Miley Cyrus, released a summer music video also called We Can't Stop, which is also provocative...making inappropriate references to sex and drugs as well. However, the parody of her video has me cracking up (the girl looks just like her!). Why do you think that these young female celebrities are being allowed to be so sexual and inappropriate? If not the media, why not the producers, if not the producers, why not the parents? Why is no one putting their foot down, you think? We know that sex sells sure, but it's another issue when you are openly exploiting underage girls on national tv for other young girls to see. Surely they are not writing their own lyrics and coming up with all of the visuals.
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Miley Cyrus We Can't Stop Parody and Willow Smith's Summer Fling
Something is happening with our young celebrity girlies today and I have not a clue what it is. The media is sexualizing them too quickly and these are the results. Willow Smith, daughter of Will and Jada Smith just came out with a music video called Summer Fling, which is obviously making reference to a sexual experience. Many critics say that the video is too mature for her age. She is shown in a blonde wig, flirting with boys who are obviously much older than her and running around in some shots with no bra. And get this, she's only 12!
Miley Cyrus, released a summer music video also called We Can't Stop, which is also provocative...making inappropriate references to sex and drugs as well. However, the parody of her video has me cracking up (the girl looks just like her!). Why do you think that these young female celebrities are being allowed to be so sexual and inappropriate? If not the media, why not the producers, if not the producers, why not the parents? Why is no one putting their foot down, you think? We know that sex sells sure, but it's another issue when you are openly exploiting underage girls on national tv for other young girls to see. Surely they are not writing their own lyrics and coming up with all of the visuals.
Miley Cyrus, released a summer music video also called We Can't Stop, which is also provocative...making inappropriate references to sex and drugs as well. However, the parody of her video has me cracking up (the girl looks just like her!). Why do you think that these young female celebrities are being allowed to be so sexual and inappropriate? If not the media, why not the producers, if not the producers, why not the parents? Why is no one putting their foot down, you think? We know that sex sells sure, but it's another issue when you are openly exploiting underage girls on national tv for other young girls to see. Surely they are not writing their own lyrics and coming up with all of the visuals.
ScholarCHIPS 2nd Annual Awards Ceremony
If you don't know, ScholarCHIPS is my brainchild; a non-profit I founded in Washington, DC in 2010 that provides scholarships and mentoring to high school graduating seniors going to college. Below is the video from our 2nd Annual Awards Ceremony. Thanks for all of those who came out June 27, 2013 and for those who couldn't make it, we certainly hope to see you next year, June 2014 at George Washington University!
My Latest Radio Interview: Raven's Closet
Hey everyone! Please check out my latest radio interview, which was last Thursday, July 18, 2013 on Raven's Closet. Click this link (hot topics) and scroll down to my name and bio and the audio link will be there (it's green) :) I have an interview with Debbi Dachinger of Dare to Dream radio this Tuesday, July 23, 2013. She's in Los Angeles, California!
http://ravensclosettalkshow.com/hot-topics-thursday/
http://ravensclosettalkshow.com/hot-topics-thursday/
House of Cards
Looking back on President Obama's Correspondent's Dinner 2013, it TOTALLY reminds me of the Netflix series House of Cards rhetoric and mind game (not necessarily a bad thing). Politics is all a game. You have to have seen House of Cards to understand what I mean. Just the sneakiness and manipulation. The President's slick jokes, just triggered in my mind House of Cards, lol.
Random thought: I wonder if any ex-White House employees helped to write the script. The scenarios are too real, to all be fake and non-symbolic. If that's how they play it, I'd rather not go that route.
Random thought: I wonder if any ex-White House employees helped to write the script. The scenarios are too real, to all be fake and non-symbolic. If that's how they play it, I'd rather not go that route.
Saturday, July 20, 2013
President Obama Speaks on Trayvon Martin and My Thoughts
First of all, I appreciate the president's honesty. On Fox news, a group of analysts criticized Rev. Al Sharpton and President Obama for being "bad leaders" in cases like these involving race. They both were simply being honest, and in their honesty told the truth. In my definition a good leader is one WHO CAN AND DOES tell the truth. President Obama on Trayvon Martin
President Obama said that there are not many black men in this country who haven't experienced being followed around in a store (for someone's fear that they will rob) or walking past a car and hearing the doors lock. That's a horrible, degrading feeling. He IS RIGHT, when he says "Trayvon Martin could've been my son. It could've been me." Who truly knows who Travyon Martin could have turned out to be or vice versa about the president. Many analysts have said that these black leaders ought not to "pick old scabs" or "dwell on the past" but yet they do not consider the circumstances surrounding the case. What they're calling "the past" is virtually STILL the present.
