Video Intrigue:: JAY Z "Picasso Baby: A Performance Art Film"

Check the hair fluff of the mohawk --- Classic.

Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper said what, ok, and ... (explicit content)

Reports indicate +NFL player, specifically, +Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper had an argument with a security guard while at a +Kenny Chesney concert. The situation resulted in Riley being recorded stating "he would that do something (in audible to me) that bitch, and fight every nigger[sic] here bro. Then, a nearby lady states, “(shrieking) ahhhhhhhhhh, he said niggggggaaaaaa[sic]," next the video unsteadily ends (see the video at the end of this post  [Full disclosure, I actually laughed, then gathered myself and chuckled at the video, specifically the lady]; no further explicit spelling of the word in this post).

Based on the action displayed by Riley in the video an argument can be made that Riley is a racist. Just as easily, that argument can be refuted.

My view: the use of a word is not sufficient to label someone as racist.

Only the individual racist truly knows if he or she is a racist. The use of the word in any form does not make someone a racist [it will change how I interact with that person regardless of background or intention]. The act of talking down to an individual or showing signs of racist behavior can never truly be used as evidence because people often do things to purposely cause pain in the moment, and observation is open to interpretation. Beyond that of confession, “YES, YES, I AM A RACIST, SHIT, THERE I SAID IT,” to determine who is and who isn't is vain.

Riley is nobody to me. I only know his name because I saw the report on websites I frequent. I am writing this blog to contribute to discussion and hot air out there on the topic because so much of what I’ve read is contrary to my view. Reports also indicate that Riley’s action has caused many a bit of unrest (see the comments on some of the reports, see Twitter --- out of control) including prominent celebrities’, Marcus Vick (not a prominent celebrity) stands out because his brother Michael is in competition for the starting quarterback position with the Eagles. Marcus took to Twitter:

• ·   Hey I'm putting a bounty on Riley's head. K to the first Free Safety or Strong Safety that light his a- up! Wake him up please.

• ·   Hahaha! Peace of s–. Who want to play on a team with guys like that? Riley Cooper you’re a f—  boy!!! Racist peace of s–.”

Michael Vick, Marcus' brother, responded on Twitter,

• ·   Marcus doesn’t need to show a level of ignorance himself.

Marcus later deleted his posts and reported his Twitter account was hacked.

Concerning Marcus, I could see love for his brother being expressed by becoming suspicious of Riley. Viewing poor performance from Riley now through the lenses of sabotage to Michael’s chances of winning the starting job, because he suspects Riley is a racist. However, upset to the point of putting a bounty on his head. Questionable.

If you are upset; I ask, why? Who is Riley to you, and why does his view, or use of a word matter to you?

“Oprah, for instance, still can't get past the n-word issue (or the n---a[sic] issue, with all apologies to Ms. Winfrey). I can respect her position. To her, it's a matter of acknowledging the deep and painful history of the word. To me, it's just a word, a word whose power is owned by the user and his or her intention. People give words power, so banning a word is futile, really. “N---a[sic]” becomes “porch monkey[sic]” becomes “coon[sic]” and so on if that's what in a person's heart [and only the individual truly knows their heart]. The key is to change the person. And we change people through conversation, not through censorship,” SC.

I choose not to use the word anymore. I understand, and acknowledge the cultural norm, I grew up within that cultural norm, but again, my choice is not to use the word. My choice is rooted in experience and learning history --- formally and through my own pursuit. Nevertheless, that word has no power over me, nor should it have power over you. Those carrying around hate carry a large burden that either they will let go, or, it shall consume them. In some cases they will successfully live with it. Whatever the situation, it is on them. Don't let anyone transfer negative energy to you. To become irate because someone used a word is unavailing.

To close, Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper said what...ok, and...continue on living, enjoying, building, striving, leading, contributing, helping, being you, focusing on real issues, far as the BS — getting upset of the use of a word, stop wasting time on that.

The future is messy...

The future is messy...

and the past is neat.

It's always like that.

That's because the people who chronicle the past are busy connecting the dots, editing what we remember and presenting a neat, coherent arc. We can publish the history of Roman Empire in 500 pages, but we'd need ten times that to contain a narrative of the noise in your head over the last hour.

