All posts tagged: people

It’s Not Because I’m Young

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I’m a bleeding heart liberal in the heart of Texas. Typically I try to avoid serious political discussions, but sometimes they find me. Last week, I got much more combative than I normally do. Despite what the other person thinks, politics are not something I’ll “understand when I’m older.” I banter about political stuff with the older teacher next door to me all the time. It’s lighthearted, fun, and we are still friends despite being on polar opposite ends of the spectrum. The other day, another teacher joined in our banter. Within minutes, she had begun insulting me.

Transcending America: How Russell Westbrook, Odell Beckham and Cameron Newton Have Changed Black Masculinity

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Originally posted on Joshua Lawrence Lazard:
It’s time for a new black male aesthetic.   Especially one that captures decolonized postmodern black masculinity as well as one that has ontologically transcendent capabilities.  In simpler terms, an aesthetic that allows for black masculinity to not be defined by archaic norms in the realm of fashion, black male-to-male relationships and how one images themselves for the sake of respectability politics. The year 2012 was significant for black male masculinity on several fronts, far too many to discuss here, many of which were around how black men were entering public conversations about black women and black male privilege in social media spheres, to the way that black urban fashion had shed much of its nascent hip hop bagginess trading it in for fitted and skinny jeans, Obama was running for re-election, same-sex marriage in black religious circles was a hot-button topic as the president came out in favor of it, more and more young people were freer to talk about sex and sexuality and at the same time the demographic remained woefully…

Wolves & Sheep

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Originally posted on The Renegade Press:
‘The price of being a sheep is boredom. The price of being a wolf is loneliness. Choose one or the other with great care.’ – Hugh Macleod If you were forced to make a choice between living a life of boredom, or one of loneliness, what would your decision be? Would you choose a stifled existence of mundanity in which you are forced to conform to the whims and needs of the masses? Or would you be comfortable in a life of isolation? Could you find comfort in the knowledge that you will forever be without inspiration, surrounded only by the mediocre and the monotonous? Or would prefer a life of seclusion and segregation? The truth is that you wouldn’t wish to be afflicted by either. If I pushed you into a corner and forced you to make a choice, you would probably shove me back and call me insane. Why would anyone want to make such a ridiculous decision? No matter what avenue you pursued, you would be…

Mindfulness: dig deeper, there’s more to just ‘I don’t care!’

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Originally posted on F R E E D O M:
When you imagine someone say, “I don’t care!”, what’s the first image that pops into your head? A spoiled child? A unreasonable teen? A heartbroken young adult? Or a middle aged paper pusher experiencing mid-life crisis? Whatever scenario came to mind, now think about this. What would the person in the situation do? The likely answer, in the case of a child and the teen, throw a tantrum, be reprimanded for said tantrum – the heartbroken young adult, tell him or herself to get it together, then move on – and in the case of the middle aged paper pusher, convince him or herself this is just how life is and keep it together for the sake of the ‘bigger picture’. However, if you look at all of these scenarios, what is it that they’re all missing? We could of course, throw the catch all phrase – ‘these people need self reflection’ – sure, but what does that mean? What if these people simply went…

Thoughts on the Resting B**ch Face

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Originally posted on Chiradox |ˈkīrəˌdäks |:
Okay, so here’s the thing; there are some people who just look angry in every day life. ?Yes, it’s true; when in a neutral mood?these survivors of resting bitch face exhibit what might be mistaken as a festering?rage. ?I’m sure everyone knows this though. ?These people are constantly having to explain that they’re “alright” and that “really, nothings wrong,” which is why society took it upon itself to create a quick explanation for their condemnation?so that they don’t have to go through the wingding of a long drawn out answer to why they’re wearing the face that they were born with. And all that’s great and good. But then something went wrong. Suddenly it became cool to have Resting Bitch Face Disorder. ?Suddenly, everyone wanted to have a resting bitch face that they could wear around like disposable 3D glasses with the lenses popped out – as a style. ?And we all just sat back, silently idle, letting it happen. So now, you come across people who…

Listen, when the silence speaks.

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Originally posted on A Monologue of the Heart.:
  Listen, when the silence speaks It’s not in words that which you seek It lives in the quiet of the dawn And in the sunset once it’s gone It comes uncovered in the night When darkness sets, embracing light Listen, when the silence speaks It’s not in words that which you seek

Here’s What I Mean When I Say “Pro Black Doesn’t Mean Anti-White”

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Originally posted on Black Millennials:
To be pro-Black does not mean to be anti-white. To be pro-Black means to be anti-white supremacy. I wrote these words in a piece about interracial dating some months ago. The piece argues that being pro-Black means to affirm Black bodies, spirit, and culture while denouncing the evils of white supremacy as unnatural, deadly, and unsustainable. Pro-Blackness is a value system that demands the centering of Black people in a structural world designed by the white ruling corporatist class. Some elements of pro-Blackness posit the belief that white supremacy must be thoroughly destroyed for everlasting Black survival. Upon writing that piece, I’ve seen and heard many — mostly Black folk — similarly express that the pro-Black value system does not ultimately condemn “all” white people, just the omnipotent network of institutions, structures, systems, and constructs derived from white supremacist ideology, and the individual agents that empower them. From social media feeds to think pieces, I’ve seen these expressions manifested in digital space. In the physical realm, I’ve seen nonprofit professionals try to embed the sentiment in grant proposals.…