GEEK RACISM (a reaction based on experience)

ME AT COMIC CON 2010

READ THIS FIRST!!! (hate to give you homework, but nothing will make sense unless you explore these words):


STRAIGHT WHITE MALE: LOWEST DIFFICULTY SETTING THERE IS...


This is a great exploration of race privilege. As a man who has been into the geek stuff for years, I enjoyed that article because the comments section reveals something else about American life - hardcore geeks can be the most racist people on the planet. 


This is a subject that has plagued me for decades. Being the only Black guy in a room full of White geeks who have no desire to get to know me and share our collective passion for Sci-Fi and Fantasy properties feels like crossing the valley into the promised land only to find it filled with Donkey carcasses and biting flies.


I've long been the kind of guy who is willing to accept anyone in my life, regardless of race, class or gender. I used to catch a lot of heat for being friends with "weirdos" - my high school years were renown for me keeping a motley assortment of buddies. We were outcasts, not "cool" enough for the in-crowd, but nowhere near physically repulsive enough to be included with the truly marginalized around campus.


My in-crowd friends never understood why I, a somewhat "good looking" guy, spent my spare time around a bunch of losers and wimps. What they didn't grasp was that the only thing that mattered to me was whether or not someone "got" my jokes and obscure pop culture references.


That was it.


In fact, that's all that matters to me NOW.


I can vibe with anyone as long as they know what a Flux Capacitor is; or know what I mean when I say the words "Tears in rain..."; or when I say the "matrix of leadership" that I'm not referring to the Keanu Reeves movie; or I don't have to explain anything after uttering the phrase "Dark Phoenix Saga." If you understand any of that, we could be friends.


Alas, that's not how the real world works.


You see, there's this thing called racism. Or a better term would be Western White Supremacist Psychological Hegemony. It's the ingrained and unspoken belief shared by just about anyone born in the Western hemisphere that White skin is "better," white people are smarter and imbued with inherent virtue, poor people are the victims of their own stupidity and laziness, gays and lesbians are afflicted with deep mental imbalances and that anything other than the standard nuclear family structure will engineer the downfall of a society.


This mode of thinking is like the force of gravity. It's everywhere, affecting everything. Pushing and pulling on us at all times without us ever realizing it. However, without it - like gravity - life would be much different, and like gravity, it takes an extraordinary amount of force and effort to resist and counteract its influences (see Frederick Douglass, MLK jr., Malcolm X, Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks).


I used to be the world's biggest naive idealist. Captain America without the irony. Superman before 1980. Yea, that was me. I used to believe that anyone into comics, sci-fi, animation, video games etc., would be automatically "better" than the layperson. I figured that anyone with the mental faculty to connect with the lofty intellectual and societal concepts within most decent genre material would be above the petty contrivances of race and ethnic strife.


Enter big boot kicking me squarely in the ass.


I've had far too many situations to relate here. Too many examples of how uncomfortable I've been made to feel at conventions and panels. Too many stories of how I've made someone visibly uncomfortable with my presence. Once you learn how to read human body language, you can immediately identify those who fear you and/or are deeply bigoted individuals. While I won't give you an academic treatise on how and why folks behave this way, I can sum it up this way:


Some White sci-fi/fantasy fans look upon sci-fi and fantasy as a "refuge" from a constantly "browning" pop culture that automatically (in their minds) alienates and confuses them. These all white fantasy worlds are their only respite from the (imagined) Black hordes of pop culture and the moment they hear that their pristine genre worlds are going to be "touched" by Blackness, they lose their minds because they feel that we are "taking" something else from them. I call it the NASCAR/NHL effect. Hardcore white fans of both tend to react negatively to increased participation from Blacks and Latinos. 


These folks also tend to ignore the existence of Black nerds, preferring to assume that we all are gun-totin', blunk-smokin', Sam Jackson-soundin' hip-hop junkies without the intellectual ability to imagine alternate worlds and other modes of thinking. Whenever the subject of race comes up, they cannot understand why this conversation exists in the first place. Why should we care about race: 1) Blacks don't read/write sci-fi, 2) the author/creator can put anyone he/she wants into their story, 3) diversity shouldn't matter in xxxxxxxxx setting because xxxxxxxxx, 4) the thematic intent and plot of the story doesn't need to include race, it's already a comment on oppression. 


Anyone who has been to a big comics and sci-fi convention recently can tell you that the crowds are super diverse with many Blacks, Latinos, Asians and Native folks engaging in cosplay and involved as professionals in the business. What's hilarious about many geeky people of color is that they also don't prefer to read sci-fi/fantasy with a racial element, preferring to enjoy the all-white universes of Tolkein and his ilk. If some of these White geeks could get past their own racist mental programming, they would realize a fundamental truth - we are all the same at the end of the day. Sure, there are some differences, but if two folks can kick back and enjoy AVENGERS or RANGO or STAR TREK  together, regardless of their station in life, haven't we moved toward the progressive worlds we love exploring? 


I shouldn't react so strongly to the comments made on the internet. Cowardice is the rule of the day online. Anonymity is liberating for the phony tough. But it wouldn't sting so much if I wasn't 100% sure that for every person behaving like a racist neanderthal online, there were another 1,000 silently nodding their head in agreement. 


B. 

COMIC BOOK WRITERS: How to Hire an Artist?

I regularly meet novelists, screenwriters, playwrights and other interested parties who believe that creating a graphic novel will jump start their careers. There are many resources out there that teach writers how to format their ideas into a compelling comic book script but there are precious few that explain how writers can hire or find artists to draw their work.

The two best websites for finding quality artistic talent over the years have been:

1) http://www.digitalwebbing.com/talent/

2) http://www.deviantart.com/

I suggest doing proper research on how to format an "artist want ad" and then taking your chances there.














