Open Letter to Rap Station Owners, DeeJays, and Program Directors

Dear: Urban-Rap/ Hip-Hop Dee-Jays, Program Directors, Rap Radio Station Owners, and Radio Stations with a Rap/ Hip Hop format/playlist.

This letter is concerning the very comfortable use of the racial slur, Nigger.

 I HAVE A RAP MUSIC REQUEST!!

I have listened to particular rap songs that are in constant rotation at your radio station (s) for a while now and I would like to make a rap music request if I may. Your current rap music rotation has become very stale over the years. Since we are now living in the days where “equality for all,”  “multiculturalism,” “Homophobia” and so-called “Trans-Phobia” have been placed at the top of everyone’s political, sexual, and racial agenda, I think my request should be a simple one to take into consideration. I am always hearing rap songs that contain violence aimed at African-Americans and racial slurs like Nigger/Nigga being spewed all over your airwaves morning, noon, and night in the city where I currently reside and quite possibly in all cities where rap music in played on radio. My song request is simple. My song request is all about equality and/or equal treatment for all racial and ethnic groups in this country.

Would you mind playing rap songs and RnB songs that contain guest appearances by rappers that violently attack Whites, Jewish-Whites, Hispanics/Latinos, Native Americans, Asians, Italians, and Homosexuals? I am kind of burned out on Nigger this and Nigga that. I would love to hear something new like, “Faggot this or Faggot that. How about “Kyke this or Kyke that? Maybe a song or two that promotes selling drugs and/or shooting and robbing people of other races and ethnicities. How about playing a song that spews other hateful and racist words like, Spik, Wet-Back, Chink, Slant-eye, Gook, Cracker, DEGO, Towel Head, Sand Nigger, and W.O.Ps for a change?

I am pretty sure that you have songs like this lying around somewhere at the radio station. You just have to because it would be the “equal and fair” thing to do, right? Maybe the first place in the station where you can look is under the pile of music CDs with a note attached to them that reads, “Songs that should never be played for fear of offending and degrading any racial and ethnic group that’s not African-American.” I just know that you and/or your rap station are not about being biased in your playlist. I just know that you and/or your rap station (s) are incapable of promoting inequality on any level.

I guess what I am trying to say is that I would like to hear more diversity in your playlist. I would like to hear more of a variety of racial/ethnic attacks being played at the rap radio station. You seem to be very comfortable with playing songs or at least allowing rap songs to be played at the station that contain lyrics that violently attack Black people and refer to them by racial slurs. You also appear to be very open to playing rap songs that use derogatory and demeaning adjectives to describe the female gender within that particular race that happens to be of color. Whenever, I have pointed out the use of the word Nigger/Nigga in the songs in the past, the overwhelming response has been, “Hey, it’s just music. It’s entertainment. It’s what the people want to hear.” Well, if what you are saying is true, I am of the people and I want my music request played on the air.

I will be listening for my song request.

Sincerely,
Rico Rivers

Rico Rivers

Email:Ricoinnorthmemphis@hotmail.com
FB:RicotheOpinionist Twitter:RicotheOpinionist  

YouTube:RicotheOpinionist Blogsite:RicotheOpinionist

 

This video disturbed me

""I ought to kill yo fuckin ass!"
"I ought to kill this nigger!"
- Memphis Police Overseer


I have a serious question.


Has anyone ever heard police use this racist, threatening hateful language towards, white, Asian, or white/Jew-ish, people that they have arrested?


Now, he's sitting on the ground. Tired. Exhausted from running. Hands up high in a surrendering position. The young black male is still hit with great force with the police baton by the angry, equally tired, out of shape, frustrated cowardly Memphis Police Officer.


Yeah. He ran. So what? White men, white women run, white teenagers fight, yell, cuss and even spit at police. They don't get beaten and dehumanized. They simply get arrested.


As they placed him in the car, the one white cop kicks the subdued, handcuffed, and non-threatening young male into the backseat of the police squad care with his foot.




Many of you who are black can look at this video, with the audio included and still justify this crap all you want. It is quite possible that police brutality and police lawlessness can come knocking at your door. If you think just because you believe that you are so law abiding that this treatment will bypass you, think again. If you have not looked today, go and look in the mirror. Your ass is black. The cops have been given orders to attack black people. It’s the same orders from 100 years ago. The cops are attacking so called thugs and non-thugs alike.




Many of you in the black community in Memphis need to take some of the responsibility for the crime that's happening in your city in these black neighborhoods. It is quite obvious that many of you have forgotten that these “black criminals” came from you. Your semen. Your womb. Black mommas and black daddies. Now, you want to just hand them over to the system for slaughter since you obviously failed them as parents. To hell with you! These cops are not doing you a favor. Get off your asses and deal with the mess you created. In case you hadn’t heard, your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is not going to come back to get you and just leave the children you did not raise properly here on earth. So, you may as well go back to the community you left or simply step out of the house and get your children. Believe me. There is no heaven for cowards and loser parents.




To the punk ass cops in Memphis who want to act like savages on the job, you might want to keep in mind the Shannon Street massacre that occurred many years ago. You might want to remember the name Lindberg Sanders? You might want to google the Shannon Street Massacre.


http://www.nytimes.com/…/officer-killed-memphis-police-slay…




Lindberg Sanders got fed up with Police brutality and took it to another level. In case you have not noticed, Memphis is not Chicago nor is it a Ferguson. You just may find yourselves regretting this current savage behavior in seemingly only black and poor neighborhoods. So, stop with the vigilante and hooligan behavior and just do your jobs correctly and by the book. Stop with the racist and anti-black male propaganda. Stop behaving like animals. Be professional. Be human. Be the men and women who swore to protect and serve the public as you made it out of the police academy. Stop with this us vs. them mentality. Stop with the gang mentality. If a person is actually threatening your life, do what you have to do. However, beating and kicking a man when he is down because he forced your lazy, dozens of donuts eating, fat asses to run is totally out of line. Running does not put your life in danger. Your fat bellies do. Finally, hey black cops, I hope every cop on the force has seen a picture of your Black children. If not, they too are in threat of being dogged out by your fellow officers in blue.

https://www.facebook.com/LocalMemphis/videos/1019126818150093/"> href="https://www.facebook.com/LocalMemphis/videos/1019126818150093/">Full Video Of Memphis ArrestThe full video of the arrest by Memphis Police officers that has people wondering if too much force was used.
Posted by Local">https://www.facebook.com/LocalMemphis/">Local Memphis on Thursday, February 11, 2016

Happy Father's Day! 2014

Happy Father’s Day! 2014

The annual father’s day wishes are being shared by all those who choose to recognize the men in the world who have been fathers in the lives of their children. I want to send out a special Happy Father’s Day to my, brother, Eric Rivers. You know. I have watched him for the past 18 and a half years not just be a father, but a PRESENT father in his children’s lives and “By Any Means Necessary.” So, should I decide to ever become someone’s biological father, I will have a pretty good source of examples to pull from whenever I may need it. I wish that a lot of men could follow his example of “saying there” even when it gets tough. “Staying there” even when you may feel that you can’t do it anymore for whatever reason. My brother understood that when he decided to participate in the impregnation of his then girlfriend and now wife of many years, THAT HE WAS GOING TO BE THERE.

