Month: May 2016

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Praying Doesn’t Solve It

You know there is truth that prayer can change things. When you accept and acknowledge that there is a power higher than you that orders your steps, you can feel a breakthrough that you aren’t really able to accept you can do by yourself. But, the truth is that just praying about it, doesn’t solve it. There really is a little more to it than that.

My honest belief is that prayer validates it. Prayer is the conduit that we use to recognize that we have a connection to a being that is greater than we are. It is that thing that lets us say that I believe. I think that prayer allows us to say: Yes, I acknowledge you, and yes you order my steps in this world.

So many people sit out here and think that just because they pray that things are different. The text actually says that Faith without works is dead. I wonder how many people ignore the last part of the sentence and just focus on the first half as being the way it’s suppose to go. Just have the Faith in God and the rest will work itself through. When the truth is, you need the work in order to complete the path.

Don’t just tell me you’re praying about it but you haven’t chosen to do any of the necessary work. If you’re heartbroken just praying about it doesn’t heal you. Praying let’s God know that you trust in the spirit and believe that help is on the way. But you still have to forgive the one who hurt you. You still have to put in the effort to make yourself better, and to get over the hurt and pain, so you can accept the next one who comes along.

If you sustained an injury you don’t just pray about it and you’re miraculously healed. No, you pray for the strength and patience to go through the rehab necessary to help heal your body. In fact I’d venture to say that you still have to continue to pray once you get on the road to recover. I mean just think about it, one prayer doesn’t do it. Constant prayer changes things.

If you’re trying to get a job, change jobs, manage a difficult job, get into a relationship, navigate the trials of a relationship, mend a broken relationship, establish new friendships, heal wounds with friends and family, it takes prayers and work. You don’t just say I pray for it to get better and then don’t do anything, that means it will still die.

Always remember that what you put your effort into is what grows. What you pray for shows that you believe for that thing, but what about the rest. What happens if things don’t go your way or you wind up with a broken heart? Do you believe that it was meant to happen? Do you still believe that God is going to take care of you?

Prayer just says that sometimes when I look in the sand I see two sets of prints and other times I see one. Because when the burden becomes too much to bear you carry me through. Remember Prayers are important, but the work is just as critical.

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What Do You Stand For?

One of the most interesting things that I often find myself wondering about is do people actually care about what they stand for? Do you care about the legacy that you leave behind? So many times we say that we don’t care what others think about us, but do we care what those close to us think? Does it mean anything to truly have a legacy? I’m so fascinated by how those soldiers who die in the line of duty have their comrades and superiors speak about how awesome they were.

Think about the businessman or businesswoman who leads a successful company and retires or tragically passes away. They do everything they can to leave their “mark” and have their respective legacies stand for something. Think about the teacher or President. Think about that sports coach or that mom or dad. How is it that they seem to block out the world but hone in on their own?

What it makes me realize is that no matter how much one says they don’t care about anyone’s opinion, the truth is there are some opinions that do matter. Otherwise we wouldn’t spend our time trying to leave the mark that we do on this Earth. One my dearest friends is no longer here but the mark he left on those who know him is so profound.

I think of the President of the United States. How hard he works to make sure that people know he’s America’s President, not just the Black President. I look at mothers and military personnel that don’t get the credit they truly deserve, but they continue to be their best selves because they care and they want it to be known when their gone, that they did the right things.

What am I trying to say? You’re legacy is nothing than a reflection of what you stand for, and how you go about defending those beliefs. If you’re full of shit that will be legacy that you leave. If you are messy or suspect, or blowing with the wind, then that’s going to be what you’re remembered for. No matter what you or anyone else says, we always care about the legacy that we leave.

Maybe if we always kept that in the front corner part of our minds, maybe we would be more conscious of one another. Maybe we would care a little more about how we treated each other, because we know that our legacies are defined by these actions that we take. I truly do implore all people to take a moment and think about what you want to be known for. Because that’s what’s going to stand the test of time when your dead and gone.

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Caught In the Trap

Normally I’m a big supporter of Ryan Cameron and what he speaks about, however, today even he must be opened up to what he just allowed himself to fall pray to today. As normal, on my way to work, I was listening to the Ryan Cameron morning show on V-103 and he was doing his segment about him having to speak out again some social issue that’s important to the community. Today’s choice was President’s Obama’s mandate of equal bathroom privileges for the Transgender community.