I do a free online podcast series called WRITING FOR ROOKIES that explains this subject in greater detail. My second episode deals exclusively with how to hire artists and what to look out for when you're trying to get the best art team for the money:

http://writingforrookies.podcastpeople.com/posts/21962

My general pointers are:

a) Make sure that you have a budget in mind and know how many pages you want for your story (24 pages for a single issue, 96-128 for a graphic novel). A 96-page book can run anywhere between $6,000 - $12,000 to fully produce unless you set up a deal with your art team.

b) Have a fully completed script. Don't write it as the art team draws it.

c) Understand that you will need to hire a penciler, inker, colorist, and letterer - many pencilers do their own inking and some pencilers do their own coloring too - you need to know exactly what your art team is best suited for.

d) Be selective of the art team. Find an artist whose style matches the exact visual sensibility that communicates what your story is like at first glance. Guys who draw in the SpongeBob style probably won't suit a Punisher or Daredevil kind of story. Don't hire the first people who respond to your ad. There will be HUNDREDS of responses to your ad and you should set aside the time to look at every email. You will find the person you're looking for.

e) Create a separate business email account. Once you post up an ad at DigitalWebbing.com or DeviantArt, expect a large volume of responses.

f) I would say only to hire an artist in the U.S., not because international talent isn't any good, but because it's harder to track down someone who lives in Brazil or Indonesia if they decide to flake out on the project. Best case scenario: hire someone in your own city. It's difficult, but it will help keep your project on track when you can GO to their house to find out what's taking so long with them completing the work.

g) Expect delays and plan around them. I've NEVER, EVER dealt with an art team that stuck to deadlines. There's always going to be a reason they can't meet the deadlines so plan to add at least 2-3 weeks to your production schedule. Don't tell them that, but make sure you leave that extra space.

h) If the person you hired doesn't look like they want to finish, then you fire them and get the money back (or the percentage owed to you for uncompleted work). Make sure that this is in the contract: if the artist(s) don't finish the work, they must refund whatever you've paid them minus the work they have completed.

i) Don't get into bidding wars with artists (i.e. "You're not paying me enough per page!" or "I used to work for Marvel/DC/Dark Horse etc. and I got paid $XXXX per page!") If this happens, walk away immediately. There are about 5 guys out there who pull this stunt every single time. The same dude has responded to my ads over the years and tries to pull this crap until I remind him that he has done this to me already.

j) Remember that you're now a boss/manager. Be steady, be fair, but protect your assets. If the integrity of your work is damaged, then you need to be ready to hire a whole new group of people. Don't tolerate half-ass attitudes and diva behavior. The comics market is tough and sub par work does not get you recognized.











http://writingforrookies.podcastpeople.com/posts/21962

B.

What's Wrong with THE OFFICE? (And How to Fix It)...

I don't watch as much TV as I used to; mainly because I don't have as much time and also because I don't care about the endless barrage of shitty celebrity reality series and repetitive cop and thriller dramas that litter the airwaves.

There are a few sit-coms (remember those wonderful things many of us grew up on in the 1980s?) that I have come to enjoy like The Big Bang Theory, 30 Rock, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and the U.S. version of The Office. Admittedly, I was a latecomer to The Office as I wasn't particularly excited by the original U.K. version and saw that the first NBC season resembled deadpan attempts at British humor but in an American context.

That rarely - if ever - succeeds.

I had discovered The Office on Netflix and streamed every single episode from season 1 through 4. I watched them repeatedly and memorized entire blocks of dialogue. Steve Carrell was an absolute joy to watch, his comedic timing and general line delivery choices as an actor were as close to perfect as you could get. As the show moved away from the tone and tenor of the U.K. version, the U.S. Office developed it's own unique spin on the core love story of Jim and Pam.













I started watching the show regularly at the beginning of the 5th season. This year marked an interesting turn as Michael Scott would quit Dunder-Mifflin and form his own competing paper company in the bowels of the office park. While there are a few gems from the 5th season, the cracks in the creative identity of the series become glaringly apparent. The reality-grounded world of Scranton, PA became a weird cartoon version of itself.










And this leads to my main problem with The Office:

The humor of the show was derived by the "real world" reaction to Michael Scott's antics - if every other character on the show becomes zany and wacky, there's nothing to compare Michael Scott with - and the entire series turns from an off-the-wall examination of a boss at an obscure paper company into a slapstick free-for-all featuring a staff who each pretend to be a different member of the Three Stooges.

At the onset of the show, Jim is shown to be an everyman stuck in a meaningless job who dreams of a sports journalism career in a big city. The "twist" with his character was that he was in love with a co-worker who was already engaged to be married. So far, so good. As time went on, Jim turned from a lovesick schmoe into a calculating prankster ultimately interested in taking Michael's job. He wound up getting the girl and in the process destroyed the pathos that made his character endearing in the first place.

I've said it for the last couple of years, but I believe the series finale should have been the wedding of Jim and Pam in season 6. Everything that could have been done with those characters had been accomplished.

It was a natural ending for the show: Jim got Pam, and by extension, Michael gets the "family" that he always wanted. If you recall, during the end credits sequence, there is a scene that shows Pam's mother pulling Michael into her hotel room, presumably to have sex. That ending was perfect because it leaves us with much speculation about what happens next in Jim and Pam's life.

Side note: I can't remember the last time a TV sitcom managed to be so funny and so romantic simultaneously.









This ending leaves the franchise open for a possible series of one-shot TV specials or even a big movie version further exploring the world of Dunder-Mifflin, Scranton Branch.

Want another example of a character who was changed far too much: Oscar.

In the early years, Oscar was a very normal man who occasionally injected bits of logic and intelligence into office conversations whenever Michael started going on a ridiculous tangent about a ludicrous brainstorm. Then the writers made him incredibly interesting by slowly teasing his homosexuality. In one of the best reveals of a TV character's sexual preference, Oscar is shown living with his boyfriend and then is outed by Michael in one of the greatest episodes of comedy I've ever seen in my life ("Gay Witch Hunt," Season 3, Episode 1).

Compare the Oscar haunted by his desire for privacy at work with the preening, self-righteous know-it-all he's become now. Oscar's character is defined by his desire to be the smartest guy in the room, everybody's feelings be damned.

Angela was a cold-hearted cat lady who morphed into a jealous, bitter, manipulative, hyper conservative, borderline insane nutcase who uses sex as a weapon. It sounds cool on paper but in the end, Angela is less Bette Davis and more like Natasha from the "Rocky & Bullwinkle" cartoons.

Darryl had tremendous potential as the down-to-earth warehouse foreman who was held back by Michael's strange racist paternalism but then was given an opportunity to move up in the company by the new owner. By the time the writers got a handle on the new Darryl, he then changed into an underachiever who would try to bully his friend Andy out of the Regional Manager position. Of course, Darryl worked best when he was pitted against Michael's foolishness as the voice of reason and common sense.














Now I know I've left out Dwight, Creed, Andy, Kelly, Meredith, Kevin (DO NOT CHANGE KEVIN, the dude is hilarious no matter what he does or says) and the rest. I could write an entire book about my issues with the show but I'm sure you've gotten the gist of my concerns.

Steve Carrell leaving did not harm the integrity or comic sensibilities of the series; making everyone a different version of Michael Scott has and that is what needs to be changed if the show is expected to continue (which is a shaky proposition since Mindy Kaling "Kelly" and Rainn Wilson "Dwight" have been offered development deals for other shows) then they need to make a few simple changes:

1) Have something bad happen to a couple of the side characters. I love Erin, but she could die a horrible death and that would get the show back to reality. Imagine how a lovesick Andy would behave after Erin's death and think of how the other characters would stop feeling sorry for him for having a jerky family that shuns him?

