Tracy Morgan’s Gay Bashing Rant

Comedian Tracy Morgan has come under fire lately because of some homophobic remarks he made during his live comedy show in Tennessee about a week ago. The first half of this blog is taken from a post written by a man named Kevin Rogers who was in attendance at the show and was deeply offended by Mr. Morgan’s hate speech. The second part of this blog is my response to all of this. And the last part is a small update on everything that has happened since this incident first began.

Kevin Rogers Post:

So tonight was the night, Tracy Morgan in the hallowed halls of the Ryman Auditorium.  The show was your typical hysterical dick, cum and pussy humor… I have to say it was hilarious and well worth at least 40% of the $86 we spent per ticket to see him. I figured at some point the gay jokes would fly and I’m well prepared for a good ribbing of straight gay humor.  I have very thick skin when it comes to humor; I can dish and I can take. What I can’t take is when Mr. Morgan took it upon himself to mention about how he feels all this gay shit was crazy and that women are a gift from God and that “Born this Way” is bullshit, gay is a choice, and the reason he knows this is exactly because “God don’t make no mistakes” (referring to God not making someone gay cause that would be a mistake).  He said that there is no way a woman could love and have sexual desire for another woman, that’s just a woman pretending because she hates a fucking man.  He took time to visit the bullshit of this bullying stuff and informed us that the gays needed to quit being pussies and not be whining about something as insignificant as bullying. He mentioned that gay was something kids learn from the media and programming, and that bullied kids should just bust some ass and beat those other little fuckers that bully them, not whine about it.  He said if his son that was gay he better come home and talk to him like a man and not [he mimicked a gay, high pitched voice] or he would pull out a knife and stab that little N (one word I refuse to use) to death. He mentioned that Barack Obama needed to man up and quit being all down with this just because he has a wife and two daughters. All of this being followed by thunderous cheer and “You go Tracys”.  Tracy then said he didn’t fucking care if he pissed off some gays, because if they can take a fucking dick up their ass… they can take a fucking joke.  The sad thing is that none of this rant was a joke.  His entire demeanor changed during that portion of the night.  He was truly filled with some hate towards us.

MY RESPONSE:

Kevin Rogers story was SHOCKING to me.  Out of all the stories I read about this incident, none of them actually quoted anything that Tracy Morgan said.  So because of this, I felt like maybe it was something small that got blown up by the press.  But after reading this, I do not see how any journalist could write an honest and truthful piece about this without letting the reader know exactly what was said.  His actual words were far beyond anything I had imagined.  This has totally changed my opinion of Tracy Morgan.  I was fan, but now I’ll never watch or listen to anything he puts out ever again.  What he said can’t be brushed over with an apology.  His apology means nothing to me because I know it will only be about him trying to save his career.  He’s a sad little hate filled man, and I hope people will see him for what he is and stop supporting anything that he is a part of.  Why would anyone want to support someone like this?  I hope that gay rights organizations are not trying to solicit any kind of public apology from him.  It would be insulting.  Someone that says the kind of things he said doesn’t change the way they think overnight, or go to some weekend siminar and magically become a changed man.  That kind of ignorance and hatred comes from a very deep dark and disturbed place, and any proclamations of change should be met with extreme skepticism.  As long as he’s on 30 Rock, I’ll NEVER watch that show EVER again.  The sad part of it all was the reaction Tracy got from the audience.  A large majority of them were cheering him on during his homophobic rant.  To me that’s a confirmation of the long and treacherous road ahead we have yet to travel to reach total equality for our community.

