In these times of economic turmoil and instability, many are tightening their purse strings across the nation. However, a large segment of the population continues to spend and live above their means — African Americans.
The simple fact is that African Americans do not save money and tend to spend before even considering putting a few coins away. The average African American’s savings level is about 1 percent of annual income when compared to other ethnic groups. This represents the percentage of disposable personal income held in retirement plans and liquid financial assets.
This is strange given the massive spending power that we have as a collective. African Americans spent $645.9 billion in 2002, an increase of 104 percent from 1990, according to Target Market News, a consumer market research and information company. In 2004, blacks' spending power increased to $723 billion, according to U.S. consumer market data, and is currently estimated to be $913 billion.
If African American spending power were considered Gross Domestic Product (GDP) — the measure of a nation’s wealth, we would be ranked 13th, lower than Russia and higher than Mexico, Australia, Netherlands and South Korea. Given this accomplishment, why can't we save some of this money?
We comprise less than 13 percent of the U.S. population, yet account for 30 percent of the country’s Scotch whisky consumption. Detroit, which is 80 percent African American, is the No. 1 market in the world for cognac consumption. According to Target Market, African American consumers spend a significant amount of their income on depreciable products such as $30 billion on clothes and around $15 billion on furniture to put into homes that are mostly rented. The average African American household has also increased its annual spending on entertainment by nearly 30 percent over the past few years.
Regardless of age or income, African Americans contribute less often, and less money to 401(k)s than whites and Asian-Americans. African American employees who earn $120,000 or more have saved $154,902 in their 401(k)s on average compared to $223,408 for whites. Even when comparing households with roughly the same incomes, whites saved nearly 20 percent more each month for retirement.
From income to homeownership to household wealth, we continue to lag behind whites, according to a United for a Fair Economy study. This report observed that a typical white family had six times the wealth of a black family in 2001 and that the gap is growing continuously, particularly with respect to savings and investing.
If we truly desire economic empowerment, then the burden is on us to save. We cannot copy the attitudes of celebrities like Ciara, who in a recent issue of Pride magazine stated that she spends "about $11,000 a month" on shoes and that she owns "maybe a thousand pairs."
Thursday, September 02, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Why Double Digit Unemployment Is the Future for America
Politics can be reduced to a game of he said she said with the gender specific pronouns being replaced by the nouns Democrats and Republicans. This is certainly clear with the debate on unemployment. Both parties have been successful at taking the focus away from the real issue, which is unemployment, choosing instead to focus on the fake issue — extension of benefits for the unemployed.
Neither side of the aisle has addressed unemployment outside of name calling and bickering. The real question, which neither the Republicans nor the Obama administration is asking, is where do 8.4 million jobs that were lost come from and what is required to be done for the younger generation entering the job market to also have jobs?
The fact is that no program can make up for the loss of that many jobs, so America will have to get accustomed to double digit unemployment. Although many accept the government's projected figure of around 10 percent for unemployment, I have calculated it to be more like 25 for the general population. Which means if it is that high for the general population, the 16 percent propounded to represent the unemployment rate for African Americans is really closer to 35 percent.
The way unemployment figures are calculated currently, military, college students, part-time workers and seniors are not included in the statistics. As it stands, the economic downturn has hit the African American community harder than any other group. This was also true during the Great Depression when we also were impacted disproportionately.
New data shows that the median duration of unemployment is higher today than any time in U.S. history and is really is more than twice as high today than any time in the last 50 years. The reason is a function of two main components: the loss of jobs to cheap labor abroad and the impact of technology on society.
Many jobs over the last 50 years have been eliminated due to technology. No longer are men required to dig ditches, package or can food items or man gas stations. No longer do we focus on creating and manufacturing as in past decades but rather bartering our services. Obama's solution as a function of the observed 1.5 dip recession, is to institute a large-scale national jobs program that would have the government pay these wages directly. The Republicans on the other hand have no specific policy directive. Both of these approaches are equally ineffective and miss the problem completely.
The new American job market will be one filled with temporary hiring and part-time employment. Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans can institute any policy to change the future landscape of the American job market because of the impact that technological advancement plays in increasing the ranks of the unemployed.I said it before and I will say it again, there is no such thing as a jobless recovery.