2) Get back to real office situations. So much of the humor was derived from the mind-numbing minutiae of office politics and they need to explore how technology and globalization effects the lives of 21st century workers.

3) Have real antagonism develop and have the staff draw battle lines. This is something that hasn't really been done on the show yet. A real office civil war.

4) Change the love-story dynamic. They've already done the "guy loves girl he can't have" thing with Jim & Pam, they did a twisted version with Dwight & Angela, they're doing it again with Andy & Erin and they're starting it with Darryl & Val (the new female foreman of the warehouse). ENOUGH! Find other, sexier, ways of getting people together other than the tired "Moonlighting" approach. And we saw what happened when Bruce Willis and Cybil Shepherd's characters got it on.

5) Consequences. Whatever happened to them? Michael learned the consequences of dating Jan, his former boss. Jim learned the consequences of being too close to Pam before she broke up with her fiancee. Stanley learned the consequences of not dealing with his feelings on top of his poor health and lousy diet. People can do just about anything on The Office and there isn't anything learned. When the characters stop learning, they stop growing, and they become less interesting.

So that's that.

Do you agree? Disagree?

Let me know what you think.

B.

SHADOWLAW & THUNDERCATS UPDATES!

Sorry for the lack of updates everyone!

Things have been insane lately but the news is this:

-I got hired last year to write for the new Warner Bros. reboot of THUNDERCATS.

-My book Shadowlaw has been released to an immediate nationwide sell-out.

-Here's two excellent reviews of Shadowlaw: the first is from the internationally renown geek news site AIN'T IT COOL NEWS, and the other is from a brand new comic book site called COMICBOOKED.COM.

-I've been hired to work on two new graphic novel properties, one of which is with Anthony Montgomery, star of Star Trek: Enterprise and VH1's Single Ladies.

-The Shadowlaw website is HERE!

-And the press release from Arcana Studios (along with links to other press and media I've had) is HERE!

Anyone interested in buying the book can go to their local comic book store and give them this order code (SEP110748) or try Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble.

As always, I hope everyone reading this is shooting for their dreams!

B.

NEW SHADOWLAW POSTER DESIGN

While this is not the final design, its almost the one we're going with!

Let me know what you think.

B.

The Easton Lexicon

Damn, I really gotta start posting more often.

Life updates:

a) I got hired to write an episode of the new THUNDERCATS series for Warner Bros. Animation.

b) As a result, I've ended up with an honest-to-God credit on the internet movie database.

c) My graphic novel SHADOWLAW will be released in November of 2011.

d) Life is still tough for the fledgling writer in Hollywood.

Anyways, I've often been told I speak in gibberish, when the reality is that I'm not speaking in nonsense words, the general public simply has no idea of the definition of my personal language.

Instead of people recognizing the genius-level intellect it requires to develop a brand new language, they'd rather scoff in their inane feelings of linguistic adequacy.

Posers.

I don't know where these words and phrases came from. Perhaps they were handed down to me by the Lord above for the sake of creating new standards of literacy.

However, if you know me personally, you've heard these words and you've understood their context. If you don't know me and happen to see me in public, feel free to use these words in a sentence.

I may not acknowledge you, but at least you'd have stepped into a bold new world.

THE EASTON LEXICON:

ABBA (ZABBA) - (noun): A phrase used to answer a question that I don't feel like answering or wasn't actually paying attention to.

EX:

Q - What did you think of the Real Housewives of Wherever-the-Fuck?

A - Abba.
--------------

FIZZNATTED - (adverb): A state of being inebriated or high (usually from marijuana).

EX:

I saw that dude drink a bottle of Colt 45, sniff a line of coke off a tranny hooker's balls, and then jack off outside of Toys R' Us, he was fizznatted!
--------------

GRIP-GRAPPLIN' (noun): A term used to describe a series of non-existent movies, usually used to determine the authenticity of a new associate.

EX:

ME - Did you ever see Grip-Grapplin' II? That was an incredible mix of Soviet agit-prop and French New Wave aesthetics!

FAKE PERSON - I heard of it, but I think I only saw the first one.
---------------------

HEAD-DE-BLIBBER - (noun): Also a term used to deflect questions I consider to be extraneous or boring.

EX:

Q - Yo, did you hear about the new Lil' Wayne album?

A - Head-de-blibber.

JUICE - (adjective): A very curvy female, usually wearing a size 10-18 whose voluptuousness is 100% proportional to her height. Can also describe the level of her voluptuousness.

EX:

Damn, for a White girl, she got a lot of juice!
--------------------

LEYPONT - (noun): Term for foreigner. Only pejorative in certain contexts. Originally a part of the phrase Leypont Denogon De Non Bon Beer Nut but shortened for clarity.

note: The phrase Leypont Denogon De Non Bon Beer Nut is actually uttered in the remix to the song "Close to You" by Maxi Priest (featuring Shabba Ranks). It is in the version where Shabba has a 1-minute freestyle and says a lot of Jamaican gibberish. I'm not making this up.

EX:

Those goddamn Leyponts keep getting away with welfare fraud!
--------------------

LIL' WAYNE - (adjective): The worst thing I could ever call anyone. My version of the word "nigger, kyke, spic, chink, slope, mick, dago, fag, etc." If there is an opposite word to God, Heaven, Love, Holy Spirit, Jehova, Buddha, Jesus or Allah, it would be Lil' Wayne.

EX:

All those Lil' Waynes over there make all Black people look like street trash.

MR. SLIMPH - (noun): Term for a Black hobo or a Black man entirely unconcerned with modern fashion, technology or political realities.

EX:

Good ol' Mr. Slimph, he just don't care that he wears a diaper on the outside of his Spanx.
---------------------

ROWFURPH SMOWFURPH - (noun/adjective): Term for senior citizen. Also can be used to describe their speech patterns which often sound like the word "rowfurph."

EX:

All these rowfurphs stink!
---------------

This is just the beginning of the Easton Lexicon.

Feel free to distribute.

B.

SHADOWLAW GRAPHIC NOVEL FINALLY DONE AFTER 6 YEARS!!!

This is just a preview page from the final artwork for the SHADOWLAW GRAPHIC NOVEL.

For those that don't know, I've been working on this series since roughly 2004 when I decided to create my own original title after having doors slammed in my face for the year following the cancellation of my first writing work in the comics biz.

I've dealt with the following kinds of comic book illustrators: liars, thieves, fakers, flakes, emotional retards and a whole slew of folks that weren't serious about anything.