STORY UPDATE AND TRACY’S “APOLOGY”:

Morgan has agreed to go to Nashville with GLAAD to protest the state’s controversial “Don’t Say Gay” bill, according to E! Online. He spoke to E!’s Marc Malkin about his regrets over his rant, emphasizing his belief that all children should be loved, regardless of sexuality.  “I know how bad bullying can hurt,” Morgan said. “I was bullied when I was a kid. I’m sorry for what I said. I didn’t mean it. I never want to use my comedy to hurt anyone. My family knew what it was like to feel different. My brother was disabled and I lost my father to AIDS in 1987…. Parents should support and love their kids no matter what. Gay people deserve the same right to be happy in this country as everyone else. Our laws should support that.”  In an interview with Russell Simmons at Global Grind, Morgan apologized again for his verbal tirade that sparked national outrage, swore off his hate speech and came out for marriage equality.  “Of all the sicknesses, there is probably none more abusive than homophobia. My heart is committed to giving everyone the same rights that I deserve for myself,” Morgan said. “I don’t care if you love the same sex as long as you have the ability to love someone I am deeply sorry for the comments I made. What I am most sad about is the comments I made about kids and bullying.”

Morgan also noted his support for gays serving in the military — an issue solved by the recent repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and then insisted he believed in gay marriage, too. “I believe everyone deserves the right to be happy and marry who they want too; gay, white, black, male or female. Let me know where the rally’s at Russ. I’m there!” Morgan promised.  The words came as he works to make amends, not only with his public, but his friends, too. Tina Fey, his “30 Rock” co-star and executive producer slammed his comments but noted that she believed Morgan was a loving person.  “It doesn’t line up with the Tracy Morgan I know, who is not a hateful man and is generally much too sleepy and self-centered to ever hurt another person,” Fey said in a statement.  Another co-star, Cheyenne Jackson, said that he was “disgusted” by what Morgan had said.

Was Tracy’s apology sincere?  Is he serious about making amends?  Does he understand how hurtful and dangerous his gay bashing tirade was?  I wish I had the answer to those questions, but only time will tell. When I began to write this blog, I kept thinking about something Mya Angelou said in an interview with Oprah.  It seemed to fit this situation perfectly, and I’ve found it to be true in my life as well.  This very wise woman said “When someone shows you who they are, believe them”.JULY 4 2011 UPDATE

To view free streaming episodes of 30 Rock or Saturday NIght Live, visit the links below.
30 Rock seasons 1 through 5:
http://www.tv-links.eu/tv-shows/30-Rock_10/
Saturday NIght Live seasons 1 through 36:
http://www.tv-links.eu/tv-shows/Saturday-night-live_12110/

Teacher Leaves Muslim Student In Tears

A Houston Algebra teacher at Clear Brook High school (Mr Todd Burrows) mocked a 9th grade Muslim student by telling her “I heard about about your uncle” after Bin Laden’s death.  The student’s mom says she was offended by what her daughter says happened Monday in ninth grade algebra.  She said, “The teacher told the student that ‘I bet you’re grieving.’ And she basically looked at him and said what are you talking about? And he said I heard about your uncle’s death and she said wow, because she understood that he was referring to Osama Bin Laden being killed.”

I came across this story while checking my email messages.  The headline that I saw read: “Teacher Mocks Muslim Student: “I Heard About Your Uncle”.  When I first read that headline, I have to admit I did giggle a little.   Although it was a quick visceral reaction, it was still wrong of me to find humor amidst the racist torment that this Muslim student must have felt.  All through elementary and junior high school I was the only Black kid in most of my classes, and I have gone through similar situations with racist teachers as well as racist classmates.  Because of this, I can definitely  relate to this young female student.  You would think I would be the last person to find humor in something like this, and I am just as confused as you are by my initial reaction.   I guess I have some “issues” of my own to work out… but I will say that I think this teacher should be fired ASAP.  Kids go through so much these days and the last thing they need to worry about is ignorant teachers alienating minority students by making racist comments in front of their classmates.  Some kids look up to their teachers, so when a comment like this is made, it sends a signal to those impressionable minds that this kind of behavior is acceptable.  When an educator displays this type of poor judgement, punishing them with “administrative leave” does not go far enough.  They need to be fired and made to attend some kind of racial tolerance class before they can even apply for another teaching job.


