Love American Style

Where to start? This SuperBowl ad was trying to 'keep it real' about sex and race. It plays up stereotypes for their shortcut accuracy, however biting. While it features a black woman and man, along with white woman, the director was probably a white man, so it really has everything. Here are my top ten thoughts:

1. The wife is big, but not too big. Ding! Correct. Black women lead the nation in big bones.

2. The wife is wearing an obviously purchased and unnatural hairpiece. Ding! Correct. Again, black women lead in this category.

3. The wife is the alpha in the relationship - Ding. Correct. Black woman are alphas, period.

4. The husband is timid. Ding! Correct. Timidity is too often and sadly the mark of a successfully married black man. Scratch that, ANY man! (Clarification - successful marriage to any alpha requires, how do we say, accommodation skills)

5. The white woman is looking after her looks and health. Ding! Correct. White women lead in active life styles.

6. The husband acknowledges another woman, who is prettier, in his wife's presence. Gong! Never happen. Dude would not have not made it this far.

7. The white woman flirts, ignoring the obvious danger. Ding! Correct again. I have witnessed this over and over. Just what was she thinking?

8. The black woman reacts violently. Ding. The stats back this up.

9. The ending. Gong! Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Here is where the assumed white male director intervened. Instead of the cowardly hit and run ending, timid black man would have rendered aid and feisty black woman would not have said 'sorry' to the flirting runner, but would have also demanded silly husband make sure silly white woman was okay.

10. Of course, I could be all wrong. Remember, it is Friday.

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: Love American Style, Pepsi Ad, SuperBowl Ads, Stereotypes, Acting Black, Acting White

Random Jockness: UConn's Trick Shot Quarterback

Perhaps I'm just weird, but I could not turn this video off! It reminded me of the Larry Bird/Magic Johnson faux trick shot competition commercials. UConn 'real deal' Johnny McEntee's hand-eye coordination must put him in the top 99.99 percentile, and therefore, it is worth witnessing (IMHO). Enjoy - or skip it (if 1-in-a-million bio-mechanics holds no allure).



James C. Collier

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Four Houston Police "Rodney King" Young Black Suspect

Just in case you have not seen it, the Houston Police went all "Rodney" on a young black suspect nine months ago. The media and the public did not know what happened until a few days ago when a judge ordered the released of the tape of the 'stomping' incident.

Although the fifteen year-old (at the time) definitely was attempting to elude the officers, he also clearly surrendered, laying on his stomach with his hands behind his head, before anyone touched him. In Houston, as in the King case, this positioning is clearly aggressive and taunting, such that a boatload of officers were compelled to punch and kick the living hell out of the handcuffed lad. Kind of reminds me of hyenas. And the kid, who needed to learn a lessen, instead gets one even more ruinous - just where is Mr. King anyway?

See for yourself before another judge pulls back the video.



James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: Four Houston Police "Rodney King" Young Black Suspect, Cop Beatdown, Brutality, Violence, Acting Black, Acting White

Black Kids With White Names? Steve vs. Jaleel

In a recent weekend conversation with my fifteen-year old son, we got onto the subject of how people are easily led to believe that which is not true. It is human nature, the lazy part at least, that has us grab the handiest explanation for things, even when a little applied brainpower tells us something different. He presented an interesting example of his understanding.

The black kids at his predominantly white, Jesuit (Catholic) high school accuse him of having a ‘white’ name, to go with his sounding white (english diction-wise). I recalled the names of his black friends as containing more than a smattering of Jaamals, DeShawns, and the like. He added that he was glad his mother and I didn’t give him a similar ‘black’ name. Man, my head hurts. I thought this ‘acting white’ thing might play itself out. Wrong.

It is bad enough that too many black parents saddle their kids with names that will forever attach them to ghetto images, regardless of where they actually start or what they achieve. Now, not having one of these ‘ghetto fabulous’ names can identify a person as less ethnically authentic (to some), at least in name, right out of the gate. More accurately, the kids are saying that new parents not only act black, but also act white, in how they choose to name their children.

For the record, my son is named for his maternal grandfather’s favorite city in his home state of Texas. Not surprising, this connection to his departed grandpa brought a smile to the boy’s face, that only emphasized the point of how easily his black classmates had led themselves astray, in what his name says and does not say.

