KANYE EXPOSED US

by with 3 Comments CultureFeatured

He had me at Jesus Walks.

Having grown up in an evangelical church, I began exploring my own musical palate outside of gospel music in the late 90s. Like most adolescents growing up in Brooklyn at that time, my ears immediately gravitated to the sweet sounds of hip-hop. So listening to this collision of flavors in gospel and hip-hop music almost instantaneously turned me into a massive Kanye Omari West fan. Two years later I was able to briefly work with Kanye and meet his mother, Donda, on one special evening early in my career.

Over the last fifteen years, I have defended Kanye’s contributions to American culture and interpreted his infamous rants with much aplomb. Most of the time I felt that Kanye and I were kindred spirits and I had the ability to articulate the beauty in his messages. In doing so, I felt connected to one of history’s musical geniuses. Often, I would end my defense of Kanye with a prophetic word saying, “history will view Kanye’s contribution to music more favorably than his contemporaries.”

Having closely followed his career, I know that Kanye mostly engages on social media when he is looking to push a product. So it came as no shock to me that Kanye returned to Twitter with content that would spice things up. However, before spicing things up he was tweeting overwhelmingly positive messages before folks began to pay attention. But in this climate, positivity doesn’t sell.

As is my modus operandi, I put on the full armor of Kanye defenses and prepared for battle. In full regalia I defended Kanye, that is until the salute to Candace Owens knocked off my helmet. But I pressed on, explaining that he merely said that he liked how she thinks. That is until the signed Make America Great Again hat penetrated my shield. Only left with a sword to defend myself, I battled on evangelizing to any left-leaning person that would listen about the framework of our American Democracy. That is until the sword was knocked out of my hand when Kanye basically insinuated that American slavery was a choice that our ancestors made for themselves. Defenseless and fallen to my knees in defeat, I began asking folks, “Why they thought American slavery wasn’t a choice?” The various answers that I received not only invigorated me but exposed the bedsores riddled all over America’s already brittle skin.

The response to the question, “Why wasn’t American slavery a choice?” begins with the fact that slavery was rooted in the Founding Documents of America and backed by the full power of the American legal system and military. Specifically, the iconic Supreme Court Dred Scott v. Sandford case where Chief Justice Taney basically informed Mr. Scott to leave his courtroom as he was property and therefore property had no right to adjudicate the case. American slavery was an American government-sponsored genocide and exploitations of my ancestors. Continue to research and follow that line of thinking and let me know how you feel.

There were more white people in the South than the slaves? NO

The slaves were not educated and therefore weren’t smart? NO

The slaves didn’t have the will because their master repeatedly broke their will? NO

The slaves didn’t… NO

Even when the slaves decided against slavery for themselves, like Dred Scott, it was the Rule of Law that returned them to their slave masters at best or to their deaths at worst. Remember that Amistad and 12 Years A Slave were both award-winning films where the Law is the main protagonist. Our ancestors were intellectual, intentional, and strong-willed people who would not have chosen slavery for themselves had it not been for the Law of the land that they were captured too. Any explanation that is not first rooted in a discussion around American Law is shrouded in racism and victim blaming.

As responses to my question poured in what I realized is that Kanye is uninformed and a majority of the public are also uninformed. So in effect, it was the uninformed shouting down the uninformed. This lack of understanding is a glaring indictment against the education system of one of the wealthiest empires in the history of the world. In the end, it’s imperative that we continue in a relentless pursuit of knowledge.

Thanks for exposing us Ye.

Subscribe for free to receive similar content. 

The Veiled Epidemic of Suicide

by with 5 Comments CultureFeaturedGen Z

On Tuesday, June 5th at approximately 10:10am Kate Spade, a world-renowned fashion designer known for her timeless creations, was found dead in her New York home. Spade’s death was ruled a suicide by both the coroner and law enforcement. Many are speculating as to why Spade decided to take her own life. The discussion gravitated towards both her bipolar disorder and her recent separation from her husband. Others reserved themselves to sending love and prayers to her family and friends in wake of this tragedy.