I think it’s great that the girl’s classmates stood up for her.  It gives me hope for their generation.  I think this teacher could learn a thing or two from these students… it’s called CHARACTER (and that’s something he clearly does not possess).

FYI – The school would not release the name of the teacher to the press, so I had to do a little detective work to find out who he was.  It was not an easy task but I didn’t give up.  I thought it was wrong to protect this man’s identity.  I was even able to locate a picture of him and his wife.  I know the quality isn’t very good, but it was the only one I could find.  I hope this incident will make Mr Todd Burrows take a long hard look at himself, and want to become a better person.  Everyone makes mistakes and I believe redemption can be achieved by anyone that’s willing to admit their shortcomings and work diligently to overcome them.  

College Basketball Slavery

While flipping through channels the other night trying to find something good to watch, I came upon a very interesting story on PBS’s news-magazine show “Frontline”.  It’s kind of like “Dateline” on NBC, but 10 times better, and not controlled by a multi-national major conglomerate who’s only agenda is to make as much money as possible by churning out the same substandard regurgitated thinly veiled crap with new packaging accompanied with a vaguely familiar title designed to trick the viewer into watching at least long enough to see a few commercials so they can sell you more crap that you do not need and show you expensive stuff that you can not afford, and just when you’re starting to feel depressed about all this, a precisely timed commercial for a new antidepressant medication comes on and seems to have a cure for something you did not have until you started watching tv a half hour ago… but I digress. lol
So, I’m watching this news story on “Frontline” about the NCAA college basketball organization and how much money they make off of the basketball players, but pay them noting in return.  I’m not a big sports fan at all, so everything they mentioned in this broadcast was completely new to me.  After watching it, I was in total shock at how screwed up this organization is, and amazed at how corrupt the people that run it are.  Here’s a few key points they discussed in the broadcast.  The NCAA alone rakes in BILLIONS each year by selling the broadcast rights of their games to television networks, plus signing huge commercial endorsement deals, plus ticket sells plus licensing their brand and the players names to sell merchandise, and god knows what else.  This all adds up to BILLIONS!  Yes, you heard me right, BILLIONS (believe it or not, that isn’t a typo).  The coaches get huge salaries (most receive upwards of 2 million a year).  The people on the board get huge salaries… and that goes for almost everyone that holds a high position in the organization.  All of this money is being generated because of the players… and they get paid ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.  Appalling isn’t it?  The NCAA treats their players like slaves or indentured servants.  I couldn’t believe the level of exploitation that goes on in college basketball.  A crass but fitting analogy would have Mark Emmeret (the president of the NCAA) playing the role of a pimp, and the NCAA college basketball players in the role of his prostitutes…  Actually, Mr Emmeret treats the players worse than prostitutes because pimps would at least let their hoes keep some of the money they make.  The players give these teams their all and work very hard to play each game to the best of their ability.  A future in the NBA isn’t promised to these guys.  They could easily get injured in a game, and their career as a pro athlete would be over before it even began.  I also learned from watching this that the players are required to sign a ridiculous contract that gives the NCAA the right to use their names and images in perpetuity for whatever purpose they choose, and keep 100% of any revenue that it generates.  For example, they created a video game with EA Sports that used players as characters in the game.  Some of the players they used had already made it in the NBA, and some of them weren’t lucky enough to transition into professional sports after college.  But because of the contract they signed in college, the NCAA didn’t have to share any profits with any of the players at all.  That’s just the tip of the iceberg with these guys.  There was another situation described in the news report that caught my attention.  It’s arguably the most appalling part of it all.  The NCAA does not offer free tickets to the families of the players.   These tickets can be quite expensive…  so if a player comes from a low-income household, the only way their parents can watch them play is on tv.  How despicable is that?  The investigative reporter exposed a number of situations that were extremely exploitative and designed to put huge sums of cash into everyone’s pockets, except the players.
After watching the program in its entirety, I began to think about how long this has been common practice in the NCAA.  This has been going on for decades, so why haven’t I seen this discussed on the news before.  Why haven’t I read about this in the paper anywhere, or seen it questioned in any magazines?  Why is “Frontline” the first news show to do a complete in-depth investigation into this?  Then the answer hit me, and it made perfect sense.  Frontline is a PBS news show.  It’s not owned by any corporation.  They do not generate revenue to pay for operating costs by selling commercial time slots to advertisers.  Because of this, they aren’t beholden to any corporate pressure, or higher-ups with hidden self-serving agendas, like ALL of the other tv networks and news programs.  College basketball brings in a ton of money to whatever tv network they choose to license the broadcast rights to.  This gives the NCAA the power to kill any story that shows them in a negative light.  It’s stories like this one that shows us the importance of a network like PBS (LONG LIVE FREEDOM OF THE PRESS).  It’s time for the NCAA to set aside their greed, and get rid of their policies that exploit and use their athletes.
Watch the full episode. See more FRONTLINE.
If you’d like to watch the full news story, follow this link: http://to.pbs.org/h7Ya7w
Here’s an update: Apparently the NCAA President Mark Emmeret, who was interviewed in the story, saw how awful and greedy him and his organization looked on the broadcast, so he released a statement saying that he has changed his position on not paying student athletes. He didn’t give any specific information on what policies he’s actively seeking to change, but he said that the idea of compensating student-athletes should be considered. Vague, I know, but it’s a start headed in the right direction.
(http://to.pbs.org/gpJ2a7 link to the short clip displayed above).