Monday, August 30, 2010
no snitiching - the new crack
Drug abuse and addiction have historically been a major problem in minority communities, in particular the African American community. Now, we are confronted with a new addictive behavior that is reminiscent of the impact that crack once held in our neighborhoods. This new addiction is not a substance but a problem behavior that can be coined "no snitching."
On Wednesday, July 28, a 13-year-old boy was gunned down while riding his bike in Chicago. According to witnesses, the gunman stood over the youngster's body and continued to fire into his bleeding body. The victim was an eighth grader named Robert Freeman. The doctor found 22 bullets in the boy's body.
Although detectives have spent days interviewing witnesses, no one has yet provided them with information regarding the murder. Even the appeal of the family, especially from the mother, has yet to produce any leads or suspects — despite the fact that according to reports, there were dozens of youths outside on the street when the murder took place. This is similar to the tragic death of Derrion Albert, the honors student who was beaten to death while walking home from school. No one spoke to police or "snitched" in that case either, and if it were not for cell phone videos, the individuals who were caught would not have been, and to this date, other suspects still have not been apprehended.
Historically, African Americans have a sordid history with law enforcement and aren’t too enthusiastic about working with police. This history was rooted in law enforcement allowing lynch mobs to have their way with black men, mainly in the South during the days of Jim Crow, Reconstruction and segregation. But today what is the excuse?
The truth is that what we see in Chicago and Memphis, Tenn., and many other urban areas around the country is that black youth are murdering each other at a rate that far outpaces anything a bad seed cop could ever do. The idiots who promote this violent ethos — although it is often stated that music doesn't influence kids — are often from the music industry. Rappers who call themselves by names such as Noriega, Al Capone, Rick Ross, and Killa Cam along with a host of others with the name Killa or gangster in their names, do hold some of the blame. Not to mention the many who wear their gang affiliation as a badge of honor, as if it is a college diploma. Some artist have made songs promoting silence in criminal matters, including “Snitches” by Master P and Snoop Dogg and “Snitch” by Lil Wayne. Even NBA star Carmelo Anthony played a role in a video supporting the "don't snitch" movement. And we all remember Busta Rhymes' silence in the death of Israel Ramirez.
Yes, it is true, not snitching is the new crack in our communities and may be leading to the unsolved deaths of our most valuable assets — our youth. It is not snitching if you are simply telling the truth. What is the logic of not telling who murdered a child if you witnessed the killing? Nothing, for only punks and cowards are afraid to tell the truth.
On Wednesday, July 28, a 13-year-old boy was gunned down while riding his bike in Chicago. According to witnesses, the gunman stood over the youngster's body and continued to fire into his bleeding body. The victim was an eighth grader named Robert Freeman. The doctor found 22 bullets in the boy's body.
Although detectives have spent days interviewing witnesses, no one has yet provided them with information regarding the murder. Even the appeal of the family, especially from the mother, has yet to produce any leads or suspects — despite the fact that according to reports, there were dozens of youths outside on the street when the murder took place. This is similar to the tragic death of Derrion Albert, the honors student who was beaten to death while walking home from school. No one spoke to police or "snitched" in that case either, and if it were not for cell phone videos, the individuals who were caught would not have been, and to this date, other suspects still have not been apprehended.
Historically, African Americans have a sordid history with law enforcement and aren’t too enthusiastic about working with police. This history was rooted in law enforcement allowing lynch mobs to have their way with black men, mainly in the South during the days of Jim Crow, Reconstruction and segregation. But today what is the excuse?
The truth is that what we see in Chicago and Memphis, Tenn., and many other urban areas around the country is that black youth are murdering each other at a rate that far outpaces anything a bad seed cop could ever do. The idiots who promote this violent ethos — although it is often stated that music doesn't influence kids — are often from the music industry. Rappers who call themselves by names such as Noriega, Al Capone, Rick Ross, and Killa Cam along with a host of others with the name Killa or gangster in their names, do hold some of the blame. Not to mention the many who wear their gang affiliation as a badge of honor, as if it is a college diploma. Some artist have made songs promoting silence in criminal matters, including “Snitches” by Master P and Snoop Dogg and “Snitch” by Lil Wayne. Even NBA star Carmelo Anthony played a role in a video supporting the "don't snitch" movement. And we all remember Busta Rhymes' silence in the death of Israel Ramirez.
