Do Better: Donald "The Dinosaur" Sterling Fucking Up

There's enough people re-hashing everything the Clippers owner said on the tape that now has people of all races requesting his dismissal as the team's owner. Everyone has re-hashed how deplorable his bigoted, racist, sexist antics have been. So I won't bother you with that again. I'll tell you simply the different ways that he just royally fucked up. I'll pull in a dark-skinned Black man, actor Bill Dukes, to help me make my point:

The secret's out:  We know he's not alone in his mind state sadly. He's from an era when rich white men could look down on, exploit, and mistreat minorities, women, or the poor without anyone thinking twice of it. He's paid his way out of having to fess up many times before; this time he got set up and caught. At least the other old bigots and racists learn to dust their tracks.

• Worse possible timing: He's been the laughing stock of the league for years and his franchise was branded undesirable to go to. They had just started making ground shedding his reputation as an cheap, out-of-touch, racist, sexist bastard because his team is now a legit title contender and a trendy destination. And the Lakers are in a downturn, so the opportunity is there. Now he's on the verge of being abandoned by his fans, coaches, and players.
• His dick got him in trouble: Yep, even at 80. Sterling's lawyer claimed that the woman who released the tape, his half-Black, half-Mexican mistress V. Stiviano, was trying to get him back for the lawsuit his family had against her. Well, SHE GOT HIS ASS. She pressed "record" and provoked him and he fell in the trap quickly.
• Forgot where he came from: He grew up poor and working with lower to lower middle class people in law. Now he's rich and maintains such feelings thinking that his money makes him bulletproof. Rich ppl cut ties with rich ppl who are "bad for business" quickly. You may have made yourself a lepper professionally.
• Using slave master language: His language about how he gives his players food, houses, and cars sounded much like how I'd imagine a slave master would highlight that his actions are justified by the food and shelter he provided the free labor on his plantation. Like I can only associate with the Black people I'm exploiting for money, noone else. I can only guess who Chris Paul felt hearing that.
• And most importantly...
• Wrong sport, wrong place, wrong time: You decided to buy an NBA team (the least white of the major sports leagues), which he moved from San Diego to Los Angeles (one of the most multi-cultural cities in the world). In 2014, you're trying to make ur multi-cultural girlfriend stop associating with basketball royalty like Magic Johnson? WTF? If you bought a hockey team and moved it to Idaho, you might not have these problems.

It's 2014 and the world has changed a great deal since the heyday of the mindset Sterling has illustrated to the world this week. Especially if he wants to keep young girlfriends who grew up in a more progressive world. The commissioner can't just snatch his team from him, but they need to find a way to add pressure or have a vote to get him out. Sponsors are leaving, fans are leaving, players and coaches may leave when their chance comes and he's turned a city against him that he was just starting to see slant his direction over the Lakers. Now ppl are waiting for you to be removed from his position whether by force, sale, or his death (sad but true). Take a bow you dinosaur, you've made quite a bed for yourself this time. I hope you're faced to sell it to Magic Johnson of all people and he spits in ur face right after the contract is signed. Do Better...

Real Talk: Using Athletes to Break Down the Barriers of Racial Understanding

Thank you Richard Sherman, DeSean Jackson, LeBron James, and so many others, you've helped me to start some conversations that our great nation needs so many more of. Racism still exists, but I argue that it's not the biggest problem between anymore, the biggest problem is unconscious discomfort and dismissiveness due to misunderstanding. I'm a young Black man who went to middle and high school in the hood (although my parents were able to move us out of that) and has friends from all walks of life; by being around different people you understand different people and learn how you fit into things. I now work in somewhat of a corporate setting and some of my co-workers are from the most affluent and least diverse upbringings imaginable. I get along with everyone and they see me as a peer, but from time to time I'm reminded that they just fundamentally do not understand much of what I've been through, much less what those truly from less fortunate backgrounds deal with in life. When such a subject comes up, I feel an obligation to speak for speak for a population they shun and will never willing be within 1000 feet of that they're acting bigoted towards because they don't understand them and have dismissed them as lost causes; even when they're completely wrong. For instance, it was laughable that Richard Sherman was being called a thug (and other worse racial epithets) after his emotional interview in the immediate aftermath of making essentially a game-winning play to send his team to the Super Bowl. With the exception of those who immediately went racial, I'd assume those who haven't been around young Black males or around football players were largely uncomfortable with this level of aggressiveness and decided he had to be a thug. No, he's a football player, who plays a position that all but requires over-confident, in the heat of the moment. He's was a young man strong to beat the odds and make it from a very bad neighborhood (between Watts and Compton, in South L.A.) to Stanford (where he had a 3.9 GPA) and then the NFL. He's hired by Sports Illustrated as a writer on the side. This isn't a bad apple; those who dismissed him were unequivocally wrong. But they wouldn't call the hockey players who started off a game by throwing down their sticks as fighting such a strong word when they fit the definition. Upon cutting DeSean Jackson, someone in the Eagles organization apparently told the media that part of the reason was his ties to gangs or gang members. My co-worker tried to convince me that if he was from such a bad neighborhood, he'd move his family away from there and never go back. He went as far as to say he'd take off running the other way if he ever saw anyone from his old neighborhood. Really? No giving back to your community? No trying to help more kids make it out? No going home...ever? Taking off running from a high school teammate? Furthermore, isn't instantly moving and paying for dozens of people one of the major ways athletes cited as going broke on the "30 for 30" special "Broke"? That's not a sound financial decision. When life hands you a raw deal as a kid, those who help you navigate and make it through that form a bond with you that should last a lifetime. Like I said, I lived in a decent area but went to school with "undesirables" and I tell people that they were part of the reason I didn't get involved in anything bad; despite teenage curiosities, they shielded me from that because I had the potential for much more. I'm sure DeSean Jackson has similar more dramatic stories. I have former teammates who went the wrong direction and friends behind bars or dead. Like me, he has to be careful about exactly how he interacts with them now and it might not be appropriate for you to be rolling with them how you once did. But if I was a celebrity and I ran into them, I'd dap them up, if they wanted a picture, I'd take a picture with them, I might let them sit at my table at a restaurant and chat it up. But that would be it. You show love. But those raised among the rich don't get that because A) the rich are quick to shun or forget someone else if they fall of the pace of their rich peers, and B) they may never have to deal with someone from DeSean Jackson's background. I have these conversations because even if they don't agree, even if having their perspective makes them mad, I want them to physically hear the other perspective from someone they respect as a peer. Then I use the LeBron example. LeBron is a kid from the projects of Akron who became the best ball player in the world, did he turn his back on his childhood friends? No, he kept them close and put them to work. One of his teenage friends, Rich Paul, is now his agent and quickly becoming one of the most powerful agents in the NBA. They don't get more famous and successful than where LeBron is now, but rather than shunning Akron; he brought them to the top with him. And they're not ghetto, they're not freeloading leaches, or just a useless social entourage, they're legit, they're earning the place they were given at the table. So he's allowing others from a less fortunate situation to make it because he has made it; he's opening up new avenues, which is powerful. That doesn't happen if you're quick to turn your back to them. So even if my coworkers don't agree, I want them to hear it said by a peer and it bouncing around in their minds, because that's at least a step towards understanding. And that also is powerful and we need more of that everywhere. Real Talk...