Not three days after Spade’s untimely death, Anthony Bourdain, a beloved television personality, author and chef, passed under very similar circumstances. There is a phenomenon that exists, dating back to the 16th century, from Johann Goethe’s The Sorrows of Young Werther known as “copycat suicide.” Copycat suicide refers to the replication of a suicide that has been publicized in mass, resulting in what is called a “suicide contagion.” After Goethe’s novel became a success there were reports of young men dressing as Werther and using the same weapon used in the novel as well. These patterns show themselves true as this epidemic grows.

Suicide remains a difficult and complicated topic to discuss let alone recognize or prevent. According to American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the US. While it is obvious that the suicide epidemic only continues to amplify with time there is hope in education and activism. Organizations like the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline offer a multitude of services for individuals dealing with suicidal ideation. Additionally, there is statistical information on suicide and educational resources on the warning signs and preventative care in regard to suicide.

It is difficult to pinpoint why death by suicide has been steadily rising since the 90’s. Nell Greenfieldboyce, a science correspondent for NPR reports, “Suicide rates have increased in nearly every state over the past two decades, and half of the states have seen suicide rates go up more than 30 percent.” With this exponential rise in deaths by suicide, the research done thus far reflects interesting and unexpected conclusions. One of the most striking being the fact that over half of the people who died by suicide did not have a diagnosed mental illness and that over half of the deaths are attributed to firearms.

The research and methods on how to minimize suicide and suicidal ideation are coming to fruition. Now it is time to implement the facts in our approach to fighting the suicide epidemic which affects the world at large and continues to take lives in mass. The stigma attached to suicide leads to romanticizing and sensationalizing death by suicide and tends to shift blame and burden to the victim. On top of that, suicide is much too often conflated with mental illness.

The data published by the CDC named stressors like physical, economic, and relationship problems as some of the highest contributors to suicide deaths. The CDC also noted housing stability, outreach to high-risk groups such as the mentally and physically ill, military veterans, and people struggling with substance misuse as well as teaching coping skills from a young age as possible ways to combat death by suicide. All in all, this fatal issue will only be exacerbated by exploitation and regret until humankind, as a collective, can talk candidly and apply not only scientific but empathetic solutions to these complex societal plagues.

If you or someone you know is considering attempting suicide or struggling with suicidal thoughts please contact emergency services or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1(800)-273-8255.

“I Still Believe In My Country And Party”

by with 4 Comments CultureFeatured

[Last year we published several articles under the category “Define Your Patriotism.” In light of the NFL controversy and other major issues, such as proposed tariffs and the upcoming North Korea Summit, we felt that revisiting several articles in this category would be helpful at a time when many of us might be questioning our patriotism.] 

My first association of patriotism with myself comes from my family history of military service. All of my brothers, my sister, my uncles and aunts, grandparents and great aunts were in the Army. The vast majority served in wartime, and so did I. How I was raised undoubtedly framed how I’ve thought about my country, and I’m not afraid at all to say that I’m very, very inclined to side with my own country over the World. However, I do feel that our position gives us a responsibility to have an impact in the World. American values – freedom of expression and religion, human rights, property rights, self-determination, and the idea that those rights are worth dying for – for all people – frame how I think about my country and the World.

Related: “Patriotism Is A Dirty Word”

The last few years of politics in the street have been hard to watch, but I still believe our core ideals (though we may not always follow them) are the best in human history, and our system will ultimately bring us back to our ideals. Populism has its place in the center of a democracy, but the Bill of Rights is there to keep the majority from oppressing the minorities. An electoral college makes sure our leadership reflects both the will of all people and the importance of consensus of the different ways of life across our many states and districts. The three branches of government are there to keep any one branch of government from dominating the others, and the Bill of Rights contains the elements that keep all branches of government from ever wrestling power from our citizens. That’s the brilliance of American democracy.

I believe in promoting our values overseas, and the idea of our ideals making possible again Reagan’s idea of the “Shining City upon a Hill”. We are still the country that brought down the Soviet Union with a steady and orchestrated combination of military and economic might, and I believe the US still has a leadership role to play in the World that we should not surrender to Europe, China or a global coalition.