Why The Nene Backlash?

I’m a huge fan of The Real Housewives of Atlanta. Nene is the whole reason I watch the show. I think she’s the most relateable out of all the cast members and definitely the most likable. That’s why  I’m so shocked at the recent backlash that she’s been getting from recent press and from different internet blogs. People love to build celebrities up only to tear them down at the first sight of blood.  Nene is going through a rough period of transition, and it’s so very apparent that she’s still settling into this new phase in her life.  Everyone goes through periods like this.  The only difference is, she’s in the public eye, and every minor misstep is broadcast and picked apart by the world.  I have something I’d like everyone who has wrote mean nasty things about Nene to do.  Think about the hardest most trying period in your life.  Think about all the things you’ve said out of anger.  Think about all the fights you’ve had with your friends and the people you love.  Now think what if all of those things were broadcast on tv, talked about in interviews, discussed in magazines, wrote about in blogs, etc.  If you’re being totally honest with yourself, then I’m sure it’s not a pretty picture.  God knows I’ve said and done some horrible things over the 31 years I’ve been on this earth, and I can’t imagine how it would feel to offer all of those things up for public consumption.  Sure Nene chose to be on a reality tv show, but that does not mean she deserves the kind of nasty backlash that she’s been getting over the last few months.  Fame can be a double edge sword.  When the show first started, she saw the good side of fame and quickly became the “break-out star”.  People fell in love with Nene because she spoke her mind, she always kept it real, and she didn’t let ANYONE disrespect her or her family. Nene exuded this charming boisterous charismatic charm that made everyone want to watch her.  It was no secret that she was the star of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” from day one.  Now that the show is a huge success and Nene has tons of other tv and film offers, the shows producers decided to portray a less “likeable” version of Nene this season (3).  It’s so very clear that this is a calculated power move by Bravo to try and regain control.  It’s a dirty tactic that is so very common in Hollywood.  But we need to remember there’s a REAL person with REAL feelings behind all the drama that surrounds Nene.  She projects such a strong willed “sure-of-herself” type personality, and I think people forget that she has feelings.  So they feel free to say horribly nasty things about her.  The anonymity provided by internet blogs and message boards have created and nurtured a whole sub-culture of callous disgusting awful insecure people that get off on destroying those who are successful (I call them “HOOPS” Hating On Other People’s Success).  There are waaaaaay too many “HOOPS” on the internet these days.  Nene is a beautiful strong talented intelligent kind-hearted honest and proud African-American woman.  When did everyone get so jaded?  When did everyone decide that honesty is a character flaw?  And when are we going to learn that negativity is just as toxic on the internet as it is in our everyday lives?  You may be able to hide your name on a comment post, but karma knows exactly who you are, and exactly where to find you.  

