11:59 pm

I Disliked my Racist Colleague so I Punched Her in the Face – HARLEM - If you’re like the rest of America, there’s a damn good chance you hate your boss, somebody at work, or both.  It really doesn’t matter what these people do to you but something inside just makes you hate their guts.  When you do completely despise someone this much, what do you do in retaliation?  Do you stalk them after night class, knock them over the head and stuff them in your trunk for late-night swirlie in the faculty restrooms?  Or, do run into their office wearing a clown mask and swinging numchucks, chip a few teeth, then ran back out across the football field into the woods?  Nope.  You just get them drunk and punch them in the face.

An acclaimed Columbia architecture professor known to all as ”Doc” punched a female colleague in the face at a Harlem bar Saturday night.  Apparently it was over some racist remarks made during a conversation they were having over drinks, and lingering feelings after a conversation on the same subject weeks before.  The professor, who is black, had been engaged in a fiery discussion about “white privilege” with the female victim, who is white, and another while male bar patron, also a victim of an ass whipping, when the knock blow landed.  “The punch was so loud, the kitchen workers in the back heard it over all the noise,” said a cook.  “One of the wise ass solid boys ran over to the lady while she was laying on the ground and said ‘damn, you got knocked the fluck out biatch.’  Then the dude who started the fight shoved Doc and said ‘You don’t hit a woman old man’ but Doc ended up knocking him out too.” (http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/prof_busted_in_columbia_gal_punch_JmsXQ3NzaAt8uG6uUySGTN)

The woman was spotted wearing a scarf and dark sunglasses on campus yesterday to conceal the black eye that she got for making racist remarks. Upon being mobbed by reporters she declined to comment on the alleged attack, other than to say it was total bullshit that a man hit a woman for making racist remarks.   The professor wasn’t availabe for his side of the story but it’s always the same thing: you just can’t get along with people at work.  The real lesson here wasn’t in the classroom, it’s from the streets.  If an educated white woman makes a racist comment to an educated black man, she’s getting punched in the face for being a racist.

The Biggotry of Bob Griese – ESPN -  Have you ever noticed the “old boy network” ever-present in the American sports broadcasting ranks?  It’s that fine line between letting a sports legend get away with an ethnic slur on television and firing a nobody for telling a harmless fart  joke.  Like that time when broadcast bigshot Don Imus called a predominately black women’s college basketball team a “bunch of nappy-headed hoes” and all he got was a 3 month blacklisting and a huge raise when he went to do a show on a network affiliate.  Or how about way back in the day when Howard Cossel so eloquently said of Art Monk, “Just look at that little monkey go.”  Poor Howard. He was fired before he got out to the parking lot after the game.  Well, Bob Griese just showed his alleged biggotry on ESPN ,and they didn’t do a damn thing except send him on vacation.

Earlier today Griese, a former Miami Dolphin standout, was suspended one week, yep only a week,  for an ethnice wisecrack he made about NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya.  According to a memo from the ESPN human resource department, Griese will not be working any games this week but will instead be playing golf in the Bahamas on a docket paid for by ESPN.   Griese seemed to be care-free after his suspense and said he understood the comment was inappropriate.  During ESPN’s broadcast of the Minnesota-Ohio State game Saturday, a video was shown listing the top drivers in the NASCAR standings.  A fellow announcer covering the game pointed out that Montoya, a Colombian, was not on the list and anted to know where hewas.  Griese took a swig  of beer and said that Montoya was “out having a taco and waiting to score some blow.” (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091026/ap_on_sp_co_ne/fbc_espn_griese_suspended)

Since the remarks Griese has twice apologized on air and sent Montoya a $1500 Taco John’s gift certifate.  At a press conference early yesterday Montoya delclined to comment on Griese’s and his paddy cake suspension. He brushed off the enthnic slur and said he’d never heard of a bigot named Bob Griese, but we all know that’s untrue.  If it isn’t, ask yourself one question.  Who is more acclaimed for their athletic prowess?  A redneck NASCAR jockey from Spain with a jones for tacos and cocaine or one of the greatest All-American quarterbacks to play the game?  You decide.  In the mean time, let’s all Run to the Border for some Potato Oles,  hold the sniff.

