Throughout my 50+ years of living, I’ve encountered situations that made me want to say “Wow!” After a while, my expressions of surprise morphed into eye rolls and feelings of frustration.

I have concluded that mental illness is becoming the standard of living in this country, in which what a person feels has taken the place of practical morality. It has become standard to point out the faults of one group of people while ignoring those same shortcomings in others. Men and women have become confused about their genders because they feel as if the sex they were born with is a mistake, DNA be damned. Feelings and emotions have become the norm for making judgments, especially in issues of love and hate. In what I call hater’s syndrome, it is possible to hate a person to the point where one ignores even the positive aspects of the person. That person is evil, no matter what, and no good deed emanating from him will redeem him to those who hate him, even when the jury concludes that he isn’t evil at all.

Let me get this train back on the rails.

As a black man who also happens to be a Christian, I have had to come face-to-face with all kinds of adversity. In all honesty, it has been a lot easier being a black man than it has for me to be a Christian; and being a Christian is not something I take lightly. As a follower of Jesus, the truth is something I take very seriously and I’d rather look into a situation than to jump to conclusions based on feelings, albeit I haven’t always been perfect in this aspect. I understand that I will fall short quite frequently and I realize that’s okay as long as I acknowledge my errors and alter my course in order to learn from them. In other words, if I’m wrong about something, I will admit it no matter how much pain is delivered through my pride.

We all have opinions and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I seriously believe God has given us the ability to form an opinion as a way for us to learn about the world around us. An opinion can be right or wrong and I believe it is our personal duty to find the truth through study, observation, research, or whatever. When we do this, we set ourselves on the path to discover the truth about our point-of-view. If the truth reveals our opinion to be correct, we have confirmation of our viewpoint; if it’s the opposite, then we need to ditch our opinion and hold on to the truth.

However, there are some of us who are so mentally and intellectually lazy, we either:

A. Passively receive our knowledge, so we’d rather someone spoon-feed it to us. Or,

B. Refuse to search out our opinion for fear of finding our point-of-view is wrong. Or,

C. Once the truth is revealed about our opinion, we still latch onto it like a starving tick gripping onto the backside of an water buffalo. This is called cognitive dissonance, or, in my opinion, a fancy way to define stupidity. This can describe those in Category B as well.

I have come across people who hold a politically liberal mindset who refuse to read anything written by a conservative. Don’t get me wrong, there are conservatives who refuse to read anything written by a liberal (both are stupid). However, it has been my experience that liberals far (and I mean far!) outpace their conservative opposites when it comes to this mode of thinking.

Because of this, certain sensitivities have developed among various groups over the years. Instead of looking into how someone with a differing point-of-view really thinks, we begin to define right and wrong based on our feelings instead of on logical observation. Our “truths” become subjective instead of objective. People who think like this believe science and logic to be advocates arguing their case, but this is only because they distort the facts in their minds. It becomes necessary to shut down someone’s opinion because their language is full of terms that some find “offensive”, and in some aspects of our modern thinking, offending someone is akin to committing an act of horrific violence against the offended. You can’t ask someone where they are from because you are curious about their accent or you will be accused of committing a “micro-aggression”, whatever that means. Folks have to walk on proverbial eggshells so as not to “offend” others who are members of certain groups. On the other hand, these folks are cricket-chirping silent when someone makes an outright and apparent insult or commits actual violence against groups they hate, i.e. Christians and conservatives.

“Slave” is a term some in the black community find offensive despite the fact that none of them were ever slaves. Add to that the fact that black people weren’t the only group of people to have ever been enslaved and the offense to that word becomes quite ludicrous. I own a pair of bluetooth earpods that I use to listen to various podcasts, games, Bible, and video on my iPhone. When looking for a hook-up, a voice will say “Searching for slave.” I also own some photography equipment which include several speedlight flashes that can be operated simultaneously using a remote shutter release. The shutter release is known as the “master” and the flashes are known as the “slaves.” I’m not a betting person, but I’d be willing to wager there are folks in the black community who would get offended at either situation.

Which leads me to explain the title of this post. A few days before this writing, my supervisor (who is white) gave me some instructions on work he wanted to get done. After receiving the instructions, I said “No skin off of my back” which is my way of saying “No problem,” though it would seem easier to say the latter rather than the former. This was a response I would give from time to time in similar situations at other jobs for several years. A few minutes later, my boss came to me concerned about my statement. He would state to me to use caution in using that phrase because certain black folks might take offense to my expression because it may remind them of the days of slavery when the white masters would beat their black slaves across their backs with bullwhips. I told him I would try to be more careful but, inside, I felt my frustration boiling. My quip was harmless as a drop of water on a blade of grass. Not once did I think my statement would be seen as offensive. The problem I see in all of this is we could get rid of every term or phrase deemed “offensive” to black folks and they’ll still find something to get offended about.

As I’ve stated in an earlier post, there are folks who have taken offense to the name of this blog.

What I see in all of this are many of us sliding down a slippery slope to fall into the river of political correctness. Some may realize their mistake and make it out alive, while others will get caught in the current and eventually drown.

The Apostles of Blackness and their liberal contemporaries love to point fingers of blame at those they dislike. I think it’s high time they stop ignoring the fingers that point back at them.

You all have a good day and I’ll see you on the rebound. (Hopefully, this phrase doesn’t offend you)

For those of you who don’t know me, I consider myself a relatively nondescript, untalented, yet unique and freethinking black man. I don’t like anyone to do their thinking for me, albeit I’m open to good advice. I like to march to the beat of my own drum and I don’t like to follow the crowd, as I think that is a shortcut to get nowhere fast. I’m not a person who likes to follow style, fad, or fashion.

As untalented as I am, every now and then I tend to inadvertently display my propensity for getting in trouble when I speak my mind. Given, I don’t do this for the sake of causing trouble, I just feel my point of view is just as valid as anyone else’s. Too many times, people tend to not appreciate my frame of mind and they let me know with their verbal version of a Muhammad Ali combination. One thing I’ve learned in my life is that the truth cramps many people’s style and it makes them uncomfortable to hear a viewpoint that’s not their own.

