Sportsperson of the Year: Serena Williams or...a Horse?

This stuff cannot be made up, folks. And as much as I try to give society the benefit of the doubt sometimes, there are times when people make it impossible. This is one of those times. Now, some may view this as a pretty trivial thing. But in the context of the icon that Serena Williams is, has been and will forever be, I think it is extremely important that we examine this particular situation.


It was announced yesterday that Serena Williams  is the 2015 Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the year. Apparently, there was another poll, a readers poll, that had voters picking American Pharoah, the racehorse that won the famed and coveted Triple Crown (wining The Kentucky Derby, The Preakness Stakes, and The Belmont Stakes horseracing events) to win the award. When it was announced that Serena had won (you know, a person), the internet went batshit crazy. Seriously.


When I first heard the responses to this, I was kind of surprised that people were tripping out over an actual human being winning an award that was for, you know, a person. Then, while I was looking for examples of peoples reactions, I came across these from Twitter...


"I'm so tired of black america…flush Serena down the toilet without a wipe"


and then this one


"HAHAHHA. THEY CHOSE 'SERENA- AKA JACK- WILLIAMS: BECAUSE SHE IS BLACK. ONLY REASON. NONE OTHER. AMERICAN PHAROAH WINNER"


And just like that, the point that I thought I was going to have a hard time making with this blog post was made for me. The only reason this is an issue is not because a fucking horse deserved to win an award that was designated for a person, but because Serena is Black. And that she is a woman.


The funny thing is, I wasn't looking for responses that indicated racial issues with Serena winning the award. I was going to come from the perspective of the other ridiculous responses I saw yesterday, none of which had racial overtones. I was going to make the correlation that these responses more than likely stemmed from people feeling a way that a Black woman (Serena, at that) took home such a prestigious award. I was going to make the arguments that the year she had, even though she didn't win the Grand Slam (winning all four major tennis events in the same year, the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open) was truly remarkable. Given her continued dominance of her sport at age 34, and the fact that SI decided to chuck the dual awards of Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year and have just one Sportsperson of the Year, Serena was the hands down favorite to win and deserved to win. And it would behoove me to mention that if the award had been given to golfer Jordan Spieth, Major League Baseball's Kansas City Royals or MMA phenom Ronda Rousey, I doubt that the backlash would have been as harsh. To have such an uproar over a horse not winning the award, I can't help but feel that it is fueled by the disdain many have had for Serena over the years (the fact that a horse was even considered for the award, to me, seemed like a ridiculous idea anyway). She is anything but your prototypical female athlete in a sport dominated for years by non-Blacks until she came on the scene. At an age where most of her contemporaries would either have retired or have seen their skills diminish, Serena has shown the passion and tenacity that has defined her career and has allowed her to shatter records that some deemed untouchable. Serena has been counted out numerous times, only to return from injury or other hurdles and reestablish her place as the most dominant athlete the sport of tennis has ever seen. Period. So of course, the hate is expected.


But not on this level. Personally, my perspective is this; there are people who feel like a horse is more deserving of an award than this phenomenal Black woman. If American Pharoah's jockey, Victor Espinoza, had been considered for the award and didn't get it, then I could understand those who argued on his behalf. But he wasn't up for consideration. Yet, people are outraged that a horse "was robbed", that a horse was more deserving. I even saw a response that said American Pharoah "united a nation" by winning the Triple Crown. I personally find it disturbing and insulting that people, actual people, would feel that an award that was designated to be won by a person would say that Serena Williams is less deserving of this award than an animal is. It is degrading, and I feel like the sentiments expressed were made to be degrading. These type of comments, as one of the Twitter posts I noted above shows, are not new to Serena Williams. But it is somewhat indicative of what Black individuals, male and female, go through under the modern day spotlight. To add to the madness, there is now this idea of a "Black agenda" that even further degrades the progress and successes of Black entertainers and athletes. The idea that Serena is only gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated because she is Black (by the way, SI has had plenty of Black athletes on its covers, albeit most of those athletes were men) trivializes not only what she has done this calendar year but also what she has done for the sport of tennis as a whole. It trivializes what she has done outside the lines, as a fashion and media icon. It trivializes what Serena Williams has done to empower women and what she means to so many Black kids, girls especially, who come from the same places as she did who look at her and see an example of what they can become. It trivializes the Black struggle, in general. For more evidence on this, check out this link to see what the Los Angeles Times thought was an appropriate way to broach the topic...


further insensitivity


If you are a regular reader of my blog, then you know that this topic is one that I cover often. Some people may feel like continuing to attack these issues when they arise is somewhat pointless. Some may feel it is empty rhetoric. But when the accomplishments of another human being are relegated in favor of the triumph of an animal, it shows that no matter what one of us does, no matter how positive or how great a Black persons accomplishments are, it will never be good enough in the eyes of some. Some will go to great lengths to diminish or degrade Black people, celebrity or not and society as a whole will accept it either because it is the norm or because Black triumphs don't matter much in the grand scheme of things. Many people wonder why the #blacklivesmatter movement means so much to us in the Black community. This is an example as to why. Some may wonder why we hold such athletes/ celebrities/ personalities like Serena Williams in such high regard. Part of the reason is because they get such a bad rap for doing human things. Serena throws a racket and she's labeled as classless, even though she can be one of the most classy individuals on any given day. Serena curses out a line judge for several egregious missed calls and she's vilified for it, yet John McEnroe is revered for his antics in some of tennis' most outrageous outbursts. Serena and her sister Venus have endured all sorts of racial issues and flat out disrespect throughout their respective careers, things that no other high profile tennis players, male or female during their era, has had to endure. And yet, they are treated as stains on the sport, freaks of society for no other reason than because they are Black women. Even her provocative yet tasteful cover shoot was criticized, with Sports Illustrated stepping out of the fray by saying the shoot was her idea. No matter how you cut it, Serena can't catch a break when it comes to being her. But when it comes to being Sportsperson of the year, no one is more deserving of the award than she is. And neither is a goddamn horse.

My Nigger Piece

(Singing)
"Every Nigger Is A Staaaaaarrr"...
and that was before Kendrick sampled it
that was before street dudes mastered
explanations to justify using it
and that was waaaaay before white people
decided that since niggers use it so freely
then they should be able to go back to using it...
like they ever stopped...
and don't look at me
wide eyed
mouth open
hands clutching pearls
as if to wonder how I could be so
accusatory with such abrasive language
I embrace the nigger in me
because the world won't...
nigger is what we were
and nigger is what we are reminded
that we are
every time a nigger is shot and killed
by a non-nigger
every time a nigger is choked out
by some non-niggers
every time the niggers in the White House
are said to be horrible people
because they feel like the country
that has operated under nigger law
for so long
needs something different
"apes" they call Michelle
"Devil" they call Barack
and they pause at the kids
only after one of them goes too far
and now they say that disciplining someone
who spews racist ephithets
is an infringement on that asshole's
freedom of speech
so, don't you dare infringe on mine
I. AM. NIGGER
black buck
here to work my black ass off for a dime
to give back to 'Massa
you put blackface
on the American dream
expecting niggers to to kowtow
and say thank you
thank you for giving us our one
thank you for not assassinating him
thank for just assassinating
the character of him
every time you disagreed with his policies
"Devil"!!!
Got other niggers pitted against him
pitted against me
because I ride with the nigger
I'd die for my niggers
just like the niggers who died before I came along
so that this nigger could be here
so that this nigger could walk these
southern streets free
you see Confederate flags flying
in the face of niggers
in defiance of governmental maneuvering
these proud Southern Americans say
you can't take away my pride
you can't take away my heritage
to make niggers feel like progress has been made
but they fly that symbol of taking away a nigger's pride
of taking away a nigger's heritage
and taking away a nigger's right to
not be reminded of the fact
that WE ARE STILL NIGGERS to them
and to a very large portion of this society
to those who police us
to those who deny policies
that would include us
but readily approve those that most certainly exclude us
from the mirage that is the " American  Dream"...
Muhammad Ali once said that he wouldn't go kill
no Vietcong 'cus ain't no Vietcong ever call him nigger
that he wouldn't fight for a country
where people called him nigger everyday
and now, 48 years later, nothing has changed
48 years later, I am writing a piece
called "My Nigger Piece"
while the world celebrates the date
Marty McFly and Doc Brown traveled to
from 1985 to 2015
when it was predicted that the Cubs would win
the World Series...
well they were wrong about that...
just makes me wonder if anyone back then
ever thought how niggers would be perceived now
makes me think if anyone back then
ever wondered what niggers would be up to these days
because it seems to me
the way niggers were looked upon then
is the same way we are looked upon now
as niggers
nothing more, nothing less...
nothing earned, nothing gained, right?
So I guess while niggers have "earned"
the "right"
to not be strung up from trees
while niggers have "earned"
the "right"
to be considered whole
and while we've "earned"
the "right"
to occupy the highest office in the land
we haven't "earned"
the "right"
to not be called nigger...
Okay...I'll be that...
I. AM. NIGGER
black buck
here to work my black ass off for a dime
to give back to 'Massa
just remember...
(singing)
"Every Nigger Is A Staaaaaarrr"...

