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Politicin'

• 01.22.08
  New Era, Same Injustice Politicin' | (6)

  The more things change…New Era Cap, long time maker of baseball caps (sold worldwide) is heavy-handedly employing anti-union scare tactics against New Era workers in Mobile, AL. The workers recently formed a union to combat poverty wages, racial discrimination, sexism, and other related issues.

  As a former consumer of New Era Caps, I encourage you to participate in the fight against this type of workplace inequality — the Union Voice is leading an email and fax charge against New Era and several of the company’s client organizations, including the Boston Red Sox, are included in the contact list.

  Please take a moment and participate. It is time to raise the level of awareness about New Era Cap. It is time to ensure that the same-ol’ does not remain that way.

• 08.01.07
  Maximum Wage Cap Politicin' | (14)

  TRUTH? It’s likely that I’m a fan of capitalism. I relieve myself of hard-earned dividends to obtain Comics, kicks, gadgets, and other symbols of mass consumerism.

  It is a choice that I strategically make and take into consideration factors such as actual necessities like food and shelter, paying bills on time, etc. I’ve been caught up in excess and when I realized it, I actually masterminded the Throwaway Liberation to balance out personal mass consumption.

  All of that said, I live within my means — respectable, but, not stellar. Every dime spent is logically weighed (as much as I can get down with logic of spending). What about those cats out there, in particular entertainers, sports athletes, etc who live with excess and don’t have to weigh the costs? Their financial grip on reality is non-existent. The means at their disposal ensures that they can and will pay any price — driving the overall price of everything up.

  Think one monkey can’t stop the show? Let this marinate — If I am an entertainer or athelete who is able and willing to get down with a pair of leopard skin briefs for $1500, what is stopping retailers from charging that as the normal price? The impact for cats like me (no, I don’t want leopard skinned briefs — but, if you buy me some….), and you, is that we have to deal with the inflated price.

  One way to address this problem is droppin’ a financial glass ceiling on cats who make too much — a maximum wage cap. Did I blow your mind? Are you still with me? Or is your brain bucklin’ under the pressure of that concussion bomb I just hit you upside the head with? Do entertainers and atheletes really need to make that much more than we do? $250k a year seems like a solid cap to me. I know that if I’m pullin’ in that much, I can raise two youngbloods, send them through college, own a home, car, pay bills, buy food, and still get down with a couple of trips during the year while living comfortably in general. Imagine if everyone could get down like that.

  I target athletes and entertainers because, in general, quite a few of them are likely not putting that excess towards something worthwhile. If Kobe can make up with his wife that he cheated on with a 4-million-dollar bling, uh, ring, then that lets me know what frequency his mentals operate on. TRUTH? Every once and awhile, you have to bust some caps — why not bust a maximum wage cap on this sphere of consumers?

• 07.30.07
  Hot Ghetto Mess Politicin' | (4)

  This morning Laura hit me with some links about the BET Hot Ghetto Mess controversy. On NPR, John Ridley weighed in on it. In his post, he links to Gina McCauly from What About Our Daughters? who mobilized against BET like the 300 (and won).

  TRUTH? BET hasn’t been Black Entertainment Television for over a decade and their programming has been suspect, forreal. Ridley wonders if winning is relative? Possibly.

  The women of What About Our Daughters? were strong activists against the show that BET was attempting to push — with strong support from their audience and reaching out beyond the sphere of blogging, they were able to impact the world around them and exact some change. If that isn’t an example of a modern day power-move, I don’t know what is. Get down with the links and decide for yourself.

• 07.16.07
  Managing Racist Perceptions Politicin' | (11)

  TRUTH? Black people need to self-impose a cease and desist when attempting to validate the racist nature of an issue. The whole scenario is counter-productive. Instead, play it like a surgeon and dissect the matter from thirty-thousand feet to ground zero.

  RaceWire is the blog for Colorlines, an online zine that focuses on race and politics. Today RaceWire published a news post on whether or not [Is] Mayor Pat McCrory a racist? On the table are comments made by McCrory regarding the large percentage of Black youths imitating (or actively participating in) a gangland lifestyle. The post on RaceWire also links to the original news article on MSNBC.

  Black people, is it important whether or not this cat is racist? Or, is it more important to impact the racial-mindset behind his statements (i.e. his perception about Black youths and gangs)? My comments on RaceWire highlights the same sentiment:

  The larger question is whether or not there is a sliver of truth in his proclamation. Consider a lot of cats out there raised by media babysitters with a compelling visual hustle (e.g. MTV’s high-life hype). There is a percentage of youngbloods out there (male and female alike) that are caught up in what they believe is that next-level format.

  Doesn’t matter if the Mayor is callin’ similar white youths/institutions into question — this one is part of our community and we have a chance to exact some change. We can get down with a format that focuses on an increased exposure to a hustle & flow that stands for something — perception can’t be changed out in the world until it actually changes within our own sphere.

  You dig? BTW — is the Mayor racist? Likely he adheres to a mindset that highlights a negative Black perception. Does it mean the man is completely sideways? Probably not. Are there any stats out there to contradict what he’s puttin’ on Front St.? If not, lets rap about how we can impact his administrations spreadsheets.

  TRUTH? Right or wrong, we are all human beings who are going to adhere to some sort of mindset, regardless. Instead we need to get down with managing the perception about Black people, or we could be found guilty of reinforcing the negativity by letting it slide. BTW — I hit my man Baratunde with the link and he weighs in on it as well. Get down with the science he is dropping.

• 06.28.07
  No Justice, Just Us Politicin' | (7)

  When did it become safe to stop talking about Katrina? It’s been just two years since the sixth strongest atlantic hurricane blazed a path of homewrecking destruction through New Orleans. People died. People were displaced. People were lied to. I’m wracking my mentals trying to recall the last time I viewed any content resembling what’s being done to reshape that part of America. TRUTH? I do remember the week long coverage leading up to Anna Nicole Smith’s funeral. And the mystery over her baby-daddy. And the recap of her pretty unentertaining life.

  A lot of cats are running around this country actin’ like the taste of Katrina has been smacked out of their mouths (and treating the whole scenario as if that’s a good thing™). Ask yourself — why is that? A serious disconnect has happened. The phone is off the hook forreal. Out of mind, out of site? If it’s not hitting you at home, it doesn’t matter? As a human being I’m trippin’. The most powerful country on the planet, or so the pundits of mass miserablism tell me, and little has been done to address this particular hell on earth that exists within our borders. As a Black man, the systematic destruction of Black people in this post-Katrina age has me wondering if we aren’t straight up living in a Birth of a Nation styled era .

  Bill Quigley’s article on urban removal about how to destroy a Black American city is effective in deconstructing racial inequality as it relates to the Katrina aftermath. He hasn’t stopped thinking about Katrina. Neither should you. It’s not clear how to utilize my own hustle & flow to address the collective racism and ignorance that clouds the whole scenario, but one thing is clear — I’ve got to do something. TRUTH? There’s no justice Black folks, just us.

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