Supporting Clinton

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america, bernie, black, blog, clinton, crazy, culture, elections, opinion, politics, society, turmp

About a week ago, a friend and I were talking about who we would vote for in the upcoming primary in Illinois. Clearly, we wouldn’t vote for Trump because it is the sole definition of madness. We both think Kasich would be a great Republican candidate but alas, he is too reasonable. Next, the Democrats. Clinton or Sanders? We both chose Sanders and explained how we came to our individual choices. Then my friend asked a very interesting question: Why do so many black people support Clinton?

I was unprepared for that one. As a black guy, I never thought about it before. A reason did come to me though and I explained my thoughts, which I will do later. After I had finished, I told him he gave me a good idea for a new blog post. Fast forward a week. No blog post yet. I go to Facebook and see the same question from another friend on the home page. Why do black people support Clinton?

Crabs In The Bucket

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america, barrel, black, blog, bucket, chicago, crab, culture, identity, insecurity, men, opinion, people, racial, society

Lately, I have found myself writing more about my identity as a young quirky black man now living in America again. Since returning, I have been very cautious of police officers for fear of arbitrary shooting or abuse but I forgot there was another issue that I am more likely to face than a police shooting.

I have mentioned in a couple of previous posts that I do not fit in the “black” community mold. As a child, this bothered me but eventually I came to terms with it, accepted it, and began jamming it down other people’s throats. (Get it? I made a bad Republican anti-gay talking point joke!)

Bias Against Black Pundits…

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america, BET, black, blog, conservative, culture, fox news, history, opinion, politics, pundit, race, racial, racism, segregate, segregation, society, stacey dash, Trump

On Fox News. But to be fair, Fox News is just a terrible excuse of a news station.

This morning I woke up and saw that an actress named Stacey Dash called for the end of BET and Black History Month. I was intrigued. As you may know, I do not like BET because I feel it perpetuates an image of black people that has become what it means to be black while ignoring or ridiculing black people who do not fit in that mold. Who knows? It could have changed since the last time I glanced at the channel but I doubt it.

Black History Month does have a place in American society so I wondered what she would say about it. After tracing back to her blog post, my mind instantly wanted to discredit anything she said. She is a pundit for Fox News! “Here we go a-bloody-gain,” I said aloud.

Identity (Part 2)

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america, american, black, blog, culture, identity, mlk, mlk jr, opinion, race, society

Today is the celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Normally, I do not pay much attention to the holiday because it just feels like an easy way to say “I support equality for all” or “Look how great we are for giving everyone the opportunity to succeed.” Caustic way to view the holiday but those feelings are not applied to the man himself or his beliefs.

For me, MLK Jr has a special place in history for me. When I was in second grade, we went to the Civil Rights Museum to learn about him and the civil rights movement. At the time, I had no clue what the lesson was supposed to be but I was seven and I enjoyed a good field trip. We walked in, saw pictures and videos from that era, and listened to our tour guide give snippets of information. I do not remember much of the trip but three things stood out the most.

My Big American Fear

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affluenza, america, black, brutality, dylan roof, dylann roof, ethan couch, guns, inequality, lives, matter, murder, opinion, police, racial, racism, shooting, society, trayvon martin

The summer of 2012, I hesitantly returned to America to visit family and friends. I had been in Japan continuously for 2 years as a teacher and seeing the news of Trayvon Martin made me worry. After all, a black teenager was killed and there were people practically praising the shooter. It was scary to think the same could happen to me. Unlikely. But you never know. Needless to say, my trip went without any incident.

Fast forward to May 2015. I had to leave China and return to America for good-ish. Since then, more black guys have been shot dead with little repercussion for the shooters. Friends overseas did not want me to return to America. I was terrified to return. Circumstances however made the option unavoidable.

When I first came back this year, I was thinking of how to handle the ideas of police brutality and “accidental” deaths.