The Struggle of Growth and Being Honest w/ Yourself

As I try my best to blog more on a regular basis, I've decided to go off the normal topics that I usually cover and talk a little bit about my own personal journey. While I'm not trying to put all my business in the street, I'd like to share just a little bit of my own struggle as I try to become better as a writer and as person.

 

 

We all want happiness. A lot of us may equate happiness with being financially secure, while others may look to achieving academic goals and secular goals. Personally, my main goal is to take the gift that I'd like to think I have and be able to pursue becoming an author full time. With that, I have learned quite a bit about myself as a person, one who finds is difficult to focus on these life goals and maneuver through life situations. The older I seem to get (having just celebrated my 36th birthday, aka entering the 36th Chamber), the more I feel like my window of opportunity is closing. I am not where I thought I'd be at this point in my life and some of the life events I thought would have come to fruition by now have either fallen to the wayside or are no longer in my immediate plans. Sometimes, I feel like I am constantly trying to salvage whatever may be left of a particular situation while hardly ever building upon something new. I feel like I haven't grown as a person as much as I should have by now.

 

 

Sometimes we allow things, people or circumstances to hinder our growth. An important thing to recognize is that while acknowledging the things, people or circumstances that may be impeding or stunting our personal growth, we can't blame those things, people or circumstances. Sure, they are obstacles and they have to be removed or overcome for us to continue to progress. But the job rests squarely on us to remove or overcome them. Notice, at the beginning of this paragraph I said we allow them to hinder our growth. Some of us find it hard to stay motivated, for whatever reason. Others may allow outside influences to convince them that they can't succeed in the areas they would like to. And, unfortunately, other people can stand in the way of our growth. While there may be some circumstances beyond our control (i.e., health, family obligations, some social and/ or economic issues), often times it is the situations we can control that become bigger obstacles based on the way we let them affect how we move through our life. Acknowledging what these things are can be somewhat of a challenge, but once we recognize them, we have to make a concerted effort to eliminate them. Otherwise, we can find ourselves not making the type of progress we need to make to reach our full potential.


Now, I haven't said anything here that anyone taking the time to read this post doesn't already know. This post is less about dropping some jewels on the reader to think about and more about knowing how important it is for everyone to want to grow. Sometimes we get complacent in our lives and we just become comfortable in whatever situation we may be in simply because it is familiar to us. We may stay at a job that we don't like or that doesn't fit our ambitions for fear of not having a steady income. We may allow family members to discourage us from following our dreams or reaching out for loftier goals for fear of failure and them telling us that they told us it wouldn't work. We may even stay in relationships with friends or otherwise, regardless of how unhealthy or unfruitful they may be, if for no other reason than us not wanting to be alone or not wanting to have to go through meeting a new person. Personally, I feel like this is an area where many of us can find ourselves and end up settling for what some may consider as a "normal life" only because it may seem safe. This is where, I think, recognizing the struggle (and need) of growth and being honest with oneself comes into play.


We often hear people tell others "I know you better than you know yourself". The truth of the matter is, that's probably a huge overstatement more times than it is not. You know yourself better than anyone else, or at least you should by the time you reach a certain age. That being said, you have to be honest with where you are in life in relation to where it is you want to be. Simply put, if you are not where you may have envisioned yourself, then you have to take a close look as to why. I mentioned earlier that it is important to acknowledge that something, someone or some circumstance may be in our way. The word acknowledge means to "accept or admit the existence or truth of." In this case, "the truth of" the matter would be the fact that there is something, someone or some circumstance that is preventing you from growing. Part of being honest with yourself is also accepting that you are, in fact allowing these things to be the obstacles in front of you. Not addressing these obstacles is allowing them to keep you from your growth. At one time I remember saying, in response to the concerns of a loved one who was trying to point out some of my own obstacles to me, that "I don't have time to worry about that". I realize now how foolish that sounded coming out of my mouth. In essence, what I was saying was that I didn't have time to acknowledge the thing(s) that were preventing my personal growth. Even though I was actively pursuing some of my goals, I was trying to push the obstacles along the way, as opposed to pushing them out of the way and moving forward, unimpeded by them. Therefore, I was making an already difficult struggle more difficult because I refused to admit to myself what these things were and what they were actually doing to me. It's hard to make the changes. Things tend to get even harder when one refuses to admit that the need for those changes actually exist. For me, this is a constant struggle as I am now seeing how important my own personal growth is, not just so that I can reach the goals I've set for myself but so that I continue to grow and challenge myself. It has definitely been a struggle and I am sure it will continue to be.


Sometimes things run their course. It may be time for you to change careers because you know you'd be more fulfilled doing something you love instead of doing something that only offers some level of security. Relationships of any sort sometimes get to a point where the parties involved are stuck in neutral, not making any real progress individually and as a couple. Your circumstances may be that you feel like you need to move to a different city or area where more opportunities exist, but you won't know anyone there or you may not want to be very far from your family. Growth often requires some sort of sacrifice and sometimes that sacrifice could just be your level of comfort. In any case, the effort to grow and continue to grow as an individual is by no means easy. The first step, though, is seeing the importance of personal growth. Then, look yourself in the mirror and honestly ask yourself "Am I happy with the person looking back at me?"

Becoming Undone: The Unraveling Effect of Racism Through the Media

It started to become too much to watch. To read about. To talk about. To see the comments on social media sites. To hear comments from news pundits and otherwise. After the Charleston shooting, I couldn't take it anymore. Even when the Confederate flag was (finally?!) removed from the state grounds in Columbia, it still seemed hollow. It's not that I no longer cared, it was that I was beginning to feel like I had felt too much before. I felt the anger too much. I felt the fear too much. I felt the hope and then the despair too much. And while I went on feeling these emotions so much so that I felt them consuming me, everything around began to unravel without me even noticing. All I wanted to do was debate with anyone who felt up to the challenge. All I wanted to do was converse with whomever would listen. Since I couldn't escape it, I felt it was my duty to not let anyone else try to hide from it as well. Then Dylann Roof walked into that Charleston prayer service at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church and murdered nine of my people. Our people. And in the days and weeks that followed, I became undone.


