Why are we so sensitive?

During the election, candidate Barack Obama was constantly confronted with the simple question: "What do you intend to do for the black community?" I am sure that had to be a tough balancing act considering the pressure he was under from all sides. Appealing to voters of all races, creeds and beliefs, his own party, undecided voters and many interest groups who threw their weight behind him while running a historical race had to make him look unsympathetic to black voters. This question came up so much that in a conversation with a friend she pointed out that he is "running to be president of the United States, not of black America!" I agreed with this point and we all know the outcome of that candidacy.

Now it appears that President Obama is losing steam in his popularity while his politics have been a major point of division only an year into his presidency. Where are the dividing points? Well they appear to be kind of obvious, you have the Tea Baggers, birthers, right-wing nut jobs oh and Fox News at the most extreme, other Republicans who disagree with him "strictly" on political matters and then those who are on his side and may or may not disagree with him. After the loss of the Massachusetts Senate seat held by the late Ted Kennedy, the backlash on Twitter was highly palpable. AverageBro, who I follow made some comments concerning the affect of this loss which I could agree with although I supported Obama and voted for him. Some of these comments actually LOST him followers on Twitter. REALLY? Now I don't know (and if you read this AB let me know) if these particular folks were black but I thought they may have been based in AB's reaction to their unfollow.

If that is the case, then why are we so sensitive as a people to criticizing one of our own? While the right conducts a witch hunt against him everyday based on conjecture, fear and hearsay we fail to stand up to unwarranted criticism. On the other hand, when there is legitimate room for debate on the issues of the day and how the president may or may not be coming up to par, we get offended and think that we are rising up against him. This is scarily reminiscent of how happy we were one year ago today during the inauguration, wearing our Obama clothes, dancing happily in the streets and packing DC to celebrate. Did Obama have a positive influence on us as a people? Well some of us I am afraid to say. How can we be so proud of one of our own becoming president but then return home and still do the negative things that shed such an ugly light on our community. Why can't we come together? Every other minority group, no matter what rallies around each other in good and bad, however we rallied, prayed and did all we could to get Obama in office and we STILL look like BET on some levels. Maybe I just figured out why Obama stayed neutral on What do you intend to do for the black community?" He can only do so much for us as a people, we have to come together and do the rest. Class dismissed...

Fried Green Slavery

Am I the only person who finds the show "Down Home with the Neely's" the 21st century's Amos and Andy? I mean really, it is bad enough that these two have too many TMI moments for a 30 minute show but damn do you also have to be or "act" that country on TV? I really dont need to see these two damn near having sex or spanking each other with kitchen tools. This may be the closest I have ever come to food porn!

My gf likes to watch to see how bad the cooning gets, sort of a can we top the WB frog this week! Now you may think I am dogging them out but it is not unecessarily, watch the show and tell me if you think they are a bit over the top with the coonery. Tell you what, watch an episode where it is just them (maybe some of their family may stop by) then compare it to the episode where they invited some of the cast of "House of Payne" and then you decide. I am not going to tell you what to expect but lets just say you may need earplugs and a NAACP rally to restore your dignity.

Food Network is slipping hard, their lack of reputable chefs to fill their show slots is clearly obvious after you watch this show. After Emeril and Mario Batali left, there aren't too many "chefs" on this network anymore. In fact, "The Next Food Network Star" is their new farm system. The winners of this show (Guy Fieri and "Big Daddy"...don't know the brotha's name) are the beneficiaries of winning and gaining a slot on the network. How bad is Food Network they can't get one big name chef to cook on their network for at least 30 minutes once a week. Hell, Emeril got an hour 4 nights a week, ran a handful of restaurants and put that network on the map!

Current lineup:

Tyler Florence: I like what he cooks but his show is called the "Ultimate" whatever he is cooking. I think he was an English major in college, he uses a WIDE variety of adjectives to describe what he is cooking. That is the only thing annoying about him. (3.5 stars out of 5)

Ina Garten ("The Barefoot Contessa): I love this woman, her food is simple and she has personality. As much as I hate to admit it, she is kind of pretentious but who cares! (4 stars out of 5)

Sandra Lee: I hate her tablescapes, matching outfits and her "semi home made" approach to cooking. She is influencing a new group of anti-cooks. I wonder who she blew to get her show? (1 star out of 5)

Bobby Flay: This guy's a dick and he thinks the cooking world revolves around him. (2 stars out of 5)

Rachael Ray: Annoying, Annoying, Annoying! She says EVOO one more time, I swear!!! Her combinations are TERRIBLE! (2 stars out of 5)

Sunny Anderson: The horrible weave, nervous laugh and lack of kitchen skills make her the black version of Rachael Ray (2 stars out of 5)

That is only a few, the only question I have is what the hell happened to Daisy Martinez? I saw two episodes and gone! They need more folks like her on Food Network. Maybe she saw the writing on the wall and went back to PBS. Damn!!!

An Open Letter to Michael Steele

Dear Mr. Steele,

Let me start this letter by stating plainly that I am NOT a Republican. Nor do I ever want to be. In fact, I have given express instructions to some of my friends to blow my brains out if I ever became a Republican. I think Black Republicans are the biggest sellouts and now that you are the head of the GOP, you have the dual burden of being the King of all Sellouts and Number one with a bullet on the Token List.

