Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child

Before I get into the meat of this post, I am going to tell you a little story about my childhood. It was times like the one I am 'fixin' (I have been in Texas way too long) to describe that helped shape me into the man that is writing these words for yall too read.

Anyway here is little blast from my past....

When I became a Senior in High School my Mom extended my curfew from 9:00 on school nights to 10:00. Weekends was extended from 11:00 to Midnight. I followed these rules dillegently because I knew the consequences if I did not. I stretched them to the breaking point of course, but I never broke them.

Well about midway through my Senior year I began talking to an Army Recruiter. I took the entrance test, passed it and talked my mom into letting me sign up. I was going to report to Basic Training at Ft. Jackson, SC one month after I graduated.

Well graduation came around and my Mom extended my curfew again by 2 hours. I thought I was a "man" now, since I was about to leave to "serve my country", so the night before I was supposed to ship out, I got drunk with my guys and stumbled home around 5 in the morning.

Well guess who was waiting on me when I fell through the front door?

My Mom Dukes!!

Not only was she waiting, she had a belt that I was very accostumed to seeing in her hand. She "calmly" asked me where the hell I had been, and who the hell I thought I was coming into her house at 5 in the morning. She then told me to go to my room strip down to my draws and wait on her. (Remember, I was 17 and leaving never to live under her roof again in just a few short hours.)

Well I tried to argue but... To keep this as short as possible, I got my ass tore out the frame.

And to make matters worse my Mom kissed me after she beat me down, told me she loved me amd added that as long as I lived under her roof, BLAH BLAH BLAH, you know the rest.

The moral of this little story is that parents need to discipline their kids. Parents need to stop trying to be friends with their kids and be their kids parents. Parents are responsible for the actions of their under-age kids.

While I was driving to work the other day, I heard on the radio where a man was sent to jail because his dilenquent daughter renigged on a deal she had with a judge to finish her GED. The question that was the topic of the show was should the man have gotten time behind something his daughter did.

His daughter was 16.

My answer....

YES. Not only Yes but HELL Yes!!

In my opinion this man is totally at fault.

First...

Where the hell was he or the mother when his daughter was failing out of school in the first place?

Second...

Why did a judge have to get involved in his family buisness?

So yeah this dude should have been held responsible for the actions that he could have prevented by doing what a father is supposed to do. Of course I don't know the whole story, but from what I gleaned while fighting traffic, I say F@$k this dude, and the judge did right.

What say You?

You Must Not Know 'Bout Me!

Michael Eric Dyson was the guest speaker at my church yesterday.

This is a deep brother. I don't know if he has a theological background or if he went to seminary school, but he has the gift.

He said some things that got me to thinking.
He said that since Black People were forced over here to the good 'ole US of A, White People have constantly forced us to stay behind them, which is true. He said that since we have always been in the so called "back seat" here in America, we have been forced to learn about how White People are.
Again True.
We study White People. We know their habits, their dislikes, their choice of foods, their favorite pastimes, we even know how White People worship their God.

We have to know them in order to survive here. We had to learn their language, their customs, their holidays, we have voted for them in every election this country has ever had. We were forced to take their names, we have married into their families. Some of us have lost our own identities and sense of worth because of the way we have been forced to assimilitate into their culture.

But on the flip side White People have not learned about us. I guess they have felt over the years that they did not need to. They don't know about our traditions, they don't know our foods, they don't know how we worship, they don't know our music, they don't know about what goes on in our neighborhoods. Sometimes they don't even know our language.

They just don't know.

They think they know about us from watching CNN, FOX NEWS, MSNBC, BET, ESPN and reading their local newspapers. But they just don't know.

They don't understand when someone like Jermiah Wright says something about the country that has treated us worse than Harry Potter's aunt and uncle treated him. (I am a huge fan of those books. Don't knock em until you read em!)

They don't understand when someone like Michelle Obama says something like "This is the first time in my adult life that I am proud of my country." They don't know us, therefore they don't understand.