Even in doing some research for that last line on the Charleston shooting, I felt the "becoming undone" all over again. On Wikipedia and in several reports on Dylann Roof, he is still considered the alleged shooter. Eyewitnesses have placed him there and he confessed to being the shooter. Allegedly (it has recently been reported that Dylann Roof will plead guilty to all charges). I understand what that is all about but I also understand what that is all about. Legally, you are innocent until proven guilty. But through the eyes of people who look like me, we can't help but feel like the words "proven guilty" questions whether or not Roof and others like George Zimmerman, officer Daniel Pantaleo and former officer Darren Wilson, Michael Dunn, officer Timothy Loehmann and former officer Michael Slager, amongst many others, are actually viewed as being guilty for anything. In the eyes of some, like these individuals, Black people are still considered beneath society. With some, killing a few of us doesn't resonate as significantly wrong. You can see this with the criticism the #BlackLivesMatter movement has been receiving, with people claiming that it makes Black lives seem more important than others. When you try to explain that it isn't about what lives are more important but about what lives are seemingly least important, from historical statistics, recent events, social response or lack thereof and media coverage, those critics scoff at such notions. These would be the same individuals who would tell you that if we stopped talking about race in this country, then we wouldn't have racism. These are the same people who would criminalize the victims in race related incidents, portraying them in a light that would shift the public opinion away from the actual crime and the person that committed it. These are the same people who feel that Black people use race as an excuse to explain why certain things continue to happen instead of taking personal responsibility.


I have a good friend who has said on some occasions that, as Black people, we need to move on from the race issue. This is a person that I respect the hell out of. But I just can't agree with him on that notion. Sure, I agree that being constantly inundated with news coverage and social media comments and posts can either completely rile you up to the point where you're just angry all the time (been there) or shut you completely down to where you become detached from the conversation altogether (kind of there now). But "moving on", as it were seems completely impossible to me. It's not like a relationship where you can just decide to not date or call the other person anymore. It's not like leaving a job where you pack up your things and literally move on to the next opportunity. Racism is like a disease that has no known cure. It's effects linger on, even as we try to the best of our ability to treat it peacefully and aggressively. People like Dylann Roof, who were taught to hate by those who came before him, actually exist. The mindset that he has exists in the minds of countless others who feel threatened by Black people, especially young Black men. There are still people who feel like Black people have forgotten their place, who need to be reminded that it wasn't so long ago that Black people were being hung from trees just because, and that it was legal. The recent cases of Freddie Gray and Sandra Bland shows that there are people in positions of authority, Black and white, who feel that they have the right to act aggressively if they feel like their authority is being challenged. In the case of Sandra Bland, the officer escalated the situation by antagonizing Bland and when she responded in like manner, the officer abused his power and authority. If you cannot confirm foul play in her death (she was found hung in her jail cell days after her arrest in what has been called an apparent suicide), you can confirm that if the officer had just given her the ticket and walked away the rest never happens. Seeing these events unfold one behind the other as they have over the past 3+ years (using the Trayvon Martin murder as a starting point) not only has an unraveling effect on Black people as a whole but also can contribute to the hopeless feeling that I am sure many of us have felt from time to time. It is becoming increasingly clear that there is an agenda in this country regarding the treatment and perspective regarding Black people. The scary thing is, I feel like it has been tempered just a little by the fact we have a Black president in office (even though it can truly be said that these events escalated during his presidential terms and he has been blamed in some cases by addressing race and race related crimes and incidents). While Ben Carson is running on the Republican ticket, it seems highly unlikely that he will be elected. Even if he is, it seems even more unlikely that he would be a voice of Black Americans as a whole given some of his views.


So it seems to me that these events are just a precursor to things becoming even worse than they are now. And you'd be hard pressed to honestly believe with confidence that feeling that way is without merit. Just look at the reactions we saw when the Confederate flag on the state grounds in Columbia, SC finally came down after the Charleston shooting. Many people felt that this monumental moment in Southern American history was an overreaction to the outcry in regards to the shooting. How could anything be an "overreaction" to nine people getting massacred due to pure hatred? How could removing a symbol of hate from federal government property be viewed as an overreaction, when this was generations overdue? Can it be seen as a political move? Most certainly, as most things regarding positive steps toward racial harmony and other efforts to promote equality in this country have historically always been politically motivated. But for that to be viewed as an overreaction speaks volumes to the moral psyche of the white American who still views Black progress in America negatively. The fact that lawmakers had previously gone back and forth for years over that issue (just about a month before the shooting, some South Carolina lawmakers had said there was no plan in place to remove the flag) shows that the spirit of racism is very alive and strong with no real regression in sight. And when you have to debate on human lives being important it is plain to see, at least to me, that the fight is in our hands as Black people and in our hands relatively alone.


My blog has been an ongoing commentary on race and it will continue to be. Although I had become undone, I've taken it as a personal responsibility to not stay undone for too long of a time. A person very close to me told me recently that they felt I was an important voice on the subject. While I may not view that exactly as they do, I understand the importance of speaking on these and other social issues. Once you take up the mantle of becoming a voice on any subject, much more so on the subject of social and racial injustice, you cannot just set it back down or slowly let your voice fade away. You have to press on, especially since there are some out there who respect and anticipate what you have to say. I'd like to take this opportunity to encourage any and everyone who has a voice in the struggle of equality to press on and remain determined to affect change in any way they possibly can. Any voice we lose is a place for another voice for hatred to occupy. I'd also like to thank those who read this blog and appreciate my thoughts.


If you haven't already, please take a moment to visit  and follow the Speaking Down Barriers page on Facebook. There are several events held in the Spartanburg/ Greenville area that promote unity and honest dialogue regarding race and social issues and I urge you to attend as often as possible. Details for upcoming events can be found there. Or, you can visit their website here for more information about what they do to promote unity through honest dialogue.

Another Public Rant by Max Lit

Here, again, are a few things that are spooling through my mind right now. After my last rant post, I have come to the conclusion that this is the only way to get a few of my points (opinions) across when they aren't worth much as a entire blog post, but still important enough to me to warrant that they MUST BE HEARD!!! (insert apology for text yelling here, lol!!!). Ok, ON WITH IT!!!


Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp A Butterfly and D'Angelo's 'Black Messiah' were AWESOME!!!: Yes, I know I am months and months behind weighing in on these two titan-esque artists dropping titan-esque albums but so many folks were blogging about these guys, I figured I'd wait until you got all bloggy-dreary eyed until I hit you I the face with my take. So, BOOM!, here it is:


Kendrick Lamar just showed all of those young cats pretending to be MC's what a real MC sounds like. The lack of lyricism in the Hip-Hop landscape as a whole is quite depressing and Lamar's offering came across as not just another good Hip-Hop album but a classic piece of art. After seeing his performance of the untitled track that I think everyone who heard the song hoped would be on the album, just so we could listen to it everyday and turn the phrase "WHAT DID THE BLACK MAN SAAAY?" into the new catchphrase of 2015, I realized Kendrick was on the path greatness. Not just Hip-Hop greatness, but greatness, period. While many recording artists often come back a little flat on their sophomore albums, King Kendrick took it up a notch and brought back some Cali funk to sprinkle over his conscious lyrics and impeccable delivery. Given what has transpired over the last two years in Black communities across the US, the thoughts conveyed on this album (with 'The Blacker the Berry' being the most revelatory track of these incidents, at least to me) were right in tune with the social climate we find ourselves in at the moment. This album was everything that has been missing from music for a few years and it may be the standard bearer for music for years to come, especially in Hip-Hop. I crown 'To Pimp A Butterfly' this generation's 'Illmatic' (seriously. No other artist of this generation's current crop of MC's has delivered as powerful a record as Kendrick did with his second album. Bring on the ensuing debate!!!!).


With 'Black Messiah', D'Angelo surprised all of us with a midnight online release of his third album. After keeping us waiting for just short of 15 years since the release of 'Voodoo', this highly anticipated did not disappoint. In fact, it reappointed the man, who we once felt would maybe never release another album, as the god of funk/ soul/ jazz/ blues/ Hip-Hop fusion. While 'Black Messiah' is a complete detachment of what 'Voodoo' was, it is nonetheless a powerful album from a even more powerful voice/ man. Yes, the years and life itself may have taken a toll on D'Angelo's once iconic vocals, but he more than makes up for that with his lyrical content and instrumentation. Riding with his band, the Vanguard (anybody who rolls with a group of cats called the Vanguard is the shit, hands down), D has added playing the guitar to his repertoire and the Vanguard backs him up impeccably. With The Roots drummer ?uestlove holding it down, you can't listen to 'Black Messiah' and feel like this is album is not the coming of a savior for us all. Ok, maybe you can. But if you do then I feel sorry for you. I can't help but feel sorry for you. And I will pray for your musical soul, in the hopes that you don't end up in musical hell listening to an endless loop of Michael Bolton's greatest hits. Or maybe that would be just what you deserve (insert evil, sinister laugh here).

