Profiling the son of the GOAT.

* I have flown into  Fort Lauderdale  airport a time or two from Jamaica, and the last time I did (about two years ago) I got the business from a Cuban American customs agent who questioned me for about 20 minutes about my background, profession, and my stay in Jamaica, etc. I was pissed at this secondary inspection, but I endured.

To be fair, I had left my cousins recording studio in Vineyard Town (shout out to Grafton Road Studios) about four hours earlier, and I am sure that the good collie weed smelling up my clothes was causing the drug sniffing dogs to act up just a bit. (I personally don't smoke the stuff, it was in my clothes from  others smoking.)

Anywhoo, my point is that it's not a good feeling being singled out by customs agents, but in this particular instance, I will give the agent a pass.

Fast forward two years later under the rule of Fuhrer trump.

The son of Muhammad Ali was also traveling into the Fort Lauderdale airport from Jamaica, and sadly, he was profiled, held, and questioned; not because the dogs smelled the Jamaican national plant on his clothes, but because of his religion.

"The namesake son of the Greatest of All Time was detained at a Florida airport earlier this month and asked about his religion in the wake of President Trump’s executive order on immigration, according to reports.

Muhammad Ali Jr., 44, was traveling from Jamaica with his mother Khalilah Ali when immigration officers stopped him at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and repeatedly questioned him on Feb. 7, Ali’s lawyer told the Miami New Times.

Khalilah Ali, who had given a speech about black history in Jamaica, showed officers a picture of herself with her ex-husband, who died last June, and was not detained.

The stop came a week after Trump issued an executive order banning people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S.

Ali Jr., an American citizen, was carrying a U.S. passport." [Source]

We better get used to this kind of stuff happening. This is the new normal in trumpland.  Pretty soon they will be taking folks off domestic flights and checking up on them.

 Wait.....oh never mind, it already happened.

Memo to travelers in America: If you have a Muslim sounding name you might want to change it, and if you visit a recording studio where lots of ganga is being smoked, you just might want to stay outside.

*Pic from AOL.com
 

Looking for a few good men like Muhmmad, John, and Tommie.

It is ironic that on this day in 1967 Muhammad Ali refused to go to Vietnam because of his religious convictions. He was vilified at the time, but later hailed as an American hero and is now considered a sports icon.


Every player who straps on the red white and blue uniform of the Los Angeles Clippers should consider Ali's courageous stance, and they should dig deep in their souls to try and understand their current place in America's history.


We know we will never get a John Carlos and Tommie Smith moment, but we can hope for something in that spirit.


Their gesture last night while a good start did not go far enough. They should have boycotted the game altogether and refused to play for Sterling's team until the NBA takes a strong and definitive stance against him.


Anyway, the market will ultimately dictate what will happen to Donald Sterling, and apparently the backlash has already started. It should be interesting to see where this ultimately ends. We all know that America has ADHD when it comes to our current events. I suspect that in a few months Donald Sterling will be a footnote in what has been a sad couple of weeks for racial tolerance in America.


Speaking of racial tolerance, there is not a lot of it in certain parts of Europe.
The thing about an American racist is that he knows how to behave in public. (Not the Internet) Americans tend to be polite with their racism. Doing racist things in public is considered crass and boorish.  This has not quite caught on yet in Europe. People still do racist and ignorant things, publicly.


This latest incident at a soccer match in Spain involved Barcelona star, Dani Alves, and his reaction was classic. It's probably not how I would have reacted, but I respect the man's poise.


Take a look here.


The good news: Barcelona went on to beat Villarreal 3-2.