What his comments strikingly crass, uninformed, and unapologetically right leaning in tone, is the fact that he was very vague with his description of the mandate and then had the dumb ass nerve to suggest that more dialogue is needed on the subject. Hey Ryan wake the fuck up man! This is the Republican playbook if I’ve ever seen it. See they’ve had a strategy since the Supreme Court deemed same sex marriage legal in the United States. Conservative Republicans have systemically gone about trying to introduce legislation to find ways to skirt the ruling and find ways to create legal loopholes to deny the LGBTQ community it’s right granted by the US Supreme Court.

It began with various states writing the so called “Religious Freedom” bills and trying to get those through their Congressional state legislature and subsequently to the desk of the Republican Governor in that respective state. Once the government got wind of this and threated Federal dollars and once businesses threatened to pull out of these states, most of those plans have went down the shit hole. Enter the Bathroom bill passed in North Carolina and attempted to be passed in other states in the country.

What Mr. Cameron seems to conveniently leave out of his ignorant and uninformed talking points is that the Federal Courts have already started weighing in on the situation and deemed bills like the one in North Carolina to be unconstitutional to enforce in public schools because it violates Title IX, which prevent discrimination based on Gender, Sexual Orientation and so on in public academic institutions. Now the fight is whether businesses are allowed to discriminate solely based upon someone’s gender identity.

It is clear that the Obama Administration has said no, you can’t do this, but Mr. Cameron wants to believe that their decision wasn’t based upon conversations, just a rush to protect individuals. How ignorant of you sir. Maybe if you’ve been paying attention to the National discourse over the past year and a half or so, since that historic ruling in favor of same sex marriage, you would know that State Governments across the nation went into panic mode as to how to minimize the impact and find ways to disparage my community.

There has been talk about this for months and months now. This is a way for Republicans to set their agenda and try to attack the Courts ruling by putting in legal, constitutional measures, that say they can discriminate based upon gender identity, which paves the way for an expansion to discriminating because it’s against their religion and before you know it, we, the LGBTQ community, are marginalized yet again. Furthermore to the point, if you really think that transgender folks are the concern with “bathroom” selection you’re wrong.

I dare you or anyone who doesn’t understand to give me the proven data that says that Transgender men or women have been the aggressors in bathroom attacks. Oh and you’re assertion that grown men and women sharing a restroom with a young kid is somehow a no -no, just because they identify with the different sex, is laughable. Have you been in the women’s restroom Mr. Cameron? Do you know if Transgender women are already in the bathroom with girls and vice versa for the men?

I understand that just like with homosexual love and acceptance, some folks will never come to grips with or accept a Transgender person and their choices. But, at the same time how would we feel if we were back in the 1940’s 50’s and 60’s where Black people couldn’t use a White’s only restroom? Or if we have colored only restaurants again? So I guess the conversation is fine as long as it’s furthering your cause, but once it stops, you reject the movement right?

Ryan Cameron I know you’re a better man than to just spew the dumb ass rhetoric you’ve seen and heard. I know you know to do your own homework before speaking on the matter. And I really know, that you know better than to glaringly generalize and paint with a broad brush a National debate that has been very front and center for a while and one that frankly, is about respect and rights.

Maybe this will reach you sir and maybe it won’t. If it does I certainly welcome the conversation with you and if not, anyone who reads this, give me your thoughts. I’m open and ready to have this conversation.

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The Message in a Movie

I finally got watch the third installment of the Barbershop series and I must say it was really a damn good movie. I loved how they really took the time to spotlight the violence going on in Chicago. They went and addressed the young black on black crime. The killing committed by gangs and most importantly the recruitment and brain washing that so many of them do in order to reach these young, impressionable teens.

They really delved into the issue of crimes being committed by us to us, and how we take out some of promising young people because of stupid ass gang shit, and petty jealousy. I truly appreciate also how they touched on the issue of martial hanky panky and how women like to get a man who’s already gotten. They touched on the struggles of a Black man trying to raise his son and provide the best he can. It touched on the diverse personalities of Black men and how just because you don’t act like the stereotypical male, it doesn’t mean you’re gay or  not.

They really did a brilliant job of showing how a marriage needs 100 percent effort on all fronts from both parties, not just one or the other. It showed that as much as the sex, and companionship is needed, that communication piece is just as critical also. I found it to be refreshing that they addressed so many of the issues facing the Black community in major metropolitan cities in America. They showed that in order to truly take our inner cities back, it starts with the common man. Politicians won’t do shit without incentive, motivation, or public scrutiny forcing them to do something about it.

