Innocence Stolen

This recent shooting of the innocent and incredibly young Trayvon Martin has opened up so many doors of discussion and unearthed many things that have been percolating under years and years of silence. One of my favorite things to emerge from these devastatingly real unfair, shameful, absurd murderous events, in this case race is discussed in terms of the Kony video that was posted on every facebook wall from Beijing to Sacramento is this piece by Teju Cole, who pointedly puts everything I've been thinking about race, about injustice and about the general mentality that's been scarily spreading like rapid-fire. And this guy put all of that in a beautifully written, comprehensible article for The Atlantic. It says all the things no one wants to admit and forces Americans to really come to terms with history and the present. I can't emphasize the importance of this article enough, and cannot be happier it was written.




I'm out.

Race Riot

There's this whimsical, unrealistic illusion in society that race relations have magically disappeared and that everyone observes tact when speaking about their opinions on the subject. No. That no is emphatic with a touch of misery and disappointment. I realize that people are raised differently, exposed to different or not so different things and I don't hold that against anybody. You can't change where you grew up, however, I would hope that after 25+ years in the world there would be some kind of conversation with yourself about how to approach certain heated topics and situations. I would hope there would be some level of consideration when speaking so confidently about such a topic. Nay. There is nary a stutter when I hear off-hand comments carelessly spouted after two beers. I'm tired of it. I'm exhausted from all the excuses I formulate after speaking candidly with said people. I'm annoyed that people feel it's okay to say certain things in front of me assuming I won't mind or care. I'm tired of writing about these occasions so consider this the LAST POST I will write on the subject. My fingers are cramping over these keys, trying to get this shit out for the lasssttt timeeee. Alright, you and I both know that will not be the case, but at least for a while I will cease. No more. For a while. And now to cheer you up... my girl Ri Ri. Yes, it is ok that your jaw has hit the floor. I too am amazed at my seamless turnaround. All it takes is one video directed by Melina Matsoukas featuring Calvin Harris for me to drink the cool-aid. Man, I'm all up in it.



I'm out.

Occupy Reality

After being deprived of a computer for I don't know how many months I have finally gotten hold of a machine long enough to update without feeling guilty, or worse- rushed. I've gone through a lot since the summer and I promise I won't bore you with the sad, gritty, head-scratching, exhausting, mildly amusing, gruesome,incredible stupid details. Recent events prevent me from speaking of frivolous summer follies and ridiculous regrets. You know what I'm talking about. Occupy Wall Street. The endless coverage, chatter, and arguments that have revolved around this... this thing that has grown into a massive, conflicting, contradicting, yet wholly beautiful collective of people- minus the disgusting, inexcusable behavior of law enforcement, of course, has leaked into so many conversations I've been having with people.

Here we have massive amounts of people gathered in front of, yep, none other than Urban Outfitters. They were marching down 6th Ave and apparently were attempting to lure the greeter to join them. I walked by wishing to sweet Jesus I was more impulsive and didn't need a job to survive.

I love all the people clinging to their UO bags as if they're protesting something entirely different. 'Cuz they are. They're like the anti-protesters, and I sadly am apart of they're putrid game. I know full well how dramatic I'm being. You shush.
FIGHT THE POWER.

This movement has been a chance to show the world that Americans are not as pathetically apathetic as everyone (including Americans) expected. However, there seems to be a slight problem with the fact that there is no single voice or reason behind the occupation. I personally like the idea of a fluid movement like this where ideas are constantly circulating , but to some it gives the impression of disorganization and whimsical idealism. I have no solution. I am merely talking about an issue I would like to know more about.
Many people I know are involved with OWS and I couldn't be prouder of them! For weeks now I have been trying to get down there and have failed at every attempt. I really have no excuse. It's actually getting kind of ridiculous at this point. I should give myself a date. I need some motivation, too, so if anyone feels so inclined to be my pushy, persistent OWS mate PLEASE lemme know!

