Bloomberg’s Move to Clear the Field

by with One Comment FeaturedPolitics

(Roughly a year ago I suggested Bloomberg would probably run, and here we are…) 

Former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg fired the first shot over the bow this week in the Democratic Presidential Primary with his record $1.8Bn gift to Johns Hopkins – a gift designed to ensure that future JH students can be considered for admission with no regard for ability to pay.

In doing so, Bloomberg seals his legacy of philanthropy around education, gun violence, and equal opportunity, takes “first-mover advantage” and makes clear to other primary challengers that he’s backing this with his own money and all in.  That’s a single step of  “clearing the field” if I ever saw it. 

For those who would say a NY billionaire who switched parties and is rife with complicated financial dealings would be unelectable, may I direct your attention to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

I have my own serious issues with Bloomberg, but at least by “checkmark” his issues and point on the spectrum are very closely aligned with most Americans. In many ways, he mirrors many of the issues President Trump highlights as his own qualities while being the anti-Trump in many others. Meanwhile, his history for being cantankerous and outright impetuous are at least reduced by comparison, and his all-out war with the NRA may be OK in an environment where the President has mostly locked up the heartland anyhow.

I dunno guys… he’s maybe not the one you’d thought would be the one to beat, but just from what I’ve seen watching the US Senate sessions these last couple years, he’s not a bad option.

This article was originally published on 20 November 2018.

Similar Read: What the 2019 Election Results Say About 2020

Jus Lyke Compton (Athletes And Colorism)

by with No Comment FeaturedSports

Remember the classic 1992 Dj Quick record “Jus Lyke Compton”? If you don’t, it’s a classic cut from the LA rapper where he talks about how many places in the country have adopted a part of the LA culture. 

I recently heard the song, and it had me thinking about how influential Black athletes are throughout the world, and how their cultural impact has and can cause true positive change. 

Since Jackie Robinson step foot on the first integrated baseball field in 1947, Black athletes in America have used their platform to raise awareness for equality… for not only Black Americans, but other marginalized groups as well. 

In fact, dozens of Black American athletes have used their platform and fame to initiate change… from James Harden hosting youth basketball camps in Houston to Lebron’s charter school in Ohio.

Black athletes throughout the world have followed their lead to do the same. I recently visited the Dominican Republic and saw this firsthand. 

James Harden is not only hosting basketball camps in Houston and Compton… but also in the Caribbean. 

Speaking of the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic’s contribution to global racism, like most majority non-White nations, is colorism. Colorism, which I’ll refer to as a pillar of racism, is a form of prejudice or discrimination usually by members of the same race based solely on complexion. Complexion, or someone’s skin tone, is used to establish a cultural standard of beauty… and the darker you are the worse the discrimination. 

For decades, the majority Black and Brown darker-skinned Dominican’s were seen as a peg below and inferior to their lighter-skinned countrymen, who were also the minority.

And then came baseball. 

From the likes of Pedro Martinez to David Ortiz, darker-skinned Dominican’s became such huge Baseball stars that they helped strip away deeply rooted colorism in their country. 

Sounds familiar? Just Lyke Compton… or how the Black male athlete in the United States has become the standard in sports?

We might not see another athlete like Kaepernick use their career as a sacrifice to initiate change for a while; but, Black and Brown athletes from Lebron and his charter school to Manny Pacquiao being an elected Senator in the Philippines have been using their fame and influence to benefit others for a while.

And for the shut up and dribble crowd, athletes are going to continue to use their influence and social media platforms to not only restructure contracts, but to restructure society as well so that the playing field is equal… for everyone, regardless of their race, complexion, or socioeconomic status.  

Response: Nice Guys Finish Last

by with 10 Comments CultureFeaturedGen Z
[Article: Nice Guys Finish Last]

The real issue that I have with this article is the author’s insistence on enforcing gender binaries, Darwinism, and using anecdotal experiences with women to support his argument on why “Nice Guys Finish Last.” The author provides very little evidence to back his theory on why “Nice Guys Finish Last” in general. The author continually exploits the women in his life as weak and confused beings that are intrinsically drawn to men or masculinity, and by not choosing others, are therefore examples of how “Nice Guys Finish Last.”

Another, even more problematic aspect of this article is that the author assumes that the sexual relationships these women partook in were consensual, when he has no right to speak on their behalf. He flip-flops between blaming women for their own sexual objectification or assault by way of Darwinism, but then preaches support and love for these same women. He admits…

“I’m not victim blaming, I’m not excusing any men for their behavior, and I’m not taking an inch away from the #MeToo movement that is so sorely needed to advance our species forward. BUT I am asking that for every father that must educate his son on how to properly treat another woman (or man), there must also be a mother who teaches her daughter how to properly treat or react to another man (or woman) such that the wrong behavior is not accepted or tolerated.”

This quote is a transparent example of his lack of understanding of these complex issues, his trans exclusionary rhetoric, and his belief that there are only two genders, woman or man. At the end of his article, he is asking women and “mothers” to be more proactive in endorsing “better men.” In essence, this strikes me as utterly hypocritical. This particular man is claiming that because he is a “nice” heterosexual, cisgendered man that he should be rewarded for treating women with respect. Overall, I believe that his argument is incredibly flawed and feels defensive. If this man truly cared about the women in his life, he would take responsibility and lift up these women’s voices instead of asking them to fix the oppressive systems that they did not construct.

I think at the end of the day his own misogynistic ideology, lack of responsibility for his own actions, and complete lack of understanding for what the #MeToo movement serves to address, makes his understanding of women and what embodies respect, subpar.