No disrespect to the quality folks that finish what they begin, but it sucked to have to go through the starting and stopping, starting and stopping, starting and stopping to the point where it felt like I should just give up.

But guess what? I didn't give up. I kept at it even when people were secretly rooting for me to fail and laughing behind closed doors at my suffering. (yes, I know who you are).

Now things feel a lot better than they have in the last two years. I am still broke, carless and angry in Los Angeles. But there is a very bright light at the end of the tunnel.

Thanks for the support, my real friends and family.

Pages from my upcoming SHADOWLAW GRAPHIC NOVEL: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=358797&id=768944147&l=3b932f6645

Dreams and losses... always fight.

Last week I signed with a brand new, small, but strong literary agency and it was the culmination of two years of struggling. I am not complaining at all, just explaining my situation. Since I moved to Los Angeles I:

a) almost got arrested for driving a car without updated tags

b) lived in three different places, each with varying degrees of roommate drama

c) had a fire in my last apartment where I nearly lost everything I brought with me from NYC

d) have not had access to a car

e) have been struggling to pay bills on a regular basis

With all that, me signing onto an agency was a bittersweet moment because there's no guarantee that anything will change in my writing career, but it does feel good to have someone outside of your personal circle validate your work.

I moved to Los Angeles in Sept of 2008 in the middle of the worst economic climate in the U.S. since 1929. Not only that, but I moved here a year after the Writer's Strike that shut down Hollywood film & TV for several long months. For those outside of the business, whenever there is a strike of any sort, the people already working within the business will receive some kind of compensation - either financial or labor oriented. Usually the studio executives are left pissed off to no end and the writers walk away with a little more respect than before.

However, for the new writer, this situation is deadly because the executives in charge of hiring writers will go out of their way to find ways to circumvent new people breaking in while keeping costs low. So while they might hate the A-level established guy with many credits and the 12 million dollar bank account, they can find a B-level established guy with no income and pay him half of what he's worth and that guy will be happy for the gig.

They used to say that Hollywood was like a castle with a moat surrounding it filled with Alligators, Crocodiles, Sharks and Giant Squids fighting each other. Now, its more like a steel fortress with land mines, killer bees and laser-guided missiles behind an electrified fence around the border. I'm not kidding, it really seems like that.

Add to the mix liars, fakers, phonies, flakes, opportunists, morons, leeches, parasites, racists, sexists, elitists and a whole other batch of douchebags and assholes, and you've got 21st century Hollywood.

So what did I do?

Instead of packing up and rushing back to my cherished alcoves on the East Coast (NYC and Baltimore), I dug my heels in and refused to give up. Despite the fact that I hate Los Angeles as a city, and I miss my friends and family, and I can't stand the weather, I decided that following my dream of being a working Hollywood screenwriter was worth the two years of displacement, hunger, discomfort and loneliness.

When I was a kid in Baltimore, and things were going sour with my family situation from time to time, the one place I could go was the movies. I would go and watch STAR WARS, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, SUPERMAN, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS, GHOSTBUSTERS, ROCKY, MISSING IN ACTION, KARATE KID and a bunch of other classic stuff at my neighborhood theater. While I had no idea what the words "directed by" or "written by" really meant, there was a part of me that wanted desperately to be a part of that world. After all, it takes something powerful to entrance the heart and soul of an only child on the streets of Baltimore in the mid-1980s when the crack cocaine explosion had turned my city into a giant casualty.

Even when I was making close to $60,000/year teaching high school in NYC public schools, my heart cried out for something else. I knew that I had a serious choice to make, either become a principal, go to law school to try to address the serious problems affecting the educational system or take a big chance to shoot for my dreams in Hollywood at the ripe old age of 34 (which is like being 70 in Hollywood years).

So with nothing more than $2,500 and a few old connections in place, I moved out here to face of a world of uncertainty, doubt and fear. And Lord knows, I was scared.

On Thursday (11/18), I will get some news from my agent about a major group of people being interested in my work. Even if they decide to pass, it means that my work has been seen by some big time players in the Hollywood game and that's progress. Considering that over two years ago I was standing in the middle of a classroom in Harlem teaching economics and government while confusing my co-workers with talk of box office receipts, screenwriting structure and obscure movie quotes I don't think I'm doing that bad at all.

So whatever it is that you wish to do with your life, find it. Find that passion and let it govern your existence. Don't be satisfied with just living and paying bills because life goes by fast. And as Ferris Bueller said, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

The same thing applies to your dreams. Before you know it, all the opportunity and passion could blow through your life like a summer breeze. Fleeting, warm, sensual, and sweet, but impossible to replicate.

B.

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A BIG BLACK GUY...

I'm not writing this as a complaint, or an indictment of White people, skinny people, rich people, female people or as a condemnation of anything. This is just an observation of how I see the world based on my experiences.

It's not a stretch to say that we live in a shallow, narrow-minded and materialistic society. People on TV barely resemble human beings anymore considering the fact that the majority of celebrities today have had weight-loss procedures, botox injections and more plastic surgery than Cher. I hear folks saying certain actors and actresses are "beautiful" but to me they look like deformed action figures.

*NOTE* - Watch any TV show from the 1970s-early 1980s and see how much the celebrities then looked like your neighbor.

Anyone with a cursory knowledge of American social history will know that Black folks in the Western world have gotten the short end of the stick (hell we used to get beaten with that same stick) and that's putting it mildly. Sure, there have been many advances across the socio-political and economic spectrum, but the bottom line is that a lot of non-Black people seem to be very uncomfortable with the presence of Black folks -- and in particular -- Black men in social spaces.

For example: A few nights ago I was leaving work at Barnes & Noble and walking to the bus stop. On this particular evening I had to go to a late-night pharmacy which is about two blocks further than I would normally go.

Two fairly ridiculous things occurred during this short jaunt: 1) A Middle-eastern couple walking toward me jumped out into the street rather than pass me on the sidewalk. At first I thought that there might have been a reason -- like dog poop or a hole -- but there wasn't.

About another block down, an Asian woman was walking toward me and when she saw I was approaching her SHE WALKED INTO THE STREET (where there was traffic behind her) instead of walking past me on the sidewalk.

Now, I have dealt with this kind of thing for the last 20 or so years since I have become an adult and racist fear of Black men is nothing new, but it really gets to me how people can give someone else so much power over their decision-making. Conversely, this doesn't help me because a lot of the people who might be afraid of me usually are the people that control the jobs in the industry where I would like to work.

It's not just me being BLACK, but I am also 6'2" and overweight (but I've lost 70lbs since January!!!) and this means I not only get the racist reaction from people, but I also get the whole anti-fat thing which is a nasty double-whammy and it makes life very un-fun.

