Clarity and the Need to __________________ (fill in your blank)

Lately I haven’t been posting as much as I like to. It’s not because I’ve lost my drive to write. Writing is my love, my passion and at times my man ☺ but recently my life has been so consumed with maximizing my time with leaving a blue print or a legacy of sorts for my descendants. These past couple of months, like many Americans I have witnessed the capitalist barbaric behavior which tries to mask itself as a democracy. I usually write about racial disparity but it has become more and more evident that the flaws in our society is just not racial but about the haves who have plenty and the have nots, where ironically the haves are a small population and the have nots are the majority.

What saddens me is no matter what I do in terms of the American way, schooling, career, pay my taxes; I’ve learned to realize that unless I achieve GREATNESS and become enormously independent wealthy, I will be part of the have nots; struggling, working for less than my worth, subjective to classism, etc. As I look at the prior sentence clarity sets in and reminds sistah girl forget about part of the have nots, you are already there and that’s why I ‘m on a mission to change my course and those of my descendants.

This pivotal yearning in my life did not happen overnight. A few sensational instances coupled with personal disappointments mixed in with reality have set me on fire, for example:

• Watching Michael Moore’s Capitalism a Love Story – If you haven’t seen this movie already I beg of you to try to catch it in the theaters, get the boot leg copy, get a DVD pre-release whatever you can do. This movie is mind blowing and will have you see true insight of how this country beginning from the years of Reagan and most likely a little before him has geared itself to protect the rich and make themselves richer. After I watched this movie I felt I had a better in chance in hell to succeed than on American soil but then again this just might be in hell!

• My job. Like many other employers raises and bonuses were out of the question. Yet our insurance rates were increased by 7% and the worst slap of them all is our equivalents of the corporate big shots, the partners. We actually had one partner who moved to another office in the same location and hired an interior decorator. The bill for the decorator was $23,000, all to design an office. I’m not mad at the decorator, get your hustle, but I was pisst at the message that was sent, no raises, no bonuses and OT; yet this firm can spend $23,000 on placing furniture and paintings in a cosmetically pleasing way. This totally unbalanced act was just one of many acts that we the “lesser” people in my firm had to witness. We have partners who take clients out and spend $1,000s of dollars on dinners and yet this firm cries there’s no money. In actuality they just don’t know how to politically say there’s no money for you! In other words we’re not worth it. We’re not worth the bullshit 4% raise, we’re not worth working late to make extra money, and our livelihood is of little concern. In a nutshell companies view us as an expense and not an investment; when you’re viewed in this manner your mere presences is annoying.

• ME! I love me; I love to have things; I love to provide for my family not just my immediate but my extended to; I love feeling comfortable and most importantly I love not having to depend anyone. Working in Corporate America and living in this capitalist society challenges all of my “loves” and quite frankly I’m tired of it. I deserve to be a “have” and I don’t want to be one to be like one. I don’t need four cars, 10 homes, and the ability to buy a shirt for $400; no I don’t need any of these. I just want to be able to live comfortably; to have disposable income; to not be afraid to spend or afraid I’m not saving to much, I want to “have” all of these things which I thought were fundamental when you did things the American way, but sadly we learn it’s not.

We have a political system that has given birth to plaguing us with deceit, lies and ultimately inevitable failure. I don’t know about you but I’m tired of it. I want to more, I want to be greedy. I don’t want my daughter, my future babies to suffer the way we do. I want to make my ancestors proud; I don’t want to repeat slavery, which is what many of us are doing now. The only difference is we can go home at night, however, we’re being whipped everyday. Trust me take look closer enough and you’ll see the lashes.

