Thursday, October 27, 2005

My Run-In With A Prophet

What do you do when you're confronted by a man who claims to be a prophet?

It's a relatively new experience for me. I'd never met anyone who claimed to be a prophet. Not anyone that was serious, anyway. Is it possible he could have been one? Who am I to tell him he wasn't? That's a pretty bold statement and one I wasn't ready to challenge.

He said some pretty deep stuff while he was in there, mostly talking about how hating someone causes you to relive that person's history. Then, he talked about how your child comes out to be the same sex as the person you hate. Then, he brought up how the anger that's directed at the person that's being hated is actually directed at others. Basically, when someone says something negative about you, those words are actually directed at the person that they hate, which apparently, is what "forgive them Lord, for they know not what they do" means. They don't realize what they've done so if someone has done you wrong, basically you should forgive them because it's probably not directed at you.

That struck me because I've been done wrong by someone for no apparent reason. I decided not to deal with that person anymore. Should I go back and talk to that person? Should I forgive him for his transgressions against me? Does he really hate someone else and I was just caught in the crossfire?

Well, I haven't gone to talk to him yet, and I'm not fully convinced that the man was a prophet. I could be wrong, though. The guy was about 6 feet tall and about 300 pounds of stomach. He was bald on top, had a kinda crazy look in his eyes and was slobbering a little bit when he talked. He had bad breath. When he left, I caught a glimpse of his plumber's crack. Not exactly the image of a prophet, I'd say. Then again, the prophet story has popped up periodically throughout time, where the wise man or prophet was disguised as a fool or bum or something along those lines. Not calling that man a fool or bum, he just looked...unlikely. But maybe it's not his outward shell that should be getting the attention, but his words. They certainly seemed to apply to my life. Maybe I really was talking to someone who had a direct line with God. Maybe I should start going to church and reading the Bible. Maybe there was more to this Christianity thing than I initially realized.

Or maybe the guy was just a drunken fool with a glazed over look in his eyes and I should have called the cops because this guy was behind the wheel of an 18-wheeler. I let this guy continue to run free on America's highways.

I guess I'll find out another day and hopefully I won't be watching the news when I do. To any cops out there: It's gonna take about four of you to bring that guy down. And some horse tranquilizers.

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

The Hell Is Wrong With You People?

Air Force football coach Fisher Deberry got in trouble the other day for making some comments about black players. Let's listen:

From Yahoo! Sports:

On Tuesday, in discussing last weekend's 48-10 loss to TCU, DeBerry said it was clear TCU ``had a lot more Afro-American players than we did and they ran a lot faster than we did.''

``It just seems to me to be that way,'' he said. ``Afro-American kids can run very well. That doesn't mean that Caucasian kids and other descents can't run, but it's very obvious to me that they run extremely well.''

He got in trouble for that. He was actually reprimanded for that.

White people, what the hell is wrong with you?

I say "white people" because you are in the majority in this country, from a media standpoint, political standpoint, and just simply having more warm bodies around than anyone else. Well, LEGALLY having warm bodies around. So since you outnumber everyone else, things are told from your perspective. So I need for you to tell me why this has put you into such a tizzy.
Black people are not upset about what DeBerry said. There's nothing to be upset about. It's all true, generally speaking. There's no secret about it. The black athlete is faster than the white athlete. From a physical standpoint, the black man is the ultimate, mainly because he was bred to be that way. I'm not telling you anything that Jimmy the Greek didn't already say.

It's funny because it sounds like whenever something racial is said, it's almost like white people want to get mad about it first, that way they can show black people that they're right there with them when black people get mad about it. Or maybe white people truly believe all that stuff about racial equality and intolerance being wrong. I guess my thing is, we're not mad about it so why are you? Listen, Fisher DeBerry didn't say anything wrong...at least, not this time. He didn't say anything that offended anyone (at least not anyone who isn't suffering from a major head injury) and he didn't say anything that white people haven't said privately amongst themselves. We know you say it and it's okay. We've been saying it for decades. That line of talk was really popular in the 70s and 80s, when white people would step out on the basketball court with black people. Then we'd say it in front of you.

But it's not to say that the white man can't perform like the black man. Jason Sehorn played cornerback in the NFL and regularly defended black receivers and did it well. Bob Sura used to dunk on cats in the NBA on the regular. You can turn on the TV and always see a good white wide out and, dammit, Brent Barry won the slam dunk contest. The last dominion of black dominance was taken by a white dunker. Hell, one of the best three players in NBA history (arguably) was white, that being Larry Bird.

