White People Need To Stop Being Racists

This logo is as accurate as it is iconic.  PE#1.

Now that I have your attention, let me give some background on myself to explain why that I think that statement is 100% true: I grew up in a predominantly white school system.  I had a lot of white friends in my childhood, so I saw the good in white people.  I was oblivious to a lot of the atrocities in the U.S. because of the type of education that I received and the environment in which I was raised.

Then I went to an HBCU (Google it if you don't know the acronym) and I met other people who looked like me who had totally different experiences growing up.  By the way, this is generally how one learns about the world.  Being exposed to all walks of life is what expands our way of thinking.  But, back to the topic at hand...

I spent a lot of my youth and some of my adult life explaining to minorities how "the conversation" about racism should be approached with white people.  I found myself speaking from a place that protected the good white people that I knew.  It took growing older in society to realize that they didn't need me to defend them.  Their privilege alone gave them the protection that they needed.

The point I'm trying to make is that black people have no responsibility in stopping racism.  White people do.  And it's always been that way despite how others have tried to spin it over and over again.  It's not a woman's responsibility to have "a discussion" with an abusive husband.  He just needs to recognize that he's wrong and stop abusing her.  See how simple that is?  Problem solved.

We don't need a table of "black leaders" to sit down and discuss why we shouldn't be unlawfully shot by police, denied opportunities for leadership positions from being a CEO of a Fortune 500 company to being an NFL head coach, or refused loans and/or housing based solely on the fact that we are enriched with melanin.  Black people have complained for decades on the things that prevent us from truly being equals in this country, so there's nothing new to talk about.  All white people have to do is stop doing it.  It's just that simple.  Nothing else is required.

And for all white people who have done things to help promote the end of racism, I thank and applaud you.  We wouldn't have made it this far without some of you.  But, you're going to have to do more.  Because in order for you not to be unfairly grouped in with racists, you have to convince the racists to cut it out.  So, it looks like you have the responsibility of helping this madness end.  Not black people.

Girls Gone White

I'm up late watching HDNet which is one of my favorite channels. After watching a very entertaining episode of "Art Mann Presents," I go to the kitchen to get some water only to return to the start of "Girls Gone Wild: Unrated."

That show is absolutely nuts.

It's amazing how just a production name and a camera can bring out the most unpredictable behavior in a person. I could go into a bar in Jackson with a GGW t-shirt on, a microphone and someone carrying a camera and literally wind up with a group of topless women in a hotel room licking on each other. God bless America, right?

For those of you who have not seen this phenomenon, let me break down a typical show segment for you:

Guy shows up at beach with a microphone and a camera man. Women immediately start to turn towards the camera, pull up their bikini tops and scream "whooooooooo!!!!!!" The guy then selects five girls to go to his limo where he then instructs three of them to do a three-way tongue kiss for the camera. After that, he asks that each of them turn around and show their butt before reminding them that they can no longer wear their tops in the limo. After the ride back to the GGW bus, the ladies get on board and commence to doing each other on a bed.

This is pretty much the entire show. I know what you're asking yourself, "What do the girls get in return for showing their breasts and butts to the world via HDTV and Web?"

A GGW t-shirt and booty shorts! Well, that's all worth it then, right?

But, after about 15-20 minutes, I started noticing that something was missing while I was composing this blog post with this show playing in the background. I started to notice that it was basically a loop of similar-looking girls with pierced nipples in every other shot. Nothing exotic. Nothing uncommon. Just everyday mall rats who were looking for their 15 minutes of fame by any means necessary. Then it hit me:

In the words of Bizarro Sheriff Bart from 'Blazing Saddles,' "Where all the black women at?" That's right. 30 minutes without a site of one sista. Not even a chica or a pinay. Just Girls Gone White.

Then again, I do understand that it's not necessarily a race thing. It's a money thing. That's what sells. Who pays to see naked and white party girls? White guys. Do you know who else pays to see naked and white party girls? Every other race of guys. So, you can't lose right? Let's be honest, I would guess (I don't know for sure) that more non-white guys would buy a GGW Blu Ray quicker than white guys would buy a Black GGW Blu Ray.

You have to cater to the market, right? And white women are universal like Type-O blood. I know some sistas may wrinkle their foreheads reading this, but I didn't make the rules or set the standards. Society did long before I walked this earth. White women are the only race of women who can have their sex appeal marketed in any part of the world because they are stereotyped to be more fun than other races.

Is that true? I don't know. I've never dated a white woman before. I've had plenty of friends (no benefits), classmates and co-workers who were white, but their personalities weren't too much different than any black women I knew. Somewhat less guarded and more outgoing than some black women? Maybe. Then again, I didn't hang around too many party types on a regular basis.  I have a (black) homie of mine who has dated mostly whites in his life. I've heard him refer to them as "easy-going," "open" and "adventurous." Is he accurate? I haven't a clue, but I do know that none of the women in the show appeared to have any regrets for what they were doing. Half of them didn't even appear to be drunk. They all seemed like a group of girls who just wanted to have a good time and be able to say they were "a Girl Gone Wild."

