The New BCS

Everyone loves a beauty pageant.  The talent, swimsuit and question/answer portions often pit the audience against the judges.  The television and in-person audiences ask with indignation, “Are the judges watching the same event?”  More often than not, beauty pageants, as well as gymnastics, figure skating and boxing, create controversy because the rules are setup where the participants cannot decide a true champion and must depend on judges. 

Let’s add the artist formerly known as the Bowl Championship Series to this list and provide a new name that fits: The Beauty Contest Show or BCS for short.

Polls (quasi-judges), computers and “style” points decide a champion in Division I FBS football.  That doesn’t sound like a beauty contest to you?  College football already has a talent portion attached to their events.  Coaches, players and analysts are all asked numerous questions, so that could serve as the question/answer portion.  The only thing missing is the swimsuit portion of the BCS…O.K., maybe that’s a good thing but you get the point. 

The defenders of this seriously flawed football pageant like to point out there is a playoff every week. Really?  Every week?  If that’s the case, then shouldn’t the national semifinals include Alabama, Utah, Boise State and Ball State?  They are the only teams without a loss during the regular season.  Those who enjoy this Beauty Contest Show turn their noses up to the idea of those teams (except Alabama) being in the conversation probably because they weren’t the favorites or their evening gowns were too long… 

Next the supporters of this football pageant say that a playoff would make the season too long and would hurt the student-athletes academically.  If the season is so long, why did the football decision-makers decide on adding a 12^th game? I wonder how those student-athletes in Division I FCS, Division II and Division III football continue to do well academically despite being involved in a playoff system.  Basketball and Baseball student-athletes are on the road and away from campus three times as much football student-athletes, play games during finals and still balance their academic workload. 

Still think the BCS is not like a beauty pageant?  There are judges/voters/supporters of this athletic beauty show actually using words like “style” and “hot” to describe teams they feel should be moving on to the next round.  Seriously, people say that Oklahoma is hot right now and marveling about their offense prowess.  That really sounds like someone drooling over who looks hot as they parade across the stage.  Oklahoma plays excellent offense.  What ever happened to defense?  The Sooners are number one in offense, but only #61 in total defense.  Alabama, Florida, Texas and USC are all in the top 20 on both sides of the ball.  Translation: those teams are well rounded.  The Sooners are the equivalent of the beauty queen who falls apart on question/answer and talent portions of the contest but boy do they look good…

In the end, just because something is unique doesn’t mean that’s a good thing.  Despite all of the fan fair, college football doesn’t enjoy more success than the NFL, NBA or NCAA basketball.  So as these college football teams walk around the stage waiting for the judges’ scores and the public waits anxiously for the judges to tell us who the champion will be, we might as well watch the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show because they choose their champion the same way as Division I FBS college football. 

One Vote?

Even though I've already taken advantage of early voting here in Indiana, I received this clever video regarding the impact of not voting in this election.  Keep in mind Gore "lost" Florida by by less than 600 votes, so every vote does really count...even if they all aren't always counted if you live in Florida or Ohio...

At any rate, you can customize this video to send to your friends or individuals who you suspect may not vote on November 4th. If you have trouble customizing it via the video, click on the link below the video and that should take you to the customization page. Enjoy!



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http://www.cnnbcvideo.com/taf.html?id=&nid=QMRoL6mDca4Js2qsQRB2PzE1NzMx

Mental Health Alert!

Yesterday, Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama for president.



Several political pundits see the former Army general and secretary of state’s endorsement as significant since Powell is a Republican; spoke at length during 2000 Republican convention; and, supported both Bush 41 and Bush 43. Also, Powell has known John McCain for 25 years and they both served in the military during Vietnam so supporting Obama was a difficult but well-thought out decision. Despite Powell’s detailed and genuine explanation of why he decided to go against his own party to support Obama, there are numerous reports that say Powell is only supporting Obama because he’s black.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_10/015268.php

In other words, white people who support Obama do so based on his policy positions or white guilt while black people support Obama because he looks like them. It’s as if white people vote with their brains and black people vote with their eyes. The people who believe that all black people think alike and therefore support Barack Obama suffer from two mental disorders: convenient amnesia and white paranoia.