I’m sure some reading this article are familiar with a fish known as a salmon. Every fry (salmon baby) is born in a pool of freshwater next to a stream or river. The currents take the fry downstream until it reaches the ocean, where it spends several years developing, growing fat, and avoiding predators. If they survive those years, instinct guides them to the very streams that brought them to the ocean and, now, they must fight against the very currents that were in their favor years ago. This takes a lot of strength, determination, and stamina as swimming upstream is no easy feat. Besides fighting the current, these rascals are still in danger of predation by eagles, storks, and bears. Many won’t live to reach the very pools in which they were born. Those that make it pair off with one another to mate and spawn. Soon after their eggs are laid, the parents die and the cycle starts all over again. If there were such a thing as reincarnation (something I adamantly don’t believe in), I’d like to believe I’d come back as a salmon.

So, now that I’ve shared with you one of my personality quirks and given you a crash course in ichthyology, you may ask yourself, “What in the name of Tacoma, Washington does all this have to do with the title of this article?!” Well, this is one of those times when I may be getting myself into trouble with my fellow black folks.

In 1986, I traveled from Washington, DC to a city called Durham, NC, to attend an HBCU known as North Carolina Central University or NCCU for short. Although I am a black guy, I didn’t choose NCCU because it was predominately black. I chose to attend there simply because it was in North Carolina¹, a good distance from the Nation’s Capital, a city that I wasn’t too fond of. Going through orientation and several assemblies, the students were encouraged to sing a song called Lift Every Voice and Sing, a song that I don’t recall having heard of before. The words to the tune were okay, I guess, but it wouldn’t be a song that would make my personal Top Ten Greatest Hits. In other words, I didn’t get caught up in the pride a lot of black people felt when they heard that song.

Fast-forward to several years later, and I have made Durham my personal residence. I’m working on a job when one of my coworkers blurts out that whenever a black person hears LEVAS (Lift Every Voice and Sing), that person is supposed to stop what they’re doing and stand at attention. I was kind of taken aback at his statement because I had never heard that rhetoric and, also, how dare anyone tell me that LEVAS is for all black people; as if we must dance when the Apostles of Blackness play their tune. Heck, I don’t even do that with what I believe to be the REAL national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner. Don’t get me wrong, if I’m at a public sporting event or something similar and I hear the SSB, I’ll stand, remove my hat, and place my hand over my heart in respect to this country’s heritage. If someone refuses to stand, I understand that is that person’s right and I won’t get offended. My problem is when a person gives their reason for not standing or kneeling instead of standing. I already dealt with this subject somewhat here, but I believe I need to go into a little more detail.

When Colin Kaepernick committed his act in 2016, he made the mistake so many of his pro-black contemporaries make: pretending that he was speaking for all black people:

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”

Keep in mind that Kaep is biologically related to a black parent and a white one. Neither one wanted to look after him for whatever reason and he ended up getting adopted by two white folks. Without examining his childhood and early adult years, I’d say Mr. Kaepernick lived a charmed life, a privilege a lot of children don’t have the good fortune to experience. The dude even became a starting quarterback in the NFL, almost winning the Super Bowl. However, that isn’t good enough because white folks have so much power, and no accomplishment gained by black folks could ever rise above the power they wield. We have to work twice as hard in order to reach the same achievements wypipo accomplish with ease. Because of this, our achievements have to be so noticeable, and our voices have to be so much louder, in order for our white compatriots to take even the slightest notice of us. This is the reason for the recent proliferation of CRT (critical race theory) and black culture in mainstream media. We are here, doggone it, and you will notice us! We are black people, hear us ROAR!

So, this brings me to this year’s Super Bowl (LVII), a matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles. It would have a personal distinction with me because it would be the first game I watched in its entirety since Super Bowl LIV, which would be 3 years. Read this article to understand why.

Anyway, when the day of the Super Bowl arose, I had absolutely no plans to watch it. Deep down, I longed to suppress my conscience and just watch it anyway. However, being a person who likes to stick to his guns, that wasn’t going to happen…until I went to church that morning. On my way out, an elderly gentleman my wife and I had gotten to know over the past couple of years came up to me and whispered in my ear, “Vincent, could you help me root for my Kansas City Chiefs today?” Before I could even think, I said “Sure.” I would have backed the Chiefs anyway, because they had been one of my favorite teams before my personal boycott of the NFL and I supported them when they played the 49ers in the big game three years previously. Being a man of my word, I told myself “I guess I’m watching the Super Bowl tonight.” Making that decision showed me why my ban of the NFL will continue.

Our good, ol’ buddies at The Root posted an article recently titled If Lift Every Voice Has Got to Go, Then So Do These, subtitled, Why, during Black History Month no less, are white people still insisting there should only be ONE National Anthem? In this article, the author calls out “white hypocrisy:

One week after Super Bowl LVII has come and gone, there still seems to be significant social media chatter surrounding Sheryl Lee Ralph’s historic performance of Lift Every Voice and Sing, the masterpiece written by James Weldon Johnson and composed by his brother, John Rosamond Johnson, in 1900. Despite some time passing, white folks’ voices are still rising in opposition to the so-called Black National Anthem being sung at the storied event, calling it “divisive,” “unnecessary,” and even racist—although there is no mention of race in the entire song, unlike the Star Spangled Banner (check the third stanza).

Which white people are they talking about? Is it the majority? Do they dislike the song because it was written and sung by black folks? Are there white folks calling for an actual ban to the song?

Side note: On January 27, 1991, Whitney Houston sang the National Anthem and made that song her song. Had there been a roof on the stadium, Miss Houston would have been guilty of murder because girlfriend would have brought the roof down, killing everyone in attendance. I have yet to hear one white person complain about her singing that song nor one black person accuse her of cultural appropriation. But I digress.

Do I think LEVAS is divisive, unnecessary, and even racist? Let me ask you this: Which song has been declared the anthem for an entire race? America? America the Beautiful? God Bless America? I have heard of one song being dedicated to an entire race of people and that song is The National Black Anthem (LEVAS). None of the other songs make one mention of race, though the Apostles of Blackness will twist certain words to make you think so. The only reason anyone is against the song is because it’s divisive, unnecessary, and, yes, racist. It isn’t only white folks who disagree with the inclusion of the song during sporting events. Yours truly (the author of this article) is vehemently against it being sung at sporting events because all it does is pacify a certain group of people in the name of “inclusion.”