So folks with all this being said I am on a mission. I’m taking my profession and enterprising it as my own business and I’m not stopping there. I’m getting my hands into every thing that is available to me. I’m schooling myself, networking, building my spirituality and anything that will bring me closer to obtaining all of my “loves”. While the culprit of this realization can be daunting, it also makes want me to applaud the current state we as Americans are in. We’re at a point that we need to either sink or swim and I say swim. Flap those arms, dog paddle those legs and get a move on. This country has no problem treating you like an expense, get out there invest in yourself and move forward. It’s time people recognize yourself and invest your time with endeavors that can further enhance your staple in society and those of your descendants!

Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize. Really?? Huh???

President Barack Obama has just won the Nobel Peace Prize. The prize is a very and I mean a very distinct honor. Yet I question why did he win? I’m sure many of you may think why would a question like this even exist. I have no doubt that President Obama will go down in history as one of the best Presidents and world leaders, however, we all must be honest and ask ourselves, is he there yet? The answer is a transparent NO! Mr. Obama has only been in office for 10 months; as much as his supporters state it’s too little time to judge him, it’s also too little time to award him.

When I think of Nobel Peace Prize winners I think of Dr. Martin Luther King. We all know King for being the father of civil rights; but when you look at King there is no doubt he was most deserving of this award. For God’s sake he tore down an establishment that not even current Presidents dare to tackle. He was beaten, jailed, demonized and yet kept the struggle for not just African Americans but set the precedent for equality among, race, gender and creed. That’s the stuff of a real King and that’s the stuff Nobel Peace Prize winners are made of.

When it comes to President Obama I have to quote Janet Jackson and say “What have you done for me lately”. Obama hasn’t made any clear efforts to secure world peace, heck he’s considering putting more troops in Afghanistan, hasn’t withdrawn troops in Iraq and let’s not discuss the health care debacle in which the need for bi-partisanship approval seems to supersede the real issue at hand and that’s securing universal health care for everyone. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m still an Obama fan and think he needs time to work on the catastrophic issues that Bush and the right wing put us through. However, he was not deserving of this award. I can name a few others who have done more for peace than Obama. Not to sound catty but look at Wycleff Jean and his efforts with Haiti and other under privileged countries. For the sake of the lengthiness of this article I’ll keep that short. I think a better perspective is to look at Nicholas Kristof’s article in the times this morning http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/. Clearly Obama was way too new and has yet to secure any accomplishments that would garner a Nobel Peace Prize.

When I think of how this vetting went through, I wonder is he being awarded for not succumbing to the tactics of the right wing? Yes it’s been admirable of how our President has kept his cool, yet, are any of us a minorities surprised? Let’s be honest we take Right wing shit everyday. If you work in Corporate America you have so much shit slinged at you there’s is no doubt that you work hard to keep your peace. Is President Obama being awarded for what WE do every single day?!?!!? If that’s the case hell we all need a Nobel Peace Prize.

Another issue I have with this accolade is the prejudicial response from us. As we constantly fight for equality we can not demean ourselves and side with everything that looks Black. Sometimes Black is wrong! Perfect example is the Kanye West incident, some of you stood by him and said he was right when clearly the man was just wrong. He was callous, disrespectful, drunk and arrogant, which is something that we should not condone by anyone. But because Kanyezee is Black it’s a’right! Same thing with this award for Obama; he’s our President, he’s Black and it’s OK. No it’s not!! As we continue to fight for equality we can not act like senseless White people who for years have practiced bigotry. How can we claim something has been wrong all along and we act in the same manner. If we truly want the world to be color blind we too have to act in a colorless manner. I know it’s not easy but think of it this way you can’t sling shit and don’t expect it to come back at you! Again I’m not sure what the criteria is to receive a Nobel Peace Prize but in the words of Ed Lover, C’mon son get the fuck out of here with this bullshit!

Skipping Through the Battle Gates

The term pick your battles usually is referenced to choosing your causes wisely rather than involving yourself in senseless issues whose maturation will only manifest into infantile results. In laments terms pick your issues wisely, not everything is a battle, sometimes it is what it is! Henry Louis Gates aka Skip Gates (btw – what black man you know is named Skip?, ok let me not digress on this one I could take this to a whole other level ). Personally I’m tired of all the Skip Gates media; one may think that I would be enthralled with all that’s going on, but actually I’m really upset but not for the reasons most would think.

