Self-Made Leads To Self Destruction BY: KB 8.26.15

We’re ALL broken, fractured and chipped in one way or another………every last one of us. I am deathly afraid of the folks who delude themselves into believing they have it all together or that they are self-made.  Believe it or not it speaks volumes to how they’re going to interact with you. I’m not saying this is a quick read but it’s taken me most of my adult years to learn this lesson.

The self –made individual believes that they have gotten to their position without the help of God (Higher Power). The self-made person approaches life from a position of privilege and entitlement; they’re supposed to have and their needs are the only needs that matter.

Psalm 1: 1- 2     1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night

Psalm 5:9     Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with malice. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongues they tell lies.

Joshua 1:8     Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

These people surround themselves with two types of people. The first being type of friend is the like minded; which in turn drives a cut-throat competition. Imagine a pre-school; toddlers driven by the word “mine” The second type of friend is the person they see as the less fortunate. The less fortunate feeds the ego..

Philippians 2:3      Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

James 3:14-16       But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.

2 Timothy 3:1-5       But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

Are you this person? How ya livin’?

REAL TALK from KB: Duplicity - noun, plural duplicities for 2, 3.

REAL TALK from KB: Duplicity -  noun, plural duplicities for 2, 3.

1    

      1.    deceitfulness in speech or conduct, as by speaking or acting in two different ways to different people concerning the same matter; double-dealing.

Synonyms: deceit, deception, dissimulation, fraud, guile, hypocrisy, trickery.

Antonyms: candidness, directness, honesty, straightforwardness.

2. an act or instance of such deceitfulness.

3.Law. the act or fact of including two or more offenses in one count, or

charge, as part of an indictment, thus violating the requirement that each count contain only a single offense.

4. the state or quality of having two elements or parts; being twofold or double.

Are you guilty of it? Think you aren’t? Let me ask this one simple question: How many of you turn a blind eye …living under the veil of “it’s not my business”? or if that doesn't  apply How many times have you remained silent telling yourself “it’s not my problem”?

The most certain test by which we judge whether a country is really free is the amount of security enjoyed by minorities.  John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, The History of Freedom in Antiquity (1877)

Tolstoy, the Russian writer, said in War and Peace: “I cannot conceive of a man not being free unless he is dead.” While this statement sounds a bit exaggerated, it gets at a basic truth. What Tolstoy is saying in substance is that the absence of freedom is the presence of death. Any nation or government that deprives an individual of freedom is in that moment committing an act of moral and spiritual murder. Any individual who is not concerned about his freedom commits an act of moral and spiritual suicide. Martin Luther King, Jr., Address at the Fiftieth Annual NAACP Convention, 17 July 1959, New York.

How ya livin'?

Cultural Appropriation BY:KB 8.15.15

Not too long ago a youngster, Zendaya Coleman, took a few entertainment news commentators to task about their comments on her desire to wear her hair in faux locs to an awards ceremony. The young actress was most recently quoted as saying:

"You can go about it as cultural appreciation or cultural appropriation," Coleman explained. "You have to be very careful. Some things are really sacred and important to other cultures, so you have to be aware, politically, about those things before you just adopt them."

The performer added that the key to appreciating a culture is to understand the history behind it. 

"I’m someone who feels uncomfortable with things unless I know [about them]," she told Nylon. "I’m not going to try something unless I’ve taken the time and effort to learn about it. I just think with the Internet and the resources we have, you should do a little research."

I commend her desire to “represent” so to speak but I’m going to have to throw a penalty flag on the whole situation…..sprinkle a little salt if you will. It’s all cultural appropriation! Just because you like something does not mean you should try it….attach whatever “shaming” label you want to what I’m saying but it is what it is……

Think a few years back when the rap game and the hip-hop culture made its way to the suburbs. Mainstream society then coined the phrase “wigger”. For those of you not in the know the term means white nigger……..meaning that there is no place, rhyme or reason for a nice white kid in the burbs to adopt such a style.  First we had Eminem, a white boy with street cred….but once people discovered the 8 Mile section was a poor section of Detroit and that he really associated with Blacks he quickly became the “white trash” factor and was relegated to  an “overseers” position on the profit plantation. Then we have Tatum Channing and Justin Bieber musical and theatrical colonizers manipulated by a hierarchy that makes the once deemed “white nigger” culture acceptable as well as once again profitable.

I’m not going to just single out the mainstream…I’m also going to address people of color. We have been brainwashed. We have neglected our cultures, our people and our history far too long. We have deluded ourselves into embracing a standard of culture and beauty that has NEVER made provision for us as anything other than labor or entertainment. We spend billions of hard earned money on fake hair and hair straightening products. We’re walking around with blond hair and blue contact lenses. We’re spending grand theft money on slimming agents and vilifying our thick hipped, full lipped , darker sisters. We have adopted a Eurocentric “mammy” mindset about our own thereby creating a cultural divide within our own culture….We have embrace a new millennium mulatto, quadroon and octoroon standard of measure

Young Ms. Coleman was correct in saying to learn about the culture that you’re “borrowing” from because if more people took the time to learn about the thing that they’re appropriating they would learn that their portrayals are often no more that a modern day minstrel show. They have “borrowed” parts of a culture and reduced it to a caricature presented on a platform of stereotypes…excluding the  burnt cork, white gloves and banjos.