Shortly before the Big Game, actress/singer Sheryl Lee Ralph comes to the center of the field and it is announced that she will be singing the National Black Anthem, and I was reminded of why I no longer watch NFL games, that Sunday being an exception. She sang it pretty well, I guess, but the song didn’t move me as much as others because I’m not one who takes pride in his skin color.

Going back to the above excerpt from The Root, the third stanza of The Star-Spangled Banner makes no mention of any racial group. It mentions the word “slave” and that’s where the Apostle of Blackness get their panties in a bind. Now, there is much debate about why its composer, Francis Scott Key, included that phrase in his song, but there is no distinction that it has racist connotations. Liberal mainstream black America is notorious for getting triggered at certain words they deem “racist.”

Of course, LEVAS has its critics as does anything that makes an appearance in the public square. Certain powers-that-be refer to the song as “divisive” and they do have a point. LMBA (Liberal Mainstream Black America) interprets this as a call by white people to ban The National Black Anthem. Personally, I haven’t heard of one person calling for its ban and its critics simply state we don’t need two national anthems; which is why “journalists” at The Root felt compelled to write the above ludicrous article.

Not long ago, I attended a graduation at a Christian academy. Being that the school is 99% black, they felt the need to play LEVAS to which everyone stood…everyone, that is, except me. I will never stand for that song and, even if I did, I won’t sing it. To me, the song has come to symbolize the division that threatens to tear this country apart. As a black person who sees himself as 100% American, I can’t with a solid conscience stand for that. I know LMBA will have a problem with it and call me all those cute names they reserve for black folks who don’t think like them, but that’s their problem, not mine. They balk at the criticism they receive when they won’t stand for The National Anthem, but don’t like it when one of “theirs” won’t do the same for the Black National Anthem. Can you say double standards, boys and girls? I can.

By the way, can anyone please show me a country that has two national anthems? I’ll wait…

You all have a good day and I’ll see you on the rebound.

“Black power! Black power! Black power!” For the several decades I’ve been alive, I have heard this mantra repeated so many times, I have lost count. Being that I am a member of the so-called black race, there has been no escape from hearing this oft-repeated slogan that is uttered by afro-centrists, members of the Nation of Islam, the BLM crowd, and various black “leaders.” Many believe a revolution is coming (The revolution won’t be televised!) in which the world’s black race will take their rightful place to enslave their white “oppressors” because of slavery and Jim Crow. White people are the epitome of all the world’s ills, but things are going to get set straight.

However, I have a problem with the black power rhetoric. The American black race is overly sensitive to certain words that trigger them into fury. Words like monkey, nigger (or niggah), boy, sambo, coon, etc. are enough to give the deliverer of these words a busted lip at best, or a one-way ticket to the six-foot deep sleep, if you know what I mean.

It makes me wonder why the Apostles of Blackness feel justified in hurling these names – which were originally used by racist white folks – at black people who don’t think like them. But, I digress.

Anyway, all this talk about black power is nothing more than a delusional pipe dream as I have come to learn. Black “leaders” are always harping on the sins of white supremacy, white privilege, white rage, blah, blah, blah, so it has been very difficult for me to figure out the power part in all of this. I have actually talked with black persons who declare that black people can’t get ahead in this life because they are still in bondage in their minds from the trauma of slavery. As of this writing, slavery has been outlawed in the US for nearly 160 years and none of us has experienced any of its horrors; how can we be in bondage to something we haven’t had the misfortune of going through? To top it all off, we lay the blame of slavery on modern-day white folks who have never owned a slave and whose ancestors arrived on American shores after its abolishment. To me, this sounds more like excuses to fabricate a sense of victimhood in order to explain one’s shortcomings.

So, in short, if you feel like your mind is in chains like your ancestors were, or you can’t get ahead in life because of “white supremacy” and “privilege”, or you feel the need to get angry at every so-called social injustice and commit acts of violence to “right the wrongs”, I’m sorry, but that doesn’t sound like you have much power to declare.

The way our black leaders put it seems to say that the white man still has all the power.

Maybe the afro-centrists should change their black power symbol from the raised fist…to the limp wrist.

You all have a good day and I’ll see you on the rebound.

Before I go into this article, let me state a fact you may not be aware of and I’m not going to be nice about it: Democratic Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee is a fruit bat.¹ This woman’s resume is chocked full of embarrassing statements and actions that lets any decent-minded person realize that the congresswoman from Houston’s bananas are ripe, but the monkeys ain’t swinging. From her wanting hurricanes to be given black names in the name of representation, to her declaring the Constitution to be 400 years-old, to her declaring that there are “two Vietnams,” to her ignoring citizens at a town hall meeting while she talks on a phone, and others, it certainly baffles the mind how in the name of Houston, Texas she has lasted almost 30 years as a member of Congress. Consequently, this probably exposes the intelligence level of her voters because they’re the main reason Jackson-Lee has endured for so long.

Anyone who uses common sense will come to the conclusion that Jackson-Lee is a high-level race baiter who carries a deck of race cards wherever she roams.

Anyway, this article is about a bill SJL introduced January 9, 2023, dubbed the “Leading Against White Supremacy Act of 2023” or, HR 61. The introduction to the bill reads as such:

To prevent and prosecute white supremacy inspired hate crime and conspiracy to commit white supremacy inspired hate crime and to amend title 18, United States Code, to expand the scope of hate crimes.

Title 18 is the main criminal code of the US Government, and while time and space prohibits me from stating the specifics in the code, it basically defines what constitutes criminal activity within the borders of the USA. Translated, HR 61’s intro would probably read as thus:

To prevent and prosecute any white person who in any way corrects or disagrees with any minor (especially black people), be they common citizens or leaders.

Why does Ms. Lee have to specify white supremacy, as if white people are the cause for anything negative that happens in society? She seems to think that crimes committed by vanilla people are worse than crimes committed by other races, as if black persons do absolutely nothing wrong but are always being preyed on by their white counterparts.

By the way, Title 18 covers any crime that could be committed by white supremacists. Albeit evil, it is not a crime to be a white supremacist. I may discuss the issue of white supremacy in another posting since the Apostles of Blackness love to toss that term around like a proverbial volleyball.

