Words of Our Enemies, Silence of Our Friends

 

“Our lives begin to end when we remain silent about things that matter” – Martin Luther King Jr.

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The last few days have been quite interesting. And by interesting I mean I’ve had quite a few conversations addressing people’s ignorance as it relates to sexuality. To sum up the flurry of emotions I’ve felt in the last five hours let alone the last five days would be as complicated as teaching a toddler the Pythagorean method. So this being my forum for venting, here I go.

For those who STILL don’t know, yes I am a bisexual Black man from Compton California. Proud of it. Quite frankly I don’t care what you think of me, it’s none of my business. It has been well known and documented for the last two years but some people are apparently still unaware and decided to voice their opinion(albeit an uneducated and ignorant one) on the matter. I actually plan to address the concerns of the aforementioned individual in a separate piece later so I won’t go into detail. My focus here is aimed elsewhere.

It’s Black History Month. A time to celebrate and rejoice for all things Black and the rich culture and history Black people have woven into the fabric of this supposed great nation. However, I recently saw a video of a young Black man exiting a store in Atlanta Georgia only to be brutally attacked by a mob of several more young Black men from a gang known as the Pittsburg Jack City Gang, who repeatedly shouted “No faggots in Jack City.” This heinous attack (seen below) was based on the young man’s “Perceived” sexual orientation.

Why Hollywood Still Doesn’t Take Black Audiences Seriously(And How You Can Make Them)

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Five years ago I met an auditioned for one of the biggest managers in Hollywood. Before the audition we talked about the industry as it relates to Black actors and actresses and Hollywood’s production(or lack thereof) of Black films. What he said vastly opened my eyes  about Black entertainment. And after hearing George Lucas talk about the struggle to get his new film Red Tails made last night on The Daily Show(watch the interview!) because there wasn’t enough white people in it , it brought back to life for me, that five year old conversation and the agony of knowing that certain perceptions and problems still exist when making Black movies.

During the time I was meeting with the aforementioned manager (who shall remain nameless), it was 2007 and the movie The Great Debaters was on it’s way into theaters on Christmas weekend. For those who don’t recall, The Great Debaters set in 1935, was a film directed by and starring Denzel Washington that was based on the true story of Melvin B. Tolson, a professor at Wiley College in Texas. He inspires the students to form the school’s first debate team, which went on to challenge Harvard in the national championship. I asked him, “Why won’t studios make more Black films like this to give more Black actors like myself a chance to work in mainstream film?” His answer? “Don’t take this the wrong way, but Black people don’t want to see those kind of movies. The proof is in the ticket sales.”

Sorry 2011, It’s Not You It’s Me(My New Years Thank You’s of 2011)

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The years since graduating college have been slowly getting better for me. But 2011 was a hell of a year. And it was a hell of a year because of some amazing people I have now formed friendships(hopefully life long for some of you) with and for that I want to thank some of them individually. Some people chose to compile their favorite tweets and twitter people but I think this is more of my speed.

These are in no particular order of importance  and there is no ranking system but feel free to assess your place on the list if you’re so neurotic that you must do so. You’re like my children, I cant pick a favorite(I’m totally my mom’s favorite). This is a little longer than my usual posts but it’s the end of the year and it’s worth it, read it. So without further adieu here we go…

An Open Letter To People Who Hate Gay People

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Dear United World Citizens of Homophobia,

I’ve addressed you before in the past but it seems the need has risen again. For the last year or so, I’ve listened closely to your banter, be it from American GOP presidential hopefuls(emphasis on the hopeful) or from a number of other politicians in various parts of Africa. Not only did I hear and read some of the most heinous things about LGBT(Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender) people, but you even go as far as to continue to push for legislation to take rights away from us(I say “us” in case you missed it). In some cases they are even attempting to have gay people put to death.

To my own surprise, things like this still have to be written in 2011. Because it is evident that homophobia is still one of the last known widely accepted and open prejudices still standing in the world today. From Rick Perry’s promise to force gay and lesbian service members back into the closet from which they proud broke free from, to the people of Uganda proposing a “Kill The Gays” bill and posting names, photos, and addresses of suspected LGBT people in their local papers to ensure that they be terrorized. And most recently, Newt Gingrich(friend of the blog) expressed his disdain for gays so much that he’d rather gay people(including gay Republicans) just vote for Obama.

To Whom Much Is Given, Much Is Expected

First let me start by saying WOW. The response to my letter to Newt Gingrich has been nothing short of unbelievable. With over 230,000 views in a week and the hundreds of new Facebook and Twitter friends I’ve made in the past week, I couldn’t be more proud of my work. I’ve even gotten to do radio interviews on shows like Sirius XM’s Left Jab.

To all of my new friends and subscribers, I’d like to give you a clearer idea of who I am, what I stand for, and what you can expect from me here on this  blog, Twitter, and Facebook. I know some people come into my work expecting it to be all serious or political once they’ve discovered it and then they see a dick joke and it blows their mind. Let’s try to avoid that and get off to a good start alright?

The Truth About Christmas [NSFCWCC] (Not Safe For Christians Who Celebrate Christmas)

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year! The wonderful holiday season where we all come together and deck the shit out of our halls and jingle all the way. Because if you’re gonna’ jingle why half ass it? You jingle all the way damn it! But most importantly, Christmas is the celebration to mark the birth of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Wrong. Everything you think you know about Christmas is wrong. And now to prove it!

I don’t know why the truth angers people so much, especially when it comes to religious beliefs and customs but I explained what I am about to explain to you to a few “Christians” last year and it was not well received. Even though they had no evidence to the contrary. I had been questioning whether to write this or not for the past few weeks but when I got a text from my sister today asking when Jesus was really born, I figured that was my call to spring into action. To make it easier for all parties, I’ve even taken the measure of breaking it down into sections for you. Let the games begin.

WHAT IS CHRISTMAS, REALLY?

Let’s start with the easy stuff. Like the fact that nowhere in the good book(Bible) does it ever on any page mention the following things as they relate to the birth of JC: the word Christmas, Christmas trees, hanging ornaments, winter, snow, December, three wise men(more on them later), the exact day, date or year Jesus was born, a drummer boy, egg nog, mistletoe, colorful lights, candy canes, Santa Claus, parties, drinking, the colors red and green, cookies, presents, or anything else you would typically associate with Christmas as we know it today.

An Open Letter To Newt Gingrich From A Black Kid Who Grew Up In A Poor Neighborhood

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Dear Newt Gingrich,

I recently saw you stand up in front of a group of people and allow some of the most
idiotic, unfounded, racist, and ignorant words pass your lips that I’ve ever heard
from a member of a group of the most unqualified presidential candidates America
has ever seen.

To have the audacity to say that poor kids, and let’s be clear that’s republican speak
for black and brown kids, “have no habits of working and nobody around them who
works” is not only an insult to me as black man who grew up in one of those “really
poor” neighborhoods you spoke of, but it’s an insult to my mother. And it’s an insult to
many other black, brown and white children, adults, and hard working parents(often single
parents) who get up every single day to try to provide a better life for their children in
poor neighborhoods.