A new year, a new attitude. It’s been a minute folks. I’ve been trying to catch up with work as so “Who The Hell Am I?” had to take a backseat for a hot second. But now I’m just fed up with the things that have happened over the past year. It makes me wonder. And when I wonder I write. One incident in particular brought my feelings full circle and I wrote a piece about it! Like to read it here it goes…
There he sits, a calm, cool and collected Randal Pinkett who is waiting the announcement of the next Apprentice. Quite honestly, it is a foregone conclusion that Randal Pinkett has blown out the competition and this one hour long season finale to award the winner was merely a festival before the crowning of Mr. Pinkett. He’s damn near overqualified- he never lost a competition, his background and resume crushes his “peers” and his demeanor was unparalleled. He never lost his cool, he never appeared to be ruffled and he not one time flashed an arrogant, egotistical demeanor. Oh…did I mention he is African American? Not just in skin color, but this man is an African American in every sense of the word. Not a sell out one bit. Yet and still when it came down to the obvious, a curve ball was thrown Randal’s way to place him in a lose/lose situation. Just as Randal rose to celebrate his clear and concise victory, Donald Trump called him back to ask him a very poignant question. He asked Randal if he should also hire Rebecca (the other finalist). Sure, Rebecca was pretty good but that’s like asking the Bulls to share their world championships with every one they beat the hell out of because “they put up a good fight.” Randal worked hard for this and why should he “share” his winnings with anyone else? So after Randal pondered the question, he looked Donald dead in his eyes and said…
“This is the Apprentice not the Apprenti, there should only be one.”
And Randall rose from the table and celebrated his victory. Rebecca would not be hired and Randall would be the first African American Apprentice. But what followed was almost surreal. A smattering of boos escaped from the crowd and in the days to follow it became more a question of “why didn’t you hire Rebecca?” than celebrating his absolute and utter destruction of his competition on route to becoming the Apprentice. This completely undermined Randal’s accomplishments. The headlines basically went from “Randal destroys competition” to “Angry black man refuses to hire white girl.” Randal was conveniently placed in a lose/lose situation. So guess what? Another black man lost. Every time we win, we actually come out as losers. Ask Reuben Studdard who really won American Idol.
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Which leads me to this question…
Why do YOU hate US so much? (I’ll leave the terms “YOU” and “US” vague and let the reader figure out who I’m talking about) Why won’t YOU let us have anything? What did we do to YOU? Is it because WE have rid ourselves of the inferiority tag that has been placed over our heads for the last century? Is it because WE have influenced your children’s lifestyles? They are bored with their suburban lives so they look at US for a change in pace. WE are always the underdog but find a way to come out on top. WE are outnumbered (let you tell it) yet put 1 or two of us in a competition and somehow we always make it to the finals. Don’t you think it would be wise to include more of us in there? It’s scary when WE can do things so well that YOU have to find new ways to display us as inferior to YOU.
YOU learned your lesson a while back. Don’t give US too much airtime or else you will indirectly create a revolution. Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr spent way too much time influencing the youth (thus creating The Black Panther Party and The Weathermen) so YOU had to get rid of them and never, ever, ever make that mistake again. See the revolution isn’t going to be flipping cars over and burning down YOUR houses. The revolution will be a mental battle between the right and the left and all those who fall in between. As long as you can keep US down then WE will never be able to spark a revolution. As long as WE are painted as brutes that lack the charisma and intellect to challenge YOU on top of the ladder then we will never be empowered to do anything. Just look at the music you allow to be heard. “Laffy Taffy?” No way in hell that should have become a blip on the radar. But it is YOUR job to find the most maligning, ignorant, buffoonish of the bunch and put that ass on full blast. If YOU project that WE have any intelligence outside of music and sports then there is a possibility that OUR audience will feel empowered to do something about the current state of affairs in OUR society. Now that’s gangsta! Davey D (of www.daveyd.com) pondered “Who are the real gangsters” and it damn sure ain’t no 50 Cent. The real gangsters are the ones calling all the shots and when they get caught red handed they still win. YOUR boy Bush got caught spying on Americans but simply shrugged off the accusations and moved the hell on with his Patriot Act. He stole the presidential election, started a war based on bullshit and sat idle as Katrina destroyed New Orleans. If that ain’t gangsta, I can’t tell you what the hell is.