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: Black Kids With White Names? Steve vs. Jaleel, Ghetto Baby Names, Ethnicity, Creative Naming, Acting Black, Acting White

Jack LaLanne: 1914-2011

I never met Mr. LaLanne, but I am a Board member of the Berkeley YMCA where he was a long-time member and supporter (emeritus). I certainly watched him on television, as a kid, and always marveled at his 'feats of fitness'. Our society owes him a huge debt of gratitude for helping to lead the way to the importance of a fit and healthy body.

James C. Collier

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Angry Uncle Beats Nephew For Being A Gangster On FaceBook

WARNING: EXPLICIT LANGUAGE AND CORPORAL PUNISHMENT

This is an example why parents need three hands. One hand to keep the kid from running, a second hand to train the belt onto the wayward backside of a dependent knucklehead, and finally, a third hand to hold up his own temporarily belt-less pants.

I don't agree with this man's language, but he is making a point I can get behind. Note: this was not a beat-down, but rather an old-fashioned whipping, with more ritual and embarrassment, with a side-order of pain, to get and keep young man's attention to the message.



James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: Angry Uncle Beats Nephew For Being A Gangster On FaceBook, Gangsta Whipping, Corporal Punishment, Parenting 101, Acting Black, Acting White

Why Are Europeans In Such A Hurry?

The average work pace of an employed German citizen is faster than anybody else on the planet. Irish people walk faster than everybody else. The Swiss have the most accurately set, and re-set, timepieces, and across all measures they live life at the fastest overall pace. So says the research of Professor Robert Levine, of Cal State Fresno, author of "A Geography of Time" (here).

So why does this matter? Life is not a race, is it? Well, it kind of is. Living at a faster pace is like speeding in your car. Speeding safely requires that the driver look farther down the road, with more accurate anticipation of what lies ahead. So, the skill that makes Lewis Hamilton a champion Formula One driver is his ability to see, think, and react ahead of his 200 mph race car, better than the competition. Speed and great anticipation go hand-in-hand in societies, as well as speed freaks.

Historically, when fast-paced societies meet up with slower ones, the faster folks easily dominate. When all difference is accounted for, the ‘early bird’ does indeed get the worm, the girl, the nice house, the fancy car, the fat paycheck. The speedy get the upper hand and never release their lead, unless the rules of competition are somehow changed. America is slowing down. Mexico is dead last (of those the professor studied) on the speed of living scale, according to Levine’s research observers. African countries and their transplants seem to compete with Central and South Americans for slowness.

Mind you, being fast does not make you better, per Professor Levine (or me), it just makes it easier to master your domain and dominate others. The Swiss, German, or Japanese ideals arguably leave much happiness on the table, while their people speed about their lives. I recall searching a toy store in Frankfurt airport for my son - not a model Porsche in sight. Nevertheless, the influence of pace is uncontestable. The next time you see lateness or earliness in yourself, or others who look similar or different, take a moment to consider how the speed and pace, and horizon, of different cultures plays into who is on top, and who is not.

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: Why Are Europeans In Such A Hurry?, Geography of Time, Time Horizon, Immigrants, Acting Black, Acting White

Do Black People Avoid COSTCO?

This past Sunday in the late afternoon I went shopping at a packed working-class Costco in Richmond, CA. I was surprised by the scarcity of African-American shoppers. While I waited in line, I counted 100 similar waiting shoppers, but fewer than 10 Blacks. As background, Richmond has a ton of Black residents (36%), as does nearby West Berkeley and North and West Oakland. Black employees looked to be more than 50%. I checked my perception with a friend I ran into, and he confirmed it.

So, why so few Black shoppers? From an economic standpoint, the deep-discount and bulk savings available would seem a natural draw to economically-constrained Blacks, similar to working-class Latinos, Asians, Whites, and everybody else, but t’is not the case. I could be off by a bit, but I peg my savings, over standard grocery retail, at 25-40%, and well worth the long lines and the $60 annual member fee, regardless of income level.

Maybe Black folks are in church all day on Sunday, making me just another heathen who picked the wrong day to notice, but I have another theory. It has to do with time-horizons - that degree to which someone looks ahead, relative to their peers. In order to shop effectively for grocery items at Costco, one must plan at least a month into the future, and have the desire to stick to the economic and dietary script they have created. My own mother did this very well thirty years ago, with a big freezer and pantry in the basement.

