Will They Blame Sandy?

A few days ago Super Storm Sandy hit the east coast, flooding much of New York City, and washing away the shore line in Baltimore, and parts of New Jersey, leaving devastation in her wake. As a result millions are without power, and some families have lost everything. Almost as soon as this storm hit there was talk of the possible political ramifications given the fact that the Presidential election was only a week away. President Obama offered immediate government assistance to the Governor's of New Jersey and New York in the wake of this tragedy, and has been criticized by former FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) director Michael Brown of all people. Brown had the nerve to say that he believes the President offered government assistance too soon. This is the same Michael Brown who over saw the relief effort after one on the worst natural disasters on record, Hurricane Katrina, and failed miserably, costing many their lives. Brown went on to say that President Obama's quick reaction was a calculated political move.
It is an unbelievable allegation. Making such an accusatory statement is the result of nothing more than a fault finding fishing expedition. New Jersey Governor Chris Cristie praised President Obama during a Fox News interview when asked about the President's response to Super Storm Sandy. Cristie spoke highly of the President for his quick response in offering full government assistance in the face of this disaster. Governor Cristie, who was the Republican National Convention's key note speaker accused the President of not having leadership ability during his speech. But it is now apparent that he has had a change of heart. Our President has once again proven that he is not only Commander and Chief, but a born leader who puts the American people above campaign rhetoric. Governor Romney on the other hand has managed to firmly wedge his foot in his month. About a year ago in a speech during the Republic primary he said that all states should be responsible for their own disaster relief, and should not get government assistance from FEMA. If he were President in the face of such a tragedy would not be inclined to help the very people he was elected to lead. His most recent faux pas, misspeak, or just flat out lie is insisting that Chrysler has decided to open an automotive plant in China, to manufacture its Jeep brand SUV. He made a couple of commercial's and repeated this lie so many times that the CEO of Chrysler was forced to make a statement refuting this false assertion.
I've been hearing repeated concerns about Governor Romney's ability to conduct a far reaching campaign because of this disaster, and concerns about voter's possible inability to go to the poll's and cast their ballot's.
I smell a set up. The wheels are already in motion, and I have a prediction...........Once President Obama wins, and he will win, the GOP is going to insist that he was reelected because of the gratitude of those who received government assistance in the aftermath of Sandy. They then will go on to say that voter turn out was lower than usual because of the devastation from Sandy. I'm sure they'll be many more excuses, none of which will be valid but, the truth means absolutely noting to The Republican Party anyway!

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Sucker Punch

I'm sure we've all seen the video of 25 year-old Shidia Lane taunting 59 year -old Artis Hughes as he drove a passenger-filled bus in Cleveland, Ohio. After being threatened, cursed at, and then hit. Hughes became frustrated and decided to strike back, literally. So at the next stop he did something both shocking and deplorable, he hit Lane with a vicious uppercut, and then he threw her off the bus like trash. It wasn't my intention to write about this story, because it seemed like sad sensationalism. But two weeks later this story still lingered in the back of my mind. Not the story, as much as the reaction to the story. I found the opinions of African-American women especially interesting. Some have come out in support of Hughes. The general consensus seems to be that he was justified in his violent reaction, even though he was not in the throws of battle at the time, and there was absolutely no evidence of self defense. As I peeled back the layers of this event I began to wonder what our society has become. When a women finds it acceptable for a man to assault another women there is definitely a disconnect in some way shape or form. When a man finds it ok to hit a woman it's called battery, and it usually represents insecurities in reference to his own sexuality. Another puzzling aspect of this story is the fact that Hughes felt that it was necessary to hit a woman for mouthing off. I personally find this incident hard to swallow but, I believe the fact that both Hughes and Lane, are Black, makes this situation palatable for some people. It says a lot about how we view ourselves as African-American's, and even more about what is socially acceptable to us.
First and foremost, after watching the video numerous times I would be remiss if I did not admit that I believe Lane played the antagonist, and was absolutely wrong for provoking a man who was just trying to do his job. However, given the fact that she posed no immediate threat at the time, she did not deserve to be hit like a street fighter.
In all honesty, if Hughes was Caucasian, African- American's would protest, and then speed-dial Rev. Sharpton for advice. If Lane was white, Hughes would have never made it off the bus unless he was in handcuff's. White folks simply do not tolerate violence against their own. Hughes would have never put his hands on a white women. Maybe because of the possible ramifications or perhaps because some of us undervalue other African- American's just as much as the rest of society does. Had he assaulted a white woman, you would be hard pressed to find another who would say that she deserved it. So does this imply that we as African- American's hold ourselves in such low regard that it is ok if we commit acts of violence against each other? Or have we become so desensitized that it no longer matters? Maybe a little of both. Indifference from other segments of society is not acceptable but it is expected. But our indifference towards each other is a dangerous paradigm. As of this writing, Artis Hughes has been suspended after 22 years of service, and charged with assault. Shidea Lane has been charged with disorderly conduct. A petition is currently being circulated to have Hughes reinstated by all of those who believe that he was justified, and acted in self defense.
There are a few questions that we should all ask ourselves before we rush to judgement in this matter.
What if Shadia Lane was your sister, your daughter, or your mother? Would there being anything that she could have said that warranted an uppercut. The answer is, absolutely not!