 

In the last couple of days, I have been checking out the various stories on Facebook that have been attempting to minimize the importance of fathers in this country, most specifically Black fathers. There is a Mahogany greetings card created and being distributed by Hallmark that is floating round on the internet that says, “For You Mom. Happy Father’s Day.” I guess this is an effort to reach out to the single mothers. Hmm, I thought this is why we have Mother’s Day. Mahogany Cards is the African American division of the Hallmark Cards company. This means that Hallmark has gotten in on the practice of celebrating illness of black single motherhood and the same time making a profit from this purposefully designed system of destroying the black family. Please, let me know if you were in WalMart, Walgreens, or Kroger today buying a Father’s Day card and you noticed a greetings card that was not a Mahogany card dedicated to single white, Asian, or Hispanic women.

 

The saddest part about this whole thing is that a lot of Black single mothers today who were never MARRIED to anybody when they got pregnant and gave birth to any child they have, have the audacity to believe that they are special. They actually agree with Mahogany dedicating Father’s Day cards to them on a day that was not designed for them. Father’s Day is for men who have children. Father’s Day is gender specific, just like Mother’s Day. When was the last time you heard of any man of any race tout themselves as being father and mother to their children? However, I am happy to share that a lot of sane women have been putting these insane, ego driven, attention starved women in their proper place in regards to this issue.

 

Is it me? Or does Father’s Day seem to not possess the same fanfare as Mother’s Day? I have noticed this trend (agenda) in America. Fathers are very needed in the households to add emotional and mental balance in children. If the man is not in the household, he still needs to be in the child’s life if he is a man who is trying to be in the child’s life. I never had a father in my house growing up, or in my life. However, I was fortunate enough to see images of father figures growing up. Even if Father’s Day does become a day that is celebrated by society, it will not take away from the importance of having a father in the child’s life. Divorced ladies, I get it. Many of you have been rearing children alone after the divorce because the husband decided that since you and he are divorced, he and the children are divorced and he moves on without all of you. I think that’s horrible. I will never understand how any man could leave their child because he and the mother (wife) are done with the marriage or relationship. It is almost non-human in nature.

 

 

Finally, I know that there are a lot of good black men who are in the lives of their children. Recent statistics point to this fact. As a matter of fact, these same statistics point to the reality that black men are more active in the lives of their children than men of other race and ethnicities. http://www.policymic.com/articles/90965/6-actual-facts-shatter-the-biggest-stereotypes-of-black-fathers    I am happy that I am a person who has never been one who could be herded like sheep when it comes to the lies and stereotypes that other people place on the backs of black men. However, I am not saying that I am not aware of the large number of men who volunteer to leave after he has laid his seed in the female he just had sex with that night. This behavior is cause for another blog post. However, tonight I want to focus on the wonderful and greatness of fathers and the much deserved day called Father’s Day. I want to wish a Happy Father’s Day to step-fathers and the men who are positive role models to children who don’t have their biological in their lives for whatever reason (s). Let me be clear. The fathers that I know, my brother included, don’t need an annual day to validate them. Their validation comes daily when their children, through rain, sleet, and snow can get up every day to get a hug, a smile, discipline, and a sense of identity from his presence and stand witness to his essence.

Happy Father’s Day!

Reparations Now!!!

Ah yes.


Reparations for over 300 years of chattel slavery, plus 100 more years of Jim Crow laws. Legalized segregation. Taxation with no representation. Its amazing how so many African Americans today shy away from this subject. I mean. Literally become angry, beligerent, condescending, and sometimes flat out hateful towards a black person who brings it up. I think its just plain ole fear. Fear of buckin the white man's system. I this its fear of success. I think its fear of our own unity. I think African Americans are more afraid of our unifying behind a legitimate cause than white society. This fear came from the psycological conditioning of slavery and JIM CROW. Funny. Homosexuals can unify over some bullshyt called gay rights and were successful making so-called gay rights an actual issue in this country. Furthermore, these people forced this very same government to legally recognize this crap. The Hispanics unified and brought this same government to its knees over the rights of immigrants and forced this government to lay off the immigration reform conversation unless it was in their favor. However, African Americans deserving REPARATIONS for the kidnapping and enslavement of an entire race of people because their skin is black by this government and its European allies is a conversation and a possible struggle NOBODY wants to get involved in. This government and this society will never take Blacks seriously until WE become serious about us.

Judge Joe Brown Rocks !!!

The people of Memphis and Shelby County need to get up off their asses and stand up for once. Show some pride. Show some self-respect. Support this MAN who wants to help. He does not have to. He wants to. Judge Joe speaks the damn truth in this video. He shares some history of years of illegal behavior and/or unlawful behavior in the Juvenile Court System. It’s a damn shame that this man has to return to Memphis to show Black Memphis how to legally stand up for themselves. Also, Judge Joe Brown left Memphis in 1999 to do the highly successful and long running "Judge Joe Brown Show."  Did you all know that since Judge Joe left Memphis in 1999, Memphis has had many black male and black female Judges and attorneys in that city in the courts at 201 Poplar as well as in Juvenile Court? Sadly, over the past 15 years NONE of these frightened Negroes EVER stood up to the white supremacist legal system in Memphis that has dogged out black Memphians at alarming rates since Judge Joe left. NONE of the Black attorneys and judges ever stood up publicly or legally for the rights citizens of Memphis pro bono the way Judge Joe Brown did. Why? I will tell you why. Number one. They are only out for themselves. Number two. They are afraid of going through what Judge Joe Brown went through for only four hours. Next, they obvious learned early in their law careers in Memphis about how to join the crooked system and get some crumbs for themselves instead of working together to change the crooked system and gain a whole slice. What's more interesting about all of this is these same black legal minds in Memphis more than likely had their lame asses at the white corporate owned and controlled MLK Civil Rights Museum in downtown Memphis for the commemoration of Dr. King's murder. Anyway, I can go and on about what contributes to the city of Memphis's daily demise. However, the people of Memphis can decide this one without the cowardly black attorneys and judges in my hometown. Judge Joe Brown is running for a very important office in the legal system there in Shelby County, which is Shelby County District Attorney. An office that has been known by ALL who live in the city of Memphis and in the county of Shelby as biased in its treatment of citizens of color, particularly black men and black boys. Who knows? Judge Joe’s presence in the Memphis just may be the light that inspires the many lazy ‘do nothing ass” black politicians, black legal minds, black preachers, and many of the black citizens of Memphis to finally “grow a pair” and become MEN and WOMEN in that city that will finally start to move Memphis in the right direction and equal justice for all will actually become a reality in my beloved hometown. Don’t let this moment pass you by, Memphis!

#JudgeJoeBrownRocks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwZ-5WMdLL8

2014: The year to take back BLACK!!