My message to Mrs Nene is keep doing you, and your fans will continue to love you unconditionally.  Don’t let all the negativity get you down.  You’re destined for greatness beyond anything you can imagine.  RHOA is just a stepping stone.  All of the hardships are just preparing you for the next level.  Even-though you’re getting bad press right now, they are doing you a favor by keeping you in the public eye.  So let the haters hate… at least they know your name.

For more info on The Real Housewives of Atlanta, check out this fan site I created.  You can also post comments and view full episodes in our video section. http://www.sociallyurban.com/the_real_housewives_of_atlanta.html

Elton John With Husband & New Baby Gets Censored

On January 18, 2011, Us Weekly debuted Elton John and partner David Furnish’s new baby, Zachary on the front cover. The happy singer talked about the birth of their son and said that they wouldn’t be spoiling him, but lavishing love on him.


Seems all well and good, right? That is, until I checked my Twitter feed and found this disturbing piece. Apparently there’s a grocery store in Arkansas called Harps, who is censoring the front cover of that particular issue of Us Weekly.

Jennifer Huddleston tweeted this message out to numerous people in the span of three hours, “This was taken at my local grocery store. I was shocked and horrified. Can you help bring attention to this? They are saying they need to keep children from seeing it, because it is a gay family.”

Following the outcry surrounding their decision to place a “Family Shield” over an Us Weekly cover featuring Elton John, his partner David Furnish, and their new baby boy Zachary, Harps Supermarket has issued a statement.
We have received a number of complaints regarding an incident in our Mountain Home store involving the current issue of US Weekly Magazine depicting Elton John, David Furnish and their newborn son. I would like to explain how this happened. For many years we have provided each of our stores with shields which can be used at the manager’s discretion to cover the front of magazines when they receive complaints from our customers regarding either the photo on the cover of the magazine or the titles of articles contained within the magazine. Sometimes those photos might be sexually provocative or too revealing. The magazine article titles might also be too suggestive for some customers. 
In this case our store manager received some complaints and, as has been our custom, placed the shield over the cover of the magazine. When we began receiving complaints at our corporate office, we reviewed the magazine in question, removed the shield and are selling the magazine in all our locations today without any shield. 
Our true intention is not to offend anyone in our stores and this incident happened at just one of our 65 locations, which when brought to our attention, we reversed.


This “shield” comes from a place of ignorance, intolerance and hate.  An image of two loving parents thrilled to finally have a child of their own. This image should be praised not censored. It’s ashamed that the joy of new parents showing love and excitement about their new baby can be offensive to some people.

Church Fight Caught On Video

Recently I posted a video of an incident that took place at a church here in North Carolina. I could explain the video’s content, but it wouldn’t do it justice. So if you haven’t seen it, then I’d suggest you take a look at it before you read the rest of this blog. (watch it directly from my blog, or click on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdynJSTsOPA

This video sparked a very interesting discussion about the current state of churches in the Black community. Here are a few of the comments I found most interesting. The first of which belongs to me:

I miss the “civil rights” era of Black churches. It was more about community, fellowship, togetherness, a safe place to worship and exchange ideas. Now it seems to be more about money and power. I think the mega-churches have done a huge disservice to the Black community, & that’s what turns a lot of people away from the church. Back in the day what made a good pastor was how well he spoke the word of God, not how much money he has or how big his church is or how many books he’s sold.  -T DeMon Spencer


Comment #1:
The lady at the end said this is GOD’s house but what she fails to understand is that GOD does not live at every church you see. Pastor Donnie McClurkin made that so clear at a service he did on Southern University’s campus last Friday.

Comment #2:

This has to be THE MOST embarassing situation I have seen to date. Clearly, this is nothing more than a worthless power grab by those that have NO CLUE of what the true church “ekklesia” represents.
Once again, we have people that are more interested in practicing religion and “playing church,” having made a complete ass of themselves once again. When, oh when, will these people learn?!