 11:59 pm

The Biggotry of Bob Griese – ESPN -  Have you ever noticed the “old boy network” ever-present in the American sports broadcasting ranks?  It’s that fine line between letting a sports legend get away with an ethnic slur on television and firing a nobody for telling a harmless fart  joke.  Like that time when broadcast bigshot Don Imus called a predominately black women’s college basketball team a “bunch of nappy-headed hoes” and all he got was a 3 month blacklisting and a huge raise when he went to do a show on a network affiliate.  Or how about way back in the day when Howard Cossel so eloquently said of Art Monk, “Just look at that little monkey go.”  Poor Howard. He was fired before he got out to the parking lot after the game.  Well, Bob Griese just showed his alleged biggotry on ESPN, and they didn’t do a damn thing except send him on vacation.

Earlier today Griese, a formerMiami Dolphin standout, was suspended one week, yep only a week,  for an ethnic wisecrack he made about NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya.  According to a memo from the ESPN human resource department, Griese will not be working any games this week but will instead be playing golf in the Bahamas on a docket paid for by ESPN.   Griese seemed to be care-free after his suspense and said he understood the comment was inappropriate.  During ESPN’s broadcast of the Minnesota-Ohio State game Saturday, a video was shown listing the top drivers in the NASCAR standings.  A fellow announcer covering the game pointed out that Montoya, a Colombian, was not on the list and wanted to know where he was.  Griese took a swig  of beer and said that Montoya was “out having a taco and waiting to score some blow.” (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091026/ap_on_sp_co_ne/fbc_espn_griese_suspended)

Since the remarks Griese has twice apologized on air and sent Montoya a $1500 Taco John’s gift certifate.  At a press conference early yesterday Montoya delclined to comment on Griese and his paddy cake suspension. He brushed off the enthnic slur and said he’d never heard of a bigot named Bob Griese, but we all know that’s untrue.  If it isn’t, ask yourself one question.  Who is more acclaimed for their athletic prowess?  A redneck NASCAR jockey from Spain with a jones for tacos and cocaine or one of the greatest All-American quarterbacks to play the game?  You decide.  In the mean time, let’s all Run to the Border for some Potato Oles,  hold the sniff.

On facebook, I have plenty of friends that post really good things on their profiles for me to read and even blog about. I came across a link on Otep’s FB page, she posted about this Justice of the Peace that denied marriage license to an interracial couple. So I clicked the link, (to read, click here)
I cant say that I am surprised at all, to be honest, I knew things like this still happen. And I wanna slap anyone who is surprised. When people say “in this day and age?” I just shrug and roll my eyes at them. Although racism may seem like something out of date to a lot of people, it still exists, and will always exist in one way or another. If it is not about the way someone looks, its about the way they dress, or what they believe, where they live. People always have their prejudices, no matter who they are. People are easily offended by something… some are more ridiculous than others in their reasoning.
According to the article, a Justice of the Peace refused a marriage license to an interracial couple, his reason being that he knows it would be difficult for the kids they will produce. Hey says “There is a problem with both groups accepting a child from such a marriage, I think those children suffer and I won’t help put them through it.”
“That was one thing that made this so unbelievable, It’s not something you expect in this day and age.” Said the woman to which the license was denied.
Sure, it is not something you want to expect in this day and age, but it does happen, obviously. As wrong as some people might find it to be, racism exists. Do not assume that I am okay with it. I suppose that since it is not me dealing with it, it is easier for me to talk about it without any real emotion attached to it.
I have plenty of friends from different races and different cultures. And I know prejudice exists not only in the white community, but in EVERY community, in one form or another.
With time comes change, sure, but not like one would hope. Its a gray area, nothing is that simple. I have had racist remarks thrown at me because I tend to look like I am of Asian decent to the ignorant people in the south (and no, not all are ignorant, but you can not deny that some are.) I was traveling in Arkansas, going to Little Rock, and was eight months pregnant. My best friend and I stopped in a small town at a convenient store for directions. And the owner of this store was nothing short of rude and cruel to me, but nice to my friend. He wouldn’t even make eye contact, let alone take a glance at me. When we got back in the car, we sat silent for the remainder of the trip. Finally my friend whispered, “He thinks you are Asian or something.” All I could do was shrug. I was speechless. So I do understand the ramifications of such things. If it is not that, then it is because I am from Iceland. Which, believe it or not, has spawned some prejudiced comments as well.
I guess my point being, that was not more than five years ago. So I know that it still exists. And people who assume that it doesn’t are completely blind to the world around them. This planet, we call home, is not a fairy land in some far away galaxy full of love and light. It is the real world.
This article is not even that racist in my view, due to the fact that the couple could have gone to someone else and let that be that. But as a society we are easily offended and people have to pay for offending our psyche and so the vicious cycle remains fully intact. Not only because of the biggots, but also because of the rest of us who keep fueling the fire, prejudice will never die. It pains me to say it, but I truly believe that this world will always have its many struggles, one of them being this.

