Out of the Mouths of Babes

So, I'm walking through a discount grocery store the other day.

Yeah, I shop at discount grocery stores all the times. Can't trust the produce that much, but everything else is fair game.

Anyway, as I'm walking the aisles looking for random cheap treasures like chocolate Chex, I see a little boy walking behind his mother a few feet away. Like most kids, he's looking up and down the aisles to see if there are any items he can persuade mommy to buy him.

His eyes spotted a wooden guitar on sale for $60 or $70, and he began his sales pitch. Here's what he told his mother:
"Oooh Mama, I know what I want for income tax, this right here."

1. Notice how he made himself seem extremely excited to see a random toy in a store.
2. Notice how he began his conversation with the assumption that he was already entitled to a present.
3. Notice....

Wait, hold on.

When did income tax refund season become a gift-giving holiday?

My people, my people. It's shocking how many of us view income tax season as our Second Christmas. I don't know if this is exclusive to black people since I don't have any friends of different races who I could poll. But, I do know that black people look forward to income tax refunds the same way fat kids look forward to lunch time.

I'll admit it, there was a time when I got that same sense of joy from income tax season. After all, who doesn't like the idea of a lump sum payment coming to them? Of course I was disappointed that one year I actually had to PAY Uncle Sam money, but for the most part I was happy to sit back and collect my free money.

Free money.

I guess ignorance is bliss. My whole perception of tax season changed once somebody hipped me to the fact that I was not getting free money, but rather the government was finally paying off an interest-free loan that I gave it the year before. They pointed out that if I hadn't overpaid in the first place, I could have just kept that money in my paycheck and used it earlier in the year.

That kind of put a damper on my tax season celebration.

I guess I wrote all this because it's amusing to me the things we as Americans celebrate, and how little we understand about how our government serves us. We're all sitting at home anxiously awaiting our checks, when we should have had our money a long time ago.

That seemed funny to me.


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Now That's Gangsta

I hope y'all enjoyed yesterday's brevity because I'm thinking about making it a habit.

Anyway, did y'all see how Roland Burris got gangsta with the United States Senate on Tuesday? Even though he wasn't formally "invited" to the Senate's "party" for incoming members, Burris reminded everybody that he had purchased a ticket and just showed up anyway.

Like, "Where the food at?"

Now that takes a set of brass ones. How you gonna just crash a government party? This wasn't some random house party at your second cousin's roommate's apartment. This was a party being thrown by political bigwigs and Burris basically dared them to throw his black ass out. Then he had a press conference about how they threw him out!

I said when this Burris appointment first broke that Blago was a sharp cookie for playing this game of racial chicken, but now I have to admit that he probably didn't think of this all by himself. Considering the way Burris has handled this whole fiasco and his longtime connections to Governor Felon, I'm beginning to wonder if maybe this brother isn't the real mastermind.

After all, old black people understand better than anybody how the game of racial politics and quid pro quo works. Maybe Burris realized a long time ago that black people might be pissed if Obama's elevation to the presidency meant that no black people were going to be left in the Senate. I wouldn't be surprised if he lay back in the cut, waited for that crooked sucker Blago to get popped, and then whispered in his ear about a great way Blago could stick it to that Uppity Negro Obama and all his fawning white friends.

Seriously, if this brother could get elected to statewide office, I'm guessing he understands the way white folks' minds work. Maybe he's been playing Blago like a fiddle from jump street.

That would be foul, but it would also be quite gangsta.


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Short and Hopefully Sweet

I'm swamped so I can't write one of my ridiculously long posts for today.

But, I was thinking about something the other day that I thought I might share.

Y'all know I'm married, and, like most married people, I've found that staying married is a daily struggle of love and patience. Anyway, the other morning the wife and I have a disagreement and I leave for work in a huff.

Have y'all every noticed how easy it is to get sidetracked by anger? It almost seems like anger and frustration are delicious cookies just begging to be devoured when you pass them in the kitchen. They call to you, entice you and can even sate you. But, in the end, you'll end up feeling worse after having indulged.

