The Agenda

Marching is fine. It's a symbol of unity. A symbol that the people are dissatisfied and feeling under represented.

                What we are missing is an agenda. I was initially distraught at so many people I look up to repeating March, March, March and wished they would stop saying march and get to work. However, as it seems to be the case so often lately I must be the only one willing to do the work. So, since no one else is willing, I have some ideas...

                Police brutality in America, especially New York City, has become expected. The deaths of black men young and old at the hands policemen across the country has nearly become the expected end to police brutality. As tragic as these recent events have been, what is most disheartening has been the response by the 'representatives' of these affected neighborhoods. The severe lack of representation in Ferguson, MO and other cities like Tompkinsville, Staten Island is devastating. That there can be a city like Ferguson where the vast majority of its citizens aren't being represented should be a signal of distress across the country.   What the people demand is proper representation in the pursuit of justice. These citizens have been begging for representation long before this year. It took these tragic events to catalyze them into the streets.  Now is the time to act. Attorney General Holder is holding a civil rights investigation. The White House must come out of that investigation with some concrete actions. The following is what the citizens of this country demand and I expect:

1. There will be immediate elections in cities, like Ferguson, where the officials are obviously not able to represent the interests of the citizens of the city
2. There will be empowerment of organizations like the Staten Island Community Board to "police the police," to do the job they were created to do, represent smaller communities within larger cities like New York.
3. There will be mandatory body cameras on policeman all across the country. 
4. There will be election reform across the country to make it easier for citizens to vote and virtually impossible for any other interest to restrict voter access.
5. There will be a, new, national committee focused on collecting data to ensure the above actions are being fulfilled.

This is just the beginning. There will be more specific demands as the people continue to see holes in their representation that need to be filled. We will continue to march until justice is served. Justice can no longer be subjective. Today justice is not available to all of America's citizens. We must make it so. It is for each of us a sacred duty.

The time to act is now. We have the freedom to ask, as well as the freedom to act. We will be free.

Decision 2012!!!

 Decision 2012!!!

This is an important year on so many levels. There is a moderately important election going on. It's the Olympics. I'm building myself as well as my businesses. Oh and the planet is set to explode at any minute. Thanks for THAT news Mayans! And Mexicans wonder why no one likes them.

 No time for distractions.

With that in mind, I gave up drinking. Six months in, I realizing drinking may not have been my biggest distraction. For nearly as long as I’ve been drinking, maybe longer, I’ve been infatuated with women.

I am a flirt! Big flirt.

I love women. Since I started trying to hump at 3, it’s been nearly always about women. All of them. All the time!

Fast forward to today. I’m considering slowing down. I’ve always wanted to be married and have children. As a child of divorce, though, I MUST get it right the first and only time. So many ways to go… So many distractions… So many options… And, still, I thought I came close to being married. Thought! What’s a man to do? Being in my 30’s is better than I could have ever imagined. It is a smorgasbord of beautiful women. All up to par, and successful or knocking on the door… I’m paralyzed by the enormity of it all.

But I must decide. I am not a tyrant and I will not take advantage. I have before and I am so apologetic to those women I did not help but, instead, used. I will not do that anymore. Or, at least, I determined to be clearer about my decision. That didn’t work out so well. So now this is my announcement to the world. My decision in 2012, officially…

I am and will remain single (And enjoy EVERY moment of it) until a woman convinces me otherwise. And by otherwise I mean marriage.

One more time, for the hard at reading:

            The only exclusivity I believe in is marriage. Until my engagement, I will NOT be anyone’s beau, boyfriend, or any other kind of trick word for exclusive dating. If a boyfriend/exclusivity is mandatory en route to marriage for you, I’m sad to have missed getting to know you. But not too sad!
            I’m too busy enjoying my life. Single. 

Spread Too Thin in Black America

I had a teacher at Crenshaw for like two weeks. She broke up with me. It was my senior year and I was trying to run every club. I was in every class (except AP Physics). Mostly I was walking the halls all day. Either way, she could tell I was doing too much. She took me to the side and encouraged me to drop AP U.S. History. The class was going to be demanding. I couldn’t give it much attention. She wanted more from me.

            I probably could have gotten a good grade but my lack of interest may have distracted the other students. So I left.

           

            After that, I was always conscious of spreading myself too thin. Doesn’t mean I don’t do it sometimes. Just means I am always aware of the delicate balance between being a brilliant multi-tasker and being depressingly overwhelmed.