Biggotry at Microsoft

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_tec_microsoft_poland_picture

Sleazy banks were up to their tricks again this week.  The banksters tried to dupe the US supreme court into letting them discriminate against borrowers with impunity.  “The court ruled that New York state can investigate national banks for discriminatory lending practices and other violations if a court issues subpoenas.

The case stems from a New York case in which the state’s attorney general was investigating whether national banks were offering lower mortgage rates to whites than to black and Hispanic borrowers. The attorney general requested more information from those banks, including Citibank, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, but the banks went to court to block the request. They argued that since they were subject to federal law, branch banks were not subject to state lending laws.

The case resulted in a lawsuit supported by 49 states, arguing that only they have the resources to adequately enforce consumer protection laws.”

Courtesy of NPR

“I believe that being Gay is a choice”

-People everywhere who don’t have a clue what they’re talking about.

I’m tired of these words.  I’ve heard them three times in the last week.  It’s not always that direct, sometimes it’s more subtle, use of the phrase “Life Choice” or “Sexual Preference” (Yes technically that last one used to be the politically correct phrase, but it’s not anymore because of this).  These words usually come at a time during a heated debate over equal rights, or when someone is trying to convince a gay person that they need to change because they’re going to hell.  They’re powerful, they carry a great amount of subtext, and usually achieve two goals for the person who says them: it absolves them of any guilt over their bigotry and reifies any hateful beliefs they may carry, and it undermines the truth regarding the LGBT community.

Get out of Guilt Free Card:

It’s one thing for a Mormon to say that they believe that a black person is sinful or going to hell–yes they used to believe this, they claim that they don’t anymore . . . but to my knowledge the “prophet” hasn’t made any proclamations about it.  Because it’s quite clear a black person is visibly black.

“I’d rather be black than gay because when you’re black you don’t have to tell your mother.”
Charles Pierce

It’s true.  When one is black, we know they are born black, there’s no question here, and nothing can change this.  If an African American wanted to become a mormon, they couldn’t go through ex-black ministries, one doesn’t have to come out as black, you don’t worry about losing your friends over it–not that there aren’t still racist people in this country; but if someone wasn’t going to be friends with an African-American person they wouldn’t talk to them in the first place.  The same even applies to women.  While there are still some insane Southern Baptists out there who believe that the women’s place is subservient to the man. . . blah blah.  You’re still prejudiced towards someone who cannot . . . well.  I was going to say can’t change . . . but that’s an interesting one.  Haha.  I guess we’ll stick with was born that way.

But these “magic” words can change all of that for homophobia.  One can say that they “believe being Gay is a choice”.  So when they condemn you to hell?   They’re not judging, they’re “showing love” by giving truth.

Who uses this?

The funny thing is, you will never hear the supposed “ex-gays” talk about this.  Now I’m not going into some argument over the legitimacy of ex-gay people (The brain-washing they masquerade as therapy is obviously wrong, destructive, evil, against the will of God, and a detriment to us as a society) but I don’t feel it my place to pass judgement on whether another person is straight, gay, or bi-affectionate–no matter their sexual history.  However, one thing they have right, is that they don’t ascribe to this blinding defense.