A young, black teenage boy was being followed because he was suspected as being dangerous and was shot, even when Zimmerman was told to cease following him. The person who shot him was immediately released from police afterwards, yet so many other times a black person shoots someone of another race and is given heavy sentence...often times many years, or life without parol...double life. Isn't it also strange that Zimmerman changed his argument from "self-defense"?...Right, because he knows that's a load of it! Crazy. Unfortunately, I have realized that our justice system will never be 100% "fair" or completely "just," because it's all run by imperfect people. There will always be an underdog and there will always be a terminator or dominator.
2) Analysts have made claims that Rev. Al Sharpton "yearns for the times of the Civil Rights Movement," and is sparking rage within the black community and "dividing the nation" however, I argue that he's one of the few true, visible black activists from that era we have left and his is a significant leader in our community. He is not "dividing" a nation, but uniting and comforting a people who are still hurting. This is exactly what President Obama was trying to explain to people who have the slightest idea and that is that, blacks look at this case from a perspective of years and years of abuse, neglect, and hurt. This case screams to blacks "It's ok to shoot a black person simply because you claim he was looking suspicious, or that he did a criminal act and you shot and killed him. It's ok to then say that you were merely defending yourself, when the other person did not originally approach you in intent of attack. It's also ok for policeman to release a suspect because they can determine themselves what is truth. It's also ok to get the defendant off by saying that they are not guilty because there is no hard-core evidence, when there were only two people on the scene, of whom only one is alive." There is something truly wrong here.
3) Who is to say that this was a truly fair trial? Who was the jury made up of? What did releasing pictures of Trayvon Martin have to do with who killed him? If a defense can release photos of someone and make a claim that that person is prone to violence and therefore shooting him is justified, then what we're saying is it's ok to base a case/claim off of irrelevant, outside [non]evidence to the actual event. That also is saying that a defense lawyer can change around an entire case by creating a false scenario and present it as truth (ex: this persons' pictures show that he was a thug/violent and therefore it's safe for my client to have murdered them for walking down the street. They're justified.) My conclusion: police and defense lawyers have too much power!
4) Many are hollering if we cared or got enraged enough about black on black crime then things wouldn't be as bad. My response to that is, this is a legit argument, however, it's a separate issue and it takes away from the urgency in this case (though the verdict has already been made). And many people are angry and doing something about black on black crime. There are LOTS of organization out there trying to educate communities and end violence...but YOU WOULDN'T KNOW ABOUT THEM, because the News NEVER highlights them.
Everyone needs to take their blinders off. You can't sit around at your kitchen table calling black people "Good for nothing N*****s and thinking the worst of them (they're all lazy. they're all dumb. they're all thugs.) and then come out on tv and say "Well, they [black people] need to stop picking old scabs. We must have faith in our justice system." It's a double standard. Why would anybody trust a system, or person at that who has burned them time and time again? Everyone, can relate to that on an individual level. Come on, would you trust someone who kept burning you or deceiving you multiple times? For many of us, it only takes one good time and we dismiss that person out of our lives...we block them on Facebook. Block them on our phones or change our number. Change the locks to the house...
I know I am still venting, because like so many others I am still hurt, saddened, disappointed and confused. All I know for sure is that, for me, there is only ONE who is completely just in judgement and that is Jesus Christ. So for everyone who thinks they "got away" with crimes here on Earth, will pay ultimately when Judgment time comes. Second, is that I am black and I am female and that I must do my best to continue to educate myself and stay on top of my game as always, because if I do not, I will easily give someone the excuse to judge me, to disrespect me (like the prosecution did to Rachel Jeantel), and/or walk all over me. And that AIN'T Happening! And...Yes, I said AINT! We must educate our children and show them love. We must tell them to pull up their pants and stop looking like thugs, so people can't use that as a excuse to abuse them. One of the quotes my grandmother always told me is that "It's not always what it is, but what it looks like."
Lastly, I will say I know without a doubt that people will disagree with me, because they still have blinders on or truly cannot understand. But if you comment, please do so respectfully without profanity or degrading statements and if you do...I can always DELETE! LOL
President Obama said that there are not many black men in this country who haven't experienced being followed around in a store (for someone's fear that they will rob) or walking past a car and hearing the doors lock. That's a horrible, degrading feeling. He IS RIGHT, when he says "Trayvon Martin could've been my son. It could've been me." Who truly knows who Travyon Martin could have turned out to be or vice versa about the president. Many analysts have said that these black leaders ought not to "pick old scabs" or "dwell on the past" but yet they do not consider the circumstances surrounding the case. What they're calling "the past" is virtually STILL the present.
A young, black teenage boy was being followed because he was suspected as being dangerous and was shot, even when Zimmerman was told to cease following him. The person who shot him was immediately released from police afterwards, yet so many other times a black person shoots someone of another race and is given heavy sentence...often times many years, or life without parol...double life. Isn't it also strange that Zimmerman changed his argument from "self-defense"?...Right, because he knows that's a load of it! Crazy. Unfortunately, I have realized that our justice system will never be 100% "fair" or completely "just," because it's all run by imperfect people. There will always be an underdog and there will always be a terminator or dominator.