Stop Me When I Start Lying: Riley and Miley: He Says Nigger While She Can't Stop Twerkin'

That's right motherfucker, I'm talking about Riley (Cooper) and Miley (Cyrus) in the same article. In the past decades, hip-hop culture and pop culture have converged. Many white people who grew up in all white environments - these two included - had a choice whether to embrace, ignore, respectfully abstain, or resent the overwhelming subculture the Black community created. These two are case studies in different options. For those who don't know, Riley Cooper (from Oklahoma City, OK and then Clearwater, FL) is a backup wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles. At a country music concert at the stadium Cooper was denied backstage access by a Black security guard and was caught on camera saying "I'll fight every nigger in here." Let's break this down: 1) Why the fuck should Riley Cooper have backstage access without proper passes? He's an Eagle, but he ain't no damn star; this wasn't Michael Vick. The guard probably had no fucking idea who he was or why he thought he was so important. He might as well have let my ass back stage, I'm as readily recognizable as Riley Cooper. The guard was just doing his job. 2) I guess since it was a country concert (one of few nigger-free functions in Philly), Riley thought he could let his hair down and unleash the inner racist he's forced to hold inside at work with no repercussions...in 2013? Yo dumb ass, cameras are everywhere, even though your a backup. 3) Before anyone starts the "he can say it since you Black say it" conversation, let me explain my take on that. If he was caught reciting rap lyrics, using it as a term of endearment among his Black friends, or anything else that I could call "a product of coming up in Black culture", it wouldn't necessarily be acceptable but it would be somewhat understandable. But he used it in the pissed slave master sense; like "how dare you nigger disobey me and stop me from doing what I want to? I'll whip you and every other nigger in here." He's gonna have a hard time trying to get anyone to believe that he's never used that word before and he has no hard feelings towards Black people. My conclusion: He was never fully comfortable with/accepting of Black people or the subculture we spawned. He's learned to co-exist with Black people but always had some feelings of disdain/resentment towards them inside which he let slip out. He's supremely fucked up. He's an expendable player in a 70% Black sport in one of the biggest, Blackest cities in America for a team that needs success without distractions. You've lost the trust of your teammates (and many of the notoriously harsh Philly fans) and now depend on their professionalism to co-exist and perform well with you. The fact that his coach, his owner, and even the league's commissioner didn't take a stand on the issue at all is bullshit in its own right, but that's a story for another day. He better keep his head down and ball out or he might be the most athletic worker in a Sam's Club stock room this time next year.

On the other hand, you have Hannah Montana herself. Cyrus, who grew up on a 500 acre farm in Tennessee before making it to Hollywood as a Disney child star, has hit the age where she's rebelliously finding her identity as a grown up rock star. Like many child stars, she has found the "bad boy/girl" temptation-filled lifestyle appealing now than the heavy parent-protected life of innocence and wholesomeness that they came up in. What's interesting is some of the hobbies and friends she's picked up along the way. In addition to the rock star hair, the provocative clothes, and the overall newfound edginess, she has become infatuated with a product of early-2000's club style hip-hop: Twerking. That's right, the dance style born in Africa, refined by the modern stripper/video chick, and popularized by a hip-hop culture that is enamored with watching and feeling (with their pelvic region) the different ways women can shake the meat on the lower half of their bodies. She was probably behind stage on the set of "Hannah Montana" watching Ying Yang Twins and Two Short videos when her parents weren't looking. Now that her country singer dad isn't lording over her and her weight has made it into the triple digits (hopefully) she thinks she has enough meat to take part in it herself. For the record, I've seen the videos, she may be American's most popular twerker right now, but she lacks the meat in her ass/thigh/hamstring area to be an All-Star at the craft; she gets points for her effort though. Hell, she got sarcastically shouted out by Jay-Z about and that fucker's in his 40s. She's popped up on stage at a Juicy J concert to show off her new 'skill' and probably searches for rappers to party with instead of her former Disney contemporaries and some less twerk-friendly music. My conclusion: Like much of young white America, she wants to be not only Black, but borderline hood because she thinks its cool. But she's overdoing it, you can't go from Taylor Swift to Rihanna overnight. Although she clearly accepts and enjoys hip hop culture, but as Jay-Z has said a good little Disney white girl turned bad (and/or ratchet) in the spotlight is among America's worst nightmares. Although it's not what I want when I talk about a truly diverse and accepting country, Miley entertains me. Hell, I can't imagine how middle America is gonna panic when some Black entertainer or athlete starts stretching her pussy out. Call me vile for the last sentence if you want, but Stop Me When I Start Lying...

Do Better: Your Debt to the King

I know the title is confusing, keep reading; it will make sense. Yesterday, January 21, 2013 was Obama's second Inauguration Day. I won't besmirch the historical significance of this as this could possibly be the last time we see a Black president inaugurated; I hope not, I hope the Presidency becomes more diverse going forward (race, gender, etc), but it could also be the last. However, even bigger than that is the fact that it was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. I somewhat pity all the Obama-MLK comparisons because despite his amazing achievement, the constraints of partisan politics (increasingly so due to bitterness towards Obama) limit his the pace and effectiveness of truly making his desired mark; even as President, King's shoes may be too big to fill. I honestly believe a lot of people still undervalue just how different our society would be without the Civil Rights Movement, which MLK was the face of; no disrespect to Abernathy and all those behind the scenes and even Malcolm X who had a different approach. My entire point whenever I mention this name is not to preach about what he did in his life time, it's about what's he's doing for us today. Those involved in the Movement - particularly King's nonviolent demonstrations - were willing to face arrests, physical harm, and even murder with no reciprocation to attain the opportunities that too many (be reminded, he wasn't just fighting for Black ppl, he fought for all equality) take for granted today. Even if you're slack and can't muster any initiative or motivation out of yourself or even your close support group, there's no way you should be able to look at this man and not feel some responsibility to do better for yourself. Just a generation or two ago, your ancestors didn't have the chances you have now; the institutionalized racism/sexism/other bigotry that's still present is NOTHING compared to the Jim Crow era and its immediate aftermath. You have no excuse, get that molasses out of your ass and make something of yourself. So no, I wasn't telling Obama or MLK to do better, I'm talking to everyone out there who's making excuses to themselves (too hard, takes too long, not fun, etc) not to do something with yourselves. You don't owe it to me, you don't even owe it to yourself, but you owe the ghost of the King and the rest of your ancestors who fought and died so the American Dream could be yours too. Do Better...