With that in mind, black people are probably spread too thin. The focus is totally not there in Black America. We are seriously all over the place. We are ashamed of each other and we want to lift up everyone. We call everything racism and we can’t stand immigrants. We want more representation in media and the representation we create is unacceptable. We want to the government to help us AND leave us alone. We got to stop snitching and we want to get rid of all the crime.

            I’ve been in on a thousand arguments/discussions on a million and one topics in the Black community. No matter how passionate. No matter how loud we get. The arguments are always circular. For example, we hate “haters” and we want to make them our motivators and we want them to go away and we keep talking to them and we ignore them and we continue to respond to them. Or we have people in our lives that aren’t living right and we don’t want to judge them and they get on our nerves and we want them to get their shit together and we love to tell the stories about them messing up and we don’t want any of their mess in our lives and we Love them and will miss them if they leave our lives.

A few years ago, I had to have that conversation with my AP U.S. History teacher again. This time, however, I was alone and I played both roles. I had to stop myself and point out that I was spread way too thin. I was helping WAY too many people. I was wearing WAY too many hats. I was being WAY too many people for WAY too many people. It’s time to focus. The only way to achieve anything is to achieve SOMETHING. I had to prioritize, focus on only the most important things and put the rest to the side. Now I’m back on track.

            Part of being spread thin is that you can get distracted and end up refocusing yourself on the wrong things. I could have ended up selling cars and lying to people and not being myself. There was success there but that meant I would have put my writing completely to the side maybe forever. That wasn’t my true priority and I would have ended up lost

So, now, Black people are lost. We started with nothing and formed a vision and direction, lost it, started all over again, got lost one more time and STILL found another vision. Today, we are lost again. We are being pulled in every direction by every American trend because we think we must choose between being black and being American.

            Today everything is possible and that is the problem. We must choose something and we want everything. We want to be included in the mainstream and we want our own stuff and still don’t like sell outs. (BTW – the new sell outs are in the illuminati)

            I notice it in conversations. We support bums one day. The same bums get on our nerves the next. And, on another day, we wish all the bums would die. And in neither conversation does a true priority develop. And there lies the problem.

            We have no priorities anymore. Now that everything is possible, we have become distracted. The last time we had a vision is was this. We have achieved the ability to do all. Anyone who is into goal setting knows it is way past time to set some new goals.

            We need a new vision, a direction, for our future generations.

            With a direction and vision we used to be innovators and leaders. Today, with no direction or vision, everywhere I look we are no longer the innovators. Fashion, movies, music, sports, there’s nothing new anymore. HELLO! We’re slipping! New shit is our job. Let’s get back to work!

            We need a focus, a vision.  Maybe we should start with fashion:

This is not u and it’s not new.

Can we get something new please?

(Twice in a row. Can you tell how I feel about those stupid jeans?)

The bottom line is we need to reestablish our identity. We need a new vision. A new purpose. Even if it’s just defining our role in this new America, a change is coming and we need to make sure we are once again a major part of it.

Our new challenge is to pick a side and determine a direction and let’s achieve new heights.

Whatever we do, just remember let’s leave these behind:

Seriously! 

Republitards

I have just encountered a new type of retard. That is the political retard. Specifically, the Republitard.

The Republitard is just one of many types of people who don’t/can’t think for themselves and perpetuate ideas and philosophies about which they know nothing. The republitard constitutes the majority of the voting population of the Republican Party.

In the Ronald Reagan article I posted on Facebook, Ronald Reagan had a reputation for lowering taxes. In fact, He trimmed tax breaks and increased Social Security tax. In the end, he kept tax revenue at the same point it’s always been. What he essentially did was cut taxes for the rich and increase taxes for the rest of America. And he spent more! Without a major war!

Republitards are no different than “Christians” who don’t read the bible. They are no different than bandwagon sports fans. No different than militants who get their first taste of revolution. They are so gung-ho about everything and have no idea what they are talking about. None.

People like noise. It stops them from thinking. Unfortunately, what happens is people start thinking for them. It’s easy for charismatic people to be so passionate about tax breaks for the upper class. Their charisma has carried their incomes to that same upper class. They are directly affected by the causes they fight so passionately for. And they fight so passionately that the ignorant Republitards also believe they are directly affected.

So let me be clear. Republitards think they are rich. They think they are white. They think they are as charismatic as their leaders. For one, all Republican Hispanics are Republitards. They got the people elected in Arizona who are now trying to get rid of them. All Republicans who make less than 250,000 dollars a year are Republitards. They are running around crying about tax breaks when only people who make 250,001 dollars or more will be affected. Now THAT’s retarded.

