Been playing around with my new video editing software. Here's what I came up with.
Just a preview.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
The Tiger and the Pretty White Girl
The title of this blog sounds like it should begin with “once upon a time”, however, this is not an imaginary story and its happened more than once and the time is now. After a little hiatus from blogging recent events have stirred something up inside of me that I had to address on this keyboard and that America needs to address in general. And what is this issue that needs to be addressed? Its how America treats and deals with its most precious resource. No, not natural gas or children. I mean its MOST precious resource.
Pretty White Girls!!!
There is nothing that America values more than its pretty white girls. And every black celebrity had better take note of that. Pretty white girls are untouchable. They are princesses and virgins, pure as the driven snow ::sarcasm::. And any black man attempting to contaminate or mistreat one will be punished to the fullest extent of the law. I wish I was joking. But media history has shown this to be 100% truth.
We all know how only 50-60 years ago black men were beaten and killed for just LOOKING at white women. Well that over protective attitude has not disappeared. Its barely changed. In fact now, its morphed into “ok, we’ll let you date and have sex and marry our white women, but the minute you fuck up, BAM, we’re hanging you.” And this has happened to every major black celebrity that has been involved with a scandal with a white woman. Most recently is Tiger Woods. Here is a man that is now regarded as the most dominant figure and famous man in sports. He is a hero to many and role model to almost everyone. For golf. Not for the way he lived his life, his humanitarian efforts, his strong spiritual background or his patriotism, FOR GOLF. Outside of the golf tournaments and the little bit of papparazi moments we’ve gotten, we have no idea what this man was like behind closed doors. But Buick and Gatorade still loved him. And so did we. And now we found out he cheated on his wife and he is a monster, whose actions are reprehensible. He is the poster child for immorality and despicable behavior. Really? First, I don’t condone infidelity. Tiger is wrong for cheating on his wife, no question about that. But we didn’t adorn him with the title “Most Dominant Sports Figure” for his ability to be loyal. So why the sudden disdain for the man? Not just because he cheated.
But because he cheated on a white woman.
Some of the biggest celebrities in the world have cheated on their wives. Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant and Bill Clinton to name a few. But outside of Clinton (who was President so that trumps everything) the only difference with these other celebrities and why they weren’t crucified for their indiscretions is because their wives weren’t white. These were also the most dominant figures in sports at one time and their “trangressions” passed through the media quite easily. Oh people spoke about it and shook their heads, but they still retained their greatness. But when you look at celebrities like OJ, even though he was never convicted of it, committed the most heinous crime against a pretty white girl, the media and the public are calling for blood. I honestly believe this is the very reason why McCain choose Palin over much more qualified female candidates. See those other, more qualified candidates, just weren’t pretty white girls. And you’re allowed to talk crap about ugly people regardless of race. But he knew that America would never allow Obama to say one negative thing about Palin, his pretty white girl. A fact that Obama was careful to acknowledge.
The media’s coverage of missing people only extends to pretty white girls. Paris Hilton and countless other worthless celebrities get fame for merely being rich pretty white girls. You would think that Girls Gone Wild videos would ruin the lives of tons of pretty white girls, but it doesn’t and they know it won’t. Because they are still looked at as precious commodities. Troubled youths who had a moment of immaturity and should be forgiven. Their lives are not ruined, not over, in fact, that’s just the beginning of illustrious career of half-assing their way through life because they are pretty….and white.
Yes, this is America’s greatest resource. The fairy tale princess. Disney’s model of beauty and purity. And black celebrities had better remember it. Or pay the consequences.
Pretty White Girls!!!
There is nothing that America values more than its pretty white girls. And every black celebrity had better take note of that. Pretty white girls are untouchable. They are princesses and virgins, pure as the driven snow ::sarcasm::. And any black man attempting to contaminate or mistreat one will be punished to the fullest extent of the law. I wish I was joking. But media history has shown this to be 100% truth.