The daily politics of the past few years has bothered me a lot. It feels like a bulk of the country thinks about either “I want this, or I need this, so I have a right”, or “mine is mine”, or at least each side frames the other that way- very successfully. Natural rights aren’t things people have to do for you, they are things they can’t do for you. Citizens have the right to be treated equally before the courts, to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Whether they catch happiness or fail is up to their desire, determination and ability, and failure is part of life. Collective healthcare may or may not be a good idea, but it’s a privilege and not a right that one person (regardless of their means) provides that care for another.

By the same token, far too many with means focus only on “what’s mine is mine”. The free markets of the US, the roads we drive on and the infrastructure of safety and order that predicate the wealth-creation of our country require that everyone in the US must have an opportunity to succeed and a place in society. Without that, the environment of order that makes our economy great doesn’t work. Furthermore, whether inside or outside of government, our duty to our fellow man isn’t one we can forget by pushing others away. It may be that’s not the job of the government, but if it’s not, it’s because we private citizens instead make the active effort to create that opportunity for others on our own. If you say it’s the private market’s job because the private market is more efficient (as I do believe), you are placing that responsibility for your fellow citizens holistically on your church, your private organization or on yourself. You can’t say “I already pay my taxes so I’m good” and then just fight for lower taxes.

Conservatism didn’t use to be just about saying “no.” It used to be a vision for the US that our founders’ ideals were superior – that America has a dominant place in the World- and a vision with a place for all people.   We were the ‘Party of Lincoln’ when we were the first to foster the idea that “all men were created equal” really meant all men- and then all humans. We were the ‘Party of Reagan’ when we believed in our special role with a duty to defend the World and promote democracy globally. I still believe in my country and my party, and it’s my hope that in the coming years, my patriotism will help me guide those I care about in making sure that our next evolution in conservatism is not simply the ‘Party of Me.’

How do you define your patriotism?

Subscribe for free to receive LCR perspectives. 

This article was originally published on 3 July 2017.

Should We Feel Sorry For a Racist?

by with 9 Comments CultureFeatured

After getting punched in the face several times by a New Jersey Wildwood City Police Officer on Memorial Day Weekend, 20-year old Emily Weinman screamed, “I’m not one of these motherfu#&in ni$$a’s out here!”

55 seconds of disbelief as she’s mishandled by the police followed by her racist remark immediately makes you question how sorry you initially felt for her.

Link: Video of Emily Weinman being arrested 

Police brutality and explicit racism of those being brutalized is not something we hear about often. But the incident this past weekend was caught on video and it’s hard to ignore what Emily yells in anger right before the video ends.

Why would she think it’s appropriate to yell such a thing? If pushed, I’m sure she’ll release an apology suggesting she’s not a racist and that it was said in the heat of the moment. And like all similar apologies, it’ll blow over. It won’t be held against her for jobs or future opportunities because “she’s young and she really didn’t mean it.” Same script different person.

But if a 20-year non-Black woman in this country is conditioned to believe that only people of color are treated unjustly or brutalized by the police, and that the color of her skin grants her a pass unlike her fellow American’s who are of a different race, culture, or creed, then one things for sure – this country isn’t progressing, if anything it’s regressing.

Underage drinking was her supposed crime. According to Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano, Jr., “She refused to comply… Unfortunately, this is what happened.” They’ve launched an internal affairs investigation; but if after reviewing the video the city’s mayor can make such a statement, that should tell us all we need to know about who they believe is at fault. When you have back up, there’s gotta be a better / easier way to arrest someone… on the beach… who poses no physical threat.

Police brutality is real, and similar to mass incarceration, every now and then it snatches an unintended target. This time it was Emily Weinman.

If it’s possible to focus solely on the arrest and ignore her racist comment, which should be a lot to ask of any decent person, the police officer definitely took it too far and hopefully, justice will be served. She definitely didn’t deserve to be treated like this. And maybe, just maybe, her experience will help her realize that even people of color, or as she referred to them, these motherfu#&in ni$$a’s, don’t deserve to be treated like this either.

Let us know what you think. The intersectionality of police brutality and race is quite unusual in this incident.

Subscribe for free for similar content. 

