Some Shit I Will Never Forget!

March 9th, Saturday... Living in America is a challenge! There are so many obstacles  to overcome, it blows the mind! Housing is bad. Making decent money is hard. Jobs are scarce.People are cranky. There is a gun problem....A gang problem. Education is inadequate. People are frustrated! And then there is the biggy... RACISM!!!In the land of freedom (allegedly) racism plays a big role in the demise of the fabric of American society. There is no getting around it. It affects everyone! (Even the ones in denial.)
I will never forget my first encounter with racism. It was a very cold and snowy morning on January 30, 1951. It was approximitly 3 a.m. I was the tender age of 3 seconds old when a white, Jewish doctor smacked me on my ass! (That shit hurt!) My mother did not (could not) defend me. She was too busy complaining about her back hurting. I was dangling upside down, being held by my feet like a captured slave. I was hungry and hurting. I felt like I passed through a tight tunnel... searching for FREEDOM! (Harriett, where were you when I needed you?) Ever since then, it has been down hill for me.
I don't know what other people's walk of life is like, but if it is anything like mine, they are in for a rough time. If only a little compassion could be exercised. If only people could be mindful of the fact that we need each other to make things better... Ahhh... What the hell am I thinking? This is America!

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

September 10th, Thursday/ Okay, if you have been sleeping and missed the confrontation between the representative from South Carolina and the President of the United States, check this out... Representative Joe Wilson (Rep. South Carolina) called President Obama a "liar" during his speech on health care the other day. Now... I don't know where people stand on this but this is where I stand. People are going to stand one way or the other on this. There will be many opinions about who said what and how it is disrespectful to heckle the President and whatever; but, The very fact that the Representative felt comfortable enough to say what he said is appalling to me. Yes, this is America and you have the right to do whatever... You also have the right to remain silent...Here is an elected official who doesn't even have the self respect or the intelligence to know what is appropriate in that setting to say what he said. How the fuck did he get elected in the first place? But it does not matter that he is elected. What matters most is how he will be treated after the fact. What is the perception of Joe Wilson now? Is he just a guy who made a mistake or is he a guy who harbors racist views?
Yeah, right, he will be forgiven and all will be forgotten by those who think the same way. He was insubordinate and probably should be kicked out of his position... But, of course, that wouldn't be American now would it?

A Warped POV by A. Dacosta Brathway

February 20th, Friday/ I just heard about a cartoon published by the NY Post the other day. The cartoon was of two cops shooting a monkey and the caption referenced that the country had to find someone else to sign the stimulus package. (The package was to be signed by President O'Bama!) Then I heard their excuse for publishing it. The excuse for publishing the cartoon was that they were referencing the monkey in the cartoon to the chimp that is in the news for ripping the face off of her owner. (By the way: The chimp has nothing to do with signing the stimulus package!) So, the inference is that the cartoon is a racist remark directed towards the President of the United States, who just happens to be a Black man. Now Al Sharpton is involved and there are picket lines in front of the Post's office building, to which the Post objects to and has dubbed Al Sharpton as a publicity hound. (Another animal reference towards a black man!)
Racism aside, there is another problem here; well, two really. There is a woman in Connecticut without a face and there is a chimp that has not received the proper therapy it probably needed for quite some time!
And, is yet another message being sent, by the cartoonist, that the President has the capacity to go crazy and rip off the face of his significant other, be shot by the SS, and thereby not sign the stimulus package? Where would we be as a nation if that were to happen?
Just look at the domino effect that could happen because of what someone considered to be a harmless joke!

Passing Judgment/ A Commentary by Al Brathway

So I'm watching TV today (I'm off from work for reasons I cannot explain) and I'm flipping channels... I have to say BRAVO to the show Shear Genius! I have seen the show from the beginning of this season and I have to say that this show has set race relations back quite a few hundred years. Now, I'm not saying the show is rigged but tell me why a brother is picked to work on white folks hair, with the understanding that the task is going to be real difficult for him, and then cut his ass out in the first episode like the removal of an extension? Okay, he was cocky... Maybe too cocky but so is the big-headed gay dude with the glasses and the bad attitude. (So far he's done nothing but criticize everybody else and win one challenge!) What are they doing with him? Is he gonna get his own show or will he return on another hair show to criticize other hair stylists? The score could be evened up somewhat if they brought the brother back and let him criticize other people. (I can hear him now..."If you really want a challenge, try cuttin' a sista's hair without fuckin' it up and her goin' postal on yo' ass!") I don't know... I just feel like even TV does not want Blacks to watch it. I mean, who's reality is a "reality" show created for? Sure I am exaggerating (a little) but c'mon. Seriously, am I supposed to find that real estate dude on "Flipping Out" compelling? Neurotic, yes... Silly, for sure... But not compelling... (Wait a minute, he does kind of compel me to want to choke his scrawny neck!) "Housewives of Orange County?" They don't even live like that! And the New York version? Please!!! I guess if I want "reality" on TV I should go back to watching network news. At least I will see more brothers... (Their heads will be down and they will be handcuffed but I will recognize them...)