Yes, it is true, not snitching is the new crack in our communities and may be leading to the unsolved deaths of our most valuable assets — our youth. It is not snitching if you are simply telling the truth. What is the logic of not telling who murdered a child if you witnessed the killing? Nothing, for only punks and cowards are afraid to tell the truth.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Videotape a Cop and Risk Going to Jail
One of the most memorable videos involving police was the infamous Rodney King beating. It was caught on tape by a casual observer and showed the world the extent to which some officers of the law overstepped boundaries. It was one of the first times such a flagrant human rights violation had been caught on video.
Today, the person who made that video would likely be arrested and prosecuted. Yes, prosecuted for videotaping public servants who wear badges and carry guns. In Maryland, state police are using state wiretap laws to prosecute a motorcyclist who posted a video of an Maryland State trooper making a traffic stop with his gun drawn.
On March 5, 2010, Anthony Graber was riding his motorcycle when he was confronted by a plainclothes Maryland State trooper as he came to a stop at an exit. Graber, who had a video camera mounted on his helmet, recorded the event in which he was given a ticket for speeding. A few days later, he posted the encounter on YouTube. According to a press release fromy the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, the trooper obtained an arrest warrant charging Graber with a violation of the state wiretap law. State police seized his computers and video camera. Graber, who is married and the father of two children, is also a staff sergeant in the Maryland Air National Guard, and a computer systems engineer. If convicted, he faces up to 16 years in prison.
Carlos Miller, a journalist who runs the blog "Photography Is Not a Crime," has been arrested twice for the same offense and has followed similar arrests over the past few years. This past July, South Florida model Tasha Ford was arrested on felony wiretapping charges after she videotaped cops arresting her son. In Oregon, Hao Vang was arrested two years ago for videoing police beating his friend. Even after a $19,000 settlement, Beaverton Police Chief Geoff Spalding says that his department will continue to make these types of arrests.
Is this the new world order? It strikes me as odd that wire tap laws would be used in such a manner given that police themselves have cameras mounted on their dashboards in their vehicles that do the same thing. These practices, if allowed to continue, are an abuse of power, a form of intimidation and a violation of one's First Amendment rights
Today, the person who made that video would likely be arrested and prosecuted. Yes, prosecuted for videotaping public servants who wear badges and carry guns. In Maryland, state police are using state wiretap laws to prosecute a motorcyclist who posted a video of an Maryland State trooper making a traffic stop with his gun drawn.
On March 5, 2010, Anthony Graber was riding his motorcycle when he was confronted by a plainclothes Maryland State trooper as he came to a stop at an exit. Graber, who had a video camera mounted on his helmet, recorded the event in which he was given a ticket for speeding. A few days later, he posted the encounter on YouTube. According to a press release fromy the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, the trooper obtained an arrest warrant charging Graber with a violation of the state wiretap law. State police seized his computers and video camera. Graber, who is married and the father of two children, is also a staff sergeant in the Maryland Air National Guard, and a computer systems engineer. If convicted, he faces up to 16 years in prison.
Carlos Miller, a journalist who runs the blog "Photography Is Not a Crime," has been arrested twice for the same offense and has followed similar arrests over the past few years. This past July, South Florida model Tasha Ford was arrested on felony wiretapping charges after she videotaped cops arresting her son. In Oregon, Hao Vang was arrested two years ago for videoing police beating his friend. Even after a $19,000 settlement, Beaverton Police Chief Geoff Spalding says that his department will continue to make these types of arrests.
Is this the new world order? It strikes me as odd that wire tap laws would be used in such a manner given that police themselves have cameras mounted on their dashboards in their vehicles that do the same thing. These practices, if allowed to continue, are an abuse of power, a form of intimidation and a violation of one's First Amendment rights
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Is Egg Recall being used to pass S510, which makes it illegal to grow, share, trade or sell homegrown food
There is some new legslation on Capitol Hill that is worthy of serious attention. Senate Bill S 510, the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2010, may be the most dangerous and over reaching bill ever proposed in the history of the United States of America. If passed, the Food Safety Modernization Act would be a serious and far reaching extension of the federal government's regulation of the food industry.
The Bill which was proposed by U.S. Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois would preclude any person’s right to grow, own, trade, transport, share, feed and eat each and every food that is not grown by a government approved agency or organization. This means it would be illegal to grow, share, trade or sell homegrown food. It will also come with an expected price tag of $825 billion for this year alone, if passed .