But, hey, you get what you vote for.

If you would like to view Lee’s proposed bill, you can view it here.

Same with Title 18.

You all have a great day and I’ll see you on the rebound.

Okay, I’d like to think that I’m a person with good tastes. I love great music, food, entertainment, and I love to sit back and enjoy God’s handiwork as it’s shown in nature. I feel very privileged to have lived as long as I have and to have been able to enjoy some of the pleasures I’ve come across in my life. However, with the good, there also necessitates some room for the bad. This statue is titled “NOW” and was created by a Pakistani sculptor named Shahzia Sikander. The 53-year old dedicated her piece to Ruth Bader Ginsberg, the late Supreme Court Justice and iconic champion of women’s “rights” to murder their unborn children in the name of “reproductive rights.” In other words, the Medusa/Cleopatra hybrid statue is a symbol of death, rising as a grave marker above the millions of children that have been murdered for the sake of “convenience.” It is also being hailed as the first female statue to sit atop the courthouse in the Flatiron District of NYC and as a symbol of resistance against the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the US Supreme Court on June 24, 2022. In my opinion, maybe Ms. Sikander should have painted her “masterpiece” blood red to symbolize the blood that covers the hands of abortion providers and the politicians who support them. Also, I think Cleodusa should carry a scythe in one of her, er, tentacles, which would make her a perfect match and soulmate for the Grim Reaper.

This statue should be sent back to where it came from (I’ll leave it to your imagination where that is).

Next, we have this “impressive” piece of art, courtesy of artist, Hank Willis Thomas (and $10,000,000).

Do you remember the episode in Everybody Loves Raymond, in which Marie Barone (Doris Roberts) decides to take up sculpting? She creates what she thinks is a masterpiece without realizing it looks too familiar to something else. Her family realizes this but they are reluctant to tell her. Finally, someone explains its similarity to, um, something else and she feels deep shame for not realizing it. Well, the above statue reminded me of that episode in that its creator didn’t seem to notice its similarity to something that all eyes in the public aren’t meant to see. Of course, those who understand what Mr. Thomas was trying to create¹ will try to overlook his artistic faux pas, but many others have no qualms about expressing their views about it; and, boy! The critics did not hold back! I won’t repeat what I have read here as I think the above picture serves as a good reason why the criticisms were so harsh (once again, use your imagination). I guess it is true that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. My opinion is that before one goes public with his “masterpiece,” he should do a test run with a selected few people to get a preview of the public’s response. If you were to ask me, I think this monstrosity is an example of how to waste $10,000,000. Finally, as to what object Mrs. Barone’s sculpture shared a similarity with, I’ll leave it to you to do your research to find that specific episode and learn for yourself. Together, we can move forward to stamp out bad (and expensive) art.

You all have a good day and I’ll see you on the rebound.

¹The statue, The Embrace, was to represent the embrace Dr. King and his wife gave one another upon learning he had won the Nobel Peace Prize. I agree the artist’s intentions were noble, but he didn’t quite stick the landing.

What malady do you suffer from? I’d like to discuss two conditions that have afflicted many people in this great country of ours and have been the cause of many divisions in the nation. Now, you may not have heard of these maladies because I’ve come up with the terms myself. However, these abnormalities are just as real as ADD/ADHD (which I don’t think are actual medical conditions) or any other condition that affects one’s mentality.

First, there is AWRS, or what I like to call Acquired White Racism Syndrome. This condition affects black people exclusively and is responsible for how most black people think about their white contemporaries. Many in the black communities have been fed a steady stream of false rhetoric that seeks to mark every white person with the stamp of racism. They have been so inundated with information about slavery and Jim Crow, white people are viewed somewhat side-eyed as if they’re going to break out their hoods and robes and burn crosses in front of them. I refer to these folks as the Apostles of Blackness.

Every incident involving a white person interacting negatively with a black person is viewed through the lens of race and the white person is deemed a racist. These incidents also cause many of us to jump to conclusions before the verdict ever comes out about them. Breonna Taylor, Trevon Martin, George Floyd, Michael Brown, etc. are all said to have met their untimely ends due to the element of racism. In the minds of the Apostles of Blackness, blacks and whites are treated differently in similar situations. If a white person were to be involved in a mass shooting, the police will talk him down, apprehend him without incident, and take him to Burger King! Or, at least, that’s how they handled Dylan Roof. A black person in the same situation wouldn’t be as fortunate as the police will light him up like the Rockefeller Center at Christmastime, indiscriminately (which begs the question of why so many black people are in prison; you can’t be imprisoned unless you’re alive, but I digress).

In 2006, in the city of Durham, NC (the place of my residence as of this writing), an incident occurred that proved white folks get off easier than blacks. A black female college student falsely accused the white members of Duke University’s lacrosse team of taking their liberties with her, if you know what I mean. The black community went in an uproar, because they felt that had the players been black and the young lady had been white, the team would have faced immediate incarceration, no questions asked. Forget that they couldn’t come up with proof of that happening recently, they felt like it would have happened. There were even some who felt that whether innocent or guilty, those white boys should have been convicted so they would know how it felt to be a black person who was falsely convicted of a crime. Even Durham’s district attorney at the time, Michael Nifong, in an effort to gain favor with the black community and win some votes, got in on the act, withholding evidence that would have exonerated the accused, among other charges (we’ll talk about his condition a little later on in this post). I can remember watching this case unfold on a television in my job’s breakroom and one of my coworkers (who was black) remarking “Those boys look guilty.”

The accuser’s story unraveled and the lacrosse players were found not guilty. Nifong (having gotten his votes later that year to win an election) was later charged with various crimes, jailed, and disbarred. That didn’t discourage the Apostles of Blackness, as some state that “something happened.”

This is but one example of the effects of AWRS. Those afflicted with it believe all white people are inherently racist, that the US was founded on racism and white supremacy, and that black people will never achieve a high rate of success due to “systemic racism.”

Then, there’s the condition that I have christened AWGS, or Acquired White Guilt Syndrome. This mentality exclusively affects white folks in such a way that in proving they aren’t racists, they tend to go overboard in their anti-racism. These are the folks who have been bludgeoned so much by the racist stereotype, they have convinced themselves that maybe they are racists simply because of the color of their skin. This results in white people attempting to patronize their dark-skinned contemporaries by condemning themselves for that which they are not even guilty of.