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51% Racist

In a poll conducted by the Associated Press it was discovered that 51% of all American's hold explicitly ant-black views. This figure is up from 48% four years ago, proving that the idea of a post racial America after the election of President Obama is little more than a myth. The number of those who expressed implied racism has also gone up from 49%-56% over the same four year period.
The political divide in and of itself is not surprising but the results are. 79% of all Republican's polled, willingly expressed racial prejudice when answering question which measure explicit racism, as opposed to 32% among democrats. In other words, racial prejudice exists in both parties but is more readily expressed by Republican's. The Democratic Party on the other hand is one in which such behavior is frowned upon and not readily expressed because of the stigma attached.
The implied racism test showed that the majority of Republican's, 64% and Democrat's 55% have an implied racial prejudice against blacks.
According to this survey, political independence are the least racist, with 49% exhibiting implied racial prejudice against African-American's.
This poll was taken solely online because the respondents were more likely to express their true feelings on a computer as opposed to an interviewer.
The explicit racism component of the test exposed those polled to a wide array of questions in reference to African- Americans, asking them to agree or disagree, and then measured their responses. The survey also asked the respondent's to associate Blacks, Whites, and Hispanics with certain adjectives including friendly, hard working, violent, and lazy.
In the second section of the test measuring the implicit component, those tested were shown the neutral image of an Asian character on screen while pictures of Blacks, Whites, and Latino's were flashed immediately before the character appeared. This enabled the tester to gage the feelings of the respondents because research suggests that people project their feelings about the photograph on to the character.
This study repeatedly uses terms like "anti-black sentiment", "explicit feelings of prejudice", and "implicit feelings of prejudice" in an attempt to soften the blow because racism is not politically correct in this country even if it in fact is prevalent and does exist. Overt (explicit), expressions of racism, or subconscious (implicit) feelings of racism is still racism. Who are they softening the blow for. It is a widely held notion within the Black community, that certain segments of our society are inherently racist. The political party affiliation doesn't matter.
Republicans who are 97% white believe that African American's are the cause of each and every one of society's ill's. They believe that we are social leeches in search of a hand out. As evidenced by Mitt Romney's 47% comment. His statement was far more than the inane rambling of an elitist opportunist. But he most likely espoused the views of many in his party, rich and poor.
The vast majority of Caucasian Democrat's and Liberal's see the African-American community as little more than a progressive cause which they can use for a dual purpose. To assuage their "guilt", and rebel against their peers and family. There are some who actually have good intentions but, their inability to identify with African- American's is a hinderance to any well intentioned efforts. Racism and prejudice are not just learned behavior. We are all affected by cultural conditioning in some way, shape, or form. Those who are not conscious of the behavior and perpetuate it are, in a sense, doing what comes naturally. This does not make it right by any means. The one thing that segment's of both of these parties have in common is that fact that they hoped the election of President Obama would keep us quiet, stop us from playing the race card, and keep them from having to walk on proverbial egg shells around us in the process. This is the reason for the spike in racism in the past four years. They feel more comfortable in being who they are in what they think is this new "post racial America" because Barack Obama being elected some how leveled the playing field. As if the remnants of hundreds of years of slavery, prejudice and discrimination could all be wiped away in 4 years. Nothing could be further from the truth. It has, as evidence by this poll, made attitudes about race regress. The election of President Obama has unequivocally proven that racial prejudice is still alive and well in America.

