My mind's playing tricks on me

Brain Damage.

Above is a picture of Adam Lanza as a young boy.

What isn’t in this picture is what’s most important.  What you don’t see is a gun.  What you don’t see is a murderous rage and a desire to ruin the lives of hundreds.  I don’t know why someone would enter an elementary school and open fire on 5 and 6 year old children but the fact is, something happened between the date this picture was taken and December 14, 2012 that made Adam pick up that gun and make that choice. 

Scout's Honor...

Boys will be Boys

When the Boy Scouts of America released a statement that they will continue their policy to deny access to homosexual boys, to no surprise, their continued stance angered millions who are sick and tired of dealing with intolerance towards the gay community.  It upset me as well because it’s disheartening to live in a country where we can still be so cruel to our own.  While I will never agree with discrimination against anyone based on their sexual orientation, after some thought, I now wonder if the people who run the Boy Scouts have a point.

Daddy, why don't I have good hair?

The Natural

It’s not everyday that you expect a movie to completely change how you view the world but Chris Rock made that happen for me a few years ago.  When I sat down on the couch to watch Good Hair, I got up off that couch a different person.  I knew that “black hair” was complex but I didn’t realize that my knowledge to that point was essentially the tip of an iceberg the size of Mt. Everest.  Chris made the movie in response to his 5-year-old daughter asking why she didn’t have “good hair”.  He wanted to make a film that not only educated but also made his little girl feel good about herself.  I was asked if I were to have a daughter, would I let her have a perm?  My answer was and still is a resounding “no”.

Huey Freeman would be proud...

Take a Stand.

Life is complex.  This isn’t breaking news but worth mentioning because we as human beings, try to do everything possible to combat that.  We use technology to do things faster, we automate anything that doesn’t require our immediate attention, and we come up with clichés and mantras to help simplify what takes place in our lives.  If you really think about it, the entire study of philosophy only exists because life can be difficult to comprehend.  The following statement has always been one of my favorites and explains exactly why I made a particular decision.

Can't we all just get along?

Gray Areas (Pt. 2)

If you haven’t read part 1 of this Trayvon Martin discussion, click here.

Let’s talk about the fact that George Zimmerman wasn’t arrested for nearly a month and a half after, admittedly, shooting and killing someone.  Let’s talk about the fact that the Sanford Police Department took George at his word and had no intention to question him any further after his initial report.  If you’re paying attention, this is exactly why black people rioted after the Rodney King verdict and jumped for joy after OJ was set free.  More truth:  Black people couldn’t care less about Rodney King or Orenthal J. Simpson.  To quote Chris Rock, “I ain’t get my OJ prize in the mail”.  The riots were an angry response to those officers being set free despite having their brutality against a black man caught on videotape.  The jubilation after OJ was found “not guilty” was about vindication because white people finally got to feel what its like to be on the short end of the legal stick.  I don’t care how you word a “stand your ground” law, if you kill someone and there are no clear witnesses or video, it must go through the courts.  George Zimmerman claimed self-defense. To which I ask, what other explanation did the cops expect him to give?  Did they think he would say, “hey look, I was racially profiling, got scared and things got out of hand?” 

Squeeze first, ask questions last...

Gray Areas (Pt. 1)

Rodney.

OJ.

Trayvon.

What do these three individuals have in common?  All three of these individuals took the nation by storm with highly publicized cases.  All three of these individuals have or will have (in Trayvon’s case) their entire trials play out on television like some poorly written reality show.  And the facts all three of these cases took a back seat to emotions because this country still can’t talk about race.

Why do we have Black History Month?

Blah History Month

This is going to sound wrong.

I’m sick of Black History Month.  I really am.  This isn’t a petition for its banishment because I still grasp its significance; but after nearly 30 years, I’m just tired of it. 

Don’t worry… I have my reasons.

Are you Watching The Throne?

iLive

Go to YouTube and search for any recent concert and you’ll notice two things: the awful sound quality and how the crowd looks like a heard of lighting bugs.  Cell phones light up the arena not in your typical fashion (think Woodstock), but to record everything on stage.  Last Summer I tried to do this at a 4^th of July concert in Philly.  The Roots were playing one of my favorite songs from the Things Fall Apart album and I wanted to get a video of it.  I grabbed the phone, held it up and pressed record.  After only 10 seconds, things fell apart.

My car broke down!

99%

The other day I was running some errands and was on my way to get a haircut when I found myself having to parallel park on a busy street.  As I pulled up, I noticed that the light behind me had turned green and in a few short seconds cars would be flying by and a) I didn’t feel like waiting for all these cars to pass and b) I didn’t feel like having one of those cars clip me trying to pass.  So like dozens of times before, I cut the wheel fast and surgically snaked my car into that spot.  As I was getting ready to get out of the car, I noticed smoke coming from the hood and seeping through the vents.