According to Skip and most of the media this is a classic case of white man picking on black man and what makes it worst is this is not your average black man, oh no, it’s a Harvard law professor. On paper and with the quickness it seems like just another case of racist police brutality sprinkled with no matter how successful a black man is he can’t get a break. It’s get no better than this, except it’s not all THIS!!

This particular scenario differs greatly from your normal police brutality. As the story goes Skip Gates came home from a long trip and could not get into his home apparently there was something amiss with the door. He proceeded along with an assistant, man servant whoever it was to pry his door open using his body, not smart for a Harvard professor if you ask me…..I most likely would of called a locksmith or as some reports say the house was previously burglarized, at this point he probably could of called campus police; after-all he is Henry “Skip” Gates, I’m sure they would of came running. While watching this prying door act a concerned citizen exercised her American duty and called the police and reported what she saw as a robbery in progress. An officer responded to the call, however while en-route Skip was able to pry his door open and as well all know was in his residence. This is where it gets interesting. The police officer is under the impression that someone was burglarizing a residence, so when he gets there and see someone there it is rightly his duty to ask for identification to make sure that duh the robber didn’t get in. Skip on the other hand is upset, how dare someone ask him for his ID in his own home. OK, I can feel you on that, but when the officer explained about the door prying etc. Skip should of complied and said OK here it is. Instead Mr. Harvard went on a tangent and started yelling “Racial Profiling” I won’t go into the rest of the story because we all know by now what happened. Skip kept going on, the officer said calm down, Skip didn’t and was arrested. According to the officer it was about disorderly conduct according to Skip it was about racial profiling, hmmmmm…… I have issues with the coupled opinions of this story but I have say I am deeply troubled with Skip’s version.

Racial profiling where do I begin?? To my understanding racial profiling is when law enforcement unfairly targets minorities particularly blacks and hispanics. Perfect examples of racial profiling are:

- DWB (Driving While Black)
- Being followed by a security guard in a department, while your white counterpart is stealing Gucci scarves.
- Police brutality – can someone way Abner Louima, Amadou Diallo and the most famous of them all Rodney King.

I’m sure there are many more examples of profiling but for now these three above will have to do. Getting back to Skip, how in the hell is an officer asking you for ID in your home who he thought was being robbed is a case of racial profiling? As a collective of people who have fought for equality we have no room for anyone nevertheless a scholar like Gates to inappropriately define an action as racial profiling when it clearly was not! Gates and the media are trying to act as if he’s the poster child for racial profiling. Jena 6 now that was racial profiling. Gates that’s just an (and yes I’m going there) an uppity negro who looked at this officer and felt I’m Skip I know your boss and hell no you can’t ask nothing of me. Skip thought his Ivy League world-renowned hanging out with Oprah and the Obamas earned him untouchable status, basically he’s the HNIC. Unfortunately for Gates he learned the hard way that you can’t defy law enforcement. Despite what many of us think most law enforcement officials are here to protect and serve. They honor their badge and some have even given their life for citizens. Disorderly conduct means disrespecting an officer, there has never been room in America for this act, just look at what happens to cop killers. Some critics have suggested that the officer could of let Gates rant and just leave him alone. I question the critics with this, if this had been me or you yelling at an officer and he arrested us for disorderly conduct and disregarded Gates’s act would that have been discrimination, not in the black or white sense but of the elitist kind?? Like Arsenio use to say things that make you go hmmm……….

