TRAYVON. O.J AND THE THE BLACK INCEPTION

In The Aftermath Of The Controversial Case, We Find That The Dangerous Notion Which Killed A Boy And Holds Us All Captive Still Lives. 

 I tried. I really did. I wanted to let George Zimmerman's arrest be the end of it for me, but in the wake of the case, a very disturbing thing has happened. Pundits have been discussing the case and many journalists, including Piers Morgan and the great Bob Schieffer have shown a remarkable ignorance when it comes to understanding why people are so upset about the death of this boy. 

And then Acura, making a car commercial with Jerry Seinfeld, calls for a black man but "not too dark." Then I realized that I couldn't do it-- Because of the idea. A notion has been planted in the brain of America, just like they did in the film Inception. It's an old idea, one that has been nurtured and supported by everything from ancient writings to Twitter. This idea that black people are inferior is at the heart of every other bigoted notion about us. 

 This lie was created to justify sin and fortified over the years. It is ingrained within the basic imagery of color, that anything dark is bad and everything light is good, which is sadly one of the basic building blocks of our mind's perception. In children's stories, no black knight ever wins and no white knight ever loses. 

The Trayvon Martin and O.J. Simpson cases show what a deep divide still remains in our culture and how under all of our civilized behavior, the inception lives and flourishes as we push ever forward to our future.

O.J. Simpson was a black man who was famous and was exalted by all races. Then he was charged with killing two white people. And the notion was that this violent tendency was always in him, dormant and born of natural causes.

George Zimmerman is a man with violence, recklessness and insecurity in his past. But when he killed a black man, the perception by many is he did this not because of his natural tendencies but because of his perception of the victim's natural tendencies. And his perception comes from the inception of the idea that black men are inherently inferior, violent and dangerous. In both cases, you have black men, one accused of murder, the other dead by murder but both held in contempt based on preconceived notions that have been supported by all of society (and yes, that includes us black folk). And just as dangerous as "the black man is always guilty" inception is the one that says all black men are somewhow or in some way, wrongly accused. 

In the end, we are left to our morality for these judgments and I must say we are sorely lacking in this area. To me at least, the field is in clear vision: Zimmerman is as guilty as O.J. and Trayvon was as innocent as Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman. 

So to all the people out there who don't understand why people are upset, think just a moment before you embarrass yourself like Piers Morgan and Bob Schieffer did. Think about the fact that no man has a right to feel so threatened by the mere presence of another that murder is justified. And understand also that the racism and mistreatment of our people is never an excuse for criminal behavior. 

I don't know if we can ever undo this inception, even as you read this, people are fortifying it in the media and pop culture and feeding it to their children. But we are the governor's of our hearts and minds and in this, we can do anything. In closing, let me plant the only idea that really matters: 

We are all just human. 

Copyright 2012

THE OBAMA INCEPTION

People have been stonily silent since the midterm elections. So I will say what everyone is thinking. The President has missed the mark. And here's why he missed it.

The idea.

In the film Inception, a mind-bending movie about the subconscious, a man says that a simple idea is the most powerful thing in the world. Then they set about implanting an idea in the mind of a powerful man.
Two years ago, something else powerful was implanted in the minds of America, especially Black America.
A symbol.
Symbol (symb’l) n 1. Something that stands for or represents something else, especially an object representing an abstraction. 2. An object or act that represents an impulse or wish in the unconscious mind that has been repressed.
Dig the definition, “representing an abstraction” or “a repressed wish.” So a symbol is a vessel, which is filled with whatever an individual wants.
It is important to remember this definition, as I am about to talk badly about some revered symbols.
The Emancipation Proclamation was a symbol, a law that “freed slaves.” Of course it didn’t. Faith, determination, courage, politics, a war with 620,000 deaths did.
Jackie Robinson’s symbolic integration killed the Negro Leagues, ending the threat that the black teams; some partially owned by blacks would merge with the MLB.
The MLK Holiday became the symbol for the promise of continued equality and progress. It became law in 1983 and then the 1990’s saw the most devastating reversal of fortune in the history of Black America.
And then in the new millennium, we were given the greatest symbol in perhaps a century: the first Black President.
And now after two short years, the President has been hobbled and even labeled a failure by some. His party has lost political control by historic margins and he has been called out by such progressive stalwarts as Michael Moore, Rachel Maddow, Keith Olbermann, John Stewart, Bill Maher and George Soros. Even zen master Deepak Chopra has called him out. (I am waiting for Bambi and Papa Smurf to slam him next)

There have been a lot of theories about why this has happened. I of course, have the real answer and it has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with symbolism.

