Early this past Saturday morning (I mean early. It had to be around 7:00AM) I was at a tennis club in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. I was playing some doubles with three other guys who I play with on a regular basis, and there were two middle aged gentlemen playing on the court right next to us. They seemed to be going at it pretty hard, but I didn't really pay much attention to them because I was too caught up in the my own game.
Now I am a 4.0 player (you tennis "buffs" will know what that means) and the guys I was playing with were 4.0 players and above, as well. So we were getting into it pretty good, and going at each other, when one of the gentlemen I mentioned stepped over to our court and said the following: "Fellows I know this isn't exactly a library, but could you guys keep it down just a little bit in between points, we are trying really hard to concentrate over here." Yep, those were his exact words. Keep in mind, we were playing tennis, not chess. So at this point we are all pretty much stunned, and we kept looking at each other for answers, trying to figure out if the guy was serious. He was. He kept looking at us and was obviously waiting for an acknowledgement that we would in fact tone it down as he requested.
Well, being the big mouth that I am, I told him in no uncertain terms that he had to be fucking kidding, and that we weren't in a library, so his best bet was to just enjoy his game and leave us the fuck alone. Or something to that effect. He stared at me for a second or two, started to say something, but he seemed to think better of it and went back to his game.
One of the guys I was playing with blamed the incident on Obama. "Get used to it guys, now that Obama is president they are going to be mad at us." No, the guy was just an asshole," I told him. "That guy would have told little green men from Mars to keep the noise down." Nope, that was not an Obama backlash; but this is , and so was this, and this.... I could go on, but you get the point. Now I ask you; is this "change we can believe in"?
Folks, all over Omerica there are more and more stories of this kind of "racial backlash" because his O ness is now the commander in chief. But we knew this would happen, didn't we? Not everyone in these divided states is happy about "change" and they are not shy about letting us know about it.
But here is the deal: we shouldn't get too hung up on this crap. Times are hard, people are losing their jobs and their homes in record numbers. These are tough times here in Omerica, and these are the times when people's true racial attitudes and their ignorance will start to show. This is when everyone is fighting for the scraps off the table, and like a pack of dogs they will go after each other for the very last piece. And if they don't get it, the racial scapegoating will begin. This is what we are seeing now.
So since it doesn't look like things are going to get any better anytime soon, I hope we don't over react to every little incident, and I hope that we don't let hearing about incidents like the ones I provided in the various links throw us off of our game.
S0 just what is our game? Well, it's doing everything in our powers to make sure that our boy succeeds. If it means doing more volunteer work, being better role models, and taking more personal responsibility, then so be it. Which, by the way, are all things we should be doing and should have been doing before his O ness became president elect in the first place. But still, we just have to be better citizens. (Ahh field, come on, you swore at the guy, what kind of role model and good citizen were you being?) Yes, I know, and this is why I went and apologized to the guy right after our game......okay, I am lying, he left before our game was over, but thanks to the dawning of the age of O-quarius, I at least thought about apologizing. Still, I have got to keep a cooler head like my boy Obama. What would Obama do? That should be my new motto. Hell, we all should be thinking wwod. The O man would have told the guy something like: Hey man we are sorry, I will see if I can get everyone to take it down just a notch for you. I am sure you are having a tough time concentrating with our over exuberance on display here the way it is.... you gotta love how smooth the guy is. Hell, I bet if he had just a couple of minutes with old Ken Germana he would have had the old coot pulling down his sign, quicker than you can say, change. Ya know, that ole boy Obama ain't so bad after all. He ain't like them other ones. I can salute him as my commander in chief.
Unfortunately, there is only one Obama, so the rest of us citizens out here are going to have to just deal with all of the bullshit on our own. But still, at the end of the day, we will be alright, cooler heads will prevail, they always do. Unless, of course, I happen to be in the group.
79 comments:
Frankly, I am in the between Obama and you Field. I would have looked at the guy, not said a single word and walked away. Sometimes silence is golden and speaks in bigger volume. It would have still have been rude and completely disrespectful of not acknowledging him, probably, one must overcome disappointments in life. The four of you playing couldn't have been that loud, it's not as if you brought 40 oz on the court with. Sometimes, people are just so sensitive, and I do not if Obama had anything to do with because the guy is just behaving like a prick who probably did not want to be there that early in morning and losing on top of that. Sometimes it's just that simple
Let's face it. The white powers that be have had 232 years to get it right. And have they? Let's see what Obama can do. It certainly cannot be any worse than what Bush and Cheney have done.
Accepting that a non-white person just might be a better person is hard for a lot of people to accept.
Well, get used to it. Build a bridge and get over it.
OK Field. I'm not a tennis player. What does 4.0 stand for?
Field he's lucky John McEnroe wasn't playing next to him. You cut him some slack.
So. You had time to do tennis, but you can't find time to do the run?
Oh come on Field, you know how you kneegroes get all rowdy when playing sports and hangin with the boys. Yeah boyeee, bam - take that! woodeewoooo... I could here you guys now. I don't blame the poor guy, field. You know it's true. He was just trying to keep you "boys" in your places since one of you got all uppity and got away.
And yes, this Obama backlash is something. I think a lot more white folks are getting defensive, while more black folks seem to be getting complacent.. scary. I got into it with a black neighbor today, he keeps preaching that "we have now overcome" (his dumb ass still can't that management promotion he's qualified for because the company rather fly in white people from the mainland to get the high end jobs). Some of you black folks are cringe worthy.