Although there is no such authority in the Constitution with respect to the control of food, it notes that products not grown according to designated standards of the the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be considered adulterated. As such, individuals found guilty would be subject to warrantless searches by inspectors from the government. There is a complimentary bill to S 510 in the House (H.R. 2749) that even provides the National Guard and other Federal authorities the right to impose martial law in order to “prohibit or restrict the movement of food." The exact language of the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009 can be found in Section 133b of the House Bill which is sponsored by Congressman John Dingell of Michigan.
This bill reflects both what is wrong with Washington and how big and expansive government has become. In summary the bill will manage and control each person's individual right to produce, distribute, and consume the foods they desire. It is scary that something like this would even be proposed. But it is not suprising, since money speaks louder than the citizens of this country. So be careful, the apples or tomatoes you grow in your back yard may be a federal offense soon.
I just wonder if this recent scare regarding the recall of contaminated Eggs a under handed way to get this bill passed? I don't know but I do remember the swine flu vaccine drive that was promoted by the current administration. They made millions of folk get shots for nothing, because the epidemic was a hoax.
The Bill which was proposed by U.S. Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois would preclude any person’s right to grow, own, trade, transport, share, feed and eat each and every food that is not grown by a government approved agency or organization. This means it would be illegal to grow, share, trade or sell homegrown food. It will also come with an expected price tag of $825 billion for this year alone, if passed .
Although there is no such authority in the Constitution with respect to the control of food, it notes that products not grown according to designated standards of the the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be considered adulterated. As such, individuals found guilty would be subject to warrantless searches by inspectors from the government. There is a complimentary bill to S 510 in the House (H.R. 2749) that even provides the National Guard and other Federal authorities the right to impose martial law in order to “prohibit or restrict the movement of food." The exact language of the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009 can be found in Section 133b of the House Bill which is sponsored by Congressman John Dingell of Michigan.
This bill reflects both what is wrong with Washington and how big and expansive government has become. In summary the bill will manage and control each person's individual right to produce, distribute, and consume the foods they desire. It is scary that something like this would even be proposed. But it is not suprising, since money speaks louder than the citizens of this country. So be careful, the apples or tomatoes you grow in your back yard may be a federal offense soon.
I just wonder if this recent scare regarding the recall of contaminated Eggs a under handed way to get this bill passed? I don't know but I do remember the swine flu vaccine drive that was promoted by the current administration. They made millions of folk get shots for nothing, because the epidemic was a hoax.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
5 Worst Rappers of the Last 5 Years
Hip-hop has changed dramatically since its beginnings in the late 1970s. The days of socially conscious lyrics produced by the likes of Kurtis Blow, Public Enemy, and Eric B. Now such lyricism and dedication to the challenges associated with being an African American are lost to many so-called rappers with the exception of a few like Immortal Technique.
The sad reality is that most of the folks on the airwaves today have no talent and confuse illiteracy and megalomaniacal gloating and grandstanding as being representative of art when, in fact, it is merely garbage.
This list is not based on promotion or marketing or image, which the latter could also be included on, but rather sheer lyricism and verbal alacrity, or better yet, the lack thereof.
5] Jim Jones: New York Rapper and member of the Dipset could easily make the list if it was based on lack of character alone. If it were not for liquor, handguns, money and cards it seems that his vocabulary would be limited to pronouns. For example: "The .40 cals is mine, the nina's we could split; Cock back, squeeze off, started feedin 'm with the 5th …"
On a level of skill from one to 10, he gets a negative integer, and he uses the N-word so much he could be the black Mel Gibson.
4] OJ Da Juiceman: Representing the dirty south, this rapper has a similar preoccupation with guns, money and drugs as rapper number five. Moreover, he loves to use pseudo words, which by definition are words that don’t exist and are completely made-up. For example take these lyrics from his song "Make The Trap Say Aye": 'm boomin I'm buggin I'm termin all the Baites; Rap game ezy but da dope game gravy; Young juice man and my life is the Japerz; With stupid fruity crazy swag jumpin in Yo lader; Banana donk chevy interior like the Lakers."
For the record, baites and japerzs are not words, not to mention da is a prefix indicating to the 10th power, not an article. As much as he talks about numbers, one would have anticipated that he would know better.