How do you not know how much money you have? Only 5% (I’m being nearly doubly generous) of Americans make that much or more. As of September 1, 2010, 33.8% of American voters are registered Republicans. Assuming everyone in that 5% is Republican (Yeah Right! Like God blesses that many fools), 85% of Republicans are Republitards and/or flat out stupid. Since 35% of the voting population is Democrat we can assume safely that half of that 5% is Republican which means 93% (I rounded up. We are talking about retards. Some of them probably paid too much taxes trying to floss) of Republicans are Republitards. That’s almost all of them.

Essentially what I’m saying is, it’s retard to be Republican.

Come back next week when I show you how it’s retarded to be a Democrat.

The King Children

Current mood: argumentative
Category: Life

So I live in Atlanta (The Metro Area). My church is across the street from the King Memorial and around the block from the King childhood house. The King family still holds a little weight around these parts. However, since Coretta passed, all HELL has broken loose.

Most recently, Dexter King is suing Bernice King and Martin Luther King III claiming they've opened competing centers. In July, Bernice and Martin sued Dexter to get him to open the King Center's books.

So, too sum up. the middle remaining child is throwing a public tantrum over the oldest and youngest children's new toys. All of this is probably in response to the oldest and youngest's previous tantrum over the middle child taking over the old toybox. Three 40 and 50 year old babies acting out because they miss mommy and daddy.  

I'll tell you no one misses Mommy and Daddy more than the rest of us. Martin Luther King Jr. is a rare breed not because he could walk on water like Jesus, and he didn't starve himself like Gandhi. He was like all three because he gave up being a regular husband and father to be our leader. His connection with the world went beyond his family. Maybe that's is the biggest sacrifice he made. Even bigger than his own life. Because all we left with is his legacy and three crying ass babies.

People always ask if we are living Dr. King's dreams today. Barack is going to win the presidency, largely due to the help of "The Queen of All Media" Oprah Winfrey. We feel a little less scared to talk crazy to white people. Some people say we still have a way to go.


I wonder what Dr. King would say.

And now it's his children showing their asses. So, even in a family that represents unity there is discord. We may be working so hard to get the outside world to accept each other that we are neglecting our own families, our own communities, our own congregation, and our own co-workers. Are we being lazy and disguising it as lofty ideals. "Yeah let's save the world. Who cares if MY child falls off, I'll be a hero to the world."

We forgive geniuses for having messy rooms. We marvel at the successful business woman with a meticulous house and the messy love life. We pay tithes to pastor who can't keep his dick in his pants. It's been OK to neglect certain parts of our lives for success in others. How can we feel complete as a community if we look down on some and look past others?

Church members look into each other's bedrooms, love lives, businesses, bank accounts. Let's stick to the basics. Make sure every member has a bible. Make every member knows how to read. Let's do what we can for our family members. If we are getting played and playing games in our own family, what are we going to put out to the world when we go out there? If we can't keep it real with people we've been around all our lives, who is going to trust you outside your house.

What do you all say? Is it OK to neglect your family to focus on the world? Is the King family just keeping it real? Don't all families have problems? Or is that the problem with the world? Is it wrong that we assume families should be dysfunctional?


Let me hear it. All I know is I'm tired of fighting over dumb shit!


well my brotha you have brought up a good point. Have many of us gotten so focused on what the world thinks that we have forgotten about family. Are we to buy trying to make a dollar instead of spending quality time with our children. What are we teaching our children about family. You know they learn rom example. Have many of us gotten to tired and lazy to even take the time to focus on family. Or are we to busy minding others business and judging others instead of caring. What did Martin give his life for. I thought it was for us to have the freedom of caring for our family as a people not individuals. Why does it seem like other races are taking full advantage of the door Martin opened when he opened it for all of us. Makes me wonder. So many people need to stop talking and start listening and doing something positive. Change is now and these fools don't even see it. So sad.

THIS IS MY SISTER EVERYBODY!!!

That's how we ROLL!

Hey Jason...(jus wanted to say hi first)..anyhoo do u remember the times when ur parents would leave u and ur sibling(s) @ home alone? Same thing..let the chaos begin... Being the middle girl of three girls there was always some sorta double teaming going on and sometimes I was on the outside of the duo determined to cause some mess.. "It's a family affair" that's what they say...even the Cosby's(in real life) didn't live upto the persona they displayed on television. Bill possibly fathering another child (proven to be false but he clearly had an affair)...Lisa Bonet's sex scene @ age 19 in "Angel Heart" It's all simple til that child starts to see themselves as an individual and there decisions grow beyond deciding on what cereal they want in the morning....nurturing, loving, and caring for them doesn't always determined that that seed will grow into a beautiful "Afican Violet".. Thank u for Jason Pearlicia

Oh yeah when the parents left...