Comment #3:
I saw Pastor Donnie McClurkin preach at Southern University last Friday and you are just saying what he said. But in a nutshell. He blasted those Baptist preacher with all their man made religious crap. I mean it was awsome. His preaching was awesome.

Comment #4:
Hate to say it but its true….and it didnt use to be that way, thats why the black community is in the shape its in now. Too much mess going on in the “LAWDS” house. I was brought up in the church, sunday school, BTU (baptist training union) say no to drugs, youth choir, young adult choir…EVERYTHING lol. As I got older I saw how SOME church members were. How many are hypocrites and judgemental. I still go but not as much, I stay home and have my own personal relationship with God.

Who Is Bayard Rustin?

Bayard Rustin
It saddens me that I’ve never heard of this amazing and courageous gentleman.  The black community continually omits any positive gay black leaders.  This man was a HUGE part of the civil rights movement and we know nothing about him.  There are thousands of books, newsreels  news articles, movies, documentaries, text books, lectures, poems, etc detailing everything about the Civil Rights Movement and none of those historical accounts mentioned his name at all.  As a black gay man growing up in the south with very religious parents I had a very tough time accepting who I was, which lead to self-hatred and deep depression. If I was aware of Bayard Rustin and taught about his role in the civil rights movement, that may have had a huge impact on my life and the way I felt about myself. That’s why it’s so important to expose those positive gay African American figures like Bayard to let young closeted gay men and women see that they are not alone, and see that they can be out and still accomplish great things with their lives.  What a powerful message.
MORE ABOUT BAYARD RUSTIN (taken from wikipedia):

Bayard Rustin born on March 17, 1912 – died on August 24, 1987.

An American leader in social movements for civil rightssocialism, pacifism and non-violence, and gay rights.  In the pacifist Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR), Rustin practiced nonviolence. He was a leading activist of the early 1947–1955 civil-rights movement, helping to initiate a 1947 Freedom Ride to challenge with civil disobedience racial segregation on interstate busing. He recognizedMartin Luther King, Jr.‘s leadership, and helped to organize the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to strengthen King’s leadership; Rustin promoted the philosophy of nonviolence and the practices of nonviolent resistance, which he had observed while working with Gandhi’s movement in India. Rustin became a leading strategist of the civil rights movement from 1955–1968. He was the chief organizer of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, which was headed by A. Philip Randolph, the leading African-American labor-union president and socialist.[1][2]Rustin also influenced young activists, such as Tom Kahn and Stokely Carmichael, in organizations like the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

After the passage of the civil-rights legislation of 1964–1965, Rustin focused attention on the economic problems of working-class and unemployed African Americans, suggesting that the civil-rights movement had left its period of “protest” and had entered an era of “politics”, in which the Black community had to ally with the labor movement. Rustin became the head of the AFL–CIO‘s A. Philip Randolph Institute, which promoted the integration of formerly all-white unions and promoted the unionization of African Americans. Rustin became an honorary chairperson of the Socialist Party of America in 1972, before it changed its name to Social Democrats, USA (SDUSA); Rustin acted as national chairman of SDUSA during the 1970s. During the 1970s and 1980s, Rustin served on many humanitarian missions, such as aiding refugees from Communist Vietnam and Cambodia. He was on a humanitarian mission in Haiti when he died in 1987.

Rustin was a gay man who had been arrested for a homosexual act in 1953. Homosexuality was criminalized in parts of the United States until 2003 and stigmatized through the 1990s. Rustin’s sexuality, or at least his embarrassingly public criminal charge, was criticized by some fellow pacifists and civil-rights leaders. Rustin was attacked as a “pervert” or “immoral influence” by political opponents from segregationists to Black power militants, and from the 1950s through the 1970s. In addition, his pre-1941 Communist Party affiliation was controversial. To avoid such attacks, Rustin served only rarely as a public spokesperson. He usually acted as an influential adviser to civil-rights leaders. In the 1970s, he became a public advocate on behalf of gay and lesbian causes.

