All of Black Man's Problems...(written 11/17/15)

All of the black man's modern day problems stem from his inability to be white...

Many of my contemporaries and I agree that in the grand scheme of things, integration has harmed us more as a people than it has helped us. Don't get me wrong, integration did open up a world of opportunities for our people, but instead of using those opportunities to better ourselves, we messed up when we squandered those opportunities in an attempt to be white. Take a look at the historical record, most if not all native people are community-based. Conversely, the people who settled this nation, as well as those who financed these trips, were out for individual gain, not the betterment of their own people. Hell, these new settlers ignored the land claims of the native peoples and their way of life, taking the land as their own and forcing their own culture and way of life on them despite the natives surviving in those areas for several millennia before. And if that wasn't enough, this nation was built on the backs of people who either had no interest in it, or were against the administration of this new culture that was so different than their own, a debt that still has not been paid in full.

As progressive payments to that debt were made via the civil rights movement, Black America again became fixated with wanting to be white, and now it's beginning to trickle down to our children. Am I the only one who remembers the days where we looked at white children and often remarked, "white kids are crazy?" You know the ones who were seen in department stores on leashes, the ones who not only cussed around their parents but at their parents, and still only received time out. Many of us received the thrashing of a lifetime for making faces about things that we disagreed with let alone verbally expressing our disagreement. Follow that up with modern advances to medicine and this (in my opinion) fictitious "disease" of ADHD and now we are convinced that it's best for our kids to make them medicated zombies because that's what white folks are doing. I've recently become privy to an interesting point, that most if not all of the youth or young adults that have indulged in mass shootings in or outside of school were prescribed some sort of ADHD medicine. Let that sink in for a minute...

Now, in 2015, in the midst of the #blacklivesmatter movement, the media is portraying that the aggressive police tactics in the black community would stop if black children had more respect for authority. In addition, many inner-city teachers are complaining about how out of control children are. It doesn't take rocket science to figure this out, children have no respect for authority because they don't get whippings anymore. We are involuntarily feeding our children back into the modern day slavery system that is American prisons. I'll admit, I grew up not trusting law enforcement and not liking teachers who told me what to do, but I knew that if a cop brought me home, with or without handcuffs, I had to call my parents from jail, or if a teacher wrote or called my house, that I'd be in for it. And that's what kept me in line. Today's children are not stupid, they realize that in instances where they may engage in inappropriate behavior, that they are not subject to the punishment that we or our parents were and in turn they don't care. Time-out or a stern talking to are nothing in comparison to a good ole fashioned tanning of the hide. But with White America always wanting to get in someone else's business, not for the betterment of community; but to push their own selfish agenda, you can't even discipline your kids without abuse allegations. So now White America wants us to believe that Sgt. Slam in South Carolina was within his rights to throw that little girl from her desk because she was disrespectful of authority, but that's a problem that they started. White children have not been traditionally the most respectful of authority but because of white privilege their childish antics of youth are dismissed as just that. Our children aren't afforded that privilege. At the end of it all one thing remains clear, as much as we try to get what White America has, we still will never be white enough for a lot of it, so I urge you, discipline your kids, before the police have to!

Why?

Amid the turmoil that has exploded on the campus of the University of Missouri this week, I was inspired to turn back to my blog to vent about these conditions and the slow response of the university in addressing these issues. The most shocking part of this and similar instances at institutions of higher education is that they are considered by faculty, administration, students, and alumni alike to be nothing new. If this is nothing new, then why do we as a people continue to subject ourselves to these atrocities? The message this week was clear, that if the pockets of these universities become affected, then there is no other option than to effectuate some sort of real change, not something for the media or something to appease protesters, something real; why is that so hard to gain?

Why is it that blacks continue to push "black friday" movements and the like where the black dollar is spent in the black community but we fail to push for the best and the brightest both intellectually and athletically to support HBCUs by simply attending?

It has been said that the civil rights movement can take a page from the LGBT movement and adopt the slogan that "tolerance is not acceptance." Until we can truly be accepted at PWIs then why should we spend our money there?

Why do we continue to attend these institutions hoping that things are going to be better when not much has changed since integration was forced upon many of these schools?

Why do those of us who have attended PWIs feel the need to firmly defend these schools when other blacks inquire as to the reasoning behind not attending an HBCU?

If most of the schools that are a part of the BCS and College Football Playoffs have rosters where a majority of the players are minorities, why is the SWAC/MEAC Challenge not the real national championship?

Why do we continue to force ourselves in places we are not (truly) wanted?

I smell, I smell, I smell...

Rest in Paradise Sandra Bland, my sister in Greekdom, my “Indy,” my beautiful black sister.

