Raper Blood

I was listening to a Jamaican radio program the other day and they were talking about how rape was formerly part of the Jamaican culture. It was two male hosts and although I had no doubt they were serious there was playfulness about the way they approached the subject, being a Jamaican it made me sit up and listen but I did feel awkward. They laughed as they talked about when girls said no in Jamaica it meant nothing because men took it to mean yes and would basically force themselves onto the woman. Mostly men called in and one mentioned that when he came to America his mother made sure to tell him “no” meant no in America, and not the yes it implied in Jamaica. I gathered from listening that the point of the topic was to say that was then and this is now, back then men forced themselves and now they respect when the woman says no.  However, there was something that just didn’t feel right about the conversation.

Just then a particular party came to mind, was in Jamaica and I attended a local party on Negril beach where they played a song by a local DJ whose lyrics referred to having “raper blood”, you got it “rape-r blood”.  Raper blood was aggression towards women in a sexual way, about forcing oneself on a woman, in essence raping her. When that song came on the crowd went wild screaming and cheering, male and female. 

YOU ARE NOT CHAINED TO SOCIAL SECURITY

We should not teach our children to plan for a social security check.  I don’t care how long they work or how much they make in their lifetime— they know that Social Security and Medicare is taken from their paycheck but it is not something they are entitled to when they reach a certain age (thank goodness to Obama for paving the way to universal healthcare- which I think everyone should be entitled to).   We should teach our children that social security is for those in need and not an inheritance or piggy bank for those who contributed.  Their goal should be not to need social security—but to learn as much as possible, work hard and plan for their own financial security.  I feel however, should they or anyone ever need it—it should be there.  I am not upset that President Obama is cutting social security or anything else…he can cut, because the system needs to be reformed and the people hired him to make changes. 

The Skinny On Christie

Here you guys go falling for republican trickery--Chris Christie is full of it. Christie is the guy who less than a month before Sandy was calling the President arrogant and that he had never led anything in his life; that Obama was a man walking in a darkened room “clutching for the light switch of leadership and can’t find it”. He wasn’t willing to blame anyone but the president for the failures in Washington, not the Tea Party republicans or the Republican leadership in congress.

All this time he has been saying small government and cut government spending, now he is whining about money for his state. What happened to all the money he supposedly saved New Jersey with his budget cuts. Now don't get me wrong, I think New York and New Jersey should get the money--I am a New Yorker. But I am not falling for Christie's act, he wants to be president, so I am viewing him through that lens and I think he might be overplaying his hand. I don't care how much the Republicans try and camouflage themselves--they are still Republicans and they believe in states’ rights, less government, intrusive medical procedures for women, rape is not rape, and tax cuts and no-bid contract for the top one percent, all while bloating the budget and stepping on the neck of the little guy.

Liberals Are Dissing Biden

Every time I hear someone talk about Hillary Clinton for 2016, I think what a drone. Not only is it a disrespect to Joe Biden it also doesn’t make any sense. Hillary is not as popular as everyone thinks. I am tired of reminding people that she was supposed to be the winner in the 2008 election, and the first time Barack Obama ran. Then just as now, she was the “presumptive nominee” but she ran a poor campaign and got quite desperate after citizens began casting their votes and it was clear that Barack Obama was real competition. Hillary and the media believed she would win Iowa, she came in third. By the time the primary got to New Hampshire a state she was supposed to win the President, then Senator, tied her so she is not a winner. She offered no real vision, just herself. Simply, Hillary lacks authenticity. The President could have chosen her as vice President, and he did not. Would Hillary have been able to negotiate with Congress the way Joe Biden has on so many important legislation, remember her attempt at health care reform. 

The argument for her candidacy is that she did a great job at state, but The President sets the agenda at the State Department not the Secretary of State. Hillary is a Representative of the President and nothing more, remember his line during one of their debates “I look forward to you working for me too, Hillary”, she works for him. She is tasked with outreach and building relations, but when Secretary Clinton shows up in a foreign country she is not representing herself or her personal desires, she is a representative of the American Government and President of the United States.

Unchain Me DJango

When I hear about a controversial movie featuring Kerry Washington, Jamie Fox, Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel Jackson, and Christoph Waltz (from Inglorious Bastards) I am intrigued. So I went to see Django Unchained because I wanted to know the truth about this movie. I don’t frequent the movies, mainly because I often fall asleep and I usually have to see a movie twice before I can fully grasp all it has to offer both in cinematography and storytelling. However, if you have seen a Tarantino movie there are some things you can expect like profanity and violence (plenty of blood and maybe some guts), this movie does not stray from the Tarantino formula in that sense.

Django opens like a typical Western with a sunny mountain vista except there are slaves in the shot and we are introduced to the world of Django. Some are complaining about the graphic violence in this movie, it certainly was not more violent than Kill Bill or Grindhouse, but I think I understand why some are upset. Leonardo DiCaprio's Candie as the white slaver, the hot box, metal masks, brandings and lashings are moments when the film forces the audience to confront the reality of chattel slavery. It is difficult to contend with the juxtaposition of the harsh brutality inflicted on Africans during slavery which was the norm and how modern liberal white America wants to be seen. I mean it is Tarantino and not Spike Lee, so I get the feeling white America expects Tarantino to paint them more favorably. There was a lot of vengeance being dished out but it is hard to say some of it wasn’t warranted or without provocation from Monsieur Candieland, or that it came solely from Django. There was a certain form of justice taken against Hilde by Stephen, there is a scene when Monsieur CandieLand is going to lose some “fight stock” and he unleashed some serious vengeance; and let’s not forget Mr. Shultz.