at 11:10 AM. Add a comment
ive decided to cut back on the funniest moments and satirical pieces for awhile. my blog from now on will be on a bit more serious note for two reason: 1) i feel that my writing ability should be used to inform more often than just making people laugh (or trying to). 2) i see too much BS from day to day on the internet and on television, especially from, by and towards my own Black people. let’s start this off right:
*******************************************************************************
i am not a fan of flavor flav. i did not watch flavor of love. flav’s show took dave chappelle’s exploitation of negative black- folk stereotypes to another level. so, when i saw that monique was doing a show called charm school using some females from flav’s show, i was not exactly queing up my tivo for it. at the same time, i was sure that charm school would be easier for me to enjoy since the star of the show has a little bit more self respect and decency than the star of flavor of love.
what’s funny, is that whenever the topic of this show (or chappelle) came up in group conversation, i never heard anyone else talk about how this show makes a mockery of the black woman. the talk was always about who spit on whom and who got cussed out last episode. i always got looked at like some too- serious guy whenever i voiced my opinion.
from what i saw of monique’s show, there was not much ‘charm’ being learned. these females came in there rude, disrespectful, and out- of- control and for the most part, aside from when they were in monique’s prescence, left as rude, disrespectful, and out- of- control. of course, if a tv show is created to shine a light on one of your negative traits, you’ll be so conscious of it when the camera’s on that you’ll look as if you’ve improved. but as i watched all the scenes where the girls acted ‘natural,’ with no monique around, you’d think flavor of love had re-run the last season. as much as i like monique, her show did not really improve any of the females she brought in.
i watched the reunion episodes of both of these shows. for “flavor of love,” i saw a group of ignorant females arguing, cussing, and otherwise making a spectacle (aka fool) of themselves at the delight of the studio audience. and flavor was soaking it all up.
monique’s performance during charm school’s reunion, however, impressed me. this video of monique checking the charm school girls (different than what you saw on the show) made me stand up and applaud. a respected black woman speaking up and letting america know that we are making fools of ourselves to get a little bit of fame and recognition. besides the name and face recognition, what does one have to gain from being on a show that makes light of your filthy personality? (look honey, it’s Boots! she went from being a disrespectful, skanky bitch to a nice, polite woman! let’s get her autograph!!!)
i wont even get into the “i love new york” show and the clowns who sold their self pride for some fame on VH1.
hopefuly monique’s sililoquy was step 1 in black folks realizing that being on a tv show by any means necessary isnt always the best choice. the reality tv trend has made many a star of everyday people who’ll do anything to be in front of a camera. and there are a lot of funny things that happen on reality tv. where we as black folks miss the joke is that we dont realize that the negative, ignorant, look-the-stereotype-is-true images of afro-americans sells more than the stupidity of any other race. the jackass guys are heroes. you think we’ll ever see ms. New York or larissa on the letterman show?
when a white guy wanted to find a girl, we got the bachelor, vs. the black representative, flavor flav.
for a white female, the bachelorrette, vs. i love new york.
if we can take some steps towards being looked at like we have some sense of self respect, maybe, there will be a day when i wont be able to find these definitions on urbandictionary.com:
HOOD
1. The ghetto.
2. Someone who is from the ghetto.
3. Someone who acts like they are from the ghetto.
Other Slang: Hoodlum, Gangsta, Thug, Nigga, Pimp, Street-rat, Street Urchin, etc.
CP TIME
Colored People’s Time. also see: CPT
The usually correct stereotype that African-Americans are incapable of punctuality, and are chronically tardy in both arriving at and beginning events and functions.
1)
White girl: Why are we still waiting? It should have started 15 minutes ago.
White guy: The organizers are black so we’re on CP Time. They’re probably backstage talking or eating.
2)
Black organizer thinking to herself: Well, we should probably start, even though most of my friends haven’t arrived yet because of good old CP Time. I guess we’ll wait another 30 minutes for the black folks to show up.
GANGSTA
A sociopathic member of the inner-city underclass, known primarily for being antisocial and uneducated. Also known for ready access to illegal drugs and weapons, and staggeringly poor marksmanship.
