Monday, February 26, 2007

This is my Minority Report!

I was watching BET yesterday and they had a Black History Month special titled "Top 25 Events that (Mis)Shaped Black America". It was hosted by Paul Mooney, so I figured it would be pretty entertaining. Most of the 25 events were things that I always say ruined Black America (and Black America was responsible for them). Things like the use of the word "nigger/nigga", negative images of women in hip-hop (nobody forced her to shake her ass), bling, soul food, gangs and the "proud to be dumb" mentality are all things that I believed are responsible for the downfall of African American society. Number 4 on their list made me kind of happy, it was religion. I've been saying forever that religion is the greatest divider of people in society, it divides more than wealth, race, or gender. Throughout history, people have used religion more than any other reason to kill others. And for Black Americans, who are descendants of Africans, to assimilate European (the ones that enslaved your ancestors) religions, is just idiotic to me. The rest of the list was mostly filled up with the Federal Government. My favorite was Ronald Wilson Reagan (Mr. 6-6-6), who I blame for the adoration of the ghetto life. During Reagan's reign in California, gangs grew out of stress in "the hood", like a rose in the crack in the pavement. Then he went on to be President, and the most acclaimed era of "thug / gangster rap" was born, the "Crack Era". Another Caucasian on the list was one of the greatest "stick-up" men in the history of music, as they called him "the first Diddy", Elvis. As most know (but won't admit), Elvis stole everything from Black artist before him. The only one I'm kind of skeptical about was number 17, the Justice System / Prison. I know the common "niggerish" argument, the United States Justice System is set up against minorities, and to an extent, I agree. There is an overwhelming amount of minorities in prison compared to the amount of Caucasians. I just feel that sometimes these "niggas" should be locked up, not everybody in prison is a political prisoner (Busta Rhymes is not Mumia and Lil Kim is not Assata Shakur). And the number 1 event, as all should know, was slavery (and I don't have to go into that). All in all, it was an entertaining program, but philosophical, intellectual, extrospective, or otherwise educational, I don't necessarily believe so (but judge for yourselves). But I still have to give BET credit, for a change, they had something of quality on their network (I still hate them for making 106 & Park).

On a side note, I hate Tyra Banks more than ever for the worst Black History Month program ever. Instead of celebrating Black people, like every episode, she celebrated herself. She claimed that she should be on a list with the greatest Black people ever because she was the first African American to show their tits on the cover of Sports Illustrated (what a delusional, self idolizing bitch). Even when she had a guest on her show to talk about their career as a model, she made it about herself and how she opened the door.

Peace, I mean WAR!

Sunday, February 18, 2007

So much pain in my life!

So here we are again, election time! What? It's not election time, shit, you could've fooled me. Everybody's talking about Barak Obama and Hilary Clinton running for president. Every week a new politician is throwing their name in the hat to be the next president. I guess it's happening so soon because most of America is tired of that idiot in office now. There was all the talk about the non-binding resolutions (what's the point) in the past couple weeks. The Senate is trying to find real ways to keep President Bush from fucking this "War on Terror" up anymore than he has. They want to limit funding for the troops (who didn't see most of them billions spent already) and they want to limit the President's power to authorize war (too late for that, idiots). Now there's all this talk about Iran feeding weapons to the insurgents in Iraq (yeah, we fell for the lies before, and knowing Americans, we'll fall for them again). I don't want to get into the dynamics of Islam and the sectarianism that exist within that religion. Lets just say that America gave more weapons to the insurgents than the Iranians, via Saudi Arabia. On a side note (which pissed me off), a Senate panel okayed TSA screeners to unionized (kind of). I quit working for TSA last year, and since I quit they've got a raise, gained collective bargaining, got the ability to join a union, and the jackass that was in charge where I worked is being investigated (they waited for me to go, didn't they). I know most of America was too busy, watching the Hills on MTV, or worrying about how Anna Nicole Smith died and who's the baby's daddy, or why the hell Britney Spears shaved her head, to watch the news. I have really have nothing better to do but smoke and watch Anderson Cooper and Hannity and Colmes (that ugly ass Alan Colmes is a good laugh). Besides my regular lineup of Heroes and Law and Order(s), I've been checking out Dateline : To Catch a Predator (Chris Hansen is hilarious when he interviews the perverts). It's the funniest thing in the world to watch perverts get caught in the act, and act like they didn't know what they were there for. As I write this I realized how much of a nutcase I really am (or complex, if you want to use that term). I'm a crazy Hip-Hop "reconstructionist", I watch romantic comedies and chick flicks, I love comics and the movies made from them, I watch the news and news related comedy shows, I watch the People's Court religiously, and I watch the Hills when there is absolutely, positively nothing else on television (I mean, nothing but TD Jakes or Bobby Jones Gospel). You see what I mean, and even though I try to be high most of the time, I've got to say I'm sober most times I watch the Hills. It's totally against my better hood conscience to watch television and movies made for teenage white girls, but hey my life is just that boring. Hey, enough of me whining about how depressing my life sounds, I started writing this to talk about politics or news or the lack there of, and I am distracted by popular television. Damn, there goes my main point, when something news worthy is going on in the world, the public is manipulated by the news outlets and distracted by entertainment. When we should be worrying about war, we're too busy worrying about who broke up, who's pregnant, who got killed, or who 50 Cent has beef with now (Cam'rom is the worst rapper ever). What has happened to America when the next white rapper is more important than the first Black or female president? What is wrong with us when we focus more on why Diddy's pride wouldn't let him dial than we focus on North Korea's nuclear program? I'm sorry to anybody that read this and was totally bored to death and now hates themselves for entering my unstable mind. But if you actually took the time to read this, your life is probably as empty as mine is at this moment (think about it). Happy Black History Month or whatever holiday it currently is.

