CNN: 'Can I touch it?' The fascination with natural, African-American hair by Lisa Respers France

'Can I touch it?' The fascination with natural, African-American hair

I cannot begin to describe how many times random people have asked could they touch my hair. Unless it's a really close friend, it really irks me and makes me feel uncomfortable like I am some sort of specimen. Everyone has hair; I have never asked to touch anyone's hair before...I also have had people who did not ask--which just makes me angry regardless if I know them or not. Hair is hair--chill out and keep your unwelcome hands to yourself!! (If it's a little kid, it's different. Kids are supposed to be curious--I just make them wash their hands first.)

random thoughts from venting, a poem

Yesterday I was venting about all the uproar with tax cuts and budget cuts and government program cuts, and this idea kinda grew out of that. It's just meant to be read for now....discuss if u will....here it goes, enjoy? *shrug*:

I’d like to have a no-holds-barred discussion

I am a brown-skinned United States-ian

I am called African American

Africa is a continent to which I have never been

And truthfully,

America is a couple of continents which I have never explored

United States is my country of origin

That is only united in theory

I suppose my country is quite hypocritical in its name

No, there is no civil war with guns

But we fight each other with money, stocks and bonds

We fight each other with racism, sexism, and classism, ammunition of hate

The only time we are united is in between bars of the ♪♫ 50 Niffty United States ♪♫

But go behind bars

You will find a different story

Lets raise the bar and see who can jump it or gets stuck in limbo

Maybe if we go to the bars

We can forget

And

Libations will be the lotus to make us all closer

If this is proven to drive somebody to drinking

Maybe one of ya’ll can go pass the bar to defend me

Or better yet prosecute me

For murdering with the truth

I’d rather be found guilty

M. Night Shyamalan, An Asian Uncle Tom???

From: Wikipedia:

"Manoj Nelliyattu Shyamalan (born 6 August 1970), known professionally as M. Night Shyamalanis, is an Indian American filmmaker and screenwriter who resides and works primarily in the United States. Manoj was born in Mahé, Pondicherry, India.His father, Nelliyattu C. Shyamalan, is an Indian Malayali physician belonging to a famous "Thiyya" tharavad from Mahe, Kerala. His mother, Jayalakshmi, is a Tamil Indian and an obstetrician and gynecologist by profession. In the 1960s, after medical school (at the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research in Pondicherry) and the birth of their first child, Veena, his parents moved to the United States. his mother returned to India to spend the last five months of her pregnancy with him at her parents’ home in Chennai (Madras)."

Now, with the cast of Avatar: The Last Airbender being all white, when clearly the cartoon is made out to be more of an "Asian" series is quite offensive. The movie being filmed in parts of Asia just adds insult to injury. But what do you call it when the film director himself is Asian--Indian to be exact. Does this go back to when Indians/Indian Americans bubbled in white on American standardized tests before 9/11? Are Indians so engrossed in wearing the full new identity of Middle Eastern that they forget about other Asians? Does M. Night Shyamalan realized what he's done with the casting?

OR

Is M. Night Shyamalan an Asian Uncle Tom?

I could even see if the cast were stellar and the actors simply got their roles off of pure talent--that is obviously NOT the case--THE ACTING SUCKED!!!! The ONLY part I liked about the movie was the bending, and THAT'S b/c the bending reminded me of DANCING and I love to watch pple dance!

Anywho,
here's a video to watch for enjoyment and some other points on the matter:

Special Comment: Teabaggers and Racisim

Special Comment by Keith Olbermann on the racisim in the Tea Party movement; from Feb. 15, 2010.

FIVE on the BLACK HAND SIDE

Sooooo, who started this? Was this a movement? Or was it always meant to be funny? Did it start with a thought such as, "Why we gotta use the white side to give fives? Why the black side gotta be neglected??"?? hmmmm I was first intrigued by Queen Latifah's rendition, but when I googled searched "how to give five on the black hand side," a movie came up in the search results. Let's observe:




UnknownMovies.com Commentary on Five on the Black Hand Side (1973) ^^^^ Pretty good commentary on "blaxploitation" and this movie. Educate yo'self!!!