I am of African, Irish and Native ancestry, all of which are an oppressed people. All of which have been set against one another, here, on this soil, that we like to delude ourselves into  believing, is this great melting pot.  I have a rich supply of melanin, the world sees Black and I identify as such but I also do not neglect any of my other ancestry. I will no longer be forced to choose and accept that one thing is above or better than the other. I have no excuse for allow someone (something) to manipulate my history and culture. My history, in factual information, is now available to me….

In times like these I often quote a line from a George Clinton, Parliament (oh the irony in the name Parliament) song “free your mind and your a** will follow”

How ya livin’?

STOP IT!!!! Just STOP!!!! BY: KB © 8.12.15

Ok folks, I’m about to go all Andy Rooney on you: I realize there are a bunch of you who don’t even know who I’m talking about but that’s a rant for another day.

First, let me say this….PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE stop posting pictures of money and promising that my blessings are on the way if I share the pic. I am insulted by these pictures…I AM TRULY BLESSED EACH AND EVERY DAY I WAKE UP!!!!

Keep it real, the people who are clamoring for more wealth are most likely looking for more material things. Truth be told, the  reason the majority of people who are crying for more money is because they are irresponsible with what they have.

Scripture says – Matthew 26:11 "For you always have the poor with you; but you do not always have Me.”  Then the word goes on to ask (paraphrase) – what are WE doing to show the love of God?

Now if you can’t get into the word – hear me loud and clear with a little Puff and Biggie – “more money more problems”

Second, Stop with all the life-style changes, give away your money for quick fixes madness. The only people advancing are the people hyping and hawking the bull----. I just saw posts about cleanses and teas. Did it ever occur to anyone that such harsh treatments flush the body of the things that it needs to work properly? Yes, you will lose weight but the loss is temporary and most of you become malnourished as a result of the insanity. You are not a chitterling!!!! Many of you don’t change what you eat or exercise…..how does that work? Cancer made me really think and work on what I ingest; I still eat what I like but just not in the mass quantities. I have a fitness band to insure that I am more active during the week.

I know people who have paid grand theft money for compression garments to constrict their stomach and also restrict their breathing …maybe the lack of oxygen explains the level of silliness.

I know people who have had elective surgery when what they really needed to do was fix their egos and insecurities….I’m not knocking surgery. I had to have reconstructive surgery, FOR MEDICAL REASONS ….I am anti surgery because you don’t feel good about yourself…..people should have to do so many hours of therapy prior to elective procedures because they are going to be the same insecure, hot messes with bigger breasts, liposuction, butt, cheek, chin and pectoral implants.

I’m just sayin’…..

Miseducation of KB BY:KB 8.5.15

I know I have been guilty of this…….I guess it’s my own internalized racism. 

My sister and I are often laughing at my mom regarding the messages she has provided over the years. We call my mom the Black bourgeoisie (bougie) who still institutes her own from of the paper bag test. I often refer to my mother as Julia (Black TV nurse played by Diahann Carroll) because we always had to be the first “Negroes” in our neighborhood (which also meant a lot of fighting….I guess this place a big factor in my definitive thoughts on right, wrong and racism.

But, I digress; my racism comes into play when I hear of black kids being accepted into Ivy League Universities.  http://money.cnn.com/2015/04/04/pf/college/immigrant-accepted-all-ivy-league-schools-harold-ekeh/

I tend to think of them as the exception rather than the rule. My SH—TUFF!

I have been an honors student for most of my academic endeavors…forget my freshman year of college – I’d just moved to Cali and I didn’t give a damn about too much other than leaving my beloved hometown. But, again, I digress; I had to check myself and my thinking……..I have received and accepted the color line for so long that I truly believed that certain schools weren’t for Blacks….Now, I’m not delusional, I know this young man WILL have to face some challenges because his very presence will challenge the status quo….but hats off to the brother and I hope he will challenge the status quo….

Without education, you are not going anywhere in this world.   Malcolm X

EDUCATION is the medium by which a people are prepared for the creation of their own particular civilization, and the advancement and glory of their own race. Marcus Garvey, The Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey

Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today. Malcolm X

This Land Is Your Land….This Land Is My Land by: KB 8.4.15

REAL TALK from KB: I saw a commercial this morning…some kids in the commercial were saying the pledge of allegiance. I flashed on my own child hood and thought to myself about how I was subtly brainwashed.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America; ok that part is not so bad.