2013 is over and a new year is upon us. Look. Let me straight to the point. Last year, we stood in silence as white men were named favorite RnB and favorite Hip Hop males at awards shows. Wait, The Grammys will be coming up later this month so more of them will be given awards that usually go to Black artists. Black artists, the reason your awards were and are being given to white folks is because most of you have chosen to sing and rap about bullshit. You don’t put the work into your artistry like brothaz and sistas did before you back in the day. There are not too many RnB singing blacks today who work as hard as Gladys Knight and Marvin Gaye did back in their day. The only relief seems to come from the neo soul artists like Jill Scott, Chrisette Michelle, Ledisi, Eric Benet and Maxwell. The RnB singers haven’t done jack! Wait, I can’t forget my man, Avant. In 2014, you all need to step your game up. Rappers stop using Nigger in your lyrics. Rap more about what’s going on politically and racially in your community. This is what the new white rappers talk about, hence, why they were given all of the hip hop awards for favorite hip hop artists in 2013. The white rappers never use the word Nigger in their raps and they out rapped all of you last year.  Blacks rappers, return to hip hop and regain your thrown as the originators of hip hop and real MC-ing!

Next, black females need to reclaim their femininity in 2014. All of this hardness is not attractive. Enough with the mean faces in public. Enough with the foul mouth language. Enough with the weaves. Enough with the hair hats. Enough with the damn tattoos! Enough with the booty implants. Enough with the thickness, fat-ness and obesity. LOSE WEIGHT God-dammit! I don’t want to hear that crap about how you are fine and ok with your BIG self. That’s a damn lie! Start dieting and exercising not now, but RIGHT NOW! Enough with having all of these damn children with no husband! You were created by God as the very first image of womanhood and beauty for the world to idolize. Now, most black females today look, talk, and act like husky, thuggish men in drag! It’s time for a major organic make over ladies. Enough with the supporting of reality shows where Black women are acting a damn fool. Enough! It time for the Black woman return to her thrown as the actual queen of the university. You can’t do this until you; yourself recognize that there is a problem. Finally, return to reading the cultural books again like sistaz used to do in large numbers back in the 1990s when the poetry scene was hot.

 

Finally, Men, it’s time to take back black! Men, (myself included) we need to stop the lying, the cheating, and sleeping with whores and tramps if your goal is to actually connect with a sista who is serious about being in a relation with you. Pull your pants up DAMMIT! Stop sticking your penis inside a female without a condom and then turn around and bitch and cry about the child support system kicking your ass. Even though she may have given you permission to hit it raw, if she is not your wife, DON’T do it dumbass! I always speak up for Black men, but when many of us are doing stupid things and acting like hooligans, it makes it hard for me to stand up for the humanity and existence of Black men. The black man in his original state is the standard for masculinity and manhood. Hence, why these white boys like Justin Beiber and Justin Timberlake try to copy our look, our sound, and most certainly our African swag! Of course, often imitated but never duplicated.

 

 

In order for the Black community to take back our Blackness, we have to work together. We have to start being honest with each other about our true feelings. We have to start loving on each other again. We have to apologize to each and make amends for any ugly behavior we have shown towards each other and start fresh in this New Year. I want to propose that everyone who reads this article begin having conversational “get togethers” with black men and black women in the city where you live. I mean really get together complete with food, drink, light music in a warm and safe environment where a conversation about what we can do to take back our blackness in 2014. Don’t be afraid to tell the truth in these conversations. We are talking out of love and concern. If anyone in the city of Memphis and in Dallas/Fort Worth area would like to into invite me to one of these get together conversations just me know. I would love to participate. I am approaching 2014 with high hopes and high energy. While everyone is hosting conversations, I will be working through my newly formed non-profit organization, A Call For Healing, INC. to do more by way of mental health as it relates to our young men and women. So, WE ALL have our assignments. Ok. Together on the count of three….1,2,3 TAKE BACK BLACK!

 

 

 

 

“I watched this video and the verdict is in…The woman, the single mother of FIVE children, is dead WRONG!”

http://liberalvideo.com/2013/11/23/new-video-in-new-mexico-minivan-shooting/


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4Clb962o2I

First of all, I would like to start off by saying that police shooting at a vehicle filled with a mother and underage children is completely out of order and the cop who did the shooting and claiming to be only shooting at the tires (liked that made shooting at the vehicle filled with children any better) needs his ass handed to him on a hot, flaming platter. He should be fired and charged with attempted murder. The policemen who busted out the damn windows creating further trauma in the little children need their asses kicked in an ally as well as in court. This experience has definitely taught these black children that police have no love or patience for them and anyone who looks like them. This experience, in my opinion, should have also taught the children that their mother is somewhat irresponsible, selfish, and really did not have their best interests at heart on this particular day. I am so glad that the young black man did not get beaten or even killed because of his mother’s negligence.

 

Ok. Many of you are wondering why I am saying this. Here it goes. As a long time counselor, therapist and even mentor to young people, I have always preached and taught prevention. I have taught young people the importance of staying away from drugs because of the negative consequences of using drugs. I have taught many in counseling groups over the years how to avoid psychotic episodes in their lives by simply taking their medications as prescribed along with exercise, relaxation, and eating healthy.  Our parents have even taught us prevention when they would say things like, “A hard head makes for a soft behind.” Or “If you don’t start nothing, it won’t be nothing.” 

The woman, Oriana Ferrell of Memphis, TN. (my hometown) was completely the cause of the entire melee’ that occurred on that day. All she had to do to prevent the cops from busting out the windows of her car, shooting at the car, and possibly getting her son 14 year old son murdered was to just give the officer her driver’s license and car insurance after being pulled over for allegedly speeding. If she did not possess either of the items he requested, all she had to do was sign the ticket and keep it moving. I think that’s how most of us would have handled the situation instead of becoming argumentative with the cop because of possibly “riding dirty” and then pulling off. What kind of sense did that make? Then, when the cop catches up to her, she still had no intentions of complying with anything the cop had asked her to do. It is because of her immature and resistant behavior that her son risked his life (in his mind) to protect his mother, when it should have been her protecting her children by handing over the damn license and insurance at the first stop and not driving off, which created in the cop’s mind, the ultimate suspicion. I am not even going to ask why the hell her son’s hair was green.

However, I will ask these questions. What in the hell is she doing with five children and no man in sight? Why do so many Black women have so many children and then want to be given a special status in society? When she mentioned in the video that she was a single mother of five children, was that her attempt to gain sympathy from the public? Where was the father or fathers of these children? Why wasn’t there another adult on this trip with them? Was she running away from an abusive relationship? What in the hell was all of that stuff tied to the roof of the van? The report stated that there were drugs found in the vehicle. Hmmm, I guess the cops have already begun to put together their justification for their criminal and thuggish behavior with the shooting and the busting out of the windows. Hmmm, maybe there was a roach in the ash tray that she had finished the night before and she forgot to dump out the ash tray before the trip. I know many of you are looking at this as a case lased with racial overtones. You are very correct in doing so. The easy part is to view this case as a racial issue because it probably is. As intelligent people who are supposed to be aware of living in America and having a clear understanding of the history of America her relationship with all people of color, but especially black people, we should not be surprised by the behavior of the cops. Cops have never liked Black people. It will never change. Still, with this historical knowledge there is a way in which one should conduct themselves whenever coming in contact with the police. So please join me in not just looking at this case as just a racial issue, but also as a case of child endangerment on the part of the mother.