Angry Approval Rating Rant

I’M ANGRY AND PISSED!!! The bullshit lies and manipulation has to stop. I rarely get this angry because I’m such an even-tempered analytical thinker. Whenever I write blogs about social or political issues where I express an opposing view, I always speak from a genuine need to understand the reasoning behind the opposition’s viewpoint. I don’t claim to be a journalist, but I know they share a very similar thought process in order to protect the integrity of the stories they report. This unwritten journalistic code of ethics usually works, but the ugly political climate we’ve had to endure over the past year has revealed a fatal flaw. When almost all of the opposition’s views and beliefs are totally false and/or irrelevant, then it becomes impossible to understand where they’re coming from, or to find some middle ground. There’s no way I can respect anyone who chooses to follow the Republicans sick and disgusting tactics to regain power by destroying a sitting president by “any means necessary”. We all know what’s really going on, but for some reason everyone is afraid to acknowledge it. The people running the Republican party are constantly using race as a scare tactic to get white voters to back whatever lies and issue they’re pushing. Some of it is so overt and bold that it makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time. I really thought my fellow Americans were a lot smarter than that. President Obama has accomplished so much within the first half of his presidency. But for some reason his approval ratings aren’t reflecting that at all. The unemployment rate has stopped it’s rapid decline. He’s working to repeal those unfair “rich get richer” Bush tax cuts, and give them back to the middle class working families where they belong. The stimulus he crafted was a success. The Republicans that were publicly against the stimulus, and made public statements saying that their state was going to refuse the money, all lied, and happily accepted the funds and even tried to make it look as though it was coming from them. I HATE HYPOCRISY ON ANY LEVEL, but this goes beyond anything I’ve ever seen or witnessed in American politics. I use to believe that at the core of any public servant or politician, they just want what’s best for the country they live in, and the citizens they were chosen to represent. But after witnessing the brutal onslaught of attacks aimed at OUR PRESIDENT (and the democratic party) over the last two years, that naive belief of mine was forever shattered. The republican party made their intentions clear immediately following the presidential election. I was shocked at how brazen they were. Many republican leaders made public statements about their plan to undermine and sabotage everything coming from the White House and President Obama. They went on record and said that they wanted President Obama to “FAIL”. Anyone with common sense knows that if the President fails, then the country fails. When a political party says that kind of stuff, it says that they do not have the best interest of this great nation in mind. So you have to ask yourself, why would any American want to be a part of or associate themselves with that kind of party. I could respect the opposition if they disagreed with specific policy issues, or if they presented a plan that outlined a better way to solve some of the economic issues we’re having. But this isn’t the case. 

I started writing this blog post about a month ago, before this past election on November 2 of 2010. I had intentions to finish writing it and post it before the election, but two new projects presented themselves to me, and I dove in headfirst because they were really good opportunities. Unfortunately those two projects required a lot of work and attention so my blog suffered. But after what just happened on November 2 with the GOP gaining control of the House, I knew I had to finish writing it and add something about my thoughts and reactions to that election. I was very disappointed at the outcome. I couldn’t believe that my fellow Americans actually bought into the lies and manipulations of the Republican party. I took it very personal because I thought we were smarter than that. I thought we were past using fear and racism as a political ploy. I thought everyone remembered the people who caused the economic crisis and tarnished our international reputation. I thought everyone remembered how Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy were destroying the working middle class. I thought everyone remembered who sent our sons and daughters to fight and risk their lives in an unnecessary war. I thought everyone remembered who stole an election even though they did not get a majority vote. But I was wrong. We don’t want to be bothered by actually thinking for ourselves. Who has time for that? We’d rather turn on Fox “news” and let them tell us what to think. If this is where our county is heading, then we deserve exactly what we get. If America is that dumb, then I can see why President Obama has such low approval ratings. We’re too dumb to see and understand all of the huge accomplishments he’s made in such a short time in spite of all the bullshit and negativity. My only solace is that history will see and recognize those accomplishments. And our children and grand children will benefit from the tough decisions  President Obama had to make to try to fulfill his vision of uniting this country… after all, aren’t we supposed to be The “UNITED” States of America?
HATE TRUMPS HOPE ONCE AGAIN

