Racism American Style

So for the 4th day in a row the major topic of discussion has been the shooting that occurred in Jamaica, New York on Saturday morning. As usual I was very busy on Saturday morning and had not paid attention to the news that morning but only vaguely remember mention of a shoot out in the early hours of that morning. Did I pay attention to it at the time? Of Course Not! Now it is non-stop conversation amongst many and still front page news. It has even made the front page of the New York Times, which doesn't even normally concern itself with such trivial matters as the shootings of minority persons in New York City.

So what happened is still not really clear other than the fact that police officers fired 50 shots at 3 unarmed men in a vehicle outside a strip club in Jamaica, NY. The men were leaving the strip club after celebrating the upcoming nuptials to be held later that day of one of the victims of the shooting. The young ma that was killed in the shooting was 23 years old and was apparently driving the vehicle. The other men in the vehicle are still hospitalized. So what was initially reported as a shootout was evidently just a shooting. To be a shootout someone would have had to have had a gun and shot back. None of the men in the vehicle were armed.

Sunday morning on the way to church it was the topic of discussion. This morning on the way to work it was the topic of discussion. A lot of the discussion seems to be surrounding the use of the word "nigger" in music and such as if that was responsible for the shooting of this young man. Can we all say Bull Shit? Let's call it what it was, another act of racism in a city that tries to pretend racism does not exist. Was the use of the word "nigger" responsible for the 41 bullets caught by Amadou Diallo while he was reaching for his wallet? Hi, no, that would be RACISM.

Believe it or not folks in 2006 in America we still have rampant racism. Now I’m not the one who subscribes to conspiracy theories or sees racists behind every door, but hello, I'm not a dummy either. I know it is out there. I might not experience it every day or even notice it sometimes, because that's just how I am but I know it's there. Every time incidents like this happen in the city I have lived in all of my life, it becomes more and more evident. When comics get upset, lose their temper and let that racism slip out, it is evident. When cops bust into an elderly woman's home and shoot her to death because they had a no-knock warrant and she happened to have a gun for her own protection, it is evident. When my college age African-American son who is dating a Caucasian young woman in and around a campus in suburban NY tells me his experiences, it is evident. Why lynch us and hang us from trees, shooting us to death for no damn reason is a lot easier, don't you think? Face it folks, do you really think a nation founded on racism could ever be anything but racist. Unfortunately, I don't think so. Pretty evident, don't you think.

Day Break ... Huh?

I am totally and irrevocably addicted to TV. This means that I watch more stuff than any person ought to ever watch each and every week. Now of course there are somethings that I wouldn't waste brain cells on like Flavor of Love, or Court Shows or most daytime talk shows like Maury and Jerry. But then I do kill a few brain cells with stuff like Ice-T's Rap School and the Wend Williams Experience.

So there's a new show that just started last week on ABC called Daybreak. It started with a 2-hour premiere last week and then another hour last week. Did I watch it despited the fact that both of my DVRs are full of shows and there are some shows I have not watched at all yet this season? Yes I did and the only thing it has going for it is that it is exciting. That and I happen to like Taye Diggs. I liked the show that they cancelled where he had custody of his cousins baby daughter. I also like excitement. But where in the hell can this show possibly go? Every day he wakes up and repeats the day before but different. HUH?? It reminds me of a really stupid movie from back in the day with Bill Murray called Ground Hog Day. Every day he wakes up and it is Ground Hog Day AGAIN. Stupid yes but that was a romantic comedy and stupid was ok. This is supposed to be for real and how can it possibly be and where can it possibly go. How many times can he repeat the same day and when he's not repeating the same day the premise for the series is done and what's left. Like I said before where in the hell can it possibly go?

Just had to get that off my chest. Back to my DVR viewing.

Visit with the Chancellor

I know I am all kinds of late with this one but my school had the priviledge of being visited by the Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education on October 19, 2006. My school is definitely a in the hood school. When I came here in 2002 I just knew I had left the zoo and was now in the jungle. We have managed to be in the news for some kind of negative occurrence every year since my arrival.

1. When they published the list of schools that were the 10 most violent in the city, we were there.
2. When they published the list of principals who were no more because of their poor performance, my principal was there.
3. The teacher who paid a semi-autistic Caucasian man to take his state certification exam because he could not pass, yep he was a transplant from a school in BK but when the shit hit the fan he was in my school.
4. The teacher who was attacked in the save room, and then had corporal punishment allegations brought against him claiming that he was the aggressor in that situation, yep my school.

All of that was in the past and we are now an empowerment zone school that has made an impressive turn around on more than one front but still it was quite a surprise that the Chancellor would show up at our school. The kids and all of the staff were at their best. And even though he reminded me of Jim Carrey’s character in The Series of Unfortunate Events I have to admit he was actually personable. And I think people were impressed that we actually rated a visit.