SN: Is it me or does it sound like whatever creative teams were behind these two albums actually worked on both these albums? There is a very similar vibe to both offerings, refreshingly so...just sayin'....



This year's NBA Playoffs: Ok, anyone who thought the Atlanta Hawks were the real deal needs to seriously get help for their obvious substance abuse problem. Sure, they were the second best team in the NBA (60-22, 2nd only to the Golden State Warriors who compiled a 67-15 record, leaving them and Atlanta as the only 60 win teams I the league this season) but for God's sake, who on that team is a legitimate star? When your starting five gets named 'Player of the Month', that isn't an indicator of a superb team, it's an indicator of a glaring weakness. Beating The Brooklyn Nets in 6 games is worthy of a firm handshake. Beating the upstart Washington Wizards in a fairly close series showed a little bit of grit and grind. But getting swept by a hobbled and handicapped LeBron James led Cleveland Cavaliers team that had just gutted out a six games series against the Chicago Bulls? Losing the final elimination game by 30 points!!!??? Come oooonnnnn!!!!! Listen, LeBron has been just short of unstoppable in these playoffs, but the Hawks had a chance to show the league that they could hang with the big dogs and they laid a goose egg. The early NBA Finals predictions had Atlanta and Golden State in the championship round, which is crazy talk when you consider LeBron has led his teams to the Finals for the past four years and now is making his fifth Finals appearance. Even if the Cavs had crashed and burned early on in the playoffs, the Hawks still may have had to face the Bulls. Bulls vs. Hawks for a chance to go to the Finals? I'd pick the Bulls, even though Thibs would've been on the same hot seat he was on during the Bulls/ Cavs series. No way they would've lost to a Hawks team with not one legitimate star, not when they have Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and Paul Gasol. No way, no how. Not to the Hawks. To beat a team with stars like James and Rose, you need another star to carry your team. James put the Cavs on his back after Kevin Love went down with that shoulder injury and after Kyrie's knee and ankle started giving him problems. He also is playing through his own injuries, not shooting too great but making guys like J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert (thanks, Phil!!! The Knicks gave you $60 million to deliver a championship and you may have delivered one all right, just to two Knicks instead of all 12-14 of them!!!) and TIMOFEY MOZGOV (another former Knick lost via the 'Melo trade) look like killers. James might not be better than Jordan, but if he's not, he is the closest one. The Hawks, obviously were never going to get to the Finals....


...BUT THE WARRIORS DID!!! And here is where I lose my shit...F*@K STEVE KERR!!!!! I don't say that because he spurned Phil and the Knicks for a better gig with the Warriors. I mean, that was a no-brainer. Ready made squad versus the Zen Master all in your shit? I'd challenge anybody to not make that choice,  and that is why I'm not all on his nuts. Steve Kerr walked into a perfect situation. The Warriors were going to the Finals with Kerr or without him. Mark Jackson built this teams identity and they were primed and ready to take out the West's best before Steve "MJ Once Punched Me In The Face During Practice" Kerr got there. I doubt if the discord between Jackson and the Warriors front office would have played out like things did between Tom Thibodeau and the Bulls front office. I believe the offense did flow better under Kerr, but that was already growing under Jackson. The Warriors didn't have any growing pains transitioning to a new coach, which shows their was not a whole lot to change. Kerr played alongside the greatest player of all time (in Chicago with Michael Jordan), on the best team of all time (the 72-10, 1995-'96 Bulls) and alongside other greats on other teams (with Tim Duncan nd David Robinson in San Antonio) and under two of the greatest coaches of all time (Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich). I am sure all of that rubbed off on him and gave him the best nuggets of coaching intuition that maybe Mark Jackson didn't get during his playing career. Kerr knew what he had, knew that the machine wasn't broke so there really wasn't anything to fix and knew to get the hell out of the way and let the team that Mark Jackson grew just go out there and play ball. When a first year coach (Kerr has never coached on any level vs. David Blatt of Cleveland having coached and won championships in Europe) goes to the Finals straight out the gate, it isn't so much him as it is the team he is coaching. Sure, he had something to do with it. It's just that Mark Jackson had much more to do with it. MJax got screwed and Kerr reaped the benefits. Deep down inside, I know Steph Curry wants to win a championship for Mark Jackson. Here's to hoping that if the Dubs do beat the Cavs (and I am really hoping the Cavs can pull it out just so that I get a chance to say F*@K STEVE KERR, again), Steph and the Warriors figure out a way to personally thank Jackson because he really deserves a lions share of the coaching credit for that team. Steve Kerr should thank him, too.


The Chicago Bulls: Well, they sure know how to keep things interesting. After watching Tom Thibodeau hold together a ragtag group of scrappy players during the absences of Derrick Rose due to his injuries, they decide to part ways with the second winingest coach I team history. Their reason? They want to change "the culture" of the team. WTF??? Let's see, before Thibs got there, the culture was losing. It became a winning culture under him, even in the face of multiple serious injuries to its franchise player and core players like Joakim Noah. They did lay down in Game 6 against Cleveland, but maybe that was because they just ran out of gas. Tom Thibodeau is an old school coach and maybe he did play his guys too many minutes. But he knew how to win and the players accepted the tough practices and the long minutes because of that. Of course, there probably are other factors that led to Jerry "I Don't Care Who You Are" Reinsdorf and Gar "Jerry's Always Right" Forman's decision to fire Coach Thibs. But it reeked of bitterness and the statement they put out was just petty. Their collective attitude was consistent to what the Bulls front office executives have been since they broke up the Bulls in the late 90' by letting Phil Jackson walk. MJ retied and Pippen went on to Portland, all while Jerry and Co. spouted ridiculous edicts like "Players and coaches don't win championships, organizations do". Uhhh, maybe that's some team building crap, but you don't see suit and tie executives hitting three point shots, free throws, making game saving steals or blocking shots. Those are the players. They have to perform. The coaches have to manage players, matchups and make sure the team is prepared every game. The executives make the moves and sign the checks. Players win championships. 'Nuff said.


The New York Knicks: Well, I can't say that I really believed the Knicks would get one of the top two picks in the draft. Ok, I'm lying, I did think they would land in the top two but, in true Knicks fashion, they dropped out of the top three to the fourth pick. This just seems like a prelude to disaster. The Knicks, over the years, have blown worse picks than #4. It gets real murky after the #3 pick and the Knicks need a franchise altering player, or at least some decent trade bait. I am not as confident now as I was when the Knicks first hired Phil "Eleven Rings" Jackson because he hasn't made any good moves at all during his first season. Sure, he freed up significant cap space, but the Knicks were already going to have cap space. He shipped Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith to Cleveland for pretty much nothing in return and now those guys are playing in the Finals. Early on in the season, he traded Tyson Chandler back to Dallas just to get rid of Raymond Felton. If you would have told me that this is how it would have all turned out after re-signing Carmelo Anthony, that he would have season ending knee surgery and sit out half of the season to watch his team be the worst in franchise history, I would have preferred Phil let Anthony walk in free agency. The Knicks will most likely NOT win a championship with Carmelo leading the team, and that is not a knock on him but a knock on time. He just turned 31 years old and has a balky knee. He plays in the Eastern Conference with a locked and loaded LeBron James led Cavs team that is only going to get better. As good a player as he is, he's a scorer and that's it. He needs a point guard that can get him the ball but can also create for others. He's not the leader type, so you need some vets that can play but also add leadership. And they need a better coach than Derrick Fisher. But since Phil is running the show and Phil is dead set on implementing some variation of the triangle offense into the Knicks system, Fisher is the guy. All of these factors play into pretty much a nightmare for Anthony and Knicks fans. With a gutted roster, the Knicks played without a lot of heart and Fisher sounded like a motivational speaker more than a coach throughout the season. And with the number four pick, it's going to take either a ton of luck that one of the top two falls to four or some wheeling and dealing by Phil Jackson to obtain some decent assets to put around Anthony. I just don't see either happening. Looks like it's going to be another long season at the Garden. At least Carmelo's getting paid well to languish in mediocrity for the last few years of his playing career.