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Giving It Away For Free

The buying power of African-American's in this The United States has been estimated at approximately $857 Billion dollars. Despite this fact, of the $257 Billion dollars spent annually by advertiser's, less than 1% was spent on advertising to African-American consumers. These advertiser's take our spending power for granted because they know that most of us desire to conspicuously consume the same products that most of society does. In other words they ignore us because they know that we will not ignore them. It's kind of like, trickle down advertising. These agencies focus their campaigns on the rest of society, and we are subjected to their advertising by default. The fact of the matter is, there is absolutely no need for these corporations to waste money trying to advertise to us because they know that we will support them anyway. If they don't have to advertise in our community or our publications for our business then there is absolutely no incentive for them to support or invest in our interests. African-Americans are among some of the most brand loyal consumers in this country, and we give or loyalty away for free.
In a study done by NewMediaMetric's, a strategic marketing optimization company in New York, African-American's are significantly more attached than Caucasian's to the following products and services:
Lexus, General Motors, Google, Fidelity, Slim Fast, UPS, Tide, Pampers, Jell-O, Doritos, Dawn, Oreos, Ragu, Campbell Soups, Yoplait, Dentyne, Charmin, Bounty, Betty Crocker, Walmart, the Gap, Lowe's, Macy's and Levi's.
These companies invest very little if any resources in the African-American community, and most of us have patronized some, if not all of these products and services.
Sports figures and rapper's have been endorsing brands in commercial's and music for years. Some get huge pay days for endorsement's while other's name check their favorite cars or beverages absolutely free of charge. But in the end we pay the cost of being used and ignored because we allow ourselves to be used and ignored.

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3 Fingers

I am about to make a blanket statement, and paint a whole group of people with a broad brush. But this is based on my own personal experience. Christian's are the most judgmental
people that I have ever encountered. A lot of us sit on high, and look down low as if we are sitting at the right hand of the father. Some use the Bible as a weapon, and are quick to condemn others by using scripture as justification, firmly holding stones in their hands as if they are without sin. Many conveniently omit certain scriptures in order to legitimize their own brand of truth, choosing to spread dangerous nonsense, refusing to be confused by facts. They conveniently overlook who Jesus is. He does not judge, and loves everyone in spite of. If the whole idea of being a Christian is to be Christ like, some will never come close because they do not understand the principal.
Matthew 5;7 says,
Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. 3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. 6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.
There is an old saying that says for every finger that you point, there are 3 finger's pointing back at you. We all fall short. Point blank, period, end of story. The fact of the matter is that many of those who dare be judgmental and critical of others have enough skeleton's in their closet's to fill a cemetery, and those who do not should know better.

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The Most Offensive Thing I've Ever Heard