Living in L.A. is tough when you're big and Black. This place is not only shallow, vapid and simple-minded, but its also deeply segregated along race and class lines and things are getting worse.

So I sat down and thought about all the ways it sucks being a big Black guy in our world today. I don't care if you agree or not or if you believe me or not. Just understand that this IS the way it is.

Being a Big Black Guy means...

-people automatically assume that you're dumb, lazy or dirty.

-that you'll never get the benefit of the doubt on anything you say. Folks will assume that you're making things up or you're in error. This is funny because I never say anything that I can't back up with a book, website or some other verifiable source. The idea that Black guys go around making false and arbitrary statements about things that can be easily researched is another way that racist beliefs creep into our consciousness.

-that you'll never be invited to the "popular" parties and if you do go, expect to stand around looking at the walls because no one really wants to talk to you unless they want to know about the cool new dances or the name of an obscure hip-hop song.

-that no matter how nice you are, or how cool you are, never expect to be fully accepted by people who are physically in good shape.

-that most people only become friends with those they wouldn't mind having sex with. Therefore, expect people to be nice to you, but not extend themselves to you like they would to those they wish to screw at some point.

-that people will go out of their way not to have conversations with you. Case in point, there's a woman at my job who has never had an actual conversation with me. I don't care at all, but its interesting to note that whenever a new White guy is hired, this same woman talks to them all day long. I've also had people ignore me when I was talking to them and then claim "not to have heard me." I guess selective deafness is a recent health pandemic only in play when there are overweight people around.

-that you will get a nasty attitude from folks for no reason. More often than not, its because some Black guy did something to someone they knew at some point in time; which has nothing to do with you, but because you're Black -- which means that we all know each other and plot together in secret meetings -- you get the delayed rage and frustration meant for another guy.

-that you have to be very selective where you go for recreational activities. You can't just go to any bar or nightclub and expect to get in. And if you do get in, don't expect great treatment. Sometimes, you are limited in your choices, and if you expect to meet people and have a good time, your best bet is to pick the fat-people party circuit where there is less pressure to "fit in" with the vapid crowd.

-that when you do lose weight, its hilarious to watch how differently you are treated by the same folks who ignored you when you were heavier.

I know that a lot of people will read this and not believe it or not care. F--k 'em is what I say.

Being overweight is something that I am working hard against, being Black is something that I love and would never be ashamed of under any circumstances. I just wish the mixture was as beloved as mixing chocolate and peanut butter.

Yes, I know, a food reference, I had to make at least one. LOL

B.

20 THINGS I WANT TO DO BEFORE I TURN 50...

1) Go to Tokyo.

2) Kill someone with my bare hands.

3) Go to London.

4) Publish a sci-fi novel.

5) Go to an MLB All-Star Game.

6) See CHICAGO on Broadway.

7) Go into space somehow.

8) See the Orioles win the World Series.

9) Make some kind of major discovery as an amateur astronomer.

10) Run onto the field in the middle of a baseball game.

11) Get elected to public office.

12) Sell a screenplay.

13) Build a car from scratch.

14) See Linkin Park live in concert.

15) See Earth, Wind & Fire live in concert.

16) Increase Constitutional Literacy in our society

17) Set an Abercrombie & Fitch on fire.

18) See a U.S. Congress actually get something meaningful done (*wishful thinking*).

19) Have a child.

20) Buy a home in my native state of Maryland.

B.

IS THIS A SEXIST THING TO SAY?

I think it's safe to say that I know a lot of women.

Not women I've slept with or dated, just an accumulation of women met through life, school, work and other general activities over the years.

From some of these women have come complaints of me being "sexist."

I wholeheartedly deny the charge of being a sexist on the grounds of the definition of sexist/sexism from Dictionary.com which is:

"THE BELIEF THAT ONE SEX (USUALLY THE MALE) IS NATURALLY SUPERIOR TO THE OTHER AND SHOULD DOMINATE THE MOST IMPORTANT AREAS OF POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL LIFE."

I do not believe in this idea at all.

I believe with my entire heart and soul that women should have equality of pay, health care, reproductive rights, educational opportunity and all other aspects of positive social, political and economic freedom in the United States (I would say the rest of the world, but that would be a case of cultural relativism and I don't feel like having that discussion today).
















Anyone that knows me, knows that I believe in these things and have (and continue) to fight for these ideals for as long as I live.

Now, my problem arises whenever I say something that many people (almost universally) believe is true but are too scared or PC to say it out loud on the subject of sex/gender issues.

For example, recently, I pissed off a woman I know because I said to her "I don't expect you to know anything about video games, Star Wars or science-fiction in general because you're a woman."




















She got really pissed off and called me a "chauvinistic pig" and a few other choice terms I won't repeat here.

Maybe I've just been unlucky in meeting women that like Star Wars or video gaming, but let's say I randomly pick 20 women I know from my Facebook page, I can gaurantee that less than 5 have any knowledge of -- or interest in -- any of the aforementioned hobbies that tend to be overwhelmingly dominated by men.

Whenever I bring these subjects to light around most women I know, I get that standard 10,000 yard blank stare, like the kind that people have after being bitten by a zombie (wait, how many women watch zombie movies?). In other words, they look at me like I just quoted the Born-Oppenheimer Approximation or something. They have no idea what I'm talking about.

And if I pick 20 random guys off my Facebook page and mention either: 1) Star Wars, 2) video gaming, 3) something from the world of sci-fi; I can bet heavily that there will be somewhere between 12-18 that will not only know what I am talking about, but will have some kind of smart-assed response ready to fire back at me.

If this is the case, is it truly "sexist" to say that a woman won't know a damn thing about those subjects?

Granted, there are some hardcore female gamers and Star Wars fans out there that not only know more about these subjects than I do, but also have almost bottomless passion toward these things. However, they are the exception, not the rule. As I am sure that there are a few straight men that watch PROJECT: RUNWAY, but that's the exception folks. Not the rule.

This becomes an argument of biology vs. socialization.

There is nothing genetic built into a woman's DNA that suggests that she wouldn't be able to enjoy a video game or Star Trek or Star Wars on the same level as a man.

However, there is plenty to suggest that women in most societies are immediately socialized into a gender role stereotype (as are men) and this leads to certain choices about what to "get into" in terms of the pop culture zeitgeist. From the time we are born, we are put into gender roles -- male babies wear blue, female babies wear pink -- and from that moment, human gender identity is further constructed by fashion trends, political movements, community culture, religion, economics and peer groups.

For whatever reason, action-oriented, high-octane, external-threat-based stories and toys have been marketed to boys and domestic-oriented, internal-struggle-based, and superficial-emotional-conflict stories and toys have been marketed to girls.

