Amber Rose - Our Problems Personified

About a week ago, Twitter was ablaze with the war of Tweets between walking cum dumpsters Khole Kardashian and Amber Rose. It started over Amber Rose calling out rapper Tyga for dating Khloe Kardashian’s little sister Kylie. Tyga is in his 20s and Kylie is reported as being 16 years old.

The entertainment blogs all picked up on the story, but one thing I haven’t heard anyone bring up, is the tweet Amber Rose sent saying she was STRIPPING SINCE SHE WAS 15!

The factors behind Amber Rose making the decision to strip at such a young age expose numerous issues in the black community. One of which is the amount of sexual exposure black children are witness too at such a young age. Our children are exposed to sex at an earlier age than our non melanated counterparts. This is due to a number of factors; music videos, the closing generation gap between parents and their children, shows such as the Love & Hip-Hop and Real Housewives of… series of reality shows which glorify the over-sexualizaton of black women. This has been a problem long before the internet was as widely accessible as it is today. I can remember being laughed at in middle school because I said a woman’s vagina was the same color as her, and hearing both boys and girls proclaiming in great detail their sexual encounters at the ages of 8-12. Not to mention the unreported incidents of child molestation that occur in the black community, which research has shown can lead to a life of promiscuity in later years, the fact that Amber Rose can proclaim with no shame that she was being paid to expose her body when she was only 15 shines a bright light on one of the many hidden problems in the black community.

I don’t know what was going on in Amber’s life that made her turn to a life of stripping and whoring at such a young age (though she stated she did it to support her family). The bigger question is, who would approve of this? I have a baby sister who is just around the age that Rose was when she said she started stripping. As a big brother and a man period, I would never be able to live with myself knowing that this was what my sister was doing. I would do any and everything to prevent such a choice, and whoever would be paying/managing her would better hope they are right with God if I ever got my hands on them.  With the increase of black children being raised by single mothers, and the lack of any true male figure in the home, coupled with our lack of an economy, sadly, there will be more Amber Rose’s. Young girls, who believe that all they have to offer is their sex. Young girls, thrust into adult hood and providing for their family.

It may have been one Tweet, but so much can be taken away from it, especially with her claim to fame, Amber Rose is a walking, talking, twerking example of the effects of sexual corruption in the black community. 

RWS vs. The Sell Out

***spoilers for the book “Lord of the Flies” are contained throughout

Which is worse - a racist/bigoted/prejudice non-white person, or a black sell out?

Imagine you are on an island like in the book Lord of the Flies. RWS is Jack, the sell out is Ralph, and you -- are Piggy; both Jack and Ralph are fight against you - beating you down, ignoring your voice, making you the butt of their jokes. But the thing is, you would expect Ralph to connect with you since you both found each other on the island first, but once Ralph meets Jack, they combine forces to gang up on you and you become the punching bag among the tribe of boys on the island.

The “Jacks” of the world are to be expected. There isn’t a situation that I walk into without me knowing that because I am a black man, I will be dealing with a lot of shit - whether it’s a restaurant, or my old job where I was a courier and went to various law firms, banks, and in some cases the residence of some clients where I received the standard “black man treatment.” in the book, Jack came out of nowhere, seizing power because he and his choir group were “the hunters” - they controlled the most important resource, food; if they didn’t catch anything - no one ate. This allowed Jack and his group to assert their power (just like RWS) over the group, and once Jack left the group with his hunters to start their own tribe, Ralph’s group was left helpless on their side of the island.

But the “Ralphs” in the black community, in my opinion are the worse. In the story, Ralph believed he had authority over the tribe of boys on the island because they had the only way to start fire, but once Jack separated from the main group and started his own tribe, all of Ralph’s power was lost over the rest.

Everyone knows a “Ralph” - that negro that feels that as long as they are “not like those other black people” in the eyes of whites - it makes them “better.” these “Ralphs” believe that they have some control and power, until they get their “negro wake up call” (see Herman Cain, Danielle Watts, Henry Louis Gates), and find out the system is not on their side (such as when Ralph attempted to call an assembly using the conch with Jack’s tribe, only for the tribe to ignore Ralph’s conch call).