Musings on the State of Race in America

by with No Comment CultureFeatured

In the past week and a half, we have seen various milestones pass us in the struggle for civil rights in America. Foremost of those events, was the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The majority of the things King stood up for in his illustrious but short career are still with us today. In the 50s and 60s, people were far more open in their racism and bigotry, and were more likely to express it openly (without fear of retribution). Today it seems as though those same attitudes were just suppressed and became part of society’s larger working. For example, people controlling mortgages for homes do not lend to minorities in certain areas and historically, black institutions have never been allowed to take on those functions in black communities to help their own people. The racism and bigotry we think of from the 50s and 60s has been there since America’s inception and has simply been institutionalized instead of treated. Therefore, the roughly 13% of the population that is African American is never going to get the fair shake the majority of society receives.

The second event was the airing of Hope & Fury, the very aptly named documentary by NBC News; “hope” being the optimism of the 60s and early 70s that things were going to change along with the Civil Rights Movement, and the “fury” comes from that in 50 years later although some things have changed, there is still an extremely long way to go before gaining racial equality in America. This documentary, through actual news footage, painted a very real picture of what 1955 was actually like. Although the police at the time were are an active part of the hate-filled mobs, they have taken a step back from blatant society supported assaults on blacks to a more inconspicuous attack on black society through “justified” killings of black men as their position as the police. Until there is a fundamental change in the mentality of the policing in America, nothing will change in the black community because the people who are doing the policing have no stake in that community and no incentive to see that community thrive.

I was distressed to find out that the day after the airing of Hope & Fury, that Linda brown, aged 75, passed away. She was the lead plaintiff in Brown v Board in 1954. Her entire life was defined by the Civil Rights Movement and the court case that changed America’s schools forever. I personally found it very tragically ironic that the day after Hope & Fury aired she would pass. Could it possibly be that she lived through the hope and ended up at the fury of realizing how little things had really changed in the scope of her lifetime? If we take the events discussed here, 50 years since the death of MLK, the Airing of Hope & Fury, and the one week anniversary of Linda Brown’s death, and juxtapose them over 50 years, are race relations better off 50 years later, or if you scratch the surface are they just as bad as 50 years ago?

Similar LCR content: Hope & Fury

The Murder of Stephon Clark, Gun Control, and Law Enforcement

by with No Comment CultureFeaturedGen Z

The murder of Stephon Clark, an unarmed young man of only 22, in the privacy of his grandparents’s backyard is yet another example of how black people are and continue to be criminalized and unfairly profiled by police. The Sacramento police department were quick to suspend these officers but not without pay. Clark’s family sent for a private autopsy that concluded Clark was shot multiple times in his back and passed within 3-10 minutes after being wounded. The ambulance arrived after he was lying there for 6 minutes. The police had apparently mistaken his cellphone for a weapon. Clark is one of many young lives lost to gun violence this year alone.

In the wake of protests about gun control the issues of police brutality and racism are often diminished or even dismissed. We tend to view police as noble protectors but Tanisha Anderson, Alberta Spruill, Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Rekia Boyd and so many other black lives have been taken at the hands of police. Many of these officers never face a trial. Philip Stinson, an associate professor of criminal justice at Bowling Green State University reports, “Between 2005 and April 2017, 80 officers had been arrested on murder or manslaughter charges for on-duty shootings. During that 12-year span, 35% were convicted, while the rest were pending or not convicted”. These statistics make it obvious that the police are treated differently than the average citizen in regard to the law.

I think that it is about time we take a closer look at law enforcement, how they are trained and the way they are treated under the law. They deserve to be put to trial like any other person who has been charged with homicide. Not only that but it is pertinent that these officers are being trained to protect people, not murder them. There are inherent stigmas and prejudices that make marginalized groups far more likely to be killed by law enforcement. The police should be aware of this knowledge long before they are handed a lethal weapon and taught to kill if faced with a perceived threat. With gun control becoming an increasingly salient topic in our society, I think we are far past the need for gun control within law enforcement institutions. There are other ways to handle a situation that do not involve firing 20 rounds at one person.

The police are fiercely protected in our society, but at the end of the day their job is to serve and protect us.  How many more people will die before law enforcement takes responsibility for this neglect and carnage? The murder of Stephon Clark cannot be forgotten. Now is the time for radical reform, not excuses.