But I'm no porn addict or sex fiend. (I think) In fact, I am pretty sure that all the unsupervised shenanigans in my life were over ruled by what I knew my parents believed was best for me. I'm not a perfect child and a far from perfect as an adult but I work towards honoring my parents with the work that is my life. I'm an individual but I still come from a family and maybe it's the competitive edge in me but I want my family to improve not disintegrate.

I think that the family is having every regular family problems, but since their family before them were public figures, it gives them another way to whine and cry about the others.
We have a local lady who owned a pizza place, and had 4 kids. The one moved back, and forced the other two into lesser roles, so they opened their own. The mom and sister immediately blocked them from using any recipe's that the old place had. But it didn't get into the public eye, because they didn't have the popularity that Dr King had obviously.
Unfortunately, people like to surround themselves with yes people, and not common sense people, so we get stupid things like this

Damned Yes people! That's why I only deal with people different than me. Everybody is not supposed to match all the time!

All families are dysfunctional. All you have to do is catch them when they think nobody's watching. The question becomes how readily do we throw our business into the public spotlight? How eager are we to put each other down in order to uplift ourselves? I am the oldest of 4 kids. My mom worked hard to make up for what my dad wasn't around to do. We fought like cats and dogs when she went to work. But when she got home she'd line us up like little soldiers. I can almost remember the speech word for word... the theme was that this world is full of obstacles and it is the family's responsibility to always uphold and support the other members. We were punished more severely for hurting each other than for any other offense. Even as adults, we know that we are not perfect, and we don't always agree, but we never tear each other down. No matter what. Charity starts in the home. That's how you build good citizens.

Wonderful family values! The problem with people in public demand sometimes is they have to sacrifice the home life for the public one. And we see what happens to the neglected children, no matter who their parents are.

Black And Brown: Election 2008

This democratic primary is making me upset. First, Black women come under fire because some choose to vote for Hillary Clinton and not Barrack Obama. Today, minority voters are showing splits between hispanic and black voters because hispanic voters don't trust Obama to represent them once in office. That was the straw that broke the camel's back. The representation of this primary in the news has not benefited the Democratic Party. There is simply too much division! And the worst part is, the division is among under-represented groups. The saddest thing I ever see is broke people fighting over a nickel to give to the wealthy, so the wealthy can throw the poor more crumbs to fight over at their amusement. We are Bum Fights 2008. A few republicans are having a grand old time watching Black people, Brown people, and women weaken the major focus of this campaign. CHANGE (That is change for the better!)

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one upset by this division. This is not what our leaders died for. You know I'm so upset I can't wtite any more...

Am I missing something?


Have we ever been able to come together on anything? The Browns and the Blacks has/have always been divided and will probably always will. Many of us don't know who we are, many of us don't know the promises that were made, many of us don't care that we are a chose people, people chosen by God. But will we ever see those promises come to fruition? I wonder, because we've chosen to put our selves in the dunce seat. Step N Fetchit is alive and well once again. The Black and the Browns are still a source of amusements for the Others.

Not at all. It's sad to say, but this is the reality that we live in. We are a divided people. Everyone will (hopefully) think and analyze and decide for him/herself which candidate they believe will do a better job. I think a lot of what's going on has to do with Barrack's perceived inexperience and Hillary's perceived advantagous experience. But, then again, I guess this is what democracy is about. Our leaders fought for our right to vote. As great of a tragedy as it is to see disadvantaged people fight amongst themselves and to see the advantaged in our country benefit from it, I think it is a greater tragedy if the disadvantaged didn't disagree with each other at all. For if that were the case, they wouldn't be involved in the democratic process at all. So while it saddens me to see what is going on, I have to say that part of me is content with it because at least there are most people from this demographic involved in the political process now than I can remember at any recent time. Let's just hope that whomever the nominee is, that we can rally behind them and support them through the rest of their campaign.

WORD!
No I don't think you're missing anything and the analogy of the crumbs is a good one. I was just discussing the paradigms ,that are perpetuating this divide, with my coworker yesterday.

He was talking about how the socio-econimic paradigm we live within has created divides or categories even within poverty. He pointed out white poverty versus black poverty, male poverty versus female poverty, and rural poverty versus urban poverty. I couldn't disagree with his assertions.