LOL! Sorry about that gwpriester...It's a rating system the USTA gives to players. You can be anywhere from a 1.00 (beginner) to a 6.00 (which means you could play for money, or you are a damn good college player)
You can pay to get yourself rated. They rate things like your serve, your backhand, etc.
"The four of you playing couldn't have been that loud, it's not as if you brought 40 oz on the court with."
No, we weren't loud at all. At least I didn't think we were. And, I might add, I have played at that club quite a few times and never had a problem before. BTW, isn't 7:00AM kind of early for a "40 oz"? :)
rainywalker, Mac would have thrown his racket at him.
"cringe worthy."?
la~incognita, I love how you break shit down. But no, we were not being rowdy Negroes. Yes we might have been grunting with each shot and commenting on different plays, but rowdy? No.
And I am going to make that run, this is just one of my ways of exercising.
Reminds me of some guy that told me to sit down at an LSU/Florida game a few years ago. I screamed back "we aren't at the f'ing symphony and if you've never been to Death Valley before then here's lesson number one!" Idiot. And he was a Tiger fan. I'm sure I was a lot nastier than I'm leading on.
but I feel you... we all need to do our parts to make sure our boy succeeds. I'm all for taking the high road, especially for the cause. I'm disgusted by the racial backlash... but I'm not letting it bring me down. I have an example to set and a duty to let people see how confident I am that we're heading to a higher place.
But still... you're a better person than me for even considering apologizing. Sometimes, like when people tell you to keep it down at a football/tennis game, screaming and cursing is warranted. Sit down at a football game when LSU is undefeated, Florida is in the lead, LSU has the ball and there's 2 minutes on the clock? That guy had it coming.
Your Blog has my vote, bro., in several categories. I just wish they'd made the damn format more simple...sometimes (like now), I'm too tired to manuveur through (new phone books:))
Anyway, when I'm not coming off a 24-hour shift, I'll figure this stuff out. You're keeping things real, and you realize that the real war has just begun. That alone automatically gets you my vote.
Peace,
George M
Glad you're on board to help Obama succeed.
Maybe I'm just sensitive, but I thin kit was Obama backlash. Was it a nice place where you were playing? Maybe they thought you didn't belong there. There seemed to be some subtle who-do-you-think-you-are going on there.
If people's lives are based on one principle--"I'm better than you"--and something comes along to challenge that--not even the whole Black President thing, just that progressives and people of color cd unite and win--you and all of us got inside the gentleman's head and messed with his game.
Nice to see the corporate run media is not going to disappoint us by deviating from their formula of sensationalizing the drunken rants of a few isolated nut jobs, or change their "if it bleeds it leads" mentality. That would mean they would have to act like journalists or whatever their sad imitation of that would end up being, and that's just not conducive to ratings in this infotainment driven joke of a press we have.
Anyway...before I digress any further.
When Obama won, my redneck shithead brother in law went ballistic. He pissed and moaned, and told us that the south would never allow Obama to sit in the Oval Office. His words, of course being liberally mixed with the "N" word the whole time.
Out he went, as I kicked his ass to the curb. He is also no longer welcome at our house after that little outburst.
The point...this is how these ignorant racist assholes think. If they see something or someone that they don't agree with, they immediately want to kill it. If they can't kill it they want to burn it, if they can't burn it they'll try and fuck it.
Now, to be fair...I grew up in the south. I visit the south on occasion. I know for a fact that the south contains millions of liberal Democrats, and I know for a fact that that millions of registered republicans actually voted for Obama. When my B-I-L refers to 'the south', he of course means the ku klux klan and their ilk. Not the people there that I know of, and associate with.
Different President...same whore media. They can't talk about the millions of southerners that aren't bigoted racist assholes, and made a huge difference in the south this year.
I don't need to tell you all here, that the hard core haters are in an absolute mental meltdown. They don't know how to act any differently than they are at the moment. Fuck 'em. Leave them to their marginalization.
I hope the racist assholes enjoy the Obama years. We all got their number.
Hey I experienced this type of behavior first had the day after the election. My whole office was quiet like I never heard before. I swear they did not even want to talk to us. It was eerie. Some of those "executives" were pissed that he got it. So field I know how you feel.
Nothing has really changed in my life since Obama was elected, but my AA neighbors are flying the American Flag. Seems like a good trend.
szpork
First, 4.0 is pretty rigorous tennis, as you said, but it's not supposed to be funereal, so I don't see why you couldn't have fun playing it. And second, their comment about needing to concentrate was obviously b.s., ergo, either they were jealous of your 4.0-ness, or unhappy with your 4.0-and-MOREOVER-black-ness, or taking out Obama's win on you. If any of those are true, why would YOU need to apologize to THEM? On the contrary, they needed to apologize to you, AND, I for one am impressed at your assertiveness and courage!
tjwash,
I think it's fair for you to be defensive about the south; but two things... 1) the southern states have been justifiably vilified for their racist tendencies, but 2) the media are covering stories across the country... not just in the south.
let's not just look at the morons taking bets over an ossassination... I won't say they're a waste of time, because I believe everyone has the potential for redemption. But, let's worry first about the kids and what their reactions are.
take this:
http://www.tolerance.org/teens/stories/article.jsp?p=0&ar=230
now, I know the SPLC gets a lot of criticism, much of it deservedly. But at least some organizations are taking the lead and trying to bridge the gaps. I think it's a good place to start.