And last but not least, LeBron James and the 2015 NBA Finals: To say that LeBron James winning his 3rd NBA championship is going to be a tough task is probably the biggest understatement of the year. Even with Kevin Love and a healthy Kyrie Irving, facing the Warriors was never going to be a formality on the Cavs' way to a ring. But you have to give them a bit more than a puncher's chance if for only this reason: LeBron has excelled even when he hasn't been at his best this postseason. His supporting cast may be the weakest he's played with since his first trip to the Finals with the Cavs but he's a better player and a better leader than he was then. He showed his ability to "rhino up" against the Bulls and Hawks when he noticed some clear advantages against those teams and we can expect more of the same against the Dubs. Yes, the Warriors can and will shoot the lights out and yes, LeBron's boys (i.e., Kyrie, J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, hell, let's just say EVERYBODY!!!!) will have to step up big time and yes, even that might still not be good enough against the Splash Brothers and the rest of the Warriors. But we've seen King James reign supreme over nearly everybody in these playoffs. Not once did we see James not come through when the Cavs needed him to, and you know what else? The rest of the team didn't wilt under pressure when it counted. There are some major differences between the 2015 Finals LeBron James and the LeBron James' of Finals' past but the most notable ones are as follows: A) This is his team! In Miami, Bosh and Wade conceded alpha dog status to him only because his talents couldn't be denied and they both knew that with LeBron at the helm, they had the best chance to win. Ego's aside, LeBron led but they lost 2 out of 4 times in the Finals. B) LeBron is a much better leader than he was during his Miami years and especially better than he was during his first Cleveland run. I mentioned that earlier and it is worth mentioning again. LeBron really had some growing to do during his first stint with the Cavs and he did that when he went to Miami. Trying to get guys to buy in to letting you be the man is tough and he was able to get that done while winning two rings in South Beach. Now he's back in Cleveland with another chance to show why he deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the G.O.A.T, Michael Jeffrey Jordan. Shaq said he'd pick Kobe over the King because he feels that LeBron doesn't have the same killer instincts as the Black Mamba. While Shaq, in theory, may be sort of right about that, LeBron's instincts may be slightly deadlier. Kobe in his prime could kill you with his will but LeBron, currently in his prime, can kill you with his basketball IQ, his deft passing, his deceptive footwork and, if all else fails, (*in my Stephen A. Smith voice*)YOUR OWN FEAR OF GETTING RUN OVER BY A FREIGHT TRAIN THE SIZE OF LEBRON JAMES!!! (see: Kyle Korver, Hawks series). And C) He's got a lot to play for. Cleveland, as a city, hasn't won a major championship in anything since the Cleveland Browns won the NFL Championship in 1965. That was so long ago, the championship game wasn't even called the Super Bowl yet. Trust me, LeBron will give everything he has and maybe even Anderson Varejao fully healed Achilles to win one for the city that once burned his jersey in effigy. Sure, the Warriors last won an NBA Championship in 1975 but the Warriors shocked everyone this season by being as good as they are. This is LeBron's 5th (FIF!) straight Finals appearance and he knows that the time for etching his legacy in the annals of NBA history is running out. Steph Curry and Co. can wait one more year. I'm going with LBJ and the Cavs in 7.

Peaceful Protests or Rioting...Which Gets Results?

This post is dedicated to the lasting memory of the greatest educator I've ever known...Mr. Edward Markowski aka Mr. M (6.30.1944-4.30.2015)...your legacy lives on in the souls of every student that had the opportunity to sit in your class...

Ever since the tragic death of Trayvon Martin, we've been dealing with the fine line between peaceful protesting and rioting when expressing various views on the deaths of unarmed Black men by the hands of overzealous citizens and police officers abusing their authority. The latest debate circles what has been the most serious to date; the protests and subsequent riots that broke out in Baltimore, Maryland regarding the death of 25 year old Freddie Gray. Details have finally been revealed that Gray's injuries, which included an almost severed spinal cord, were most likely sustained during transport in a police van after his somewhat questionable arrest. According to reports, Gray was handcuffed and had his feet shackled but was not secured by seatbelt in the van. It has been said that Gray's pleas for assistance were ignored by the police officers that took him into custody and that once it was noticed Gray was unresponsive, the officers didn't act to get him quick and proper medical attention. Gray died from his injuries a week after his arrest.


Once again, protesters took to the streets. There were "violent" confrontations with police, several businesses were looted and/ or damaged, some by fire. Police vehicles were torched. Two days of scheduled baseball games were cancelled and eventually played in an empty Camden Yards stadium. A Black mother was caught on video angrily removing her Black teenage son from the group of rioters and later labeled as a 'hero mom' for doing so. There were reports of gangs facing off with police, the rioters were repeatedly referred to as 'thugs' and some protesters threw rocks and bricks at police. It was labeled as 'disgraceful', marring the actions of those who had aimed to protest peacefully.


But in just under a week Baltimore's chief prosecutor, Marilyn Mosbey, charged six police officers(three black and three white) with a number of crimes ranging from manslaughter and murder to unlawful imprisonment. Police union representatives say that Mosley's action were an "egregious rush to judgment", politically motivated by ties she has with the Gray family's lawyer and her husband, Baltimore City Councilman Nick Mosby. Supporters say swift action was needed to show Baltimore residents and citizens around the country that the issues regarding police brutality is being taken seriously. Above all else, it brought an end to the destructive riots that raged through Baltimore on Saturday and then again on Monday.


Which brings me to my point. Personally, I don't condone the actions of those who choose to riot in the face of injustice. I feel it's counterproductive to the cause because businesses and sometimes homes in the affected areas often end up damaged, some beyond repair. These are the same businesses and homes that those in the affected community live in and spend their money in. But it seems like this extreme response initially is most effective at getting some sort of results. This isn't to say that these officers will in fact answer for their crimes, but the justice system will play a role in that aspect. We won't have another case like the Michael Brown/ Darren Wilson case out in Ferguson or like the Eric Garner case in Staten Island, NY. These officers will face charges based on their actions. That is a start.


The problems lies much deeper. In 1992, Los Angeles exploded when "race riots" broke out in response to the acquittal of four officers involved in the brutal beating of Rodney King. Just over 22 years later, we have dealt with multiple cases of police brutality over a very short period of time and the response in Baltimore echoes those we saw in LA in the early 90's. A lot of the blame is being placed on the citizens of Baltimore for their reaction but when we look around the world and we see citizens of other countries protesting and rioting against oppressive governments, policies and institutions, we applaud them because they are doing so in a fight for their "freedom". In the United States, the "land of the free", citizens are denigrated when they protest against things that occur in our democratic society. When it turns "violent", and the protesters are minorities or they are supporting a minority victim or a cause that affects minorities, emphasis is placed on "the thugs" and the ignorance of those involved. The victim's existent or non-existent criminal past is often used to discredit them, trying to give just cause to why the officers involved acted as they did. When the details emerged in the Gray case, it became clear that the officers actions of not securing Freddie Gray via seatbelt in the police van was deliberate, in order to give him a 'rough ride', as it were. This is an indication that these officers, and probably the department as a whole, often use such tactics when they feel they need to send 'a message' to individuals in custody. Freddie Gray's arrest, itself, was suspect. It's safe to say that they were just going to rough Gray up and put him back out on the street so he could go back and tell those he associated with his experience (if you ever watched 'The Wire', a show that was broadcast on HBO from 2002-2008 and was based on some experiences of a former Baltimore homicide detective, Edward Burns, and a police reporter from the Baltimore Sun, creator David Simon, you saw this tactic being employed often). Unfortunately for the officers, they went way too far.


