Hoodalicious

Whatever happened to brushing, flossing and taking advantage of ones dental plan?
It seems that many cultures are embracing the practice of appearing better than they actually are.

Besides the style - is there really any difference between fake gold teeth and fake white teeth?

Doesn't each convey a certain amount of status within it's respective culture?

Hoodalicious

Every guy dreams of his perfect girl.
Some even imagine the status associated with walking such a girl down the red carpet of a glamorous event in Hollywood.
But the choice of the type of woman one prefers is largely dictated by culture.
For many centuries and across many cultures, a more Rubenesque physique was one to be desired above all others.
But the preference of this look has (until recently) been relegated to those of the underclass.

Many modern Americans were taught to prefer a more sylphic body type.

(But why would a grown man want a woman with the body of a young girl?)

Even Tiger Woods was deluded into thinking that this look and body type should go with his billionaire country club lifestyle.

In Tiger's world - this look and body type was the ultimate status symbol.

The Most Hated Man In America ?

Perez Hilton - Fat, Latino and Gay?
Judging by groups which lobby for minority group's rights Mr. Hilton must have it pretty rough.

(I wonder if he vacations in Arizona?)

Hoodalicious

Ghetto Fabulous, Hood Rat, Hoochie, whatever.
Regardless of class, race or culture - everyone seeks status.
Even those who imagine themselves above status seeking are engaging in status seeking by thinking of themselves as being better than those who openly seek status.
(It's kind of a false form of modesty.)
Even Christ was a status seeker.
In His denial of temporal matters He was hoping for an eternal reward on the right hand of God with His enemies at His feet.

WikiLeaks

http://wardiary.wikileaks.org/
Many people would love to eat a nice porterhouse steak - but few would like to see the cow being butchered.
This is the problem the government has with it's alleged "War on Terror".

Most people are in favor of a safe and secure America - but few like to see how that goal is being met.
Most people are in favor of safer schools, streets and neighborhoods - but few would like to see cops killing the innocent in it's efforts to catch the guilty.
Just Google "Cops Kill" and one will notice lists of police officers who have overstepped their bounds.

Am I in favor of a safe and secure America?
Sure...
But not at the expense of creating new enemies to fight.
Am I in favor of safer streets?
Yep, that too.
But not at the expense of creating another generation of future felons left fatherless by an unjust and oppressive system.

Aspirational?

One of my friends is developing a neighborhood which caters to aspirational Blacks in the small town in which I currently live.
What's the name of the main street in the development?
"Yassmine Dior".
Sounds like the name of a stripper at the Player's Club to me.

Pearl Necklaces

I've always had a fondness for women in pearl necklaces.
It probably has something to do with the mothers of friends I'd met when we moved from the hood to a better neighborhood.

The mothers of friends in the hood were nice - but a different kind of nice.
To this day, I can still walk in through the back door of many homes, unannounced, and be given a meal and an earful of advice from these strong Black (but not angry) women.
I will be retold stories of past whoopin's given at the hands of these women when I'd erred as a child.
I will be joked about and laughed at by these women and their families.
But still, these women would buy a car for me if I had none.
(Or at the least, allow me to drive theirs.)
These women would allow me to stay at their home if I was homeless.
These women have my best interest at heart.

As I stated in an earlier post - I was raised to be racist towards whites.
I'm not sure if it was done in a malicious manner so much as it was done to better ones chances of survival during that time and under those conditions.
But I learned something different during my exposure to a different culture in a country club environment.
Many of the mothers wore pearl necklaces and had liberal leanings.
Many were more than happy to help a Black kid who was willing to help himself.
Many were influenced by the rhetoric at the time and the speeches of Malcolm X, MLK and the other leaders of the Civil Rights Movement.
Many of these mothers actually believed that they could initiate the change to what America was imagined to be.
I'd met mothers who believed that Blacks could be just as good (or better) than whites if they were given a fair chance to exploit the same resources.
(Oh, I met some mothers who hated that their little Thad or Biff were bettered by a Black kid - but that is a different post.)

Another blogger took issue with a relative because she asked the question, "Are they called Negroes?".
http://dalynart.blogspot.com/2010/07/are-they-called-negroes.html
But I took the question in a different light.
To me, the elderly woman was asking as not to offend her guests.
To me, the woman was trying to make an effort.

Racist people assume that other people are racist too.
Those who overreacted (One way or the other) to the recent firing of a former USDA official are probably racist themselves.
Some assumed that Shirley Sherrod should have been fired for her 'racist' comments without even knowing the full extent or context of the story.
Others assumed that Mr. Obama should have protected Ms Sherrod from the social and media maelstroms just because she is Black.

It took the incident in Ms Sherrod's story for her to learn that America is divided more by class than race.
I had to learn not to be racist.
Ms Sherrod had to learn not to be racist.
And brohammas' aunt has to learn not to be racist.
Post-Racial?
Not yet.

WTF?

Yeah, yeah...
Fox News and other conservative social commentators were quick to jump on the (imagined) story of an NAACP official being racist.
What else is new?

As bad as white apologists are when they go out of their way to prove how 'fair' they are by being too lenient when it comes to unjust issues involving race - Obama's reaction to this recent story is even worse.
Obama was supposed to have been different.
Obama's perspective was supposed to have more balanced.
Obama was supposed to understand that most issues concerning race were more often more complex than just Black and white.
Obama was supposed to base his decisions on a measured account of the facts and their context - not just to respond in a knee jerk manner as not to appear to favor Blacks.