The mother (although FINE as hell) was dead wrong. Her actions on that day were reckless and thoughtless. Her actions created this avalanche of danger and trauma for her children. I wish she had practiced some preventive measures on that day because now her children will need extensive counseling to help move past this experience. Her son will have a hate for the police that will not work well for him in the long run. Meaning, he may continue to grow up thinking that in order to combat the next police officer whom he feels is disrespecting him; he will need to only sharpen his boxing skills, which will not be a good idea if he values living. To combat the cops in the future whom he may feel behave the same way as the ones on the day he and his family members were stopped for allegedly speeding, I would advise this young man to first go to counseling for anger resolution therapy and trauma. Next, I would advise him go to the gym to sharpen his boxing skills and maintain good health. Finally, I would advise this young man to go to law school and become a constitutional lawyer and ultimately become a judge who presides over cases involving police brutality and other cases involving the police mistreating the people.  

 

I feel most sorry for the children in this case for the simple fact that children don’t ask to come here and they definitely can’t choose their parents. I wish the mother well in a possible pursuit of legal satisfaction. I hate that any of this happen. However, if it were not for the mother not utilizing common sense and acting as a MOTHER with young children in the vehicle to protect, I don’t think the situation would have gone that far. Instead of choosing to use preventive measures, Oriana Ferrell, in my opinion, chose to look out for her own interests which could have ended up with much dire consequences.

 

 

The Best Man HOLIDAY: My movie review.

I went to the movies this weekend to check out this flick. However, please allow me to vent a little before I go into my movie review. First of all, when in the movie theater, stay wake! I literally sat through 20 minutes of someone snoring during the last 30 minutes of the movie. The person snored like he/she had not had any sleep since the 1800’s.  I mean damn! It was like I was in a different movie theater watching a different movie called, “12 Years A Snorer!” Look. If the 10:15pm movie showing is past your bedtime, make sure you get a ticket for the 12 noon showing of the movie or at the very least the 6:45pm movie showing. Next, scoot over God-dammit! Ok. I was a little long in the concession line. The people taking the order were as slow as a turtle pissing! This is why I and many others entered into theater 17 as the movie reviews were playing. I mean, people were saving seats for two and three people and pretending not to see you when you were suffering with anxiety trying not to look too uncool trying to get to a seat the damn dark! Scoot over God-dammit! Everybody can’t sit close to the edge of the rows to get the edge on the other movie goers when the movie is over. Also, why in the hell don’t people fill out the entire rows in the theaters? Meaning, people sit in groups of four and five, filling up both ends of the row, with two or three seats in the dead middle left open. WTF!? Fill in all of the damn seats so the end seats can be for those of us who may come in during the previews because of the slow ass workers at the concession stands!!! Anyway, I am done with this. I just had to share this little tidbit. LOL!

 

Ok, now on to my review of the movie. Overall, I loved the movie. I thought the writing was good. The cinematography was of great quality. The writer and director of the movie, Malcolm D. Lee, did an excellent job with the development of the characters from the first movie. I loved the way he brought all of their lives full circle in this second installment of the franchise. I laughed at the punch lines. I wiped away tears as I witnessed the character, Mia, battle cancer and even when her husband, Lance, physically broke down in deep sadness and in disbelief of his wife’s death at the burial site. I loved the way Anthony Hamilton and Marsha Ambrosius did a slow re-make of the Stevie Wonder classic, “Always” at the funeral. This part of the movie where Mia struggled with cancer struck a personal chord with me because my favorite aunt died of pancreatic cancer three years ago. She went through a very similar experience during her battle with cancer. Mia even looked like my aunt as she laid in the bed sick from her illness. My family and I just like Mia’s friends in the movie, stayed with my aunt during her final days. The pain they felt as they witnessed her struggling to hold on was very familiar to me. I would not wish this experience on any one.

 

However, even though I said that I loved the movie overall, I do have some analytical criticisms. The movie was not perfect. It has some flaws. Everyone who knows me knows that I have never been one to follow the crowd. They know that I can’t just been herded like a mindless sheep. They know that I have never been one to just allow my brain just shut off because I am being entertained by a movie of any kind. I watched this movie with the same analytical and critical brain as I did with the movies, “12 Years A Slave” and “Lee Daniel’s-The Butler.” A few things stood out for me in this movie. The night before I went to see the movie, I read an article regarding the movie in this month’s Jet Magazine. In the movie, it mentioned how writer and director, Malcolm D. Lee, had to convince the Hollywood movie studio executives that this movie was worth funding. Hmmm, so when I went to see the movie, I waited to see what convinced the Hollywood studio executives to finance this movie. This is the same thing I wondered to myself when I noticed all of the slavery themed movies that have been brought to the big screen this year. I knew something had to be sacrificed, compromised or a particular message to black people had to be slipped into the movie in oder to make Hollywood happy and feel comfortable about financing a movie with an all black leading cast. Well, it was the same message that appeared in “Lee Daniel’s-The Butler,” “12 Years A Slave,” The TV show, “Scandal,” and quite possibly in “DJango Unchained.” Those of you who went to the theaters to see "DJango will have to let me know if this message is in the movie. Based on what I have heard and read about that particular movie, the message is the same. The message being, the white man is the savior, not all white people are bad, and the promotion of interracial love between Blacks and whites. Funny. You never see these messages being promoted to Jews in films about Jews when it comes to the current and historical enemy of their people, the Nazis or even today's Nazi skinheads. Anyway, Jordan, the strong, independent, career driven Black woman ends up with the white man in the movie as the only man who she finally realizes she loves. Shocking! LMAO!


The message to this group of particular Black women is that your Black man in no way can measure up to you and your success. You are way too tough for him to handle. You are too strong for him. There is no way any man can handle you unless he is white.  Next, to top off this little “get together” the writer of the movie tried to make it seem as if Jordan was not digging her white boyfriend in that way. A dying Mia had to impart some wisdom regarding finding love as she lay dying. She said, “Jordan, be open minded and be open to love!" It is amazing that we can’t be this wise when it comes to finding love with each other in the black community. I’m just saying. The total disrespect of the Black man and Black marriage and commitment came when the ex-stripper, Candie, literally lusted out loud after the only white man in the movie, who happened to be Jordan’s boyfriend. Mind you. Candie is married to Julian, the college brotha who took her nasty ass out of the strip club and tried to make a legitimate woman out of her. This bitch was so horrible in her “Scandal-ous” lust for this white man that she made sexual comments about the white man right in front of her husband. So much that he actually heard her. Total disrespect! She did it throughout the entire movie!


Of course, the N-Word was tossed around a few times in the movie by Terrance Howard’s character. I did not see the need for it because this certainly was not a movie about slavery. Finally, the issue of Black women and hair crossed my mind. Yes. Mia was dying of cancer. To bring the point home, she removed her hair hat during a heated argument with her husband Lance which revealed her natural hair that had fallen out to that of a very low length. I thought to myself during this scene in the movie, “So, will it have be cancer that will allow Black women to feel good about wearing their natural hair without the weave, chemical relaxers, and transsexual looking hair hats?” Chris Rock’s movie/documentary, “Good Hair,” which showed black women where their hair weave comes from and how the chemicals used in perm relaxers ate through aluminum cans in a lab did not seem to create any fear in the majority of black women.

