Why Black Face Still Bothers Some

Julianne Hough as "Crazy Eyes."

Julianne Hough started a ripple in the social media waters when she appeared in "tanned face" at a Halloween party.  In her attempt to portray a character from "Orange is the New Black," she decided to go the "extra mile."  The character, "Crazy Eyes," is known for her eyes and her hair.  However, Julianne thought it was important (for reasons unknown) to also capture her skin color.

Big mistake.

You can't do things like that, even in 2013.  As long as there are people still on this planet who lived prior to Civil Rights being granted to black people, then there will not be a shortage of pissed off minorities.  Although I view her outfit as being stupid more than I do racist, my father (born in 1941) would be furious.  He grew up during a time when he wasn't even respected as an equal.

I think the idea to do this is stupid because she had to know people would flip out over this.  And if she didn't know, then that just shows her ignorance when it comes to the real world.  I'm guessing that she doesn't have that proverbial "black friend" who could have told her this would be a bad idea and a media nightmare.

Now, although her tanned look is mild at best, there is a reason why black face still bothers some.  It's still a sign of disrespect to a lot of people in this country.  When black people dress up for Halloween, how many of us have you ever seen put on "white face" to be Batman or Indiana Jones.  When is the last time you saw a black person use eye makeup to be Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee?  Odds are you probably haven't.

And it's not just a black / white thing either.  It's sometimes a black / black thing.  Most blacks also get upset when people who aren't white change their appearance to look white.  See Sammy Sosa and Michael Jackson.

We're a long way off from this not being a big deal.  With insensitive idiots like the below (portraying Trayvon Martin) still displaying foolishness, people who think this isn't a big deal can maybe understand where some of the rage originates.

Do you think that it's time to "get over" black face or is it still a problem in America?

(VIDEO) Hitler Gets Pissed at Jay Z

Well, Jay Z is back in the news again. He's not dissing senior citizens on wax this go around. This time, he's apparently not doing anything. I guess that's par for the course for modern day rappers and athletes...

Okay, here's the scoop: two young black kids were racially profiled in a high-end fashion store. A young man was arrested/questioned for purchasing a $350 belt with what was called "a stolen credit card." After a couple of hours in jail, he was released when it was determined that the card was actually his.

A young lady purchased a $2,500 purse from Barney's and received a similar line of questioning about how she could afford the bag.  Why she used her tax rebate money to buy a purse that expensive is beyond me.  Maybe she and the young man are both rich.  It's moot anyway.  The point is that they were both making legitimate purchases, but were accused of being shady people.

How does Jay Z tie into all of this? Well, he has a contract with Barney's to launch some new holiday clothing next month. Critics are calling upon him to cut ties with Barney's to take a stand against "shopping while black" incidents. However, Jay Z did release a statement on his website that basically denounces discrimination without condemning Barney's.

It appears that Jay Z will choose his pockets over his people and that will be unfortunate for Jay Z if Barney's is guilty of profiling.  Tons of people will be pissed at Jay Z saying he's too cowardly to speak out.  Including Hitler in the video below.  He was really pissed!
 

Now, I lost respect for Jay Z long ago, so this incident doesn't affect how I feel about him.  I lost respect for Jay Z after he dissed a living legend in Harry Belafonte. I can't say that I won't be surprised if he indeed decides to continue his affiliation with Barney's even if it's proven they were at fault. But despite that, this may surprise you: I don't think he should be obligated to cut ties with the store.

I just have a problem with Jay Z saying nothing about it for as long as he did. Nothing. He can at least condemn the incident even if he doesn't condemn the store.  We know for a fact that the incident with the young man happened and we know without a fact that it landed him in jail.

But, nope that's not his style. He's not going to piss off a store selling his over-priced swag.  He's going to play the victim and whine about people attacking his character.  And again, to his credit, Jay Z is being victimized here to a certain extent because he had nothing to do with what happened.  But, he's too self-centered to realize who the real victims are in this ordeal.

As for the store, I just think that Barney's needs to readjust the attitude of its employees. I won't call a franchise "racist" for the actions of a couple of idiots.  I seriously doubt that they tell their employees to "follow all black customers."

Famous people, regardless of color, would do whatever it took to right a wrong.  That trend died a decade or two ago and got replaced with, "I gotta get mine, you gotta get yours."  Just like we do with politicians, we blindly support our favorite celebrities despite the fact that they don't always care about our well-being.

Do celebs/athletes have any kind of responsibility to speak up for the "right thing?"

You Can't Drive A Person to Cheat

(types) "Oh, I just got finished 'working out.'"

There are a lot of things that will cause some ups and downs in a relationship, but that's par for the course.  It's how it's managed that determines if that relationship is successful or not.  So many people in relationships think that if their significant other cheats that it's somehow their fault.  I disagree.

There is never a good reason for someone to cheat on you.  Never.

Men are generally labeled as cheaters more than women, so I'll focus there.  A lot of times, especially these days, a man will use deflection to get himself out of trouble or to win a debate.  Despite the fact that he's the one being accused of some wrong-doing, he'll flip the script to put the accusations back on the woman.  Now, women do this, too, but I'm just talking about the fellas right now.

A man will cheat on a woman (or attempt to cheat) and will somehow turn things around to make it seem as if it's his woman's fault that he did it.  Surprisingly, this method is very effective in getting guys out of hot water.  You wouldn't think that it would work, but it's actually a lot more successful than you would think.

Ladies, don't fall for this.  It's a trap.  A man will tell you that he cheated because you did the following:

"You're always too busy for me."

"You won't have sex with me any more."

"You don't dress sexy like you once did."

"You're always mad at me over something."

"You drove me to cheat."

All of the above is garbage.  The proper response when a man feels any of the aforementioned junk is to sit his woman down and have a conversation.  He should then explain how he feels and why he's not happy in the relationship.  If things don't change for the better in his eyes then he needs to return to single status and move on with his life.

Boom.  It's that simple.  No one gets cheated on in that scenario.  Instead of trying to have your cake and eat it, too, just simply move on to the next one and allow the last one to find someone who is more compatible with her.

"You MADE me do this! I didn't want to, but you forced me!"

We guys want to find another girlfriend before we decide to get rid of the one we have.  That's not how it goes.  Leave her because you're not happy and not because you've found someone you think is better.

Do you think that a person can be driven to cheat?