Back in 1994 former President Bill Clinton spearheaded the Omnibus Crime Bill. This bill cost $30 Billion dollars and helped to rapidly accelerate the growth of the prison industrial complex.
The bills provisions included,
1. $10.8 billion dollars in matching federal funds to local government's to hire 100,000 new Police Officers in 5 years.
2. $10 billion dollars for the construction of new Federal prisons.
3. An expansion in the number of federal crimes to which the death penalty applied from two to fifty-eight (the bill also eliminated an existing statute that prohibited the execution of mentally incapacitated defendants).
4. A three strikes proposal which mandated a life sentence for anyone convicted of 3 "violent" felonies.
5. A section that allowed children as young as 13 to be tried as adults.
These are all provisions which overwhelmingly effected the Black community, and the impact is still being felt today.
When President Clinton came into office in 1993, the federal, state, and local prison population was 1.7 million. By the time he left office, the prison population grew to 2 million. This is the highest rate of incarceration and the highest number of people behind bars in the history of the world.
During President Clinton's 2 terms the stock market was at an all time high, there was a boon in the economy, and he was able to survive scandal's and even impeachment because of it. As long as people were able to thrive and eat well, the public didn't seem to care what he did.
Few things in life have annoyed me more than when African- Americans started calling Bill Clinton the first Black President. The fact that some of us are so eager to embrace the first white president in decades who has shown us attention and seems to embrace us, is appalling. African-Americans being in love with Bill Clinton is like an innocent girl running off with the first man who shows her some attention, and then ends up getting turned out. Just because he is the first President who sought to ingratiate himself to the African-American community does not entitle him to a free pass. Playing the sax on The Arsenio Hall show was the political equivalent of jumping the shark, and a lot of us fell for it. He seemed to relish being accepted by the Black community, and the black community was in awe of the fact that he did.
In October of 1998, esteemed-author Toni Morrison wrote a piece in the New Yorker in which she stated that Clinton is, "Blacker than any actual black person who could ever be elected in our children's lifetime. After all, Clinton displays almost every trope of blackness: single-parent household, born poor, working-class, saxophone-playing, McDonald's-and-junk-food-loving boy from Arkansas."
Miss Morrison did not seem very optimistic at the time in reference to there being an African-American President in our future. In fact her glass seemed to be half empty. The question is. What was she drinking before it got that way? Really?! Is this the criteria for being black? It has been said that she may have been taken out of context. But as far as I'm concerned there is no amount of spin that can clean up this statement. Wrong is wrong, and in embracing former President Clinton many in the African-American community have embraced a fallacy.

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Battered Men?!

What kind of self respecting, testosterone-filled man would admit that he is getting pulverized by a woman. Hardly any. this is the reason most men do not report domestic violence. But studies show that just as many men get battered as women do. Here in America we have been culturally conditioned to believe that men are the stronger, more dominant sex. But in fact, being an abused man may have little if anything to do with strength or domination. I believe that the causes are far more psychological than anyone realizes, and are really no different than the reasons women have for staying in abusive relationships.
I, like most men have been told my whole life to never hit a woman, and thankfully I have never been put into a situation where I was forced into such contemplation. But many men apparently have been. Some have chosen not to fight back because of the stigma involved. Knowing that if they complained they would be looked at as even less of a man than their significant other thinks they already are. So, they stay in this abusive relationship with dwindling self esteem and accept their circumstances as their destiny, never aspiring to be in a healthy environment. They simply feel like they can't do any better. So these men take the physical and verbal blows in anticipation of quiet moments of transformation, and peace. Other's may not want to risk being torn away from their families by a system that will provide and enforce order's of protection based on a women's accusation. Most of which are legitimate but, there are always those who endeavor to abuse the system. Lets face it, nobody wants to lose their family. These feelings are not much different than those of battered women. There are subtle nuances in both experiences but the stigma of being less than a man because they are being abused is not so subtle at all. Police called to scenes of domestic violence involving a man as a victim will not take the matter seriously, and often assume that he must have gotten hit for a reason. The possibility of self defense is basically non existent, and laughable in the minds of most. I have even heard of cases in which the man called the authorities and then ended up going to jail. The reasons can vary according to the situation. While I don't advocate violence of any kind, I also do not advocate being on the receiving end of it either. In my mind the gender of the abused doesn't matter. If you are being abused, you will leave. Either on your own in a moment of clarity, or on a stretcher in a moment of pain. Door #1. Is by far the best option.

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The Power Of Prayer

“The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16).
Every day is not going to be a good day. That is just the way that life is. Just being part of society presents a challenge sometimes, and when you are a Christian trying to walk a righteous path, it makes life even more difficult. Trying to live, and follow the teachings of Jesus Christ in a wicked world can be an up hill battle, and many will tell us that we are foolish for believing in a God that we cannot see. Even though there are a number of days where you may feel like throwing in the towel. I know that your good days will always outnumber your bad days.
Prayer is an important, and powerful way to speak to our Heavenly Father. He knows what we go through, and he knows our pain. This is the reason that he gives us grace and new mercy each and every day. But we must humble ourselves before him, fall to our knees and thank him for just being who he is. We must thank him for the lives that we have, in order to live the lives that we want. Then as we pray for what we want and need, we must believe that our God will do it. The Lord doesn't even require you to have a whole lot of faith. If you have faith the size of a mustard seed he'll work in your favor. I have prayed on many occasions, stepped out on faith and watched God work wonders for my family and me. There were even some times when I had doubts, and have even been a little discouraged. But, through it all I held on to a little bit of faith and The Lord carried me through. If it works for me, it will work for you, through the power of prayer.