 

Of course, I am not wishing cancer on Black women to get them to love their natural selves. I will let God continue to work on them. It is definitely, in my opinion, an issue that black women who wear weaves, perms and hair hats will have to work out with their Higher Power. So, this is the end of my review of the movie, “The Best Man-Holiday.” I just wish WE will get to the point of funding our OWN movies and TV shows so that we don’t have to continue to make others happy and comfortable in order to get a movie about us or at least marketed to us financed and distributed to television and to movie theaters.

“Hey, What’s with all of the movies about slavery?”

Last night, I went to the movies to see the period flick “12 Years A Slave.” This movie is being reported as a true story based on the autobiographical book of the same name which was written by Solomon Northup in 1853. The book is based on Solomon Northrup’s actual account of what he went through as a free black man living in the north that was kidnapped by white hunters and re-sold back into slavery to white “slavers” who ran “slave farms” in the south. Before this movie, I went to see “Lee Daniel’s-The Butler.” This movie has a black slave farm theme in it as well. There was another movie released this year with a slavery theme to it, but with a comedic twist called “Django Unchained.” Needless to say, I did not waste my time or my money going to see that crap. I agreed with Spike Lee when he stated his reasoning for not supporting this particular film which was, “There was nothing funny about slavery.”

I am not writing to give a play by play account of what I saw in the two movies that featured slavery themes that I did go to see at the theaters. I am writing to take a critical and analytical look at why “Hollyweird” has all of a sudden taken an interest in putting these movies out there. I will say this about the movie “12 Years a Slave” in that it is not a movie about slavery. It is a movie about one free man’s experience on a slave farm. You see. Solomon was a free Negro living a middle class life with his family in Washington DC without a care in the world about what was going on with Blacks in the south or anywhere else for that matter. His world was rocked simply because he naively trusted these two white men who flattered him with compliments and convinced him to leave his home in DC to go off with them to work in a circus type set-up to play his violin for some extra money. They paid him very well. He even went so far as to drink and have dinner with these two shady white men after work one evening. This is when they poisoned his wine. When he woke up, which appeared to be days later, he awoke to ragged clothes and locks and chains in a dark enclosed dungeon in the middle of nowhere.

The movie is graphic and very reminiscent of how most Blacks act today in society. The movie reminds you of what Blacks today do to survive under white rule today. The plantation scenes are very telling. All I can say is Black people are in dead last today because we refuse to read the history of our TRUE relationship with the white man. By the way, to all you African Americans out there, they enslaved Africans. It is the African who was colonized and made into the Nigger. The word Nigger was used so much, I thought there were rappers in the building. The word baboon was even used in one of the scenes in the movie. On the plantation is where the African was force fed the myths about Christianity and a so called Jesus Christ. It was on the plantation where the African had drummed into his psyche that the White race is superior. The enslaved Africans were also conditioned to believe that as long you obeyed your master, you shall live long and when you die you shall receive a reward in paradise and get the chance to sit next to some lord and savior. In the movie, after a whole week of picking cotton, chopping sugar cane, and getting ass whippings, the plantation owner had church on the lawn with his family and with all of the kidnapped Africans where he read from the Bible about obeying your master and working hard.

I mentioned that it was Africans who were kidnapped and brought to the plantations because many of us today seem to believe that we are descendants of a country called Black. WE are descendants of enslaved Africans from Africa. Of course, over the years to help forget this harsh reality, we call ourselves Negros, African-Americans or Blacks. Again, the white man did not go to a country nor a continent called Black and kidnap Africans. They went to Africa, a people with a culture, an identity. On the plantation, the enslaved Africans were not often referred to as Africans. They were often referred to as “my property” boy, gal, wench, Nigger and the Blacks! In the movie, “Lee Daniel’s-The Butler,” the first 15 minutes of the movie showed a female mulatto slave farm worker (the butler’s mother) get raped violently and her husband (the butler’s father) get shot in the head at point blank range by the son of the plantation (slave farm) owner and killed for attempting to stand up to him for he had just done to his wife. Again, this act was further conditioning the Blacks to never stand up to a white man.

I know I went there anyway with a little play by play action, but I guess I could not help myself. One would think that this sudden barrage of slavery themed movies this year would be laced with good intentions. One would even think that “Whorelywood” has taken an interest in making sure that Blacks today really learn some valuable American History in an effort to show how Blacks have come such a long way despite or in the midst of such adversity. Yeah right! Keep dreaming. The strategy of any prison today or any plantation back them was not to give the key to your freedom. You have to break out own by force your or create your own key to get away. Many Black people felt some type of justice after they left the movie theaters after having watched the movie “Django Unchained.” Many Blacks left the movie theaters feeling upset with the Black Panthers when they left the movie theaters after having watched “Lee Daniel’s-The Butler.” Blacks left the movie theater I was in last night in tears and feeling grateful to a White man who mailed a letter for Soloman, which led to his rescue from the slave farm.

 

However, I left the movie theater feeling the same way as always. These movies are created to gauge where we are in our desire to escape white rule and thinking like slaves and become the proud Africans we once were. These movies are created and widely distributed to allow us to do what Facebook, online blogs, Twitter, etc. allows us to do, which is to be angry in silence. History has taught us all that revolutionary fighting is not done at home behind a computer screen or sitting with your date at the movies. It is fought in the streets. After three slavery themed movies this year, it is safe to say that Blacks in America are safe in their fear and ignorance. The white man is still safe in his supremacy. Still, I would advise parents to take their children see “12 Years A Slave” and “Lee Daniel’s-The Butler,” There is something in these movies that just might spark something in the youth that has totally been missed on the old folks like me. For it will be the youth who shall spark the necessary revolution that will bring about the much prayed about equality and independence that the adult Blacks in this generation have failed to acquire.

 

“An Open Letter to the current Grambling State University Students and GSU Alumni”

Hello Students:

My name is Rico Rivers and I am a two time graduate of Grambling State University. I graduated in the summer of 1994 with two bachelor degrees and an associate degree (psychology and criminal justice). I graduated two years after that with a master degree in social work. I have worked for the past 17 years in my chosen profession of social work as a mental health therapist and a substance abuse counselor. I have loved every minute of the work that I have done as a social worker over the years and as I head into my 18^th year as a social worker in 2014, I have no regrets to report at this time for choosing this field of work. Well, it is more like the profession chose me. Social workers are advocates. Social workers tend to speak up for the voiceless. We often times take an unpopular stance for those who can’t stand up for themselves at that moment. However, after taking such unpopular stances, we stick around to teach those without a voice or with sturdy legs to stand on their own two feet and how to speak up for themselves with a mighty roar. We often do this for less pay than teachers, but with the same self-less love and caring for our fellow man and fellow woman.