Django Unchained: Mixed Feelings

Have you ever been disappointed in yourself for being caught off-guard by something? As my logical mind takes back over now that my initial impulsive reaction has faded, that's how I feel about the movie Django: Unchained. From the previews, I fully believed this to be a revenge, shoot em up Western where the protagonist happens to be a former slave rather than an cowboy who goes to rescue the girl; all Tarantino style action (think Kill Bill and Shoot 'Em Up) with just enough flashbacks and vignettes to establish a bit of a storyline. What I wasn't ready for were the lengths that Tarantino would go to establishing the setting of 1850's Mississippi. Setting the movie slave backdrop in movies typically includes some whipping, some fierce talk, maybe inhumane working conditions, etc. A lot of Americans - black, white, and other - don't want to face the true degree of savagery that took place and furthermore it's hard to decipher exactly how graphic you can be about in the cinema for the masses to see. Well, Quentin Tarantino has never had that trepidation about finding the line of political correctness/appropriateness. He seems himself as an artist unbounded by societal standards of political correctness or decency. I'm told that me made a remark saying that "Roots" wasn't realistic enough about how heinous slavery was; I found this out since seeing the movie of course. So he kicked his depiction of slavery up a notch from what you're used to. I'm talking slaves getting eaten by dogs on camera. I'm talking a smiling slave master (Leo DiCaprio) instructing slave fighter to kill his opponent with a hammer simply to stay in the master's good graces. I'm talking a white man with Jamie Foxx's genitalia in one hand and a heated hunting knife in the other preparing to castrate him as he hangs in a device which appeared designed for that very purpose. I'm talking slaves put into a cast iron chest in the middle of a field in the middle of Mississippi summer and left there for 10 days as punishment for disappointing the improvised authority on the plantation. I'm talking a slave master explaining that he doesn't understand why the slaves don't rise up and kill the white people before threatening to bash Kerry Washington's beautiful skull in simply to prove his point that Blacks are dumb and subservient. And more. Then on another note, you had the actors' performances themselves. I recently watched Robert De Niro on "Inside the Actor's Studio" when he said it's not an actor's job to judge the character, just to understand him and portray him. But that didn't make it any easier to see DiCaprio, Don Johnson, and other contemporary actors very comfortably and casually throwing around the N word and cracking offensive jokes. The worst part was seeing Samuel L. Jackson as the ultimate House Nigga, he's the old, surly, foul-mouthed representation of Black self hatred itself. At one point he goes so far as to brag to Django about the different horrendous things that he and his masters have done to Blacks in the past. It was even more uncomfortable when you notice just how hard some of the White people in the theater laughed at some of the jokes I couldn't bear to laugh at. Although I have to admit it was a very well made movie, it was difficult to watch at times; my date that night is still offended by it over a week later. I will admit, there are times were Tarantino strikes comedic genius despite the grotesque periodical backdrop (a scene with the Klan complaining that the eye holes on their hood bags aren't adequate). It is also nice in the midst of that backdrop to see a former slave hero who shoots (and at one point whips) slave masters and will do anything to get his girl back. I had to marinate on this movie, watch some video of the actors speaking about it, and sleep on it and now I've arrived at this: I have to get over it or be labeled a hypocrite. I always say that the first step for America to move past racism is be honest about it, which will involve some uneasy moments; although this wasn't an activist call to face the realities of slavery, this is an example. Although I know that slavery is much worse than portrayed in any film we've ever seen (including this one), something about seeing new atrocities depicted or being taken away into a movie which recreates that period is still unsettling at the time. Tarantino has never been shy about controversial subjects (Nazi Germany, etc) or the even N-word, so it would do no good to try to reprimand him for the controversial nature of the film. But maybe we needed this. It gets people talking. Slavery was similar to a holocaust which lasted 500 years instead of 5; we - particularly white people - must escape the misconception that this was just Africans forced to do volunteer work. Our country was largely built on the backs of a population who were stripped from their homeland and forced through torture, castration, murder, rape, and more to do the dirty work for the businessmen that claim to have made our country great. the sooner we see these things and start being honest about them and their unmistakable effect on our country ever since, the sooner we can move past our taboos and start to build understanding.

Do Better: Cornball Rob Parker

Attention Rob Parker (pictured with headset), u're not only embarrassing urself, u're embarrassing Black men everywhere. Rob Parker, a personality on ESPN who frequently the show "First Take" hosted by Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith, has been suspended 30 days because last week he made comments stating that Redskins rookie QB Robert Griffin III (pictured in uniform) isn't Black enough to be considered a "real brother". He instead called him a "Cornball Brother." That's right, Black on Black racism. This is not a topic that should be discussed on National TV...even if he's somewhat right. Look, if this topic comes up in a bar or in someone's living room while we're watching a game, I would have participated because there is a lot to discuss. RG3 in terms of appearance was the Blackest QB we've ever seen. We know that in America if you're to have a Black man as the face of your government, company, team, an award winner, or anything else, he typically needs a universal appeal: handsome, fairly clean cut, and light to brown skinned. RG3 is (pardon my judgement on the man) ugly, has long hanging plait braids (not even Larry Fitzerald style clean cut dreds), and is as dark as the night is long; This ain't Obama or Cam Newton we're talking about. Then he was drafted by "Chocolate City" Washington DC where he looks more like Wale than anyone else...but he's not that kind of dude. Despite being from Louisiana and Texas, it's widely believed that he typically is surrounded by white people. It's reported that he's more politically aligned with the Republicans. He's engaged to a cute but somewhat plain White girl (pictured with Griffin). I could only imagine the looks that he may get walking around with her in DC; hell, he might pass up Adams Morgan, U Street, and more typically Black areas (that Michael Vick or my hometown QB Cam Newton would go if they lived in DC) and instead take her out in Georgetown or something. I say all of this to say that even if I knew him, he might not fit in at my cookouts. He might not roll to the spots we would go to or listen to the music we would. That's relevant socially...but not athletically. So why the hell is this being discussed on  ESPN? I'm not naive enough to believe that people's social lives and professional lives are completely disconnected. But I don't feel like you should report on something on ESPN if it's not directly connected. Is it truly my business that Torrey Smith's brother got killed? Actually, not really. But it was reported because it affects whether he will play and possibly the quality to which he played the game a day or two after his brother's death. I'm a LeBron James fan, I criticize him harshly for two moments of his career; Game 5 of the 2010 series against Boston and his disappearance in the 2011 NBA Finals. That game 5 terrible performance happened the day he found out his teammate Delonte West  had slept with his mom. It's not my business, but I do see how that may affect your performance that night. My mind may have been more on breaking the jaw of this Mother fucker (literally) than being the best basketball player in the world. The fact that RG3 might not fit in at my cookout does not affect my respect level for Robert as a quarterback. Honestly, I don't know if Rob Parker would fit in at my cookout; I don't know him, but he strikes me as a bit corny himself. That's another reason this seemed odd coming from him. As much as he's criticized for his level of animation and occasionally controversy, I'm a big Stephen A. Smith fan because I think we could share some beer and have immensely entertaining conversations about sports or anything else. The same could be said for many sports writers, but not I'm not sure Parker makes that list. Skip Bayless, Smith, and may others say controversial things and express really strong opinions often approaching the line of what's "over the top"; it starts conversations. It gets people watching "First Take" to see what perspective they're gonna take on a hot issue, whether you agree with them or think they're ridiculous. That controversy is fine when discussing sports...not gauging someone's Blackness. So all in all, we live in a society where Blacks have come a long way and are excelling in many facets (politics, sports, music, cinema, etc) at unprecedented levels. Is this really what white people need to see us doing on National TV? Trying to turn us against each other on the basis of someone not being Black enough to be supported by the Black community? Do Better...