“Yo, this gangsta loses his cheeba out his jeans, an’ he thinks somebody snatched it, so he tries to cap my holmes wit a 9 and miss all 10 rounds. Killed two girls in tha’ playground, though – that nigga be gang-sta as fuck, yo.”
Some prerequisites to be a gangsta are:
- Ignorance
- Inability to read
- Inability to spell
- Inability to wear a hat properly
- Inability to hold a gun
- Inability to choose the proper size of clothing
- Smoke crack cocaine
- Claim to dodge bullets and be poor, so to be be recognized by a group of idiotic 13 year olds as an “idol”
- No common sense
- Don’t feel like working hard enough to get a real job
- Kill people because it’s “cool”
- Buy $200 dollar shoes
- Buy a huge “bling bling” chain. Or, better yet, dip a chiwawa in chrome and wear it around your neck. Oops, I meant, “yo” neck, holmes.
- Be tough (This is an odd requirement. Most gangstas are tough, but get angry when a white person says the ever popular hilarious word: “nigger”. Also see: pussy and omg im offended by words whut shall i do?
- Be black (Not always required – a new fad has started in the previously clean and awesome suburbs: white kids seem to want to live in the ghetto, a disgusting place full of thieves, murderers, pimps, extortionists, drug dealers, and thieving murdering pimping extortionist drug dealers. If a ghetto is formed in your society, it is time for a genocide. Often times, these ghettoians will claim to be sick, but they never specify with what. They also claim to be a dope, and I must agree with them. Other phrases include: “yo”, “homie”, “nigga”, “dawg”, “frog”, and “I’m similar to a squirrel!” (thanks 50 Cent(s))
WIGGA
a white person who makes themself look stupid by dressin and actin black
Vanilla Ice,and Justin Timberlake
PETROLERA
A white girl who likes black men.
Look at that white bitch on that black guy’s arm. What a petrolera.
NIGGERDIGGER
a niggerdigger is a white girl that is in love with black guys.
katie, you’re such a niggerdigger!
i dont want my blog to sound like im some “fight the power”, black-fisted radical railing against any slight that happens to be aimed at an afro american. anyone who has met me in person knows im far from that. i do feel, however, that many young people who populate these websites (myspace, facebook) dont give enough thought to what’s going on in the larger scope of just our immediate families, jobs, and friends. and whats more, you probably have a close friend who needs to read this that didnt.
Posted 3 years, 1 month ago at 10:50 AM. Add a comment
so today i’m reading one of my new favorite blogs, and i notice a link Rod mentions in one of his posts:
NIGGASPACE.COM. that’s the real name of the site. the front page has some photos of recently- logged- in members, and also the “Featured Member” at the top. they are all Black. i attempt to brose the rest of the site, maybe find out the mIssion Satement of a site like this, and i get
this page over and over again, as i am nt a member (and wouldnt do this site the favor of signing up to see what’s within. maybe you’d like to do the honors). apparantly the photo posted to the right is the site ‘logo.’
well, i open the ‘Terms & Conditions’ pop-up and get ths message:
”
MEMBERS AGREE NOT TO POST OFFENSIVE IMAGES. THIS INCLUDES PORNOGRAPHIC, RACIST, AND ANY OTHER MATERIAL DEEMED INAPPROPRIATE BY THE SITE ADMINISTRATORS.
Currently Updating Long Form Terms & Conditions
”
really though? no racist material allowed? i guess naming a website after a word that dates back to slavery times and was used to make non- whites feel useless is not deemed ‘racist’ by the administrators of this site. i really wonder who created this site. is there a non- black person with the cojones to do this? or maybe some black folk siezing the opportunity to capitalize on their own people’s ignorance.
you already know how i feel about the (ab)use of The ‘N Word.’ no need to re-board my soapbox. the ‘Contact Us’ link prompted a message from me which is still awaiting response.
To be continued…
Posted 3 years, 2 months ago at 10:53 AM. Add a comment
