Hola Luiz

There is bringing the heat, and then there is this:

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Thursday blamed the global economic crisis on “white people with blue eyes” and said it was wrong that black and indigenous people should pay for white people’s mistakes.

Speaking in Brasília at a joint press conference with Gordon Brown, the UK prime minister, Mr Lula da Silva told reporters: “This crisis was caused by the irrational behaviour of white people with blue eyes, who before the crisis appeared to know everything and now demonstrate that they know nothing.”

For the unfamiliar, I wrote about the initial attempts by conservatives to deflect the blame for the financial meltdown from themselves to black folks. If you're interested, you can check out that piece here. There has been a serious move by the right to assert that the credit crisis could have been averted if bankers hadn't been forced to stop discriminating against minorities. Of course this ignores the reality of the sub-prime crisis, but we're talking about Republicans, when have they been concerned with reality?

Anyway, Brazil's president apparently has heard the same complaints I've heard, and homie decided it was time to speak out, forcefully. His quote speaks for itself, and I'm still chuckling at his willingness to single out the white folks with blue eyes. He must have been listening to some old Malcolm X tapes before he gave his press conference.

I think Mr. Lula said what's been on most of our minds. Not so much with the color issue, but with the idea that the people who created this current crisis need to bear the brunt of its backlash, not the rest of us. I can't blame the crisis on all the blue-eyed white people, I'm sure some of y'all with green and brown eyes caused problems too...Joking... But, I can say with certainty that the pain of the economic downturn is falling disproportionately on the poor and working class,
particularly when you consider that those folks really did not get to benefit too much when times were more rosy.

I know Obama has urged Americans to avoid playing the blame game and instead focus on solutions. I think that's admirable. But, I must admit there is a part of me that still wants the folks who caused this economic pain through their greed and corruption to be punished. I thought all the strum and dram over the AIG bailouts was stupid, but I could understand the sentiment behind it. When things go
this badly, we all want somebody to pay the piper.

So, while I cringed a little at President Lula's words, I also had to smile. It's not often you hear the leader of a major country, particularly one with a good relationship with America and Europe, say something inflammatory about white folks. Plus, given Brazil's own racial history and problems, Lula's willingness to cast the blame on the fair skinned folks is a pretty big departure.

Now, I know some folks will complain that if the situation had been reversed and some politician complained that black folks were ruining the world, I'd be pissed. They'll complain that this is proof of my racial double standard.

They might be right.

But, I'd be liar if I didn't admit that I nodded along to Lula's assertions about the state of the world.

Buenos Dios El Presidente.

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That Man/Woman Thing, Part 1

One of my best friends is a woman.

In fact, I have quite a few female friends, and I probably speak to them more often than I do my male friends. It's not that I'm one of the those super sensitive cats who women love. Truthfully, I'm a little old school in my mindset, but new school in my abilities. So, I might think women should be able to cook and clean, but I married a woman who does neither.

It's complicated.

I started thinking about men and women, and how we interact after reading an interesting post over at the blog This May Concern You. The post was about Steve Harvey and his hugely popular new book that encourages women to raise their standards, but also start thinking like men.

I know, I know, that sounds impossible.

After checking out that blog, I read another blog where a young lady really ripped Steve Harvey a new one after distilling his message to something a bit more crass and a lot more funny. What she heard from Harvey was this: "You sluts need to slow down..."

I haven't read Harvey's book, so I can't speak to his motives or his true message. What I do know is that there is definitely a disconnect between what men think about sex and what women think we think about sex. The whole idea that men and women are from different planets is an old saw, but the truth is that we're not just from different planets, we're from different galaxies.

The simple truth is that the vast majority of men and women do not view the act of copulation the same. Of course this isn't exactly a revelation from heaven, but despite the fact that most of us are aware of this truth, we keep having the same problems in relationships. I'm going to use some generalizations to make my next few points, and I hope that doesn't turn some of y'all off. (Also, my first advice is to hold off on sex until marriage, but since most folks aren't going to do that, I have some other advice for y'all.)

Many men view sex as something to be acquired, something to grasp and then discard when we no longer desire it. We don't necessarily see it as a deeper communion. Sex can be just the act of intercourse and we don't even have to care about the person we're doing it with. Often, it's just an itch we scratch, and then move on to something else.

Some women feel the same way about sex, but most don't. Most of them see sex as a destination, a reward doled out for good behavior. Sex is something you earn, and once you've put in the work to earn it, that's proof that you must have some deeper feelings about the person you spent all that time with. Women can have sex with people they don't particularly like, but they usually don't have fulfilling sex with people they don't like. And they don't have sex for long with people they don't like.

So, what's my point? Well, when Steve Harvey tells women to hold off on sex for three months, he's actually giving y'all good advice. However, it's not good advice for the reasons he thinks it's good advice.

Having sex quickly doesn't make a woman a slut. But, when a man has sex with a woman before developing a real connection with her, it's unlikely that a connection will ever develop. Women have to understand that once a man beds you, he's already accomplished a major goal in his relationship with you. To many women, sex represents the start of something major, to many men, sex represents the end of something major.

I think most women should have a set amount of time to wait before they have sex because that gives them a better opportunity to accurately assess the intentions of the man they are seeing. True, mistakes can and will be made no matter what, but I think more time means more chances to see a person's true character.

Now, I don't think women should announce to the world that there is a standard waiting period for their panties because this just makes men be on their best behavior until the drawers drop. Men are devious like that. Don't let us know how long we have to work, just let us keep working.

Ultimately, every relationship is different and everyone must decide on their own how long is sufficient for them to wait to become intimate with another person. But, I think everyone needs to establish an overarching standard that they apply to everyone because that simplifies the process. It just makes sense to me.

Part Two will discuss the disconnect between logic and emotions.







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Where We Stand

I think now is a good time to take stock.

I began this blog in January 2008. In the past 15 months, I've written 366 blog posts of varying lengths and on a wide range of topics. I've done some work I'm proud of, and I've done some work I'm not so proud of. But, I've definitely done quite a bit of work.

A few months ago, I talked to y'all about changes at the blog. I'd received a directive from my employer that meant I needed to move away from discussions of politics and political tactics, and I wanted to alert y'all. Since that time, I haven't written much about politics, unless it crosses over into the racial arena. After all, if I can't write about race, well might as well shut down the blog.

Anyway, since I've given up on politics this blogging thing has gotten a little more difficult. Without the daily political grind to depend on, I've had to work a little harder to discover something interesting to say most days, and honestly, I feel like I haven't done my best work.

So, even though I have some impending life changes that may make dedicating more time to the blog difficult, I pledge to improve. I pledge to challenge myself more in the topics I choose, and I pledge to shed some of the fear I've developed of offending my loyal readers.

I think the people who read this blog regularly do so because I have something to say. I appreciate the interest and I see it as a trust that I will continue to be honest, thoughtful and provocative in my writing. I am rededicating myself to this charge, and I hope that all of you will hold me accountable if I fail to live up those standards.

Thanks again for reading.




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I'm Still Here

I haven't gone anywhere, just been busy. Have had access to a computer for a while.

I'll have something new up either later today or Saturday.




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