Real Talk: The Smoking Guns

July 20, 2012: A 24 year old masked man enters a midnight screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" and kills 12 people, wounding 50 more in a Colorado movie theater. December 11, 2012 A man walks into an Oregon mall and shoots three people before taking his own life right before police arrive. December 14, 2012 An autistic 20 year old starts shooting indiscriminately in the Newtown, CT elementary school that his mother worked at, killing 27 people including 20 small children. That may have been the last straw. Let me be clear, I was sad, I'm not anymore...I'M PISSED; A controlled pissed, but pissed nonetheless. These aren't the first school shootings by any means (Colombine, Virginia Tech, and countless others), but the shock and sadness this one causes may just be the straw that broke the camels back he it comes to changing our loose gun laws in America. As well read as I pride myself on being, I have purposely not researched or read much on the details of this incident because of the visceral sadness associated with the death of so many young children. It hit me like a ton of bricks and I'm not a parent; I could only imagine what it felt like as a parent. Two more things hit me as soon as I heard about this incident, a) This is another indication that too many guns are ending up in the hands of the wrong people, b) He just killed 27 people and noone has referred into him as a terrorist. I understand that the 2nd Amendment is virtually irreversible and is widely supported by many states and virtually every rural area. I know plenty of young people who are responsible gun owners (even some that own automatic or assault weapons); they own them, they may go to the gun range and shoot, they're around just in case of the worse but scarcely even get touched. I also know that most rural gun owners have them for the purposes of hunting or recreational shooting only and have never turned their firearms on other people. I honestly believe 90-95% of registered gun owners are not a real threat to society. The problem is that the other 5% of registered gun owners (and those who procure firearms by less legal means) are comprised of people who likely either: lead a lifestyle that increases their propensity for violence, have mental/emotional issues which increase their likeliness to "overreact" to something via firearm. Just like with insurance, law enforcement, and so many other things, the actions of the 5% make things much worse for the more responsible 95%. But rather than complaining, which won't get us anywhere, my thought process (still trying to avoid the emotion that comes with fully turning my attention to the details of this latest tragedy) immediately turns to "What can we do?". The over reactors immediately jump to "Get rid of guns in America", but I'm versed enough to realize that this isn't feasible. In rural America (which by land mass is still the majority of the country), fear that the "city slickers" will try to take their guns is a constant fear and can drive their political views and affiliations. Hell, the NRA and right wing response to this situation is "Guns aren't the problem. He was just a bad apple. If the principal of the school had had an assault rifle in his office, none of this would have happened."( I heard a similar "Arm everyone as a deterrent" from zany ass Ann Coulter in reply to Trayvon Martin's murder; SMH). If more restrictive gun legistlation is passed, their inevitable response will be "Why should I stop buying guns because of a few? I haven't broken the law." Fuck the NRA, we know they have their own reasons for advocating more guns. A friend of mine on Facebook recently very astutely compared this to saying "I'm a law abiding citizen, not a hijacker. Why can't take my knives and box cutters on the plane?". If that argument worked, I'd be at city hall tomorrow saying "I'm not a criminal, I don't want to pay the portion of my taxes that goes to funding the police force. They don't need them for me, I don't like them fuckers, and they don't like young Black men." Let me know when that shit starts to work. And this theory that everyone should be armed to prevent gun violence sounds crazy; raise your hand if gun availability seems like the answer rather than the problem. I won't lie and say I know the whole answer, but although many of my responsibly gun-owning friends won't like the fact that the late rash of violence has made me believe that non-soldiers don't need assault rifles available to them anymore. The process of acquiring a weapon should be tweaked also, maybe it should have a mental evaluation requirement as well, I'm not sure the best way to do it, but something must be done and now Obama and Biden seem to think the same. I hope they get the right people in the same room and come up with something that nudges this issue in the right direction. Feeling how I felt the day that elementary school got shot up is not an experience I was fond of and I'd guess everyone else felt the same way.

I'll only use a few sentences about the lack of terrorism profiling. I think defining who's a terrorist and who's a violent criminal gets distorted by narrowly minded regional stereotyping. I wonder if Tim McVeigh (the Oklahoma City bomber), the Unibomber, Eric Rudolph, the Virginia Tech shooter, the Dark Knight movie theater shooter, ESPECIALLY Jared Lee Lougher (He shot a politician for a political reason), would be much more often referred to as terrorist if the same actions were carried out by someone from the Middle East or Africa. When white men commit such crimes, people automatically explore the "Oh maybe he's just crazy" rather than questioning their motives. This is opposite with those from Arab or African descent, there is no regard for their mental state, their intent gets assumed as terrorism, even if the person was born and raised n the US and has no definable connections to terrorist groups. If you're premeditating and carrying out mass murder, you need to be treated like a monster; no matter what you look like. Real Talk...

Are u serious: How Ironic

I don't know if there is a stronger word than irony to convey the same sentiment. But if there is, this would deserve it. He likely woke up with his racist views unaffected.

Do Better: Jim Crow Conservatism

Rush Limbaugh, Pat Buchanan, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly (to a lesser extent surprisingly), Ann Coulter, anyone who works for FOX News, Sarah Palin, Karl Rove...Karl Rove, each of these people make me cringe. I'm talking cringing in a different manner than my usual "I don't like politics" cringe. I'm talking about a deeper "I hope they don't believe what they're saying because it sets America back to the '30s" cringe. The previous article about election day illustrated my thought on Obama and Romney, but that's not what I'm speaking of right now. I'm speaking more broadly on the ideals of conservatism and how its base is shrinking in America. After Obama's re-election, many of the personalities mentioned earlier had similar messages to explain the disappointing (to them) results. There were common themes amongst them all: the white establishment is lo longer the majority, traditional America is no more, young people expect entitlements from the government, Latinos are only worried about amnesty and immigration, Blacks and women want to be given "stuff" by the government. They say these things with such confidence not seeing how a young, intelligent man (leave the Black out of it for now) reads between the lines to see what they're actually saying. They have singled out and badmouthed the perspectives of every demographic but one: Old...White...men; the traditional "American establishment." They have had ALL the power so long and don't see that the country has changed. They like things how they were 100 years ago when white men (whether smart, dumb, good, evil, etc) held all the country's power, achieved on the backs of the demeaned "little people" working but making virtually nothing and having no chance for upward mobility; let's just call it the Jim Crow dynamic. "Yeah, women should still make 77% of what men make; that's just good business." "These border-jumping illegals should work as cheap as the Chinese to save the jobs here; they're lucky we let them stay here." "Blacks went from being slaves to being criminals.""We don't need abortion under any circumstances because you can't get pregnant if it was truly rape, it was God's will for you to have that rapist's baby." "Gov't and gov't regulation are always the problem. Privatization is always the answer. What, you don't trust corporate America?" "We liked Bush, Obama is a retard though (courtesy of Ann Coulter)". It's 2012, these perspectives all sound remarkably backwards in today's America. We are a nation full of Immigrants, the only real Americans are Native Americans (now commonly referred to as 'Indians' since Columbus (who was not the first here by the way) missed his intended destination by 8000 miles and couldn't figure it out." Europeans showed up to a place with cultures intact and decided that this was their land to take over; and we have an entitlement problem? How do you argue you're more American than me (an "African-American")? We came on the same ship, it just so happens that you were lucky enough to be in the VIP section while my ancestors were confined like luggage inhumanely below the decks. Despite your actions, we were called 'savages', but it didn't stop you from raping our women thereby spreading previously European STDs to another population. Your plantations, your building, much of pre-Civil War America's infrastructure was ALL built on the backs of dehumanized slaves or other disenfranchised populations (see cartoon above). After the war, the same could be said of indentured servants (paid just enough to not be called a slave), then up to the present minimum wage workers. Then you have the nerve to say "You are weak, you need help prospering. We did it all by ourselves without help". That's the mind state of a place that we all knew existed but Jon Stewart finally named "Bullshit Mountain". On Bullshit Mountain, taking financial/tax loopholes and tax breaks makes you a smart business, but filing for Social Security or food stamps or disability if you qualify makes you a moocher. College is only for those who can afford to pay the tuition with a check book, which is why pell grants and scholarship programs should be slashed. Also, Viagra should be covered by health insurance but contraception should not. There are a million more examples. On the mountain, anyone who doesn't love or pray the way 'the Christian white establishment' wants you to has forfeit their right to reap the benefits of "the American Dream."  verall, what conservatives call "being principled" seems now to be holding on to previously acceptable bigotry. To be fair, I know all conservatives don't think the same. But as long as Limbaugh, Imus and others are the voices of the movement instead of Rubio, Christie, or someone who can truly explain their principles with a modern context, they will NEVER have National Appeal. Fuck all the bigotted talking heads I named at the beginning of this article. You are the reason that conservatives look like yahoos and I could never entertain the possibility of seeing things your way. America's better than than, you're not evolving with it. Do Better...

