Sensitivity

Sometimes we black folk love to get our Ralph Tresvant on. Sometimes we are just too sensitive. We tend to cry foul about every little thing we think is or take offensive. When this happens, it damages our credibilty when legitimate concerns occur. Also people outside of our community tend to get tired of the complaining. It's sort of like crying wolf. Most often, this happens when "we" feel like something has happened that we feel is racist or offensive. Do this happen? Yes, it does. However, everything we think is offensive doesn't mean we have to round up the troops, call Al and Uncle Jesse and make a scene. Sometimes, we need to fully understand what we are causing an uproar about, get ALL the fact and then decide whether it is even worth FoxNews pointing and laughing at us.

This week, there was a story involving the ever controverial commentator, Bill O'Reilly. We all know about O'Reilly and his antics and off the wall statments and views. He and Brother Al were in Harlem having dinner at Sylvia's in a pay-me-back for Sharpton appearing on the O'Reilly factor. Later, O'Reilly was on frequent FoxNews contributor Juan Williams' radio show and went on to describe the lack of craziness at Sylvia's. He also "noticed" that eating at a restaurant in uptown New York was no different than having dinner in an all-white suburbs.

RELEASE THE HOUNDS!!

Naturally, onslaught began. O'Reilly is an old racist who has once again shown his ignorance to the world.

Maybe so, but to me, if you listen and read the entire interview, it can and should be interepreted totally different. O'Reilly is essentially admitting his own ignorance to the world and letting other who stereotype that things aren't always the way they appear on the outside. Were his statements out of line? Perhaps. However, on many occassions O'Reilly has stated he did not grow up in a diverse environment and some of his on prejudices are a product of his envrionment. Should we excuse it? Absolutely not. But we listen and try and understand where his coming from.

Too often, we cry racism and are quick to criticize, rather than listen and try to educate those "on the outside." Part of how people view and stereotype us are based on how we respond and react in adversity.

Just one man's opinion.

Jena 6

Today, I wore a black button-up, black jeans and black shoes in support of the Jena 6. While I've followed this story since I first heard about about and am proud to be a part of the national day of protest, today I have a weird feeling in my stomach.

For most of the day, I've sat at my desk and watched the coverage on CNN. I was blown away by what I saw. I listened for the past few days as people talked about flocking to Jena, but I really didn't think it would be as crowded as it appeared. Thousands of people - black and white - migrated to the small Louisiana town. It looked like something out of a history book, it looked like an image from the civil rights movement.

Which brings to my point - somewhat. If there was any period of time I could go back to the future and be a part of, it would be the 1960s. I just want to see. Many of those older than you and I have shared stories of how it was and what they had to go through. To us, as much as we listened, they were still just stories, we couldn't relate. We believed, but didn't understand. Because of this, many of our older family and friends sometimes question how much we appreciate our race and what we've been through.

But today, as I watched t.v. and had on my black, I felt proud to be a part of the movement. Proud to be black. Event like this, reminds us younger folks of what it felt like for everyone to come together for the cause. And while we know not what will come of this march, one thing's for sure. We showed up and showed out.

Joy in the midst of a storm

"Ye though I walk through the valley of death..."

When things are going good, it's easy to be happy. It's easy to walk around with your head held high, feeling like you're on top of the world. You tend to have a little pep in your step, you have a little swagger about you. If you are one of those church going folk, it's easy to walk around quoting scripture and giving all honor and praises to God, who is the head of your life.

It's easy as 1, 2, 3.

When things are going good.

But in this life we live, things aren't always going to go smooth. And it's then when our character and how we really are as a person, comes to light. These "storms" come in many different forms. Problems on your job, in your relationship, financially or family issues can all be speed bumps in an otherwise smooth ride through life. Often times, God throws these curve balls at us to see if we're paying attention. To see if our audio is matching up to our video. To see if we're walking the walk and not just talking the talk.

Not to get all religious on ya'll but James 1:2 says "Brethren, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations." For many people, including me, this verse is a hard pill to swallow. Are we really supposed to count it joy when we go through some hell? Should we be smiling on the outside when we are hurting on the inside? What's there to be happy about?

I've been through and am going through some rough times. Things aren't the way I would like them to be, but they aren't as bad as they are. For a couple of days, I was in a funk, borderline depressed. I asked the man upstairs what was going on. Had I been that bad? Or was this just my test. I didn't get it. There was no way I could be happy with what was going on and how the last week or so was playing out. Or could I? It took a while, but eventually I did. I found joy in knowing that I wasn't in this thing alone. I looked around and found that people were struggling just like me. I found joy in know that those same people were willing to share an encouraging word for me, even though they were in a funk too. I found joy in knowing that help was only a phone call away, even if I let my pride get in the way at first.

When trouble comes, there's no need to run and curl up in a corner, Yes, it may seem that way at first, but we must realize that we are only going through this.

Pain may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.