Field,
Why'd you have to go get my pressure up? I'm too young for this!
I admired the way Obama dealt with the mud-slinging. So I promised myself that I would try to be more like him. Well now as far as I'm concerned he was on a different playing field, which allowed him to be gracious (although that almost went out the window when they started attacking Michelle).
It's not just the media exposing these fringe racists. Thanks to the web, people are letting it ALLLL hang out and it's not pretty.
I'd suggest that those who truly love this country pray that no harm comes his way. And that's all I'm going to say about that.
I don't know Field, I think ole boy might fall under another category - you call it "white privileged" but I refer to it as "being rude" or a sense of "entitlement" (Hilary suffered from the latter during her campaign this year)
What he did is the same as when they jog in the middle of the street instead of using the sidewalk or, at the supermarket when you've stepped back to view some items and they walk right in front of you and stop like your ass isn't even there, or how they let their kids feed themselves which results in food all over the table, floor, and chairs then they leave without even cleaning up.
Yea, just add buddy having the nerve to even come up to you guys and make such a foolish request to those categories. Seriously - even the cool, non-racist white people I know are guilty of entitlement.
-k
Interesting. I am a skinny white jew scientist, and I was in a french bistro the other night with a skinny white jew buddy of mine. I was explaining some science shit to my buddy, and I am a loud-ass Jersey jew, and I am sure I was exclaiming pretty loud. Plus I can't hear too well on account of my teenage years at punk shows.
So this older couple at a table next to us says, "Excuse me, can you please lower your voice?" So my first reaction was in the Field range: "What!? You talkin' to ME!?" But I just said, nicely, because they looked like nice people: "Oh, I'm sorry. I'll try to keep my voice down."
I should have been all like, "Obama's the Prez now, so FUCK YOU ASSHOLE!!!!!!"
There really are people who have an impact on you, make you want to be a better person, make you want to at least try to step up more.
O has really had an impact on the young people who come to the community technology center I work in that's located in a mixed income housing development. They've asked for every political button I put on my bike, vest and backpack and I don't have one left! The O bamanos were a big hit. And every xerox copy of Obama art or photos with slogans that I pinned up on the bulletin board has disappeared. . .
it's kinda cool to see them all wearing these oversized o t-shirts instead of t-shirts with gangsta rap stars saying rude things.
can't tell what it all means now, but i think i'll keep my ear to the ground. . .
For all the bullshit Black People had to put up over the years...I tell ya, White People are a trip..
Yes, the more I think about it the more I think the guy had a serious sense of entitlement. But I honestly don't think it was a racial thing. I think this guy is just used to bossing people around, and he thought he could get away with imposing his will on the tennis court.
rhaposodyinbooks,I thought of apologizing for just a minute, and then I came to my senses.Someone above commented that the guy was getting his ass beat by the guy he was playing. He just might have been, because he seemed to be in a pretty bad mood.
tjwash, I am glad for your comments. Folks need to know what goes on every day with different families in the majority population. I am sure your situation is not unique. Just like the Civil War, this election has split quite a few families.
jennifer, "geaux" Tigers. Mrs. Field is an alum of that fine school, so I know exactly what you mean when you say "death valley". Hey is it true that Huey Long actually pretended that Tiger Stadium was going to be classrooms to get money from the legislatures to build it, and he started bulding the stadium down below and had classrooms up top? I heard that somewhere.
kellybelle, you sound like my playing partner he thinks it was a case of the O man backlash as well.
I suspect that we will be having to try and figure out quite a few of these in the next four years.
BTW, I saw his Oness on 60 Minutes tonight. You Obamaholics should be proud.
The facts do not add up to an Obama backlash. Hard economic times have allowed a time honored policy of blame the AfricanAmerican. In recent years It had gone into hiding. One person on the political stage is responsible for revitallizing this mem. To me HRC stuck a can opener into a can of racism and classism that had been papered over in the Democratic Party before the economy had totaly gone into the toilet. HRC's campaign was the one that LEGITIMIZED the attacks of other, not hardworking American and not Christian as far as I know. HRC made it possible for Sen McCain and Gov Palin to continue w/ this line of attack expanding it to community organizers and subprime mortgages(thank something for them not having anything else to offer). HRC has not been held accountable nor has William and now her name is floating around as Sec of State. Nauesating.
So I wouldn't worry Field it was just politics as Gov Palin said. Wink Wink
no... but he DID use taxpayer money to rent trains to transport LSU students to an Ole' Miss game, he wrote a fight song and forced the band to play it and he stood on the sidelines next to the coaches at the games and screamed, hollered and carried on telling them how to coach their team.
comrade physioprof:
Nah, you did the right thing. BTW, that is what one of my grandsons wants to be a scientist. He is so into science until one year, one of his teachers brought him a science kit as a gift when the school year ended. This particular grandson is also the one that told us when he was two years old that he was going to make a time portal and sat down and drew a design of it. Both incidents took place when he was a small child. Whelp, he'll be seventeen New Years Eve, and he still into science making "A" grades in it. Do you think he might be serious about that time portal?
robert m
I'm glad I'm not the only person on the verge of vomit over her being considered for any position in that cabinet.
I know some of this is repetition, but I think it's important to remember.
1) Obama won with the support of millions of white people. Without them, he gets his ass handed to him.
2) Those same white people are every bit as happy, and proud to have him as their President.