As in the story, Ralphs only care about impressing Jacks, but once the Jacks of the world have no use for the Ralphs, they leave them on their own - but come back to take the glasses of a blind Piggy for their own benefit, while the Ralphs believing that all it would take is a reasonable discussion and giving the Jacks what they want will make the Jacks give back Piggy’s glasses ("if we just pulled up our pants and stopped listening to rap music, the dominate society will accept us!). The Piggys of the world will believe this too, because the Piggys follow the Ralphs believing that the Ralphs have their back (the we are ALL one people crap), and since they are viewed as equals to the Jacks, that this strategy will work, only to find themselves crushed by a boulder at the bottom of the Pink Castle of the mountain.

How does this relate to black people?

As we find in our RWS dominated society, Jacks have come along and asserted their position over black society. The Jacks own the restaurants we eat at, the grocery stores we shop at, the political system, the education system, etc., etc. With most of us being Piggys, we look to the Ralphs, those of us who have "made it" for a helping hand in getting our voices heard and obtaining a piece of the power that the Jacks have.

But as we have seen in our communities, those who we view as "saviors" and "friends" because they look like us, have been anything but helpful. When a black athlete marries a white person, they are essentially giving their wealth away to the dominate society, since the children will more than likely identify with the upper-class lifestyle which is predominately non-black. Our pastors will spend entire sermons, preaching fire and brimstone and "forgive our enemies", how fathers need to be in their children's life, but will not speak on how theRWS public education system is designed to keep black boys from achieving, or how the RWS media is conditioning our black girls into whoredom and degrading themselves.

So how do we deal with this problem?

When first meeting a Ralph, assert you dominance. Do not let them see your weakness as Piggy did when he told Ralph he had asthma and that his nickname in school was ‘Piggy’. Learn not to rely on Jacks, gather your own resources, learn to hunt and defend yourself so as not to expect surprise sneak attacks in the middle of the night, where Jack’s tribe will commandeer your only means to make a fire, therefore, taking your remaining power and influence.

You will deal with a variety of Ralphs and Jacks throughout life; neither will have your best interest at heart and will only use you for their enjoyment. But as Ralph found out, Piggy is all they have on the island, but it will always take a Simon getting killed at a feast for the Ralph to realize this**.




**Simon is described in the story as having dark skin and hair
***Lord of the Flies is only 203 pages, I read it in one night at work. Go to your library and check it out!

The Truth About Scandal

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Should We Honor Trayvon Martin?

Carrick High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was in the news recently regarding their spirit week celebration for homecoming. On Wednesday, the students had planned a “Trayvon Martin Day’ to honor Trayvon Martin by wearing hoodies to school. The theme of the day was eventually shut down by concerned parents who were worried about the type of atmosphere it would create.

There are several ways to look at this. On one hand, it encouraging seeing young millennials take a stand for what they believe in. Trayvon was the same age as most of these students when he was killed, so of course they are going to feel a connection to him which is understandable. But what about Trayvon is there to honor? Trayvon’s death wasn’t a situation such as in Chicago a few years back when Derrion Albert was beaten to death for simply being in the wrong place and wrong time during a gang altercation. Derrion was an honor student, with no history of any trouble at school or with the law. He was one of the few young black men growing up in Chicago who tried his best not to get sucked into the “street life” such as his peers. Trayvon on the other hand isn’t someone I would want my little brother to look upon as someone to honor. Trayvon was a known trouble maker, and though it does not justify his untimely death, he isn’t a person deserving of the pedestal he has been put on following Zimmerman’s trial.

This also deflects the conversation as to what lead to Trayvon being killed. Despite what Zimmerman’s defense claims, Trayvon being a young black male put Zimmerman in a heightened state of defense when confronting him. When black men are seen as violent and unruly, we can’t be surprised when others see us they come prepared for a fight. However, the focus has been entirely on the fact that Trayvon was black and Zimmerman was “white”. How about we as black people finally open our eyes to how the world views us and work to change their perception, instead of crying racism every time we are treated due to how we allow ourselves to be perceived by the world? This further divides us as Americans, and isolates us as black people, because he is only being honored because he was black. Had it happened to someone of another race (and it has) it wouldn’t be seen as a big deal.

