What is this?

I am upset and a disappointed with this meme.  Confusion?

The bigger issue.

I have been seeing a lot of posts like this lately, and quite frankly its starting to irritate me.  Its true politicians, as well as police officers are less likely to lose employment over domestic violence issues.

Although I agree that there is a huge double standard here, I am questioning whether the men who are posting think that all these men including Rice need to get fired for hitting women, or that if the politicians, and policeman did not get fired, Rice should not get fired either.

If its the latter of the two, which I am going to assume that it is for the majority of men posting these types of memes.

The NFL did try to throw Ray Rice under the bus in order to try and save their image.  Although they got caught, does that make Ray Rice any less wrong for hitting a woman?

 I think the bigger issue is ignored. All these men that use physical violence against women to express themselves are wrong, and thats what gets lost when memes like this are posted.

I am not sure what the penalty should be, but I lean more towards a zero tolerance, but, do not totally cut them off stance.  Provide help for men and women in those situations.

The bigger issue is that men need to keep their hands off of women.

Cultural Analysis of African American males Hip Hop. Part 1. Misogynistic Hip Hop lyrics

Although I feel like in some cases hip-hop does represent all black people both men and women in a very positive manner, the majority of mainstream hip-hop is dominated by misogyny.

Hip-hop reinforces the welfare mom stereotype, it justifies men not raising their kids, and it justifies and promotes domestic violence.  Most young black men do not realize how sexist they really are.  Unaware of the power of our words, we totally ignore the fact that we make it twice as hard for black women to grow, mentally, emotionally, socially, and financially. 

We rarely hear male rappers, spitting positive lyrics about women.  Not saying that these lyrics are nonexistent, simply saying they do not receive enough attention in the mainstream. 

There are rappers that make a conscious effort to use respectful lyrics when speaking about women.  One that comes to mind is Common.  He is not as popular within mainstream hip hop.  Although corporations recognize his talent, they do not necessarily want to hear his message.  Some black males reject Common altogether due to his lyrical approach, and consider him extremely soft.    

Some rap contradicts itself, by honoring a women for her love and devotion, but still comes off as misogynistic due to the fact that the male rapper is referring to his love as a bitch. 

One example comes from the second most influential hip hop artist of my time, Biggie Smalls.  A hip-hop “classic”, an inner city love anthem titled “Me and My Bitch”.  I totally ignored the word bitch, and just thought it was a good song.  Recently, I listened to it again. 

The lyrics suggest that Biggies girlfriend was more of a sidekick than an actual girlfriend or partner.  He talks about beating her if she acts up.  He talks about cheating on her from time to time.  In the end his actions actually got her killed. 

Another example that comes to mind is T.I.’s “Chilling with my Bitch”.  It’s another example of a song in which the young male is clearly expressing his affection for his lady.  Again I feel like the lyrics suggest T.I.’s woman is more of a sidekick. 

  The fact that he is announcing that he is going to take a day to hang out with his lady suggests that this is not his lady at all, but rather the female he shows more affection compared to other women the young man is messing with.  Instead of hanging with friends he makes an exception to hang out with his lady.  As a man, that seems backwards, but as a young man I thought that he was a good man for deciding to hang out with his “bitch”.     

 This ideology is common among African American males both young and old.  Although they may not be intentionally trying to make songs that promote infidelity; Fact of the matter is, they are. Biggie’s song takes it a step further casually talking about beating her.    

Biggie, and T.I. add another obstacle to the already complex task of repairing the black family.  How do we erase the idea that it is okay to cheat on our women?  More importantly than that, how do we erase the idea that it’s okay to hit our women?  The idea has been embedded into the majority of young black males through movies, politics, TV, sports, school, and music.    

Although most men do not realize it, the word Bitch is the most disrespectful word you can call a woman.  It is the equivalent to the word nigger for black people.  It’s been used to subjugate and oppress women for centuries.  It’s hard to find mainstream rap music that does not use the word bitch to describe a woman.

One could make an argument that mainstream hip-hop influences how the white dominant culture view black women. 

All men, white black or whatever justify the use of the word bitch by pointing out a woman’s actions.  These actions in some cases can be as small as a woman ignoring a man trying to hit on her, or something that truly hurts, like a woman using a man, showing him affection with the sole purpose to receive money and other gifts.