The Right Movie At The Right Time

I randomly came across this movie early this morning (4am) because I couldn’t sleep. I was shocked that I had never heard of it before. Even though it was released in 2009, the message is so very relevant to everything going on in the news right now. Gay-bashing, homophobes, religious zealotry, gay teen suicide, etc. What’s even more amazing is that it’s a true story. It stirred up so many emotions with me. At times it seemed as though I were watching a movie based on my life. It was kind of eerie how much of my life paralleled the main characters. It’s probably the most touching film I’ve ever seen. If I had normal human emotions, I probably would of cried through the whole movie (lol). 


PLEASE watch this movie, and then get your friends and family to watch it. Stories like this have the power to open closed eyes, and reach those who we thought were unreachable. After you watch it, I’d love to hear your thoughts and opinions on it. Anyone that can watch this movie without being moved is not human at all… or what I like to call a “Republican” (lol).

You can watch the movie right here for free, or purchase it on DVD by clicking this link:
Prayers for Bobby

Rick Ross Rip Off?


Lil Wayne always says that he doesn’t listen to anyone’s music besides himself. I use to think that was crazy and a bit self-absorbed, but now I think I understand why. I had this epiphany just this morning. Here’s what happened: Last night I couldn’t sleep, so I got out my recording equipment and decided to work on some new material. It seemed like everything was falling in place very quickly. I didn’t have to struggle to find a concept. I knew what beat I wanted to use. Wrote the first song in about 10 to 15 minutes. Breezed through recording the lead vocals & backing vocals. Things were going so well, so I decided to take advantage of the momentum and record another song. Within 2 or 3 hours I had finished 2 whole totally new songs… and I really liked both of them. After everything was done, I went to sleep for a couple of hours. When I woke up I immediately listened to the new tracks. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Both of them sounded like a Rick Ross rip off, or a very bad Rick Ross impersonation. I’m a HUGE fan of his, & for the past month he’s all I’ve been listening to, so I guess that’s how his style & flow crept into my music without me even knowing. Crazy right? I don’t know why I didn’t hear it when I was recording the songs. You gotta understand that hip hop is my passion. Not just the music, but the whole culture. I can’t imagine what I’d do without hip hop. Yeah, I’m an artist, but I’m also a fan. I love that feeling I get whenever I hear something new that’s hot. I love it when I recognize “game changers” before anyone else does (Juvenile 400 degrees album with “Ha” as the first single, or Lil’ Kim’s 1st album “Hardcore”, or the first time I heard Biggie on the Craig Mack “Flavor In Your Ear” remix, Lil’ Wayne’s first major hit “Lollipop”, Master P’s “Ghetto Dope” album, T-Pain’s reintroduction of autotune on “In Love With A Stripper”, Dr. Dre’s “The Chronic” album, Puffy’s in-house production team “The Hit Men”, JaRule introduced the whole “rapper and singer” style with a little bit of pop mixed in to ensure crossover appeal, Lil Jon created a whole new sub-genre of hip hop called “Crunk”, etc. etc. you know what I mean). I love turning friends on to a new artist that I know is about to blow up. But if I plan to be successful in this business, then I have to dial back the “hip hop fan” aspect and turn up the “hip hop artist” in me. Easier said than done, I’m sure. I know I don’t have to stop listening to other artist I like, but I think if I keep my musical influences broad and listen to more of a cross section, rather than focusing in on just one artist (like Rick Ross), then I can prevent this from happening again… I hope.


To check out my music, or if you just want more info about Frank Privlidge, please visit the sites below:
www.reverbnation.com/privlidge
www.demonspencer.com

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