I know you are probably wondering, “What is this guy talking about?” Where is here going with this story?” Well, I am writing to share with you just how proud of you I am for the recent stand that was taken on the campus of my beloved GSU. I was excited to know that there are still students at GSU today with guts to stand up against the current administration for what you all believe are inadequacies at the university. I was most excited and surprised to learn that the recent protests at the university were sparked by members of the football team. Do you all know how big that was? The football team has never been known or seen as an entity on campus that stood up for anything. You know, like the SGA and the fraternities and sororities on campus. So, when I read where the football team took a stand against being treated like crap as it relates to traveling to away games and having to utilize a subpar practice facility with mold and peeling floors, I was like, “Yeah!” “There you go!” “You don’t have to take any of that!”

 

The boycott that members of the football team participated in naturally inspired other students to stand up and point out other issues at the university that need to be fixed. Trust me. I know that there are plenty of other “black-eyes” at the university that needed some attention. Contrary to what some of my fellow alumni may think or even believe, a good student protest is always good for any university. It reminds the administration of who the bosses really are on campus. It reminds them of just how powerful young people can be when they come together to do something to make much needed change not only in our society, but on a college campus as well. Yes, students. You are the bosses. Your tuition makes this true. If it were not for students bringing in their private money, student loans, outside scholarships, and pell grant money to pay tuition, the university would not exist.

I preached this reality for four years straight (1992-1996) when I was a student activist on at the university. I stood up and I spoke out against a lot of issues at the university at that time. I wrote my own campus newsletter entitled, “IN MY OPINION” by Rico Rivers that exposed a lot of the covered up dirt and the shined a light on the bad behavior and crooked practices in the administration as well as within the student body at that time. I guess you can say that I was like Geraldo Rivera on campus. I got the story and I told it unapologetically. However, for three two of those four years, I practically stood alone. In 1995, I became a part of a group of other like-minded students on campus and we called ourselves the Unity Committee. As a committee, we exposed the horrible conditions in the Cafeteria on campus. We took video footage of a dead mouse behind the ovens that cooked our food and a couple of flies in a huge pot of corn that was to be served on the following day for lunch. As the bosses of the university, you all have the power to make as many changes as needed as long as you stick together.

If you feel that the current President of the university is not functioning at a level that you deem acceptable, you can change this. If you believe that Grambling should be shown more respect by the current governor of Louisiana and that horrible board of trustees, regents, or whatever they are called now by way of funding for the university, you can change this. If you believe that the teaching staff can use some major improvement at the university, you can change this. If you believe that there are some buildings on campus that need major improving, you can change this. I say this because we were able to make some changes back in the day without Facebook, Twitter, Insta-gram and with very few students standing with us. In the current days of social media and Youtube, you have already shown just how powerful your movement can be. Moreover, the changes that we made back then and the changes that you will make today will benefit all those who are currently students at the university as well as those who will become students long after your class has graduated.

There are members of the current alumni who believe that the football team reacted emotionally and recklessly. Some even went on to insult the football team by stating that the team was not “smart enough” to organize this boycott on their own. These alumni even believe that the football team was somehow being controlled like puppets with the strings being pulled by someone who is actually the mastermind behind the boycott. I don’t’ share this theory. As one who has actually stood up and protested not only on Grambling’s campus, but in the community in my hometown of Memphis, TN, I think the football team and the members of the general student population stood up on their own out of a need for change.

There are members of the alumni who believe that the students could be harming their academic and professional futures for participating in the recent boycott and protests. Well, as I have stated, I protested my ass off and pissed a lot of people off for speaking my mind and taking a stand at the university. My professional career has been just fine. As a matter of fact, it’s getting even better as we enter 2014. I am so glad that Dr. King wasn’t a coward. I am so Glad Malcolm X. was not a coward. I am so glad that Harriet Tubman wasn’t a coward. I am so glad that Ida B. Wells wasn’t a coward. I am so glad that Jesus was not a coward. Students, when actual leaders take a stand, the cowards sit back and watch what happens and make comments, but never join in the fight. Yet, these same cowards get to benefit off of your activism.

I was hoping the boycott would have lasted the rest of the school year. The boycott of the Jackson State University game was good. However, boycotting the homecoming game this weekend and the upcoming Bayou Classic would really send the message of changes that needed to be made at the university can longer be ignored. Sadly, too many in the alumni seem to be more concerned about being able to pull off their pre-planned alumni parties and benefits galas as scheduled than the importance of the well-being of the current students. Everybody seems to be crying about money that the university is either losing or could be losing because of the football team refusing to play (which is chump change) compared to what the university can actually lose should students ever band together and they ALL withdraw from the university at once.

 

Trust me. There are at least 100 other HBCUs and hundreds of other actually well-funded white institutions of higher learning that the students can transfer to continue their academic endeavors and sports endeavors. Personally, I would not want to see this happen at Grambling State University, but the way the funding is being cut by this current governor of Louisiana, finding a new head coach for the football team will be least of the university’s worries. By the way, I have few questions. Why is the President of GSU so old? What century did the search committee leap back into to find this guy? Next, why in the hell was Doug Williams being paid $250,000 a year? Does the athletic program even generate that much money? Why is there special nine member group of GSU alumni trying to recruit Southern University old left overs? That former coach at Southern University is older than the current president at GSU. When did we ever as a university need to stoop to the level of digging through Southern University’s left overs for anything? Who are these nine idiots?

Finally, I want to say this about the letter that was written by Jackson State University and the lawsuit they are threatening to bring against Grambling. Nah. Who cares? They suck for doing that. Anyway, students at GSU, I think you all did a great thing in boycotting, protesting and getting your voices heard. However, I was disappointed to read on the news website (alldigitocracy.org) about the two week suspension from The Gramblinite of opinion page editor, Kimberly Monroe, for organizing a student rally on campus. I am sure that she will be fine. I was also disappointed to read on the same website where online editor, David Lankster Sr., was fired from the Gramblinite after having tweeted statements from anonymous sources and photos of dilapidated facilities on campus. These are some of the pitfalls that come along with taking a stand. You lose some things, but you gain a lot more in return. The university attempted on at least two occasions to kick me out me. Still, I am so glad that there are students on campus like these two young people and the members of the football team who believe in standing up for what they believe. I hope this is not over. Still, enjoy the rest of the semester and the rest of your lives knowing that you stood up to make a difference in your life as well as in the lives of others.

 

To my fellow alumni who do not agree with the boycott and protest on campus, don’t criticize, belittle and insult our proven future leaders. Let’s support them. Let’s show them that we care more about their safety and wellbeing at the university than about what other people who are not Gramblinites have to say about this situation. Let’s show them that we care more about our beloved Grambling being treated the way it should be treated with regards to the memory of one of the most noted Gramblinites in history next to the founder, Charles P. Adams, Coach Eddie Robinson than making sure a football game is played at homecoming and at the Bayou Classic for the sake  of getting our drunken party on and reuniting with old cliques from our past days at the university.

 

 

 

 

Let's Say No to Single Motherhood in Black America in 2014!!