Hope & Fury

by with No Comment CultureFeatured

About two weeks ahead of the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, NBC aired a powerful documentary, Hope & Fury, showcasing how far Black Americans have come and how far our country still has to go regarding race relations.

The documentary is an equally unnerving and enlightening account of the horrors committed against Black Americans and their strides toward equality. The documentary is a must-watch for everyone in the country as a reminder of the tenacity in the Black community in the face of vicious prejudice, racism, and murder encountered today, yesterday, and 60 years ago.

As much as we like to think we’re a post-racial society, we’re not. That fact is made clear every time a slur is hurled, a Confederate flag is flown, or unarmed Black man is shot. The notion that racism is a time-old problem of yesterday is inaccurate and borderline offensive to the experiences of today’s minorities and the work of Civil Rights leaders. John Lewis, featured in the documentary and current Democratic Congressman from Georgia, was a leader beaten during Bloody Sunday, and is still alive. Eight of nine students who formed the Little Rock nine are still alive. Although segregation laws and Jim Crow are no longer in existence and the Civil Rights movement made major strides in legislation towards equality, Black people are not equal and the fight will continue until they are.

Hope & Fury is a powerful reminder of how far Black Americans have left to go, of how pervasive racial hatred was and still is in this country, and the tenacity of defiance and hope that lives within the Black community. 

Similar LCR Content: Musings on the State of Race in America

A Notification of Death

by with 2 Comments CultureFeatured

[This is part one of a three-part series on American gun violence.]

The screen on my phone illuminates with a notification. My eyes peer over to read the information and then I return to whatever activity I was performing. As I write this piece, I received notifications from The New York Times and ESPN. While this may seem to be mundane behavior in the 21st century; it’s not. It’s not mundane because often the words in the notifications inform me of death and my reaction to that information over time alarms me. Whether it’s a headline of another LeBron James stat line or a notification that seventeen have been gunned down in yet another mass shooting, I typically peer away and go about my business – I’m desensitized and that’s a major problem.

April 1999 was the spring before I was to enter high school and I remember, quite vividly, learning about the Columbine High School shooting from the evening news that night. I wasn’t allowed to have a cell phone then but I knew from the murmurings of the adults in the street on my way home that something bad had happened. I was in the eighth grade and I quietly wondered if I would have to fear for my safety in high school. However, at the time, it seemed like such a one-off incident and growing up in Brooklyn – Colorado could have been on Pluto for all I knew. So the initial fear subsided and I recall the outrage from adults which lead to discussions around the shooters music of choice, bullying, the shooters parental upbringing, but never a referendum on guns. 15 dead in an American High School.

It was my first day of work as a full-time working professional, ever, on April 16, 2007. I was living at home at the time and was so excited to share with my family all of the details of my first day of work at American Express. I wasn’t given a laptop that day so I wasn’t as connected to what was happening in the world for most of the day. However, I do remember people around the office murmuring about a school shooting at Virginia Tech. Focused on making a good first impression, the school shooting didn’t register until I retired to my room later that evening where I learned of the scale of what had taken place. Gun control again lead the national debate for a time but then faded into the background. 33 dead in an American University.

I was living in Sydney, Australia at the time of the Sandy Hook shootings in December 2012. I remember having to play the role of American Ambassador in providing answers to my perplexed Aussie friends who simply could not understand why mass shootings continue to occur in the States. It was in hearing myself answer their questions aloud that I realized how nonsensical it is to not have sensible gun control laws in place. Even as I explained the full context of the brilliance of the U.S. Constitution and the Second Amendment I was still unable to make sense of this American problem. On my first night back in America, I saw my friends giving a television interview on CNN; their daughter had been in one of the Sandy Hook classrooms. Miraculously, she was physically unharmed but many of her fellow students did not suffer the same fate. For many reasons, that shooting was the most traumatic for me personally. I believe in the sanctity of the joys of the childhood experience and I couldn’t sleep for many nights as I came to the belief that the frequency of gun deaths in one of the most wealthy and powerful nations in history had to be intentional. 28 dead in an American Elementary School.