I say 'unfortunately', because police officers everywhere, but especially in high crime areas like Baltimore, have a very tough job. Areas densely populated by low income groups tend to have very high crime rates. Usually these areas are populated by Black and Hispanic individuals. Police officers and city officials in these areas have to be creative in ways to suppress crime and sometimes they have to come up with different ways to combat it. Some ways are unorthodox and they get results. But when those ways start to infringe on the civil rights of citizens, even some who may be involved in criminal activity, a line has to be drawn. It has to be drawn! Freddie Gray was said to have been carrying a switchblade and that's why he was approached and subsequently arrested. But according to the reports that Mrs. Mosby received, the knife in question was not a switchblade, therefore legal for Gray to have on him. Everything that has been reported to have occurred afterward was excessive and suspect. Police officers are charged and paid to uphold the law, plain and simple. Just like the criminals they are charged to protect their respective communities from, police officers have to follow the law as well, to a higher degree in some cases. They are held to a much higher standard, or should be at least. When they are not, the onus should not be on the public to respectfully voice their outrage, especially when this is becoming more and more commonplace in minority communities. It was a problem before the LA riots in 1992 and it is still a problem today. The riots then did nothing to quell the number of cases where police overstep their boundaries as peace keepers and the riots in Baltimore may do nothing now, again, 22 years later. But they made somewhat of a difference this past Friday, in that charges were brought swiftly to the officers involved. Now we wait to see if it was all worth it or if history will, again, repeat itself.


For in-depth discussions on race and racial issues, visit the Speaking Dow Barriers facebook page here: Speaking Down Barriers: Race Related Conversations. I encourage you wholeheartedly to attend if you are able to.

Mincing Words: Why Fear Through Words is Just as Bad as Terrorism

We live in a time where everyone's opinion is out in front for all of us to see and hear. It isn't hard to find a news report or a group of people that can support any opinion that you may have. Still believe that president Obama isn't an American citizen? It would only take a few seconds for you to find a host of websites supporting that ridiculous line of thinking. Do you feel like racism doesn't exist? You could probably throw a balled up piece of copy paper in your office right now in any direction and hit someone who'd agree with you. And while opinions, in a lot of cases, are neither right nor wrong, sometimes they lean a little more to either end of the spectrum to support an opposite way of thinking.


Case in point: A lot has been made, said and written about the president's choice of words when it comes to terrorism. We can go back to the Benghazi incident and see that this is a running theme with Republicans and other Obama detractors. It is their opinion that by Obama "failing" to classify certain incidents as "terrorist acts" that it takes away from the seriousness of these incidents. The Charlie Hebdo incident was another case in which Obama was lambasted for initially not saying that the attack in France was a "terrorist attack". And as of late, Obama has chosen to not classify ISIS (or ISIL) as "radical Islamists", instead opting to refer to them as "violent extremists". Some politicians and critics have said his choice of words, or lack thereof, shows his inability to lead this country. Others have said it shows his unwillingness to take a hardline stance on Islamic terrorism. Obama has said that in not calling ISIS radical Islamists or Islamist terrorists, it separates them from the whole of the Islamic faith, therefore not giving the impression that all Muslims are terrorists and that Islam is a violent religion. He has said that his objectives in combating ISIS is "not a war against Islam" but a war against the extremists who claim to be doing the work of Allah. While one may not agree with whatever strategies that Obama intends to lay out, logically one can or should agree that Obama has the right idea in mind in not wanting to make this about a war against a particular religion. If that was the case, then we'd have a terrible situation that could be likened to the Holocaust. But no one on the political right seems to see the wisdom in Obama's choice of words.


Here is why I personally believe that the terminology one chooses to use is trivial when compared to the ideals those words may represent. Take the example of a person who commits a crime. There are a number of crimes on could commit, and the penalties vary depending on the crime. But if the crime can be proven to have been committed by the individual, then it doesn't matter if you acknowledge the person as a killer, burglar, rapist, etc.. That person committed said crime and the only distinction any of those labels will hold is the type of punishment the crime comes with. If a person or group of people commit "acts of terror" which by definition is an act causing "extreme fear to coerce people" or "the calculated use of violence (or the threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear", not labeling them as "terrorists" doesn't somehow dispel what they are actually doing, nor does labeling them as such improve ones chances at stopping them. It's all just terminology, which is used to instill a certain image or attitude in others so as to persuade them to follow a certain ideal. If you put a face on terror (like Osama bin Laden or Saddam Hussein), then you put fear in those who associate those individuals with things like 9/11 or suicide bombers. But today's "terrorists" are "faceless", in that many currently are operating as individuals or small groups. The Al-Queda's and ISIS' are now more of an ideology these days. Individuals or "lone wolfs" as they are being called, are following these ideals and committing acts on their own. Whether you call them terrorists, Islamic radicals or violent extremists or not, their acts speak for themselves. What you call them doesn't matter, it's how they are stopped that's more important anyway.


But critics of the president say terminology and solutions go hand in hand when it comes to the new war on terror. I say, it's political branding. You have to put a name on something that you want to sell to the American public, on either side of the aisle. Healthcare reform was branded "Obamacare" so that those who didn't agree with Obama's political agenda would instantly cringe whenever they heard that term and automatically view it as "un-American" or unconstitutional. Politically, that was a great strategy. Republicans branded Obama as a socialist due to the fact that the word carries a negative connotation. But the true definition of socialism is a series of ideologies aimed at providing opportunities for every individual to maximize their potential, therefore giving every citizen an equal chance at prosperity. Or, at least that's what it is in theory. Socialism used to be linked to communism, especially during the Cold War era and the Soviet Union regime years. Nowadays, it's linked to the ideals of an American president who is thought to be everything from the worst president ever to the anti-Christ. And let's not forget, he just happens to not be white. There is currently a US Senator named Bernie Sanders (I-VT) who identifies himself as a "democratic socialist" and has been serving since 2007. Before today I had never heard of him. Maybe you have, or not.


Here's another example of an ideal carrying much more weight than what is actually said. Rudy Giuliani recently made headlines by saying that the president " didn't love America", saying that Obama often criticizes America "much more often than other America presidents". This came on the heels of comments made by the president in which he reminded American Christians, hell bent on labeling terrorists through their Islamic religion, that a lot of terrible things were done in the name of God by Christians including the Crusades, the Inquisition (better known as the Spanish Inquisition in which Jews and Muslims were told to convert or leave or risk persecution) and here in this country, slavery and the Jim Crow segregated South. When confronted on whether or not his comments were racist, Rudy swung for the fences...and missed by saying this:

“Some people thought it was racist — I thought that was a joke, since he was brought up by a white mother, a white grandfather, went to white schools, and most of this he learned from white people. This isn’t racism. This is socialism or possibly anti-colonialism.”

 

 

That is an interesting defense because in the speech he made when he said Obama didn't love America he said that the president "wasn’t brought up the way you were brought up and I was brought up through love of this country". So regardless of what the former NYC mayor actually said, word for word, the connotation was made so as to disparage the president as Commander in Chief. It doesn't matter that what he said was, above all other things, pretty damn stupid. What matters is the idea that he got across to those who respect what he says. This type of political pandering is dangerously close to the ideals of terrorism, if you really think about it. While terrorists use fear and violence to coerce others to follow their lead, many politicians use fear through rhetoric to do the same exact thing. Negative campaign ads often put political opponents in a scary light to give the viewer the idea that this particular person will take things away from voters or will take away from the values that this country was based on. If the viewer believes what the ad is portraying to be true, that likely will influence them at the polls. More times than not, the words of the ad or the politician ring hollow because the ideal was based on getting support for a agenda and the words were just meant to entice the listener, reader, etc.. While the words themselves play a huge role in influencing people, voters or what have you, nitpicking at what a politician or average person says or doesn't say is trivial in the grand scheme of things.