I think a battery of psychological exams should be given to EVERY female who DECIDES to become a single mother knowing that she can't afford a baby. I think these tests should be mandatory for any single/never married woman who decides to get pregnant without a good paying job, an education, transportation, health insurance, stable housing, and a plan in place for child care that she can afford with her own money. I think that she should be given a battery of psychological tests to see if she is even sane and emotionally stable enough to be a decent mother to an innocent child who did not ask to be brought here. I think that since she decided against getting married first to a good man, a good provider, and most importantly to a man who loves and adores her, she should foot the bills herself. These tests should be made mandatory only if this single/never married female decides to apply for public assistance programs such as welfare, food stamps, WIC and any other public assistance program that are funded by tax payer dollars because now she realizes that she needs money and lots of it to properly provide for and rear a child. This voluntary single motherhood stuff has to stop. It has caused so much emotional and psychological damage in the Black community. Our children are suffering emotionally and mentally because of these irresponsible decisions to have children out of wedlock. Look. If you are a single woman who has never been married, DO NOT HAVE ANY children that you can't afford should the single man YOU CHOSE to get you pregnant over a getting a husband runs off.


Sadly, this current court system with the whole child support nonsense, has done nothing but enable this irresponsible decision making in too many women today! Unfortunately, too many of these women are Black. The acceptance of bad and irresponsible behavior in any form in our community has to stop! Ladies, stop choosing baby daddies and start choosing husbands! No matter how you try to spin this, it is YOU who can stop this horrible phenomenon of unjustified child support payments being made to single women who decide to become burdens on tax payer dollars. GET A HUSBAND and do like you’re supposed to do and become a wife before you bring an innocent child into your life.


Don’t get me wrong. I don’t have anything against women who were made single mothers because of a divorce or the death of her husband. Even then, in the case of a divorce, she is really not a single mother, per say. However, I do have a serious problem with children being born to single/never married women. It is a FACT that does not have to make herself a single mother. It’s a choice that too many Black women are making and black teen females are being allowed and it needs to stop! A child deserves better! It’s not necessary in these days and times. You see, there was a period in this country where some women (mainly Black women) were not as privileged to the knowledge of birth the few birth control options back then. Hell, even if they had the knowledge of the few birth control options, they simply did not have the money (like so many do today) to take advantage of unwanted and unplanned pregnancies during those days.
However, nowadays, there are just too many forms of FREE and very low cost birth control out here in society that are available to every woman who wants them. There is even a pill that will end a possible pregnancy for up to three days after she decided to have unprotected sex with a man that is not her husband. Boyfriends don’t count.


Please, don’t ask me this stupid question, “Well, what about the single man? Why can’t he practice safe sex?” Look, stupid! He can practice safe or unsafe sex all he wants. He doesn’t have to practice safe sex. What’s it to you? You just need to protect yourself regardless of what he is or isn’t doing sexually when he is not your husband. Unfortunately, these days a lot of married women have to protect themselves from many of these cheating husbands. However, in the single life, getting sex has never been in the man’s control unless it is by force (rape). If a single/never married female is volunteering to be naked and laying on the bed, couch, or across the backseat of his or her car with her legs opened or bent over grabbing her ankles with him standing behind her ready for action and she never tells him to put on a condom, that’s all on her. Ladies, you are supposed to be the protector of your body, your life! You don’t ever rely on a horny man to consider the protection of your life when it comes to sex. Hell! The red flag should immediately go up when you see that he has no problem going up in you without a condom if he just met you.



I know that what I am saying upsets people. Cool. I am bracing myself for the nasty and negative backlash. I’m use to it. However, I hope that you get so upset that you join me in this mission to change the screwed up thinking of too many men and women in the black community. White racism can take a back seat because what we are doing to ourselves and our children is making racism look non-existent. I am bracing myself for the comments that will say that I am attacking women, that I am bashing the black woman. Trust me. No one bashes Black women more than other Black women. So, to the self-proclaimed psychologists who instead of addressing what this article is really talking about and actually doing something about it (which is correcting bad behavior and poor decision making when it comes to most Black women/females today and this reckless procreation) don’t waste your words or your breath on me. Join me in correcting this behavior that has obviously gone on either unnoticed or purposefully IGNORED in the black community when it comes to the many females who behave the way that I have described.



You can help me in this mission, crusade or whatever you want to call it by spreading the word about how too many Black women’s poor decision making has contributed to the breakdown of the black community and the Black family. The shit needs to stop! We all seem not to have a problem with calling BLACK MEN on their shit. Believe me. It has become designer to name all of the stupid and irresponsible shit that Black men do, but it has never dawned on any us of that Black women have all but surpassed Black men in making dumb decisions and being irresponsible especially when it comes to their bodies and this reckless procreation that's been going on for too long. Hey, am I the only one who sees this? Oh yeah, for those you who will accuse me of pointing out the problem, but not delivering a solution, you obviously did not read this entire article. The solution and the revolution is us!

An Open Letter to Tavis Smiley

Dear Tavis Smiley:

This letter is long overdue. I want to say that I have been an admirer of you and what you have stood for in the Black community for as long as I can remember. I was a huge admirer of the annual State of the Black Union Addresses in which you created as a venue to get our voices and issues heard nationally and politically. On that show, you created a forum/platform that showcased African-centered scholars and Black political elite who otherwise were rarely, if ever featured in mainstream media outlets. I want to say that I have always appreciated your outspokenness and your willingness to speak the truth to us, whether we liked it or not. You always understood that WE NEEDED IT!  I appreciate you being the exact image of a strong, intelligent, dignified, educated, articulate, business owning Black man that so many Black women all over the country instill in their sons to be like as they grow into men.

I want to also say thank you for continuing to be a leader and not a follower. I am very disappointed at the negative reactions/retaliations you have received for merely doing what is supposed to be done with any elected political official and this includes president of the United States, which is to present your community and/or political itemized agenda.  Since Obama has been president, the Jewish community, the Hispanic/Latino community, and the Homosexual community have all done just this and without any negative backlash. The president heard their agenda and he acted on them. However, when you and Dr. West attempted to push one of the late Dr. Martin Luther King’s agenda concerning the poor in our nation, you both received ugly and unwarranted backlash from the Black community at large as well as from some of the same so-called Civil Rights leaders who were regulars at you union addresses.

I was really bothered by the way you unceremoniously left the Tom Joyner Morning Show. I hated hearing about the negative backlash you received on that show all because many of his listeners felt that you were not being fair to the president because you offered him the very same challenges that those previously mentioned racial/ethnic groups offered him. I want to say that I believe in what you are doing. I am disappointed in the hypocrisy and what appears to be this purposeful choice in the black community to treat the president like a beloved celebrity instead of the President of the United States.

I will close by saying keep up the good work. You were there helping, encouraging, and educating in the black community long before this president and you will be here long after this presidency is over.  Thank you for not saying, “To hell with this!”  If you have, I don't blame you.

A longtime admirer and supporter.

Sincerely,

 

Marico Rivers, MSW-LCDC

I HAVE A RAP MUSIC REQUEST - 2013

In light of the 50^th Anniversary of the March on Washington, DC, I just have to send an open letter to make a rap music request to Urban-Rap/ Hip-Hop Dee-Jays, Rap Radio Station Owners, and Radio Stations with a rap format/playlist.