Peace, I mean WAR!

Friday, February 16, 2007

She lives in my lap / forever my fiance / she lives in my lap / don't need no chain!

So, I was having a conversation with a friend of mine about finding romance, love, a relationship, a buddy, whatever term you want to use. My friend told me about going to clubs every weekend, looking for that counterpart to make him whole (so gay). He told me about meeting women in the clubs and then going out on dates with them, only to realize that they weren't compatible. Then he told me about how he met this female online and they started talking online and built a totally non-visual relationship. They planned a face to face meeting, and the relationship that worked without actual relations imploded and died. My brother went speed dating a while ago, so I told my friend about it and he decided to give it a try. He came back to me and told me about his short "dates" with random strangers, which turned up no real winners. So I suggested that he go about this the way our forefathers did, meet a nice girl in church. To make that long horrible story short, he met the "craziest chick in the fucking world" (in his words). He said that she became obsessed with him after two dates and even tried to introduce him as her man. He decided to try the whole internet thing again, and the last I checked, he was going out with this girl he met here on MySpace.com. I hope his search for his counterpart goes well.

Now, to me, I'm not really on the same search as my friend. I'm hoping to meet someone that I could have a good time with. I'm not going to go thru all the speed dating (unless I have a slow Saturday afternoon to burn), the internet hook-ups (unless, one of you ladies reading this can convince me otherwise), blind dates, etc. I'm not an explorative type of person I guess, unlike my friend, I'm waiting for something to fall in my lap. You know, I watch a lot of romantic comedies, and they always bump into somebody and a relationship blossoms (who writes this stuff). I guess I'm waiting for that special girl to bump into me when I'm walking out of the strip club or Applebee's. I don't know if that'll ever happen, but without dreaming we're just sleeping (philosophical, aren't I). But anyway, I met this cute girl at the club on my cuzo Jay's birthday, let's see how that goes. I got a couple prospects from the hood, we'll see if anyone of them makes the draft. And I've been eyeing a couple of my MySpace.com friends, let's see if I have to send them a message. Until it drops in my lap, I guess I'll keep visiting my friends at a little spot in Brooklyn, where I know someone will be in my lap (shout out to my home girl, Paris). And to my female friends, the boy is single and searching, holla at the kid.

Peace, I mean WAR!

Monday, February 12, 2007

Can it be Vanity from Last Dragon?