I was told, by more than one Black person I have since asked, that most (not all) Blacks cook, eat, and grocery shop, on a much shorter time-horizon by comparison to other groups, which does not lend itself to taking advantage of the significant discounts and savings of longer-term shopping at places like Costco. This thinking is consistent with studies on wealth and inequality (here).

If my observation is correct, Black folks need to go to school on the benefits of stretching a dollar by stretching their dietary time-horizons. This is the opposite of the current saturation of Black and low-income neighborhoods with fast-food establishments, with the host of obesity health issues in tow (here). Nevertheless, I remain skeptical about what I saw at Costco. I wonder if I am just missing something. Perhaps one of this blog’s astute readers can help?

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: Do Black People Avoid COSTCO?, Future Time Orientation, Time Horizon, Immigrants, Acting Black, Acting White

Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior

I verbally tore into my teenage son last weekend because he failed clean up the yard, as he’d been assigned. The Christmas tree, that went begging all week to be taken down and properly disposed of, compounded my angst; another task he and his vacationing sister had been given.

I grounded him, not because of the magnitude of the error, but rather due to his casual approach to his responsibilities. This same kid can be a great student and state contender in the high jump if he puts his mind and body to the tasks, but we will see. However, unlike the Ivy-League “Chinese” mother in the WSJ article of the same name as this post (here), I do not plan to browbeat the boy into his potential. I will set high expectations and expect him to meet them (with support), and sometimes punish him to make the point. If he chooses to sit on his butt, I will not manhandle him, except that he will get no extraordinary help from me once self-induced mediocrity takes over his life.

I believe parents should make kids do some things, while allowing options, as well. My daughter could have been a top swimmer, but did not have the drive. Forcing her to swim was a consideration that would have had us all miserable. Alternately, I still remember the tragedy of her 9th grade algebra tutor; a straight A Asian kid who seemed happy until the day he hung himself. Within their pain, I am sure his parents felt many things, and superiority was probably not one of them. My daughter’s (and son’s) shot at long-term fullfillment is much more important than youthful championships. I try to walk a finer line than the “Chinese” mother, because true happiness is poorly described by academic achievement or athletic achievement alone.

What I sometimes have to remind myself is that what I really want are content, well-adjusted young adults – not trophies to my great parenting skills or good genes.

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior, Amy Chua, Immigrants, Asians, Acting Black, Acting White

Acting White: Asians and Blue Eye Color

I was asked, from my earlier post (here) on Blacks and Blue Eyes, if Asians, as well, can have blue eyes. I was not sure. Cannot say that I have personally witnessed this, but the answer is yes. Additionally, as you see in the picture, Asians can have red hair too. The reasons this can happen are the same for why it can happen with Blacks and others. Whites have no proprietary genetic ownership of certain eye colors, hair colors, skin hues or other features. Mutations, syndromes, or just simple random breeding, along with the influence of the varying environments of the globe and time make everything possible. (Click on picture to enlarge).

I have also been asked about natural blond-haired blacks. I found many examples, including this one.

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: Acting White: Asians and Blue Eye Color, Genetics, Mutation, Blond Hair Black, Acting Black, Acting White

Ten Ways to Know You Are NOT a Mama’s Boy

I have been researching matriarchal societies/cultures and the degree to which they result in males with dysfunctional attachments to their mothers, including the havoc this rains on the family. This has me thinking and writing about my own mother, and I figured she might get a chuckle out of some of my thoughts, given her most recent health events.

You are NOT a mama’s boy if…

1. The day you broke your arm playing little league baseball, the ER nurse called your house and your mother’s first words were, “I don't care how much it hurts. Don’t cut that shirt off that boy, it’s brand new!”

2. After you blew out the candles on your 16th birthday cake, your mother exclaimed, “only two more years and you are out of here!”

3. Your mother said these, or similar, motivating words, “you better learn how to do something, or no woman will ever want you." (I assumed this included her too)

4. As a little league football running back, you could count on your mother to sprint the sidelines yelling for you to run faster, because, “they’re catching you!”

5. When you got stitches for a bad cut on your face, your mom comforted you by saying girls like boys with scars, because it means they are tough. (Kind of hard to whine after that little bit of comfort).