Obama was the symbol for all the things that Blacks and young progressive whites had been waiting for. He came with black skin and a "white" brain, a black wife and a white history. But he meant something different to each group.
To Blacks he was a warrior, the ultimate proof of equality, acceptance and an end to the theories of black inferiority. To whites, he was the essence of their subconscious presumption of black nobility, likened to the imagery of the Magic Negro, the man who carries virtue in his right hand and forgiveness in the other and who will break his back fixing your mess.
Obama was the perfect symbol: the abstraction of hope and the repressed wish of change.
But he did not deliver on either promise to either group by doing what every President before him did, playing the same D.C. game and not giving anyone the only thing that ever matters: to call bullshit on it all.
The President went on to accomplish many things but none of them resonated with young voters and Blacks who felt left out.
So what could he have done? Well, anything that guts the D.C. game would probably not pass in congress but in failure he would have won the hearts of Americans who want to stop spendthrift government and greedy, selfish corporate politics.
How about if you ship a job overseas, you have to create two here or we hit you with a penalty that goes to job creation? What about if a soldier dies in a war, we send his kids to college for free? Or maybe an actual, real discussion about race?
So maybe none of these ideas are good but that’s one of the hundreds of reasons I could never be President. But I do know this, all the people wanted was a sign, a gesture to hold on to.
Ironically, we needed a symbol.

Copyright 2010

TRAYVON AND THE MAGIC BULLET

The Rally For The Tragedy In Florida Runs To The Core Of Our Nation's Dark History And Stands Against Criticism With Unimpeachable Humanity.

There was an interesting (and nasty) discussion on another post on my page yesterday.  A poster took exception with the outpouring of anger and support for Trayvon Martin when we, the black people, don't do anything about the constant violence in our community each day against each other.  While I take exception with the way the thought was posed, it was nonetheless a provocative question.

My response is just as provocative.

The bullet that killed Trayvon Martin has also shattered any belief that a black man in the White House has really changed a nation that has been built on the bones of millions of dead slaves and native Americans and free black people. The bullet that it took three days to get out of Trayvon's body may have mysteriously turned him on his face, a feat that logic and physics cannot explain.

But that bullet did have one magical quality: it awakened the sleeping giant of millions of people with black sons whose greatest fear was just realized and millions of white people who are tired of ignorant, racist men like George Zimmerman and (former) Police Chief Chris Lee, being promoted as the representatives of what's in their hearts.

Yes, we have a lot of problems in our community but the kind of senseless, hate-driven violence that took that boy from this world is part of the reason why we suffer so much and why we can't get certain monkeys off our backs.  

Many times our ancestors lifted themselves up then cowardly, murderous men would come in the night and drive us back down, even if they had to kill us to do it.  Just ask the people of Rosewood. Murder justified by the law, covered up by police and in defense of racist laws has taken countless lives and contributed to a dispritited people who have at times only had their love for each other and their faith in God to sustain them. 

Emmet Till, Malice Green, Medgar Evers, James Byrd Jr. and Dr. King's names are etched into a wall of history that all Americans should be ashamed of.  Sadly now, Trayvon Martin joins them.

This of course does not justify men abandoning their kids or bad parenting or reckless personal behavior or any of the things black people do that hurt our community.  But what should we do, march against ourselves?  Well, we did that, a million men and women strong.  As feeble as it seems sometimes, black people continue to try to fix our problems and while we struggle with this most human of endeavors, we would appreciate people not murdering our sons because they are black.

So, if any person takes exception to the Trayvon rallies, I ask you if you have stood by your obligations to your kids and your spouse.  If the answer is yes, then I say thank you for helping our community and I appreciate your observation.  But if you haven't, then you are part of the problem you purport to condemn and you can tell your damned story walking.  

Because there are no magic bullets, just the ones that kill.  The outrage over Trayvon Martins murder is a collective scream from Americans that we will not go back into those dark days of our past and give truth the lie that all men are not created equal.  And if you can't understand that, then not only can I not help you.

I don't want to.

Copyright 2012

THE VAGINA DIALOGUES

The Nasty, Venal Conversation About Who Controls A Woman's Body Can Be Ended By A Simple, Profound, Yet Crazy Sounding Plan. 

There's a terrific BBC show called Downton Abbey.  It's set in England in the 1900's and it has no black people in it, so of course it has become a cult hit in America.  It is also set during the last part of the Victorian Age, when men owned everything and power and wealth could only pass through male heirs. Women were pretty much considered property.  

The current dialogue in our Congress and media about women's reproductive rights would fit right into Downton.

Some time ago, I wrote an article about respecting female time and how it was different from male time.  Well, female power is also different from male power and this is the whole problem right now. 

You see, when we attacked gender bias and disparity, we made a mistake. By and large, we tried to attain equality for women through the acquisition of male power.  But we didn't try hard enough to acquire equality through respect for female power. 