Now, we have too many white folks (who haven’t committed one act of racism) chomping at the bit to apologize to random black folks for “what their white grandfolks did to their black grandfolks.” They even apologize for the hardships black people faced during Jim Crow and slavery as if they committed these acts directly. Further still, they serve penance for the difficulties their black comrades face presently, as if black people at present suffer WAY more than anyone else (NEWSFLASH: They don’t). Personally, these types of folks boil my potatoes as much as the Apostles of Blackness.

In June of 2021, 20th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and US Military general, Mark Milley, made an interesting statement while being questioned about the role of teaching CRT in the military at a House Armed Services Committee budget hearing.

I want to understand White rage. And I’m White… So, what is it that caused thousands of people to assault this building and try to overturn the Constitution of the United States of America? What caused that? I want to find that out.

Gen. Milley made this statement referring to the so-called “insurrection” at the US Capitol Building on January 6, 2021. Many critics pointed out that the “riot” was proof of the perpetual white supremacy that continues to infect this country. How anyone came to that conclusion is beyond me, but I digress. My point is that Gen. Milley’s statement is evidence of a white person who has been infected by AWGS.

Terms like white rage, white privilege, and white supremacy have beaten whites over the head for so long, they seek to make restitution by bowing down and kissing the boots of their fellow black folks. The moniker “racism” carries such a negative stigma with it, whites will do anything to separate themselves from it. However, guess who doesn’t cater to all the false accusations? Actual white supremacists. Imagine that.

As I’ve mentioned before, these folks get on my nerves as much black radicalists. I try to make it very clear that I don’t want (or, need) any white person to approach me, apologizing for slavery or Jim Crow (I’m sorry for what my grandfather did to your grandfather). The reason for my attitude is that I’ve come to two conclusions:

1. No black person currently living in the US has ever been enslaved in this country.
2. No white person currently living in the US has ever been a slave master.

Sometimes, a person’s frame of mind succeeds in boggling my own. I find it hard to understand why someone, who isn’t racist, would not only feel guilty of something which they had no part in, but also seeks to offer penance for the sins of all white people. Those with AWGS seek to assuage the guilt that has been forcefully injected into their mentality and is seemingly incurable.

Yet, herein lies the problem – white folks could continue to give penance to their black contemporaries and it wouldn’t amount to a layer of dust. In the eyes of the Apostles of Blackness, no measure of repentance can destroy the sins of the past, so why offer it up in the first place! To them, you are still a racist white person who needs to bear the sins of your ancestors. My message to those suffering with AWGS is to get a spine, dig your heels into the ground, and push back hard against any black person who calls you a racist when you know you aren’t one.

We will never break the cycle of racism as long as black folks keep playing victim, throwing down their race cards, and when white folks end their penchant for self-degradation in an effort to cater to racist (yeah, I said it! Sue me!) blacks who refuse to show mercy to their white penitents.

You all have a good day and I’ll see you on the rebound.

Welcome back, folks. I do apologize for the length of time that has developed between my last post and now. Sometimes, life has that pesky habit of getting in the way (COVID-19, personal situations, and lazy procrastination), but sometimes all it takes is a little jolt to get things rolling again. To be honest, this is a venture I don’t plan to give up on, even though I serve as this site’s publisher, producer, correspondent, and analyst. In other words, I’m doing this all by myself.

Anyway, let’s get this ball rolling again, shall we?

In my 50+ years of living (as of this post), I have experienced all sorts of situations, circumstances, experiences, and challenges. Unsurprisingly, it’s because of these factors that have made me into the person I am today with all my flaws, abilities, and…whatever. Of course just like anyone else, one of the tools that has been vital in my learning experiences has been the factor of observation.

The power of observation is a powerful helper in our quest to access knowledge. With this faithful ally working on our side, we are able to enhance our learning experiences and take advantage of what we scrutinize at a relative distance. For example, through observation we can learn from others’ mistakes, gain answers to certain questions we may have contemplated, or learn which directions we are to take. Couple this power with what we’ve been taught verbally and our daily walk becomes relatively convenient, albeit life will always be hard, even to those of us who seemingly have the upper hand above most. This is where reality begins to set in because not even the smartest among us has all the answers to life’s encounters. In other words, we are not God.

My personal experiences as a black person tends to open up the floodgates of trouble from time to time. When I share my life story with some of my contemporaries and explain to them that my childhood saga has shaped me into the person I am today, I get scoffed, ridiculed, brushed aside, or even deemed a liar. To them, being a black man means I am part of a monolith in which one black man’s encounters are every black man’s encounters. To think otherwise is a sacrilege to the Apostles of Blackness and opens me up to all kinds of derisive commentary that gets hurled in my direction like a group of arrows flung from different professional archers.

One of these situations I can derive from my personal life’s journal is how we react to the word “nigger.”

Nigger, niggah, nigguh, however you pronounce the word, has been branded by many as the most offensive word in the English language. The infamous n-word has been the source and trigger of heated arguments, fights, and even deaths. Certain groups refrain from using the word for fear of the end results and in an effort to appease certain factions that consider the term to be offensive.

While I myself abstain from using the word (I find it to be not a nice word to say), I do not get offended when I hear it, and that is where I tend to get in trouble.

When I grew up in the 70s and 80s, nigger was a word in much more prolific use than it is today. However, surprisingly, it was usually sent forth by way of black lips way more than white ones. For the most part, I would only hear a white person using the term on TV, as I can recall only twice hearing the word escaping their mouths in actual life. Even on the tube, though, I heard “niggah” uttered way more from black actors through the likes of George Jefferson and Fred Sanford. Furthermore, I’d hear the word prominently on radio and forbidden albums/cassettes that featured the likes of Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy. I became the inadvertent “victim” of the word on my own radio program when another black person referred to me as a “stupid niggah.”

The n-word (whichever variation you use) is deemed to be inappropriate language for the simple fact that it offends a group of people, namely black folks. Many are triggered into angry conniption fits and feel a need to defend their identities whenever they hear it. This is especially true when it is uttered by a non-black member of society, usually white folks.