There are times in life when being respectful of authority is a decision made without question and others where authority must be questioned because it doesn’t come from an impartial place. I wasn’t going to comment on the Sandra Bland situation because I didn’t have all the facts, however, after seeing the dash cam footage of Bland’s encounter with police, I am up in arms. There is commentary on the video that is typical of these types of incidents; “if she would have just complied with the officer’s instruction, then this could have all been avoided.” My follow-up question is simply, who decides when it is appropriate to comply with directives, and when they deserve to be challenged? For instance, what made it appropriate to challenge the authority of the British Crown in the establishment of this nation, or what made it appropriate to challenge the secession of the Confederate States of America to preserve the union?  

Let’s be clear about a few things; I do not know if the trooper in question had a valid reason to pull Sandra over, I do not know if there were any underlying factors that brought reasonable suspicion up to probable cause such to substantiate any arrest and/or detention, and I do not know how Sandra Bland met her unforeseen demise, but I do know that the circumstances that placed her in jail were totally uncalled for! Those who happen to come across my blog and are not faithful readers may be unprepared for what I am about to say, however, I don’t have much of a filter on here so I’m just going to let it fly.

SANDRA BLAND WAS RIGHT; THE TROOPER WAS INDEED A PUSSY.

Allow me to further elaborate on this point. While the word pussy is considered by society as vulgar terminology for a woman’s genitalia, it is also defined as “a cowardly man or boy,” a definition that I feel needs the following addition; “because he acts as a woman/girl.” I have never understood why law enforcement officers ask “is something wrong?” during a traffic stop. Despite the initial infraction which gave rise to the stop, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what would be wrong with someone who is receiving a traffic citation. The person stopped could be running late for work, worried about finding the monetary funds to pay for any fines associated with their traffic violation, the inconvenience of having to take off work to contest a ticket, the resulting increase that such a violation may have on their insurance premium, it’s a variety of things. Taking all that to consideration reminds me of interactions within relationships where women ask “is something wrong,” when they know damn good and well that something is wrong, and probably have an idea of what it is. So when the man verbalizes what is wrong and why it’s affecting his demeanor, the incident immediately becomes a conflict. The same thing happened here, the trooper asked what’s wrong, and Bland simply gave him a piece of her mind, despite the tone she used, she did not disrespect the officer in my opinion, but this probably incited the officer because he, like most bad cops, thought that this woman should be pleasant and accommodating to anything he asks because he wears a badge. Mind you, this is not calling the trooper in question a racist, or saying that all cops are bad, but simply that he was on a power trip and should heed to advice that my father and prophytes have given, respect is not simply given based upon one’s status but earned by their actions.

As a fellow smoker, I too, light up when pulled over by law enforcement, to keep my emotions in check and remain in a calm place despite what particular kind of person I am dealing with in the course of my detention. (Notice I said person, not law enforcement officer, because I’ll come back to this point later.) So long as Sandra did not intentionally exhale her smoke in the trooper’s face, which can be considered an assault, he had no reason to ask her to put out her cigarette. Her refusal to do so was considered as a challenge to his authority, and because he was a pussy, he had to assert his authority even though he had no right to do so. Yes, he did have the right to ask her to step out of the vehicle but he must give a reason, be it for a search of the passenger compartment, or to effectuate a lawful arrest, something he indeed failed to do. Also, I question any officer who has a problem with lawfully being filmed, what exactly are you trying to hide? I think the unnecessary use of force in this case based upon a situation where the law enforcement officer should have been the bigger man and showed the greater form of restraint as he SHOULD HAVE been trained to do, was beyond uncalled for.

Armed with this evidence that Sandra Bland had no reason to be in the cell that she would spend her last few hours on this earth, it’s hard not to question the circumstances surrounding her “apparent suicide.” This young lady seemed to have her life in order, was headed back to her old undergraduate stomping ground for a new position, now I could be wrong, but this doesn’t seem like the type of person that would be a suicide risk. And as with most occurrences where police overstep their boundaries, the victim is vilified faster than they can be buried. We are now being told that Bland “was not a model person” being stopped. Why is that? Because she questioned unreasonable requests? Because she knew her rights? Despite Bland’s tone, the trooper had all responsibility to deescalate the situation, something he failed at doing. This new evidence does nothing to answer how Bland met her untimely demise, but it does throw out a bunch more questions. And if this is the kind of behavior that one can expect from law enforcement in Waller county, then can we say without a doubt that other pussy troopers didn’t play a hand in her death?

We should never rush to group all law enforcement officers in the same category because they are people first, their badges come second. Yet, this officer in the Sandra Bland case was a shitty person; a pussy. Had he taken his vow to PROTECT AND SERVE seriously, this situation would have never arisen to the level that it did and hopefully Sandra would still be with us. Rest on sister, we will find the truth!!!