So, I'm watching "The Last Dragon" last night (if you've never seen it, you should be exiled from civilization), and I'm like, damn, Vanity was (is) fine as hell. The other night I watched "Coming To America", and the love interest in that, Shari Headley, is fine as hell, as well. I watched "A Piece of the Action" (with Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier) a couple nights ago, and the main actress in that film, Denise Nicholas, was bad as hell too. Then I noticed a connection between all these women, they were all light-skinned. It goes back to slave times, the lighter a woman, the better she was, and that image stuck with Black America well into now (at least, it stuck with me). Be it Salt from Salt-N-Pepa or Sheila E. back in the eighties or Alicia Keys and Beyonce right now, it has always been a light-skinned girl infatuation. Like back in High School, the hottest girl in my school had to be this one light-skinned girl. Or when I was down in Georgia, everybody was looking for that infamous Georgia red-bone. Or trying to hook-up with Dominicans and Puerto Ricans because they were lighter than most Black girls (not me, I hooked up with them for the Arroz con Pollo). Dudes would stand on the corner watching females pass, looking for that light, bright & right (L.B.R.'s, that's copy written), that red-bone, that high-yellow girl, that transparent girl, that almost white girl, any female lighter than the palms of their hands. And even though I would consider myself one of those dudes, I've never really dated a light-skinned girl (gave the bidnezz, not dated). Maybe, it's true what they say about men wanting to be with a woman like their mother, cause my mother is a light shade of mellow-yellow. And it's hilarious to me that the shade of brothers goes in and out of style as well. Men will say things like, "light-skinned brothers aren't in style, anymore", "Morris Chestnut is bringing dark-skinned brothers back", or whatever pigment bias lines brothers got. Me, I've never felt like I was light-skinned or dark-skinned (word to them mid-way, caramel brothers), so I never knew if my skin tone was in or out. I just find it kind of sad that beauty is graded with paint samples and brown bags. Some say "the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice" (from experience, not always true), some think that the closer to white, the better looking a person is. I'm just maturing and starting to figure out that we're all people, no matter the amount of Melanin in our skin. I don't care where your skin tone falls on the color wheel, if you're cool, then we're cool (and shawty, I'd most likely give you the bidnezz). A mate is defined as a counterpart, so don't pass up that person because of their skin tone, he or she might be your "true definition" (like how I brought the title into play, impeccable wordsmith that I am). Anyway, to the entire light-skinned, caramel, dark-skinned, white, Hispanic, Asian, etc, women that read this, I love all of you.

Happy Valentines Day!!!!!!!!

Peace, I mean WAR!

Thursday, February 08, 2007

If you claiming gangsta, bang on the system!

This morning I was feeling adventurous in my usual research and I stumbled upon Theodore Kaczynski, the Unabomber (check the pic). I was browsing through articles and sites about "terrorist" (anybody banging on the system), and it led me to Ted K.. For anybody that is not familiar with Teddy K., he sent I.E.D.'s (Improvised Explosive Devices) through the mail from 1978 to 1996 (his brother snitched on him, Sean don't fail my revolution). Now I don't agree with what Teddy K. did (if he actually was the only one responsible), his killings had no actual reasoning (most killings don't anyway). But I did take a deeper look into his manifesto, and he made a couple of valid points on the downfall of society. The manifesto went over various topics, including leftism, inferiority complexes, human suffering, race relations, the correlation of technological advances and the regression of society, revolution versus reform, etc. I read the manifest of a so-called psycho and a lot of it made sense to me. It reminded me of debates I used to have with people about the Palestinians, Lebanese, and other Arab states that are fighting for some reason that is obviously beyond "patriotic" Americans understanding. In the Air Force, they used to call me un-American because I'm a Muslim (kind of), I disagree with most of America's policies and I empathize with people outside of the borders of America. I ask, is it unpatriotic of me to understand why slaves want freedom, or poor people want money, or famished people want food, or homeless people want shelter. Does that make me unpatriotic or human? Because I can understand what Theodore Kaczynski was trying to express in his manifesto, does that make me a terrorist? Nelson Mandela was a terrorist to the government of South Africa, Malcolm X was a terrorist to the FBI in America, as was Huey, Martin, Bunchy, John F. Kennedy, etc, but now they are seen as freedom fighters and revolutionaries. I wonder in the future, who will be seen as a terrorist and who a revolutionary? Will George W. Bush be forever remembered in the same way as that drag queen J. Edgar Hoover, with a tarnished image? What will history say about the people in this war on "terrorism"? What will history say about me, or YOU? What mark will I leave on society? In closing, even if you do it the wrong way like Teddy K., make sure you make your point before you leave this place. Don't regret a minute that you spent on this Earth, go all out!

Peace, I mean WAR!