I'm really working on controlling my anger and refusing to allow my self to succumb to certain temptations. It's a constant struggle, but I've learned, as many of you have learned, that most things worth having take work to attain. Anyway, I thought I'd steal an idea from my homeboy Deacon Blue and leave you with a scripture I have marked in my Bible to remind myself of how I need to behave.

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath"James 1:19

Now, wasn't that both short and sweet?


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Peep Game

I'm about to put y'all on.

I mentioned this in my last post, but I wanted to elaborate on it and leave y'all to consider my reasoning over the weekend.

Barack Obama needs to worry about being labeled a coward.

Before some of y'all come at my neck, take your time and read my thoughts.

For the past two years, Obama has mastered the art of avoiding conflict without appearing too weak. He's sidestepped most of the controversies his opponents and the media have tried to involve him in, and he's been amazing at keeping his cool and refusing to be angered when insulted or discriminated against.

In the words of the immortal Andre Benjamin, the brother ain't cool, he's ice cold.

But, while Obama's laid back demeanor won him the White House, it also exposed him in other ways. African Americans voted for Obama overwhelmingly, but I think we all can admit that our votes were as much about the moment as the were about the man. Sure Obama was the most qualified candidate, but he also represented a major racial checkpoint. His election was a definite sign of black people's progress and that drove the massive support he received from us as much as his attitude and intelligence.

In fact, I think more militant black people wavered constantly in their support of Obama. I'm not even a militant, and I know I was conflicted at times. I wanted the brother to be more fiery, to call attention to historic wrongs and demand redress. I wanted him to call out sniveling Republican operatives on their racist attacks, and dress down the pandering media that never challenged mainstream mindsets. A part of me was disappointed that Obama didn't use his platform to finally force America to honestly assess itself in a mirror, even though I understood that there was no way he could do that and get elected.

Eventually, I got over it.

The thing is, now that the media and white people have watched Obama succeed despite their doubts, they now are questioning his placid manner. Some of this is in response to Obama's constant promise of change, but most of it is because the media thrives on controversy and they want to maintain the ridiculous ratings they enjoyed during the campaign. Obama is being goaded to take broad and decisive action because the media understands that no matter what action he takes, or whether he's successful, it will be news.

And that's why I think he's going to be labeled a coward.

I see the media quietly laying the groundwork for this meme with stories about whether Obama has the "mettle" to lead this country in a time of distress. I see them belaboring the point that now is not the time for a president who considers things from every angle before acting. Slowly, the media is creating the narrative that Obama is so afraid of conflict and drama that he will never take a stand on any controversial issue. Despite the fact that Obama has yet to be officially sworn in as president, they are criticizing him for not doing something to solve the world's problems.

This is actually a fairly predictable ploy.

Over the past eight years, the media have been repeatedly bitch-slapped by President Bush and the Republicans. Initially, journalists went along with most of the president's policies because the decision makers in the media shared his beliefs. As public opinion has shifted, the media has pushed back against Bush, but for the most part it's been too little and too late. The average American has far less trust for journalists now than before Bush took office, and it doesn't appear things are getting any better.

Logically, the media sees an Obama presidency as a chance to regain their stature.

Obama is still vulnerable to negative press, and unlike most politicians, he does not seem interested in buttering up the media to control his image. Sure, he's benefited from positive coverage for the past two years, but that was the result of what he represented not his own savvy. Obama has decided that transparency does not mean media access, and that stance has not endeared him to journalists dependent on leaks and anonymous sources to break news.

Truthfully, I don't see a way for Obama to avoid being labeled a coward without violating many of his key political principles. The media must create that narrative, so that they can justify the outpouring of criticism that Obama is sure to receive once he dons the presidential mantle and the country continues its descent into economic hell.

There is no way Obama can correct Bush's screwups quickly, but that won't stop the media from demanding he do just that. And in order to justify their critiques, journalists will have to create a narrative that places the blame on Obama because continuing to blame Bush just won't capture the public's attention.

Keep watching and reading and see if I'm right.


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