The reason black people could care less about the latest Tiger Woods Scandal, one word: Cabalasian. This is the clever amalgam he made up to describe his Caucasian, Asian, and African-American heritage. At the time he said it I was aghast. He had done what no other competitor in the sport of golf had ever done, black, blue or white. He conquered the greens and beat the ‘man’ at his beloved and sacred, exclusionary sport. The field had been leveled and the landscaper was black. With Woods' declaration he crushed all that. He made it clear he was not black, but brown. I immediately became as dispassionate on his success as he was about his African-American legacy.
As he is dogged by the rabid American media, I still could care less. The lack of public support by black people for Woods is clear that I am not alone. He is paying the price of his fame, the way he made it. He took the money, kept quiet when he could have spoken out against injustices that impact black people everywhere, and took care of himself. He was selfish to his wife, his children, and our community. It’s the price he paid for fame.
Despite all the truths told about fame for countless years by those who’ve tasted it, there are still millions of Americans who would gladly give their right kidney for a sliver of this intoxicant. One friend, who can’t walk in public without people recognizing him, said his position has weighed heavy on him costing him far too much to calculate. I witnessed the finale of VH1's "I Want To Work For Diddy," were two people were willing to run thirty New York City blocks carrying flowers requested by Bad Boy Records founder Sean "Diddy" Combs, just to become his assistant. Reports have surfaced that the winner, a former teacher who holds a master's degree, lost her job for appearing on the show, and has yet to be hired by Combs. Imagine that!
For the time being the media should leave Woods' carcass alone and focus their attention on the real atrocities going on in our own backyard. In the end, he'll be get a mulligan, be foregiven his sins, defy Warhol's prediction of just fifteen minutes, and be back on top. The Fourth Estate should perform the public service they were created to do, and tell the stories that people need to hear about to protect themselves, their families and get jobs. The country is at war on several continents, taxes are steadily rising, home values plummeting, children are being killed by the very individuals charged with their protection, and 38 million Americans are hungry as I write this. There's more important stories to be told.
Woods' current predicament is only surprising because of the shroud of secrecy he built around himself, but was inevitable because it’s the nature of the fame game. You get it, it detonates in fifteen minutes, and people make merry in your demise. Charles Barkley’s sentiments ring true once again, Barkley, Woods, nor anyone like them, should stand as role models.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
Spare me the "Happy New" blah, blah, blah
Many of my well wishing friends and family who rushed to send messages at the stroke of midnight will be shocked to hear me say this, but I don't like the "Happy New Year" greetings, and salutations. Even more, I detest the amount of time it's used into the New Year; a day, two weeks, the whole of January? It is just another day, a new day, if you insist, but just another day on the calendar. This year let’s dispense with the greetings and get truly serious about starting anew.
This New Year let’s not make the mistake of focusing on what’s on the outside of ourselves, but rather what could be happening on the inside. We American’s are killing ourselves to be beautiful by any means necessary. In the old year, we witnessed the public death of Brittany Murphy. Here was a woman living in LA LA Land who had became so concerned about her external appearance that she starved herself to death, no matter what the coroner’s report reveals we all know the truth of it. When she landed on the big screen in the movie Clueless she was a healthy, normal sized, awkward teenager. When she left this planet she was a shell of herself, literally. But many of us aspire to this definition of beauty. Let’s not do it in the New Year.
The disease of skinny rarely kills east of the Rocky Mountains. In America, obesity is the second leading cause of death in America, and yet as I write this all of us, me included, are allowing this silent killer to live as we live, walk as we walk, and eventually kill without judgment or execution. I have to ask, how can something so preventable be such a killer? Time Magazine and ABC News called it a crisis.
To be fair I will use myself as the best example. I am 5 foot 9 inches, and without revealing too much, I admit I am more than 200 pounds and overweight. According to the Centers for Disease Control I am the picture of obesity. At my best I was 18 percent body fat. Translation: I was fit and fine. Not anymore. Today at 40, I have to get real and fight this killer as if it had harmed my child. If I don’t fight it like it stole something, it will inevitably steal me away from my one-year old’s future. If I lose this fight I risk heart disease, diabetes, cancers, high blood pressure, and ultimately DEATH. I cannot lose this fight.
Around the New Year we are inundated with tons of gym commercials, quick weight-loss products and gimmicks. But it’s simple, fewer calories in and more calories out. When I was fine that was my mantra. It’s not new, not sexy, it’s truth; can’t package that into a 2 minute commercial starring an unhealthy, skinny actress. I must get moving and get this monkey off my back like my life depends on it, because it does.
Let’s turn those annual resolutions into life commitments. My commitment is to revive my mantra that made me fine before, do the necessary exercise, and blog about my life-change that will ultimately lead to weight loss, and life gain. I will tell the truth and only the truth about my experience of taking back my life. I welcome your thoughts and support during this time. I also implore everyone who hears my rantings to join me and get the weight off, and live to tell about it.
Happy New You!
This New Year let’s not make the mistake of focusing on what’s on the outside of ourselves, but rather what could be happening on the inside. We American’s are killing ourselves to be beautiful by any means necessary. In the old year, we witnessed the public death of Brittany Murphy. Here was a woman living in LA LA Land who had became so concerned about her external appearance that she starved herself to death, no matter what the coroner’s report reveals we all know the truth of it. When she landed on the big screen in the movie Clueless she was a healthy, normal sized, awkward teenager. When she left this planet she was a shell of herself, literally. But many of us aspire to this definition of beauty. Let’s not do it in the New Year.
The disease of skinny rarely kills east of the Rocky Mountains. In America, obesity is the second leading cause of death in America, and yet as I write this all of us, me included, are allowing this silent killer to live as we live, walk as we walk, and eventually kill without judgment or execution. I have to ask, how can something so preventable be such a killer? Time Magazine and ABC News called it a crisis.
To be fair I will use myself as the best example. I am 5 foot 9 inches, and without revealing too much, I admit I am more than 200 pounds and overweight. According to the Centers for Disease Control I am the picture of obesity. At my best I was 18 percent body fat. Translation: I was fit and fine. Not anymore. Today at 40, I have to get real and fight this killer as if it had harmed my child. If I don’t fight it like it stole something, it will inevitably steal me away from my one-year old’s future. If I lose this fight I risk heart disease, diabetes, cancers, high blood pressure, and ultimately DEATH. I cannot lose this fight.
Around the New Year we are inundated with tons of gym commercials, quick weight-loss products and gimmicks. But it’s simple, fewer calories in and more calories out. When I was fine that was my mantra. It’s not new, not sexy, it’s truth; can’t package that into a 2 minute commercial starring an unhealthy, skinny actress. I must get moving and get this monkey off my back like my life depends on it, because it does.
Let’s turn those annual resolutions into life commitments. My commitment is to revive my mantra that made me fine before, do the necessary exercise, and blog about my life-change that will ultimately lead to weight loss, and life gain. I will tell the truth and only the truth about my experience of taking back my life. I welcome your thoughts and support during this time. I also implore everyone who hears my rantings to join me and get the weight off, and live to tell about it.
Happy New You!
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