Stop Me When I Start Lying: Sexism and Sports, London 2012

I'm still catching up on articles I missed while on hiatus. One topic that I have to touch on is the blatant examples of sports sexism shown during the Olympics. In case anyone forgot, the mass media is controlled by men...more specifically middle aged to old white men in corporate America. Although America is more progressive in terms of women's rights and privileges than any other place in the world, sports are still seem as masculine and more appropriate for women than men. This has somewhat manifested itself throughout the world, including the United States; take a moment and think of how many females you've heard say that women look like men when they start looking athletic. One consequence of this the perception that despite playing sports (a vigorous physical activity), they still need to look uber feminine while they do it. Part of me honestly thinks (well, actually knows) that those corporate fat cats I spoke about have a little bit of "dirty old man" to them. To them, men's sports are about who is the best performer or the most entertaining. For women, they're looking for the right combination of "Oh, she's pretty good" and "She's hot, I'll like to spend all night giving her an 'interview' at my hotel." For instance, in the little known sport of women's basketball, more people know balling beauties like Skylar Diggins (still in college) than Tina Charles (Olympic gold medalist) and Lauren Jackson (multiple time WNBA MVP) who are likely perceived as "butch". Even women who wear their hair in more appealing ways than the standard, "I'm working my ass off" ponytail gain notoriety, especially among male viewers. Hence, the 2012 tales of Lolo Jones and Gabby Douglas:

Lolo Jones

Lolo Jones (pictured left) is bad, super bad, somewhat exotic bad; for those who can't decifer the slang I just used, Lolo has undeniable beauty that transcends races. Those old corporate white men would probably get a stiffy (if they've taken their purple pills) just watching her stretch before practice in her tights. She's also a self-proclaimed virgin (she's 30) who can't seem to find a guy who will take her seriously without getting into her pants; Oh those pigs. She also happens to be a very good 100 meter hurdler who can't seem to put it together in the big meets; she's dominated everything except the big stages (Olympics and Outdoor World Championships). She came into the Olympics in 2008 in the best shape of her life. Unfortunately for her, she was in the lead, hit a hurdle throwing off her rhythm and ended up getting 7th. Cameras flocked to her looks of agony and disbelief and she sit on the track heartbroken over what had just happened; commentators poured out their sympathy for her unfortunate predicament. She was virtually inconsolable during her interviews. By the way, American Dawn Harper (pictured below right) was crowned Olympic champion in that race. In the years between, particularly the building for the 2012 Games, this put those responsible for the media, endorsements, and Olympic propaganda at a cross roads. Track is not a sport that can have many icons (like football, basketball, or others), particularly not two women. Thus, they are faced with an ultimatum who they want to make the female face of American Track & Field: the only American woman to win individual gold in 2008, Dawn Harper, or Lolo Jones, the hottie whom tragic befell in 2008? The champion seems like the easy choice. She rose to the top of the sport despite rocky and unenviable upbringing, like Lolo and others, did and won the Olympics. She won the 2012 Olympic trials, with Jones getting the 3rd and final spot. To the champion should go the spoils, right? Wrong. The word "hottie" would become the determining factor to those corporate decision makers; it's not quite a synonym to the word 'marketable' but it's getting close for women. Dawn Harper isn't some ugly chick or anything and she runs track, so you know she can fill out a dress or uniform. But she's very dark skinned and is not as naturally beautiful as Lolo. That's not an issue for me, but I'm not an older white guy. They don't provoke that stiffy for them the way Lolo does. Lolo Jones is mixed and passes the paper bag test (being lighter than a brown paper bag) which is about where pretty much any race still find Blacks or mixed women attractive (see: Halle Berry, Rihanna, Stacy Dash, Beyonce, etc); White, Latinos, Asians, etc aren't gonna flock so quickly to someone Harper's complexion. Even the

whitest of middle aged white women would call Lolo gorgeous if she was their sons' girlfriend. To make the decision easier for them, Lolo has posed tastefully nude (see pictured at bottom) and revealed the story of her virginity and struggle to find a man who accepts her lifestyle. Now in addition to her looks, she has a combination of sex appeal and innocence/purity that could feed that marketability. So, done deal. Thus she was EVERYWHERE (commercials, magazines, posters, billboards, talk show interviews, etc) for everyone to see while Harper remained largely unknown to the non-track community despite her success in 2008. Then in the 2012 Games, Harper gets a narrow silver, becoming the 8th fastest woman ever and only losing to a woman who broke the Olympic record. Lolo misses the medal stand, getting 4th, no fall, no drama, no sympathetic fan base. Then when provoked in an interview, Harper did what she had resisted doing for 4 straight years, got her feelings about the media decision off of her chest. She felt that despite being one of the more accomplished women ever in her event now, her success and her story had been overlooked for Lolo Jones's, more because of her looks and personal life than her accomplishments. Was it Lolo's fault? Absolutely not. Do I blame Lolo for not saying, "thanks for the offer, but you should have called Dawn instead"? Absolutely not. But does any of that change how Harper feels about it? Absolutely not. Track isn't a sport of massive salaries, you can be a successful track athlete on the track and still not be abnormally wealthy unless you have endorsements. So Harper sees the chick she's beaten at the Olympics and World Championships eating better than her and didn't like it. The media simultaneously highlighted the undeniable legitimacy of the bitterness while calling it a bad PR move for Harper (and bronze medalist Kellie Wells) to demonize her teammate. But hell, if winning the Olympics in 08 wasn't a good enough PR move to get Harper to fame and fortune, what is? Therefore, what does she have to lose getting it off her chest. Heart broken Lolo doesn't understand because the endorsements are nice but she wants the medal that Harper has. She never meant to spite anyone, she wanted to run track and live good understandably. That media spotlight is a bitch, ain't it?