Female power.  Noun.  1. The ability to do something or act in a particular way that is uniquely tied to being born female, esp concerning human reproduction. 

What the hell am I talking about you ask?

I'm talking about the fact that there are things about men and women that are naturally different, anatomically, psychologically and anthropologically (if you wanna get into that).  So instead of trying to attain equivalency by giving women access to manly things, we should have fought harder to get support for those things which are uniquely female, things that our society often associates with shame or guilt.

Instead of making condescending jokes about reproductive cycles, outlawing and stigmatizing prostitution and burdening women with the blame for out of wedlock birth, we should have fought harder to teach subsequent generations to respect and admire the way a woman's body works.  This would have made it easier for men to let go of the property myth and stop fighting women for control of their bodies. (a fight we cannot win, by the way)  But instead, we spent a lot of time on equal wages, same sex bathrooms and hyphenating surnames.  All noble causes, but lacking the foundation of respect for inherent female power; they did little to change minds.

And now men are trying to put cameras where the sun don't shine. 

Honestly, the same culture that can bend radar waves around a plane, split the atom and teleconference with China on a tiny phone wants to force metal into a woman's womb?  It seems asinine at best and barbaric at the worst and aren't vaginal probes how these women got into this fix in the first place? (Rim shot)

At one point in human history, great civilizations worshipped women as the givers of life and sharers of God's greatest power: creation.  This was called The Sacred Feminine. This was written about in The Da Vinci Code.  The Hindus are one of the remaining cultures to worship God on earth through women.

There's an old joke that if men had periods, then there'd be a three day holiday with pay each month.  Babies would come with big fat tax breaks and bronzed placentas would be hanging from the grilles of SUV's.

Crazy right?  But is it any crazier than five types of erection pills you can buy damned near over the counter but a morning after pill that you have to know the President to get?  Or being called a slut by a national radio host if you argue for your rights?

In a better world, a woman can do whatever she wants with her body and it's between her and God.  If she wants to sell it, rent it or mortgage it, it's her burden and society would give the same support to this as it does for anything that flows inherently from men.

By the way, I don't like this.  My initial reaction to this logic is one of rebellion.  The thought of women with sexual, reproductive, intellectual and financial power makes me feel a little inadequate.  But any argument against this humanist notion finds me embracing denial and ignorance or arrogantly throwing up bible quotes that I interpret to justify my position but which I don't really understand.  And so, I am forced against my manly nature to see the clear path of our progression.  And besides, being a man is still pretty  awesome too. 

Women are not going back into the chastity belts, fellas.  They're inventing Spanks and getting a cool billion for it.  And our daughters are not keeping their virginity by abstinence but by doing things you don't even want to think about. Sorry, but this genie is out of the bottle and it ain't going back in no matter what politicians spew.

So let's finish the dialogue and get to the real problems of our society before it's too late.

Okay, I have to go and watch another episode of Downton. Some poor girl is in need of a dowry.

© 2012.

JESUS 2.0

A fundamental Shift In Christianity Has Changed The Promise Of God From Eternal Life To Earthly Guarantee.

When I was a kid,  my minister was a young man who was thought of as a radical.  He warned us young ones to resist those who would change the doctrines of God and he slammed all other religious men and women who asked for money first then thought of saving souls.

Souls.

Remember when Christianity was about your immortal soul? Now Christianity has taken a radical shift from heavenly reward to earthly blessing. This is supported by passages in the Bible but we know the Bible supports many things, some good others not so good.  

As Americans have become more self-centered, selfish and materialistic, so has our perception of God. The war that is going on now in society, culture and politics reflects this. Suddenly, we have the two camps of extremes. One that sees no limits on man's behavior and the other that sees only limitation. Most of us are right in the middle, just trying to be good and make it to Heaven.

Heaven.

Remember when that was our goal?  Now, it's something for old people. Young Christians talk about "blessings and prosperity"-- right now.

The New Jesus, wants you to have stuff more than he wants you to go to Heaven. He wants you to join the religious social order, march along, then claim your Bentley, hot spouse and vacation home. Jesus 2.0 wants your heaven to be here on earth.

And the corruption, the greed, avarice and boy rape doesn't mean there's a problem in the church. Life is complicated and the flesh is weak. So if you're waving a Bible but have your other hand up some boy's ass, I will not judge you. I'll pray for you while I'm asking for stuff. And if you sin but have money, well then it's a wash.

I could be wrong, but I don't think Jesus died so that I could have man's earthly inventions. I thought His sacrifice was a pact, a passage for us to enter the Kingdom of Heaven and life was the test of your faith.