Sgt. Crowley in my opinion acted in the most appropriate manner. I can only say this from my experience of dealing with a similar situation in my home. Not to along my husband and I were at the local mall and received a call from our alarm company. We immediately went home and actually beat the cops there. The cops arrived shortly after and the first thing they asked us was for our ID. We never once felt threatened, discriminated or violated. It was their job to make sure our premises was secure. He didn’t know us from a hole in the wall and had every right in my home to make sure I was who I said I was. This is called securing the premises. There was nothing racial or unjust with this officer’s actions. And I’m assuming Sgt. Crowley was behaving in the same manner. Unlike my officer, Sgt. Crowley encountered a disrespectful, belligerent human being and for that Gates was arrested not because he was BLACK!

My core issue with this whole Gates racial profiling saga, is that it’s NOT racial profiling; it’s an ivy league African American man who is misinterpreting the term racial profiling for an elitist who just didn’t get his way. To quote the great literary title from Carter G. Woodson, Gates is acting like a “Mis-educated Negro”. For generations our people fought for equality and challenged discriminative practices. We’ve fought many battles and are nowhere near ending the war. We do not have time to baby-sit a fraudulent act of racial profiling. This whole scenario doesn’t deserve media attention; black pundits going off, Roland Martin, Tom Joyner even Barack Obama, come on people pick and choose your battles wisely. Skip may be your boy but I think you all know the differences of racial profiling vs. disorderly conduct. This should NOT be viewed as the new black cause poster child for racial profiling. Talking about media and black pundits I find it ironic that Sharpton and Jesse have barely mumbled a word. These are two activists that give me that love hate feeling, yet they always seem to appear and jump on the Black Attack train. Notice their kind of silent. There aren’t any protests at the Cambridge police dept, no demands for public apologies, pretty quiet and I’m sure it’s not because the Jacksons are keeping them busy. Al and Jesse know real racial profiling and they’re smart enough to know this ain’t it! It’s time the rest of us smarten up and realize not every black and white issue is discrimination. The term race relations means working on both sides, it’s time we as people of color also honor the true meaning. Sometimes a spade is just a spade and nothing more!

CNN Blacks in America Part 1 – 2009

Here we go again. I could barely stomach this much-hyped show. It could be due to my experiences with the show last year, but honestly I did hope that they would come a little better, but nope once again true to form Soledad and CNN have no idea what the hell being Black in America is all about. Here’s my take on the latest minstrel.

1. Pre-Show – I’m tired of hearing about Skip Gates and here’s why. He’s walking around saying this could happen to any black man in America, no shit, where have you been?? The issue is it wouldn’t have happened to many of us and here’s the reason why. Most of us know when approached by poe-poe we know number 1) raise your hands to show you don’t have any weapons and number 2) speak in a non-threatening, non-hostile manner; from what I gather Skip didn’t following any of these rules. Let’s face it Skip may have been upset for a few reasons and rightly so, 1) he locked himself out, 2) his ass-hole neighbor doesn’t know who he is and 3) Police are coming into his house like he’s the criminal. I would be upset too yet I know from being Black in America (ha) that whenever I’m approached I have to respond differently, that’s just the way it is! It is unfair but guess what folks, “it is what it is.” Those are the real issues of being Black in America. I’m not afforded the same liberties as any white person. Skip is walking around and boasting as if he were beat up, like someone on my twitter said, “Skip acting like he in a Birmingham jail” (LOL). I for one never side with cops, there the biggest gang out here. Yet for some reason I could see Skip catching a bit of a tude and law enforcement just wasn’t having it. Notice how the cop refuses to apologize, he is sticking with his story. Skip is advertising like he is now damaged goods, he does go on to say “I’m Henry Louis Gates and it happened to me” My response is so fucking what, it’s happened to all of us, why are you any different, cause you pal around with Oprah and told her about her family history as well as other celebs. Yes, your contribution to our culture is astounding, but Mr. Gates, you’re still Black in America and now you really know there’s more work to be done! So stop whining and focus your research on the true heart of being Black in America!