We all know how only 50-60 years ago black men were beaten and killed for just LOOKING at white women. Well that over protective attitude has not disappeared. Its barely changed. In fact now, its morphed into “ok, we’ll let you date and have sex and marry our white women, but the minute you fuck up, BAM, we’re hanging you.” And this has happened to every major black celebrity that has been involved with a scandal with a white woman. Most recently is Tiger Woods. Here is a man that is now regarded as the most dominant figure and famous man in sports. He is a hero to many and role model to almost everyone. For golf. Not for the way he lived his life, his humanitarian efforts, his strong spiritual background or his patriotism, FOR GOLF. Outside of the golf tournaments and the little bit of papparazi moments we’ve gotten, we have no idea what this man was like behind closed doors. But Buick and Gatorade still loved him. And so did we. And now we found out he cheated on his wife and he is a monster, whose actions are reprehensible. He is the poster child for immorality and despicable behavior. Really? First, I don’t condone infidelity. Tiger is wrong for cheating on his wife, no question about that. But we didn’t adorn him with the title “Most Dominant Sports Figure” for his ability to be loyal. So why the sudden disdain for the man? Not just because he cheated.
But because he cheated on a white woman.
Some of the biggest celebrities in the world have cheated on their wives. Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant and Bill Clinton to name a few. But outside of Clinton (who was President so that trumps everything) the only difference with these other celebrities and why they weren’t crucified for their indiscretions is because their wives weren’t white. These were also the most dominant figures in sports at one time and their “trangressions” passed through the media quite easily. Oh people spoke about it and shook their heads, but they still retained their greatness. But when you look at celebrities like OJ, even though he was never convicted of it, committed the most heinous crime against a pretty white girl, the media and the public are calling for blood. I honestly believe this is the very reason why McCain choose Palin over much more qualified female candidates. See those other, more qualified candidates, just weren’t pretty white girls. And you’re allowed to talk crap about ugly people regardless of race. But he knew that America would never allow Obama to say one negative thing about Palin, his pretty white girl. A fact that Obama was careful to acknowledge.
The media’s coverage of missing people only extends to pretty white girls. Paris Hilton and countless other worthless celebrities get fame for merely being rich pretty white girls. You would think that Girls Gone Wild videos would ruin the lives of tons of pretty white girls, but it doesn’t and they know it won’t. Because they are still looked at as precious commodities. Troubled youths who had a moment of immaturity and should be forgiven. Their lives are not ruined, not over, in fact, that’s just the beginning of illustrious career of half-assing their way through life because they are pretty….and white.
Yes, this is America’s greatest resource. The fairy tale princess. Disney’s model of beauty and purity. And black celebrities had better remember it. Or pay the consequences.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Are we there yet?
This all too familiar backseat cadence has plagued family vacations since the invention of the automobile. As kids, we loved dropping the “are we there yet?” on our parents. Unfortunately, it tends to lose its humor value once you become the parent. It’s just simply not that amusing when you’re attempting to navigate an SUV across three lanes of interstate traffic to the island sounds of Spongebob Squarepants. Yes Mom and Dad… now we know what it feels like.
But let’s be honest… kids aren’t stupid. They know damn well we aren’t there yet. The answer is never a “yes, we’re there.” This question is rarely, if ever, answered with a sound “yes” or “no.” Instead, they tend take a different shape: “Does it look like we’re there yet?” “Ask again and we won’t be going anywhere.” And even the borderline inappropriate “Shut up before I throw your PSP out the window and fasten your mouth closed with the seatbelt.”
But the truth of the matter is that no one will ever get a firm “yes.” Everyone in the vehicle knows you’re not there or you’d be there. The car is still moving, the kids are still yelling, and your spouse is still arguing with the GPS. “No damnit! We are not there yet!” So how do you know when you’re there? Well, now that’s a good question.
As we grow older, “are we there yet” begins to take new meaning. “Is this where I’m supposed to be? Is this is good as life is gonna get? Have I reached my peak? Have I progressed and achieved success in relationships and in my career? Am I happy? Where am I going?” Ironically, we spend our childhood joking about why it’s taking so long to get to a destination, never understanding the true complexity of the question when applied to our ambitions.