Gabby Douglas

Gabrielle Douglas, the 16 year old sweetheart gymnast from Virginia Beach makes it to the Olympics and wins two gold medals. Her mother, who's sacrificed and scraped together money to get Gabby into some Olympic school in Iowa, is there at the Games to see her sacrifice all worth it as her daughter succeeds on the biggest stage. But all anyone has to talk about is her hair? See the foolishness to the left as an example of the foolishness that popped up online. The sexism comes into play here because (just like the successful basketball players we mentioned earlier who don't get as much attention), you being great at your sport isn't good enough in women's sports; you have to be good and you have to look the way they want you to look. If somebody likes their women with their hair down, long and flowing (you've seen all the teen movies where the girl is ridiculed for being geeky and ugly until she takes off her glasses and magically is the most beautiful girl in school all of a sudden), then that's how they want women to look while competing too. This isn't very practical in the world of sport. Unless your sweat glands are as blocked as Rush Limbaugh's arteries, you're going to sweat if you're strenuously competing. Furthermore, long hair, if not pulled back or put up, will inevitably get in your face while you try to compete. If you're a gymnast (making running, flipping, spinning, and jumping part of your competition), it's especially important to keep that mess under control. In the midst of her two gold medals, Twitter lit up with people mocking the greased back pony tail with many hair clips that the girl wore while winning two gold medals for America. Had I been on Twitter (you can check on old article citing reason why I decided against it), I would've made it my mission to ridicule everyone trying to ridicule her. Stuff like "You haven't done anything strenuous enough to sweat out your hair since the Clinton administration, I don't expect you to understand" or "Oh, I'm sorry, remind me again: What did you hair look like the last time you made history?" all over the place. To an extent I get some criticism for the straight hair populations, because they just don't understand. Black hair changes texture and volume when wet, so all those clips and that grease was needed to keep it under wraps when you're competing everyday. Plus, she now lives in an environment where she's the only Black girl at the gymnastics facility where she lives and was the only one on the Olympic team. Who understands her hair enough to do it for her while they're at competitions? Nobody she's traveling with. So while to an extent, I get why they don't understand, I think they should stop sweating the petty shit and appreciate her successes for her country. If the history of her sport serves as reference, even at 16 years old, this may be her last Olympic games (08 Olympic heroes Nastia Luikin and Shawn Johnson failed to make the 2012 team at ages 22 and 20). But to the Black community that was insulting the girl, your actions are deplorable and indefensible. Beyond the fact that she's the first Black woman to win the All Around gold medal, one of the two she won, SHE'S 16. While you were sitting at home getting fatter, you decided it was a good idea to attack a 16 year old in the midst of competition. You're scared to work out too hard or get freaky in the middle of the week because you don't want to ruin the $60 you spent at the salon getting your hair done, but you can't empathize with a Black girl trying to keep her hair as 'harnessed' as possible until the Games are over. If she showed up on the talk show circuit with her hair looking crazy, I'd understand. But she didn't, the competition was over and she got it done (see pictured below). So until one of you salt-throwing motha fuckas shows me how to make it throw Olympic competition without sweating enough to ruin a prom-like hairdo, politely shut the fuck up and recognize someone for what they do. Even though it was both women and men criticizing, it's sexist because it doesn't apply the same to men. Joakim Noah isn't badgered as badly as Gabby was and he looks like he doesn't even shower, much less worry about anything other that putting up his hair up. On a good day, he looks like Sideshow Bob from "the Simpsons". But it doesn't matter cuz he's a guy and we get over it. Stop Me When I Start Lying...

P.S. I saw that immediately after Gabby got her gold medal, NBC ran a commercial with a monkey doing gymnastics too and I didn't appreciate that covert racist shit neither. But that's a story for another day.

Racist but Proud Commentary on Heisman

I'm very biased, but I'm ecstatic that Robert Griffin III won the Heisman over Andrew Luck. Not just because he's Black. But because he's a Black QB and he looks like all the young Black men that make White America cringe and clutch their pocket books when they walk past them on the street. Sure Troy Smith and Cam Newton won, but they are clean cut and conservative looking, job interview style. Griffin is as dark or darker than me, with dreds/plats down to the shoulder; if u asked white America to identify the guy holding the trophy, they might guess he's a rapper or something. In a year where the season started with everyone assuming the Heisman and No.1 draft pick should be basically mailed to Andrew Luck's house in advance, beating him out was never going to be easy. RG3 not only did it, but he did it at the same position (without being just a runner either, he's the most efficient passer in the country) at a school without the glamorous football past (he's provided Baylor with it's two winningest seasons). He stole the Heisman season from the man marketed as the next NFL legend. Although he's still gonna be a lower draft pick that Luck, he's show enough with his arm that he can be a first round pick also. And with the success of Cam Newton, young Black QBs could be making a comeback as McNabb's career ends and Vick is a few years from that point too. Griffin might change it even more because in addition to speed (world class track speed that is), he's passing with amazing efficiency and deep accuracy. He could shake things up. I root for Black/minority QBs and coaches and the future is looking ok for them right now.

Real Talk: The Sad and Cautionary Tale of Troy Davis

Just in case you forgot, there is still prejudice and inconsistency that has been allowed to perpetuate in our penal system; remember it is run by old, stubborn, conservative white men groomed during segregation. Troy Davis, the Georgia man convicted of shooting a white (yes, it matters sadly) police officer in 1989, has been executed by legal injection today. This comes after his execution date has been moved 4 times due to the ridiculous circumstance around his case. Essentially, there was no DNA evidence or murder weapon ever linking him to the murder. He was convicted largely because there were 9 different witnesses who identified him as the killer. I can understand completely how a jury would see this as sufficient evidence to convict him at that point in time. However, over the past 22 years, 7 of the 9 witnesses have completely recanted their testimony saying that either he was not the shooter or they can not conclusively say that he was the shooter. So the question becomes: what would make these people lie on the stand for a case with death penalty at risk? Police coercion. I admit upfront that I am biased because I personally have a problem (or twenty) with several things about what the average street level American policeman has become. But this is one of the many reasons why. Police don’t like seeing other cops go down obviously, which once again is understandable. However, the lengths they will go to in a search for vengeance are unreasonable at times. In this vengeful conquest, it seems to matter more to the institution that ‘someone’ goes down for the murder, rather than focus being on ‘the right guy’ going down for it. So do I think policemen are capable of intimidating or threatening 7 people into saying that this man was the culprit even if they weren’t sure? Yes I do. Hell, I’m not sure I wouldn’t do the same thing if me or my family were at the point of a standard police-issued .22 caliber handgun. Furthermore, there have been several cases in the past where witnesses (often someone who is not commonly exposed to Black people) identify the wrong person. Hell, I still go places where a non-Black person says they can’t tell the difference between me and one of my homeboys when we look nothing alike. So if I’m someone in the legal system, this adds enough doubt that I should at least look into the validity of the witnesses’ claims. I’m not saying let him out today since the media is covering every minute. But take the time to make sure he’s the right guy; he’s been on death row 22 years, he can wait another 10 months to follow up with the witnesses and evidence (or lack thereof); after the supposed standard for conviction in general, much less execution, is supposed to be “beyond a reasonable doubt.” And it seemed like someone may have listened to this logic today as his hour was coming, but then a call from the Supreme Court – the highest court in the land – came in and denied this request for stay, likely just wanting an end to the ‘drama.’ So in the end, an innocent life may have been lost because the possibility of searching for justice was veto’d by the ‘big dicks of the court’ in the 11^th hour. The whole ‘reasonable doubt’ jargin got put on pause I guess. It was more important to end the media circus, leave a closed case closed and not have to admit mistakes or the possibility of police coercion in our legal system. I’m not even mad anymore, I’m just numb and introspective. Lesson learned: Live your life right, stay on the right side of the law and out of the legal system; you’re not guaranteed a fair shake once you’re in there. Value your life because it’s not a given that the establishment will. I have a close homeboy from high school - serving 5 times as long for armed robbery (with a bebe gun) as someone I ran track with served for homicide – who can attest (keep your head up Josh). Just like with those 22 years served, your life is gone once it’s gone, no getting it back. So if nothing else, Troy sounded like he was at peace with God, and I hope his life helps this message spread and save future people from the same fate. But guess what, before you go anti-America, remember that this is still amongst the best legal systems in the world. In China, he would have been shot in the head a couple weeks after trial and they would ignore all scrutiny from anyone. What a world we live in, right. On a sad day, here’s a little Real Talk.