 

Anyone who experienced 9/11, watches the news or is familiar with the conflicts this country has had in the Middle East over the past 20 years knows exactly what a terrorist is and what terrorist acts are. Obama and any other world leader doesn't have to come out and provoke these groups by making a marked verbal attack on Islamic or any other culture and faith. What Obama says has no effect at all on whatever strategies the administration decides they will put into play to combat any potential threat. What Obama said about the way people view "violent extremists" in relation to Christians is true. The scope of religion in conflict is narrowed down to those on either religious side. Anything done in the name of one's religion or God is "righteous" in their eyes and one will do anything to accomplish those goals, whether morally right or not. That's the way these extremists need to be viewed because that is the root of their actions. Whatever you want to call them is irrelevant. What is done to stop them is more important. 

Opinion(s): A Rant to Sum Up a Host of Different Feelings

I've started a series of posts lately and couldn't complete any of them because they were all fractured thoughts. But I feel they are relevant thoughts, especially since I feel so passionately about them all. So, in no particular order of importance or chronology, and in a nod to Kanye West pissing the world off at the Grammy's this week, here are a few of the things I've been on lately:

 

 

The Fall of The Wu: It finally happened, even though I may be the last Wu-Tang Clan fan to admit it (probably not). With the December 2014 release of A Better Tomorrow, which I was uber late on listening to, the Iron Flag brothers showed their fans that 8 Diagrams wasn't an anomaly. It was a testament of things to come. The RZA has outgrown his brothers from Shaolin and Raekwon is no longer interested in being part of a dated collective if that means softening the identity of "the hardest group in the game". Ghostface just seems bored with the whole thing. Method Man seems engaged, if only to prove to himself that he can still spit like it's '94. GZA's subject matter and intellect seems to have transcended Earth, so much so that every line he spits on the album seems to have been steeped in scientific research like he's searching for the cure to what ails the Clan. Masta Killa and Inspectah Deck seemed to have peaked and U-God, although sounding more refreshed and refined than he has since his featured verses on the first Only Built for Cuban Linx album, is, well U-God. Cappadonna seemed oddly out of place. The only thing that seemed right about A Better Tomorrow was the places where RZA inserted voice clips of ODB. Those seemed to be as perfectly timed as the album was imperfect, which is quite a shame. I feel like the demise of the Wu could have been totally avoided, especially since they've recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of their landmark album Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers), if RZA had just stuck to the formulas that made the Clan iconic in the first place. So what if it sounded dated or came across as an attempt to recapture those glory days from back then? For the last hurrah, I think that would have been the perfect way to go out as a group that we will never, ever see the likes of again. But maybe that 20 year run was way too much to be sustained anyway and they just lucked up being able to do it. It just feels like they went out like Rocky did in Rocky V, a broken down shell of a once glorious fighter. Let's just hope that if they decide to right this wrong, they do as well as Sylvester Stallone did with Rocky Balboa, which was filmed as if Rocky V never happened. It really makes me wish the secret album that the Clan only released one copy of, Once Upon A Time in Shaolin which was said to be auctioned online, was available to the general public. I heard a clip of one song here ( http://www.forbes.com/sites/zackomalleygreenburg/2014/05/06/wu-tangs-secret-album-hear-51-seconds-of-once-upon-a-time-in-shaolin/) and that was better than the entire ABT album. Listen, I'll forever be a Wu-Tang fan, regardless if they never make anymore music together. I'm just hoping that they do, and that it is that Wu-Tang shit!!!! 

 

Kobe Bryant a.k.a Grumpy Old Black Mamba: Only Kobe Bryant can make being stubborn and delusional so entertaining. I don't think anyone who loves or hates the way Kobe plays ever thought he could return from two severe leg injuries at his age and be very competitive. But we all loved watching him try. His insane shot selection along with his volume of shots this season has made an in his prime Allen Iverson look like a conservative shooter. Watching the likes of Byron Scott dare to challenge him was awesome, if only because we all knew Byron Scott knew he couldn't tell Kobe shit back when they played together, let alone now. Watching Kobe tell Jeremey Lin to "get the fuck out of the way, I got this" with the game tied at 86 all with 15 seconds left against the Denver Nuggets was classic. Watching Nick "Swaggy P" Young's reaction (*deadpan look* Really, mu'fucka? Really???) was awesome. Kobe missing the shot? Not so much. But when you've got a guy like Kobe (even an old broken down Kobe) on a Laker's team like they currently have assembled in Los Angeles, you don't have a choice. What, you expected the Black Mamba to go silently into the retirement night on a team he thinks he can beat all by himself? You live with that kid of theatre because the team is not winning, it isn't KB8's fault, you're paying him $24 mil per for this season and next AND you don't really know how much he's got left in that 'ol cloned Michael Jordan tank of his. So you let him Brett Farve the last two seasons of his illustrious career because you know he's going to do it anyway, regardless if it's in Laker's purple and gold or (gasp!) Knicks' cobalt and orange. And you'd hate for him to end up telling you "I told you so!" on national television playing for New York (or the Clippers).

 

Oscar Snubs: So Selma deserves more than a nomination for Best Song and Best Picture. David Oyelowo deserves a Best Actor nod for not just being MLK Jr. but for being that MLK Jr., the Selma, Alabama version. There isn't another character in the field that was recognized that represents what Martin Luther King, Jr. represented in and to this country. We're talking about recognizing that. We're not talking about winning the Oscar because the actual win is a popularity contest or a facsimile of a lifetime achievement award. To not even be nominated is more of a snub than not winning. I can make the same argument for the Best Director snub. Now, I'm not taking anything away from Bradley Cooper and his Best Actor nod. It just doesn't seem right when you've got an actor playing a soldier in a controversial role as an American sniper in a war regarded around the world as morally wrong get the consideration but an era crossing portrayal of the leader of the Civil Rights movement and  the winner of a Nobel Peace Prize doesn't. Seems ass backwards to me, amongst other things. But whatever. I hope Michael Keaton wins for Birdman so we can see how ridiculous this shit really is.

 

The 2015 Grammys: Beck wasn't the only person whose win should've been questioned. I guess when your nominees are Wiz Khalifa, Schoolboy Q, Iggy Azalea Common, along with the kid from Community who raps now and an over the hill Slim Shady, you gotta go with Slim. I guess record sales drove that win because I was as underwhelmed by MM2 as I was by ABT. Common's Nobody Is Smiling was a solid effort and Schoolboy Q's Oxymoron was better than expected, at least by me. And Wiz wasn't winning anyway. I guess the people who determine these sort of things figured they couldn't screw Kendrick Lamar twice and give a phonograph to his lesser talented crewmate. So Marshall wins by default. But it tells me that the up and coming crop of top notch MC's better get used to watching their less talented peers or throwback relics win. Or the next gimmick single driven non-Black performer who wins by surprising the shit out of everyone by their marketing machine.