6. Your mother was famous for saying, “wait until your father hears about this”, knowing that you would fill in the sobering blanks with, “he is going to whip your behind, good!”

7. Only once did your mom ever bring home a package and tell you to put it in your closet and not open it until she said the ‘coast was clear’.

8. She called you one day in college, out of the blue, and asked you if you were being a ‘nice guy’, and said that if the answer was no, then you better “straighten-up, and go back and apologize, before it’s too late”.

9. Your mom has never ridden shotgun in a car which you were driving, and that also contained your fiancé, or wife.

10. After suffering a mild stroke, she demanded that you stop calling her every day, ‘just to check in’.

Good health to you mom! (I love you)

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: Ten Ways to Know You Are NOT a Mama’s Boy, Mother's Boy, Daddy's Girl, Oedipus, Acting Black, Acting White

Why is Black Hair Curly, Kinky, and/or Nappy?

The single biggest driver in human evolution was the challenge of matching the demands and capacities of our out-sized brain against the relative limitations of a weak physique. When researching the ‘whims of mother nature’, nothing is arbitrary. Sure, there are variances and distributions, but you can be sure that somewhere in the mix resides an objective mean – defining form and substance with a purpose.

Hair, like skin, is part of our genetically malleable, adaptable, outer layer, protecting us from the elements, the heat, cold, wetness, dryness, and utilizing the visible and not-so-visible light (energy) spectrum. Early primates and proto-humans had straight hair, which was an asset in low exertion foraging environs of ranging temperature, but not conducive to extending our physical endurance in the competition for food and survival, especially in mid-day Africa. Tightly coiled, moisture resistant head-hair created an enhanced barrier to ultra-violet (UV) radiation by turning many times on itself. This configuration also allows the release of perspiration droplets into a more optimal evaporative state whereby the droplets capture the heat of air moving around the coils before the perspiration rolls off and evaporates said heat away from the body. Presto! Cool scalp, cool brain, and greater endurance.

Conversely, straight hair was a liability, as it is more moisture absorbent, becoming heavy and causing it to stick to adjacent hair shafts and the scalp, effectively blocking the airflow required for heat exchange and dissipation. The straight hair of those precursors to modern humans would have made them less able to exert themselves for survival and advancement.

So with all due respect to Chris Rock, there is no such thing as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ hair. Curly, kinky, or nappy hair adaptation meant survival and prosperity as a species, in the birthplace of humanity. Moreover, just as coiled hair and pigmented skin conveyed advantage in Africa, straight hair, and light skin adaptation did the same moving north, in logical ways and for discernable reasons (more on this later). And for the record, Don Imus (here) is a true moron. The Rutgers ladies (pictured) are infinitely more appealing than his sorry behind.

Reference: Nina Jablonski, PhD., "Skin:A Natural History".

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: Why is Black Hair Curly, Kinky, and/or Nappy?, Evolution, Don Imus, Chris Rock, Acting Black, Acting White

Why Are Black People Black-Skinned?

While asking the question ‘Why are White People White?’ (here), I touched on that black people are black by the same mechanism. However, my explanation was too brief, and the question deserves its own full answer. Keep in mind this evolutionary cheat-sheet: first, there was panting and hairiness, and then came limited sweating and hairiness, and now we have full-body sweating and no hair (little hair).

To begin, earlier hairy primates, or proto-humans, living in Africa were less efficient at dissipating the body heat that resulted from strenuous exertion (hunting, gathering, and avoiding predators). Panting is the way most mammals cool themselves, rather than through sweating. As an evolutionary alternative, sweat glands appeared first over hairy bodies and then over less-hairy bodies, allowing for rapid cooling and quick evaporation. Evaporative cooling pulls heat away, countering the insulating effect, whereby the moisture stays on the skin, trapped by hair, and increasing in temperature from both the sun and internal exertion.

Indeed, sweat glands were an improvement over panting, allowing for greater exertion, but there was another hurdle. Full-body hair on proto humans grew out of ‘white (non-pigmented) skin’ underneath, in combination to regulate Vitamin D(3) production, for bone and reproductive health. Without the hair to block the sun, the skin had to take on this critical task by itself, via melanin production, thereby making the evolutionary case from fully covered, dark haired, white-skinned, proto-humans into hair-less dark-skinned humanoid descendants. Viola, black people!