Food for Thought: Direction of Black Comedy

I found myself watching a Showtime Special called "Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy" interviewing Black comedians, of different genders, ages, styles, etc., talking to them about the evolution of Black Comedy and it's portrayal of our society.This intrigued me because I like comedy but furthermore I have strong opinions on how Black comedians present themselves. There are comedians who tackle race and societal issues in an intelligent way that is still hilarious; others simply sling coonery (or niggerdom as I like to call it) onto society that reinforces every negative stereotype that Black people have been working to rid themselves of. It's easy to watch comedy from the Jim Crow days and weep at how Black entertainers had to demean themselves to make "The Man" happy by portraying Blacks on their terms. But upon watchin this special I gained more respect for their ambition within the confines of their time. In the '20s and '30s, a character called "Stepin Fetchit" (pictured beside cartoon version) became popular to white America playing an illiterate and infantile but charming Black servant who was too happy to "tap dance for whitey" on the screen. He even took this persona off the stage and that was how white people perceived him. But in actually, he had two phones in his home. The one to the studio would be answered by the character "Stepin Fetchit" dumb and happy nigger the white people knew and loved. His personal phone was answered by the man, actor Lincoln Perry, an educated Black man who wrote for a prominent newspaper and realized that he could parlay "tap dancing for whitey" into secretly grasping a whole lot more money and power that the white man would ever allow him to have. Lincoln Perry used Stepin Fetchit to become the first Black millionaire entertainer and to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In the black face and minstrel show era, Amos 'n' Andy carried a story of minstrel-show style characters onto television. The show was seen as so demeaning to Black people that the NAACP eventually got it shut down. What the NAACP didn't realize that was that no matter the content, this was the first Black sitcom and despite the images, the show broke down another wall for our people. Dick Gregory (pictured left) followed up by satirizing race issues in a way that penetrated white audiences while educating them. He was a political activist who could take his cause straight into the whitest of audiences and all they could do was laugh and pay him handsomely. Next came Redd Foxx, pushing the envelope on Gregory-style satire with even more shocking material. Bill Cosby appeared with the ability to tell stories about anything that won the world over. He gained so much power that he made "The Cosby Show" and "A Different World," the first shows to put educated and successful Black families on mainstream prime time television. Then came the one and only Richard Pryor (pictured with American flag), widely known by blacks and whites as the greatest and most influential stand-up comedian to ever live, "the freest Black man America has ever had" according to Dr. Cornell West. His experience-based social commentary broke every mold and status restriction; comedians before him worked to be successful within the conflicts of their time and chipped away at the door holding us from artistic freedom. Pryor kicked that door down. Next, although he didn't have the societal and political content of Pryor, Eddie Murphy (pictured with Pryor and Redd Foxx) took that same raw, in-your face boldness from the stand-up stage onto the big screen in the '80s. At this point, Whoopi Goldberg was breaking down barriers for Black women who could be respected for their comedy without having to oversexualize or water down their issues. Chris Rock (pictured below) followed with an added educational and intellectual spin that made him a hit; a mold Dave Chappelle and others would follow. In 1987, Richard Pryor, tired of being pigeon-holed into negative movie roles, made a movie called "Hollywood Shuffle" satirizing how the industry still tried to force Blacks to play nothing but pimps, gangsters, and bums on the big screen. This slowly opened up more opportunity as it put these issues out for the world to see. With "In Living Color," The Wayans Brothers showed the world that a Black run show with a diverse cast of comedians could take over the airways. So this history is what has opened the door for today's Black comedians to be respected and valued side-by-side with white entertainers on the stand-up stage and the big screen. Despite its rocky beginnings, its a world history of steady progress. Some modern comedians are doing this history justice and adding their own history; however, unfortunately, we have many that are sending us in the wrong direction instead. For every Chappelle, Rock, or D.L. Hughley (who even got a comedy talk show on CNN) who have intelligentsia mixed into their routines, we have 5 up and comers trying to make a name by feeding into the minstrel-style ignorance that some of White America still longs to see from Black entertainers. That's why it's so hard to get funding for quality Black movies, it's much easier to get the studio to pay for some movie making Blacks look like buffoons. I understand incorporating a little bit of that buffoonery as bait mixed in with your greater content; but too many now have no real content to follow. Spike Lee's "Bamboozled" is a satire displaying Hollywood's perpetual longing for watermelon-eating, dancing & singing, jigaboo-style Black entertainment and showed how successful a Black man could be if he sold his soul for the money and made such offensively racist garbage. Its horrifying to think that such over-the-top satire could be fairly accurate but it is on some level. As many people have spoken about (including an uncharacteristically enthusiastic and blunt Bill Cosby in 2004), history deserves more; the aforementioned ground-breakers from the past deserve more from today's entertainers just as the civil rights activists and leaders deserve more from today's Black communities. In the first half of the century, Stepin Fetchit and minstrel show era comedians "tap danced for whitey" becuz they had no choices; they excelled at taking those lemons and making lemonade. What excuse do the entertainers have now? Dave Chappelle (pictured on "Inside the Actor's Studio) walked away from a contract worth up to $50 million becuz the studios were taking away much of his creative freedoms and minstrel-ize him (figuratively, and literally as he walked away from a skit that featured him as a pixie in blackface, to which he felt was too demeaning to complete). Despite all that money, his integrity led him to decide that he couldn't be a party to the new less-political and more buffoonish direction the brass was trying to send his show in. Today's Black comedians should take a lesson from Mr. Chappelle and consider than your integrity is more important than the money. A wise man once said "it's awful hard to shave if I can't bear to look myself in the mirror." So comedy needs to find a way to keep our race progressing and most importantly, put out a product that allows us to have our heads held high; not something that makes us look like big-lipped monkeys for the world. Food for Thought...