I guess if you find yourself asking “am I there yet,” you probably aren’t there. As kids, we knew that at some point, we would be there. It may take a couple naps and a few slugfests with your siblings, but eventually you’d have a chance to massage out the numbness in your left cheek. Once real life kicks in, you may spend years grinding it out on your leather ass without ever putting the car in park.
Just like those family trips in the station wagon, life’s journey requires quite a bit of planning. You can’t expect to reach your destination without mapping out a solid course. And perhaps that’s the one thing many of us overlook. Instead of putting together a 1-year, 2-year, or 5-year plan, we simply assume that if we keep driving we’ll eventually get there. Unfortunately, life doesn’t work that way. In order to truly achieve the success we desire, it may be helpful to install a primary navigation system.
If you’re still struggling to keep the car on the road, writing out a plan of action can help. Parking your goals next to the rusty ideas in your head will only make it that much easier to dump them into the incinerator when things aren’t working out as expected. Yes, it would be nice if we could simply enter our 5-year coordinates into a GPS device and let a soothing voice direct us to the pot of gold. But for now, we’ll have to find our own path. So get out that notebook and start planning, because on the road of life, you’re likely to run into construction, roadblocks, and hordes of idiot drivers. But that's nothing you can't handle with a little preparation and a set of new tires. Giddy-up.
Nuke -The Truth-
But let’s be honest… kids aren’t stupid. They know damn well we aren’t there yet. The answer is never a “yes, we’re there.” This question is rarely, if ever, answered with a sound “yes” or “no.” Instead, they tend take a different shape: “Does it look like we’re there yet?” “Ask again and we won’t be going anywhere.” And even the borderline inappropriate “Shut up before I throw your PSP out the window and fasten your mouth closed with the seatbelt.”
But the truth of the matter is that no one will ever get a firm “yes.” Everyone in the vehicle knows you’re not there or you’d be there. The car is still moving, the kids are still yelling, and your spouse is still arguing with the GPS. “No damnit! We are not there yet!” So how do you know when you’re there? Well, now that’s a good question.
As we grow older, “are we there yet” begins to take new meaning. “Is this where I’m supposed to be? Is this is good as life is gonna get? Have I reached my peak? Have I progressed and achieved success in relationships and in my career? Am I happy? Where am I going?” Ironically, we spend our childhood joking about why it’s taking so long to get to a destination, never understanding the true complexity of the question when applied to our ambitions.
I guess if you find yourself asking “am I there yet,” you probably aren’t there. As kids, we knew that at some point, we would be there. It may take a couple naps and a few slugfests with your siblings, but eventually you’d have a chance to massage out the numbness in your left cheek. Once real life kicks in, you may spend years grinding it out on your leather ass without ever putting the car in park.
Just like those family trips in the station wagon, life’s journey requires quite a bit of planning. You can’t expect to reach your destination without mapping out a solid course. And perhaps that’s the one thing many of us overlook. Instead of putting together a 1-year, 2-year, or 5-year plan, we simply assume that if we keep driving we’ll eventually get there. Unfortunately, life doesn’t work that way. In order to truly achieve the success we desire, it may be helpful to install a primary navigation system.
If you’re still struggling to keep the car on the road, writing out a plan of action can help. Parking your goals next to the rusty ideas in your head will only make it that much easier to dump them into the incinerator when things aren’t working out as expected. Yes, it would be nice if we could simply enter our 5-year coordinates into a GPS device and let a soothing voice direct us to the pot of gold. But for now, we’ll have to find our own path. So get out that notebook and start planning, because on the road of life, you’re likely to run into construction, roadblocks, and hordes of idiot drivers. But that's nothing you can't handle with a little preparation and a set of new tires. Giddy-up.
Nuke -The Truth-
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Jay-Z - The Blueprint 3 review
Jay-Z - The Blueprint 3
RocNation, 2009
Just in case you missed the first two installments, the Michael Jordan of rap has returned yet again to map out another blueprint for the industry. The Blueprint 3 tries to stack up against its predecessors, but falls a bit flat of rewriting history. Don’t get me wrong, Jay-Z is arguably the best to ever do it and there’s definitely a good chunk of solid music here to sink your teeth into. Unfortunately, the overall experience feels more like a Chinese buffet than a square meal—initially satisfying but leaving you hungry for more almost immediately after consumption.