Even I, the perpetual cynic, got a chill once I knew he'd won, and I dislike the Democratic Party almost as much as I dislike the Wingnuts.
3) Ignorance is taught or, more accurately, ignorance is the result of never being taught.
When I was still a counselor, I worked with my fair share of racists. That bullshit was beaten into their heads, and there was no one around, of any consequence, to teach them otherwise.
It was no different than the gang bangers who were following in the footsteps of their friend's, brother's, cousin's, and sometimes even their father's.
Ignorance is definitely a trait that is passed from one generation to the next.
4) Ignorance will be with us until the very end. All we can do is shine the light on it, and hope the majority of people have enough sense to come to the right conclusion.
Field, I'm certain that tennis dude would have had a different reaction if Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova were doing their Monica Seles imitations every time they hit the ball to each other.
You're a better man than me. I probably would have told him off and/or hit him upside the head with a serve like McEnroe did in that new car rental commercial I saw today.
Jennifer and robert:
You're not the only ones, granny is not to overjoyed about it either. I would have rather Kerry or Richardson, but for some reason I believe that Obama has a reason for doing what he is doing. He is intelligent. I was thinking about how people thought he would pick his friends Evans or Kaine for VP, but he didn't. I think he might surprise us with more of his picks as well.
Fairlane:
Yes! Amen, amen, and amen again!
I wasn't there. I don't play tennis. But I can say this much, because I am one of them: Some people just don't like a lot of random noise. It truly bugs the shit out of them.
Only you know whether you were noisier than a typical bunch of people on a tennis court. Was the whole place full? Couldn't someone have moved?
How bad is random noise for me? One time I tracked down a thumping bass beat to three miles away and asked the guy to turn down his stereo. I would hear things that my late, great German Shepherd couldn't hear. Because of all this, I have an insanely expensive stereo.
I once figured out that my car was on the fritz 10,000 miles before the problem manifested itself because there was a slight change in the engine noise. If I had my way, people who shuffle cards on an airplane would be flushed down the chemical toilet.
It could well be that Obama had nothing to do with it. In fact, I'd bet this to be the case, but then I wasn't there. I don't play tennis ...
p.s.: Half of my family is this way. The other half could sleep through a war. I live in the quietest neighborhood of Seattle, selected for that reason. When I find myself on vacation in the middle of the countryside, I still wear earplugs to bed.
God help the houseguest who needs to have the radio on all night, and just who in hell decided, and when did they decide, that the library was no longer a silent zone? Could someone, somewhere, shut up for a change?
Nothing personal, honest.
Field, it sounds like you're between Barack and a hard place.
I vote for the idea the guy was just a douchebag.
They're a dime a dozen, I'm sorry to say.
p.p.s.: And what is the deal with restaurants? The other night, I took two people to dinner. We were seated next to a table of eight and they were making quite a racket. So I had them move us. Cheerfully, I might add. I mean, a table of eight is going to be noisy. No basis for a complaint.
But can't these places put, oh, I don't know, some upholstery somewhere so all the sound doesn't bounce around? This is a conspiracy of reviewers and trendy restaurant people, who have decided that if the place isn't deafening then it doesn't have "buzz."
Christ, turn down the volume so I can taste the food. And hey, lunch place on Thursday, did you really need to pump in that Muzak so loud that I couldn't concentrate while trying to talk to my dining companion?
Here's my dream: Buy an acre of land smack in the middle of someone's 10,000 acres in the middle of the hills of western South Dakota. Build a cabin, and go out there for a month a year just to hear nothing, and I do mean nothing, but the goddamn wind.
If you have kids, make sure to do something about their iPods, because those things are killing the hearing of an entire generation.
For the first time in my adult life, I'm really proud of my country. So a$$holes like these can go straight to effing hell! Come to think about it, they could great straight to effing hell before I became really proud of my country. So, I guess that means I would have told tennis-boy to eff-off, too! But, that's just me!
Grinder:
You got issues!
I think this guy is just used to bossing people around, and he thought he could get away with imposing his will on the tennis court.
Field, I've seen at least one pix of you, and I'll admit: it would take somebody hauling a truckload of ball bearings to tell you that you're too loud.
But, perhaps he believes that blacks who swat tennis balls for recreation aren't that assertive, and are more incline to submissively do as they're told.
It just goes to show: you can't judge a man by the court on which he plays.
granny, I just hate noise. My sister is the same way, and one of my brothers. Hey, on a happier note, I just saw the 60 Minutes interview with Obama. I have to restrain my enthusiasm, because at the grizzled old age of 51 I don't want to be taken in by any of these people. But it's really, really hard not to fall hard for the Obamas.
He's the ninth president whose election I've participated in, and I've got to say that of all of them, he's #1 in the sense of being able to feel as if he someone I could actually sit down and talk to. I have really, really high hopes for "that one."
Can you believe that McJoke would have called him "that one?" Good God, what an asshole. Anyway, I really, really liked what I saw tonight, and not just with him. His wife, Michelle, is going to be a fantastic first lady, and those kids are fantastic. What a family.
Grinder:
I missed it, 5 of my grandkids came to spend the weekend with me. Therefore, watching television would have been nearly impossible for me, because I wouldn't have been able to hear it.
I can this though about being a grandmother. You're glad to see them coming, and glad when they're gone, and then you miss them when they're gone.