Fast forward to the Parkland shooting last month and shockingly there were no murmurings in the street this time. Many people, myself included, received the notification on their phone and went about their day after learning that seventeen teenagers were gunned down in their high school. In the days that followed the remaining students, whose lives will never be the same, rose to the national spotlight with a defiant message to the nation: #NeverAgain. The politicians and the corporations that own them all responded with an all too familiar bluster around what actions they would take to change what has become status quo. 17 dead in an American High School… again. 

As much as we don’t want to admit it, this is who America is: A rabidly violent nation whose love affair with guns will cease at nothing or no one; not even elementary school children. It is, in fact, the “Wild Wild West” that the rest of the world portrays us to be because we allow this to happen time and time again. Sadly, while I praise the fervor of the Parkland students, and the Sandy Hook students before them, and the Virginia Tech students before them, and the Columbine students before them; I believe that they too will ultimately add their voices to a large chorus of people that want sensible gun control but will never see it. I hope I am wrong but #NeverAgain may just be yet another hashtag thrown in a mountainous heap of social justice hashtags that never sees any legitimate federal action. More dead in an American… doesn’t really matter now, we’re desensitized anyway.

Part Two: MLK 50 Forward: Bankrupt Justice

Guns Are Here To Stay

by with 2 Comments CultureFeatured

Guns are here to stay in America as they are woven into the daily fabric of society. If you just look at sports in America, guns and shooting are a major part of the language and daily expressions of Americans: “he’s got a rifle of an arm,” “the outfielder threw a bullet to home,” “took off like a shot.”

The laws that we currently have are not being used to protect the public. As a product of NRA influence legislators are not using their vote to protect their constituents from mass murders or the NRA. Does this mean we cannot apply common sense regulation to guns? No, we certainly can and should be able to enforce common sense regulations then enforce all available laws to protect the public.

Now that the United States has a generation of young voters who have come of age in a time of war and constant violence, things will change. Living in fear at school, which should be a safe haven, will color their future decisions in life. America’s young people will affect change to the gun laws by voting and being more politically active than previous generations, solving the gun issue. They will not allow their children to live through what they survived as young people.

All guns will not be confiscated in the United States, the exception being the military-type assault weapons. Hunters will still hunt. People will be able to protect their homes and loved ones. But neither of these activities requires a semi-automatic killing machine.

Teachers & Guns? Maybe?

by with 4 Comments CultureFeatured

Imagine taking your kids to school and not knowing it will be last time you see them. The routine of seeing your children walk into school was just like any other day. Hours go by and you hear the chatter of breaking news that there’s an active shooter at one of the elementary schools in your city. You begin to feel sad just thinking about the situation and the potential outcome. And then it hits you – this might be at your children’s school. As you check your phone you overhear the news mention and confirm that it is their school. You immediately are overwhelmed with fear of the safety of your kids. You try with all your might to keep your composure and think positive while you’re in route to the school. Upon arrival, you begin to look for the familiar faces of your little ones as the scene is completely frantic. You notice students are in groups being watched by teachers and other faculty, but you can’t find your kids… anywhere. Hours seem to pass by but in actuality, it’s only been a few minutes. You soon learn that one of your children is a victim of the senseless act caused by the gunman who entered their school and started randomly shooting less than an hour ago. Shortly thereafter, your child is unfortunately confirmed dead at the scene.

How could this happen? Could it have been prevented? Many may ask God why did he allow this to happen? How does one move on in life from this situation knowing they can’t take their child home? These are probably some of the many questions that families are dealing with when such a situation occurs, a situation that is becoming all too familiar in the United States. And why is that? Why can’t we trust our schools of all places to keep our kids safe from such tragedy and violence?

Is allowing teachers to carry a handgun the real answer to what’s happening in our schools? Who’s to say that teachers are responsible enough to handle their firearm in the presence of 20 or so children? On the other hand, what if a teacher could prevent multiple casualties if he or she was armed and had the mental composure and aptitude to respond effectively in the event of an active shooter entering the school or their classroom? There are several Pros and Cons when discussing whether or not a teacher should be allowed to carry a firearm in school, and should he or she be trusted to respond effectively.

Nothing can bring back these children whose lives were taken from their families in these senseless school shootings, but lessons can be and must be learned from these tragedies. I’m not sure arming teachers is the right move, but do nothing is not an option.