And to the republic for which it stands….ok so now I’m starting to waiver… A republic (from Latin: res publica) is a form of government or country in which power resides in elected individuals representing the citizen body and government leaders exercise power according to the rule of law. Seriously, who represents me when everyone seems to out for self or lobbying and catering to special interest groups? Why are Blacks hated and vilified all over the U.S? …and you would think that such an elite group of powerful minds would come up with another word besides “nigger” after all they had since 1865 to come up with something.

One nation under God…ok, now I’m not even going to stand around and participate in such blasphemy…Sunday morning between 10 and 11 are the most segregated hours in America. I once heard of a Pastor saying that your church should look like a busy day in a supermarket….but that is NOT the case. I moved from segregated NY to ultra-segregated, ultra-conservative Central Valley Calif………I grew strong and bold hearing the N word….nigger is the steel in my spine, the fire in my eye and need be the power behind my fists!

Indivisible -  I refuse to drink this Kool Aid…..we are a people divided and we, every last one of us are wrapped in cause. Blacks want equality and white won’t acknowledge and release their privilege as if a balance would somehow be the end of the world…..keep it real it would be the end of their world…no matter how “enlightened” or well-meaning you may be…until you are willing to release what you KNOW you have there will be some level of dissent.

With liberty and justice for all………..ok, really?!!! Now this just got down right comical….Back in the day Black people were lynched just for being Black with priors of being Black. Now, since there’s justice for all we’re being “lynched” for fitting the profile, walking while black, driving while black and routine traffic stops….

I guess I’m now supposed to sing and do a full on minstrel show to My Country tis of thee?

We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites Only."  We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."

In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. - MLK

How ya livin’ ? 

How ya livin’ ?! By: KB 8.3.15

I’ve been giving things a lot of thought so please don’t think of this as a random and obscure post.

I’ve read many a story about rising rents, the drought, animal cruelty, racism, bigotry, homophobia, etc… You name it I read it and the bottom line is ALL of these stories are for naught…….yup, you read that right. The stories don’t mean a damn thing until we learn to value human life and how to treat one another. Seriously, think about it, the majority of these situations would be resolved if we learn to embrace the sanctity of life!

Now, there are some people who will dispute and refute the validity of the Bible until they themselves are toes up….but even a blind man can see that we’ve got something wrong in our thinking and conduct.

Psalms 133:1     Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to dwell together in unity!

Malachi 2:10     "Do we not all have one father? Has not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously each against his brother so as to profane the covenant of our fathers?

Galatians 5:22-23     But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Proverbs 3:3     Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart.

Romans 12:10     Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor;

Psalm 24:1      A Psalm of David. The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein,

Genesis 1:28      And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

I’m not telling you that you have to believe what and how I believe, I’m not that narrow minded; but, what I am saying is that there are some fundamental truths in what I quoted. Why is it that we’ll spend grand theft money on self-help and self-improvement books and seminars when the ability and the power to change is in what you accept as a truth….and the real truth is that we are so fragile and damaged that we have allowed a certain amount of exclusion and attrition to become acceptable. We are so damaged that we’ll spend countless hours and energy focusing on the external factors when the real work has to be done internally. I’m challenging folks to STOP being a dressed up mess. I’m challenging people to embrace a Higher Power to reach a higher calling.

How ya livin’?

Preaching exclusion – how does that work?

REAL TALK from KB: I just read something by a good "Christian" that makes me think more and more that the term is an oxymoron.....sad thing is most good Christians are not in a place to hear that about themselves..not saying that I have a stellar faith walk but I'm not hiding behind the word to support a personal agenda.....the person stated something to effect of we shouldn't tax hard working folks to support those who refuse to work.

The good Christian didn’t see the hidden bias and hinted bigotry in their proclamation. There is also an implied but not blatant racism in the statement. The good Christian failed to see the lack of compassion and empathy in their statement. Thinking only of dollars rather that what their fellowman is experiencing. What the good Christian didn’t acknowledge is a system in place that keeps people locked in a cycle of poverty.

There are very few people who just refuse to work….if people could just get up and get jobs many more people would be working….but that person is mad about that too……..Obama created jobs and unemployment is at its lowest number in many years…but people are mad that they have to kick in for healthcare. A universal precaution and should be right for the betterment of all.

There are people who have made stupid mistakes and poor choices that landed them in jail for a period of time but now they are locked in a system that is content on keeping them a prisoner.

It often strikes me as funny how people tend to forget their own failures but are quick to club you with their success. To these good Christians I say find a different name to call yourselves something different , possibly call yourselves IANS, because there is no CHRIST in what you preach, teach or demonstrate.

Don’t confuse a class system with a  caste system and call it “traditionalism” … when it’s really colonialism and castigation

How ya livin’?

The Cold Hard Truth BY: KB 8.1.15

I've been giving some thought to the Cecil the lion vs. Black lives matter....to keep it real raw and 100 .....the reason that more people are pissed off about Cecil is that we as Blacks have been preconditioned and predisposed to devalue our own lives. We are constantly, from the time we're little, told we aren't good enough or pushed to the breaking point being told by well meaning parents that we have to be twice as good and work twice as hard (newsflash) it's still the same message!