It was relentless large brain demands (thinking) of proto-humans that drove body evolution to change and advance. Hairlessness, sweat glands, and dark-skin proved a potent combination in response, allowing humans to run greater distances, fight longer fights, dehydrate at a slower pace, and recover normal body temperature more quickly. Humanoids quickly became formidable foes, as their body capabilities ‘caught up to’ their brainy demands.

Reference: Nina Jablonski, PhD., "Skin:A Natural History".

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: Why Are Black People Black-Skinned?, Black Skin, Pigment, Race, Acting Black, Acting White

Why are White People White-Skinned?

Being black, I scarcely wondered why I was black, but I did often wonder why white people were white. I never believed in the ‘God wanted it that way’ answer. It seems very natural that whites and blacks would harbor the same question, however taboo it is to toss it into conversation. Indeed, science has provided us with an answer, but I hardly see it in print for non-scientists.

The scientific record shows relatively hair-less humans evolving from hairy primates in Africa. At the time when hairy proto-humans ‘loss’ their hair and developed sweat glands for cooling their big brains, they also needed to adapt their production and regulation of the pro-steroid hormone, Vitamin D(3), which was critical to healthy bones and reproduction. The result was an adaptive higher level of melanin in the skin, turning it dark. Viola, healthy dark-skin humans to populate the world!

As early Africans migrated north to Eurasia, with its lessened sun intensity, dark skin posed a problem. Vitamin D(3) fell to unhealthy levels, except that built-in genetically adaptive skin traits quickly kicked-in to lightened skin responsible for producing the required D(3). The farther north they ventured the lighter the skin needed to be to absorb the right amount of sun. It really is that simple. There is a great book that explains all of this in detail, written by recognized skin authority, Nina Jablonski PhD., called “Skin: A Natural History” (here).

So there it is - latitude (north/south position) on the globe pretty much dictates skin color (here). There are a few exceptions to this rule, associated with levels of Vitamin D in the diet. By example, the Inuits (indigenous Arctic people) are relatively darker, even at such a high latitude, because of oily-fish diets laden with Vitamin D(3). Aborigines in continental Australia, arriving via the ‘intercoastal migration’, maintained their melanin through similar fish-rich diets, on the coast, coupled with the fierce demands of an intense interior desert sun.

As a side bar, and from a Vitamin D(3) healthiness perspective, the continental US is (on average) too sunny for most fair whites, and not sunny enough for most brown-skin blacks. Everyone needs Vitamin D management for good health.

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: Why are White People White-Skinned?, Vitamin D, Melanin, Pigment, Acting Black, Acting White

Steve Landesberg: 1936 - 2010

One of my favorites.

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: Steve Landesberg: 1945 - 2010, Comedian, Barney Miller, Actor, Acting Black, Acting White

Google Pulls Plug on "Why Blacks Suck" Blog

It took them long enough, but Google, who owns blog publishing service Blogger, finally canceled the hate-filled ranting at the blog, WhyBlacksSuck. blogspot.com. The blog owner (under INDRA MAGHAVAN) tried to say that his site was not a hate site, but from his name down to his postings the real story was the opposite. Over the past six months, the blogger had begun to run out of hate-gas, but the site needed a hard ending nonetheless. It was last cached on Dec. 14, 2010.

I complained to Blogger regularly, once I became familiar. I also realized that he was pointing his twisted brethren to this blog, perhaps because I ‘air out the laundry’, at times. To be clear, I respect and depend upon protected speech, via the First Amendment; however, if Google wants any resemblance of good citizenship they sure-as-hell had better bring their hammer down on people who use hate-speech to incite violence on others, regardless of their affinities.

I see plenty of blog owners who write just this side of the hate-line, claiming they are simply expressing their opinions. However, when you read the vitriol-laced carnage fantasies that makes it into the comments, you understand better the relationship between the spark and fire. Absolving one’s blogging-self of hate comments, moderated or not, under some twisted sense of the First Amendment is nothing but crap.

All groups have their burdens, and blogs are powerful vehicles for openness and honesty pertaining to such. However, Why Blacks Suck was just hate that earned its participants an over-due exit to the internet bottoms.