With that in mind, there also seems to be a conscious choice by both sides to follow certain types of shows because it is expected that they do so. Every now and then you get someone to break through the gender curtain, but its not a normal occurrence.

Case in point:

I never watched LIFETIME in my life. I don't watch it now. But for a short period of time in the late 1990s-early 2000s I watched that channel because they showed one of my favorite shows of all time- UNSOLVED MYSTERIES, hosted by Robert Stack (RIP). During the commercials, I would see about 27 different commercials for about 15 different Lifetime made-for-TV movies about how some insane White man tried to kill his beautiful blonde White wife and the movies always end with her driving the car through their living room and kills him while he was trying to assault: a) her mother (his mother-in-law), b) a concerned co-worker, c) a nurse, d) their dog, e) the kindly old detective who takes a paternal role in the story.

All these movies ended with a bunch of bruised, crying women standing in front of an ambulance while they were being wrapped in a blanket by an anonymous fireman.

There was a week when I watched this stuff. Honest.

I almost lost my goddamned mind.

And by the way if you think I'm making this stuff up, take a look at a random assortment of movies for Lifetime:




















When he wears glasses AND has beard stubble, you know this guy is a serious @$$hole.






I don't think I need to post anything else because these are the general plots of 90% of Lifetime movies.

Why these are marketed toward women, I have no idea because these people don't behave like any woman or man I've known. Why this appeals to women -- who seem to have something against sci-fi because its "fake" -- I also will never understand.

My point is that I at least went over to the other side to see what the appeal might be. I can have a conversation with a woman about these kinds of stories. Now, guys, go up to the first woman you see at work/school/restaurant and ask them this question - "Was Episode II how you imagined the Clone Wars to be after hearing Princess Leia's message in Episode IV?"

I bet 1 in 75 will be able to give you an answer.

Or better yet, ask them this - "Do you believe Halo: Reach will be better than Killzone 3?"

Bottom line, I know that people have tastes and have every right to choose what they wish. But I don't believe its a sexist thing to say that women just won't know about certain things because they are women. Not things like science, math, economics, history or politics. I know lots of brilliant women that know lots about those subjects.

But how many women, seriously, do you know that get excited about the same things you do? Better yet, how many women do you know that don't mind LEARNING about those things and sharing them with you?

Go ahead and count, I'll wait... I have another 45-50 years in my lifespan. :)

B.

The WORST thing you could ever ask a woman...

I recently got an email from an ex-girlfriend, I'm guessing it's because its the holiday season and people feel like reaching out and being nice. We exchanged superficial, polite emails and said it was "nice to hear from you" and went on with our day.

I hadn't spoken to "Mary" in quite some time and I remember the reason why. You see, about 6 years ago, I met Mary and we hit it off nicely. There was nothing romantic, but we had a lot in common, and in time, we started to see each other seriously.

That's a nice way to say we banged like the end of the world was coming. No pun.

In any case, we were on a date and Mary ran into a guy named Jamal, or Jimmy, or Jack or some dumb ass name that begins with a "J."

They exchanged pleasantries and the dude gave me a strange look. A familiar look, yet I had a hard time deciphering it at first.

He was a very nice, decent sort of fellow, but there was something in the look he gave me.

I know, you're thinking he was giving me the "gay" look, but that wasn't it.

It stayed in the back of my mind for the rest of the week. Then, it hit me.

So I asked Mary the worst question you could ever ask a woman --

Its not "how old are you?"

Its not "how much do you weigh?"

Its not even "how many guys have you slept with?"

I've asked those questions often, and its never broken up a relationship.

The worst question you could ever ask a woman is:

HOW MANY OF YOUR MALE FRIENDS HAVE YOU SLEPT WITH OR ARE EX-BOYFRIENDS?

Some variation of that question will cause more problems than being a Jew in Afghanistan.

Now, women have asked me that question and I have answered honestly with "I've slept with roughly 40% of my female friends" and they know who they are and I am not ashamed.

But, when I see my ex-girlfriends with their new boyfriends, I give him the "yea, I banged her brains out, hope you're having fun with her now" look. That's the look I got from Mary's ex, and that's the look I hate getting when I am out with a woman I care about.

Needless to say, Mary was pissed beyond belief. She accused me of calling her a "dirty whore" although I never called her a dirty whore, I just wanted to know how many guys we would run into that would give me that uncomfortable look. I can tolerate a lot, but I don't like being reminded that the chick I care about has had more twirls on the old merry-go-round than Marilyn Monroe with the Kennedy boys.

Guys, YOU know what I'm talking about, and suddenly I am aware of why so many of my ex-girlfriends have gone through great lengths to stay away from me once they get into serious relationships. I thought it was because I can be a stone cold @$$hole sometimes, but the reality is that they know what their man is going to ask them the minute I get out of earshot -- "You SLEPT with THAT guy?"

To me, that's hilarious.

MY TOP 20 AMERICAN MOVIES SINCE 1989

I can't believe I am old enough to make a list of films that I have loved since 1989. It's been 20 friggin' years and yes, this means I am officially getting old.

This list in NOT IN ORDER. These are all my favorite films of the last 20 years and my criteria are the following:

a) Mainstream and critical entertainment value: does it hold up with the intellectual film establishment AND with the bottom-feeding masses that don't know a good movie from a hole in the wall?

b) Influence/Impact on the art form or the business: has the film in question either pushed the art form forward or changed the way that Hollywood does business?

c) Longevity: has the film maintained its narrative and visual strength upon repeated viewings over the last 20 years?

Mind you, this is just my opinion, but I am cooler than most people so you should listen to me.

#1) BATMAN (1989): If you were old enough to wait in line for hours to see this movie, then you remember the marketing onslaught for the film that created the modern Hollywood "event" movie. Before this, movies were a big deal, but never had there been a scientifically-constructed marketing formula to maximize ancillary income from a film franchise on this level. Add in the fact that you had a goth-filmmaker like Tim Burton, wildly inspired casting for the Joker in Jack Nicholson and the oddball casting of Michael Keaton as Batman and you had something that EVERYBODY just had to see.



#2) HEAT (1995): Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, Jon Voigt and a bunch of other badass male actors frame a compelling and endlessly cool film directed by Miami Vice creator Michael Mann. This film had it all: great action scenes, tons of tough guy dialogue, a very hot young Ashley Judd and a story that doesn't waste a second of screen time. Hollywood has been trying to re-create this movie since the late 1990s and they haven't been able to come close. This movie never gets boring to watch.



