Sunday, September 26, 2010

When going gets tough the tough get dancing?

In my younger day's, when I was in the United States Army, I was about 215 lbs of solid muscle.  I could remember acting all tough when it came to doing anything physical.  When people wanted to wrestle, I was the guy who always won.  When people wanted to see who could do the most push-ups, I was always in the top spots.  When I went home at night I only watched, what I considered to be, manly TV.  I watched things like; football, wrestling, The Fox network, and anything that stimulated my mind.  I was often referred to as one of the most manly men around.

So there I was, sitting in one of my classes, when I noticed this young man walk through the door.  He stood about 6 feet 2 inches, about 220 lbs of muscle, and walked with a swagger that suggested that he was the baddest guy on the planet.  The class began and we (the student) started to introduce ourselves, it was finally this guys time to speak and introduce himself.  I thought to myself could this guy be the next manly man? could he be the guy to gain my respect as a tough guy? I waited in anticipation. 

The Professor asked the class to answer three questions; "your name, occupation, and your favorite TV show". The guy who I felt could be a manly man opened with, "My name is Mark Steele".  A strong sounding name, I thought to my self. Currently, I am a full time student, I was just released from the U.S. Marine Corp". "I thought I'm pretty much sold, he get the title hands down."  One last question stood between Mark and him being considered a tough guy. As he started to respond to the last question, he sort of looked around at the class, took a deep breath and uttered the most disappointing word I ever heard,  "My favorite TV show is "Dancing with the Stars".  I thought I was going to die.

That goes to show you that you cannot judge a book by it cover.  

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

School is back in session

After three months of summer vacation, school is back in session.  Yes!  I'm a parent of two junior high students who love their vacation time.  They love the fact that they can lounge around the house all day, sleep in, and do what they want to do because mom and dad are at work or school all day. 

The problem, from a parents stand point is, that neither of my children want to do much outside of their freedoms.  I ask both of them to do simple chores, that would only take them about an hour to complete, but it seems that (from their response) that I'm asking way too much.  I don't see what so hard about cleaning up their rooms on a daily basis, putting the dishes in the dishwasher, or vacuuming the floor once in a while.  I mean seriously what is so hard about picking up a piece of paper that has been on the floor all day, or taking out an over flowing garbage that they continue to pack more and more junk on top of.  Some days I would walk in the house, look around, then go back outside to keep myself from getting angry.

Now that they are back in school I can walk into the house and know that everything is in its proper place.  No more dishes piled up in the sink.  No more dirty rooms.  No more half empty glasses or cup all over the house.  No more plates of food in their rooms that have been there for days.  I am so thankful for school because my blood pressure is back to normal, my hair is starting to grow back, and when I come home after a long day I don't have to hear my name called 1,000 times in an hour.  Thank God for school.

 

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Cartoon

I don't have much to say about this picture because as the old saying goes "a picture say a thousand words".
Castro will never admit that his people are lost and have little due to communism.  In his own way he believes that Communism has brought prosperity to the small country ( maybe he should take a drive through the ghettos of Cuba).  The last time I checked people from Cuba are still trying to leave their home and take refuge in the United States.  This is a classic example of what not to do.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

sex and violence on television and in movies should be restricted

I believe that sex and violence on television and in movies should be restricted.


Being sexual and violent equates to billions and billions of dollars, in these modern times, a person can view something sexual or violent with a simple click of a mouse, by turning on your television set or renting a movie. By today’s standards children and adults are watching at a minimum of four to six hours of television per day and are being overloaded with these images of violence and sex.

I have an eleven year old son and a thirteen year old daughter who are at the age where they are becoming more and more interested in the opposite sex. My son has even gotten to the point where he has females texting him on a regular asking him questions like; "Do you have a girlfriend". Although, my wife and I have taught our son to insure that all of his texts and phone call are appropriate we as parents still don’t know what the young ladies parent’s have taught them.  What is her meaning of boy friend? Is she sexually active? Did she learn from TV or a movie how boyfriend and girlfriend should act.
 
I feel the element of sex and violence in movies distorts the view and ideal that parents should be teaching their children.  If we (as parents) don't get a handle on what are children are watching on TV or in movies then we should not be surprised when little Johnny shoots up his high school or little Sara has sex and get pregnant at age fourteen.  TV and movies teach our kids how to be violent and sexual but they fail to show are children what to do after the actions have been complete and the negative actions that follow.
 
Just a thought... what do you think?

Why I Am Against the N word.

People in the hip hop generation, to include members of "Black Hollywood", claim to have flipped the "N word" from a negative word to a positive word. They claim that the uses of the word means brother hood, a term of endearing friendship, and to be accepted into a peer group. They also claim no race is limited to the use of this word. Recently, I watch the documentary "The N Word", and discovered that there were a few holes in the Hip Hop generation's pursuit to flip the "N word" to a positive.


The first hole I found is that 95% of the people interviewed said "that they would have a problem if a "White" (or any other race for that matter) person called them the "N word" whether they were a friend or a foe". After finding out that fact the first question that came into my mind was; "If the word now has a positive meaning, then what's the problem?" The problem is that that kind of thought process creates a double standard. It also lets me know that the people who continue to use the "N word" have not let go of the negative meanings behind the word.

The next hole I found was that people who use the "N word" do not like to be called ignorant. Dictionary.com defines the "N word" as "Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. a person of the black race or origin regarded as contemptible, inferior, ignorant, etc". Now that that fact is on the table do we still think its ok to call each other the "N word". Rene Descartes made the famous quote "I think therefore I am", which lead me to say, if we continue to think of ourselves as ignorant than we as a people will continue to labeled as such.

Just because a few people have decided that this word is now a positive and not a negative word doesn't erase the 372 years of slavery and oppression. It is time for "Black America" to change its frame of thinking. It time that we understand that we are more than just a bunch of "Niggas". We come from a line of royalty and should conduct ourselves in a manner that should reflect such. So, if you’re that person who still uses the "N word" to describe yourself or your friend and family, consider this; Stop it, you’re only making yourself and the rest of 'Black America" looks like fools.