To Whom It May Concern:

I have a request. I have listened to particular rap songs that are in constant rotation at your radio station (s) for a while now and I would like to make a rap music request if I may. Your current rap music rotation has become very stale over the years. Since we are now living in the days where “equality for all” has been placed at the top of everyone’s political, sexual, and racial agenda, I think my request should be a simple one to take into consideration. I am always hearing rap songs that contain violence aimed at African-Americans and racial slurs like Nigger/Nigga being spewed all over your airwaves morning, noon, and night in the city where I currently reside. My song request is simple. My song request is all about equality and/or equal treatment for all racial and ethnic groups in this country.

 Would you mind playing rap songs and/or RnB songs that contain guest appearances by rappers on them that violently attack Jews, Whites, Hispanics/Latinos, Native Americans, Asians, Italians, and Homosexuals? I am kind of burned out on Nigger this and Nigga that. I would love to hear something new like, “Faggot this or Faggot that. How about “Kyke this or Kyke that? Maybe a song or two that promotes selling drugs and/or shooting and robbing people of other races and ethnicities. How about a song that spews other hateful and racist words like, Spik, Faggots, Wet-Back, Chinks, Slant-eyed Gook, “Crackers,” and W.O.Ps.?   

I am pretty sure that you have songs like this lying around somewhere at the radio station. You just have to because it would be the equal and fair thing to do, right? Maybe the first place in the station where you can look is under the pile of music CDs with a note attached to it that reads, “Songs that should never be played for fear of offending and degrading any racial and ethnic group that’s not African-American.” I just know that you and/or your rap station are not about being biased in your playlist. I just know that you and/or your rap station (s) are incapable of promoting inequality on any level. I guess what I am trying to say is that I would like to hear more diversity in your playlist. I would like to hear more of a variety of racial/ethnic attacks being played at the rap station. You seem to be very comfortable with playing songs or at least allowing rap songs to be played at the station (s) that contain lyrics that violently attack Black people and refer to them by racial slurs. You also appear to be very open to playing rap songs that use derogatory and demeaning adjectives to describe the female gender within that particular race.

I will be listening for my song request on the air.

Sincerely,

Rico Rivers

Rico Rivers

Dallas, TX

972-854-9497

 

THE TRUTH HURTS !!!

I am sure that many of you have heard this statement. I recently posted this statement on my Face Book status a few days ago. The responses were positive. However, the responses were few. Whenever I have posted an article on my blog or Facebook page that touched too closely to home as it related to some form of “what we should and/or what need to do as a race in this country” to gain independence or hell, at least to clean up our own communities, I rarely get responses. I am not going to surmise tonight why the low response occurs, but I do have my suspicions. Personally, I know that the truth does in fact hurt when something about me is said or is written that is actually true. Thankfully, most truthful things that are said about me have been positive things said about me and even to me. However, I don’t shut down when the truth that’s spoken about me is not so positive. If I am being an asshole and I know this, and the person in front me not only knows it, but tells me, I may not admit it to be true out loud, but I do know that the person telling me this has just spoken the truth.

 
I shared this because I want all of us to know that none of us is above having the truth spoken about us as a group or as individuals. The truth is, many of us in the black community are purposefully playing games when it comes to walking the path of freedom and independence. We are hiding behind the Bible, social organizations, our social and economic statuses, the walls of our suburban neighborhoods, multiculturalism, diversity, individual interests and just plain ole fear of being independent from this white supremacist culture and system. It is the truth. “Niggas are scared of Revolution!” I want to end this article by sharing some truth to why Black people in America will never be respected by whites and any other racial and ethnic groups in this country. Ok. Are you ready? Here is goes.

 
The main reason that Blacks in this country will never be respected by this government is because Blacks have never fought (in an actual war) in this country against the white man for their freedom. Again, blacks in this country have never fought (in an actual war) against the white man for their freedom. Everyone that the white man has fought a bloody war with, this country respects them. Not only does this country respect them, but the once former opponents in war are thriving immensely in this country, while black people are being treated like step children, like chumps politically, economically, and educationally. Let me give you some examples of what I am saying. Ok. The Native Americans fought to the very last breath with the white man's army for their right to human existence when the first presidents of this country waged bloody war on them in an effort to take their land. The white man even broke treaties to get these peoples’ land. The Native Americans were not having it. They did not take his attacks lying down or praying for him. The Native America men, women, and the children used every tomahawk, every bow and arrow, and every fire lit torch to kill as many white soldiers as they could  before finally succumbing to the many cannons, guns and ammunition that the American soldiers had in their possession.

They have been wiped out, but their current descendants are presently protected by Indian laws today and they have casinos that provide them with independent revenue in order to sustain and maintain what is left of their culture. Next, you have the Mexicans. The Mexicans fought to the death to keep the American white man from taking the Alamo. The American soldiers lost a lot of men and suffered many other casualties in that war. Today, the Mexican community has the ability to bring this current government to its knees should it decide to make a wrong move as it relates to immigration laws. Next, you have the Japanese that who kicked American white men’s’ ass at Pearl Harbor with their Kamikaze fighter pilots who dove their fighter planes loaded with explosives into naval ships killing a lot of naval soldiers. Yes. The United States won WWII, but today, the country of Japan and Japanese citizens living in this country are not “messed with” by this country. The Vietnamese people gave the American soldiers pure hell during the Vietnam War. Many of those guys that came home from the war that this country did not win, came home with mental illnesses and overcome with drug addiction.  Today, the there are many Vietnamese citizens in this country who are not “messed with” by this government.

Did you all know that people who are from Iran and Iraq live in this country? They are living and thriving peacefully in various neighborhoods across the country. The Iran/Iraq war was a huge blow to this country. This country did not win that war either. Soldiers returned to this soil with PTSD and various forms of cancer as a result of the bio chemical agents they were exposed to while fighting the people over there. You see. It’s like a kid at school being bullied. The bully only begins to respect to the smaller kid he is bullying when the kid being bullied jumps up and smacks the shit out of that bully. He may get his ass kicked. He may not. The point is, the kid being bullied finally stood up to his bully. Blacks have fought in major wars with the American bully with hopes of gaining the respect and favor of this American bully, but have yet to literally smack the shit out of this American bully in order to gain respect.

 

No. The Civil Rights Movement was not a war. Blacks got their asses bloodied and killed because they had no arms and refused to bears against their white attackers. This country did not come to respect Black people because of  a bunch of Negroes begging, pleading, and praying for integration. If you noticed, none of the other groups even thought about integrating as a strategies. Their strategy was to kill or be killed in a time of war. As a result, the white man  today watches his step when it comes to these other racial/ethnic groups that forced him to put up or shut up in the past. This means that black people will have to love, respect, and value themselves in order to gain the respect of the bully.  Hell, even homosexuals in the country have gained the respect of this country and they never even raised a hand in war with this country. All they have done is become successful in making all us feel badly about calling them faggots. Nobody feels badly about calling Black people Niggers. SMDH! Look. I am not saying pick up arms and start killing white folks. What I am saying, we need to get our own house in order (our children, our communities, our families, our economics) and become a strong, unified people, then we will be in a position to demand respect and fight for what's ours in this country with a unified and loud voice like the other groups.

Yes. It’s true.  The truth hurts and it’s scary, but this is only way we will get the respect that other people have actually earned it by not being afraid of this American bully.