It's A Nice Change From Al Sharpton

Have you heard the story about the 20-year old student who was attending Berkeley when he was caught up in a federal drug raid, never arrested or charged, but ended up being forgotten about in a holding cell for four days without food or water?  If you hadn't heard about it before now, it was pretty much what I just described there.  The guy's name is Daniel Chong and it's really not much short of a miracle that he didn't die in there.  He's now suing the DEA for 20 million dollars and I certainly hope that he gets it.  This incident was clearly nothing more than government asshattery at its finest.  But I wanted to point something out. 

After this story came out, I thought that it would get a little bit more attention than it did.  I'm not sure exactly why it didn't, but I guess it doesn't really matter.  But I'll tell you what impressed me about the publicity that was not given to this incident.  Mr. Chong is Asian.  But yet, there were not any Asian groups out there protesting his maltreatment under the assumption that someone must have had it in for him because he was Asian.  I cannot tell you how much I admire that.  You can't tell me that if this guy had been black that we would not all have been subject to the rants of Al Sharpton proclaiming how it was because he was black and how everyone who is white is a big ol' racist.  Yeah, that's exactly what would have happened.  You can't swing a dead cat without hitting Al Sharpton when something like that happens to a black individual. 

Do I have a point with all of this?  Not other than what I just stated.  I guess it just kind of gives me a little bit of hope that not all ethnic groups out there think that all white people are racist and out to get them.  Didn't I know that before?  Sure I did.  Of course I did.  But after the Trayvon Martin debacle, sometimes you wonder.  I like it that this horrible incident can obviously be chalked up to the incredible stupidity of whoever was working at the DEA.  There are a lot of things that can be chalked up to stupidity rather than a dislike for a certain race.  This is one of them and I'm glad to see it being treated as such. 

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They're A Little Racist, But It's OK

Finally! The WB has gotten it right. They're not trying to change or ignore "history". (I'm using the quotation marks because I'm about to start referencing cartoons and giving them a "historical" status felt a little weird.) They're just showing it for what it is. And what it is is Tom and Jerry cartoons that weren't always politically correct.

Look, there were some things in older cartoons that were fairly racist. Now, I'm not a big fan of the word "racist" because it gets thrown around all of the time lately, usually in the context of things that are so not racist, but it's appropriate here. Take the character Mammy Two Shoes. Yep, that was her name. Behold!

Yeah, that doesn't look all that great. And usually, Mammy Two Shoes didn't have a face. She was usually depicted as such:

See? Not much better. And that's not really the extent of it, but you get my drift. And while I personally don't think that it's a big deal, you know that there are people out there who would think it's a big deal. (Or, at least, they're going to want to make a big deal out of it. Big difference.) And those are the sorts of people that usually complain until something is taken off the air because they find it sooooo offensive. And unfortunately, a lot of companies simply comply because they are afraid of offending people, even though the number of people who are NOT offended greatly outnumber the nimrods who are offended. But not The WB. Nope. When they were airing a bunch of Tom and Jerry cartoons recently, they came up with this "disclaimer" or warning label or whatever you want to call it. Behold!

It's brilliant. Simply brilliant. You can't ignore this sort of stuff. And just because there might be something in it that isn't acceptable in current times, doesn't mean that it still can't be enjoyed in the proper context. Or even the improper context. Hell, they're freaking cartoons! They're going to be enjoyable in spite of the unflattering depiction of the maid (who, by the way, is NOT REAL). And I cannot even tell you how grateful I am that The WB is still showing these cartoons. It might not seem like much, but trust me. It's a lot. And now, we sit back and wait for the complaints to roll in. And they will. Roll.

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I'm Mad Bro

Ready for another story of something being made of absolutely nothing? And complete with non-existent racial overtones? No? I wasn't either, but I read the article anyway. That's how I learned about a bunch of folks in Painesville, Ohio (and this IS a pain) who are flipping out over a sign that some high schoolers put up that read "U Mad Bro?" You know. Because 'bro' is a racial term. Wait. No, it isn't. What now?