2) Analysts have made claims that Rev. Al Sharpton "yearns for the times of the Civil Rights Movement," and is sparking rage within the black community and "dividing the nation" however, I argue that he's one of the few true, visible black activists from that era we have left and his is a significant leader in our community. He is not "dividing" a nation, but uniting and comforting a people who are still hurting. This is exactly what President Obama was trying to explain to people who have the slightest idea and that is that, blacks look at this case from a perspective of years and years of abuse, neglect, and hurt. This case screams to blacks "It's ok to shoot a black person simply because you claim he was looking suspicious, or that he did a criminal act and you shot and killed him. It's ok to then say that you were merely defending yourself, when the other person did not originally approach you in intent of attack. It's also ok for policeman to release a suspect because they can determine themselves what is truth. It's also ok to get the defendant off by saying that they are not guilty because there is no hard-core evidence, when there were only two people on the scene, of whom only one is alive." There is something truly wrong here.
3) Who is to say that this was a truly fair trial? Who was the jury made up of? What did releasing pictures of Trayvon Martin have to do with who killed him? If a defense can release photos of someone and make a claim that that person is prone to violence and therefore shooting him is justified, then what we're saying is it's ok to base a case/claim off of irrelevant, outside [non]evidence to the actual event. That also is saying that a defense lawyer can change around an entire case by creating a false scenario and present it as truth (ex: this persons' pictures show that he was a thug/violent and therefore it's safe for my client to have murdered them for walking down the street. They're justified.) My conclusion: police and defense lawyers have too much power!
4) Many are hollering if we cared or got enraged enough about black on black crime then things wouldn't be as bad. My response to that is, this is a legit argument, however, it's a separate issue and it takes away from the urgency in this case (though the verdict has already been made). And many people are angry and doing something about black on black crime. There are LOTS of organization out there trying to educate communities and end violence...but YOU WOULDN'T KNOW ABOUT THEM, because the News NEVER highlights them.
Everyone needs to take their blinders off. You can't sit around at your kitchen table calling black people "Good for nothing N*****s and thinking the worst of them (they're all lazy. they're all dumb. they're all thugs.) and then come out on tv and say "Well, they [black people] need to stop picking old scabs. We must have faith in our justice system." It's a double standard. Why would anybody trust a system, or person at that who has burned them time and time again? Everyone, can relate to that on an individual level. Come on, would you trust someone who kept burning you or deceiving you multiple times? For many of us, it only takes one good time and we dismiss that person out of our lives...we block them on Facebook. Block them on our phones or change our number. Change the locks to the house...
I know I am still venting, because like so many others I am still hurt, saddened, disappointed and confused. All I know for sure is that, for me, there is only ONE who is completely just in judgement and that is Jesus Christ. So for everyone who thinks they "got away" with crimes here on Earth, will pay ultimately when Judgment time comes. Second, is that I am black and I am female and that I must do my best to continue to educate myself and stay on top of my game as always, because if I do not, I will easily give someone the excuse to judge me, to disrespect me (like the prosecution did to Rachel Jeantel), and/or walk all over me. And that AIN'T Happening! And...Yes, I said AINT! We must educate our children and show them love. We must tell them to pull up their pants and stop looking like thugs, so people can't use that as a excuse to abuse them. One of the quotes my grandmother always told me is that "It's not always what it is, but what it looks like."
Lastly, I will say I know without a doubt that people will disagree with me, because they still have blinders on or truly cannot understand. But if you comment, please do so respectfully without profanity or degrading statements and if you do...I can always DELETE! LOL
Rachel Jeantel on the Witness Stand
I was watching Rachel answer questions from the prosecution and saw Anderson Cooper's interview with one of the jurors after the trial, who by the way chose not to identify herself and I feel some kind of way about the whole thing. I think the best thing for me to do is list all of the things that bothered me and explain why.
1) I was disappointed in her presentation. I understand that she was sad and under stress but, I think she understood that the defense had it out for her, so she should have spoken "clearly and loudly"--as the judge had to annoyingly ask her to do WAY too many times. However, I can empathize because Rachel has a speech impediment (as she explained in her interview with Piers Morgan), she was of course frustrated and she grew up in an environment where all she really spoke was slang. ...Someone should've told Rachel not to keep shaking on the stand and sit up straight. This gave the prosecution an excuse to be disrespectful.
2) I was agitated with the way in which the prosecution treated Rachel. They treated her as though she was dumb. This was obvious because of the tone in which the questions were asked, and often re-asked and/or rephrased.