About the 60 Minutes Interview:
I love the story about him having the car with the hole in the floor. It’s true because one of Michelle Obama’s oldest friends is a talk radio personality here, and she talked about those old days. Barack Obama was a ‘Broke Brotha’, who spoke of high ‘ideals’, had no clothes, an apartment that if you sneezed, you were in the next apartment, and the car with the holes in it. Michelle married him because she loved him and believed in him. And, she wasn’t afraid to carry the family financially on her back while Barack Obama ‘ did his thing’.
I had to tell ‘ A Brotha’, who was complaining that Barack ‘could have done better’.
I was like, in what world?
Tell me, back in the ‘ me me me’ 80’s, what Black woman was listening to a Black guy, graduating from the top of his class from HARVARD, when he says, ‘ Baby, I’m gonna go back and help poor people’.
I was like, you gotta be kidding me.
Very few women, especally college educated women with a truckload of their OWN LOANS, was hearing that.
When Michelle heard and said, ” OK”, Barack knew what he had.
He knew that he had found the person for the long haul. The person to go to hell and back with him.
Smartest decision he ever made - marrying Michelle
Hi Field,
Sorry to bounce off topic but I was wondering, has any one of you heard of the Jonestown Massacre and are you planning on blogging about it since Monday commemorates 30 years since it happened? I just heard about it two nights ago and that is the first time I've heard about it in the 8 years since I've been in this country. I have never heard anyone talk about it. I was just wondering if you knew about it. It's so horrible, it seems like something no one should ever, or could ever, forget. I was just curious is all. Back to the shadows I go! lol
I'm not patient by nature, so my reaction would be, "we're here, we're who we are, get used to it. We're gonna be here a long damn time."
But the real healing of the White Problem in A-not-very-merry-ca starts with a realization all around that lower class Whites have been fucked over by corporate capitalism, and they need to start asking themselves, who closed that factory? Reagan and Gingrich and Rove sold them on looking at "not us" kinds of people being the cause of all their problems, not people who were lily white, just like them, but who wouldn't cross the street to piss on them if they were on fire.
Easy job, Field. All you have to do is radicalize and organize every cracker in the country.
Before the Repubs busted up the coalition that kept the Democratic Party together (except for hardcore South), somebody had to organize that coalition and pur it together.
All we have to do is repeat what they did.
And next time you're looking at your shares of stock and get tempted to buy the anti-union narrative the media corporations keep stuffing into our ears, better start thinking yourself.
Wow you're at the 4.0 level. How long have you been playing? I haven't played in years and was thinking about getting back into it.
I did make noise when I played (not as loud as Monica Seles) as do most players I know. Nothing obnoxious but when you have a good rally going you get into it.
That guy was tripping. Trying to concentrate? It's tennis not cardio surgery. Maybe he's like that when he has sex too. No noise. Personally I don't trust people like that.
I'm struck by the fact that only 10 percent of white people in Alabama and Mississippi voted for Obama. The Old Confederacy still has some deep-rooted race issues. What gives me comfort is knowing that Obama's election makes a lot of ignorant, poorly educated white folk realize that it ain't good enough being an overseer anymore, when the field negroes have taken over the Big House!
:)
Field I married the enemy, and just the other day when I was acting out she told me I make Obama look bad, your right from now on I will ask myself WWOD,
Jusus
As long as you are looking at the extremes, you might want to chew on this: Seattle voted for Obama by 84%-15%-1%. Three-quarters of Seattle's voters are white; 10% are black, 10% are Asian, 5% are other. This would tell you that roughly 80% of the white voters in Seattle voted for Obama.
I knew there was a reason I didn't live in Alabama or Mississippi.
ginder, you do have some issues. But I know quite a few people like you, so it's no big deal. We all have our little quirks. The guy might have been one of those noise police types. But someone asked the question above and I will answer it: We were the only ones there, and the club has about 12 courts. We cound't just up and move because we were playing on assigned courts. (I guess he could have went and asked for another court. That's probably what Obama would have done)
Jennifer, thanks for that info on the Kingfish and LSU. :)
"Field, it sounds like you're between Barack and a hard place."
LMAO at that line.
nyc/caribbean, I have been playing on and off all of my life. But I never really concentrated on tennis until I got older. You should get back into it, you can get your exercise on and have fun at the same time.
"But the real healing of the White Problem in A-not-very-merry-ca starts with a realization all around that lower class Whites have been fucked over by corporate capitalism, and they need to start asking themselves, who closed that factory? Reagan and Gingrich and Rove sold them on looking at "not us" kinds of people being the cause of all their problems,..."
amen Rev. Bob, this is one of my biggest frustrations with the folks here in A-merry-ca; that they can't see that they are being played.
orchid, I know all about Jonestown. (You are talking about Jim Jones right?) What a horrible tragedy that was. And you are right, it doesn't get enough play in the msm. Maybe everyone is trying to forget it ever happened. All those women and children. :(
Yes, I might blog about it one day.
It seems quite certain that places like Seattle have a better grasp of the 21st century than the Old Confederacy.
As for Jim Jones, like D.L. Hughley once observed - whenever a white man starts thinking he's Jesus, WATCH OUT.
David Koresh comes to mind as well.
grinder said"How bad is random noise for me? One time I tracked down a thumping bass beat to three miles away and asked the guy to turn down his stereo."