Now I want to talk about how awesome my internship has been. So, as I have stated before I began working for this start up called Krrb and have fallen in love with the entire concept. Not only have I been learning massive amounts about social media, marketing and pr, but have been given opportunities to write. WHAT. SO GOOD. Anyway I'll stop talking about it now, but KNOW HOW AWESOME IT IS AND USE IT. It really is a breath of fresh air compared to the angry bowel of criagslist or the overwhelming sense of doom and disappointment associated with eBay or Amazon. OH! And we're teaming up with Film Biz Recycling and Jessi Arrington for a silent auction! COME. There will be $1 tacos from Oaxaca and FREE BEER from Brooklyn Brewery. Just $10 to RSVP! I'm super stoked about it. I've been blowing up every social media site I have about it. I'm sure I'm pissing people off ha and it's awesomeeeeeee!

Oh and yet another racist event has given me the willies. I can't go into detail, but the N-word was said in a kind of nonchalant way that almost made my eyebrows fall off and my brain leak out of my ears. You're very welcome for that beautiful delicious absolutely disgusting image. I am so completely naive to think talk like that nowadays is so uncommon. Obviously people are still stupid and will continue to be that way for oh EVER. It's just so disheartening when it's someone you were growing found of and looking forward to starting a friendship with. Sigh, the thought of amount of work/time that would be involved with de-stupifying (I made that up) this person is just plain nauseating.

Oh well...


I'm out.

Not...AGAIN

In an earlier entry I wrote about the annoying inevitability of white people talking about race with me when they're drunk. It happens more often then not, when randomly the color of my skin becomes the subject of a joke or an inane observance, "You're the only black girl in the corner of this bar," when there are plenty of people of color everywhere else. Though, I attempt to be forgiving and understanding of the intolerably candid people who probably barely talk about race in their sober lives, it gets tiring. In this instance, I was (un)pleasantly accompanied by a fellow patron at the bar I was at on a walk home. Granted, his chivalry skills were not to be ignored, his common sense was considerably hindered. It was comical how he continuously made one insulting statement after the other. Wanting so ardently to blame his completely inappropriate, prejudice remarks on alcohol, I simply cannot relieve him of his blatant racial remarks. I shall lists the ways in which he offended me:

"You don't seem like you've been tainted by the ghetto."

"I see bloods and crypts everywhere." The he tells me this story where a (obviously) black man tells him to through up the bloods sign and then laughs when he does. I mean, the guys obviously laughing because the kid looked like he was going to piss himself and threw up some garbled sign he believed to signify the bloods. Freaking moron. The guy's lived in Brooklyn 3 years, in which I am sure he would have not acquired a comprehensive understanding of the history of the boloods and crypts especially considering his profound stupidity.

"I'm not trying to sound racist."


"People usually say things when they see a white guy walking with a black girl down the street. I had a black girlfriend and guys would always yell at us and she would yell back."

"I get scared when my sister comes to visit."


I kid you not, this bumbling idiot was spilling all of this garbage all over my ears, nauseating and angering me, and all I could do was be shocked by his ignorance. Not once did he seem to feel any humiliation or remorse about the outwardly offensive things he was saying. AND THEN HIS DUMBASS tried to friend me on facebook. You have GOT to be kidding me. Ugh, what a loser.



I'm too speechless to write anymore *awkward laughter*





I'm out.

OMG IT'S THE 1950s

For many months, I mean, years, mainstream media has been an overwhelming disappointment in my eyes. Convincing me that not one single journalist can uphold the ethics and principles of journalism, I had but given up on watching the news and drifted selfishly into an ignorant oblivion. On occasion I would peruse the NYtimes when events were happening around me that I wanted to better understand, like the rise of the tea party and the embarrassing remarks about the mosque being built in the city. Recently, I have decided not only is this "blissful ignorance" unhealthy, but it's a detriment to what it is to be an American. All over the globe Americans are seen as being brainless, self-absorbed cretins and I was feeding right into that prejudice. Although, today a few articles I read reminded me of my aversion to media. Last night I had a conversation with some friends about where politics in this country are going and who/what political thought is at the forefront. One friend believed the country was mostly moderate and the media was exploiting only the two extremes in this country for ratings and possibly a hidden agenda. However, I don't have such a hopeful view of my fellow Americans, no. The Tea Party has brought me to my knees with their exhausting dogmatic claims and racist overtones. It reminds me of an era in this country where xenophobia was a spreading disease that encompassed many "American" minds.