Black Emphasis Month Worship Service 2010

Untitled by Kay Rich

My great-great-grandparents

And my great-grandparents

And my grandparents

Carried on the slave traditions of

Back breaking work out in the sun scorched fields

So that my parents

And my sister and I

And our unborn children

Can perform American positions of

Mind muddling work in air conditioned comfortable offices

I’ve never had calloused hands from picking cotton

Just writer’s cramp from writing an essay exam

I’ve never had hunger pains from not having enough to eat

Just the occasional tummy ache from obscure cafeteria food

I’ve never had to work hard at practicing passive resistance

Just small repercussions from a smart mouth and short temper

I’ve never been hosed down for marching for the right to vote

Just my first vote casted towards the first black president

I’m in the Promise Land

Without had having to run around the wilderness

I see the strong beginning of victory

But I didn’t see the desperate struggle

I’m reaping the fruit

Of trees of life I didn’t plant

No, I am the fruit

Of all those who sprung root and refused to let go

My ancestors fought

So I could have the right

To fight

My middle class battles

Like, why is it always required to learn…

Western History

Western Art History

Western Medicine

But the rest is optional

Why is it always American Literature

And then African American Literature

Why is it always American History

And then African American History

I mean, I thought people were only divided geographically?

Yet, down in the books, we are still separated, still divided

Recorded as if two different nations

Past African American and Caucasian American abolitionists and activists struggled for everybody

For if they were to let America continue in its corruptness

That would have been an injustice for all

American History is our History

African American History is our History

History needs to be known correctly

So wrongdoings won’t be repeated by anybody

Black Emphasis Month is for the whole community

©Kay Rich

Rahm Emanuel's "Retarded" Comment: Sarah Palin Lashes Out | The News is NowPublic.com

Click 4 Story--->>>Rahm Emanuel's "Retarded" Comment: Sarah Palin Lashes Out | The News is NowPublic.com

My Commentary on the matter:

well for one, it's NOT the same as the n-word, the n-word, along with it's meaning, has never changed, which is up for debate by rap artists who change the "er" to "a"

retarded has evolved from idiot, stupid, dumb, feeble, feeble-minded, etc

obama has used the word stupid and she did not slam him for it

that being said, it was still wrong for him to use the word "retarded" but it is NOT nor will it ever equate to the emotional response to the n-word

My sis' posed question:
so ifi call something retarded its the same thing as stupid...so the two are interchangeable...is that what you are saying?

My response:
pretty much, the bible says ur not supposed to call anyone stupid or a fool anyway b/c there are power in words, so just don't insult anybody/anything 

FEEL FREE TO COMMENT AND TELL ME WHAT U THINK!!!!! :-)) 

"Some see racist theme in alien adventure 'Avatar'"

Click 4 Article--->>> Some see racist theme in alien adventure 'Avatar' by: JESSE WASHINGTON, AP National Writer  – Mon Jan 11, 9:40 am ET

My Response to a facebook status:

"let's discuss: race relations in the entertainment industry. minorities have come along way in film and tv. but is it enough? should minorities settle? revolt?"--(Damone Williams)

i would say it depends on how you look at it because recent movies such as surrogates, avatar, the princess & the frog could technically be seen as stereotypical, and we haven't really "gone" anywhere...

surrogates touched on the history of the rastafari movement and how dread locks originated out of revolt against colonialism--the movie had "dread areas" and they were in revolt against the surrogates, Ving Rhames played the dread locked "the prophet"and people of color in movies and books are often seen as mystics or some wise witchdoctor...In the end it was revealed he too was a surrogate--you could go far as to say he was used as a puppet, an unlce tom of sorts lol but that would be too far in my opinion

(this is more of playing devil's advocate) avatar--which i thought was really beautiful btw--Zoe Saldana played an "indigenous" alien, they were even referred to by other characters as a "race" or the epithet "blue monkeys"

also in Avatar, Dileep Rao played Dr. Max Patel, Patel is a popular Indian surname and most of the time, Indians are usually seen as lab technicians or some sort of scientists

princess & the frog from my understanding a very light (if not white) prince brings a black girl out of the slums of louisiana from rags to riches

so i don't think this is enough and minorities in the entertainment industry should not settle

as far as tv, they always give black women attitudes--whether it's a show or commercials, but since Obama came into office, there have been more commercials w/ "loving" black families....i think there's one commercial w/ a latino family, i do not recall seeing any asian families in any commercial--or soap operas for that matter....

Commentary: Blackface is never okay By Mark Sawyer, Special to CNN

 Click 4 Link--->Commentary: Blackface is never okay By Mark Sawyer, Special to CNN




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