In this case, convenient amnesia can easily be cured by doing a little history reading or through a simple Google search. A quick fact check would show that black people have been supporting white people through various means even when supporting a white person was not in their best interest.

(See, Blacks fighting for the Confederacy: http://www.usgennet.org/usa/mo/county/stlouis/blackcs.htm)

Further, history illustrates that since blacks have been allowed to vote, they have supported numerous white candidates for president. As a matter of fact, blacks historically supported Republicans up until the 1970s based on Abraham Lincoln signing the Emancipation Proclamation. Just over a year ago, 70% of black voters supported Hillary Clinton, not Barack Obama.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2007/11/28/2007-11-28_black_voters_support_hillary_clinton_ove.html

Why did black people support all of these white candidates? Black people could have chosen not to engage in the process or only support blacks like Frederick Douglass, Barbara Jordan, or Jesse Jackson. Why weren’t the majority of black people supporting Clarence Thomas, Alan Keyes or Ward Connerly? At least they are “100%” black, while Barack Obama is biracial. Could it be that black people actually look at the policies, campaigns and platforms of all candidates just like whites? What’s interesting about this form of convenient amnesia is that with all of the evidence of blacks supporting whites in general and often times over other blacks is that all it takes is one black person (or biracial in this case) to get a majority of black support to trigger white paranoia.

Before diagnosing someone with white paranoia, one must be able to spot the symptoms. Similar to basic paranoia, the main symptom of white paranoia is permanent delusion. Related symptoms of delusion can reveal that the white person is suspicious, irritable, depressed, jealous, selfish, and bitter. Doesn’t that sound like Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, Ann Coulter and George Will? So what’s the cause of white paranoia? The main cause of white paranoia is white privilege, but that’s another disease that’s a silent killer.

http://mmcisaac.faculty.asu.edu/emc598ge/Unpacking.html

Sure there are other similarities between basic and white paranoia like feelings of inferiority, emotional composition and genetics; however, one of the most significant causes of white paranoia is what Colin Powell displayed: independent thinking by blacks. Historically, whites have frowned upon and often killed blacks for thinking for themselves. Self-determining black people that exercise independent judgment will always produce white paranoia. (See, Malcolm X, Sojourner Truth, Stokley Carmichael, Martin Luther King, etc.)

So as we get closer to November 4th, I’m asking everyone to have patience for those people who are displaying increased mental instability as the likelihood of Obama presidency looms over the horizon. If they can turn on one of their own in Colin Powell, just imagine how the disease could effect you…

Black Women Walking

I’ve posted this short film (5-7 minutes) regarding the interaction between some black women and men. Please take a look at it before you read my comments below.



The video is very moving and the fact is a lot of black men disrespect black women on a daily basis. That behavior is unacceptable and we all bear some form of blame whether we have done some of these things; stood silent when someone else committed these acts; approved of this behavior because you thought he was cute; or, didn’t discipline one of our young boys who exhibited this conduct. Although many men will accept the advice and scolding from black women who are often on the receiving end of these gestures, it’s up to men to step up and call other men out to let them know this is not how any woman should be treated. If we care anything about our communities, it is vital that black women are valued, understood and respected. In this respect, the film illustrated where we as a community (especially black men) are falling short.

Despite the true stories and feelings described, is the film an accurate portrait of how black men treat black women or generalities characterized as the norm? Are black men singled out while other men go unnoticed or undocumented leaving the impression that this behavior can only be found in the black community? Again, it is no secret that black men disrespect women. However, is there empirical data showing that this occurs more in the black community than other communities? The film leaves a distinct impression that this is a “black thing” while women in white, Latino or Asian communities do not receive the same kind of treatment.

Having lived around black men all my life, the majority of black men I know do not objectify women as the film would lead you to believe. In fact, only a few of the men I know act this way. I also have seen a lot of white and Latino men approach and objectify women in this manner at sporting events, nightclubs, college parties, or just walking down the street. Calling women out of their name or putting their hands on women is not exclusive to black men. There are countless situations where white men at college frat parties and NASCAR events or Latinos at the Puerto Rican Day Parade and Cinco de Mayo festivals do not treat women in a respectful manner. The fact that this occurs in every community, including the black community, is not something to be proud of but this film goes out of its way to depict this as something unique to black men.