2) Bushwick and Chris Rock’s wife – OMG – Where do I begin? First they show the broken down PJs. Is that news to any of us, white people included, I mean come on. Little sister has no enunciation, the teenage boy who is no bigger than 5′7 wants to be an NBA player, no surprise there, the other teen who can’t speak to interview for the trip to Africa. OK, I was done. Why are these kids like this? Are they lazy, just born stupid, will never know anything? The answer to all these questions are NOT!!! The answer is these kids live in a condition that constantly denies them access to anything that can uplift them. There are more drug treatment programs in Bushwick, Brooklyn than there are mentoring programs. The schools are dilapidated, the teachers could care less (maybe not all of them), the food in the area is not fresh; you can get a bag of weed quicker than you get a fresh apple. And yet these kids are suppose succeed. I have faith that despite their circumstances they will, after-all I’m a product! But that still doesn’t depict being Black in America, it may depict being a hostage to inequality, but Soledad once again you and CNN are not giving the real reason. I kid you not I swore they were going to show a slave cabin, that ’s how destitute they make us look. Yes it is our reality, but both white and Black America need to know “why” and then work on finding the solution. The solution is clearly not Chris Rock’s wife. Sending these kids to Africa to see how poor Africans live, what is that suppose to give them some newfound respect for their neighborhood?? Fact is those kids in Bushwick are OUR Africa! Help them! A trip! They need more than a trip, they need a long sustaining solution that can help them and thrive into their descendants.

3) MLT – How much is this program? I admire the brother starting this. I work in Corporate America and that glass ceiling is hard as shit to crack! Yet once again, we’re missing the “whys”. Let’s talk about discriminative practices in Corporate America. Going through a program like this is not going to guarantee you a path to CEOism. These barriers are hard to break, their traditional, there’s a lot of my daddy knows your daddy and so many other factors that deny us. Not once was the cultural clash in Corporate America mentioned. For instance, I’ve been to events where sushi is served. Maybe my palettes are not as refined but this Blacktina only eats cooked fish. Wait I’ll take it way back give me some whitings and it’s on (LOL). Funny as this may be my refusal to something as minor as sushi is a direct correlation to our differences and it plays out big time. There’s so much more; I can’t say I met so and so on the tennis court, or we attended boarding school together in Switzerland. Once again the cultural clashes in Corporate America are so vast that you’re not even getting near the glass ceiling. Folks I don’t mean to sound doom and gloom, I’m just giving reality. Without a doubt some of us will have the opportunity to succeed. However, this show is telling us we can get this if we commit to a program such as this when in reality there are so many variables that do control the management of our progression.

Part 2 is on tonight, can’t promise I’ll watch. I may try to get some tidbits in. I’m just not sure if my blood pressure can handle CNN’s portrayal, we’ll see manana.

Hello My Name is Blacktina and I’m a Wise Latina Woman!

Sonia Sotomayor - A Wise Latina Woman

HA in your face white supremacy! Hay mi hermana Sonia (translation – Oh my sister Sonia) what you had to endure this past week during your confirmation hearings all because you proudly referenced in a speech the phrase “Wise Latina Woman.” Incredibly they had nothing else on you. You were never on drugs, didn’t have a teenage a pregnancy, was never a stripper, didn’t have 5 baby daddys; you know who’s your Mommy and Papi, no crazy family secrets, NADA, NOTHING, ZILCH!!! You my darling did not fit the typical Bronx Puerto Rican stereotype that this country expects. All they can say was you said “Wise Latina Woman” and the only thing they could do was try to translate that phrase and refer to it as your confession of being a racist, reverse racism, I might add! Oh white supremacy, you’re getting stale. Even for you this is soooo far fetched.