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: Google Pulls Plug on "Why Blacks Suck" Blog, Racism, Hate Speech, First Amendment, Acting Black, Acting White

Race Map of America: Black to White

The New York Times has put up a map tool linked to US Census data, cutting across race, education, income, and housing. Interesting tool for setting a context for looking at where this country has been, is presently, and where it seems to be going. Check it out (here).

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: Race Map of America: Black to White, Census, Education, Income, Acting Black, Acting White

Black Woman Rescues White Police Officer in Dayton

Some events simply demand that you stop, take notice, and give credit where it is due. The woman to the right side of the picture probably saved this police officer’s life (video). The officer’s roadside battle with his assailant was not going too well before the passing woman decided that he could ‘use a hand’.

The courageous Samaritan’s well-timed licks upside the old geezer’s head were just what the officer needed to regain control of the potential deadly situation. The woman said everybody else was just passing the fight by, but she couldn’t. Give that woman the key to Dayton, and a bravery commendation. She is a hero!

James C. Collier

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Wiki Lies, Wiki Truths, and the First Amendment

The most powerful control tool of a parent, teacher, employer, or government, is the willingness to encourage others to believe you can only tell them the truth, when, in fact, your charter compels you to lie. This is the conundrum the founding fathers were addressing when they wrote the first amendment to the US Constitution, regarding freedom of religion, press, and expression.

As children, we are taught to believe the words of the police, and other authority figures. However, police officers are trained to lie, as part of their job. Of course, there are specific instances where they may not lie, but those are exceptional. We are purposely misled into believing that they cannot lie, but that itself is a lie - perhaps it is the biggest of lies.

When you hear an authority append “in the interest of National Security” to something they are saying, it really means that the person is not telling you the truth, and/or is telling an outright lie, allegedly for your safety and well being, in someone’s authoritarian opinion. Presidents, senators, and congressman routinely lie, the least of which is about dalliances with interns. Governments lie to each other all the time, and in turn they must lie to their own people to protect these earlier lies – again, under the cloak of protecting national security.

The mechanism, in this country, which keeps the lies from completely spinning out of control, leading to chaos and anarchy, is freedom of the press. When people inside of government (typically) see the lies mounting to the point where they can no longer sleep or eat or look their families straight in the face, they have somewhere to go, to leak, where the truth can still mean something – the press.

Without the press, or the ability for all citizens to speak freely, all freedom is eventually lost. It is not that Wikileaks, or its founder, is perfect or always right; they are not. However, the protection afforded all of us by the Constitution is critically dependent upon the idea that those who lie, as a matter of course, do so with knowledge that their lies and impacts may ultimately come to light as such. Liars beware!

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: Wiki Lies, Wiki Truths, and the First Amendment, Constitution, First Amendment, Julian Assange, Acting Black, Acting White

#15 Black Funerals

I have been to plenty of White funerals, but Black funerals are in a class of their own. You know something wild is going to happen – but like “Death at a Funeral” (2010), you don’t know what. The question today is why, during the ‘audience tribute’ portion of the service, somebody must always dig up an event about the deceased, or an audience member, that makes everyone squirm and try to hide inside their programs?

When Mr. or Ms. ’Bigmouth’ first approaches the microphone, you can hear knowing people mumble a desperate prayer of, “Oh Lord please…” Others look away hoping to become invisible, just like in school when the teacher wanted someone to lead the pledge of allegiance. Everyone knows that the pastor’s two-minute limit is useless to stop what is coming next.

The story told is usually something like, ‘so-and-so (the deceased) and I were out one Saturday night, you know, sowing some wild oats, when we met these ‘fine’ girls. After the po-lice showed up and they were going to arrest us except blah, blah, blah! Man, I am going to miss so-and-so, and don’t think he didn’t accept Christ as his savior, because I was right there when he did! And y’all know I don’t lie!"

Relief only comes when the last person has spoken. The minister gets things back on track by segueing any notion that the person was ‘saved’ into their passport through the ‘pearly gates’. On the positive side, you always come away knowing the deceased was a real person rather than just the sum of the one-sided good stuff people usually present. Everyone should attend at least one 'real' Black funeral.

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: #15 Black Funerals, Death, Humor, Embarrassment, Acting Black, Acting White