 I may be speaking from a misogynistic point of view but I really do not like when humans take advantage of each other in any capacity, but especially when it comes to emotional and mental stability.

Black men are either unaware, or genuinely disinterested in the consequences of their negative lyrics towards black women, they give all other men and women of other ethnicities permission to judge and form negative false perceptions of black women.

The reality is that black women are the hardest working demographic in the nation.  For every 100 black men in college there are 200 black women.  The lyrics we hear on the radio do not reflect that.  There have been many attempts by men to distinguish what type of women is a bitch.  My favorite rapper Tupac Shakur, has lyrics full of misogyny.  Tupac has a song called “Wonder why they call you Bitch”. 

Tupac uses a misogynistic moral approach basically saying a women is a bitch for reasons as follows:

·         A women that only talks to rich men, or men she thinks are rich either based on deception by the man, or just an assumption made by the woman based on the visual appearance of the male.

·         Sleeps with lots of men.  The fact that a man regardless of the amount of sexual partners he has can determine whether or not a woman is morally wrong is a contradiction in itself.  Whether we agree with a person’s actions, it should never give us the right to label a person.  One of the most common sayings in the inner city is “you cannot turn a hoe into a house wife.”  Some men right now would tell you this statement is true. So caught up in image, some would actually leave a woman with “bad” reputation.  It can be as bad as a young man leaving a woman to raise the child on her own. 

Another artist who has tried to distinguish the difference between “bitches” and “women” is Jay-Z.  One song of his comes to mind, is off the Blueprint 2, titled “Bitches and Sistes”. 

In “bitches and sistes”, Jay-Z compares what “women” do, to what “bitches” do.  He bases this off his experience with women.  Although he may not realize it, Jay-Z is attempting to define womanhood from a male’s point of view.

 That’s where we have to take a step back and ask ourselves is it our place to do that?  Some would say yes.  I however feel that if we try and define womanhood, without any idea of what it’s like to be a woman we end up with a very blurry view of what a woman should and should not be.

Without a women’s perspective to counter this song, this message becomes a dominant view.

 Tupac and Jay-Z are the biggest rappers of their respective times.  The influence they have over the masses is comparable to the Beatles, Elvis, or any other big star who influenced the culture of not only their communities but the world.  So when men hear these types of songs, they buy into these lyrics.  They don’t think about alternative ways to view women. 

Although I do not like the word bitch when used to refer to a woman.   I cannot write off hip hop because of that. 

As I write this, I have gone back and forth as to whether or not these men are wrong for using these misogynistic lyrics.  I cannot answer that. 

I keep getting caught up on the fact that at one point if not now, these kids, as well as men were expressing themselves and talking about what they experienced.  As I have gone back and listened to all these songs, I hear the hate, and anger towards themselves as well as women.  I question how black critics of Hip Hop, like Maxine Waters, and Oprah ignored these lyrics, and simply wrote them off as disrespectful. 

Not one person listened to the music and thought, that although the language was a problem, the bigger issue was how these kids came to think the way they did? 

If we eliminate the root of the problem than it’s much easier to eliminate negative views of women. 

One would have to look at the 70’s and the dismantling of the black panthers, Blaxploitation movies and the glorification of the pimp.  Look at the crack epidemic of the 80s, and the breakdown of the family. 

Boys growing up resenting their mothers for things ranging from choices in men, and/or drug use, to working long hours.  It may be a result of having a father who beats and disrespects his lady.  So many potential issues that are ignored when questioning the use of misogynistic lyrics. 

The biggest issue is the absence of other views to counter the misogyny.  In the 90s you had female MCs like Mc Lyte, and Queen Latifah, as well as male MCs in the mainstream that would balance out the ultra-misogynistic views of other artists.  Sad to say, that’s not the case today. 

Even the biggest female rap artist Nicki Minaj uses the word bitch to describe herself.  I don’t agree, from a male perspective, it seems like she is setting women back a few decades.

 I am not a woman though, it would be 

interesting to know what the majority of women thought about Nikki Minaj? 

 

I want to take this subject a step further, in the next few weeks I am going to write about specific terms that perpetuate hatred towards woman. 

M.O.B., which stands for money over bitches.  Another term is bad bitch which I still don’t get.  