The Skip Gates Debacle

Odd first topic, I know. But I want to discuss this issue and because it is somewhat time sensitive material and I must hit it before it completely drops out of the public consciousness. So, everyone knows what happened and my initial reaction, before hearing all of the details of the situation, was "Damn, all the money, status, and intelligence in the world can't get you past racism at your very own doorstep." It seemed like just another incident of the police's well-documented tendency to abuse their power for no other reason that to reaffirm to the Black community that they can still do whatever the hell the wanna do to us as long as they have the badge on. I guess incidents from the videotaped beating of Rodney King all the way to the videotaped shooting of Oscar Grant were not strong enough messages; they were "nobodies." Why not go straight to the top and arrest Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates, who is on the short list for most intelligent and influential Black men on the planet at his very own doorstep for being frustrated that his door wasn't opening smoothly. As u've probably guess, I've been harassed by the police and put nothing past them at this point. But upon further review, there was some wrong done on both sides. Therefore, rather than unnecessarily flexing their ridiculous power for no reason, they unnecessarily flexed their power because Skip Gates made some pretty stern smart-ass comments to the cop. So to truly get to the bottom of things, I decided to formulate questions that I would have asked it I was also invited to come to the White House to have a few beers and discuss the situation:

Question #1: How do you arrest someone for disorderly conduct in their own home?
After further review, the 911 caller did not make any assumptions or say anything controversial on the 911 call, she was legitimately concerned because she saw shoulder used to open a door and wasn't sure if there was a key involved. In some kushy Cambridge neighborhood, i fully understand how the cops may be called for this. However, once the police arrive and make it into the man's house and see his pictures on the way, they should have turned around and left. I'm not sure when Gates's smart ass mouth and angering comments started in the incident, but it's still abuse of power to arrest him for being a jerk. To my understanding, disorderly conduct requires one of the following: a public threat to members of the general population, a threat to the police themselves, or some type of extraordinary disruption in public. Being that an almost 60 year old, 5'7" Black man who walks with a cane is not a threat, and this entire incident happened on his property, these conditions have not been met no matter whether he makes a "your mamma comment or not." I could understand if this was some 6'5", 260 lb professional athlete; if he gets mad and loud, a policeman may legitimately feel threatened. I call this an abuse of power because if I, a civilian, am out and about and some guy who I do not know comes up to me and is making comments about my mother or some other offensive jabs at me, I will get mad or frustrated, but my best course of action is to let it go and go about my business. If I hit him, the fact that he was a jerk will not protect me from assault charges. Therefore, I do not think that him acting like a jerk warrants being arrested on your own property, the policeman's best course of action once he learned that it was Gates's house was to leave.

Question #2: How does Skip Gates, a racial relations professor at Harvard, not know how to deal with the police?

I could not have been more than about 12 when my father first had a conversation with me about what can happen when a Black man does not know how to act around the police. I was not nearly at the age to drive yet when I was told, with a straight face, that you stay calm and don't make any sudden movements around police or you could very easily get beaten, tased, or shot. FIVE YEARS BEFORE I GOT MY LICENSE. So I'm very sure that Gates, who was born in 1950 and lived through more racially tense times than I have, has discussed these things with students in his classrooms. He is very aware that the national image, largely among financially well-off non-minorities (the people who run the world), is that the police should not be punished for their actions in the quest to keep the citizens safe from harm. They have not been brought to justice for their actions because they still make the aforementioned people "feel safe." Personally, as a 6'2" athletic Black male, I feel a lot safer in a room full of guys who look like me with misdemeanors and minor felonies to their names than I do in a room full of policemen. Unless he thinks the fact that he has become wealthy and successful has changed policemen's perception of him, Gates knows this better than I do. So although I do not believe he should have gotten arrested, his actions in yelling and throwing out "Yo Mamma" insults at policemen is completely unacceptable and if he were not at his own home, I think he may have gotten tased or beaten; I know I would have if it was me.

Question 3: Why should President Obama, who despite being mixed has undoubtedly dealt with racism, have to apologize for calling the policeman's actions "stupid"?

I guess I understand that in his position at the forefront of the civilized world, Obama has to be overly diplomatic about anything he says. But there are certain moments where I feel his true emotions have surfaced and I appreciate the legitimacy of his worlds in those situations. When he called Kanye West a jackass for his actions at the VMAs, there was no speech writer involved, that was 100% what Barack thought of the situation. Similarly, when he heard about the Skip Gates arrest at his own home, he probably did what I did. That is, thinking "what in the world do I think a person has to do to justifiably get arrested at his own home?" And because he couldn't imagine Gates doing those things, he probably assumed it was an abuse of power and there's no way on earth that the charges will stick, making it a "stupid" arrest. There was probably some nostalgia about bad experiences with police and not fully knowing how stupidly Gates also acted that contributed. But I still feel like the apology was more out of obligation than legitimately rescinding what he felt about the situation.

Question #4: What planet does Larry Elder live on where he believes that Black men making it to positions of power constitutes racism being over?

I saw a video on worldstarhiphop.com where Larry King hosted Michael Eric Dyson (one of my favorite Black intellectuals with Cornell West), Judge Joe Brown (whose overall demeanor I admire), Ben Stein (I drew a blank too), and Larry Elder (who I had heard of but did not truly know much about beyond being an intellectual) to talk about the issue. By the end of the segment I was honestly outraged by some of Elder's perspectives on this issue. He insinuated that because the US has a Black President, Massachusetts has a Black governor, and Cambridge has a Black mayor (admittedly impressive) that racism is no longer a factor in the interaction between Black people and policemen. Furthermore, it is reported that Gates had just returned from a long trip from China and had to deal with problems and changes on a cane getting back home from his long trip, and all of a sudden his door is stuck even with his key being used. In Elder's eyes, his frustration is completely unwarranted but the policeman has every right to arrest someone for annoying him when he's had a long day doing his job. This ain't New York PD, Los Angeles PD, New Orleans PD, this ain't even Boston's department, this is Cambridge, home of Harvard; although workdays are long for everyone, I would imagine that the everyday requirements of a Cambridge policeman are much more relaxed and less strenuous than those of a policeman from one of the aforementioned police departments, so that doesn't fly with me. And last, to add to the outrageous nature of his statements, he listens to Joe Brown (a judge) tell him how technically, Gates had no legal obligation to either let them into his house or present identification according to the law, then listens to Dyson speak about different bad experiences he has had with the police making him conscious of how they abuse their power interacting with Black men, he even listened to Larry King and Ben Stein (two of the whitest people in America) say how wrong they the police acted, and stated that he's repeatedly been stopped and questioned by the police when he has done nothing wrong but says that these incidents had nothing to do with race but were instead just coincidental events of the police randomly questioning people to preserve safety for the general public. I was flabbergasted. I showed it to my older brother, he couldn't even watch all of it.

Needless to say, I think I may have changed the tone of the conversation if I asked these questions to each individual during their beer-drinking group therapy session at the White House. Even trying to be diplomatic and account for Gates being an asshole to the cops, the actions of the policemen combined with my prior negative perception of some policemen (not nearly all, but higher percentage than I'm comfortable with) still leads me to believe that they acted "stupidly" and it shouldn't have happened.

Some would call me paranoid, but I've been called worse...