#3) GOODFELLAS (1990): Hollywood's last great gangster film. This is Martin Scorsese's magnum opus. Incredible filmmaking techniques (just look at that one-take shot through the back of the nightclub in the clip below), incredible acting from Pesci, DeNiro, Liotta and Bracco, kick ass screenplay, perfect use of musical cues and editing, almost flawless economical storytelling framed with a moral at the end. More fluid than the GODFATHER series, more intelligent and emotionally accessible than the SOPRANOS and can be used as both an example of supreme entertainment and a guidebook to classic Hollywood filmmaking, I can not think of another recent gangster movie that reaches the creative pinnacle of this one. My hat is off to you Scorsese.



#4) MOULIN ROUGE (2001): Although many people think I am crazy for loving this film so much, director Baz Luhrmann created a wonderfully schizophrenic musical adventure based on the opera La Traviata. This version of Moulin Rouge is relentless and fearless. Luhrmann decides to throw away the trappings of traditional narrative and Hollywood editing style to explore the endless possibilities of the film medium (that is the synthesis of all arts and so few working directors seem to remember this). Gorgeous set design, visually appealing costumes and the BEST Nicole Kidman has ever looked in her career. Lots of fun.



#5) FIGHT CLUB (1999): Throughout this list, the year 1999 will pop up again because for some reason or another, a lot of truly inventive and interesting films made it through the Hollywood system in the pre-Millenial year. Fight Club is one of the most creative and unexpected movies ever made by a major studio. Ed Norton and Brad Pitt were picture perfect in their roles as id and ego. Director David Fincher showed his talent by pulling the unsuspecting audience towards one of the biggest twist endings in movie history. The rumor goes that the executives at Fox thought they were buying an action movie and wound up getting the greatest anti-establishment film of the last 50 years.



#6) JFK (1991): Director Oliver Stone's look at the possible conspiracy involving the Kennedy assassination. Re-introduced the Kennedy mythos to an entire generation that was unborn during the turbulent 60s. Revolutionary in its use of various film stocks to create a documentary-like recreation of fabricated events, lending to it a sense of scholarly authenticity. Despite some conspiracy-minded foolishness, goes a long way in establishing the foolishness of Warren Commission's findings of a lone gunman. Another perfect amalgamation of propaganda and pop art.



#7) CLERKS (1994): Kevin Smith's debut film accurately captures the pathos and soul numbing repetition of retail work from the perspective of 20-something slackers too enraptured with the irresponsibility of their adolescent years. Smith dug deeeeeeep into the heart of 1980s kids by playing with our pointless infatuation with the 1980s and how it keeps many from taking their lives to the next level. Spotty at times, but has a kind of gritty realism that helps you to identify with their plight even if you find them responsible for their lot in life. Beneath all the fun is an undercurrent of unavoidable sadness.



#8) GATTACA (1997): A prophetic movie that explores what happens when society allows genetic manipulation in unborn children to remove any potential maladies or defects. An underclass of normal born people struggle to survive in a "perfect" world where discrimination is the rule and upward advancement is a mirage. This screenplay is strong and depicts a future world that feels familiar and possible.



#9) SWINGERS (1996): The only romantic comedy made by men FOR men. This is an all-too familiar tale of the "regular" guy not blessed with gorgeous looks nor the ability to deliver snappy pick-up lines in the vicious world of the Los Angeles singles scene. Fantastic music and great performances from Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau and Ron Livingston make this movie accessible and pleasant. Nothing groundbreaking, but definitely a more intelligent look at dating from the perspective of single men with everything and nothing to lose.



#10) LORD OF THE RINGS: FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING: While Return of the King won the Oscars for best picture and all the other important awards, FOTR (as we geeks call it) was the strongest entry in my opinion. Director Peter Jackson had the unenviable task of introducing a largely illiterate society to a grand work of literature in cinematic form. Not only did he pull it off, but he took the novel to a new level by simplifying the pointless linguistic excess of Tolkein's world. LOTR was everything the other two movies weren't: focused, unfettered, exciting, poetic, unpretentious. Even the extended version moves along faster than the theatrical cuts of the sequels.



#11) THE MATRIX (1999): I don't know what else can be said about this modern masterpiece but I will say this, it was one of the few films I have ever seen that I had no idea what was going to happen next. If you know me, then you know this never happens to me, EVER. I can usually figure out a film about 20 minutes into it, but with the Matrix, I was guessing and second-guessing pretty much until the last second of screen time. This screenplay was thoughtful, imaginative, exciting and hard-hitting. While everybody and their mother has been ripping off the visual style of the Matrix for the last decade, the original is still the best. This movie is what BLADE RUNNER would have been had it been made at the end of the 20th century.



NOT DONE YET...

I HATE IBMs (Ignorant Black Muthafu**as)

When I was a younger man and watched the following infamous Chris Rock stand-up performance clip called "Black People vs. Niggaz" I laughed my pants off but was somewhat embarrassed. I felt at the time that Chris Rock went a little too far in his condemnation of "lower class" black people.

I still feel now as I did then that white folks can't tell the difference between a normal everyday working educated black person and a black scumbag, but as I have gotten older, Chris Rock's message is ringing truer than ever before in my ears. So before I continue, take a look at Chris Rock's performance:



Done?

Good.

You can't deny that this is brilliant, funny stuff. It still makes me a little uncomfortable, but that is the mark of great art -- its supposed to make you think and reflect on the world.

In any case, I have grown weary of the kind of black folks that Chris Rock was trashing that clip. I have made a pact with myself never to call another black person a "nigga, nigger, etc." so I coin the phrase IBM -- which stands for Ignorant Black Muthafukka.

I find that this definition fits because they are ignorant (without knowledge of the world or self), they are black (sadly), and they are muthafukkas (just like Bernie Mac used to say -- 50 points to you if you catch that reference).

I hate IBMs with a PASSION. I hate them like Hitler hated Jews. I hate them like the Coyote hated the Roadrunner. I hate them like Itchy hates Scratchy. I think you get the point.

My hate stems from the fact that I grew up with working class and middle class blacks who went to good schools, never went to jail, read books, supported the arts, saw good movies, loved baseball, loved walks in the park with their dogs and lived the most wonderful and fulfilling lives you could imagine. Yet, now, almost everywhere I go, I no longer see those kinds of black people.

Its like some alien force swooped down and took 75% of all the normal black people away and left us with the lowest common demoninator. And I can't stand them. Lord, I really can't stand them.

IBMs are loud, obnoxious, illogical, immature and possess the largest sense of entitlement this side of Long Island (another 50 points if you get that reference). Let me give you an example:














I work at this ghetto ass mall called Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Shopping Center in Los Angeles. Its a side job I have at GameStop just to make ends meet while I work at the college and write my screenplays. Anyway, GameStop is one of the shittiest companies in the universe so never work there if you can help it.