Cultural Analysis of African American males. Intro

Although African Americans are not in control of structural barriers like racial discrimination, and lack of employment opportunities. We are in control of certain aspects of our culture.  It is vital to identify what aspects of our culture are hindering our progress as a community. 

Athletics, music, and street life are the three areas of urban black male culture that I want to focus on. One could make an argument that young black males have adopted the very ideals that have been used to oppress the black community.  There are issues within all three areas that legitimize this idea.

I wanted to start off with music considering the fact that it is the most powerful of the three areas. The majority of music we hear on the radio stems from some original form of black music.  Music actually encourages young kids to go into both street life, as well as athletics.   Music has always been a large part of African American culture.  Hip-Hop specifically,  has been the voice of urban black males since the mid 80’s. 

At one point in time Hip Hop was anti-establishment.  The people who created hip-hop were the ones not allowed within the establishment.  Now you have descendants of the original wave of hip hop artists who have capitalized off the initial rise and success of hip hop, and used capitalism in order to progress financially on an individual basis. 

Hip-hop is still the voice of young African American males in America.  The difference between now and then is that the amount of voices in which we are exposed to is very limited.  This is due to the fact that African American males do not control their own voice. This is another issue I will be writing about in the next few weeks.     

It was mandatory for rap artists lyrics to make people think.  Yes, there have always been exceptions, dance music, pop, different fads that come and go.  But when you get down to it, a good hip hop song is supposed to paint a picture, and make you bob your head.  You should come away feeling like you just learned some shit, even if what you leaned was a new dance.  What these young black artists do not realize is that corporations are exploiting them, and have no concern over what message is sent out to the masses as long as it makes money.  Music can be very dangerous in the wrong hands. 

Hip-Hop is my favorite form of music.  Sad to say, the impact on the community is not always positive.  The ideals we hear within hip-hop to a large degree reflect the white male dominant culture.  Misogynistic lyrics, glorification of black on black violence, and an absence of intellectual/revolutionary lyrics that were prevalent in the 90s are the issues within hip hop that I am going to focus on.

Is Floyd Mayweather dumb?

I remember years ago watching Allen Iversons post game interview after a great game during his rookie season in the NBA.  As I listened to Iverson speak, I noticed his public speaking skills were horrible.  I told my dad, who was watching with me, that Iverson was dumb due to his poor use of the English language.

My father got really upset and told me "never determine a persons intelligence by how they speak. or how well they can read.  Intelligence is way more than that." Over the years I have come fully understand what he means.  Although reading is extremely important, not knowing how to read does not make a person dumb. 

So when I hear Floyd Mayweather struggle with reading, I do not consider him a dummy.

It is unfortunate that he can not read from the stand point that he is one of the most notable black athletes of his generation.

However, if you look at what he has done from a business standpoint, he is either a smart business man, or smart enough to have people around him that make excellent business choices.  He is also  intelligent enough to not allow himself to be exploited.  There are many athletes out there that speak as if they majored in Public Speaking, that are not intelligent enough to understand that they are the commodity and someone else is making lots of money off of their sweat.

In that sense, Floyd Mayweather is an example all black athletes should take note of, as he capitalizes on his dominance, and popularity.  He is powerful enough to stop the Mayweather-Pacquio fight which would have gone done as the biggest fight financially speaking in boxing history.  Floyd Mayweather established that he will do what he wants, based on his own rules period, regardless of  what critics think about him.

With that said, I can not escape the fact that he is sending the wrong message to our youth, in the aftermath of clips of him struggling to read promo cards surfaced.  Although his illiteracy has not impacted him from making money and putting himself in a position to possibly never have to work again, he should not send the message that its okay to be illiterate if one has money.  So what I cant read I have money, is a horrible message.  That type of message should never be okay.  Reading is extremely important for our young.  Its nearly impossible to function without knowing how to read.  Hopefully he donates money to some reading foundation to show that he stresses the importance of reading for our youth.

The fact that he is a boxer makes it unrealistic and irresponsible to encourage kids to go his route, add that to the fact that he is the best at what he does makes his message that much more unrealistic.  The odds of one kid having the same type of career financially speaking as Floyd Maywether are slim to none, so a whole generation should not adopt the message that if I get money, I don't have to read.  