Years Later...A Few Months After

"History is written by the victors." - Winston Churchill

The American Civil War ended 150 years ago, and again we are discussing the display of the Confederate Battle Flag being memorialized in state flags, particularly in South Carolina and Mississippi in addition to landmarks of Confederate generals here in New Orleans. Why this discussion is ongoing and not subject to an executive order of some sort is largely beyond me, however, I think I'm pleased by this dialogue. I have said once before that thought leads to dialogue and dialogue in turn leads to action. Even still, references to the Confederacy belong in museums and not anywhere close to any building representing the people of the United Sates and it's beyond time we rectify this. Right-wing politicians and their respective media outlets, yes, you FoxNews, will have you to believe that racism is dead and any problems that African Americans  have when it comes down to equality is largely their own doing as evidenced by the nation's black president. Supporters of references to the Confederacy on public property cite to history for the reason why such an abomination is allowed to continue. Sights such as these will cause one to think that the South won the war and as with most things, we seem to be sitting by idly when recent history has dictated that ideas aiming for the equal treatment of African Americans are only a good idea when they come from whites. These are the things we have to answer for when looked upon from other countries or even African Americans from the North; why do blacks in the South subject themselves to this kind of treatment? But again, unless one of their own starts the fight, it's never really given the discussion that will ultimately lead to action and for that reason alone, this dialogue is good. However, why are we having this discussion years later and a few months after? 

This discussion is unnecessary because history shows us that those who win can indeed put whatever spin on the events as they choose...but the South lost. We have seen Native Americans pick up and fight for the abolition of Native American sports mascots, but how many schools still call their teams rebels? The "stars and bars" only represent the history of those who would like to see slavery occur again, it cannot be anything more. These states seceded from the union, they should have been tried as traitors and hung just as many of the slaves in the South were for much less. If you as a person choose to fly that flag, you have a constitutional right to do so, but it cannot be allowed in places that belong to the public. It is the flag of hatred, inequality, and more importantly, that of a loser. As The Daily Picayunne of New Orleans wrote in 1884 "We cannot ignore the fact that the secession has been stigmatized as treason and that the purest and bravest men in the South have been denounced as guilty of shameful crime...by every appliance of literature and art, we must show to all coming ages that with us, at least, there dwells no sense of guilt." This is what the Confederate flag still flying in any form on state buildings represents, the unapologetic attitude behind a cause that  failed. Also be sure to include that none of these state flags had Confederate symbolism anywhere on them before 1861, so how was this even allowed?

It is time to kill the illusions of grandeur that the South will rise again and that the plight of the men who fought on the side of the Conferderacy was an honorable one. They were traitors to the republic and they should be acknowledged by history as such. In regards to monuments dedicated to the Confederacy, Wynton Marsalis asked "does that space represent who we were, who we are, or who we aim to be?" It is indeed who we were, but it cannot represent who we are or who we aim to be, and for that reason alone, these displays only belong in museums...

If You Did it, Say You Did it...

One of the problems that I have with the world that we live in is the lack of accountability. Every time something occurs that is contrary to our own expected outcome, it must be someone else’s fault, because it can’t be that of our own. The previously mentioned logic is one of the main reasons why I support any derivative of “stop snitching” campaigns because I would rather be a part of a society where people are noble enough to be accountable and accepting of the punishments related to their actions as opposed to relying on the work of snitches. As I stated in a discussion with a friend earlier this week; if you are afraid of the consequences of your actions, then maybe you should think twice before you do it. Maybe that’s why I don’t have a criminal record, but I digress.

Yesterday, a Fulton County Superior Court Judge sentenced eight of ten former Atlanta public school employees charged with racketeering and other lesser-included offenses. I have seen a variety of postings on Facebook regarding how this is a tirade of justice and another example of the system “holding us down” especially when there have been instances of teachers who were charged with statutory rape that have seen far less jail time.  (I have admitted to being wrong about the racial implications of these statutory rape cases after reading a CBS article detailing about 40 such instances where none of those particular defendants meted a punishment nearly equal to that received by Ethel Anderson.) As I have been known to do in my posting I will describe the parameters that enables me to think the way that I do.

The defendants in this case have been charged with racketeering, a crime loosely described as the activities associated with fraudulently offering a service to solve a problem. So while others may argue that this was mainly teachers who cared about their jobs enough to cheat the system and did nothing more than offer answers and change responses can have several seats. These employees did this as part of a criminal conspiracy in order to keep their jobs as well as financial compensation. The actions committed within this conspiracy show the fault in trying to rectify a problem that has been going on too long; the question of whether public schools and their teachers are failing our children, or whether parents themselves are failing their own offspring. I won’t touch on other analyses where people question test taking skills or the purpose of judging education based upon standardized tests because in life one is readily defined by their ability to perform under pressure as well as various assessments, besides, this rhetoric for education has been in place much before we acknowledged things such as ADHD and test taking deficiencies.

YES, America is in a tremendous need of education reform, but this was not the proper means to accomplish these ends, and if you are unwilling to display any regret, remorse, or responsibility for you actions, in my opinion you deserve all seven of those years in prison, if not more.