GameStop has a policy where if you buy a used game you have approximately SEVEN DAYS to return it for a full refund. After that, we can't take it back unless its as a "trade-in" which is roughly 70% less than what was originally paid. This one IBM walked into the store and wanted to return an awful game. Usually, we have no problem doing returns as long as you are within the seven day span.

This IBM had the receipt and the date was 05/18/09. Today is 06/16/09. By all calculations, he was way out of the grace period. So instead of realizing he is wrong and walking out of the store, this IBM opens with a rant:

IBM: "Y'all didn't say nuffin' about that when I bought it."

Me: "On the top of the receipt is the name of the person who sold it to you. XXXXXX is the manager, I am sure he mentioned the return policy to you. If not, its right here on the receipt."

I showed him where the policy was CLEARLY printed on the receipt -- but he didn't seem like the type who likes printed words.

IBM: "Naw man, this is bullshit. Y'all didn't say nuffin' about this. This is bullshit man. Y'all be sellin' fucked up games and shit and then won't take them back."

Me: "How long did you have the game before you realized that it didn't work?"

IBM: "My son didn't play it for a month because he was punished."

WTF?

Me: "There's nothing I can do man."

Then this IBM proceeds to curse and become borderline threatening but what he didn't bargain for was the fact that I don't back down easily and its very hard to intimidate me so he eventually left after promising to "only shop at white stores from now on."

Note to readers: most IBMs are big talkers. They are used to people becoming intimidated by their bluster and bullcrap and try to get their way. The best thing to do is to continue to stick to your guns and they will walk away cursing and talking crap but no harm will come to you. This may not always be the case, but most often you'll be fine.

Getting back to the issue at hand, I am so tired of IBMs because they make the entire black race look like a bunch of uncultured street trash that complain endlessly about racism and don't do anything to contribute to society. IBMs have nothing of worth to say mainly because their brains are filled with pointless hedonistic, inarticulate new school hip-hop songs by Lil' Wayne.




















See that image? That's how a lot of white folks and recent immigrants see African-Americans. Think about that for a long moment. Think deeply about that. If you have half a brain, you should be alarmed and nausiated.

How do you recognize an IBM? Here's my guide:














A) IBMs will be wearing basketball jerseys and baseball caps that are color coordinated yet aren't fans of either team. IBMs make it hard for a black guy to be a fan of a baseball team because everybody will think you're wearing the hat to be cool.

B) IBMs dress like they're 15 years old even at the age of 50. There is nothing more obscene than seeing a grown ass black man with grey hair twisted up into cornrows. Its beyond atrocious.

C) IBMs never speak in complete sentences.












D) IBMs don't value educational achievement, this is why you will see an IBM buy their child $200 sneakers but don't own a set of encyclopedias in their home. Worse, the only reading materials in most IBM homes is a video game strategy guide or directions to a probation office.

E) IBMs love blaming everybody else if something doesn't go right - teachers, police, their parents, the mafia, Sony, Microsoft, NASA (wait, most IBMs don't know what NASA is) -- everybody but themselves. If their kids can't read or write, its the teacher's fault. If they get busted for selling crack to pregnant women, its the police's fault for arresting them.

F) IBMs never have a concept of a larger world. Your typical IBM won't leave their neighborhood for any reason. Ever. You won't meet an IBM if you go to the following places: Barnes & Noble, arthouse movie theatres, the planetarium (in fact, any museum whatsoever except for the travelling sneaker show), baseball games (except for Yankee Stadium) or your local library. IBMs don't like culture unless they see it on BET (which isn't even owned by black people anymore) or some godawful black TV show produced by Tyler Perry.














G) IBMs stand outside of their apartments or tenements or whatever for no reason in the middle of the day. I haven't stood outside of my house for more than 5 minutes since I was 15 years old. I usually have somewhere to go. Its called an agenda. I had a conversation about selling drugs just to make money for video games and sneakers. I always felt that if you are going to become a hustler, then hustle for a purpose like the Irish Mob and the Italian Mafia did and like the Armenians and the Mexicans are now. Make the money, launder it, rinse, repeat. IBMs stand on the corner all day to buy depreciating assets and never move up from that level. They advertise to undercover police where the action is whether they know it or not.

What makes IBMs particularly frustrating is that there are normal black people who defend them or -- worse -- idolize them as representing some kind of authentic "blackness." As if the ebb and flow of our community was tied to irresponsible morons with no sense of history or purpose. And this has caused unfathomable levels of suffering.

Single, intelligent, attractive and upwardly mobile black women love to date IBMs and then get treated like trash. These black women then go onto hate ALL black men as if we are all IBMs. Don't think so? Check your average internet dating site these days and you will find hundreds of black women only wanting to date white men and they have profiles that say things like "need a man with a job, who has a college degree and is on my level. White guys only."

I wish I could round up all the IBMs on earth and launch them into the sun. I'm serious. It would solve SO many problems.

Even Bill Cosby agrees with me and few years ago when he told the truth, people flipped out and made it seem like Bill was crazy or elitist. What Bill was saying was that black people need to get their shit together immediately or else we are going to swirl down the drain. Folks didn't want to hear the truth and made it sound like he was wrong.

I will leave you with what he said and let you reach you own conclusions. Take care.

B.

(http://www.eightcitiesmap.com/transcript_bc.htm)

"Ladies and gentlemen, these people set, they opened the doors, they gave us the right, and today, ladies and gentlemen, in our cities and public schools we have fifty percent drop out. In our own neighborhood, we have men in prison. No longer is a person embarrassed because they’re pregnant without a husband. No longer is a boy considered an embarrassment if he tries to run away from being the father of the unmarried child."

"50 percent drop out rate, I’m telling you, and people in jail, and women having children by five, six different men. Under what excuse, I want somebody to love me, and as soon as you have it, you forget to parent. Grandmother, mother, and great grandmother in the same room, raising children, and the child knows nothing about love or respect of any one of the three of them. All this child knows is “gimme, gimme, gimme.” These people want to buy the friendship of a child….and the child couldn’t care less. Those of us sitting out here who have gone on to some college or whatever we’ve done, we still fear our parents. And these people are not parenting. They’re buying things for the kid. $500 sneakers, for what? They won’t buy or spend $250 on Hooked on Phonics."

"Now look, I’m telling you. It’s not what they’re doing to us. It’s what we’re not doing. 50 percent drop out. Look, we’re raising our own ingrown immigrants. These people are fighting hard to be ignorant. There’s no English being spoken, and they’re walking and they’re angry. Oh God, they’re angry and they have pistols and they shoot and they do stupid things. And after they kill somebody, they don’t have a plan. Just murder somebody. Boom. Over what? A pizza? And then run to the poor cousin’s house."