A Warped POV by A. Dacosta Brathway

January 23rd, Saturday/ Where was I last week on the Monday that Martin Luther King's birthday was celebrated? I usually get up at 6 a.m. by radio alarm to the Mike and Mike Show on ESPN radio. I was informed that "Greenie" ( The real thin Mike) referred to MLK as Martin Luther "Coon!" I got the information out of context so...
But, I heard that and I also heard that there is a group that is considering starting an all white pro basketball league! (No Negroes allowed!)
Here is my point... Racism is alive and well. It does not go away... EVER! It's like herpes. Now, here's the irony. If Black Americans are so disregarded and disrespected and unwanted in America, why did some dumb ass even have the bright idea to bring us here in the first place?

A Warped POV by A. Dacosta Brathway

I do not have a taste for American politics. I don't care about the process of it, the results of it, nor do I care that history is kind to it. It is a dirty process designed by dirty people who get quite rich from it. Right now History is being made in it. A Black man is running against a White woman for the Democratic nomination. I'm sure to most Americans is some big deal(?). I guess... But I'm thinking that no matter who gets the nomination and, lets say, one of those people wins the presidential election, I'm wondering how effective that person could be to exact change considering the mentality of the American people? Why am I even pondering this question? Well, I read an article in the Wall Street Journal about a woman named Valerie Benjamin who had a Hillary Clinton sticker on her van. She was waiting for a light when a man pulled up beside her, saw the sticker, rolled his window down to shout to her, "You can be for Hillary all you want, but there is no way that thing is going to win!"
Sure the statement is sexist. But is it wrong to say? America is supposed to be the poster country for freedom, but is it in good taste to voice your ignorant opinions, arbitrarily to people you don't even know just because you have the freedom to say what you want?
There is another issue here, as I see it, that speaks to what a black man or a white woman could do if they were in the White House? Would either one be able to exact change for the betterment of all races in America? By calling Hillary Clinton a "thing" clearly, to me, speaks to a population of bigotry that has not and will not go away willingly. (I can only imagine what Obama is being called to his bumper sticker face!) It's funny that there is a population of people who thought GWB was the answer for eight years. I guess he was if you like bankruptcy. Not only did he bring down a company and a baseball team, he has now managed to bring down a whole country! But hey, that's business as usual in politics in America. It seems like the attitude about politics is like what the character, Norman Gechco (is that spelled right?)in the movie "Wall Street," felt about destroying a business at the expense of the workers. Wreck it because it is "wreckable!" And with that line of thinking, maybe it is okay to be a bigot. Be one because you can if you want!

A Warped POV by A. Dacosta Brathway

I saw it! I saw the basketball documentary called Black Magic and I have to say that the intention of it being shown during the NCAA's big event added, yet, another reason to love basketball at this time of year. That being said, it left a sour taste in my mouth because of the timing of its showing. Why?/ Basically, "Black Magic" blended into the fabric of the bigger picture and disappeared. It was that "feel good" feature where we get to see some of the history of the game. Sadly, nothing has changed to right the wrongs that have taken place in the sport as it relates to black coaches being treated fairly and equally. Blacks basketball royality was treated very harshly but that can be blamed to the times. The Civil Rights Movement was the backdrop to the piece and it also served as the explanation for the many wrongs black coaches faced. But what is so different now? What, blacks are not being attacked by dogs at the extention of a police officer's arm? What, blacks can eat next to whites in a restaurant? What? We can all use the same water fountain and restrooms? What about the disproportionate hirings of black coaches at major universities? Oh, my bad, that has gotten better too?/ I don't know if I feel so good that a white coach took a bunch of black players and dared to challenge and beat Kentucky, which had an all white team anymore. And the title, Black Magic implies, to me, that black athletes seem to carry a chicken's foot in their socks or rattle bones in a plate in the locker room before a game. Black athletes train as hard as anybody when it comes to playing sports, in general, basketball in particular. Earl Monroe did not represent black magic as it were. He was a highly skilled player and his feats are diminished by calling him "Black Magic" or "Black Jesus!" Why couldn't he be Earl Monroe, one of the baddest ever? Same for Cleo Hill and Peewee Kirkland... And, what about Ben Jobe and "Big House" Gaines? How come they are not mentioned everytime a coach"s wins are mentioned? Dean Smith and Bobby Knight are always mentioned! At one point I thought that they were the only two coaches that won a lot of basketball games until Mike krzyzewski showed up./ C'mon... Stop screwing around with my head and do the right thing. Either show the documentary and pieces about black's contributions year round or, when you do show it, get me a Coke and some popcorn at your expense. The never seems to be a problem treating blacks like an afterthought at a black's expense!