Meanwhile, in "Post-Racial America"...

Today as I logged on to one of my various avenues of social media consumption, I encountered a video of members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon chanting on a bus "there'll never be no niggers in SAE." This sparked another call to a social action movement similar to what the black Greek community did in response to VH-1's "Sorority Sisters." Well, readers, I didn't take part in that first movement, and I didn't take part in this new one either, but I will commend the University of Oklahoma and the administration of SAE for their swift response to this incident in closing the chapter at Oklahoma and suspending the members of the chapter while promising a potentially stricter response after an investigation. The reason why I didn't take part in this movement is because despite what present day media will tell you; we are not living in a post-racial America. *Plies voice* "Ain't no post-racial America, bih!"

I've commented before (quite possibly in another posting) that I would much rather a blatant racist than the ones who continue to push a system that was only made for their benefit and refuse to acknowledge that it was. Yeah, the Klu Klux Klan isn't parading around with the prominence that it once was but just because the white hoods have been turned in for badges, suits, and political

Office...*Plies voice* "Ain't no post-racial

America, bih!"

But let's not be fooled here, why should we commend the actions of the University for doing what they were supposed to do? Did they really mean it? I mean, LSU refused to prohibit the flying of the purple and gold variation of the confederate flag, but they quickly distanced themselves from it, because that's what they were supposed to do.   What if that's how they really felt? You can't afford to be the Klu Klux Klan in this day and age without being labeled. You can't afford to have the major constituency of an athletics program worth hundreds of millions angry at you. You can't afford to belittle an institution that turns black brothers and sisters against their own and who's affiliation with makes them superior than the ones who went to Langston. 

This past week's episode showed us that racial problem in America is one that even the likes of Oliva Pope cannot fix, but are we really surprised that racists still exist 50 years after Selma? Ain't no post-racial America, bih!

So This is the Kappa of My Dreams?

"Alpha, Beta, Gamma, wooooahhh, Delta, Epsilon...Zeta, Eta, Theta, Iooooooota...Kappa Alpha Psi til the day I diiiiieeee..."

Singing these exact words still resonate with a great feeling of pride throughout all of my body, and like most greeks, I hate to see my fraternity put in a bad-light. However a self-imposed instance of negative publicity is always worse than a media-exaggerated perceived one. After the non-indictments of law enforcement personnel directly involved with the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner that seem to have no justification beyond race, I am amazed me the silence of the black greek organizations that encompass the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC).

Don't get me wrong, the NPHC did issue a statement after the non-indictment in Ferguson, and Alpha Kappa Alpha, and Delta Sigma Theta have recently spoken up now that protests have escalated due to the non-indictment in Staten Island. Well, that should be enough, right?

For me, it simply isn't...

I did not pledge the NPHC, AKA, or DST, so I shouldn't be bothered with the contention expressed by any of these organizations, but I am. The NPHC has said that they will continue to fight for the rights of black and brown people through peaceful protest and policy implementation. That should be enough, right?

Well that was grand! What did AKA and DST follow that up with?

Much of the same message, EXCEPT, these ladies cautioned their members NOT to wear any letters or insignia to these protests. You mean to tell me, letters that one worked hard to wear they can't wear to a protest putting their organization in a positive light for what may very well prove to be the civil rights struggle of our generation? Spare me the rhetoric regarding violent acts that may be associated with the organization because if we were doing a much better job of safeguarding the prestige of our organization members would know that in letters you are representing something much larger than yourself. (But that's another argument for another post)

Yet, Kappa Alpha Psi is still silent...

THEN TODAY HAPPENED...in fact, right when I was writing this piece.

I posted a rant that inspired this posting to my Facebook page, and in the course of criticizing Kappa and the rest of the NPHC I was encountered with two posts that allowed me to become further enraged with Kappa. The first, a post from a good friend of mine, was the following:

Of course, posting something like this he would happen to be an Alpha, but either way it denounces the whole sentiment of not wearing your letters to participate in these demonstrations. However, it still falls short of the level of involvement I'd like to see from our organizations and the statement that I feel should be made in light of these circumstances. Shout out to Alpha Phi Alpha. 

But what did make me proud to be a greek was that same friend posting a letter from Zeta Phi Beta in which the ladies of Zeta have taken a stand and are using these incidents as a platform to launch a new social action directive in 2015.

But my beloved Kappa is still silent...

How is it that a black greek letter organization founded on the campus of a predominately white institution is quiet. I would spout off a certain incident that makes me feel like Kappa should be at the forefront of such matters but Nupes should know what I'm talking about. I'm just upset at the lack of response from what I always thought to be the talented tenth of our people.

Last time I checked, Kappa had an objective to inspire service in the public interest...but maybe I'm just dreaming...