Couple years ago I had a set of Dominicans and Haitians band up together to move in a condo not too far from me. You would have sh*t your pants, it's a different culture, and no one is turning sh*t down. I'm 31 years old and my nerves are in a state of chaos ever since. I was ready to haul a$$ and move up in the mountains with the white folks. Now I see why some white folks would rather pay $5,000 bucks a month for a studio apt as long as they are away from some of us back folks.
(btw, make this be the first and last time I will ever sympathize with you).
Field I know you guys weren't making noise, I was just teasing :)
@ La Incognita - girl, I'm feelin ya on the noisy neighbors. And eff earplugs, we know they don't work.
@ TJ Walsh, "the hard core haters are in an absolute mental meltdown..." yes, and it scares the crap out of me that they've bought out the gun stores and a lot are now armed with AK-47s.
Obama = Just another Brutha cleaning up White Folks mess.....
It's true. I got on a elevator with an older white man of about 50 last week. He hadn't looked at me yet, so he turned around and saw that I was black and immediately said "Do you know what white people don't get about ObamaJ". I was startled, but wanted to hear. Then he says "how to say his name. My grandmother calls him Nobama and my mother in law calls him Osama". Now, here I am going to work in my slacks and heels and he had on a pair of faded jeans, t-shirt, and sneakers....all paint splattered and dirty...and he wants to go there with me. Since it was just the two of us and my office building is underpopulated (rarely does anybody else get on the elevator with me) I just gave a nervous laugh and got off when the door opened.
Toya
Yea, there is some Obama backlash, but the good thing is that these morons have become irrelavent except toward the individuals they assault.
Time to treat these POS bozos like the pitiful scared little juveniles that they are.
Toya, Kellybelle
On the same day I get an email on what if Michael Richards was right? AND a vendor making a delivery asking me if I was "happy to be still living the dream?" What makes people think I believe Richards is "right?" U work in a Minneapolis law firm. I have nearly 10 years of legal clerical experience and did the messengering job at 18yo. but evidently I don't belong here? Since O won, I guess people really believe they can tell African Amercian people whatever they want.
Excuse me, I work in...
Jennifer said:
I think it's fair for you to be defensive about the south; but two things... 1) the southern states have been justifiably vilified for their racist tendencies, but 2) the media are covering stories across the country... not just in the south.
Oh I know your second point very well. My wife's best friend lives in Idaho, and don't get me going on my recent business trips to Wyoming...
But on your first part...I wouldn't exactly call the vilification of the southern states justified. Some of the most liberal, open minded people I have met in my life hail from the land of cotton, and some of the most bigoted close minded assholes I have had the misfortune to know, come from San Francisco and Seattle.
Not to say that there are not enclaves of shitheads in Dixie...there are those, in every state in the union. Hell, my home state of California has the bright red OC and inland empires that are full of those. And we just recently proved to the world with Prop 8 how close minded and unfair even the so-called "progressive and blue" states really can be.
So vilification of the south justified? Not quite on board with that one. Remember, for all the talk of "southern racist tendencies" it was actually the south that led the United States in the enactment of civil rights legislation. The north would have just let the status-quo of racial marginalization stand pat. LBJ was a proud Southern Democrat don't forget...
FN said:
"WWOD"; Methinks the Obama/holics would have acknowledged the ignorant/ance, immediately followed by a brief stare and return/resumption of whatever they/we were doing. I tell ya', once you disabuse and relieve yourself of the burden of '...what po'-white/cracker/rethug/ignats think about us...'; once you transcend (and it's hard work) racial-cultural identity, you can truly feel liberated.
HOWEVER! By all means: Remain ever vigilant; do keep your enemies close. (A warm gun is good to keep for any idiot dumb enough to come onto your property to do you or your family any kind of harm[cross-burning included] whatsoever).
The horrors of Jonestown, the Davidians, and, -
'quiet as it's kept' - the child abuse/molestations sanctioned and practiced by Catholic and Pentecostal cult/churches should be expected. These are the direct results when we don't teach our children HOW TO THINK.
Each of us CAN do our little part to extend the "Dream", and "O'mania" by taking and assuming personal responsibility for our words and deeds each day; we CAN fight the tidal wave of ignorance by volunteering in our public school classrooms: modeling and teaching our children that: HOW TO BE CRITICAL THINKERS is FIELD NEGRO behavior! (But ya' gotta quit drinkin' the kool-aid of the chu'ch).
BTW, here in the heart of GA, not much has changed - confederate flags still fly; same-o'-same-o' dull, sleepy-eyed people (some, not all) just putting one foot down in front of the other, "keeping on". Amen.
"Georgia Flash"
That pic of the Burning Cross happend in NJ. Everybody and my Bishop said their would be a backlash that we haven't seen in a 100 years. Let the games begin. 100years ago blacks could not defend themsleves lets hope racist get smart and back the fuck off.
field, actually, the other guy should have moved. It's like the restaurant. I got us moved from near the table of eight to somewhere else. I know I'm a noise freak, so I accommodate other people. They should have done the same thing.
Field, a 4.0? I'm impressed. I'm more of a -0.0001 player myself but I love the game.
Like someone said before. They were probably jealous of all that 4.0 tennis happening beside them. And besides, real tennis players deal with noisy stadium filled crowds, crying babies, cell phones, flash photography, and screaming opponents all the time. I wonder how that guy would react if he played tennis full time?
GrannyStandingforTruth, Jennifer and robert
While I agree that HRC is totally responsible for the current backlash and her character suggests she can't be trusted as far as I could toss a pantsuit,
Obama's strategy is to assemble people who don't agree with him to make his administration stronger. I wouldn't be surprised to see McCain considered for a large role. (maybe even Rush will finally get a real job -nah!)