Now, when black people would talk about white players, no one ever got upset, but when white people are talking about black players, people start pulling their hair out. Maybe you guys are afraid that black people will start filing lawsuits. Let me tell you, we're not as litigious as our white counterparts. For instance, if the roles were reversed, I guarantee you that Rush Limbaugh would have sued Donovan McNabb a few years back for slander...or something.

Remember that? The Rush Limbaugh/Donovan McNabb controversy? Now what the hell was that about? Limbaugh lost his job over this one and I still don't know what the big deal was. Now, let's make no bones about it: I don't like Rush Limbaugh. But what did he say that was wrong? If you look back, at that time McNabb wasn't playing that well, but he was being held up on a pedestal by the predominantly white media. That Eagles team was held up by it's defense (kinda like right now). And Limbaugh correctly suggested that the NFL would like to have a successful black quarterback (which is true...and they have...and McNabb along with Michael Vick and Daunte Culpepper are ALWAYS put in front of you) and that McNabb was getting credit for things he didn't do because of that (which he was, as that was a defensive-led team). Limbaugh lost his job for that just because he was a white man saying the words "black quarterback." Well, fuck me, white America. I didn't know that the word "black" had become so taboo.

You people (or your media...I guess I shouldn't say all of you) have lost your damn minds. Political correctness has long since been taken too far, this is just another example of it. Don't try to get mad for us, please. It's insulting because we know it's not genuine and it all comes off as damage control. Let's apologize before the lawsuits can come in. Let me know when Rush Limbaugh or Fisher DeBerry says "that nigger boy" on live TV. I actually kind of want them to. Now that would be politically incorrect. No, actually, that's downright offensive.

See, the thing with political incorrectness is that ever since this term was coined, people have gotten overly sensitive about things that aren't a big deal. Apparently, telling the truth is politically incorrect. Look, white people can't dance, black people have big dicks, and a lot of Mexicans sneak into the country. Okay? It's not like I made up something. If I said that white people are an evil people and the minorities of the world should rise up against them and kill them, now that would be bad. Everyone knows that white people aren't evil, just their governments. Or if I started referring to Mexicans as "beaners," that would be wrong. I'm not Carlos Mencia. That rule says that only members of said race can openly demean themselves. That's why only black people can say the word "nigger."

So hopefully, you've all learned something from this. Pre-emptive anger and moral outrage comes off as fake, forced, and really, it's just irritating to see someone go down for something that someone else defines as being wrong that really isn't.

What's messed up is, where was this moral outrage when the Mexican president was talking about black people? What, he can't be sued, so there's nothing to say? Where was white America's white media then? Although what he said was also true, he was implying (probably accidentally) that black people were at the bottom of the work force in America. And what about the mess about that damn stamp line they had down there? I guess actual racial issues don't make for entertaining soundbites and new headlines.

Saturday, October 15, 2005

Untitled

It's funny how people change.

Or maybe it's me. Maybe I've changed.

Maybe something's wrong with me. Maybe I just don't get it.

Maybe I'm being too sensitive or maybe I'm being to rigid. Too uptight.

It's all fun and games. It's all just jokes.

Maybe that's just it. Maybe it is fun and games to you, but I don't think that joke is funny anymore.

Maybe now I hold myself to a higher standard and I don't like to see the depths you've lowered yourself to.

Maybe you've let me down once too often.

Maybe I don't feel I can depend on you as a friend. Maybe I know you won't understand.

Maybe I never felt that you were truly sorry for the ways you've wronged me.

Maybe I feel bad for you because things aren't going that well.

Maybe I feel worse for myself because you stabbed me in the back.

So maybe this time, you're all on your own.

Maybe one day we can clear the air and go back to being friends.

Maybe if we talk a little more like we used to, we'll begin to understand where the other's coming from.

Maybe you'll see that I don't think that stealing people's girlfriends is okay.

Maybe you'll stop having kids.

Maybe you'll understand how seriously I take concepts like vindictiveness.

Maybe you'll learn to just let some things go.

Maybe you'll learn to listen.

Or maybe you're right and I'm wrong.

Maybe I've become too serious.

Maybe I take too much abuse from other people without retaliation.

Maybe I'm too anal about my stuff.

Maybe you just need a good dose of the truth about yourself. Maybe I won't tell you because i know you're not ready to hear it.

Maybe I need it right back. In fact, there's no maybe about it.

Maybe there's a friendship still there worth salvaging.

Maybe I'll take that first step to find out. Maybe you will.

Then again, maybe not.