Is Floyd Mayweather a  positive role model?  I would say yes in some respects, despite his lack of reading ability he has not allowed that to stop him from being an extremely successful athlete that has been able to capitalize off his talent.  He is a role model for any boxer that wants to pursue a career in that field.  He is a role model for all athletes in some ways.  Mayweather is one of the hardest working athletes ever, he is consistent, and as much as he is on the scene he never allows that to affect his main priority which is boxing.  His involvement on the business side of boxing as I mentioned before should be studied and executed by other athletes.

While we have fun laughing at him for not being able to read.  Lets recognize that its a serious matter in some ways.  Lets also recognize Mayweathers ability to make power moves.  Not only does it take intelligence, it takes a forward thinker to realize he should be making the majority of money off his work.

I am African

I got into a nice debate about genetics the other day.  I was told African Americans are not African, genetically speaking.  The debate started as a result of a comment that I made about black people needing to embrace Africa in the same way the majority of Jewish people I have met embrace Israel.

The point I was trying to make was that some Jewish people here in the states have never been to Israel, do not speak the language, and could not fully relate to Israeli culture.  Despite the disconnect they still embrace Israel.  It gives the Jewish community pride, strength and solidarity.

In response, one of the points made was the fact that there is little to no West African Genetic Ancestry found in SOME present day African Americans.  Therefore it makes no sense to embrace Africa, especially not all of Africa.  I can't argue science.

I remember the day that I realized that the "Old Testament" was actually the Torah, and the New Testament was just an addition that negated a lot of the values that Jewish people hold dear and true to their heart.  Muslims hold the majority of values found in the Torah true to their heart as well.  Judaism which is 6,000 years old, does link people of the Jewish Diaspora back to Israel.

More importantly the struggle and oppression Jewish people have dealt with as a result of their beliefs compels me to make the analogy between Black Americans and Africa, and Jewish people and Israel.  

European Christians, the same Christians that kidnapped, transported, enslaved, colonized, murdered, raped, beat, and brainwashed Africans, also murdered, raped, persecuted, brainwashed, judged, Jewish people.  Not because of skin color but because of beliefs.  An original belief, that could not be taken away regardless of all the horrible things that were done.  European history is flooded with Jewish persecution at the hands of Christians in the name of Jesus Christ.  Jewish history is filled with resistance, filled with amazing stories of resilience and perseverance.

 It was the deep feelings of grief I felt while reading, slowly learning more about Jewish history.  I didn't care about the differences, I just noticed the similarities.  I related to the struggle.      

As a Black person, an African American, I think that it's extremely important for black people to embrace not only West Africa, but all of Africa as a place of origin.  Even though it is proven that the large majority of African Americans originally come from West Africa, the collective struggle and experience of the continent makes it one.  With the exception of Ethiopia, every country was or still is colonized by some European country.  Countries were stripped of  independence, and robbed of their natural resources.  Colonialism, Bi-lateral agreements a result of Colonialism, crippled African countries economically, as well as culturally speaking.

The greatest resource ever taken from Africa, was the people.

Misconceptions of black people based on appearance, the misconceptions based on the ignorance and lack of integrity of the European explorers and scientists were some of the reasons we as a society have such a negative view of Africa today.  The vulnerability Europeans felt as they encountered uncharted grounds, and people had an enormous affect the psyche of Europeans.  Instead of learning, or simply leaving African people alone.  Europeans, slowly built up enough fear to justify the murder, rape, and theft of African people.

So the tradition to ignore, and actually support the horrible treatment black people have faced is a tradition in both European, and European American society.  This fact is part of the reason I think that American Black communities are microcosms of the issues plaguing African countries as a result of colonization.

According to a study done in 2009, my friend who happens to be a genius and extremely well versed when it comes to genetics is right.  Some black people have less than 1 percent of West African Ancestry  in them.  The study consisted of 365 African American participants.  The results established that African Americans can have as little as one percent Western African Ancestry all the way up to 99 percent.  The average amount of European Ancestry found in African Americans was 18.5 percent.

I don't care if you are the leading geneticist in the universe, you can not take my African heritage away by showing me percentages.  
Although true, the findings of this study disgust me.  It reminds me of an extremely sad, horrific, neglected period in history.  A time when African men, who were incapacitated, shackled mentally, emotionally, and physically, helplessly watched their African women raped, beat and murdered by European men.