The book A Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin is his reference. I understand it's one of his fav books. And we all see how he admires Lincoln.
(crossing fingers) O is a highly intelligent man who has, this far, been overwhelmingly successful implementing his intended strategy.
So while we would all cheer if HRC sincerely apologized for the backlash we are seeing and just went FAR FAR away, I'm holding out hope that Obama will be able to herd his 'frienemies' into something bigger than their own petty agendas.
FN- Maybe we can start a support group/ book club for WWOD recovering mouth-almighties like us who's gut instinct is to verbally slice and dice the foolish and rude.
Here's to hope & change,
A
tjwash-
Being a southerner myself, I respectfully disagree. The enclaves are full of the liberal progressives and the rest are uneducated, bigoted assholes.
And trying to argue that the South led the North into enacting Civil Rights legislation is like trying to tell me that the Emancipation Proclamation ACTUALLY made slavery illegal.
Regarding LBJ: so he helped avoid a filibuster when Eisenhower proposed the first Civil Rights legislation since Reconstruction, he lobbied for "liberal amendments" and eventually signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and he ordered the national guard to protect demonstrators in Selma. I'm not discounting his motives or his successes. He is revered not only for his values, but also for his steadfast opposition to the overwhelming resistance of southern lawmakers to get on board with the Civil Rights movement. So he was a needle in a haystack (the majority were racist segregationists).
But, he should have taken his ball and gone home instead of starting a war in which over 60,000 Americans died AND don't get me started on the vets who can't get a decent shake in the VA system. He had the intelligence telling him America would suffer an international humiliation if they escalated in Vietnam... he went in anyway. He's not solely responsible, he did inherit a policy which made Vietnam a vital national interest... but his insistence on deceit and secrecy, his refusal to acknowledge how dangerous the military involvement would be, and a draft policy which gave deferments to privileged white kids and allowed a disproportionate amount of kids from black and hispanic communities to be drafted and engage in combat... those things are all a part of LBJ's history, too.
but, I concede there ARE racists outside of Dixie.
You know .. try living in Louisiana and see if do better. You have been done came across the counter on somebody before you realized we must do better. LOL
I did truly enjoy the post and then you threw me for a loop talking about you really didn't apologize... I thought you did..
Oh well he'll get over it.
But I agree and I don't remember you visiting my new blog although it's no where as good as yours...
Go B.
Off the subject:
1. Negroes and Latinos in CA vote to ban same sex marriage; the result: Raging fires in S.Cal. What's up with that?
2. Average cost per gallon for gasoline drops; the result: People buy more SUVs and gas-guzzlers. What's going on?
3. Have I been sleeping? Has it always been this way; or is there more black criminal behavior?
Dat's all for now, folks.
Hey FN,
I had a thought... What if your tennis partners were the Williams sisters, I wonder if they (the middle aged gentlemen who complained) would have still tried to tell you to keep it down?
I somehow don't think so...
As far as Obama backlash goes, its just some people proving that they don't want to be part of the same America that the rest of us are. They want to be in Sarah P's 'real America'. I for one would love to send them there and give the bill to our favorite Caribou Barbie.
Couple years ago I had a set of Dominicans and Haitians band up together to move in a condo not too far from me. You would have sh*t your pants, it's a different culture, and no one is turning sh*t down. I'm 31 years old and my nerves are in a state of chaos ever since. I was ready to haul a$$ and move up in the mountains with the white folks.
Doesn't Boston have a noise ordinance? Call the damn cops.
Yep HRC has to take some responsibility for this madness. But we can't totally blame her. Some folks will never change.
And yes, I agree with the O man keeping her close to keep an eye on her. I heard someone say on one of the Sunday talk shows (I think they were quoting LBJ) that it's better to have your adversaries in the tent pissing outside, than outside the tent pissing in. Or something like that.
a go bytch, I got ya. I will be over to check you out. You know I always have to see what my fellow field Negroes and HFN are blogging about.
"I had a thought... What if your tennis partners were the Williams sisters, I wonder if they (the middle aged gentlemen who complained) would have still tried to tell you to keep it down?"
Na Tracer, somehow I don't think they would have been this guys cup of tea. I am guessing if it was Anna Kournakova, or Maria Sharaponova, then maybe.
"but, I concede there ARE racists outside of Dixie."
Racist OUTSIDE of Dixie? Nooooooo.
This post is so on point regarding the present sentiment of many disgruntled people in our country.
I conduct parole revocation hearings. On today, after one of my hearings, a black officer informed me that his white law enforcement partner who supported McCain has been hostile towards him ever since Obama won; He feared that if something happened where he needed his partner to come to his defense, the white officer's hostility might cause him not to have his back like he normally would.
In a law enforcement setting, where you rely on each other for secuirty and safety, it is dangerous to know that a colleague might refuse to come to your aid b/c he's upset that Obama won.
In every other situation, I would agree with you that we shouldnt' get upset and ask ourselves WWOD. In situations where your life depends upon a disgruntled McCain supporter coming to your aid, you might what to have a back-up plan.
I seem to recall that after the 2000 election was decided by the Supreme Court, there were few, if any, left-wing Democrats threatening harm to the President-select. There were, however, many admonitions from the right-wing Republicans to "get over it."