One parent was quoted as saying, regarding the students wearing hoodies, “I am a little worried about that with the different people, how they’re going to react.” The way I see this kinda relates to the previous paragraph. Kids these days are assholes. All it would take is one racist altercation to lead to all out Armageddon and a ‘race fight’ therefore ruining the entire spirit week celebration and bringing Al and Jesse to intervene like they ALWAYS find a way to do when it isn’t necessary. Some parents are concerned for their kids safety and what type of environment such a movement would create. It has nothing to do with the school not wanting to let the students have a voice, they are just covering their tails for what could lead to a volatile situation.

I commend the students at Carrick High for wanting to take a stand for something they believe in. I just hope that if anyone else does it does farther than wearing a hoodie for spirit week and leads to a serious conversation we, especially black people, need to have.

Blame the NCAA for Clowney's performance

J’daveon Clowney had been a major topic in the sports world for some time, and is even a bigger story this week. Clowney did not play in the USC v. Kentucky game this past Saturday because of a stomach bug but didn’t let any of this coaches know until game time. Now the talk amongst the sports world is that Clowney is either just lazy or trying to stay as healthy as he can for the upcoming draft. I agree with the latter, the former is being based of his performance which says more about how offenses are playing away from him than it does about his motivation for playing. I don’t think to many college football players would risk their draft stock dropping by ‘taking plays off’ or ‘being out of shape’ like Clowney is being accused of.

But what if its true? What if Clowney has become bored with college football? He has been an absolute monster on the field since his high school days, using his tremendous athletic and physical ability to his advantage. What if its all become to easy for him? Its like working a job you are overqualified for; my first job after graduating was working in loss prevention. Basically, all I did was walk around a supermarket stalking customers to make sure they weren’t trying to steal crab legs and steaks for their next cookout. I didn’t wake up at 8 am five days a week and spend countless hours studying to push a grocery cart in a cold, stink grocery store. To me it was boring because I knew that I was greater than this, I wanted a REAL challenge, and the same can be said for Clowney. What the point of playing hard every play only to double and tripled teamed when the play is being ran away from your position? What the challenge in knowing that on my name alone the man in front of me already has doubt whether he can stop me or not?

What I’m trying to get to is this is why college football players should be allowed to declare for the draft after their sophomore year (or second year removed from high school instead of the standard three). Its always been said that the restriction is based on the physicality of football; and 18 year old freshman wouldn’t survive a day being pummeled by 30 year old pro players is the ideology behind it, but with players today being bigger, faster, and stronger at younger and younger ages, exceptions to the rule are becoming more noticeable.

Amobi Okoye was 16 years old when he enrolled at the University of Louisville. In his freshman year, he appeared in all 13 games for the Cardinals. He became a starter his senior year and was subsequently drafted in the first round of the 2007 NFL draft by the Houston Texans at the age of 19. Though currently a free agent, Okoye has made it through 5 seasons as an NFL player, which is above average for a typical NFL career which sits at about 3 seasons currently.

Granted, Okoye was both a mental and physical anomaly, he goes to show that if you have the physical ability, you can make it in the NFL despite your age. In my opinion, Clowney is a far better football player than Okoye would ever be so the physical demands of the NFL will not take as heavy as a toll on him to the point he finds himself a free agent after 5 seasons like Okoye. If Clowney wants to go to the NFL he should be allowed too, and many other football players like him. Whats the point in wasting away and risking a Marcus Lattimore by being an “amateur” (more on that later) athlete?