3] Plies: This rapper sounds more like a circus clown and looks just as bad with a dash of oompa loompa and leprechaun thrown in for flavor. Although his popularity has increased and by some miraculous feat he has become a sex symbol, he still demonstrates limited ability to use subject verb agreement. I'm not sure but I think his name is an acronym for Pathetic Lyricist in Everlasting Suspension, because all of his songs are monotonous and misogynistic and should be labeled DNR — do not resuscitate. This is evident by the number of times the pronoun "I" can be heard in his songs. Take the lyrics from "Me & My Goons": "I am come solo tonight, I'm wit' my clique; I haven't seen her since I f---ed that b----; And I haven't called her so I know she sick …"
The first stanza shows that he did not attend let alone complete the fourth grade and the rest that he has no respect for women. I guess you could call him the Trey Songz of hip-hop because all he talks about is sexing women. I am sure there is more in his mind than that — psych.
2] Waka Flocka Flame: I think he would better be served if he was called Waka Flocka Fool, for a fool by definition is one who is deficient in judgment, sense, or understanding or more fittingly, one who acts unwisely on a given occasion. I don't have enough content to evaluate his true lyrical astuteness but I can say he needs to work on his enunciation of words. His club banger, “O Lets Do It,” highlights his lyrical deficiencies: "1 shot man down; His brains go ka-pow; … But that happen often off in riverdale georgia; You gone pay the life you live off in riverdale georgia”
What is this, an episode of “Batman?” Ka-pow? Plus it isn't hard to rhyme Riverdale, Georgia with Riverdale, Georgia. All it tells me is that I’m glad my kids are not in school in Clayton County.
1] Soulja Boy: Probably one of the most popular on this list, yet least talented with respect to lyrical prowess and content. Jewelry, fashion designers and I seem to be the only nouns and pronouns used in his songs. Moreover, it is more than obvious that if the pseudo word "swag” had never been created, he would run out of song titles and hooks. In " Turn My Swag On" he uses the word seven times and in "Pretty Boy Swag" it is mentioned 19 times. And let us not forget the song "Booty Got Swag." His “talent” can be summed up with these lyrics from the song "Gucci Bandanna." It's Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, I roll with Shawty Lo; I got so much snow, Gucci head to toe; Chain on chill, watch on freeze; So much ice I got lookin' like Chinese." What is the relationship between ice and Asians, can someone tell me?
Now there were others in the running, including the entire Dipset, Lil Flip, and Slim Thug and many others who are deserving of honorable mentions. Maybe one day rap will return to its greatness and be more than what many of today's rappers talk about (or maybe not), but I will keep my fingers crossed.
The sad reality is that most of the folks on the airwaves today have no talent and confuse illiteracy and megalomaniacal gloating and grandstanding as being representative of art when, in fact, it is merely garbage.
This list is not based on promotion or marketing or image, which the latter could also be included on, but rather sheer lyricism and verbal alacrity, or better yet, the lack thereof.
5] Jim Jones: New York Rapper and member of the Dipset could easily make the list if it was based on lack of character alone. If it were not for liquor, handguns, money and cards it seems that his vocabulary would be limited to pronouns. For example: "The .40 cals is mine, the nina's we could split; Cock back, squeeze off, started feedin 'm with the 5th …"
On a level of skill from one to 10, he gets a negative integer, and he uses the N-word so much he could be the black Mel Gibson.
4] OJ Da Juiceman: Representing the dirty south, this rapper has a similar preoccupation with guns, money and drugs as rapper number five. Moreover, he loves to use pseudo words, which by definition are words that don’t exist and are completely made-up. For example take these lyrics from his song "Make The Trap Say Aye": 'm boomin I'm buggin I'm termin all the Baites; Rap game ezy but da dope game gravy; Young juice man and my life is the Japerz; With stupid fruity crazy swag jumpin in Yo lader; Banana donk chevy interior like the Lakers."
For the record, baites and japerzs are not words, not to mention da is a prefix indicating to the 10th power, not an article. As much as he talks about numbers, one would have anticipated that he would know better.
3] Plies: This rapper sounds more like a circus clown and looks just as bad with a dash of oompa loompa and leprechaun thrown in for flavor. Although his popularity has increased and by some miraculous feat he has become a sex symbol, he still demonstrates limited ability to use subject verb agreement. I'm not sure but I think his name is an acronym for Pathetic Lyricist in Everlasting Suspension, because all of his songs are monotonous and misogynistic and should be labeled DNR — do not resuscitate. This is evident by the number of times the pronoun "I" can be heard in his songs. Take the lyrics from "Me & My Goons": "I am come solo tonight, I'm wit' my clique; I haven't seen her since I f---ed that b----; And I haven't called her so I know she sick …"
The first stanza shows that he did not attend let alone complete the fourth grade and the rest that he has no respect for women. I guess you could call him the Trey Songz of hip-hop because all he talks about is sexing women. I am sure there is more in his mind than that — psych.