It reminds me of the history of African Americans wanting to be as light as possible in the hopes that they would be accepted by the dominant white culture.  Some black people wanted nothing to do with blackness as a result of the stigma attached, as a result of the self hate we deal with even today. Some black people talk about finding lighter skinned people to mate with in order to give their kids "favourable" features.  These features are based on our European Patriarchal societies preferences.

Culturally I am West African, but as a result of being socialized within a European dominated culture, I am also sad to say culturally European American as well.

An example of this fusion would be Jazz, which combines instruments common in Europe. The struggle, experience, and the innate ability to adapt of black Americans, and the rhythm, melody, and passion of Africa.    

 Look at breakdancing, and then go to West Africa, or Brazil, or Jamaica and see how similar the movements are.  Only differences between these groups are the colonizers in which they were influenced by.   These differences create sub cultures within African culture.  As much as reggae is Jamaican, its African.  As much as the blues and gospel are American, the blues and gospel are African.  As much as Salsa and Merengue are spanish both forms of music are driven by the African drum.

Black music in America is an expression of rejection through art.  Although I play a piano, I am not going to play like you do.  Although I understand and appreciate classical music, I am going to put a twist on it and make it mine.  I don't mind Freddy Kempf, Chopin, Mozart, Bach, or Beethoven, but I would pick Thelonious Monk over all of them.  

If you look at the foods that black people eat in the states, compared to what brothas and sistas eat in west Africa, you will find similarities despite the fact that some of us have never stepped foot on African soil. It may be seasoned differently, but chitlins, yams, black eyed peas to name a few items are extremely common in both West Africa and Black American households.

Its not skin color.  Its not a percentage that makes Black Americans, African.  Its our experience,  the treatment people of the black diaspora deal with daily unites us, and links us to Africa.  Its the perception, and the continued misconception the world has of black people.  The movement, the melody, the rhythm, is African.  Culturally we are African.  Spiritually we are African.  Emotionally we are African.
    

A black mans thoughts on the hoodie

A man in a police uniform scares me more than the biggest strongest dude wearing a hoodie ever would.


Lets be honest, its not a hoodie, nor is it a puffy starter jacket that people fear.  Black men were feared way before the modern day hoodie was invented so please try again. 

Can we just talk about the elephant in the room.  Don't tell me that you are scared of me because I have a hoodie on.  You are scared of me because I am black.  Its a tradition for one group of people, to fear black man.  Its also a tradition to kill, detain, and police black man.

The original purpose of the Police in the south directly after slavery was to arrest and re enslave black people.  The only justification needed to lock black people up was the color of their skin.  This tradition lead to alienation, objectification, and ultimately incarceration and death for black men especially.  

Instead of addressing it, they ignore the real problem and blame black people for not dressing properly.  Whats sad is we have a group  black people that buy into this theory that you have to look a certain way to be accepted.  I agree to a point, but ultimately disagree for the simple fact that Europeans murdered millions of people based on the idea that the indigenous groups of people they encountered were bad due to looking different.  Clothes, language, religion, basically culture all over the world was destroyed based on this very thought process.  

This is funny to me, but to some this is an extremely scary sight.  

Its okay when I look like this, I noticed while I am cooking I am okay.  This is an acceptable role.  White people do not feel as threatened by me when I have this uniform on.

I love cooking.  This is what I am suppose to look like.  In a position of servitude. 

I was praised and admired for playing basketball.  This was an acceptable role for a me to play as long as I did not show too much emotion.  As long as I was just a basketball player, and not a kid that actually used his mind, this was okay.  I learned that even as a basketball player the fear was still present.  The only reason that I was not considered a threat due to the fact that I was playing basketball.  The minute I stepped off the court, I transformed back into a scary guy I guess.

           

This is okay, because I am entertaining.

What upsets me is that I grew up in a neighborhood where joining a gang was an option, selling drugs was an option.  I avoided all that stuff for the most part.  I grew up being harassed by cops despite not being a criminal.  As I grew older I started to feel like the racial profiling was an unnecessary, unacceptable, disrespectful practice that humiliates black man and makes us feel less than.   I didn't avoid all of that stuff just because.  I avoided all that stuff to avoid being treated like a criminal.  Little did I know that no matter what I did, I was going to be racially profiled, and judged based on the perception white people have of my skin color. 

This treatment creates a sense of resentment for law enforcement in the black community.  This feeling of resentment comes off as weird to white people due to the fact that they do not receive similar treatment. This is an example of structure dictating culture and ultimately alienating black people.  