But who is more gangsta than Arnold Schwarzenegger himself? He can hardly “act” like a governor. Hell the bastard has a gangsta ass nickname… The Terminator (which may soon change to the executioner)! He showed his gangsta ways when he refused to grant Stan “Tookie” Williams clemency and shortly after went on record saying…
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“The dedication of (Tookie) Williams’ book Life in Prison casts significant doubt on his personal redemption. This book was published in 1998 several years after Williams’ redemptive experience. Specifically the book is dedicated to Nelson Mandela, Angela Davis, Malcolm X, Assata Shakur, Geronimo Ji Jaga Pratt, Ramona Africa, John Africa, Leonard Peltier, George Jackson, Mumia Abu Jamal, and the countless other men, women, and youths, who have to endure the hellish oppression of living behind bars. The mix of individuals on this list is curious. Most have violent pasts and some have been convicted of committing heinous murders including the killing of law enforcement. But the inclusion of George Jackson on this list defies reason and is a significant indicator that Williams is not reformed and that he still sees violence and lawlessness as a legitimate means to address societal problems.“
Ah…the truth comes to light. See, Stan “Tookie” Williams execution was far deeper than the “crimes” he did or did not commit. There was a point to be made and Schwarzenegger made it be allowing Tookie to be executed (no matter that there are other individuals who have killed and been caught that still rot in a prison cell). OUR heroes are just as intolerable as us because of what they stood for. Fox News painted us as looters just waiting to commit a crime in the wake of the hurricane (we weren’t hungry…no, no, no we wanted TVs!) and were able to do so without any of us really speaking up and saying anything. Sure, Kanye said “Bush doesn’t like black people” but who the hell followed up with that? OUR (well not my boy…your boy) boy 50 Cent rushed out and questioned Kanye and stated Bush did the best job he could. See what I mean? Find the idiot and put him on a grand stage. If you can’t find the idiot, demonize the biggest threat. And that’s what WE are…a threat.
YOU are scared of US. Plain and simple.
YOU are scared YOUR kids will dress like the players in the NBA so what do you do? Enforce a dress code (so WE can look more like YOU). Don’t tell me this dress code ain’t about black people and OUR culture because it obviously is. But you know WE will find a way to still look fresh no matter what. Oh that age limit requirement? Never a question in hockey or tennis but the NBA (land of the athletic Africans)? Shut em down! Whether I agree with the dress code and the age limit isn’t the issue. The issue is the motivation behind these decisions. While many basketball players are painted as thugs who just hoop for cash, there are players like Kevin Garnett who pledged to build one home per month for the next two years for those who suffered in the hurricane (and that made Oprah cry dammit!). Bet many of you didn’t know that huh? But let one of our athletes run a stop sign or get caught puffing a little herb and all hell breaks loose. Mark McGwire won’t answer the court whether he used performance enhancing drugs during his record breaking home run year but Barry Bonds gets accused of it and you are ready to smatter the back of his baseball card with all kinds of * to take away from any achievements he has made. Heinous acts of slander committed by YOU shouldn’t go quietly. While the gangsters continue to do things such as Enron and Haliburton and walk away with a slap on the wrist, when a rapper parks in a handicap space? Headline News!
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So what do WE do in 06? Hopefully WE figure out that as long as WE place OUR collective futures in YOUR hands, WE will always be inferior. Hate is such a powerful word yet that is exactly what YOU carry in YOUR hearts towards US. And hate comes from fear and intimidation. Every time YOU see US, YOU cross the street. Every time WE go against the odds and come out on top, YOU are there to put your foot in the back of OUR neck. As long as WE refuse to be broken, YOU will come up with new ways to convince others to hate US. The contempt and utter disdain for US should be absolutely intolerable by OUR community. Now don’t get it confused, this isn’t simply about Black vs White. The game is far deeper than that. Race, religion and economic status play a big part in OUR society and class structure. YOU hate US therefore you are scared of US. Well let me tell you something…WE (the hip hop generation *which transcends and defies all color lines* and not just African Americans but those who have been stepped on, ran over, hoodwinked and bamboozled) hate YOU (old racist bastards of all colors. The rich who keep getting richer. The Bill O’Racists, the Karl Rove’s, the Fox News and all the old conservatives who refuse to allow the poor their due) too! But I’m just a critic….Who The Hell Am I?
-or
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