 

*in my extremely loud and annoying DJ Khaled voice* KANYE WEST!!!!!: Speaking of the Grammy's, I'm with 'Ye 24/7. I was last time when he cold dissed Taylor Swift (and subsequently launched her star into the stratosphere, she's welcome!) and I am with him semi-dissing Beck this year. I mean, frickin' Beck??? I remember Where It's At and it was a dope record...back in 1996!!!! Name Beck's last hit record. Go ahead, I'll wait. Can you name a song off of the album he just won Album of the Year for? No seriously, I'll wait, I literally have nothing better to do at this particular moment. You can't. You know why? BECAUSE NOBODY CAN!!! Beck probably can't and he showed how shocked he was by trying to get Mr. West to come back on stage after Kanye decided it wasn't worth it to give him the Taylor Swift treatment. Think about that. Everyone thinks it was a joke but Kanye, who loves shit like this, CHANGED HIS MIND. Beck's last album was in 2008 and I had to Wikipedia that to find out. Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of music that I am not up on. I'm not really up on Sam Smith but I know he had one of the biggest hits this year, I actually know and like the song and if he could win 4 Grammy's (he did get best pop album) then I would have rather seen him win a fifth for Album of the Year than see Beck win. Or as a nice consolation prize, Beyonce'. At least one of them winning would have had merit and then Kanye could've done something else crazy that we all could have appreciated later.

 

And last but not least The New York Knicks: 'Melo. Shut it down. Go have the surgery on that gimpy old knee, go rehab with old man winter, Kobe-yahshi Maru, (get it, Trekkies?) and get ready for next season and the 2016 season. And forget about wining that ring. Unless you join your buddies J.R. and Shump in Cleveland or a West Coast team, the only rings you'll ever see are Phil Jackson's. If he hangs around long enough.  

The NYPD, Disprespect and Honesty: The Truth

For weeks now, we've watched as the NYPD has been in sort of a standoff with New York City mayor Bill de Blasio and, in some cases, the citizens of New York City as well. In the wake of the ambush killings of officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, police officers in the city are on high alert, as well they should be. There is no doubt that police officers around the country have a very dangerous job. But the current controversy surrounding the perception of police officers, not just in New York City but around the nation, has turned into political mudslinging event where officers are feeling disrespected by the citizens they are paid to serve and protect. Of course, the decisions of the grand juries in New York and Missouri to not indict the officers involved in the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown have a lot to do with that. But what is not really talked about is the perceptions of the people who feel passionately about those decisions and their determination to be heard. I spoke about this a little bit in my last blog post (http://speakonitwithmaxlit.blogspot.com/2014/12/opinion-reason-why-things-are-way-they.html).


Bill de Blasio said that he understood and sympathized with protesters who were outraged at the decision to not indict Daniel Pantaleo, the officer who has been accused of using a department banned choke hold in his attempt to subdue Eric Garner. This set off a series of events that led to police officers literally turning their backs on the mayor three separate times in their own act of protest, the last two times coming during funerals for the slain officers. Many police union officials and officers have said that they feel like the mayor does not support the police. Several law enforcement officials, former and current political figures and ordinary citizens have said that de Blasio's statement has created an 'anti-police' rhetoric that paved the way for the killings of Ramos and Liu and for future acts of violence against police. On December 16th, an employee at a Brooklyn Heights Chipotle raised his hands in the "Hands Up! Don't Shoot!" gesture (in regards to the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, MO.) as a group of officers entered the restaurant, prompting those officers to leave and set off another wave of conversation, reporting and rumor spinning about how police officers aren't being shown the proper respect as individuals who are in place to protect the public.


Let me say this, and I say this with all sincerity. It's about damn time people openly and outwardly peacefully protested in any way they feel is appropriate to them when it comes to the injustices that happens around us, especially with the NYPD. The mayor was right to say that he understood and sympathized with protesters because he knows it was a farce to not indict Pantaleo. As a person in an interracial relationship (his wife, Chirlane McCray, is Black) with bi-racial children, he knows how easily people who look like his wife and kids can become victims of police brutality and harassment. He ran a campaign on police reform during his election bid, knowing the dark history of the department, in an effort to prevent incidents like the one involving Eric Garner. His comments weren't an indictment of the entire NYPD but it was the mayor recognizing that there is a serious  problem within the department and those who felt the same way have credible reasons for those feelings. Those officers decided to turn their backs on the mayor, in their own form of protest. The respect level of that action is debatable, but turning your back to someone usually is done to show a lack of respect. Yes, the chants that could be heard during some of the protest rallies about dead cops were inappropriate; that should have never taken place or been promoted. But if Pantaleo never choked the life out of Garner on a city sidewalk, if the Staten Island prosecutor had really done his job and pushed for an indictment from the grand jury, then we wouldn't even be having this conversation. Officers lives are in danger not because de Blasio, President Obama and Eric Holder have spoken out against the practices of police when it comes to Black citizens, but because the actions of a few police officers and individuals in places of judicial authority have led to public outrage. When you have such a toxic situation like the relationship between inner city residents and abusive police officers and practices, and a system that refuses to hold these officers accountable, then you will have unfortunate, violent occurrences and tragic deaths on both sides of the issue.

I recently read this article ( http://nypost.com/2014/12/30/nypd-and-the-military-our-angels-in-a-time-of-danger-and-cynicism/) by Michael Goodwin, a contributor to the New York Post. If you get a chance, take a look at the first portion this article, as the other portions address different topics. It's basically an Mr. Goodwin's take on why he feels the NYPD and our military are going so unappreciated these days. He mentioned the cynicism of the American public and "a political class too craven" or cowardly "to care." He mentioned this in an effort to figure out where "the majesty" of America had gone, calling our country's political culture "wrecked", taking a few subtle and obvious jabs at our president, New York City's mayor and others who have expressed views not to his particular liking. He brought up the incident that occurred on Obama's latest vacation to Hawaii, where an Army couple wedding ceremony had to be moved to another location on the course where the president was scheduled to play golf, as a prime example of the root cause of the "problem". And he also said this:

 

"Instead of hiring a political class that inspires our better ­angels, we increasingly elect people devoted to stoking resentment and grievance. Too many of our so-called “honorables” talk the country down and convince people they are victims. Some even preach that America is “broken,” a code word that gives them license to sweep away all the good with the bad."

None of this has anything to do with any perceived disrespect for the NYPD or the military for that matter. As far as I can tell, many Americans hold our military in very high regard, especially the soldiers with their boots on the ground. While I can somewhat agree on Goodwin's sentiments regarding the wedding incident, the problem I see with his rhetoric is that Goodwin's perception of the NYPD is skewed. He feels that the NYPD along with our military are the only American institutions that still serve with devotion to duty and honor. While individual officers in the NYPD may absolutely serve with that devotion, it is no secret that the organization has a history of throwing duty and honor to the wind, aided by those who are put in place to make sure they follow the highest of standards. The fact that people are openly expressing their feelings about the practices that Blacks and other minorities are often subject to isn't disrespectful, it's eye opening and commendable from my point of view. A lot has been made of Obama's apologies to other countries for some of our nations practices in the past. Some say that makes this country look weak. Goodwin says that type of talk convinces people that they are victims. Others say that Obama's rhetoric makes people, Black people especially, feel entitled, like someone owes them something. Well, I say, there are thousands of people who this country does owe a whole lot to, the least of all an explanation on why justice evades those who are truly victims of violent crimes, of economic and social injustice, of access to decent public educations, economic equality, etc.. The idea that when a person, especially the President of the United State, acknowledges the wrongdoings of a country to it's citizens and others abroad is somehow showing weakness shows me that these wrongs were calculated and intentional, done to show strength of those who are truly in charge. Sounds similar to the response to the wrongful deaths of many Black and Hispanic men, women and children by the hands of law enforcement officers around the country.


There was a time in this country when policemen, politicians, community leaders and other public servants were held in very high regard by most. Policemen were admired for the courage they displayed in faithfully carrying out their duties to protect the innocent and uphold the law. But as the times go on, we see more and more of those in positions of authority use that authority to advance their own agendas, hungry for more power and driven by selfish incentives. Sure, de Blasio could be driven by his own agenda by "siding" with protesters, as his detractors would say he is. So could the president and Eric Holder. But so is Mr. Goodwin, Rudy Giuliani and others who have used the deaths of officers Ramos and Liu to divide a city already on the verge. This is not about disrespecting police officers. It's about those police officers having more respect for the very important job they decided that they wanted to do. It's about them doing it right and being held accountable, without bias in any way, when they do it wrong.