Well, personally, it's not a big deal to me. I realize that it's easier to find a water-skiing squirrel on YouTube than it is to find a black woman on an after-hours premium channel. I don't think it means that white women are all "party girls" or sexier any more than black women are.

I just think it means that they sell more Blu Rays/DVD's. Type-O.




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98... 99... 100!

My 100th post. Wow. When I first started this blog thing back in July, I never thought I'd post any more than four or five before eventually quiting. But, Jim and Jennie started following me and I thought to myself, "Self, you may actually be able to post a few more and get another follower or two."

42 followers later, I'm at post #100.

I started going back through my posts and of course, I had to start at the original rant that started it all! "A Blood Rush to the Brain". Rush Limbaugh said something that ticked me off enough to start a blog just to make a political point.

I enjoyed being able to say what I wanted and decided to continue blogging. Weeks later came post #25. "Why Am I Not Asleep?" It should have been titled "Why Didn't I Hit Delete?"

It was early in the morning and I was flat-out tired and borderline hallucinating. Although I was still awake, my body was clearly tired. I tried sleeping, but every time I drifted off, I would wind up in a nightmare within seconds. I don't know if that happens to any of you or not, but when my body is dog-tired, I have nightmares. I wonder if I'm the only person cursed like that?

You would think that blog would have been the one to get me to quit, but I kept going. After all, I was up to 20-something followers by then, so blogging became a drug. In the month of October, I cranked out 28 posts in 31 days on a range of topics from if white women care if white men date outside of the race to discussing the plight of guys crossing into "The Friend Zone" with women.

Post #75 was about the growing attention on the Brett Favre "Crank/Crocs" scandal. Brett reportedly sent a photo of his junk while wearing Crocs to a former Jets employee named Jenn Sterger. Although I think Jenn was in it for the publicity and money, I do believe Favre got off (wrong choice of words) with a slap on the wrist in a $50,000 fine. I wondered in the post if there was a bias against black athletes who get criticized for doing a lot less than what Favre did. It was appropriately called "Media Bias Against Black Athletes."

I've really enjoyed blogging, although I've sort have taken a break over the past few weeks. I do intend on working my way to #150 and hopefully generating more feedback. I always get comments from people who agree, but rarely from people who do not. I'm always looking for different opinions, so hopefully I can get more banter on the comment feeds.

To those who have supported the blog as a follower or a casual reader, I truly appreciate it. For those who take the time to comment on a post, you get a special "thank you".

I've had a range of serious topics to discuss as of late, but I'm going to return back to the lighter side of things for a while. To try to recapture the humor from posts like "Get Out of My Back Pocket!", "When Pampering Becomes Tampering", and "Don't Do It, Fellas!"

Again, thanks, all!

Revoke Your Black License

I was instant messaging a co-worker of mine who resides in Richmond, VA. She's a football fan and we're talking NFL when the subject of other sports came up. I mentioned that I liked the NBA and NCAA basketball, but that I'd really enjoyed the NHL this past season.

There was a long pause in a response to my message and then she replied, "What?"

"NHL. Hockey. Football on ice", I replied.

Then I saw a series of "LOL's" all across my screen. She was laughing at me.

"How can a black man from the south enjoy hockey?"

"Uh, I just do. It's an exciting sport! And the presentation of the Stanley Cup is the greatest trophy presentation I've ever seen."

"That's it. I'm pulling your race card, Q. I'm going to revoke your black license."

Wow. A black man can't enjoy hockey? A person from the south isn't allowed to 'pimp the puck'? One day I decided to give hockey a chance back in '93 and I've followed the New Jersey Devils ever since (I picked them since my alma mater's mascot are Devils). Mix in the fact that we have a minor league hockey team in Biloxi and my interest grew even more.

In fact, The Mrs. and I (who was just a girlfriend at the time) attended Game 7 of the Kelly Cup and sat through double-OT (until 2 AM) until the Mississippi Seawolves hoisted the Cup after an awesome goal (I knew at that point that she was marriage material if she was willing to sit through four hours of hockey with me).

Well, needless to say, I didn't share the fact that I've attended a NASCAR race at Talledega on three separate occasions. My co-worker might have orchestrated a racial intervention at that point.

But, the bottom line is: I love sports. If there's a ball involved or someone being timed, I'll probably watch it. In fact, I think it's sad that some people consider some sports a "white" or "black" sport simply based on stereotypes.

Basketball and Track & Field have always been considered "black" sports, the PGA, NHL, Tennis and NASCAR have always been considered "white" sports.

Does that mean I'm not allowed to view a sport "outside of my race" without getting my "black license" revoked? Of course not.

People need to be more open-minded when it comes to sports, music and movies. Black people need to stop hating on every white rapper that comes along and white people need to put more black people in lead roles on prime time TV.

And so on and so on. Let's get past this crap already.