When I first listened to The Blueprint 3, it was hard to ignore the initial assessments, printed reviews, and forum banter. The overall consensus is that The Blueprint 3 is an exceptional album, but perhaps this is actually just an indication of how stagnant the game is in 2009. Although this isn’t Jay’s best work, it still manages to stay afloat in today’s watered down market. Don’t get it twisted; Jay is a beast, combining his airtight cadence with clever wordplay and veteran charisma, but something is missing here. Although Jay tries to shift create an album suitable for old school heads, the underlying themes here don’t feel mature or inspired.
That being said, The Blueprint 3 is still an enjoyable experience, even if it does fail to harness the replay value of efforts like Reasonable Doubt, The Blueprint, The Black Album, and even American Gangster (which is a far more enjoyable experience in terms of content). The Blueprint 3 opens with the ambient Kanye West/No I.D. production “What We Talkin’ About.” Here Kanye swaps his traditional time-shifted vocal samples for atmospheric chords and plodding drums, creating a subtle backdrop for Jay to address critics, the game, politics, and the current economic situation.
The rest of the album flirts with this type of mellow production: beats are stripped of typical head nodding drums and orchestrated samples are often swapped for heavy synthesizers. This vibe carries over into “Thank You,” another Kanye and No I.D. beat collaboration that bounces along over a subdued big band loop and reverb-heavy snare. Although the production is far from lackluster, I can’t help but feel like Jay has recorded this song about six times already. You won’t find much replay value here minus some cagey lyrics like “Heaven knows that I've made my mistakes/ Thank God what a guy as I say my grace /Who woulda thought by making birds migrate/For the winter I be fly all summer might I say.”
In the grand scheme of things, the neck-snapping No I.D. produced single “D.O.A.” seems a bit out of place, especially when The Blueprint 3 isn’t exactly deprived of auto-tuned vocals. However, this is easily one of the better tracks on the album as Jay massacres the current T-Pain trend with scalding ferocity… uh! Here the album begins to gain some momentum with the second single, “Run This Town” featuring Rihanna and Kanye West and the NY anthem “Empire State Of Mind” featuring Alicia Keys.
“Empire State Of Mind” is arguably the best track on the album. Jay paints a vivid portrait of the Big Apple’s conflicting themes with commentary like “Hail Mary to the city you’re a Virgin/And Jesus can’t save you, life starts when the church ends/ Came here for school, graduated to the high life/Ball players, rap stars, addicted to the limelight/MDMA got you feeling like a champion/The city never sleeps better slip you an Ambien.” I also have to tip my hat to Jay for reaching out to the gorgeous and talented Alicia Keys. She sounds absolutely stunning on the song’s hook, channeling Broadway’s infectious blacktop energy with soulful passion.
“Real As It Gets” featuring Young Jeezy tries to keep the momentum going but fails to really make an imprint. This isn’t a terrible cut, but I was expecting something epic from Jay and Jeezy. Instead, we’re greeted with familiar ‘top of the world’ subject matter and production that sounds more like a movie soundtrack than a platform for two giants to scale.
The Swizz Beatz crafted “On To The Next One” is quite possibly one of the most irritating songs I’ve ever heard on an album of this caliber. Swizz often gets criticized for his lazy production, but you can’t completely discredit the guy. He’s definitely made his mark and created some memorable beats for the industry’s best... this is definitely not one of them. I can imagine Guantanamo Bay guards using this track to torture prisoners into revealing the location of terrorist cells on US soil.
Timbaland makes a few appearances on the album with the songs “Off That” featuring Drake, “Venus vs. Mars,” and “Reminder.” Even though Jay has received some criticism for the Timbaland tracks he selected for The Blueprint 3, I think all three are pretty fresh. On “Venus vs. Mars,” Jay flips a back and forth flow over filtered string samples, eerie synths, and hollow kicks. Here Jay uses a relationship with a female companion to construct some of the most jaw dropping lyrical content on the album. Instead of simply rehashing the typical “Me And My Girlfriend” format, Jay does his best yin and yang impression:
Hov’s a Blackberry Bold, Shawty’s a Sidekick
She used to have a man, I used to have a side chick
Shawty got wind, I had to blow the chick off
Got rid of him, they both took the sh!t hard
Shawty play the piano, me I play the white keys
Shawty from the south, oh I think she like me
Shawty like Pac, me Big Poppa
Screaming hit em up, I’m screaming who shot ya.