As a result of years of harassment, false imprisonment, beatings, and murder due to racism , resenting the police has become a part of black male culture.  Songs like "911 is a Joke" by Public Enemy,  "F!*k the Police" by NWA are only two examples of how black people living in the inner city feel about the police.  Although these songs were made twenty years ago the resentment is still present due to the fact that the treatment has not changed.   

 I have been pulled over as a result of being black.  I have been stopped on the street as a result of being black.  The excuse that I look like a thug when I have a hoodie on is absurd.  We live in Seattle, a hoodie is acceptable clothing especially considering the fact that it rains 8-9 months out of the year. 

  Attack hip hop culture?  Take a look at where hip hop comes from!!!!!! Hip Hop culture started in a cold climate. It started on the streets of New York. If you watch the weather channel you will notice that it rains, and snows in New York, even when there is not some form of precipitation it can be very cold.  

Kids hanging out on the corner for hours at a time in cold weather. What are they suppose to wear? 

Although hoodies and thick coats have been associated with criminal activity, the origins of these social uniforms actually come out of necessity. It was different, it was cool, and as a result people stopped wearing them due to the weather and started wearing them to look cool and fit in.  Even with that said, the hoodie is not gang wear.  Its style, but it does not make a person a gang member.  

Ask Mark Zuckerberg who runs a 70 billion dollar business in the comfort of a hoodie.   

Stop being scared  and ignorant, and use common sense.  Unthink and break the tradition of fear.  

Greatest Skill Set

Jordan was the best at creating his own shot.  Magic was the best at creating shots for others.  Bill Russell was the best at creating more possessions for his team which led to more shots.  Lebron James combines all three skills.  He has established himself as the best small forward of all time, and is well on his way to replacing someone on the NBA Mt. Rushmore.

"Courtesy of nba.com"

      


"Courtesy of balthus23/youtube.com"


"Courtesy of confidence/youtube.com"

When I think about players that had the ability to control a game using their versatility, the first player that comes to mind is Oscar Robertson.  He is the only player in NBA history to average a triple double for a season.  His numbers were unreal. Here are his career numbers:  http://www.nba.com/history/players/robertson_stats.html

Magic Johnson also had all three abilities as well.  He has the most playoff triple doubles all time with 17, and he is second on the regular season all time list with 72.  Magic could play all five positions on the court proving it his rookie season during game 6 of the NBA finals.  Kareem, sat out due to an injury, Magic showed his versatility by playing every position on the floor at one point or another.  From point guard, to center.  He scored 42 points, pulled in 15 rebounds, and 7 assists against Dr. J and the mighty Philadelphia 76ers to win the first of his five NBA championships.  

Larry Bird, who was the second biggest star in the league during the 80s behind only Magic, also had the ability to impact the game using his versatility.   At one point I considered him to be the best small forward ever.  I remember watching old Celtics games a few years back. They were showing a marathon of great playoff games on NBAtv. Magic, MJ, and Bird. 

Lebron was still in Cleveland at the time. His playoff numbers were like 29 points 8 boards and 8 assist. He was doing his thing in the playoffs.  I was comparing their skills and Larry Legends numbers popped up and they were identical. So at that time Bird was better. He had more championships, mvps, and identical numbers. Skill set wise, he shot the ball better, and I would say his post game was more complete. 

Now I look at Lebron's resume and its nearly identical to Larry legends. In fact its better in some areas if you looked at them side by side.  Take a look:
http://www.landofbasketball.com/player_comparison/b/larry_bird_vs_lebron_james.htm 

Present day Lebron James is better than Larry Bird.  At 29, I see him getting better for a few more years. At that time, his game will slow down, he will post more and actually play a lot like Bird use to play. Right now his athletic ability puts him above a lot of players due to the fact that it allows him to do more on both offense and defense. For the most part Lebron James is unstoppable.


"Courtesy of fatal9ish/youtube.com"

James has the best combination of skills of any player that has ever played when you add his play on the defensive end, size and athleticism.  Although Lebron James is not on the Mt. Rushmore of the NBA as of yet, he is building a strong case as to why he should be.  Fan or not, we are witnessing history. 


