Do you read Kanye West's blog? I used to subscribe to it, but that ninja (or his assistant) posts like fifty times a day. Some of the posts have got to be 'Ye, though.
A post he wrote today:
Now the media is saying I'm going to anger management something or 'nother. I have never had any conversations about anger management. If anything, I need anger enhancement!!
I love him. I seriously love him. And his post on Soulja Boy vs. Ice-T had me dying. He really holds it down for the underdog. And I don't even dig Soulja Boy or anything, but this made some type of sense.
[Soulja Boy] had all of America rapping this summer. If that ain't Hip Hop then what is? A bunch of wannabe keep it real rappers that ain't even relevant, recycling samples trying to act like it's 96 again and all they do is hate on new shit?
Anyway, on top of that, he posts about cool random stuff like shoes and lamps. Check it out when you get a chance. (Warning for Jameil... he does curse a bit.)
John Steinbeck wrote this 42 years ago, and I think it's something Barack is going to have to remember as he continues the race, and eventually enters the White House.
The President must be greater than anyone else, but not better than anyone else. We subject him and his family to close and constant scrutiny and denounce them for things that we ourselves do every day. A Presidential slip of the tongue, a slight error in judgment — social, political, or ethical — can raise a storm of protest. We give the President more work than a man can do, more responsibility than a man should take, more pressure than a man can bear. We abuse him often and rarely praise him. We wear him out, use him up, eat him up. And with all this, Americans have a love for the President that goes beyond loyalty or party nationality; he is ours, and we exercise the right to destroy him.
I particularly like the part about how the Pres must be greater than anyone else, but not better than anyone else. Americans confuse me.
I saw this quote on my friend's Facebook page. I suppose you could transpose the school to fit your own alma mater, but I think it works best the way it is here. ;-)
Spelman girls are pretty, Bennett girls are smart, yet it takes a HOWARD WOMAN to win a fella's heart. Clark-Atlanta girls can dance, Hampton girls got flow, but when you want the WOMAN that encompasses all.... HOWARD is where you go!
When people tell you, 'I can't do this,' for whatever reason and in whatever phrasing -- 'I'm just coming out of a tough breakup,' 'I'm not looking for a boyfriend,' 'I don't want to hurt you in the end,' whatever -- believe them. It's always the truth and they're always doing you a favor by warning you -- so let yourself be warned, and walk away without looking back, because 'succeeding' in changing their minds sentences you to a bunch of ambivalent bullshit, none of which they will take responsibility for because, hey, they warned you.~Sarah Bunting.
Three years later, I still love this quote.
Jay Smooth speaks on The Speech.
Note: I wonder if we're gonna get a name for this speech. Like, will it just be known as the Barack Obama Race Speech? Obviously, it's going down in history, so I think we need something catchy for it, along the lines of 'The Ballot or the Bullet.'
I nominate 'Black Anger, White Resentment.'
Whatcha think?
Do you have a motto? I do. Actually, I love words and quotes and lyrics, and I often have many favorite quotes at many different times.
But I return to one phrase time and time again. It's Shakespeare, natch.
"Discretion is the better part of valor."
I think I like it because it speaks to my conservatism.
What's yours?
Larry King asks dumb questions. It's a fact. But that's probably why he's so popular.
Last night, he interviewed Michelle Obama, and she was, as usual, matter-of-fact, down-to-earth, and straight forward. I don't know if I mentioned this on here, but she's the one who got me to back Barack. Months ago, when people were still asking that stupid question, but is he Black enough? she was interviewed by some talking head (I forget who). The numbers were showing blacks in favor of Clinton (pre-Bill's South Carolina meltdown) and the reporter asked Michelle about the lack of support in the black community. She said:
"First of all, I think that that's not going to hold. I'm completely confident: black America will wake up, and get it. But what we're dealing with in the black community is just the natural fear of possibility. You know, when I look at my life, the stuff that we're seeing in these polls has played out my whole life. You know, always been told by somebody that I'm not ready, that I can't do something, my scores weren't high enough. You know, there's always that doubt in the back of the minds of people of color. People who've been oppressed and haven't been given real opportunities. That you never really believe. That you believe that somehow, someone is better than you. You know, deep down inside, you doubt whether you can do it, because that's all you've been told, is "no, wait." That's all you hear, and you hear it from people who love you. Not because they don't care about you, but because they're afraid. They're afraid that something might happen."
There was a lot of backlash because of this answer. Anger from blacks who don't want to admit that blackness is a thing that lives, and breathes, and comes with its own set of insecurities; anger from whites who hate being reminded that racism has had lasting repercussions; and anger from women who think gender trumps race.
But her words were exactly what I needed to hear.
My favorite quote from last night's interview:
LK: So you're ready for it. Ready to be the first black, the first female...
MO: I am who I am. I'm ready for it. That's who I am.
People want to make it about being the first this, or being the first that. Why can't it be about... being who you are?
I'm nervous; vibrating a little; anxious and hopeful. I talked to Wife today, and told her I didn't know what it was, but I'm a believer.
I believe. He makes me believe. His wife inspires me. I want to believe so badly that this might actually happen.
Either way, it's Black History.
"In the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope."
And I'll say it one more time before I go to bed: yes, we can.
I'm still on a Malcolm kick. I was listening to the Ballot or the Bullet speech yesterday, and I heard this gem:
"Anytime you throw your weight behind a political party that controls 2/3 of the government and that party can't keep the promise that it made to you during election time, and you're dumb enough to walk around continuing to identify yourself with that party, you are not only a chump, but you're a traitor to your race."
This is basically why I'm not a Democrat.
This speech is one everyone should listen to at least once. It's pure genius.
I've been on a quote spree, and I was looking at some Malcolm quotes, in an effort to understand why he doesn't get any love. Obviously the violence (if necessary) he advocated was a turn off to those who decide who's worthy of remembrance. But why do we pick peace (MLK) over violence (Malcolm)?
Because peace isn't scary. What people fail to realize is that which is scary is only scary because it's unknown. Violence leads to the unknown (sometimes better, as in the French Revolution; sometimes worse, as in Israel/Kenya/Afghanistan). Peace leads to...?
Anyway, I came across this Malcolm quote, and I love it. Hopefully I can live it.
"Don't be in a hurry to condemn because he doesn't do what you do or think as you think or as fast. There was a time when you didn't know what you know today."
"All unhappiness and stagnation results from a feeling that you are at the mercy of the world and the people in it. But what a joy it is, what a major shift to strength and power, when you no longer wait around for others to favor and love you, for others to flatter and reward you. Reward and flatter yourself, favor and love yourself."
-Kira Salak, Writer and National Geographic Emerging Explorer