I am obsessed at the condemnation of this comment and why it is being viewed as a negative phrase. Is it because it is that odd that the words “Wise” and “Latina” are mentioned in the same breath? Or is it because when the word “Latina/Latino” is mentioned its hardly met with any positive inference and this time it wasn’t? I kind of believe the later is what really pissed off modern white supremacy. For centuries, I’m not going years, cause you see this has been going on for way to long, if you’re non-white it’s OK to refer to you as anything else as long as it opposes positive references. Look at the evening newscasts, for years whenever there was a crime, the description of blacks and latinos were accurately depicted. If it were a white person, you just heard the word “man or woman”. I always felt the reason for these inconsistencies were whites are the majority race (so they say), therefore it is automatic when referring to the human race the white person is automatically assumed. So when Sonia went off in public and defied how the race should be mentioned in their eyes all hell broke loose. Remember they have ALWAYS had the luxury of defining us the way they want to; anything in opposition is challenged by the word they claim to hate the most, yet they practice it the most and that’s RACISM!

White people love to defend themselves as they oppose affirmative action and statements like the one made by Sonia. They love to say “we” can get past the racism if you do. Bullshit, your Daddy was racist, your Granddaddy was one and guess what it’s ingrained and you are one too. How can we get over it, when YOU’RE still on it! Sonia was not being a racist and I’m not defending her because I’m a blacktina, however, I can understand the importance of imaging yourself in a positive light. Let me briefly try to attempt to explain to white America how Sonia’s comment was not a diss to you but rather an empowerment for my race.

Sonia and like the rest of us minorities (God I hate that term) MUST ALWAYS state our ethnicity as we achieve greatness. When your race is normally associated with all the vileness of society (i.e. higher incarceration rates, teenage pregnancy, drug abuse, broken homes, etc.) it then becomes essential to advertise when one of us does achieve something positive. We are a race that is trying to break cycles. We can no longer live mediocre, it’s just tiring. We must move forward, but sometimes the only way to do so is to be inspired. Sonia has inspired so many blacks and latinos by her upbringing and her overcoming of challenges which has led her to place where she stands today. Our babies need this nourishment and it our responsibility as parents biological or not to feed our babies with positive reinforcement. We can’t rely on “You” to do it. History has shown that you won’t and you never will as evident by your recent comments condemning Sonia. Just look at the Pat Buchanon’s, Bill O’Reilly’s and Rush Limbaugh’s, I purposely use them in a plural form because there are so many like them. As long as they exist we as a minority sector in this country MUST never be ashamed of our accomplishments. To quote Marianne Williamson, “Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.” Please take this to heart, as we publicized who we are and how great we are, we are giving permission to others to do the same! That’s Powerful!!! Always remember they use to stop us from reading, they can’t stop us no more. Slander is trash and dies down easily, but the sharing of your accomplishments to your people will NEVER deteriorate as easily.

Lastly, the other reason why we MUST always advertise our accomplishments is we need to eliminate the expectations you have of us. For example, just the other day I was passing by an exclusive high rise apartment building in the city. As I looked into the lobby window I saw a black woman cleaning and a white man had stepped off the elevator. I noticed as he stepped off she diligently picked her pep as she was changing a trash bag. He passed by her without any notice in a nonchalant manner. This man was not surprise to see this woman doing this type of work. You can tell by his stride and her actions that they were both accustomed to being in these roles. This is a perfect example of how we have to change how we are viewed; we can only do this by promoting ourselves in a positive light.

Sonia’s actions were based on the above scenarios whether she knew it or not. We come from a race of hardships coupled with ingenuity. When we reference our race to our accomplishment we are essentially sending signals, actions reminiscent of our enslaved ancestors who sent signals to protect and warn. Our modern day signals do protect and warn but also encourage, inspire, uplift, inform, defy propaganda, enlighten, etc. all those variables that are constantly denied to us.

So white America you want us to stop shouting from the rooftops and call it reverse discrimination. Well Chico, you go ahead and keep doing what you do! We on the other hand will never STOP! We have bigger fish to fry and for once your majority will NOT CONTROL this minority!

Peace Out,
Blacktina
A Wise Latina Woman