See, there's this Internet meme that has this tormented smiling face looking sideways at you. It usually is captioned with "U Mad Bro?" According to Fox8 in Cleveland, "U Mad Bro?" means "To make a ragin [sic] person rage even more by asking the most ironic question." They said they got that from Urban Dictionary, but I did not find that definition, even though that definition fits. (It's the same as kicking someone when they're down. And I like that definition better because it does not include the term "ragin".) Here's the face. Behold!
How is that racially offensive? Hard to say, but that's probably just because it isn't. See, there was a high school football game between Kirtland and Painesville. Kirtland won and I think it was at Painesville. So after the game, a bunch of students and some parents put up a sign (that was really a tarp with words spray painted on it) that read "YOU MAD BRO?" You know. Because Painesville lost the game on their field. End of story, right? Not so fast.

A one Roderick Coffee, who is the president of the Lake County chapter of the NAACP, decided that this would be a good thing to make a huge stink about. That's why he said, "At the conclusion of the game, some of their students and parents put up a sign that we believe was racial intimidation, ethnic intimidation." OK. Now, let's say that I understand (even though I don't) how he could have thought that. And then let's say that I explain to him that it's not racial. It's not even the slightest bit racial. Then what? Well, then they don't accept that explanation and take it to the local news, of course.


And they must have brought it to the attention of the superintendent for the Painesville school, a one Michael Hanlon, because he said, "I think the reference to 'bro' in the sign definitely has a racial connection to it." OK, you can think that, but I'm telling you, it has ZERO racial connections AT ALL. So why are we still talking about it? I'm guessing that it has something to do with this part of the article: "No doubt, the sign offended people." Crap. This again?!


Look, just because someone is offended, that doesn't mean that they're RIGHT. And there isn't a Constitutional right to not be offended. And truthfully, if you're offended over something as simple as a sign that reads, 'YOU MAD BRO?" then you need to wear a helmet at all times and stay inside as much as possible. But don't you worry. According to the Principal of Kirtland High School, a one Lynn Campbell, "...there will be a thorough investigation." But WHY?!


I'm telling you! There is no NEED for a "thorough investigation". It's NOT racial! What, exactly, will this "investigation" consist of? Getting on the Internet? Let me save you the time. It's NOT racial! Why are people so quick to jump to something being racial? Even something as tested by time as sports teams taunting each other? Do those folks really have so little to do that this is what they've resorted to?

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No One Got A Second Chance

Have you thought about Chris Brown lately? No? Me neither. And I don't know that there aren't a lot of other people that are in the same boat. All floating there and all not thinking about Chris Brown. Maybe he realized that and that's why he decided to send out a tweet that seemed to convey how butthurt he is these days. Then again, since the tweet didn't really make a lot of sense, he might not have known what he was tweeting at all.

See, he got done with an appearance on the Today show. According to something called The Gothamist, it was the largest crowd to ever show up for one of those morning show, musical guest taping things. So what was his problem? I don't know. You tell me. Here's the tweet that he twat after his performance: "Its funny how many second chances mainstream America gives some of their white celebs(Charlie sheen, kacey anthony. etc)". Behold! Oh, and WTF?

OK, where to begin? I'll tell you where I'm NOT going to begin and that is with the racist implication. We don't hate you because you're black, Chris. We hate you because when you say things like this it makes you sound like a total douche canoe. Oh, and because you beat up women. So since I'm not starting there, I guess I'll go with the next obvious being the Casey Anthony thing. If he thinks that "mainstream America" is giving Casey Anthony a second chance, then he has a pretty funny idea of what a second chance consists of. People want to kill her. They don't just want to see her dead. No, they want to do the actual killing. That's not very second chance-y if you ask me. And Charlie Sheen? He's just that train wreck that we all love watching. AND if he has been given a "second chance" it's because he doesn't pretend to be anything that he is not. With Charlie, what you see is what you get and he doesn't make any excuses for that. Can you say that about yourself, Chris Brown? I didn't think so.

And you know what else, Mr. Brown? If "mainstream America" is just too damn racist for you, what say you shut up about it and leave. If it's SOOOoooo terrible here and full of SOOOoooo many racists, what are you doing here? Out! As in get. Get out! No one's making you stay here. And even if we were (though I cannot for the life of me imagine why) it wouldn't be because we were a bunch of racists. You're just a guy who beats up women. I don't care what color you are, I'd still think that you're a total loser.

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