"Courtesy of Dawk Ins/youtube.com"

Impressive Record

Although Floyd Mayweathers record of 46-0 is impressive, Julio Cesar Chavez won 87 straight fights before facing Pernell Whitaker.  Although the fight was ruled a draw, Chavez clearly lost to Whitaker.   

Mayweather is the better fighter, but its not because of his record.  

     

"Courtesy of USA TODAY"

"Courtesy of www.realclearsports.com"

Throwback Thursday: St Joes, Stevie Wonder, and Lou Hobson

As I was listening to the Stevie Wonder station on Pandora this morning one of my favorite songs came on.  The title of the song is "Sign, Sealed, and Delivered" by Stevie Wonder.  The song reminds me of St. Josephs gymnasium, and the first time that I met Lou Hobson.  

 A lot of great ball was played there.  Up until the end of my sophomore year I knew very little about St. Josephs.  I had recently returned to the hoop scene after a three year hiatus due to my parents being fed up with my lack of effort during middle school. 
 
In reality, I was not that serious about basketball, and didn't care about getting better. I was the complete opposite of everyone on my former C.A.Y.A. team.  C.A.Y.A stands for Central Area youth Association.  

"In 1964, CAYA was formally established with O.L. Mitchell as the first Director. The purpose of formalizing the organization was to provide education, recreation, and social development activities for youth between the ages of 9 – 18."  It was an extremely important organization during my childhood. This is my seventh grade CAYA team.  Im number seven.  Lots of memories.  I learned a lot from these guys, and had a lot of fun traveling and basically watching them play.  I went on to play high school and college basketball with number five Will Conroy.  

 
From fourth to seventh grade, I traveled to various cities in the US, more as a spectator than a player.  In retrospect practice was huge for me in terms of development.  I was the weakest link, and it was evident a lot of the time.  The two players that were equal in size were way more developed, socially, and physically speaking.  I developed an understanding for basketball by watching my teammates play in games, as well as playing against them in practice.  Little did I know that it would be the foundation for what was to come down the road.    

Lou Hobson was a large reason for the talent explosion that took place in Seattle from 1998-2010.  Although I was a relative nobody on the prep hoop scene following my junior season, and had no intention of playing basketball for Lou’s basketball program, he still allowed me and lots of other kids to work on our games in that gym.  I gained a lot of confidence and respect from my basketball playing peers up at St. Josephs. St. Josephs provided kids with a competitive, safe, positive, all inclusive environment.

"Courtesy of Post Intelligencer"
Lou Hobson

 

St. Josephs, or St. Joes for short is a private school located in the Central District/Capitol Hill area of Seattle.  During the day the gym was full of kids that attended the private school.  At night the gym transformed into a training ground for some of the best ball players to come out of Seattle in the last twenty years.    

  

My life started to change after my first year of high school as I was five-eleven,  I didn't play basketball and had no intention of playing. Going into my sophomore year something special happened.  I began what would end up being an eight inch growth spurt over the next year and a half.  Even then I was not interested in playing.  It was not until coaches and friends who did play started to tell me I had to!  Honestly the thought of playing for Garfield was a dream.  Never thought it was going to be a reality.    

I made the Junior Varsity Squad my sophomore year at 6'4" and I made the Varsity squad my

 junior year at 6'8". 

One of the best teams ever assembled in the state of Washington.  As a result I had to wait my turn.  Number twelve in the back.  I was tall, but still getting use to my new body as I grew eight inches in the year and half prior to my junior year.    

I was clumsy, but knowledgeable about the game.  I had some ability as a result of one on one games with my older cousin Max, playing ball at the local parks with my father and uncles, as well as my time with C.A.Y.A..  Now that I was tall, all I lacked was the confidence and the skill to be a good player.

. 

Lou provided me the environment to gain confidence and raise my skill level.  My first meeting with Lou Hobson was also my first time playing ball at St. Joes.   As I entered the lobby of the gym two sounds stood out to me outside the obvious sound of basketballs bouncing.

The first sound was Stevie Wonder's, "Sign, Sealed, and Delivered" blasting on the stereo that was located on the east side of the gym on the sideline at mid court.  The second sound that I heard was from a man who was not yelling, rather speaking loudly.  It was Lou Hobson.      