2] Waka Flocka Flame: I think he would better be served if he was called Waka Flocka Fool, for a fool by definition is one who is deficient in judgment, sense, or understanding or more fittingly, one who acts unwisely on a given occasion. I don't have enough content to evaluate his true lyrical astuteness but I can say he needs to work on his enunciation of words. His club banger, “O Lets Do It,” highlights his lyrical deficiencies: "1 shot man down; His brains go ka-pow; … But that happen often off in riverdale georgia; You gone pay the life you live off in riverdale georgia”
What is this, an episode of “Batman?” Ka-pow? Plus it isn't hard to rhyme Riverdale, Georgia with Riverdale, Georgia. All it tells me is that I’m glad my kids are not in school in Clayton County.
1] Soulja Boy: Probably one of the most popular on this list, yet least talented with respect to lyrical prowess and content. Jewelry, fashion designers and I seem to be the only nouns and pronouns used in his songs. Moreover, it is more than obvious that if the pseudo word "swag” had never been created, he would run out of song titles and hooks. In " Turn My Swag On" he uses the word seven times and in "Pretty Boy Swag" it is mentioned 19 times. And let us not forget the song "Booty Got Swag." His “talent” can be summed up with these lyrics from the song "Gucci Bandanna." It's Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, I roll with Shawty Lo; I got so much snow, Gucci head to toe; Chain on chill, watch on freeze; So much ice I got lookin' like Chinese." What is the relationship between ice and Asians, can someone tell me?
Now there were others in the running, including the entire Dipset, Lil Flip, and Slim Thug and many others who are deserving of honorable mentions. Maybe one day rap will return to its greatness and be more than what many of today's rappers talk about (or maybe not), but I will keep my fingers crossed.
Friday, August 20, 2010
How Obama’s Election Drove the GOP Insane
It is not hard to find hard-core criticism floating through the air like pollen regarding our nation’s first African American president. Some of which is deserved, most of which is not and is simply, colloquially speaking, hating. The overwhelming corpus of which comes from Republicans on the far and middle right.
This is more than obvious — so obvious, in fact, that many on the right have manifested behaviors reflective of the tenets espoused by Freud when he discussed defense mechanisms.
From extreme projection (in which a person lacks consciousness of their own thoughts and ascribes those unconscious thoughts to others), to denial (refusal to accept external reality because it is too threatening), everything this segment of the political spectrum says is targeted towards Obama. Now some would say it is politics as usual, but I disagree with that assertion.
Recently, right-wing radio talk-show host Laura Ingraham stated that first lady Michelle Obama's Whitehouse garden was a "left-wing plot."
Glenn Beck, in a similar vein, speaking about the outfit the first lady wore to her visit to the Gulf, described it as an "outrage."
It is difficult to empirically understand such comments since they have nothing to do with the real political issues at hand. It can simply be reduced to behavioral neuroses that are rooted in America's steep tradition of racial vilification, which traditionally manifests in personal attacks and demonization.
The reality is that the GOP is out of ideas, and rather than thinking about solving the nation's problems, would rather stoke over-the-top paranoia, which if history is any indication, often results in violence. Just ask anyone who had dogs released on them, water from a fire hose sprayed on them, or anyone with a family member hung from a tree or dragged from a truck.
Insanity is a serious and debilitating condition that disrupts one's capacity to function within the legal limits of society, which results in both a deranged mind and (too) many times, a tragic outcome.
This is more than obvious — so obvious, in fact, that many on the right have manifested behaviors reflective of the tenets espoused by Freud when he discussed defense mechanisms.
From extreme projection (in which a person lacks consciousness of their own thoughts and ascribes those unconscious thoughts to others), to denial (refusal to accept external reality because it is too threatening), everything this segment of the political spectrum says is targeted towards Obama. Now some would say it is politics as usual, but I disagree with that assertion.
