Prevailing Against Prejudice

Okay, so I’ve discovered through multiple very frustrating discussions on social media over the past few days that the use of the n-word and the racism surrounding it doesn’t need to be the topic of discussion. Apparently, we need to go back to basics and discuss something a little different.

“Prejudice: Wrote a song about it. Like to hear it? Here it go…”

SO many people are trying to say that if a black person can use a word, that white people should be allowed to. Well, AGAIN, I iterate that MOST black people:
do.
not.
use.
the.
n-word.

Nope: It’s NOT Okay for You to Say It

Today, there are two hot-button issues floating around. One is, of course, the overturning of DOMA. What a huge step in the direction of equality for all! I am truly thrilled by this court ruling, and I’m glad that the obstructionists weren’t successful in further justifying discrimination against a group of citizens who deserve equality. The other hot topic surrounds Paula Deen and her use of racial slurs to identify black people. Race is an issue I honestly can’t believe that we still need to discuss in 2013, but it is what it is, I guess. I’ll be tackling DOMA in a blog post tomorrow. Today, I’m going to answer the following question, posed by my dear friend Merry, from …And Baby Makes Five...

Okay. I have an honest, genuine question. I do not want to start a flame war, and I beg my friends to not think differently for asking…

I once had a friend who encouraged me to ask her questions, and during one of our many late night porch talks, I asked her what was, for me, a difficult question to ask. I said “I know why it is socially unacceptable for a white person to say the n-word. But why is it okay for African-Americans to refer to each other with that word?”

At the time, she said to me “We took something negative and made it positive.” At the time, I accepted her response. But I now find that her reply has left me with more questions. In many, many instances where I have heard African-American people refer to each other with that word, it’s been in a derogatory way. Most of the time when I’ve heard someone speaking in a good manner of another person of color (how lame is that expression, btw? Person of color? I have a color…it’s pale, but it isn’t colorless…everyone has a color, regardless of skintone), they have used the terms “brother” or “sister”. I mean, the n-word was born of, and is steeped in so much hatred and discrimination, why is it okay to use such a hateful term to refer to each other? Is it truly a matter of turning a negative into a positive, which, to be honest, I just don’t think there will ever be redemption for that word? And if it isn’t, then wouldn’t it make sense for everyone, regardless of race, to just stop saying that word? I mean, we don’t really hear about Middle Eastern people calling each other various slurs…or Mexicans referring to each other as not-dry not-front sides, do we?

Am I missing something here? I am not asking with the intent of ignorance, I am asking because this truly puzzles me, and I genuinely want to understand.

Well, Merry, I can understand your confusion.

Redbox Instant by Verizon – A Review

I was offered the unique opportunity to review the new Redbox Instant by Verizon service for a month for free through BzzAgent. I have subscribed to Netflix for years, and I use Hulu without the Plus service. I figured I didn’t really need another streaming video service, but I don’t have cable, and anything that gives me free access to new shows and movies for a month is a good thing in my book. Plus, I figured I might actually prefer and switch over to the service. For the same fee that I’m paying for Netflix, Redbox Instant includes four Redbox kiosk rentals per month. That allows me to watch new releases well before they hit the instant streams, and it really appealed to me.

The following is my review of the service based upon my own personal experience, which you may or may not find helpful if you’re considering its use. Please remember that these do not reflect the opinions of either BzzAgent or Redbox Instant by Verizon.

Three Decades Down

Archoo was very upset that he wasn’t going to be with me today, for my birthday. He loves spending his weekends with his Daddy, don’t get me wrong, but he’s absolutely convinced that there’s some big birthday party going on without him. He wanted me to promise to save him a piece of cake. . .

Well, kid, the most exciting thing happening today is laundry. There’s a pan of lemon pie bars cooling on the stovetop as your mother impatiently waits the opportunity to dig in. Later today, I’ll shave my legs and paint my toenails so that I’ll look lovely on the boardwalk at Atlantic City tomorrow. When your daddy drops you off at my house, your Grami will be here, and you won’t care where I’m at, I’m sure. You’ll be too busy playing with your sister (share your toys!) and having fun with your grandma to notice that Mister Murse and I aren’t home. Grami even mentioned something about taking you outside to play in a sprinkler! How fun is that?

The Little Bladder That Couldn’t

First off, let me preface this post: It’s not about my urinary tract.

Okay. That’s out of the way. We have an old house that is a piecemeal assortment of halfway-done jobs by the former owner, who thought himself much more of a handyman than he was. For instance, the tiles in the bathroom were installed on drywall rather than green board, even in the tub where there should probably have been cement board. There are plenty of other “charming” elements to our house, but I’m not sure I can directly attribute the plumbing to that guy.

Our bathroom sink backs up ALL the time. We boil water and pour it down, hoping to clear up some soap clog, but to no avail. The pipes in our bathroom wall make several random right-angle turns and span several feet in a straight line across the back of the room. There’s no gravitational pull on anything, so clogs are almost inevitable.