The rest of The Blueprint 3 is pretty hit and miss. On “A Star Is Born” featuring ‘rated rookie’ J Cole, Jay creates a timeline of his career, paying homage to the artists he battled and befriended along the way. “Already Home” featuring Kid Cudi and the Neptune’s produced “So Ambitious” show signs of life but are easy skips if you’re looking for something more uptempo. “Hate” sees a return to traditional Kanye territory as an auto-tuned vocal loop allows Jay and Kanye to vent their frustration for—yes, you guessed it—haters.
Borrowing a sample from Alphaville’s familiar “Forever Young,” the album closes with “Young Forever,” a nod to living a remarkable and inspirational life. Ironically, this could be the reason The Blueprint 3 doesn’t really fulfill my expectations. Instead of giving us a focused album, Jay tries to balance familiar ‘living large’ themes with the vision of a successful adult. Unfortunately, it fails to capture the true essence of NY hip hop or the maturity and hindsight of a grown man who’s seen the game from every angle. We know the architect is capable of crafting a monumental product, but attempting to build a revolutionary home from this blueprint will ultimately result in an unstable foundation.
As a rap album, 4 out of 5
As a Jay-Z album – 3.5 out of 5
Nuke -The Truth-
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
The Redskins' Prayer
Sun - 9/13/09
I was at the bar watching the Dolphins when my phone died at about 3:30 ... 45 minutes before the Skins/Giants game jumped off. By the time I got the thing recharged, we were 3 quarters in and I had racked up 38 text messages, the majority from 4 cousins and my brother. Actually, I'm not even sure my brother joined in the text barrage. This may have been the combined work of 4 cousins and a couple friends. I started to shuffle through all my messages, unearthing gems like:
'fuck aikman'
'we are not very good'
'we blow'
'we need a new qb, a new coach, a new o line'
'Campbell reminds me of Forest Gump, but without the heart and brains. Actually, that statement is an insult to Forest. Forest was an All American for the Crimson Tide and would have been a great NFL player if it wasn't for that damn Vietnam War and the injury he sustained to his buttocks.'
'Cornerbacks are losing the game for us. Plus we suck and have campbell and zorn.'
'Unfucking believable'
'This could be a blow out'
'WTF is with this playcalling? Who's coaching this team? Tom Landry?'
'I feel bad you have to watch Campbell stink up the joint all day.'
Jammed in the middle of curse word combos and cries of disgust, I found a prayer my cousin Bill penned before kickoff. So without further adieu, I give you the Redskins prayer:
As the opening game of the season nears, I only have a few simple requests of the Football gods. Please, let the Redskins play football like men this year. Please let the offensive line play much bigger than their puny selves. Please turn Jason Campbell into a superstar with some fire in his belly and balls as big as those famous Redskins quarterbacks of yore. Please keep our superstars healthy. Please tell Zorn that he cannot dink and dunk the ball all day long, especially on 3rd and long. And lastly, oh gods of the almighty pigskin, if you could please let us beat the shit out of the 'insert team of choice' today. Is this is too much to ask, then fuck you, fuck aikman, and fuck all the teams we play, because Redskins fans around the globe are counting on you to deliver us to the promised land. Amen! Hail to the Redskins! Hail Victory! Go Skins!
