Thursday, June 17, 2010

The "N" Word...

“Nigga ain’t the same as Nigger”. How you figure?

Many have tried to explain the NONsense, but I guess I’M dense, ‘cause it don’t make No sense, to me.

Probably not to the slave that hung in the tree, who was being called the “N” word as he struggled to breathe. Sure he didn’t ask if they meant N-I-G-G-A or N-I-G-G-E, --R you kidding me?!?

I pity the one with eyes who refuses to see. Shame on the lame with no brain for taking no responsibility. *SMH* at the one who doesn’t use his head, but instead follows the majority.

Nigga ain’t nuthin’ but a word? Word? That’s absurd! Makes me want to flip somebody the bird! But that would just be my third…finger up in the air. They wouldn’t get it or just wouldn’t care. It seems if it ain’t rough, raw, or hardcore, it just don’t matter anymore. But if you change the letters in THEIR name, spelling it different, but sounding the same…then they wanna complain…how lame! But the word “NIGGA”? That’s just a word…that’s His Story and he’s not gonna change. As for me, because of the history, N-I-G-G-A and N-I-G-G-E…R not in my vocabulary.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Talk is Cheap

Everyone who knows me knows how much I hate texting. I mean, what did we do before texting? Did we actually use our cell phone to dial a number? Yes, indeed we did. What did we do before cell phones? Did we have to wait until we returned home to check our messages or call the person we wanted to speak with? Ding…you guessed it, we certainly did. There were definitely emergencies that required one to make a call immediately. For that, there were the pay phones, and we’d walk from block to block to find one that worked. Sometimes, there was no working pay phone in sight and that meant you’d have to wait until you got home to handle the emergency.

Somewhere along the way, we decided that we didn’t want to stick our finger in the circle and drag it around at least seven times to make a call, so we eagerly embraced touch tone dialing. Then, we decided that we didn’t want to hear a busy signal any longer. We wanted to be able to connect with the person we were calling or the person who was calling us, even when we were in the middle of a conversation with someone else. So we celebrated the birth of call waiting. Well, of course, that just wasn’t enough…we wanted to be able to talk to more than one person at a time. So, naturally, we jumped at the chance to subscribe to three-way calling.

Ah, finally, we had exactly what we wanted…the opportunity to talk to our friends and family whenever we wanted to. Then, we decided we didn’t want to talk to them anymore. So we scrambled to get caller I.D. Well, then we didn’t want people to know that we were calling them anymore, so we started using features like *67. But, on the off chance they didn’t want us to know they were calling us, or if they hung up without leaving a message, we wouldn’t hesitate to use the feature *69 to call the last number that dialed our phone. “Yes, did you just call here? Somebody from this number just called me”. Yep, you do remember that, don’t you?

What started out as a better way to communicate quickly became a means of alienation. How many times did you look at caller I.D. and warn everyone in the house not to answer the telephone because it was someone you just didn’t feel like speaking to? We couldn’t see it then, because each new option seemed like the best invention since toilet paper. Today, our phones can do more than we could ever have imagined. We use phones to take pictures, videotape events, set reminders, update our schedule, plan our day, check email, browse the internet, update our Facebook status, download, upload, and overload! We use our telephones for everything under the sun—except talking to each other.

Technology has quickly dehumanized and handicapped us. If you don’t agree, just think about this…What happens if you forget your cell phone at home? What if your cell phone malfunctions and you can’t see your contacts or their telephone numbers? How many times have you had to borrow a charger or plug your phone up at a public location (or friend’s house) because you were losing power? How many times did you send out one of those generic messages to everyone you know to avoid having to actually dial each of them just to say something unimportant like “Merry Christmas”? Ever sent out the “Happy Birthday” or the “I’m Sorry” text? Yes, most of us have stopped connecting on a personal level, opting for the generic and impersonal forms of communication. Umm, and for those of you who have found yourselves looking for your cell phone, only to find that you are talking on it…well, it may be time for you to put down the cell phone and connect with your loved ones around you.

So, for today—at least today, take a few minutes and talk to someone…without using any form of technology. It’s not going to cost you one red cent to use this option. So go ahead, have a good old fashioned conversation. You may be surprised to find out how rewarding a good “talk” can be.