I loved Stevie so I was excited upon entering the lobby, what excited me more was the atmosphere within the gym.  I saw kids of all ethnicities.  Male and female all in the gym working on their games.  All different skill levels, yet not one kid acted better than the other.  I remember being amazed at Lou’s ability to debate some basketball related topic, rebound for a kid, mediate an issue, and teach hoop all at the same time.  Future prep, collegiate, and NBA stars in the gym as well as future accountants, and doctors. 

To some that drive by St. Joes, it’s simply a private school, but to me it’s where I started working on becoming a real ball player.   If not for my time at St. Joes, and Lou’s guidance I would have never been in a position to play for a scholarship.  

I went from playing 1.8 minutes a game my junior year of high school for the Garfield Bulldogs to becoming a Nike Camp All-American within months of the season ending.  The confidence gained playing at St. Joes was a huge reason for it.  

"Sign, Sealed and Delivered", reminds me of the love, respect and appreciation for basketball that was present in St. Joe’s gymnasium.       

Life Changing

Over the past few months I have gone back and forth about how I feel about a fifteen dollar minimum wage for Seattle employees.

On one end I ask why those of us that do not make fifteen dollars an hour chose to work for businesses that pay less than that?  I have come to the conclusion that the majority of people that have jobs that pay less than fifteen dollars an hour would jump at the chance to apply for a job that paid more.  In the food industry its very hard to find an entry level job that pays fifteen dollars.  Most individuals in jobs that pay less than fifteen dollars, do so out of necessity.

 If I had my choice I would not work for less than twenty dollars an hour.  That wage expectation would leave me unemployed, as I have not seen one food industry job that I am qualified for that pays any where near that.  Which means that I would not be able to provide anything for my family.  Some employment is better than no employment.  At the end of the day, there is a large portion of Seattle that lives day to day.  One mistake, one sick day can have a family at risk of being evicted.

 Some say go to culinary school, get certified, and put yourself in a position to demand more money.  That sounds great, but when one is not generating enough money for necessity it is extremely hard, nearly impossible to think or initiate an action toward upward mobility.  Lack of time for school, or entrepreneurship is also an issue that is usually neglected by critics of the fifteen dollar an hour wage increase.

The twenty two dollars that I used to attain a business license, took two meals off my families table.  The decisions one has to make in order to move up with no guarantee of success puts poor people in a very tough position.  Even those that have been taught and exposed to avenues that will allow them to have a comfortable life face difficult decisions.      

I look at the importance of education and ask, am I not earning more money due to my lack of a degree?
This thought process has led to many sleepless nights, as I was having trouble with the thought of knowing exactly how to get out of poverty, but not being able to afford it.

According to Experian, Seattle leads the nation with an average household debt of around $26,000.  Im right around average.  My thoughts go out to those Seattleites who are below average, and do not have the means to actually get themselves out of debt.  I myself at my current wage can not get out of debt.

In fact based on how much I make I go further in debt every month.  I make $12.80 at my current job at the University of Washington.  I actually took a pay cut in order to take advantage of the benefits.  I learned very quickly that if you do not make a certain amount of money, you can not take advantage of the benefits that are offered.  I cant put my kids on my insurance at my current wage.  Excuse me I can, but that would leave me with even less money for everyday issues like bills and food.  Lets look at the numbers.  

As I said before I make $12.80 hourly, which is around $2048 monthly before taxes.  After my monthly expenses of $2200, I am negative -$152 every month.  Which adds up to around -$1824 in debt every year.  If I made $15 an hour, I would make around $2400 a month.  After my expenses of $2200, I would be left with $200 a month!  That would be life changing.  It would allow me to build my business buying a new piece of equipment ever month.  It would allow me to start paying off my debt.  It would allow me to sign my kids up for programs that are vital to their success both academically, and socially speaking.

Although $200 dollars to some is nothing.  To people like me it would truly be life changing.  That's potentially $2400 a year.  At that point, I could save up, and take my family camping.  The thought of moving up, and actually having the money to do so is a dream for all Americans.  The problem is that there is only a small population in a position financially to live out that dream.

If a $15 an hour minimum wage was to be implemented for all workers in Seattle, the city would also have to implement money management workshops, in order to educate those who would benefit from the increase in wages.  Not enough to give people more money.  Have to educate them as well.

My only concern is the thought of people losing jobs as a result of a wage increase.  Will businesses let go of workers if they have to increase wages in order to keep their profit margin from declining?

I support a wage increase as long as it does not cause a significant decrease in employment.