Yes...you are a Token, I guess you are the only one who hasn't figured this out! You think that the GOP has opened it's arms wide to embrace you as it's new leader. Well their thinking is simply this, America voted a black man to the White House so maybe we need some color to show America we are with it! What is wrong with that statement? The whitest most homeogenous political party on the planet wants to try to break the mold by electing you as it's chair....ha the jokes on you!!

You have NO power! I heard the interview and how you want to re-energize the GOP and give it "street cred". Hell, Ice Cube couldn't give the GOP "street cred", besides you aren't running this. All of the old heads (you know with the blue blood and white hair) are running this party, they get to parade you around as our "leader" so we can be cool, wack, booty...what is the lingo these "urban" kide these days?

The only thing I can give you any respect on was calling out Rush Limbaugh. I understand, it's hard to call out a fat, loudmouth white guy. It can be very intimidating, I understand because I went to school with alot of those types. But you stood your ground, you showed how you differed in philosophy and stated proudly that you lead the GOP (quietly you and I know different) but you made your point. Of course you knew that criticism would come, weather the storm and focus on your mission (of being the face of the party...ha ha ha) and that would get you through.

So why in the HELL did you apologize for what you said?!! You just got punked by Rush Limbaugh! Do you know how embarssing that is? That is like getting caught in a chase by a fat ass cop when all you had to do was slap his big ass and drop a doughnut...he HAS to make a decision!!!

With your apology, I think my point has been proven. As a minority in the GOP, you will always be subservient to the powers that be. Which always makes me scratch my head when I see you or Michelle Malkin or a myriad of other conservative heads who are in the minority in the conservative/GOP vein of thought. Where did it all go wrong? Why do you believe in the party and that they care so much about you? I understand having certain values but if you share values with a group of people who do like you, what's the point? You look like a freakin' minstrel, grab the tap shoes and sing for the man Mr. Steele. Bravo on your accomplishment, keep smilin and shufflin'!

I hear South Park is doing a broadway show, auditions for the part of Token have begun. I think you are a shoe-in for the part.

Try to keep it together, because you have NEVER kept it real!

Sincerely,

The Professor

Rebuttal to Election Nonsense entry

Last night's blog was a decent summation of how I felt about Obama's statements in response to conservative attacks on him. If it hasnt been expressely said (and I know someone like Rush Limbaugh will say it), many folks are uncomfortable with someone who "doesn't look like the guys on the money" running for president. I didn't know how to address further the conservative attacks on his character although the main push by the extreme right is to make people scared of the intelligent, young and charismatic black Senator. We can only fight backby supporting Sen. Obama and not throw up road blocks. Below is a blog I wrote at the beginning of the election cycle last year. I think I said pretty well what needs to be done by us. If we can do these things, the conservatives will have to bite their tongues and suck it up for a change instead of being uninformed hate mongers that they live up to be oh so often.

Barack Obama: What's Black Got To Do With It? (April 7, 2007)

I was recalling in my mind a conversation that a classmate and I were having a few weeks back about Barack Obama. What she said wasn't terribly shocking but it really made me mad because it just shows me how much we as a people need to get over and get on with the business of improving ourselves for the better. She told me that there were some black folks who were saying that Barack was not "black enough" to run for president as a black man. I asked her to repeat herself because I really didnt think that was true what she was saying but she said that she heard it on TV watching C-SPAN. To me, saying something like that seems to be a double standard among my people and my classmate who is from Sudan was a bit baffled by the comment because she, like I was wondering how black is black? Let me try to illustrate what I meant by the double standard: Remember a little over 10 years ago when Tiger Woods burst on the scene and we were in awe of his golf game and all the potential that he had and has since delivered on, we wondered more about his complete ethnicity. So when he was interviewed, he more or less said that he didnt see himself as a black man but as Cablinasian which accounted for his whole ethnicity. Did he or did he not draw the ire of the black community as well as provided fodder for black comedians for his comments? Flip that to Barack who is American (born in Hawaii) to a Kenyan father and White american mother. Barack has said countless times that he is proud of his heritage, takes nothing away from being biracial but recognizes that he is a black man. And for that...he is seen as not being "black enough?" What a double standard, hell I mean we should be really be standing behind him for running for president because damn, I sure as hell couldnt do it! Leave it to us, hell if give the chance we could fuck up INSTANT Jello! Recognize this to all the nay sayers who feel that Brother Barack is not up to the task and you need to see his "brother card." If you think about it, he is more African and definetly American (without question) and we need to continually remind ourselves that as a people, we come in all shades, sizes and shapes, some of us grew up in the hood, in suburbia and all points in between. These things should be what makes us unique and more apt to learn from one another and progress. Instead, we choose to pick at the diversity of our people like a sore and pass judgement on who is truly black and who isn't. Like my ex-girlfriend used to say "you own your blackness" and it is weird to see someone who may not understand your experience but that is what should unite and not divide us. The 2008 presidential election is looking like it could be historic, dont let some petty foolishness drive you towards another candidate or worse, not going to the poll at all. If we have learned nothing from the last 2 elections is that we have got to make our voice heard or it will continued to be silenced because politicians are not interested in the group that makes no effort to be heard. The squeaky wheel gets the oil, black people lets start squeaking alot louder so we can get that oil!