This adds to how the NCAA uses its “student-athletes”; with football being the biggest money earner, anything to keep ratings up is a good thing. So they see no problem with telling a player when they can leave and make their own money because that player helps them make money through TV deals, merchandise, etc. Star football players help bring in millions to these schools, but when they get hurt receive no compensation what so ever. So the longer the NCAA can hold you for their benefit, the better, but what does the “student-athlete” get out of this? How does this benefit them and their family? It doesn’t, only the presidents and board members who are being paid off of the students athletic success. So can you blame Clowney if he is, in fact, ‘saving’ himself for the NFL? No. These athletes know that there is no point in risking the millions of dollars they can make at the pro level, for an organization that has yet to compensate them for making it rich.

In conclusion, players such as Clowney should be allowed to leave whenever they want. The NCAA’s dictator-esque control of these players is only for their benefit, and they won’t let their golden goose get away, even if it means risking all that the athlete has worked their entire lives for.

Cultural Suicide

Black people, we are killing ourselves.

Not the “man”, not “them”, US, one another, OURSELVES.

And I am not talking about the astronomical black on black crime rate, or our poor state of health. Culturally, economically, and social WE are the ones pulling the trigger of the gun that we have pointed at our own head.

How are we doing this? First of all, we devalue anything that is considered “black” by calling anyone who is doing the opposite “white”, “oreo”, “sell-out”, “Uncle Tom” (which is the wrong term by the way as it was Adolph who was the suck up to the master). You know how to speak somewhat proper English? You’re talking “white”. Don’t want to live in the hood? You want to live “white”. Go on a diet, exercise, and eat healthy? “That’s what white people do.” Have mental issues and seek help from a psychologist or self-harm? “That’s what white people do.” So, by this argument, being “black” is living with mental instability, having poor health, living in a bad neighborhood, and speaking in a vernacular similar to a feral human who has never had any contact the outside world.

Black has always been linked with negativity. In the early days of the Roman Catholic Church, they refused to play the black keys on the piano, the passage in the bible which states something along the lines of “light shall not interact with darkness” was used as a justification of slavery and no tolerance of interracial dating. Former emperors and rulers who were known as “The Black” were called such because of their ruthless and heartless nature. This video from the film “Malcolm X” where he reads the definition further shows the negativity of anything “black.” This is “their” view of us, but why do we do continue to do this to ourselves?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE84dHl5Nr0

Now, I’m not ignorant to the Willie Lynch syndrome that we have been suffering from. But something is wrong when we spend 3-5k fixing up a car while still living in the projects our or momma house, which more than likely is a Housing Authority owned unit. But nope, we just “hood rich”, we really broke and have no finical support but “hey, everyone in the hood see we got money so we good!”

Miley Cyrus at the VMA’s last week, at the time of writing, shook her ass all over Robin Thicke doing the dance known as ‘twerking.’ The “white media” put her down in every way imaginable, calling her “out of hand” calling the dance “out of line.” Know, as someone who doesn’t have cable, I have no clue if it has been brought up yet, but I’m pretty sure someone, somewhere, has brought up that this is a “black” dance. Everything the “white” media has said about Miley Cyrus doing a dance that I have had the pleasure of being on the receiving end of MANY of times in my clubbing days, further shows how anything “black” is negative. But its not going to stop us from posting videos on Facebook and YouTube of our women and girls doing the same dance, in a more vulgar fashion.

A white girl told me one time that I didn’t “act black.” When I asked her to elaborate, she said it was because “You have manners, you’re not rude or loud and you know how to talk.” In middle school, I hate a white classmate tell me “You’re a black person, but those other kids (the “ghetto kids”, the one’s who always got in fights, picked on everybody, had the nicest name-brand clothes, barely passed their test”) are niggers.” (Don’t think he actually said “niggers” but its all the same.) This is what “they” think of us. But we continue to perpetuate these exact stereotypes on a daily basis. In high school, when I transferred from a predominately white school district to a predominately black school, a girl in my Spanish class said, after we got our interim report cards on which she had a grade of a 45, “I’m not doing anything in this class cause the teacher gave me a 45.” Really? Like you were doing anything before? But we get mad when they point out our low high school graduation rates. We get mad when they point out our low exit exam passing rates. But due to our culture, its awwright, because “you’re down, you didn’t do your homework and study like them white folks and bougie niggas!”