3) I do not like what the juror who was interviewed by Anderson Cooper said. She said that "I didn't think it was very credible. I felt sorry for her...I think she felt inadequate toward everyone...because of her education and her communication skills." So my question is, if she was THE LAST person Trayvon was speaking with on the phone, why was her testimony not credible? Americans have a problem with superiority and thinking that people of a certain status, background and/or demeanor are better than others.
4) Did the prosecution really have to keep repeating what he knew he heard Rachel say? He was focusing on and emphasizing what he thought to be racial slurs. What does this really have to do with Trayvon Martin's death and who shot him? Come on now! I really need to be a lawyer...I would tear nonsense people a part.
Rachel Jeantel's Piers Morgan Interview
Whew...ok. I just had to vent.
1) I was disappointed in her presentation. I understand that she was sad and under stress but, I think she understood that the defense had it out for her, so she should have spoken "clearly and loudly"--as the judge had to annoyingly ask her to do WAY too many times. However, I can empathize because Rachel has a speech impediment (as she explained in her interview with Piers Morgan), she was of course frustrated and she grew up in an environment where all she really spoke was slang. ...Someone should've told Rachel not to keep shaking on the stand and sit up straight. This gave the prosecution an excuse to be disrespectful.
2) I was agitated with the way in which the prosecution treated Rachel. They treated her as though she was dumb. This was obvious because of the tone in which the questions were asked, and often re-asked and/or rephrased.
3) I do not like what the juror who was interviewed by Anderson Cooper said. She said that "I didn't think it was very credible. I felt sorry for her...I think she felt inadequate toward everyone...because of her education and her communication skills." So my question is, if she was THE LAST person Trayvon was speaking with on the phone, why was her testimony not credible? Americans have a problem with superiority and thinking that people of a certain status, background and/or demeanor are better than others.
4) Did the prosecution really have to keep repeating what he knew he heard Rachel say? He was focusing on and emphasizing what he thought to be racial slurs. What does this really have to do with Trayvon Martin's death and who shot him? Come on now! I really need to be a lawyer...I would tear nonsense people a part.
Rachel Jeantel's Piers Morgan Interview
Whew...ok. I just had to vent.
My Summer Reading List
I made a commitment to myself to read more for leisure, which means I MUST make time out of what is usually a crazy, hectic schedule to read. Most of the time in college, I don't have time to read much else than the required readings because there's so much to read, re-read, take notes on and then study! I realize that some of the most articulate, creative inventors and thinkers were and are also readers. I know that probably goes without saying, but I realize if I want to get to where I need to be in life, then I must read...read for study, read to be informed and also, read for leisure. All to often in the black community, you may ask a child or young person what's their favorite book or what's the latest novel they've read...and if it's not school related, most cannot answer this question with ease and sometimes honestly. I do not want to just single out the black community, as today with social media and technology at the forefront I feel confident to say that most young people and people as a whole do not read anymore, if it's not a post on Yahoo or TMZ. I used to think..."While they're reading, I'm writing what they will one day read. While that may be true, I must read still to make my writing and speech all the better...all the more articulate and creative. This is also why many youth cannot write in proper grammatical form, because they are used to cellphone text writing and without the proper training and guidance, they think this [text slang] is how they should write. If you can't write well, or read well, it's hard to speak well.
We need to do better as parents and teachers, on enforcing reading and good reading habits in our children. Based on a summary by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, millions of children make it to the fourth grade without learning to read proficiently. "On the 2009 NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) reading test more than 67 percent of all US fourth graders scored "below proficient," meaning they are not reading at grade level."--Studentsfirst.org While American kids in grade schools have made some improvements in reading levels, there is still much to be desired.
So these are the five books on my summer reading list (Please feel free to suggest others) As you'll see, I'm not so much into science fiction. I'm all for the real, hard core stuff, lol. I was serious when I said I want to educate myself (#NeverStopLearning):
We need to do better as parents and teachers, on enforcing reading and good reading habits in our children. Based on a summary by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, millions of children make it to the fourth grade without learning to read proficiently. "On the 2009 NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) reading test more than 67 percent of all US fourth graders scored "below proficient," meaning they are not reading at grade level."--Studentsfirst.org While American kids in grade schools have made some improvements in reading levels, there is still much to be desired.
So these are the five books on my summer reading list (Please feel free to suggest others) As you'll see, I'm not so much into science fiction. I'm all for the real, hard core stuff, lol. I was serious when I said I want to educate myself (#NeverStopLearning):
- A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard (I'm halfway done reading this book. It's really sad and hard to read, just imagining all this young lady had to go through having been abducted and detained for over 18 years!)
- The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander (talks about the prison industrial complex and the War on Drugs)
- 101 Secrets For Your Twenties by Paul Agone
- The Divine Nine: The History of black Sororities and Fraternities
- The Inclusion Paradox by Andres Topia
I'd also love to know what you're reading this summer! Do so by commenting below.
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