Was a post-racial America too much to ask with the election of Obama?
Probably so.
But the hope was for a diverse Obama administration to treat every instance from the perspective of well rounded individuals - not from the perspective of "white=good", "Black=bad".
(Or the even more harmful overreaction of being unjust in the hopes of appearing just.)

WTF?

How does a stable family man who was raised by a single mother,
has graduated from Columbia University and Harvard,
won a Grammy and a Nobel prize,
who is young, articulate and even somewhat athletic become...

This?

Or this?

Or this?

Or this? (Even though he is half-Black and half-white and raised in Asian influenced environments: Hawaii and Indonesia.)

And eventually this?

Isn't Barack Obama the realization of the American Dream?

Are those who so vigorously oppose Obama really disappointed with his policies and actions (I'm no fan of many of his actions - but if Ike had problems with the early stages of the Military Industrial Congressional Complex so would anyone else with the fully evolved being) - or are they really disappointed because it is not they who have overcome all that society has stacked against them?

Are they really mad because he has done what they only wish they could do?

I guess when all else fails, it's time to turn someone who represents all that was promised in America into some type of "Alien" or "Other".

Asians Are Vapid Too?

While the godfather of young adult driven reality television shows attempted to show real life for those who were exposed to those who grew up in worlds different from their own - many of today's youth-driven reality shows have taken a different path.
The Real World attempted to explore the differences and similarities between different genders, races, sexual orientations, traditions and cultures.
The original show featured young adults who were probably more talented and driven than those of a similar demographic.
Eric, Heather, Kevin, et al. all had careers after their stint on the show.
These people became more successful after the show - not because of it.

But The Hills created a newer self-centered model for youth driven reality television.
This cast was probably a bit more glamorous than the average young adult.
This cast was even more segregated than the average young adult living in Southern California.

But as Baldwin Hills showed - this segregation wasn't driven by the level of ones looks, money or education.
Many Blacks in Southern California (and elsewhere) lived better than the average American too.

But then producers decided to go low-rent on the East Coast.

Jersey Shore seems like a bad episode of "WOPS Gone Wild".

Now Asians are getting in on the act too.

K-Town (Although all of the cast members are not solely of Korean descent) returns the genre to the West Coast and shows that all Asians are not all bookish nerds nor "The Model Minority".

My only hope is that these shows actually show that interaction between these groups does actually take place in real life.

That (at least out West) race may be a factor in whom one chooses to hang out with - but it is rarely the factor among those of a similar socioeconomic background.

(Kind of like the original Real World.)

A World Series Ring ?

Khloe can wear Lamar's NBA Championship ring,
Kim can wear Reggie's Super Bowl ring,'
Even Kris can wear Bruce's Olympic Gold medal.
What's left for Kourtney - a World Series ring?

Grey Dot

I'm a huge fan of learning from others.
I try to glean knowledge from those who have knowledge in areas where I have little or none.
But this doesn't mean that I am have to become that person or group.
This does not mean that their ways are better than mine.
This only means that I am a bit thin where they may have a bit more depth.
Or that I may have more depth where they are a bit thin.
To be truly equal - one cannot become the other.
One must always be himself.
It is only under such conditions where the Yin and the Yang are in balance.
The Yin doesn't hate the Yang, and the Yang doesn't hate the Yin - it is only that they are not the same.
But still, each recognizes that the other is it's equal.

If one becomes the other this balance is lost and all we end up with is a static and impotent grey dot.

Wattstax

Maybe I should have listened to Invisible Woman and Mills a bit sooner in taking their advice to see the old documentary Wattstax.
Being a huge fan of Public Enemy - I never knew that it was from this film that Chuck D sampled so many lines for his group's albums.
(i.e. "Freedom is a road seldom traveled by the multitude..." - which begins my favorite PE song, Show Em What Ya' Got.)
I never knew that this film showcased material from Richard Pryor's "That Nigger's Crazy" LP.
I never knew that Sisco stole his look from the lead singer of the Bar Kays.
I never knew that Ted Lange did more than appear as Issac on The Love Boat, or that Woody from Sanford and Son was ever young.
While Mills is gone and IW seems to be taking a break - what else ya' got as far as being requisite in the genre of classic Black cinema?

Angels and Demons

Even before the story of Cain and Abel - there were stories of light skin being good while darker skin or marks were seen as being a curse.
Some religions (and by extension - governments.) have used this school of thought as their reasoning for oppressing other racial and ethnic groups.

Most accounts of Eve portray her as lily white and pure.

While accounts of Adam's original wife, Lilith (Lilitu), portray her as ethnic, rebellious and animal-like.

It's odd that stories warn Little Red Riding Hood of the dark beastly wolf.

Even though Lilith is said to have been the first vampire - most modern vampires are portrayed as more urbane than urban.

More European than ethnic.

More human than beastly.

Even in the popular Twilight series - the vampire is white while the werewolf is more ethnic.

Werewolves are often portrayed as uncontrollable beasts.

Angels are often portrayed as being attractive and sylphic.

Even in today's pop-culture,

"Angels' are seen as being the most attractive of those who fit within a certain set of parameters.

But wasn't Lucifer himself (Or herself) described as being one of the most beautiful angels in all of Heaven?

When did "evil" become associated with being Black?

Throughout History

The elongated head imagery seems to have been the status symbol for those who wished to project the image of power, affluence or superiority throughout history.
When this longer head was not possible - many resorted to head wear or hairstyles to imitate the look often seen on our current models of aliens.

(HT - SeeNew & doll)