Finally, by no means were the last paragraphs an attempt to dismiss the feelings of the women in this film. If we are committed to building strong black communities, the manner in how we treat each other is an essential step in this process. Again, black men need to step up and put an end to the way black women are treated by other black men. We, as black men, owe that much to our daughters, mothers, sisters, grandmothers, aunts, cousins and friends.

Age, Race and Values

Much has been made about Senator Barack Obama's need to win over the older white voters who have historically voted Democrat, lean Democrat or are independents.  A lot of those voters voted for Hillary Clinton.  Some of these voters are labeled Reagan Democrats.  For the young readers of this article, many of you may not be aware that the Democratic party has not always been in support of civil/human rights or equal opportunity for everyone.   Over the years, the Democratic Party has evolved in many ways in terms of race.  In fact, most of the members of Congress who are people of color are Democrats. 

 

Here are some things to consider: a person who is 61 years old was 18 years old when the Civil Rights Act of 1965 was passed; a person who is 65 years old was 25 years old when Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968; and, a person 70 years old was around 32 years of age before many of the public schools in the South were desegregated after the 1955 Supreme Court case Brown vs. Board of Education (Topeka, KS).   What does this all mean?   Most of those older white Democrats and independents are a product of Jim Crow.  This seems to be a fact that Fox, CNN, MSNBC, and the three major networks ignore.  No one in the mainstream media has the strength to discuss the impact of race and age in terms of beliefs shared by older white voters.  Specifically, no one will confront a simple fact: the majority of these voters were raised to see a person of color (especially a black person) as inferior or "less than" in just about every aspect of American society. 

 

Most black leaders that older white voters now accept or at least acknowledge as someone of substance had to die first before they were accepted by them.  Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Medger Evers, Marcus Garvey, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Mary McLeod Bethune, W.E.B. Dubois, and Paul Robeson were all either labeled a communist, traitor, Un-American, criminal or someone who should not be trusted while they were alive.  Only decades after their deaths are they celebrated as true American heroes/heroines by some in the white community.  In fact, John McCain and Dick Cheney voted against setting aside a holiday for Martin Luther King, Jr.   

 

When people are asked what shaped their values, most will say they learned their values at home or in church.   Well, most of these older white voters learned through their early, adolescent and teenage years (whether explicitly or implicitly) that black people were inferior and also should not be trusted.   Many of these older voters grew up in all white homes, towns, schools and churches.   Sure, many of them interact with blacks in the workplace because they have no choice.  Some of these same voters publicly say racist statements and hold very racist views.  However, the majority of these older whites do not want to be labeled racist and many really believe they are not racist.  So these "closet racists" will hide behind questions/statements like "Is he really American"; "Is he one of us"; "I don't think he's patriotic", or "I know he says he's a Christian but I'm just not sure."  Further, many of these older white voters have never seen a person of color in a leadership role so visible or personal to them as the POTUS and because of that, the labels of"arrogant" or “cocky” (which a lot of older African-Americans will tell you is code word for "uppity Negro”) surface in the news. 

 

Does this mean that all older voters are racist?  No, not all.  As a matter of fact, Senator Obama has many older white Americans officially working for his campaign as paid staffers or volunteers.  However, the fact that there were several whites that fought and lost their lives fighting against slavery, Jim Crow, and segregation does not mean that the majority of white people and institutions were not prejudice or racist during those periods in U.S. history.  Most Americans would like to believe that all of that changed with the civil rights movement, federal legislation and Supreme Court cases of the 1950's and 60's.  Those events in American history are great achievements, but policies and laws tell people what they can or cannot do.  No law ever changed the heart and mind of a person. Those events alone do not have the power to change the hearts and minds of people. This is the shared legacy that older white and black voters inherited and the values they learned throughout their formative years (along with subconscious racism) shape their current views.

 

Many political pundits are asking whether Senator Obama can convince some these older white voters to believe he shares their values. Senator Obama is a very skilled attorney, community organizer and politician.  I'm sure he will try to win over some of these voters and as a candidate for POTUS, he has an obligation to do so.  However, if he can erase 400 years of history that has been handed down from generation to generation and change the hearts and minds of those 60+ yr old white voters before November 4th, then he will have done what no U.S. president has been able to do in history…and they were white…