Now the political pendulum has swung the other way, as it usually does, and the right-wing Republicans are hardly being the model of graceful losers. Another case of "do as I say, not as I do." Why do these people hate America so much?
A friend at work handed me a newspaper clipping today -- she's black and I am white -- it was the one on air america and everywhere else talking about this same topic of a backlash. I ended up with some free time and did what was expected of me by writing up my own take on my blog. I swear that's what she was telling me to do without ever saying so but I appreciated her thinking of me as somebody who'd see these issues from an intelligent angle. Yes I swiped Field's tennis story too since I think Mr. 40 Love was looking for a chance to take his McCain failures out on a brother. I only hope Field did tell him to f-off. Great post today by the way, WWOD is ingenious as well as f-ing hilarious. Peace.
What irks me about how the media is reporting this "backlash" and violence is that they are not calling it what it is.
It is TERRORISM by anyone's definition. Violence and threats meant to harass and intimidate people into behaving certain ways. That is terrorism.
If McCain had won and there had been black initiated violence like this, Bush would have called out the national guard.
Backlash...LOL. In around 30 years, this country is going to be "brown" not "white." It won't be "black," either, but it won't be "white" so his pushiness on the next court will be in the minority. I should still be alive to see it and I am curious to see if things will get better for everyone or even anyone.
It seems to me that it will be the same old, same old with just different focuses. All you have to do is look at countries with "brown" or "black" majorities now. However, it will be amusing to see the shoe on the other foot.
I am however, a great believer in politness and civility and would wish to see more of them and tolerance practiced every day, everywhere. This is what I keep telling myself when the dirt bikers shred the peace of an afternoon. It is a couple of hours, it builds strength, skill and courage in these young men and why does one person [me] have all of the say how it is for everyone else around?
So wait, because some old geyser told you to quiet down on the tennis courts it's Obama backlash? Your paranoia is quaint. Get over your black persecution complex, it's not as complicated as your oh so sensitve soul believes. Tell the old grouch to STFU and move on.
This backlash is starting as a result of the Obama election well folks welcome to Holland where images of blackface is all over. There is a holiday known as "Sinterklaas" where Sinterklaas helper is "Zwarte Piet (Black Peter)". White people put on blackface and red lips and act apelike parading down the street in the open. Go to google videos. google.nl and type in "Sinterklaas" and you will see it for yourself. This is Hollands dirty little secret. White folks and black folks who protest are threatened with violence. The rest of the world does not know that this is happening. Multinational companies here in Holland are celebrating this practice with employees dressing in blackface. Field Negro, please contact me and I can give you the full story.
(MYRON ROLLE) THIS YOUNG MAN WAS AWARDED A RHODES SCHOLARSHIP (ONLY THE THIRD IN FLORIDA STATE'S HISTORY) TO OXFORD UNIVERSITY IN ENGLAND, WHILE BEING ONE OF THE BEST FOOTBALL PLAYERS ON FLORIDA STATE'S TEAM. HE GRADUATED IN TWO AND A HALF YEARS WITH A BACHELOR'S DEGREE AND TOOK PRE MED COURSES AS A PART OF HIS MAJOR. THIS YOUNG MAN WILL PROBABLY PASS ON THE NFL DRAFT TO GO ON TO DO HIS STUDIES. HE WANTS TO BE A NEUROSURGEON ONE DAY. NOW THAT'S FIELD NEGRO BEHAVIOR.
I deviate from links conversation to commend your “story” on Myron Lee. If only such stories of valor and academic achievement were the lyrics of inner city conversations our lot would be on the path to self emancipation. I guess time is on our side…
If you were playing at the club I'm thinking of in Jenkintown, located near a certain shopping center, then I think I can shed more light on what might have precipitated the rude reaction you encountered. I think it has less to do with national politics and much more to do with what is happening in the town that you mention. There are condominiums inhabited by mostly upper-middle-class Jewish folks within spitting distance of that health club. There is also a shopping center which up to recently did not have a large AA clientele. A new chain clothing store moved in and the number of black folks patronizing that particular plaza has been growing steadily ever since. I wouldn't doubt that the person you encountered might have been someone who moved to Jenkintown (which is a mostly white town) to escape dealing with black people only to find himself surrounded by them on a daily basis. You might have been on the receiving end of some pent up frustration from culture shock and yes, plain old racism. No matter what your reaction might have been, it wouldn't change the fact that this guy probably doesn't like black people and gets agitated seeing them on his "home turf". I suggest you return to that club with your friends as often as possible and play as loudly as you would like. You are completely within your rights and he can either learn to deal with it or he can keep running from black people for the rest of his life.
Well, death threats are on obama right now, blames i think are the least of his worries. He's the first president whos been protected be United States Secret Service that early in the run.
Frankly, people are blaming him for everything from taxes to gas prices to the was people look at you on the street.
I think it is absolutely ridiculous. Why didn't we blame Bush for everything?
I think Obama is going to make an incredible president and i also think that he can give us the change we need.
Thanks you for this article, can i post a link to it on my blog?
Thank you,
Bella
Solid Ink Outlet
For information and products relating to height increase or footcare please visit HEELSNCLEAVAGE
HEEL LIFT
HEIGHT INCREASE INSOLES
SHOE INSERTS
SHOES INSOLES
BRAS
HEEL PADS
SHOE INSOLE
INCREASE MY HEIGHT
INCREASE YOUR HEIGHT
NIPPLE COVERS
Post a Comment