War Torn.

Casualties

32 people were shot in a hail of gunfire over a three-day span.  The 20 separate incidents left 7 people dead.

These kinds of headlines are all too familiar when your country has been at war with two countries for nearly 10 years. We’ve become so numb to it that these reports are just temporary hiccups between the gossip and sports columns.  Because shootings and killings go hand in hand with war, the shock and emotional attachment has all but worn off.  However the shootings that I described above did not happen during a combat mission, those 32 people we’re wearing army fatigues and not one of those 7 bodies were found on a street in Afghanistan.

If I could turn back time...

Turn Back Time

“Getting old sucks.”

- My mom.

Getting old is an interesting concept.  At first you can’t wait to be “older”.  In elementary school, you loved being able to brag to your friends that you are older than they are as if being 9 puts you higher on the totem pole.  You can’t wait to turn 13 and officially be a teenager.  18 allows you to drive and finally 21 makes everyone happy because you finally get to drink (legally), gamble (legally) go to all clubs (legally) and are officially considered an adult.  For those years, getting old is awesome.  But around “24-ish”…

Feeling down an out? Well I have the solution for just $19.95!

CONfidence

There is an industry out there that is guaranteed to make a profit.  It’s recession proof and has been successful for generations.  Although there’s a lot of competition, a seemingly endless supply of customers makes the pie large enough for everyone.  The supply of customers is endless because at one time or another, every man, woman and child suffers from the same problem.

You deserve more but I hope these words are a good start...

Hero.

We love our heroes.  We love giving them medals and holding ceremonies in their honor.  We love watching movies about their lives, and having our children idolize them.  It’s why we give our soldiers their own holiday and lend our support to the police and fire department.  We even stretch the definition of hero to include teachers, doctors and philanthropists.   We don’t however include recovering addicts in the conversation of heroism.

No man is an island, not even a peninsula

Family Ties.

The worst thing to be in this world is lonely.  Even if you are successful, that feeling of accomplishment is extremely short-lived if you don’t have anyone to share it with.  I can’t say that I’ve ever met an unhappy person who has people in their corner that love and support him. There’s absolutely nothing like being a part of a family.

Sam Cooke said it, now pay attention.

Growing Pains

Like most men, I have had the same leather wallet for over a decade and if you were to look inside it, you would see a small plastic pocket that is large enough to fit two quarters.  In a world of ATM’s and credit cards, you may have forgotten just why the wallet manufacturers made an attempt to ensure that I have a place for those coins.  Well before cell phones made it into the hands of millions, you kept a quarter or two in order to use a pay phone.

Teen Mom.

Birth Control.

 “I wish Magic Johnson would just die already…”

- Anonymous Gym Teacher

Out of context, my former High School gym teacher appears to be a bit mean.  But the point that he was making couldn’t be further from that.  In 1992 when Magic announced that he was HIV positive, it sent shockwaves throughout the country.  It led to a heightened awareness for safe sex and getting tested.  We all expected to watch Magic wither away and die but the complete opposite happened.  With his access to top-notch medicine, Magic is actually healthy.  So my teacher felt that Magic’s health was giving off the impression that it’s “okay” to have HIV and proper protection wasn’t necessary.  So yes the quote was harsh, but he made a lot of sense.

I couldn't make this up if I tried.

Doubt.

I saw this special news report on TV about a European company that is under a lot of fire.  They are a large company that focuses on childcare with multiple locations. The organization came under intense scrutiny because one of the children told his mother that one of the counselors touched him improperly.  The public outcry was small at first but more and more children began coming out, some years after attending the daycare facility.  Their stories were the same: counselors touched, or made them do inappropriate things. 

What about us?

Problem Child

As President Obama tries to improve the “No Child Left Behind” act, it got me thinking about our nation’s children.  Having been raised in New York and currently working with youth in Philadelphia, without question, our nation has failed many of our children.  The solution to this problem often gets caught up in pointless debates and the need to be politically correct.  People are afraid to offend so they decide to appease rather than be completely honest.  Although a solution is no easy task, its impossible if we don’t collectively agree to this notion…

Every child can’t be saved.

I filled it out... but I don't think I'm properly counted.

Who do you think I am?

As you may know the U.S. government is spending an incredible amount of money and time hoping people fill out the census.  I won’t get into the antiquated process - you would think that by 2010, someone would have figured out a better way to count the number of people in the country.  I digress.  This is about one small little line under “What is this person’s race?”

When Animals Attack!

Free Willy

Let’s get one thing clear.  I don’t care how cute you think it is, there is a reason why they call it a “Killer” Whale.  Recently at a Sea World event, a killer whale named “Tilly” killed a trainer after she accidently fell into the water just before a live show.  This isn’t the first time that an animal has killed a trainer – its not even the first time that this particular whale has been involved in a person’s death.  What should we learn from this?