They don't understand why the Black community got so outraged about the JENA 6. They don't know us, therefore they don't understand.

They don't understand Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson. They did not understand Malcom X. They think they understand Martin Luther King, but they don't.

They think that we should be grateful to them for everything that we have accomplished in this country. Granted, there are a few White People that fought side by side with their fellow Black Americans, and there are some that will fight with us today if they have too, but as a whole they don't know about us.

That is the problem with America.

That is the problem with our "LEADERS".

Anything that you don't understand, you don't like. If you don't like it, you don't try to get to know it. If you don't try to get to know it, you listen to other people's views instead of trying to learn for your self.

Everything that White People think they know about us has come from second and third hand sources.

This does not apply to all White Americans however, like I said some have been out in the fields with us.

But as a whole, White Folks just do not know about us.

And that is a damn shame.

My Skin Is My Sin

Hill-Billy won big in West Virginia last night.

What does it all mean?

Well... I am going to tell you.

I am about to post a quote from a man in Kentucky, Hill-Billy's next "big win". I am sure that this is not the only person that feels this way, as we saw last night in West Virginia.

Before you read this keep in mind that this is the year of our lord 2008, not 1964.

Race,” Patrick said matter-of-factly. “I’ve talked to people—a woman who was chair of county elections last year, she said she wouldn’t vote for a black man.” Patrick said he wouldn’t vote for Obama either.

Why not?

“Race. I really don’t want an African-American as President. Race.”

What about race?

“I thought about it. I think he would put too many minorities in positions over the white race. That’s my opinion. After 1964, you saw what the South did.” He meant that it went Republican. “Now what caused that? Race. There’s a lot of white people that just wouldn’t vote for a colored person. Especially older people. They know what happened in the sixties. Under thirty—they don’t remember. I do. I was here.”

This quote came from the New York Times.

There you have it folks. Obama will get trounced in Kentucky the same way he got his ass handed to him in WV, PA, NY and OH.

Why you may ask?

His Skin.

Things have not changed as much as some people would have you think, huh?

Of course this is no surprise to me. I don't need some fancy reporter from some fancy newspaper to tell me what I already know.

Some Americans do not want a Black man to represent them. Not just White Americans, but some Black Americans, Hispanic Americans and Asian Americans.

A Black man was never supposed to get this far.

A Black man was supposed to have gotten killed by now or he will get killed, or He does not have enough experience, or he attended a "racist" church for 20 years, or he doesn't connect to immigrants,or he doesn't connect with "blue" collar (ie white) voters, or the way he handles a basketball he must be from the "hood" or even my favorite, he cannot bowl.

Excuse after Excuse have been made on why this Black man is not qualified to be the leader of the good Ole US of A.

When will this country admit the truth, That no one thinks a Black man is intelligent enough to be Commander in Chief of the "United" States Of America?

Some people in this country still believe that a Black Man is the inferior race. Of course there is nothing to back up this stupid assumption, but some people still believe it.

Some people still believe that the only thing a Black Man is good at is singing, dancing, sports and making babies that we don't take care of. Again there is no proof behind this asinine assumption, but some people still believe it.

Some people still believe that all Black Men are criminals.

Where is the proof?

What will we have to do as men to show the world that we are MEN?

MEN that love their families, respect the law, believe in God and love this dysfunctional-ass country.

We are MEN that are intelligent, values education and some of us are willing to die to get the rights that we have earned.

We are MEN, that by God's greatness were made with hair like lambs wool and skin the color of bronze. Made in HIS (God's) image.

But above all that.....

WE ARE MEN.

Diary of a Unsatisfied Black Man

I am sitting here doing a a little self analysis of myself and I do not like what I am discovering. I feel like am behind the curve ball of my life. I should be further along than I am. I should not be an office worker, I should be an office manager. I should have my Master's degree by now. I should be a father. Well,I should KNOW I am a father, I might be a father, I just have not been informed yet. (I was a wild boy in the military. I have "been" with women all over Europe, and half of these 50 states.)