image from newamericanmedia.org
These last few months have been a reprise of history and today I read a few articles that made my stomach queasy, because of the word choice used in them and an underlying mockery of race relations. This article in the NY times about black democrats losing their power after the recent election: Election Diminishes New York’s Black Democrats. was questionable. Though some of it factual, the way it's presented sounds cult-like and that decisions were made solely based on race and not on general equality. This other article is what really made me want to write today: Proficiency of Black Students Is Found to Be Far Lower Than Expected There are ways articles like this should be written. There are obvious sociological implications as to why this deficiency exists. In the beginning of the article Gabriel insists it may not be because of finances due to poor white boys still fairing better in these proficiency tests than poor black boys. It doesn't take a scholar to know that the world looks at these two types of boys differently therefore their family's income level obviously cannot be the only reason for their educational differences. Though he (barely) touches on it, Gabriel does allude to the necessity of having a conversation about the myriad factors of why whites and blacks have different educational backgrounds and histories. DUH! Alright. My rant's over. I gotta get to work.

I'm out.

Pinisi and Punks

Since moving to Brooklyn, I have not gone out nearly enough to Manhattan to discover gems of note- until recently. With my friend Nish, much adventuring was underway earlier this week. We walked around the city for hours- HOURS, and were pleasantly surprised by many different shops and such we stumbled (not literally) into. One place in particular that had a really great vibe was Pinisi Bakery that has a few locations around the city. We had some delicious cupcakes there after eating dollar pizza- health schmealth, and were very satisfied. The bakery is adorable and has couches in the back along with a bookshelf with many different titles- you can even learn Russian! The feel is reminiscent of an artist's living room, devoid of that sterile, conventional, corporate callousness of starbucks. There's original artwork on the walls and they painted the florescent lighting panels with pretty primary colors. Also, the guys working there were very friendly.
Before that we went to a small book store on 1st with a great women's studies and political theory section. Of course, I have forgotten the name of the bookstore, but when I'm not feeling completely and utterly lazy I'll look it up and post its whereabouts/website.
So, remember my aversion to the lower east side? I'm kind of over it. I had an awesome time hanging out down there so I have since changed my staunch stance (hehe) on it. Though it is filled with insensitive idiots, there is a really cool scene there as a whole. Maybe cool's not the word for it- um, interesting. Yes, there's a fascinating collective of people/ideas in the lower east side- a conflicting mass of bigotry and "liberalism." We (my friend and I) experienced this amorphous, confused reality when we were at a bar dancing around like fools. It was interesting seeing who would approach us, who stared at us in amusement and terror, and who avoided us. There was one guy in particular that was wasted and probably on numerous drugs who felt the need to tell us, "If you can't dance to rock music, then you can't dance. You have to be able to dance to every type of music." Mind you this was after the DJ (who was shitty that night) was playing bands like Empire of the Sun, Passion Pit, and even some hardcore- but mostly he played horrible 80s music that was not made to be played at a dance party. Anyway, he said this and we stared at him in disbelief, realizing he was drunk and an idiot. He then proceeded to ask us how to dance like "black people," when a hip-hop song came on. This guy was a true asshole, completely oblivious to the ignorance pouring out of his mouth. It's annoying to be in a situation like that because you really are powerless. This guy was intoxicated so no amount of reason was going to permeate that thick skull of his, we were just trying to ignore his insults and continue our fun. Luckily, as the universe would have it, he was an awful dancer and had been flailing around the dance floor like a madman, bruising himself in the process and without aid showed his ugly insides through his grotesque dancing style-buffoon. I don't like to judge people when they're dancing, but when they admit ignorance willfully I let myself go. It's funny because he swore he was lord of the dance.
It's so frustrating running into people who are so small-minded. I've been around such amazing people, I forget those foolish people exist. It was depressing. I'm over it though, there's no way I'm letting one person make me lose hope in humanity (I almost did that night haha).


I'm out.

