Written by CZA
March 2008
I’m not voting for Obama. I’m not voting for Hilary either. I’m not voting at all because at the heart of it, I happen to think the whole election process is a farce held every four years so that the guys behind the curtain can go and have a coffee and cigarette break. That’s as far as I’m going with that because I’m still pretty sure that hit squad doesn’t take a day off and could come for your boy at any given moment. I just so happen to like not being assassinated. Moving on.
Unfounded diatribes aside, a few days ago I was yawning through a conversation with my homie about this speech that Tavis Smiley does every year called “State of the Black Union” that my dude swears by. I was just about to inject one of my famous Paris Hilton-isms about how the world should focus on something less un-Hollywood when he perked my ears.
Apparently, Tavis had some unfavorable remarks about Barack because he wanted to send his wife to the convention instead of going himself. I wouldn’t blame Obama at all for trying to ditch that whack function because it isn’t a move upwards, it’s a move sideways and not strategically smart for someone who is trying not to let himself get pigeonholed in that manner. Barack can shuck and jive on his own time, he doesn’t need a BET castoff to help him with that. Do I smell haterism?
Seriously, Can’t We All Just Get Along?
I wanted to touch on how it seems that too much time and energy is being wasted on worrying about what the Jones’ have or what they’re doing. From the nail shops to the internet it seems that somebody has something to say about somebody else and in 2008, we have to leave all those salty looks in the past. Focus on yours and let the next man focus on his.
In the Caucasian community (and I say this because I have plenty of said race comrades and I have asked them about their own experiences) it is more the norm that the family structure is built around unity and using one another’s strength to accomplish goals. For example, I’ve got a friend who is in business with his family and has just recently branched out to do his own thing but whenever they need something, he’s only a phone call away. That was some time ago and now, his cousins, sisters and brother-in-law are all a part in one form or another and they’re just caking up the paper. Smart business.
When you mention Black Wall Street, most automatically imagine the rapper The Game; I’m referring to the commercial district in Greenwood, Tulsa that thrived in the early 1900’s. The majority of the blacks there prospered because of the oil boom and created an economic system that worked. Money that was made was spent in the same community so that it cycled. What happened next was one of the deadliest riots in American history, one that had an estimated range of 300 deaths.
I’d love to see more black-owned companies coming together and pooling their resources for the betterment of the black buying power. While there are several chambers of commerce that specialize in black establishments, that in itself isn’t enough to actively make a difference. I think the family model needs a major overhaul—the introduction of how money really works, for one, is a lesson that is greatly under taught.
In my book Bol over at XXL is a hater. So is Perez Hilton. By my own personal definition, a hater is someone who criticizes or exercises whatever powers they have to stop gains by someone else. Having an opinion is cool but unless it’s specifically constructive there’s no reason to share it. In Texas we call that “talking down” or “holding your nuts” on someone which shows a lack of personal growth. Tavis Smiley and Bob Johnson are on the fence for me because I know that they’re in the Clinton’s pocket, and that okay because not too many in my generation actually cares enough to pay them any mind. I’d be hating if I said that unlike hip hop, BET really is dead…but that’s just my opinion. I would suggest that Bob cut out all the coonery that goes on at his station. From the horrid music to the lowest common denominator satisfying programming, it just seems that the thought that black America is smarter than that just doesn’t cross the minds of the executives.
Hit me up at themondaypolly@gmail.com or below and let’s keep it moving. Uno Bravado!