“One thing we can expect as Christians is a life of denial . . . We don’t choose our feelings . . . I choose every day to deny what comes naturally to me”

So, you’re wondering, what rabble-rousing gay activist did I steal this from?  What vile, God loathing bastard made this up?  Well, that would be Alan Chambers, the leader of Exodus International (Christianity Today, “An Older, Wiser Ex-Gay Movement”)

Exodus International is the largest and “most successful” ex-gay movement in the country.  They are almost twice as “successful” as any other ex-gay reprogramming facility in the world.  That’s right kids, salvation only costs $3,000, and don’t worry: its got a no money back guarantee.  You go in to the program gay, and you kill yourself?  Your parents are out $3,000, plus the cost of your funeral.  You go in gay, and like 85% of all their participants, you come out gay?  Thanks for your donation!  Yes, that is a real number, Exodus international has an 85% “failure” rate.  But even that is a lie, because approximately half of the people who leave “cured” will later realize it was all BS and come out of the closet as still Gay. . . ahh but I digress.  This wasn’t supposed about ex-gay reprogramming, or the effect of traditional belief systems on LGBT suicide rates.

I will say before I get back on track, the article which a majority of this information is from an article in Christianity Today, a conservative magazine.  It is a highly biased piece of work, with the sole intention of proving the legitimacy of ex-gay reprogramming.  However, this piece–jaded as it was to demonstrate why ex-gay is good–was the final piece of literature which convinced me that ex-gay reprogramming was not what God wanted, for myself or anyone else.

So, if even the ex-gays will admit that it’s not a choice, who thinks it is?

Scientifically it’s unfounded, and if you talk to almost ANY Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Affectionate, or Trans individual and have them tell you their testimony, it is more than clear that it’s not a choice.  Anyone who’s ever even heard of the “closet” should be smart enough to realize that it’s not a choice.  But they don’t care about the truth.

Whenever someone uses the “choice” card it’s not about truth, it’s not about helping, it’s a self-defense.  It’s not about love, in any way.  See I truly believe that a lot of people who try to change Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Affectionate, Trans individuals hearts are in the right place.  They really do believe in what they are saying, they really do believe they are trying to help us, THEY are just the ones who are confused.  (This definately doesn’t apply to everyone).  I recently had a conversation with someone, who’s opinion I greatly admire, and someone I have great respect for–and I hope that he knows I’m speaking of him.  He very openly and honestly said he was uncomfortable with this issue and didn’t know how to broach it, but we are now in the middle of having a conversation, which I hope to be personally edifying for both parties.  I know, that if at the end we have to agree-to-disagree, his heart and mind have been in the right place from the beginning, and I love him as a brother for that.

But when they throw the choice in your face, you know they’ve given up.  They’re not listening to you.  They don’t care about you, and more importantly they’re starting to feel self-conscious about THEIR choices.  They know that they are judging, that they have no ground to stand on, and they a fearing their own personal bigoted thoughts, and the idea that they may appear as such.  They’ve stopped caring about you, they’ve stopped caring about the truth.  It doesn’t matter what you or anyone else says, being gay must be a choice.

The fact that being gay is a choice is more important to them then ANYTHING else.

Because then they’re judging your actions, and not your person.  They love you, but hate your sin.  They can claim God loves you, but hate’s your choice.  Of course your “lifestyle” doesn’t have to be legitimate, you chose it.  You don’t need equal protections under the law, you already have it, it’s this choice that separates you.  You don’t need hate-crime protections, just stop this choosing behavior and you’ll be safe!  When they fire you from a job, well they can’t in good conscience affirm your choice; when an LGBT person kills themselves because of the horrible things Christians have done to them, it’s somehow that LGBT person’s fault because this “choice” supposedly causes depression.  It’s your choice to be this way, so you don’t have to be allowed to attend church.  You can’t even be a Christian, because your choosing this sexuality over Christ.

And of course: You chose to be that way, so you can choose to go back.

Which is why some have reached the point, where choice, is more important to them then even the Love of God.

I’m a night owl by nature everyone. I like to watch msnbc, cnn, and Fo(i)x News at 3 am and catch up on my daily happenings in this world. I’ve noticed that since Obama has been president, the bigots have been bold. And I mean bold. Gone is that happy fairy tale of the America that says “oh, racism is here but its not as bad” is completely gone. Now, every chance that they get, nutjobs with a platform are criticizing not based upon credible facts and sources, but upon irrational fears and doubts that they’re supporters carry.