Black Americans have been brainwashed into believing the myth that all white folks are potential racists and that they bear the responsibility of the mistreatment of black people through slavery and Jim Crow. So, whenever a vanilla man commits a negative action against a chocolate man, Mr. Vanilla is automatically labeled a racist. However, when the action is reciprocated, very few people will condemn Mr. Chocolate as being racist (black folks can’t be racist, remember?). For those of us who like to use logic and reasoning in our observations, this leads to an unmasking of a blatant double standard when it comes to the infamous n-word.

Don’t get me wrong, I think the use of the word “nigger” is unprofessional; but is it offensive? I guess it depends on who you ask.

I grew up in the heyday of the modern hip-hop culture, and while I’m not a fan of this genre of “music”, I am very familiar with what many of its proponents like to hear pushed in their songs. For the most part, if you ever want to hear prolific use of the word “niggah”, one only has to take their pick of the various rap singles that proliferate in our culture, especially “gangsta’ rap.” I will guarantee you will hear a lifetime’s worth barrage of this “offensive” term. So, why is this word acceptable among black gang members and famous rap artists, but is judged racist when uttered by other groups of people (i.e. white people)? Get ready for the double standards.

When asked this question, the Apostles of Blackness will come up with a plethora of excuses:

We use it as a term of endearment.

White folks say “nigger”, black folks say “niggah.” There is a difference.

We use it because we are taking back the power of the word.

Folks, I kid you not. I have heard the above excuses at one time or another. Let’s examine each one.

We use it as a term of endearment. This is laughable. I’d say around 90% of the time, when a black person uses “niggah” to refer to another black person, the sentiment is anything but endearing. Observe a fight between two black people and count the times your hear “niggah” this, and “niggah” that. I’ve also noticed the Apostles of Blackness love to mouth the word in the direction of “sellouts” and “Uncle Toms” as well. I find it very strange that certain black folks have taken a term used by racist white folks to direct it at other blacks who don’t think or speak like them. Very endearing indeed!

White folks say “nigger”, black folks say “niggah.” There is a difference. Um, we wouldn’t have the latter version of the word were it not for the former. Some of us say “gonna” which is a shortened form of “going to”, but we understand they mean the same thing. It’s the same thing with the n-word.

We use it because we are taking back the power of the word. If this is so, why do folks get triggered by the very mention of the word when it’s mentioned by someone who isn’t them? The n-word only gains its power through those who are offended by it. No, “nigger” doesn’t offend me, but I think it is highly advisable for no one, be you black or white, to abstain from using the word altogether as it isn’t a nice name to refer to someone.

Finally, some of you may be appalled at my liberal use of the different variations of the n-word in this article. Well, I’ve noticed fairly recently how we’ve treated the word as though one is cussing, but it’s really a form of patronization in order to coddle to the feelings of a certain group of people. If we feel this way about it, what about terms like cracker, honkey, or whitey? Double standards.

You all have a good day and I’ll see you on the rebound.

Everyone who knows me knows how I despise groups like BLM, the NAACP, Black Panthers, etc. All these groups seek to do is to perpetuate the lie that white supremacists and the KKK are the biggest threats to black people; therefore, as long as these groups exist, there will always be some element of “systemic racism” that will continue to oppress us and hold us back from success.

So, why is it that black people (among other races) can emigrate to the US from other countries and encounter success within a few years, while those of us who were born here continue to moan and whine about the evils of the white man? But I digress.

Take a good look at the picture above; take it in. The young lady pictured was a 39-year old mother of four living in Baltimore, MD. Not only that, she was a police officer. Her name was Keona Holley. On December 16, 2021, at about 1:30AM, she was sitting in her car when she was ambushed by two career thugs, Elliot Knox, 31, and Travon Shaw, 32. They shot and mortally wounded her before running from the scene to another area where they shot and killed another victim. Ms. Holley was taken to the hospital where she was put on life support. More than a week later (December 24, Christmas Eve) she was taken off life support and succumbed to her injuries.

It’s tragic that Keona’s children will be without their mother on Christmas. I am certain that these two good citizens were emboldened by the anti-cop/defund the police rhetoric that has swept through our country recently. These two punks had been in trouble with the law since their teens and one wonders why criminals like these were running free on the streets of B-town. The American justice system bears as much blame for this incident as the two Boy Scouts who committed the crime. Furthermore, the recent wave of social justice activism in our country has a lot to play in this incident as well. Ever since the incident involving Trayvon Martin in 2012 (which didn’t involve a cop), sentiment for the men-in-blue has been declining. Add in Lebron James’ statements (the police are hunting down black folks) and Colin Kaepernck’s kneeling and you have an atmosphere among US citizens that isn’t too kind to our LEOs (Law Enforcement Officers). As a result, we see increased violence against police officers like never before.

Thanks to our “faithful” news media, many black folks believe the police only exist to give black people misery. We’re told that along with “systemic racism”, the police are involved in a genocide against the black race. To hear the Apostles of Blackness tell it, black people are the only ones being pulled over for traffic violations (a phenomenon known as “driving while black”), they’re the only ones killed during incidents with the police, or the mass of black prisoners in our penitentiaries results from some kind of hidden racism within our laws.

Something folks don’t seem to get is that black folks kill WAY more black folks than the police do. In several months’ time, blacks kill more blacks than were ever killed by white supremacists in the history of the US. We turn our focus away from the bigger problems facing black communities, which is why we generally fail to get ahead in society. Once again, we are so focused on the specter of racism, which isn’t a major problem in the US, we ignore what is really the problem: fatherless homes, poor education, having babies out of wedlock, and government dependence. I hate to say this, but it needs to be said: racism will never go away; also, black folks need to realize that they can be just as racist as anyone else. One will encounter some form of racism no matter what country they visit and the US is nowhere near being the most racist country in the world.