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Living Life In This Skin

I am Christian, a husband, a father, a friend, a writer, and an employee. The fact is, I wear many different hat's which I rotate on a daily basis. But first and formost I am a Black man living in The United States of America. Some choose to call themselves African- American, but the so called African- American has little or no ties or knowledge of what it is like to be African, or has ties to the culture. Black people of African decent have no relation to African, dialect, custom or culture. Most Black people of African decent do not have family names that are relative to who they are or to who their generations were. When you hear the names Weinstein, Kawalski or Martinez we know that they each represent a unique heritage that is treasured by each group with pride, and a legacy to be passed on. So, being called Black is accurate as far as i'm concerned. To me being Black means that I have to use America to make my own valuable background on a dark canvas. Black people in America have struggled to live "the American dream". A dream not designed to include us and in many ways lets us know it at every turn. Black people who attempt to live the American dream often find themselves in a monolithic subculture whose influence on popular culture has made it what it is. Yet success is often visible, and glorified through mass media but far more difficult to attain and maintain. We are part of a struggle that has been so difficult at times that the majority of us have never established a since of kinship. An innate since of family that gives us the desire to help one another. We have individualized our journey. So, instead of each one, teach one. It has become, each one figure it out on his own, often with devastating consequences. I could go on and on about racism, prejudice and a corrupted system but these things have already been given far too much lip service as it is. Living life in this skin doesn't have to be a hinderance or a road block. Our experiences represent an opportunity if we dare to strive. The fact is that to thrive being who we are, we must often navigate our way across choppy waters by prayer, relying on God for supplication, and putting faith into action. We must use our free will and wisdom in all things, and after we've done all we can we must stand. Like the old song says, "Nobody told me that the road would be easy, but I don't believe he brought me this far to leave me"!

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The War On Drugs.......(Black People)

The war on drugs is far more than a losing battle. It's a farce, a money pit, and a platform that has often been used by politicians who claim to be "tough on crime". This code, or catch phrase has been repeated over and over again by eager politician's to assure America that African-American's will be well regulated by the system. This continued proclamation, accompanied by mass media imagery of African-Americans as the sole perpetrators of all crime, and the representatives of lawlessness, create a stereotype which resonates in the psyche of U.S citizens.
To date the United States Federal government has spent more than15 Billion dollars fighting the so called war on drugs, at a rate of $500 per second.
Approximately 500,000 people are incarcerated as a result of drug offenses compared to 41,000 in 1980. Four out of every five drug arrests are for simple possession, and 80% are for marijuana. Studies show that most of those arrested are non violent offenders. As of this writing there are more than 7,000,000 people behind bars, on probation, or on parole in the United States. Arrests for minor drugs offenses have become a gateway into a life of crime for many, whose felony status has relegated them to being underclass citizens who are not allowed to reintegrate into society. The fact that they have felony records allows for legal discrimination, and prejudice. In effect denying most ex offenders the rights that most of us take for granted.
Local Police Department's patrolling the African-American inner city take a hyper-vigilant, aggressive, and often violent stance which is absolutely not tolerated in the white community. In these communities the rights of African-American's are often ignored, and applied on a discretionary basis. Selective enforcement, railroading and plea bargaining make up the foundation of this injustice. As a result, despite the fact that whites are just as likely to use illegal drugs as Blacks, 1 out of every 14 black men is behind bars for drugs, while only 1 in 106 white men is behind bars for the same crimes. As a result of the Anti Drug Abuse Act of 1986, higher sentences were imposed for offenders who were arrested for possession of crack cocaine. Historically most of the offenders arrested for possession of crack cocaine are Black and account for a staggering 82% of all crack cocaine related related arrests. African-Americans sentenced for crack cocaine receive a 43.5% longer sentence than those sentenced for powder cocaine offenses. These figures prove that the so called " War on Drugs" is really a war waged against people of color.

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