Even viral videos are easy to describe after they happen. But if these experts are so smart, how come they can never predict the next one?

Source: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

Author: Seth Godin

To Assimilate or Not: The Black Person’s Lament

In a time when a lot of my peers were being named Keisha (by far the most popular black girl name of the 1970s and beyond), they named me Danielle. They had a lot of reasons for choosing the name “Danielle.” Both my parents’ names began with “D”  so they were giving all their kids “D” names. My mother thought I just “looked” like a Danielle when I popped out of her yoo-hoo. And also they wanted me to assimilate.

Assimilate is a dirty word for me because in reference to black people surviving in America it’s both necessary and completely worthless all at the same time. Necessary as in, having the name Danielle Belton could mean my resume didn’t immediately go into the garbage when they were screening out all the Keishas that day, but futile because I started a site called “blacksnob.com” and it’s on my resume along with me being a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. and a member of the National Association of Black Journalists. Never mind all the black publications I’ve written and worked for. So everything about my resume screams BLACK LADY even if my parents tried to turn me into some racial Terminator, stealthy moving about society, showing up at job interviews all “SURPRISE BLAKC GIRL!”

You can name me Danielle, but you can still see I’m black.

And I can straighten my hair for the job interview so I can seem more “approachable” or whatever straight hair is supposed to mean, but you can still see I’m black. And I can speak the King’s English, dress posh and throw my college degree and upper middle class background around and … that’s nice and all, but you can still see I’m black. Assimilation is the greatest and most important waste of time any black person will ever engage in. Because it essentially means spending your life anticipating someone else’s prejudices, then trying to modify your behavior to prove you’re a special, different, extraordinary Negro, not to be confused with Lil Wayne or the guy on the evening news who rammed a car in to a hair weave store and ran off with $10,000 worth of Indian Remy.

But what good does it really do? A random black woman you do not know “gets loud” in line at the store and the store is full of white folks and you. And some of those white folks, they look at you like you know some special Negro Whisperer magic that can make this woman stop acting a fool. And you’re like, what? You don’t know that woman. What are you supposed to do? Avoid eye contact with everyone and experience secondary embarrassment and wonder why on Earth do you have to feel responsible for the strange loud black woman you don’t even know? What does she have to do with you? Maybe they messed up her order? Maybe she has every right to be mad? But you want her to shut up, if only because someone keeps looking at you and you are not the Negro Whisperer.

Assimilation is sort of this way to say, “No wait, but I’m cool” to white people who may or may not be prejudiced against black people. But it almost never works the way it should. It never goes “Oh, Danielle is nice. I bet most black people are just regular human beings and stuff.” It always goes, “Danielle is nice. She must be magic and special unlike the rest of those crazy black people who frighten me.” But I am not magic, nor am I special. I am just wearing some straight hair, King’s English camouflage. If you turn on the song “Poison” by Bell Biv DeVoe I’m just as likely to shout, “OH SNAP, THAT’S MY JAM” and start dancing like any other person who has an affinity for such music.

I’m still black.

Racism has played some pretty horrible tricks on black people but the worst is the one that teaches you that if you just modify your behavior, if you just dress, talk, walk, act differently, the doors will open and the prejudices will melt away, but that’s a lie. The prejudices stay the same, but your individual treatment might slightly improve. For example, the President of the United States can’t say bluntly anything about race and he has the nuclear launch codes. Somehow, for certain white folks, the potential of blowing up another country is less controversial than admitting racism still exists in America. Why? Because President Obama has to assimilate. Yet, for what? All you ever hear from racists are fried chicken and watermelon jokes and how he’s such an “urban” president and how his obviously not overweight wife is “fat.” For all the good assimilation has done to get him where he’s gotten in life (it got him all the way to the White House!), at the end of the day he still might as well wear a doo-rag and smoke a Newport on the South lawn because he’s not fooling anyone.

They can still see you’re black. They can still see we’re all black. And yet we try and try and try.

Nice work, racism.

Source: http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2013/07/to-assimilate-or-not-the-black-persons-lament/

Author: Danielle C. Belton