Nuke -The Truth-
Monday, August 10, 2009
WHY BLACK MEN CHEAT.....PART 2
Sorry for the delay. But I didn't wanna just push out some b.s. on something so serious. (yeah, right, lol)
The second reason I would have to associate with black men cheating is self-esteem. Let's not confuse self-esteem with swagger, confidence or conceit. Those three are personality or surface traits. Things that can be turned off or on when necessary. Self-esteem goes deeper. How you view yourself speaks into what motivates you when nobody's looking. It's a character trait. It's the reason why even the most beautiful women can feel bad about their looks or feel insecure. This is a main area that black men are especially good at masking. We are very good at playing it like we have high self-esteem when deep down we are dealing with all kinds of insecurities. "Do I look good enough", "do I make enough money", "do I dress nice enough", etc. And within the black community there are several catalyst for opening up these insecurities.
Our culture focuses and puts so much emphasis on materialism, cultivating your outward appearance, and sexual prowess. Look at the music which has in the past and currently represents our community. It constantly focuses on how good you should make love to your woman (with r&b) and how many different "hoes" you have and how much of a pimp you are (with rap). This will put a lot of pressure on a man (from personal experience, sheesh ladies, lol). So many black men are going to use their skill in the bedroom as a measure for their self-esteem. Unfortunately, you can't get an accurate measure without testing it on different women. So what you get is a man who's constantly reassuring himself by how many women he can sleep with and how good they tell him he is in bed, even if the main one he is involved with constantly reassures him of this. As far as he's concerned, she's saying that because she loves him and wants to reassure him. His "swagger", his "confidence" is all manufactured to give the appearance of someone with high self-esteem and also because its part of the game. We already know that women are attracted to "confidence" and "swagger". Therefore, those surface traits that we know help us get women are the same ones that we use against women in an effort to make us feel better about ourselves.
I could probably write 10 more pages on this, but I think you understand what I'm talking about. Men are not going to cry or display emotion about our insecurities. We're going to mask them in ways that help us forget. And nothing makes you feel better about yourself than knowing that you can "bag up" any woman you want. You must be the man. Think about it. It occupies so much of our conversation when men get together. It what our music concentrates on. Unfortunately, its what our value system is based on.
The second reason I would have to associate with black men cheating is self-esteem. Let's not confuse self-esteem with swagger, confidence or conceit. Those three are personality or surface traits. Things that can be turned off or on when necessary. Self-esteem goes deeper. How you view yourself speaks into what motivates you when nobody's looking. It's a character trait. It's the reason why even the most beautiful women can feel bad about their looks or feel insecure. This is a main area that black men are especially good at masking. We are very good at playing it like we have high self-esteem when deep down we are dealing with all kinds of insecurities. "Do I look good enough", "do I make enough money", "do I dress nice enough", etc. And within the black community there are several catalyst for opening up these insecurities.
Our culture focuses and puts so much emphasis on materialism, cultivating your outward appearance, and sexual prowess. Look at the music which has in the past and currently represents our community. It constantly focuses on how good you should make love to your woman (with r&b) and how many different "hoes" you have and how much of a pimp you are (with rap). This will put a lot of pressure on a man (from personal experience, sheesh ladies, lol). So many black men are going to use their skill in the bedroom as a measure for their self-esteem. Unfortunately, you can't get an accurate measure without testing it on different women. So what you get is a man who's constantly reassuring himself by how many women he can sleep with and how good they tell him he is in bed, even if the main one he is involved with constantly reassures him of this. As far as he's concerned, she's saying that because she loves him and wants to reassure him. His "swagger", his "confidence" is all manufactured to give the appearance of someone with high self-esteem and also because its part of the game. We already know that women are attracted to "confidence" and "swagger". Therefore, those surface traits that we know help us get women are the same ones that we use against women in an effort to make us feel better about ourselves.
I could probably write 10 more pages on this, but I think you understand what I'm talking about. Men are not going to cry or display emotion about our insecurities. We're going to mask them in ways that help us forget. And nothing makes you feel better about yourself than knowing that you can "bag up" any woman you want. You must be the man. Think about it. It occupies so much of our conversation when men get together. It what our music concentrates on. Unfortunately, its what our value system is based on.
Monday, August 3, 2009
This is it!!!! WHY BLACK MEN CHEAT.....PART 1
This is it!!!! WHY BLACK MEN CHEAT.....PART 1
A complicated question deserves a complicated answer. So I had to split this blog into 3 parts and even those 3 parts still won't and couldn't possibly cover everything. Also, this is just an attempt at identifying "why". How to prevent cheating is almost an impossible dream and entirely dependent on the individual. But here's my stab at why black men cheat.
