Do you walk around seeing racial and ethnic disparities?

Q:  Do you walk around seeing racial and ethnic disparities all around you? If so, how do you deal? If not, what do you see?

A:  To the contrary, I don't look for racial and ethnic disparities.  It's more that I notice trends.  All of the questions that have been answered on my blog - others have asked me because I'm a black person.  Just today, I was interested in reading up  on Ghandi.  This man did so much for people in India so that they can gain their independence from Great Britain.  Great Britain was trying to force assimilation on their "colony" for years. Black people in South Africa were being forced to assimilate and do as their colonizers told them to do - good ol' apartheid.  Then there are the Americas that were colonized - Native Americans killed, shoved into their own territories "reserved" for them and told to be thankful. What about the Japanese Internment Camps? We said, "Yo' Japs (and I'm pretty sure that was a term tossed around by the government), we're lockin' y'all the fuck up.  We don't trust any one of you!" How about blacks brought here as slaves. Forced to assimilate. Look how well that's still going hundreds of years later.  All of these examples are of racial issues that have developed into issues of today. And all of these issues have a common denominator... hmmm.

So how do I deal with all of this? What can you do?  You just live your life the best way you know how.  I love raising questions about race with my friends and having discussions. I like to hear others opinions. But I also like to have fun and joke about it.  Sometimes I do wonder why other blacks take offense to certain things. Like on the episode on Oprah and they were talking about the Chris Rock documentary, "Good Hair".  This black woman was up in arms that Chris Rock outed black women for paying so much for hair weaves and styles.  I'm glad he outed them - not that I think it was ever a secret that women (black women in particular) wear weaves. There are some SERIOUSLY HORRIBLY DONE WEAVES out there ladies! That's a whole other story (that can be read here).  Just remember, stay away from synthetic!

I have read all of comments from my post on, "Why are Black People So Loud... ?" and in some comments, people have said things like, "Just get over it and move on".  That's much easier to say when you're the one who has many people agreeing with you.  While things between different races and ethnicities are taking more of a global culture - I recognize (as well as many others) that there is value in having differences.  Some blacks ARE loud - but not all.  I laugh loud as hell but does that solely belong to black people? No.  I had to stop the comments chain on this particular post because people were beginning to no longer read the actual post but being fueled by the comments that took on a life of their own.

Bottom line: There are lots of varieties of people. Lending a little humor to these topics is a fun way to just laugh at ourselves, witness the true nature of some folks = the good, the bad and the downright hateful, and also understanding that opinions are like assholes.  Everyone has one. Sometimes I do see the world through rose colored glasses and sometimes I don't. Sometimes my prescription changes and I see things differently while other times I see it as most others do.

This blog is done to raise a certain level of awareness, thought, humor, interest in things people may want to know an answer. It's also a platform to share my wit, humor and whatever insight I happen to have on the subject.

A lot of times I like to think of the world as Louie Armstrong sang it.

Now, just remember to take your multivitamin. Oh and get your Vitamin D in.  I've recently learned that most people are deficient. :0)

Do White People Make Me Angry?

Q. It sounds like white people make you angwy. Would you wike a huwg??

A. Naw, not really.  I only get annoyed from time to time. But hey, some of my best friends are white people so I'm not ever really angry. I do hug those white people - but I never hug a stranger (no offense). And I definitely never hug a stranger who talks in baby talk. Those folks are very suspicious. I don't want to be on the next Amber Alert.  Seriously, you just never know if they're trying to pick pocket you like the Artful Dodger in that movie, "Oliver!" or something.  But once I'm confident in having you as a friend,  I'll gladly sing the "Consider Yourself" song from the movie.