I was watching recently that several key republican supporters were in outrage because they believed Obama was closing down Chrysler dealerships that only gave support and money to Republicans (An outrageous claim to begin with and its a fact that most chrysler dealerships give to republican candidates rather than democratic ones at a rate of 8:1. Just Saying).

Next comes the announcement of Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court. An excellent choice with a woman whose own achievements rival even President Obama’s. (Princeton 2nd in Class, Yale Summa Cum Laude, appointed by 2 presidents beforehand, Bush Sr and Clinton). Now, such cartoons such as Limbaugh are calling her a bigot and a reverse racist (Pause. Is that even possible??) and are saying that her track record is not impressive.

Its a blessing that Obama was elected. It not only rose up hopes but drove the wolves from the woods to be exposed by the lights.

Just Saying

Boss

We are not allowed to discuss 3 things in my fathers house:

Religion

homosexuality

and politics.

Go figure I happen to frequently talk about all 3 on a regular basis.

My dad has strong convictions in his beliefs.  I am always open to a discussion regardless of preference.

I think that it’s not important, but is a healthy exercise to do so.  One must always challenge the mind.  Thinking outside of the box only happens when forced to do so.

Here is what I learned this weekend:

• life isn’t about what you know, its about trying to find the right balance of patience, humility, confidence and pride to find the strength to say:

I know somethings but I don’t know everything.
I need help finding out what I don’t know so I can learn it.

Knowing isn’t half the battle, it is the battle.

You have to break the comfort of routine in order to discourage negative opportunities.

If you question saying it out loud and are not ready to bear the consequences of it being taken negatively, no matter if it’s positive or constructive, it’s probably best not to say anything at all.

You can never truly give up on anything.

If you can’t laugh at yourself, you’re probably doing it wrong.

True comfort  comes from within. The rest is just imaginary.

I don’t know about you but this doesn’t look very tolerant to me.

The Apostle Peter said, “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right” (Acts 10:34-35).

The Apostle John, describing the hue of heaven said, “After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne…” (Revelation 7:9).

Sometimes I wonder how Christians can strive to live for Jesus and tolerate racial prejudices at the same time—actually, I don’t think we can.  In fact, I know we can’t.  Check out this thought-provoking and artistic video by Phil Allen of Shepherd of the Hills Church.

Most of the hits I’ve gotten for my blog have been coming off of people searching for “gay ads on facebook” and similar phrases. Why? Are y’all that upset about gay adverts being displayed to you? Is there a different reason why you’re searching for this phrase? Please leave a comment, I really don’t understand this.

Biggotry.

The hot subject of the day as induced by angry aussie (http://angryaussie.wordpress.com) who is one of my more favourite bloggers, I must admit i have ignored him for some time. But that is presently irrelevant.

As he points out in his youtube video, people generally lose their criticism when talking about it. I mean when your the one being criticised you act quite civil, dont you? There are rarely any extremists when these topics are discussed.

Funnily enough, from the related videos, there soon was many videos about fox news’ biggotry. This here what I am speaking of is not about fox news, it is the media in general. I don’t really watch fox news, or even too much TV, but the biggotry in the general media. This media I talk of covers, Morning news on all channels, youtube, blogging, myspace. Even in the streets, the person at the checkout.

I am going to speak on one particular person, who I am in fact, a fan of. His youtube name is Chris Crocker, he is on a regular basis being a biggot, and being a victim of biggotry. He is a beautiful man, I wish I was as pretty as I see him, and he is opinionated. He says what he thinks and you can’t tell whether he is acting or speaking from the heart. He says it angrilly and is incredibly patronising  but everyone really loves it.

<object width=”425″ height=”355″><param name=”movie” value=”http://www.youtube.com/v/yGMKgLRU-3c&hl=en”></param><param name=”wmode” value=”transparent”></param><embed src=”http://www.youtube.com/v/yGMKgLRU-3c&hl=en” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” wmode=”transparent” width=”425″ height=”355″></embed></object>

In conclusion anyway.

We all are biggots in one way or another, we all have our moments when we declare soemthing, racist, sexist, homo…or hetrophobic, against religionor whatever, just what you need to be somewhat, decent a human being is.

TACT!

-Smiley

oh and btw.

Do you love my new header ^_^