Black people. Do you see what we are doing to ourselves? This culture of adopting nothing but negativity is killing us as a people. For the past 200 years, in America atleast, we have been on the ledge, and every passing day we seem to move closer and closer to its edge. We haven’t jumped of completely, but we are slowly slipping farther and farther down. Its time we reject this negative culture and make “being black” “acting black” STAND FOR SOMETHING uplifting, not for everything that is wrong with society, but what we defend as “our culture.”

The State of the Black Race

THE STATE OF THE BLACK RACE

We have been in this country for over 400 years, dating back to when the first slave was brought to the colony of Jamestown in the 1600s, yet, 150 years after the signing of the emancipation proclamation we find ourselves in the same social status that we were in from our arrival; we are seen as less than, worthless, subhuman, degenerate, unworthy, stupid, uncontrollable, and helpless, just as our ancestors were. There was a time were we used to fight against this image that was perpetuated by America, but now, we find ourselves living up to the standard that was bestowed upon us; we have the highest high school drop rates, less of us finish college and are in the “white collar” work force, there are many of us on government assistance, we have the highest rate of abortion and teen pregnancy, there are more of us incarcerated or with a criminal record than there are walking the streets. We have given in to the white man's view of us, and the sad thing is, we don't care.

The state of the black race is in a sad place, we have let foreigners from central and South America & Asia overtake us when we have been and contributed more to this country than they have. It is time we wake up and FINALLY progress forward as our great leaders wanted us too. Medgar Evans was assassinated for standing up to his belief that we should all have equal education; yet we are the lowest in graduation rates from college and high school. Sarah Barrtman was considered a “freak show exhibit”, but yet our women continue to objectify themselves and risk their lives with butt injections and plastic surgery for the attention and gratification that comes along with it. Our men, have been emasculated, placed at the lowest end of society, seen as nothing more than misogynistic, dumb, violent hooligans, who don't deserve the respect that comes with being a MAN first, and a BLACK second. 

In the black community, we laugh off our problems and chalk it up to “oh, thats just how niggas is hahaha” but when a person outside our race tells us about ourselves, we get angry and THEN decide to do something to make a change. This mindset that we can't do for ourselves has to change, with other races and ourselves. The state that we Americans of African descent find ourselves in, is a state that has to change - such as when a liquid becomes a solid - we need to come together to form one solid whole. Its like when you are on a sports team, the coach isn’t going to put you on the field or court until you as an individual can show that you can contribute to the team to make it better. We have to put in the extra hours after practice, in the weight room, the film room and evaluate ourselves so that we can build ourselves up to find our rightful place in society and not only progress ourselves or people forward, but society as a whole. 

In our present state, we are nothing more than a gas; like nitrogen or carbon dioxide, we know its there but we can see it, but its been there for as long as we can remember. We are the coal, deep within the earth's crust, that over time, with enough pressure, can become the shining crystal of a diamond. This is the pressure that is upon us; 150 years after “we got free”, we are still trapped in the slave mind state, that there is nothing to look forward to in life than staying on the plantation, whether that plantation is a physical or mental manifestation. 

We have to believe that there is more for us, that we can officially grasp the freedom that our ancestors DIED for. That we can be looked upon in our society as an EQUAL, not an exception because of the color of our skin, the style of our hair, the culture we come from, or our mannerisms. We need to find our cultural identity and not be ashamed because of it, because its not what “they” seem as “normal”. We need to not be the butt of jokes because of how we are as a people, we should be proud of who we are, and not let “them” tell us otherwise. We need to better ourselves, not just to be accepted into a world that has always excluded us, but for our own benefit; our children are nothing more than genetic copies of us. If, as a father, our children see us as nothing more than absentee, our sons are going to grow up thinking that’s how they should be, and our daughters shouldn’t depend on a man who isn't going to be there. This leads the vicious cycle that is present in our communities today. We need to learn to trust one another again, to help one another instead of beating each other down again, to work together to become a whole instead of the sum of parts.

The black race in the United States can overcome. The question isn't can we, but WHEN will we? We are approaching another half-decade. The time to overcome is NOW!