The main reason I would associate with it is Power. Here are some dictionary meanings to the word "power".
1. ability to do or act; capability of doing or accomplishing something.
2. the possession of control or command over others; authority; ascendancy: power over men's minds.
3. a person or thing that possesses or exercises authority or influence.
Among the physical and psychological needs to eat, breathe, security, fulfillment, and growth is a human need for power. It is ones innate desire to feel in control of their environment and to have an immediate effect on their situation. Sometimes this involves controlling or being in a position of authority over others. And whether this need for power is exerted positively or negatively greatly depends on the individual's personal experiences and background. This feeling of power can come from any area and to satisfy it all an individual has to have is the ability to exert that power. To understand how this relates to cheating, we have to look at the Black Man's need for power and how it can be manifest.
In today's world, specifically white America, Black Men are not empowered, or at least, not made to feel like they are empowered. We're made to feel like we're not in control of our job situation, our education, and our government. (This is very intentional, I would invite everyone to read "The Willie Lynch Papers" and see how slavery was intentionally and purposely devised to emasculate the black man). Even within the black family black men are rarely seen as the leaders with "Big Mamas" and "Nanas" being the strong ones and focal points.
So with all these areas basically negating the black man's power, there is one area where he is in full control. His sexuality. His ability to charm and attract women is directly associated with his need for power. His manipulation over women is directly related with his strength, his prowess, his "ability to do or act; accomplish something". Look at our music. Look at our culture. Black men pride themselves on how much they are "good lovers" and how many women they get and the physical quality of those women. This is constantly reasserted and any comments made to detract from that is directly related to his "manhood", his stature, his POWER.
Because society has taken power from him, the black man seeks to exert is elsewhere, in the area that he has the most control over, who he sleeps with and how often. Could this be directly linked to the black man's self-esteem? Stay tuned for Part 2.
A complicated question deserves a complicated answer. So I had to split this blog into 3 parts and even those 3 parts still won't and couldn't possibly cover everything. Also, this is just an attempt at identifying "why". How to prevent cheating is almost an impossible dream and entirely dependent on the individual. But here's my stab at why black men cheat.
The main reason I would associate with it is Power. Here are some dictionary meanings to the word "power".
1. ability to do or act; capability of doing or accomplishing something.
2. the possession of control or command over others; authority; ascendancy: power over men's minds.
3. a person or thing that possesses or exercises authority or influence.
Among the physical and psychological needs to eat, breathe, security, fulfillment, and growth is a human need for power. It is ones innate desire to feel in control of their environment and to have an immediate effect on their situation. Sometimes this involves controlling or being in a position of authority over others. And whether this need for power is exerted positively or negatively greatly depends on the individual's personal experiences and background. This feeling of power can come from any area and to satisfy it all an individual has to have is the ability to exert that power. To understand how this relates to cheating, we have to look at the Black Man's need for power and how it can be manifest.
In today's world, specifically white America, Black Men are not empowered, or at least, not made to feel like they are empowered. We're made to feel like we're not in control of our job situation, our education, and our government. (This is very intentional, I would invite everyone to read "The Willie Lynch Papers" and see how slavery was intentionally and purposely devised to emasculate the black man). Even within the black family black men are rarely seen as the leaders with "Big Mamas" and "Nanas" being the strong ones and focal points.
So with all these areas basically negating the black man's power, there is one area where he is in full control. His sexuality. His ability to charm and attract women is directly associated with his need for power. His manipulation over women is directly related with his strength, his prowess, his "ability to do or act; accomplish something". Look at our music. Look at our culture. Black men pride themselves on how much they are "good lovers" and how many women they get and the physical quality of those women. This is constantly reasserted and any comments made to detract from that is directly related to his "manhood", his stature, his POWER.
Because society has taken power from him, the black man seeks to exert is elsewhere, in the area that he has the most control over, who he sleeps with and how often. Could this be directly linked to the black man's self-esteem? Stay tuned for Part 2.
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