They fully addressed how easily influenced our young men are today by the flashy things, instead of being impressed by the steady things. We see that money and power and popularity, seem to trump smarts, stability and individualism. The movie chronicled  fathers trying their best to raise their sons, being great role models and sometimes that still not being enough to stop the temptation. We see how two friends take different paths. One, because of his previous misdoings stepping up to walk away from the gang and the other needing to be faced with reality to understand that life was dangerous.

If you really want to true picture of why the struggle is so real, I do implore you to watch this movie. You will appreciate the struggle, get some laughs and also relate to many of the characters portrayed on screen.

If you’ve already seen the movie, which I’m sure most of you have, tell me what you think.

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Black Women Roar

I was recently having a conversation with a couple of women in my office about Beyoncé’s Lemonade album and the expected rebuttal album from Jay and it was very interesting the conversation that broke out. What became very apparent is that though both women were Black and in their mid to late 20’s their opinions on the matter of marriage, cheating, and longevity in that marriage were very different. What was also clear is that their opinion of what a feminist is, was far from consistent.

While I was a little concerned at first because the conversation became very heated and the debate was spirited, I was actually enjoying the conversation also because I got to witness what it means to be black and diverse in this state, let alone the country. To hear a woman proud of herself and her feminist beliefs, go head to head with a woman who was a little more centrist but no less strong in her views of womenhood. I must also include that one woman is gay and the other is straight.

While, you might have thought that the gay woman would be the ultra feminist you would be wrong. The straight woman, maybe in part due to her diverse background and various places she called home, was very fervent in her belief that due to the stances, positions and manner of speaking the other woman had, that she wasn’t enough of a feminist. She thought that she was not truly pro Woman and actually was a bit of a prejudicial person at that.

She thought that she was a little sexist because she tended to agree with the notion that cheating in a marriage shouldn’t necessarily constitute divorce. In listening to both of them speak with passion about their positions that they care about, I could also tell that they both had been massively influenced based upon where they came from. The gay woman is from Texas, and carries the laid back disposition that is slightly judgmental but she is well aware of judgmental nature, though she still can befriend them.

The straight woman has a subconscious high degree of judgmental behavior, though in her argument she tries to say that because of her strong feminist view and humble upbringings she is not judgmental of anyone. It was truly a sight to behold. Two women giving every bit of truth and energy they have in a debate that started about marriage, infidelity and divorce and transformed into a battle of view. It was really amazing.

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Consistently Inconsistent

You know what I’ve come to learn over my time talking to people and from the talks I have with my friends, is that every damn nigga in this city/state is consistently inconsistent. No one seems to know how to truly be about the business that they claim to be. No one seems to truly be real and honest. Everyone has an angle, and the minute that you either: a, stop fitting the angle; b, stop feeding their ego or c, the next dick or ass that feeds their want pops in their face, then whatever it was that being worked on stops.

I do find it to be funny that I have to agree with the same assessment that my friends have outlined above. I will agree completely that this shit happens all the damn time and it’s really pretty sickening. No matter if it’s a boyfriend that changes his spots, a friend that only seems to pop up when they need something or exes that seem to find their way around only to show they’re still no different than they were before; oh and let’s not forget the newbie that tries to talk a good game only to have it picked apart in less than a day.

What I find to be the most ironic is how everyone seems to shout the line that they tired of the same old shit, but they keep doing the same old shit. I wonder if people really got tired of it what things would truly look like. OOOOH, and while we’re at it, it’s not just an Atlanta thing, because this city is littered with people who aren’t from here or raised here and they have the same messy, bullshit type mentality as the niggas from this city.

It leads me to the conclusion that I’ve spoken about before: this city contains so much readily available dick and ass that no one seems content to wanna stick by their word, Instead, they’d rather hide under the umbrella of “friendship”, “meeting people”, or “relationship oriented” in order to accomplish their actual goals. Sex, money and control, in some way, shape, form or fashion combine to make up the reasons that people do most of what they do.

While the conscious mind may not say it or admit it, it’s the actions that people take that show you who they are and what they’re really all about. You can talk til your purple about respect, common ground and realness, but the truth is that shit takes a real ass person to enact as a way of being and honestly, most niggas too afraid of being vulnerable to be real. Too concerned with being in control or not letting yesterday happen today, so nothing of substance can truly be had.

The only thing that I know, is niggas are consistently inconsistent What are your thoughts?