Whenever a Michael Brown, Sandra Bland, George Floyd, or a Freddie Gray meets an unexpected end during an encounter with a cop, the news media takes it upon themselves to make sure these stories get national coverage. They’re not doing it out of a noble sense of bringing the information to the masses, but because they care about raising the ratings of their respective stations, which results in a steady flow of delicious dollars. The news media is filled with experts who know how to embellish and ramp up a story to make it sound more sensational than it really is. They can take a 30-minute story and reduce it to a 30-second sound bite. A little snip here, some editing there, and they’ll have their package delivered to you over the airwaves nicely wrapped with a bow on top. That package is designed to get you to think a certain way and, eventually, to act a certain way. Let’s just say the news stations care only about giving you the news, not the truth. This is why many of us believe the US is an inherently racist nation which will stop at nothing to make black and brown persons lives miserable. Many of us jump into our time-travelling Deloreans to travel to the past and try to bring past injustices into our present so they can perpetuate the falsehood of present-day racism.

The pro-black groups we’re familiar with love to say we need to protect our black women since they are supposedly the most disrespected group of people of people in our country. We love to refer to them as beautiful “queens”.

If the crime committed against a black person originates from another black person, except for local communities, most won’t hear about it; black on white, crickets; white on black, the white person is a racist. Our news media loves to play along these lines.

Anyway, the two thugs pictured above can in no way be mistaken for being white, but their crimes won’t meet the national outrage a “crime” against Breonna Taylor will. Not one of our black leaders will excoriate them for not protecting one of our “queens.” You won’t find Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, or Benjamin Crump bloviating about this horrible injustice. They reserve the word “injustice” only for a black person who has a negative encounter with a white person.

So, apparently, Ms. Holley probably wasn’t the right kind of black person, her being a police officer. However, no matter if the victim were black, white, yellow, brown, red, or olive, we should be outraged at the injustice that was dealt to them simply because they are still human. But who am I? I’m just a nondescript black guy who lives in Durham, NC.

You all have a good day and I’ll see you on the rebound.

Several months ago, something magical and historic took place at the 2021 Scripps Spelling Bee, sans all the hype of the present COVID-19 pandemic. Somehow, some black girl participated in and won this year’s contest. Black folks across the US rejoiced! The Apostles of Blackness shouted with glee from the mountaintops! Black people had climbed to the mountaintop and finally cast their gaze at the Promised Land! We had finally made it over the hurdles in declaring our freedom from oppression and tyranny! Oh, Amen and Hallelujah!

Okay, time to get serious now.

The young lady pictured above is a 14 year-old from Louisiana named Zaila Avant-garde, who probably has the honor of sporting the best name since Quvenzhane Wallis. Anyway, she has just won the distinction of becoming the first black American to win the coveted spelling bee title. She also holds three Guinness world records for basketball dribbling, hoping one day to make it to the WNBA (sister-girl can hoop! Check out this video). She has accomplished more at her age than many of us have in adulthood. Folks may seem to find it hard to fathom that a talented athlete such as herself could command royalty at the latest spelling bee, but she has proven many of her possible critics wrong. What, you may ask, led to her success at such an early age? Well, in my opinion, it started with a strong support system at home.

Let’s start with her father, who recognized that his daughter had a special gift of memorization. He would get his daughter to study 15,000 words a day to prepare for her future endeavor. It would seem she had an asset that most black children don’t have. Therefore the importance of fathers at home cannot be stressed enough.

Not only this, but she would study for only a few years, while most contestants, on average, would study from their time in kindergarten into their teens.

One thing that bothers me to no end is when the black community celebrates some “accomplishment” by one of their own as if to prove to the rest of the world that they are just as capable as anyone in achieving anything. Don’t get me wrong, though, because back in the time of Jim Crow, it was necessary to mark our achievements because the powers-that-be were convinced that we were inferior to white folks. So, our accomplishments proved that, just like with any other human being, we were just as capable of matriculating to something better to improve our lives and those around us. However, in the 21st century, these acknowledgments are no longer necessary because our point has long been proven.

Something happened to the black race in the 1960s. Before this period, we made accomplishments that, in hindsight, many felt we shouldn’t have garnered. Our communities flourished despite the Jim Crow laws that sought to hinder us. We owned banks, theaters, and shops. We had a certain respect for ourselves as we dressed appropriately and our families took precedence above all else. A good education was the standard and eighty percent of our homes were led by a mother and a father. At one time, the marriage rate among blacks was higher than whites. Our teenagers even had a higher rate of employment than white teens.

Then came the aforementioned 1960s, the same period in which I was born. This timeframe may have set black people back more than any time in their history. In 1964, then-President Lyndon B. Johnson announced his so-called War on Poverty which served as an introduction to his Great Society policy. I won’t go into detail about this policy, but you can view it here. Anyway, the Great Society essentially endeared millions of black people to the Democrat Party, which is supposedly what President Johnson was aiming for. Integration took hold and eliminated a lot of the prosperous black communities that had taken hold in this nation.

In a nutshell, the Great Society policy has devastated the black community. It helped to absolve fathers of their responsibility as heads of their homes, replaced by the government, and taught women they didn’t need a husband in order to reap the benefits of welfare. As a result, poverty, miseducation, teen pregnancy, along with dependence on the government, skyrocketed in the black race. A good education was no longer desired, massive immorality took hold, and single motherhood became the norm. In addition, fatherless homes have absolutely devastated black communities

What also followed was a sense of victimhood (egged on by our “faithful” media) that could only be solved by intervention from our government. Affirmative action becomes central to easing the ills that infect the black race because it supposedly gives blacks a leg up on the competition (i.e. white folks) in order to level the playing field.

When one adheres to a sense of victimhood, they use this as an excuse for why the shortcomings continue in their lives. It’s almost as if these “victims” believe outside individuals have more control of their lives than they do and that in order for them to get a step up, the help has to come from outside groups (i.e. the government).

When one refuses to work in order to improve their lifestyle, they become dependent on other entities to help them get by and the government becomes an excellent provider because they have the “power” to raise taxes on rich folks so they can “charitably” give to the poor ones (usually black folks). As a result of being given this power, the government gains a level of control over those it supposedly helps. They can place conditions on the amount of help they will give. In other words, their “generosity” comes with a major price, which includes reciprocated support and lots of votes whenever there’s an election to be had. This has a tendency to disintegrate any sense of innovation that one may possess because why would they push their dreams and talents to fruition when the government will supply them with all they need? As a result, people become mentally and intellectually lazy, their minds turned to cranial mush, which facilitates the government’s control over them. These people also become susceptible to a news media that cares more about pitching the news in place of the truth. The rhetoric being lasered to them from their flat panels is easily accepted because they have been brainwashed to the point that they believe the newscaster is telling them the truth when, in actuality, the reporter is spewing what they want them to believe.