Christianity is the safeguard, the firewall that is supposed to prevent us from forgetting this. Jesus 1.0 taught us that God is not convenient and you don't get to just change Him when it gets hard. You conform to Him or go to Hell.

Jesus 2.0, the convenient Savior, teaches a gospel made by weak people for weaker minds. It is a religious iPad with hundreds of apps that bring easy living and guiltless indulgence. These are Jesus 2.0's Ten Commandments:

1. Honor God and he will give you earthly prosperity.

2. People who have money are blessed.

3. Money erases sin and abates criticism of its possessor.

4. Thou shalt not covet when you can pray for what you want.

5. Thou shalt not commit adultery but you can fornicate your ass off.

6. Thou shalt not kill-- or snitch on a killer.

7. Thou shalt not lie unless it leads to a blessing.

8. Thou shalt not hate on another person for being blessed.

9. Remember the Sabbath, that's all, just remember it.

10. Honor thy mother and thy father. Thy children?-- not so much.

As we fall from grace, we do not grab God as a lifeline, we use Him to cushion ourselves against the hard ground of faithlessness. See, if we reinterpret The Word as we change, then it is always what we want it to be.  After all, no one really knows the mind of God, right? So then maybe He wants us to change doctrine every few hundred years to suit our changes.  

The question is, are you willing to bet your soul on it?

Copyright 2012

ACTORS, ARTISTRY & LOVE

"The good thing about talent is that it burns 
brightly.  The bad thing is, it's bright and it 
burns." - Anonymous

There is something in an artist that has made him what he or she is. And it is not a nice thing. It could be alienation, depression, obsession, or even abuse. In any event, we are psychologically detached at an early age and we are saved by our imaginations, out of which comes talent. But our talent comes at a price and one of them is the toll in a relationship.

 I thank God that I was messed up enough to be a writer and not so much that I became an actor. Actors, truly talented ones, are just a little bit crazy, and the more talented they are, the closer to that chaos they tend to be. They may seem high-functioning, arrogant and vain but it goes with the territory and it is necessary to what they have to do, the confidence and courage they have to muster, for a business they love, but which does not love them back. They must believe they are great when no one else does.

And so we have this notion that actors are messed up and you shouldn't date them because they bring drama. In reality actors are just free. Free from delusion about life and sex, free from hypocrisy and free from caring about the judgements of others who cannot (or will not) assist their passion.

And so if you want to date, marry or even just hook up with an actor, then know this: They only thing they will ever love more than their art is their children. And they will never allow you to corrupt or destroy their dream.

So if you want to be in a relationship with an actor and you are not willing to share and support their dream, if you are not willing to be a cheerleader for Team Actor, then you will fail because --

You are a rock...

Trying to hold on to a rocket.

© 2011

"FEMALE" TROUBLE FOR "GOOD" BLACK MEN

SOMETIMES, IT'S NOT THE

WORD, IT'S HOW WE SAY IT.

"You just can't reason with these females...."

I can't say how many times I've heard the word female used in this way. Several years ago, I wrote a mean little book which I still have yet to release.  It is about a particular problem in Black relationships.  Anyway, during the writing of the tome, my protagonist (a woman) noted that many Black men like to refer to women as "females" and that it felt condescending.  If you think I am splitting hairs fellas, then how would you feel if a white man called you a Negro?  

Here is the passage from the book:

I hate it when a man says female like that.  For many, it’s just a nicer way of saying bitch.  As if any of them understand the scientific nature of the term.  I had a random thought about a scientist yelling: “Bring in the amoeba-- and the females!”

Why do we, Black people, who are so creative, waste our time finding ways to put each other down?  It's beneath us fellas and you know what?  Women can be unreasonable, too.

And ladies, the often used "Good black man" reference is similarly condescending. I hate it. It assumes that "good" is an aberration and I am happy to report that it is not. I get a lot of angry notes from men sometimes and it occurs to me they are upset because they are good men and they think I am talking to them.  

You say you need a good man ladies but it has been my experience that many of you (and please, spare me the "not me" post) use the term "good man" because you've intentionally spent a lot of time with men who are not good. You cannot indict all men because of your poor choices.  

To this end, also from the unreleased book:

Black women were wonderful, he thought, but so many had little time-bombs in them, a nasty little belief that all men were fucked up and would prove it sooner or later.  It was a hard, Impenetrable knot of sentiment built by bitter mothers, absentee dads and bad boyfriends who had failed to heal their wounded souls.  

It is so easy to be a provocateur in Black relationships. People are frustrated for themselves and their friends.  What's hard to do is to be curative, or at least try.  We can do better but perhaps it is best to start with the little things we can change.  These are two of them.  

No more "females" unless you're in a lab coat.

And try to just need "a man" and leave the color out.

copyright 2011