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Empire Strikes It Right

So I just finished watching the season of Empire and I was absolutely fascinated by this episode. I know many have been turned off by the show after the beginning of this season was a little too Hollywood cameo filled and the writing was very sporadic and not tight. But damn it, I must say that by and large since the season has returned they have delivered show after show of must see t.v.

Tonight we found out that Luscious’ mom isn’t dead but is alive and well. We found out that the FBI is going to come back after the Lyon family. We saw the damn producer for the awards show reveal that he’s a queer and fucked around with Jamal, like OMG. We see that Jamal might be fucking around with Tiana again. We see that Rhonda is starting to piece together that boo boo kitty might have been responsible for killing her unborn child. We saw the Lyon’s come together and create a beautiful song that was just perfect. And then we saw Luscious’ mom show her true colors.

I mean how much can you fit into an episode. Oh, and lets not forget that Cookie’s assistant planted a seed in her sister’s head about being jealous. My goodness, the show may not still be for you but damn it did for me tonight. I was truly mesmerized by the collab that they did tonight. I thought it just made you sit back and think and appreciate that music and the voices that they have. Hakeem and his verse was fye. I can appreciate where the story lines and are going and the cliff hangers that they keep dangling are enticing.

They continue to shine the light on rebuking the stereotype that gay men all look and act alike. They continue to dig deeper into what it means to have your first love around and remembering all the up and downs that keeps you from letting go, especially when you have kids together and are in business too. I’m really happy that they went away from spinning Jamal from gay, to bi/curious or whatever they did and continued to explore the dynamics of gay men.

I’m excited to see what happens the next two weeks. One of the Lyons will die and there will be so much left to cover before they sign off for the summer. The music, the drama, the plots and the stories. Can’t wait to see what happens next.

 

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Stop the Rape

I received an alert this morning that completely disturbed me and I heard the story on the radio and I was reminded just how delicate and fragile the relationship is between Morehouse and Spelman College. Again, another story surfaces bout multiple students from Morehouse taking advantage of a Spelman student at a party and gang raping her. Four men on one girl, just because she was drunk.

While that was sickening, the most heinous part was what her school Administration told her to do. According to her story that she posted on Twitter, she was told to give the young men a pass because Morehouse and Spelman are brother and sister schools. I’m sorry but what the fuck is the thought process like at these schools? I just really can’t believe that once again we’re confronted with this dynamic.

Time and time again, I defend my alma mater because I am proud to be one of the privileged to have attended the school and grew up with an extreme sense of pride. While we have our share of issues, I never thought that this would become the epidemic that we became known for. I understand that Spelman has a lot of very attractive women, and Morehouse is filled with very handsome men, but got damn is really that serious that you gotta ruin yourself, your rep and tarnish your schools image.

Maybe, that’s part of the problem though at 830 Westview Dr SW. Maybe, they spend too  much time telling us how privileged and special we were. Maybe some of the students chosen weren’t use to hearing that or the opposite is true. Maybe they been hearing it too much. Maybe we are too stuck on ourselves and think that just because we go to this prestigious school that we’re immune from following the rules of decorum and the laws of the land.

If you know me, then you know that I bleed Maroon and White, but I’m also a man who’s so serious about human rights. Who was the ignorant ass who thought that we can continue to take advantage of the special bond that suppose to exist between these two tradition rich schools? Why do we feel that if we can’t get what we want, we must force our will to be done?

I implore the students of Morehouse and Spelman to come together and have a forum to truly bring an end to this foolishness. I urge the Alumni of both schools to become more involved. I need to see that there are folks who are more concerned with protecting the current and next waves of Morehouse men and Spelman women, than protecting their status within either school.

This type of behavior doesn’t make either school look good. It makes us question why we really have the “brother, sister” bond in the first place. We need to take these Administrations to task also. The Presidents, Dean’s and respective Student Government leadership need to come together to get a handle on this shit. What the fuck will it take in order to truly put a stop to this? Does someone need to get seriously hurt in one of these gang rapes?

The narrative needs to change too. We must open our mouth and not be afraid to challenge that which we know is wrong. Across America college campuses are facing this horrible epidemic and we really need it to stop. So please start the conversation, band together and lets make some changes.

Tell me your thoughts and lets have the dialog.

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Trump’s Republican World

Last night, the Donald did what few thought he was capable of doing when he first announced his candidacy, he clinched the Republican nomination for President. By winning Indiana, he knocked out the last two opponents in the race, Ted Cruz and John Kasich. What an unbelievably ignorant time we’re living in.