The biggest threat to our government is the individual who can think for himself and has the mind to put his dreams and aspirations to work sans little or no help from the government.

Anyway, back to Miss Avant-Garde.

This young lady’s accomplishment is proof of the perseverance of human determination. What she was able to achieve had nothing to do with her race and is an example that teaches white privilege is a myth. Black folks could show this on a larger scale if parents (mature parents) would take up their positions to teach and guide their children in their education. Contrary to popular belief propagated by the Apostles of Blackness, black people are not being held back by white supremacy and privilege; they’re hindered by parents who care more about their careers than the upbringing of their children, or their parents are so mentally lazy that they’d rather absolve themselves of their responsibility and pass it on to someone else.

Avant-garde’s victory isn’t a victory for black folks, but it’s a victory for her and her family. Along the way, she inadvertently proved to her fellow black contemporaries that white folks can’t prevent us from achieving our goals, given our determination.

It is high time black people stop worrying about what white people think of them and take responsibility for what happens within their own communities. Once we learn to do that, I believe all the ills that plague the black communities will come to nil.

You all have a good day and I’ll see you on the rebound.

One thing I’ve learned in my 50+ years of stomping dirt and kicking rocks on this here good ol’ planet Earth is the aspect of a little thing called respect. I define this term simply as treating others as you would like to be treated, which is the basis for the so-called Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12) Respect is not one-sided as the level of courtesy you expect from others is the same amount you should give out.

However, there are those of us who feel we should always receive the utmost respect despite the amount we hand out; many of us are selfish like that. This kind of thinking, in my book, produces a self-righteous and arrogant attitude bent on self-gratitude and aggrandizement. In other words, this level of selfishness is usually a sign that its source is seeking attention to itself. A person with this attitude could care less about how they treat others, yet they feel offended when they are the target of disrespect. The resulting atmosphere of hypocrisy due to this attitude can be so obvious, one could cut it with a proverbial knife.

This brings me to one Gwen Berry, the melanin-skinned young lady who won a bronze medal in the hammer throw at the Olympic tryouts on June 26, 2021. This gal took it upon herself to turn away from the US flag during the National Anthem, thereby disrespecting the country she’s supposed to support during the Tokyo Olympics.

They say that the darker the berry, the sweeter the juice, but I think Ms. Berry is a glaring exception.

In all honesty, not too many people (myself included) took kindly to Gwen’s antics. After the heat starting to descend on her, Sour Berry came up with this excuse:

“I feel like they did that on purpose, and I was pissed, to be honest,” she said. “I was thinking about what should I do. Eventually, I just stayed there and just swayed. I put my shirt over my head. It was real disrespectful. I know they did that on purpose, but it’ll be all right. I see what’s up.”

I think Ms. Berry thinks this situation is all about her. She also held up a shirt that said “Activist Athlete” and put it on top of her head. In my honest opinion, you can be an athlete or an activist, you can’t be both, but I digress.

She says she was ticked off by the playing of the Anthem, but girlfriend failed to realize that this event wasn’t about her. She even said that it was disrespectful for officials to play The Star Spangled Banner, I guess because she was out there. However, I think the disrespect came at the expense of her opponents, most notably DeAnna Price, who had shattered records during the competition. Instead of allowing Ms. Price to enjoy her moment, Berry decided to make an unnecessary political statement, a la Kaepernick.

Gwen Berry would go on to tweet several ridiculous Twitter posts confirming her status as a misinformed SJW. Another ridiculous statement by Berry:

“I never said I hated this country! People try to put words in my mouth but they can’t. That’s why I speak out. I LOVE MY PEOPLE.”

Uh, someone needs to familiarize Ms. Berry with the phrase “Actions speak louder than words.” In other words, one doesn’t actually have to verbalize their hatred for their country when their body language does all their speaking for them; Ms. Berry’s anatomical expressions were all we needed to see to realize she hates the US. Turning away from the flag of your native country and getting flicked off at the National Anthem? You hate the country. Also, let’s interpret what she means by “I love my people.” This statement isn’t made out of love for people in general, but is made in respect to black people…her people.

What I find perplexing is why Olympic officials didn’t immediately kick her off the team and have her replaced with someone who will respect their country. Apparently, she doesn’t and if you have no respect for your country, it’s hard to convince me that you’ll be a good representation for your homeland.

Sporting events aren’t platforms at which to make a political or social justice statement. Many spectators attend these events because it helps them to unwind, if you will, and escape from the turmoil in their everyday lives. The last thing many people want to see at a competition between opponents is someone “protesting” some social ill. Colin Kaepernick, LeBron James, and, now, Gwen Berry would do well to know this.

I agree with Texas Republican Representative who made this statement:

“We don’t need any more activist athletes. She should be removed from the team. The entire point of the Olympic team is to represent the United States of America. It’s the entire point.“

I totally agree.

Another issue Ms. Berry has is with the National Anthem, the third verse in particular. Gwen and her constituents believe the third stanza of this song supports slavery and disrespects black folks. So she says:

“If you know your history, you know the full song of the national anthem, the third paragraph speaks to slaves in America, our blood being slain…all over the floor,” she said. “It’s disrespectful and it does not speak for Black Americans. It’s obvious. There’s no question.”

The stanza reads as so:

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore,
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion
A home and a Country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash’d out their foul footstep’s pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

I love the part where she says the stanza “speaks to slaves in America, our blood being slain.” I didn’t know Ms. Berry is a slave and how is your blood slain?

I also find her statement about the Anthem being disrespectful and not speaking for black people very interesting.

One thing that boils my potatoes is when the members of the Apostles of Blackness act as if they speak for all black people, especially when I can read that stanza myself and fail to see what the fuss is all about. Speak for yourself, Gwen! I don’t know you and you have no say in my experience in this great country of ours.

So, there you have it; another SJW to add to the ranks of the Apostles of Blackness. Expect product endorsements and million-dollar deals to follow soon. She may not win the gold in Tokyo, but she’s gonna get paid!

You all have a good day and I’ll see you on the rebound.