Dear John

John Mayer was interviewed by playboy and made some extremely controversial remarks that seemed to be neither thought out or considered before effortlessly jumping from his mouth. Okay, so he effed up- BIG TIME.
I have been following @johncmayer for months now and have been pleasantly surprised by his humor and intrigued by his insight, however after watching the Wendy Williams show and hearing (out of context) some of the things he said made me resent my partiality towards him. Not only did he use the N word, but he said this after being asked if he'd date a black woman:

“I don’t think I open myself to it. My d*ck is sort of like a white supremacist. I’ve got a Benetton heart and a fu*kin’ David Duke c*ck. I’m going to start dating separately from my d*ck. …I always thought Holly Robinson Peete was gorgeous. Every white dude loved Hilary from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. And Kerry Washington. She’s super hot and she’s also white-girl crazy. Kerry Washington would break your heart like a white girl. Just all of a sudden she’d be like, ‘Yeah, I sucked his d*ck. Whatever.’”

This above everything else said in the interview upset me the most because try as I might I could not find the clever, witty insight. All I saw was a stereotypical, glaringly unfunny testament of ignorance. Though I know this is not the case, it's hard to defend such a blatant disregard of respect or tact. I know I know he's trying to be biting and edgy, but I just don't see it here.

He has issued a number of apologies about his grand-scaled faux pas and honestly, I believe him. I have, on more occasions than I care to recall, said stupid things I didn't mean in order to get some kind of reaction out of people. It's hard to make a mistake like that when you're a celebrity of his caliber, but I truly believe that's what it was- a mistake.

Here's a link to an apology he made at a concert in Nashville.


And here's something Holly Robinson Pete wrote in her blog about the fiasco, which I think was done very well. She's cool. Not a "mammie" at all! (you'll have to read her post to get that ha)



So...



Dear John,

I think it's time we had a discussion about your flagrant insouciance for other people's feelings when answering questions on interviews. No one knows you except for your friends and family, so when you say inflammatory words like the n word and wax on about liking black woman that act white, and speaking explicitly about past sexual relationships with other celebrities people may get well- angry? Upset. Confused. Really freaking pissed. In lieu of recent events, it's probably best if you are slightly more careful with what you say. Now, keep your chin up! This too shall pass! America has the attention span of a cocker spaniel. Oh and don't worry, your true fans will stick by you.
Best of Luck!

Sincerely,

Chris

p.s.- It also probably doesn't help that it's black history month. Just saying.


(EDIT): p.p.s- You're still a flaming idiot, but people like you say shit like that all the time and get away with it. I will never let you or anyone else dictate how I feel about myself so though your comments are in fact ignorant and bigoted, and you too are most likely a bigot, all I can do is pity you. No harsh feelings. Just good ol' pity.


I'm out.

Don't Speak

The president did speak on Tuesday after an embarrassing amount of opposition from "concerned" adults,insisting Obama was trying to brainwash students.


Did that sound like brainwashing to you?!

I remember a few days before he spoke I was listening to the conservative radio pundits attack Obama for wanting to speak to the children of this nation. "How dare he," They fervently asked, "go into classrooms and speak to our children?" One listener called in to say, "I don't even let my neighbor speak to my kid alone, does he think I'm going to allow this?" Hm. Okay. The Commander in Chief vs. Your Next Door Neighbor. Maybe it's just me,but I think there might be a slight difference between the two people. They were frantic! And of course we all want to give the excuse of ignorance, but we all know there is more lurking under that ignorant facade. So, Obama spoke. He did not push his leftist, socialist agenda, nor did he lure students' minds into signing up for his socialist army. He encouraged them to stay in school and work hard.

I can't help but to bring this up though I vowed in my blog I would not bring up race (how silly!), but it still does affect people, even our dear president. I would like to think that was not the case in this instance, but I guess you never know. There's also an inability in this country to compromise. There are so many strong (and stupid) minds that cannot defer their blazing ideals for a moment to listen to someone else. This goes for both parties.

I'm rambling, there's a point in their somewhere...

Oh and about race, I think people are using it as a crutch to lean on so we don't talk about class in this country. It has come to my attention that talking about class is a lot harder, but I'm not sure why... It's the real problem in this country, but doesn't seem to have a proper platform in our national dialogue.

Find this movie, and watch it.