My finances should be better than they are. I should not at this point in my life have to decide what bill gets paid this pay period and which bill has to wait until... whenever.

In other words I am very dissatisfied with the way I am living.

Don't get me wrong, I am further along than a lot of the cats I grew up with. The ones that are not dead, locked up, been locked up or on the way to be locked up, that is. Which is exactly the situation I would have been in if I had not left for the Army.

I have a woman that loves me, I am a home owner and I somewhat have the respect of my peers.

I just want more in my life.

Am I wrong for feeling like this?

I am a very blessed man. God has always provided everything that I have ever needed.

But... (you know there is always a but)....

I am not satisfied.

I want Kids.

I want to be financially secure. I don't want to be rich, I just want to be alright, ya know?

I want to be in a position where I can start to change some of the things I blog about that irritate me. IE..Mentoring our youth, the discrepancies in our JUST-US System, Education for our youth and our adults.

I just want to make a difference in the world that God has given me. So far I have not done anything that is of note. At least I don't think so.
Maybe I am just being hard on myself.

But If I am not hard on myself, then who will be?

If I don't push myself to be better than I am at this point, who will?

I know I like writing. I think I am pretty damn good at it. Maybe this is what God wants me to do.

I have always enjoyed writing.

Maybe I should use this talent to get what I want out of life.

What do yall think?

This would be sad if it were not true

I "borrowed" this picture from Brightstarr's Blog, Reflection Eternal. This is a very good blog and she always has some interesting stuff there. Check my side-bar to hit her up. I still cannot link anything to my posts and the help desk people over at Blogspot.com are not worth a ripped,wet food stamp, so if you want to check out my girl, again, check my side bar.

I am thinking I may have to find another home soon.

Anyway, This is a short one.

I have some bizzyness to take care of.

One Man's Freedom Fighter Is Another Man's Terrorist

I was over at the Fields blog this morning and I saw a link on his side bar that pissed me off. It seems that some dude thinks that ALL Black American Bloggers are fear mongering, Anti US, living in the past, can't get over slavery and years of injustice, assholes. He seems to think that we talk too much about the wrongs in our beautiful country and not enough about all the rights. It seems to me that this brother is sadly misinformed. Yes, I did say brother. This M$#%@$#f#$@$@ is Black.
I have many links on my sidebar to Black Blogs that are informative, funny, and that discuss all topics from fatherhood, to everyday life experiences. I even slide into different topics here on A Black man's View. I don't always talk about the negatives in our society. But I guess that is what makes this country so great, everyone has a right to their own opinion, no matter how ignorant and ass backwards it is.
Oh well, I guess after this post I will be added to the Anti US blogs on this assholes sidebar.

But ask me if I give a shit....

Nelson Mandela is on the United States terrorist watch list.

How can this be, you may ask?

It seems that Mr. Mandela was placed on South Africa's watch list while he was fighting for the freedom of his fellow black South Africans during that country's apartheid era. The white South African Government thought he was a threat to their democracy, so they banned him. The United States followed that racist country's lead and did the same.

After all this time and after all Mr. Mandela's accomplishments, he is still on my country's Terrorists Watch List. He has to get special permission to travel to the good ole US of A.

How can a man that has spoken out and denounced Terrorism be on OUR watch list?

How can a man that has fought all his life and even went to jail for the freedoms that were denied his fellow black countrymen be a terrorist?

How can an ex- President of a US ally be a terrorist?

I wonder if the leader of Northern Ireland is considered a terrorist?

Is Russia's ex President Putin considered a terrorist?

What about that crazy MF down in Venezuela? Is he considered a terrorist?

Sometimes I wonder about the good ole US of A.

Why are people of color the only people that are considered dangerous when they speak out against the wrongs that have been inflicted upon them by the hands of the majority?

Why are we considered Terrorists when we stand up and speak truth to power?

Why are we considered radicals when we say we will not be mistreated?

Are we the only people on this Earth that do not deserve the same freedoms and rights that are granted to everyone else?

Things that make you go HMMMM....