I respect those who have differing views than I do on than I on the state of the country and on American politics. But I truly want someone with half a brain to tell me what the fuck Donald Trump has going for him that makes anyone think he really lead this country? Where in the hell does he have the credentials to be President? Because you Republicans want an “Outsider” to lead your party, you turn to a reality celebrity, that really knows nothing about policy. Is he a successful businessman? Surely, can he run an entire nation? Looking at what he’s done and stood for in this nomination cycle.. Hell Naw!

Listen, I get it when it comes to Trump. He has the balls to say things that a lot of people believe. He talks a certain way that a lot of racist and supremacy groups find appealing. He disparages women and think that we should force immigrants that aren’t to his liking, to wait to enter the country. I mean I understand, for those who think that this country has gone down hill because we elected a Black man as President and the Supreme Court made landmark decisions that allowed for more equality in this country.

I guess it never seems to fail that when we think that the country is ready to take steps forward, we see that the country really may not be as ready to embrace change as we thought.  While Progressives, Moderates and Centrists can accept the fact that the world is changing, the base of the Conservative movement still believes that we should be a “Good Ole Boy” network. Whites in control and women taking a back seat. You don’t believe what I’m saying, well just listen to their leader.. Donald Trump.

The General Election fight is now here and Hillary and Donald are about to square off in one epic contest. Donald and his machoism. Hillary and her Clinton machine. For the next six months it’s going to be a political war to see who comes out on top. Partial or not, this wasn’t my first idea of who I’d like to see, but this is the matchup we’ve got. So my two questions are: Is Trump planted by the Clintons to ensure that Hillary wins? Are we really dumb enough to put Donald Trump into the White House?

America wake up and pay attention to what Trump’s trying to do. He is an establishment Republican politician. And, now he may be one night away from the White House. Democrats and Independents alike, you gotta come out and make your voice heard in this election. Trump is not who we need running this country.

Gimme your thoughts and feedback

 

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Purple Sadness

I was reading an article that said that less than a day away from death Prince was set to meet with a doctor who could help him deal with his drug addiction. The doctor had sent his son to Prince’s home to prep him on the therapy and treatment he was going to receive upon the doctor’s arrival the next day. Sadly, Prince didn’t make to that appointment, as he died the night before.

Part of this blog is talk about the sadness of how mega celebrities struggle with the fame and often times turn to drugs to deal with the constant pressure to produce and create magical music. The other talks about our incessant yearning for the most amount of detail about their lives and struggles as possible.

Lets deal with the former first. It’s really a shame that three of the biggest musicians in the history of the business, Prince, Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston, all befell a similar fate: overdose on drugs that eventually took their lives. Michael used powerful sleep anesthetic that wound up taking him out, Whitney was addicted to crack cocaine and Prince’s drug of choice was Percocet. All drugs that when abused cause severe side effects and possible death.

You just have to wonder just how much the pressure to continue to be legendary winds up getting to these mega celebrities. You think about all the other celebrities who have died because of accidental or intentional drug overdoses. Think about Wrestling Superstar China. She died the day before Prince, due to an accidental drug overdose. You can continue to name names and the result is the same. Rick James and on and on. Sad cases of celebrities too caught up in partying, or too depressed to get the help they need.

Now, I’m going to address the sickening later part of the convo and that’s our disturbingly thirsty desire to know all the gruesome details of what happened to cause a legend’s life to be cut short. Remember when Prince first died the thought was maybe it was related to his sickness he had before he came to Atlanta to perform. Now, the media and everyone alike wants to know just to what extent his drug habit played into his death.

I understand the desire for answers, and as a culture we all want to know what happened in hopes that we can tell the story to someone and it will save their life. But, why do we need to dig so deep and get so personal that we need secret sources or family members telling the most private tales of their loved one, that’s no longer here to protect themselves.

Remember the same thing happened to Michael and Whitney. We wanted answers to make sure we knew how they died, but the rabid culture of no privacy pushed until we knew everything about their final months of life, even things that we may not even needed to know. I get it, they’re celebrities and we want to know what happened. We want to feel like we’re able to relate to them. But my damn, can we let the dead just rest.

Fine lets know what happened, but hell after that let the fucking people sleep. Please it’s time to finally stop this stupid ass craze to know what the exact move of our beloved celebrities are and let them have their sweet peace just like the rest of us. What do you think?