But I did point out to him that the paradigm is not new. It has existed since before the advent of the U.S. as a country. It is not new it is long seated and deeply ingrained.

Yet, the fact that people like ourselves are having these conversations point to the hope of change....and I don't mean in the sense of some political movement.

I think there are more of us that will rally behind either democratic candidate despite the divisive speech and childish antics some of our peers are exhibiting.

I'd have to agree with Theo on this one. The participation within the democratic party has superceded that of previous years. People do want change and they are voicing their opinions by voting. I think if Barack Obama was not running, I 'may' rally behind Clinton, but personally, I feel he is the best candidate, despite his perceived inexperience (in comparison to Hillary's years of experience - including the 4 years she played the role as the wife of the President...). One of these democratic candidates will be the primary democratic candidate. When that happens, hopefully all - inclusive of men, women, blacks, hispanics, etc.. will rally together and elect a democratic candidate. This primary campaign has proved that people DO have the know how and capability of coming out to the polls and voting. So if we combine the support gathered by Obama and Clinton, a DEMOCRATIC candidate shall be elected! This country needs a democratic president, more than it has ever before (in our lifetime). Both Clinton and Obama's plan takes into account universal health care, ending the war on Iraq, and other pertinent issues, so this will benefit the masses. Last but not least, for your Texas, Ohio, Vermont, and Rhode Island friends - cast your vote if you haven't already. This is a vital time in history. I suggest you vote for Obama because he is NOT indebted to ANY lobbyist and he is in a position to evoke change that will be holistically benefit the American people. His grassroots movement has surpassed all prediction. If you are a Texan, voting isn't enough. We need you to be at your precints by 7pm tonight. Do the Texas 2 step by voting AND caucusing.

Barack the Vote!!

Poor Democrats

So I was going to let another political fiasco go by with out saying a word about it. I mean, I thought about talking about the gay Republicans. I thought about talking about why Barack Obama may or may not be the first black president of the United States. Or why Hillary Clinton may or may not be the first woman president. But no, I will talk about why John Kerry will never be president and why the Democrats are going to get their asses handed to them next week.

I'm listening to Frank and Wanda this morning (I wanna find Frank after this and tell him how wrong he is on this), and they are talking about this Kerry fiasco. It didn't become a fiasco until he apologized. I knew he would and when he did, I just shook my head.

The Republican party has the best spin doctors in the universe. Virtually all of America is afraid to say the wrong thing about this war we allegedly won years ago. Its been years people. Remember Bush in the flight suit. How dare we mention how many soldiers are still dying lest we insult the soldiers who will die tomorrow. Don't even point out the FACT that more soldiers die in a month now than the entire time before Saddam was caught and victory was declared. And by no means, should you ever, ever, EVER ask when we are going to pull out of Iraq. The answer by the way is - when we have something going on bigger than Iraq going on.

Just my take for the ones who want to know about what Kerry said. (By the way - he told a bunch of college students to study and get good grades or they would end up in Iraq.) He made a reference to options. But mainly, he was talking about the draft. There will be one. And if you flunk out of school. Or can't pay. Or have to leave. You're going to Iraq. Soldiers who are already enlisted, had a choice. They chose to enlist. Picked the branch. And tested for a job they would like to have. A draftee has less of a choice. They will be tested but they get last priority compared to enlisted men/women. All that is to say - Study or Front Line.

Kerry is a smart man. But as smart men do, (think Gore turning down Clinton's help) he made a fatal error. He backed down to the Republican spin machine. For Christ sakes! There are gay congressmen chasing minors!!! (The key word is minors not gay) AND he back down to a democratic party he has all but turned his back on. John Kerry has (had) the democratic nomination whether or not they wanted to give it to him. He starts out as unafraid and independent of everyone. Then he buckles. He buckled in '04. He's buckling now. Two years later! That's chronic buckling. You don't want to be known as a chronic buckler. People like to play with buckles. Push the button while they're at the light. Push it when they're on long trips just to pass time. Just checking to see if it still works or how long it will last. John Kerry has become a sometime safety restraint. Sometime plaything. He's a buckle.

The Democratic National Convention is only partially to blame. Granted they buckled first. But they are just an approval body. They are supposed to represent all registered Democrats. Whether or not they actually do that is of no concern. They continue to get punked by the Republicans. It takes a candidate who operates oblivious to Democratic cowardice. Like Bill Clinton. Like Barack Obama. Like Hillary Clinton. Not like John Kerry.

But don't ask me. I voted for Nader. I probably will again.