Recently, right-wing radio talk-show host Laura Ingraham stated that first lady Michelle Obama's Whitehouse garden was a "left-wing plot."
Glenn Beck, in a similar vein, speaking about the outfit the first lady wore to her visit to the Gulf, described it as an "outrage."
It is difficult to empirically understand such comments since they have nothing to do with the real political issues at hand. It can simply be reduced to behavioral neuroses that are rooted in America's steep tradition of racial vilification, which traditionally manifests in personal attacks and demonization.
The reality is that the GOP is out of ideas, and rather than thinking about solving the nation's problems, would rather stoke over-the-top paranoia, which if history is any indication, often results in violence. Just ask anyone who had dogs released on them, water from a fire hose sprayed on them, or anyone with a family member hung from a tree or dragged from a truck.
Insanity is a serious and debilitating condition that disrupts one's capacity to function within the legal limits of society, which results in both a deranged mind and (too) many times, a tragic outcome.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Big Booty Women and VIP: Why Black Students Can't Finish High School
Tatiana Reina wanted to graduate in the worst way — and she did. Ordinarily, a student's graduation would be applauded and presented as an achievement and symbol of perseverance, but not in Reina's case. The 21-year-old Reina was enrolled at Lafayette High School in Brooklyn, N.Y., for six years. Her grades and attendance records were abysmal, replete with missing classes and failing grades. In 2007, she even faked her graduation, sneaking into the commencement line panoplied in cap and gown.
Although she had ample time to complete her high school graduation requierements, Reina did not hold up her end of the bargain. She did not attend the majority of her classes. The standard for graduation is to attend at least 90 percent of one's classes. Even when she was confronted with "aging out" or being too old for the school system this year, she received another chance and still did not attend the required amount of classes.
Yet Principal Jacqueline Boswell still allowed Reina to graduate.
According to the New York Post in June, Reina showed up for the last five days and was given some health and chemistry assignments in the guidance office," where "She sat at a computer and Googled her answers." The Post also states that "teachers were pressured into giving Reina — and a half-dozen other failing students — minimally passing grades of 65, the equivalent of a D, to get the credits needed to graduate."
In Knoxville, Tenn., incoming top 100-freshman receiver Da'Rick Rogers was charged and detained after an early morning bar fight that left police officer Robert Capouellez unconscious on the street. Witnesses have alleged that while the officer was down, Rogers and others repeatedly kicked the officer in the head.
It is strange that people — not all, but some — do not appreciate the value of an education nor put forth the effort to maximize opportunities when proffered. Reina could have easily gone to class and studied just as Rodgers could have valued a scholarship to a major Division I school. However, neither exhibited behavior that indicated appreciation, but rather acted as if it was their right to graduate in the former case or attend college in the latter.
We often point fingers at the institutions rather than the individuals. The fact is, many of us spend more time chasing or being the big booty girl in the VIP section of the club, than studying, helping our youth value education, or assisting our kids with homework.
Although she had ample time to complete her high school graduation requierements, Reina did not hold up her end of the bargain. She did not attend the majority of her classes. The standard for graduation is to attend at least 90 percent of one's classes. Even when she was confronted with "aging out" or being too old for the school system this year, she received another chance and still did not attend the required amount of classes.
Yet Principal Jacqueline Boswell still allowed Reina to graduate.
According to the New York Post in June, Reina showed up for the last five days and was given some health and chemistry assignments in the guidance office," where "She sat at a computer and Googled her answers." The Post also states that "teachers were pressured into giving Reina — and a half-dozen other failing students — minimally passing grades of 65, the equivalent of a D, to get the credits needed to graduate."
In Knoxville, Tenn., incoming top 100-freshman receiver Da'Rick Rogers was charged and detained after an early morning bar fight that left police officer Robert Capouellez unconscious on the street. Witnesses have alleged that while the officer was down, Rogers and others repeatedly kicked the officer in the head.
It is strange that people — not all, but some — do not appreciate the value of an education nor put forth the effort to maximize opportunities when proffered. Reina could have easily gone to class and studied just as Rodgers could have valued a scholarship to a major Division I school. However, neither exhibited behavior that indicated appreciation, but rather acted as if it was their right to graduate in the former case or attend college in the latter.
We often point fingers at the institutions rather than the individuals. The fact is, many of us spend more time chasing or being the big booty girl in the VIP section of the club, than studying, helping our youth value education, or assisting our kids with homework.
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