inherently different

Archive for November, 2006

Since I am probably the only person of color who frequents this site, so let me opine…

Unless you have ever been the victim of racial discrimination, overt or covert, it is hard to grasp the feeling one gets from being singled out because you are NOT white. After a while, because you have been the victim of overt racism, you tend to assume the worst in people. After a while, you might come to think that any white person staring at you inside a store is just waiting for you to steal something. They may simply be admiring your clothes, your hair, your manner, or if you are a woman, your tits, but if you have been the victim of racial discrimination, chances are you will believe they are staring at you because you aren’t white and therefore, can’t possibly afford to buy anything.

You eventually get to a point at which it becomes an almost automatic impulse to rebel when you assume you are the victim of discrimination… an impulse that requires a great deal of self control to suppress and ignore.

Growing up in San Diego [read: the place filled with the kind of dirty Mexicans that the lovely people from Arizona would love to ship back to Mexico lest they take all those much sought after jobs and subvert the system to get free medical care!], I knew that some people had a hard time dealing with a Mexican who wasn’t either a migrant worker or a dishwasher. The fact that I spoke without an accent was usually the first thing white people brought up upon meeting me and I wouldn’t get mad because getting mad at ignorance is like pissing in the wind… it might bring you relief, but you’ll end up with most of it all over you. I digress…

After college, I moved to an area in Northern California that was about as white as a baby harp seal. One day after work I walked into downtown Los Gatos (an affluent [read: white] suburb of Santa Clara) to get some dinner. To my surprise, I was stopped by the police and questioned about a burglary that had happened hours before. I understood without even needing to really think about it why it was that out of ALL the hundreds of people walking around downtown, I was the subject of interest. Despite the fact that I was still dressed in my work clothes (a white dress shirt, a tie, dark slacks and dress shoes), mine was the only face that seemed out of place in a startling ocean of snow white patrons [read: a dirty Mexican in a predominantly white neighborhood]. Upon surrendering my ID, the first question I asked was, "Can I ask you gentlemen why you stopped me?"

The officer in charge told me and I laughed at him. Out loud. When he asked me what was so funny, I said, "I knew this was an expensive neighborhood, but do burglars usually dress as well as I do?" Right then I knew the police officer realized how ridiculous he sounded. Now, at this point, I could have made a big deal about it. I could have easily put a chip on my shoulder and begged him to knock it off. But I knew that the bottom line was that it could quickly escalate and my best course of action would be to comply with whatever reasonable requests they made and if I felt the need, complain about it later. They asked their questions and when they finished, I asked mine, "Could you please tell me your names and give me your badge numbers?"

I never filed, but the look on their faces was all the justice I needed. They both knew they were fucked and they both knew I knew they were fucked. They sheepishly gave me the information I requested and left me on the side of the road… smiling.

I bring this up because if you’ve read the papers, you have undoubtedly read about the incident that transpired on the UCLA campus. Here is a situation that could have been averted if the victim wasn’t passively disobeying peace officers just doing their jobs. Now, don’t get me wrong… I am totally against any kind of harassment, but clearly the incident occurred only after he refused to cooperate (first by refusing to show his ID, then by refusing to leave when asked, and finally when he took offense to one of the officer’s placing a hand on his shoulder to steer him out). Had he simply left when the volunteers in the library asked him to, the UCLA PD would not have reason to get involved.

The big ruckus now is over his "rights" being trampled by the peace officers overzealous use of the taser. Perhaps they could have handled it differently, but had Mr. Tabatabainejad complied with the original request for his ID, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED. Once Mr. Tabatabainejad was incapacitated, was there a need to repeatedly zap that fucker with enough electricity to toast a bagel? Probably not, but he essentially got the response he was angling for in my opinion.

If he is truly a student of UCLA, someone should look into whether or not he has the mental capacity to actually belong in a place of higher learning… either way, I am sure Mr. Tabatabainejad has learned at least one valuable lesson… you don’t fuck with the Police no matter what color you are or you just might get lit up like a lightbulb at christmas.

There is rumors that Bush wants to INCREASE the number of troops in Iraq rather than bow to the political pressure at home and abroad to withdraw completely.

At the risk of giving the impression that I’m a fan of G-Dub, let me say that I think if winning the war is important, a total commitment is necessary. Withdrawing troops before Iraq is able to function on its own would cause more problems that it would solve and please don’t suggest that the UN Peace Keepers handle the brunt of the work… in my opinion, the UN is about as valuable as your appendix… we don’t know what its for, experts doubt it is necessary, but we keep it just in case it might have some heretofore unrealized value.

No, I think the US should take a page out of Hannibal’s notebook… That’s the Carthaginian general Hannibal (247-182 BCE) and not the scary man from the Silence of the Lambs. It is said that Hannibal believed mightily in making sure those loyal to his enemies were destroyed. He would kill everyone related to his enemies just to make sure there wouldn’t be some kind of reprisal later.

So long as were are only partially invested in actually destroying the mechanisms of terrorism (poverty, subjugation, intimidation, ignorance, zealotry), there will never be an end to this boondoggle. The only way to ensure that terrorists lay down their weapons of hate is to make their position untenable. To do that, you have to make sure they pay heavily for every casualty suffered by the civilian populace.

Say what you will about Britney Spears music, but her taste in men has always been suspect. Justin Timberlake is a momma’s boy, but at least it appears as though he bathes regularly, unlike her current, but soon-to-be ex, Kevin Federline who often looks like he takes showers in Vincent Gallo’s sweat.

The fact that she had people on her staff smart enough to recognize Federline for the leech that he was is the only reason she will walk away from the marriage losing about $30k as opposed to $30 Million… which is what COULD have happened if there wasn’t a pre-nup. Federline, for his part, will go down in history as the guy who inseminated Spears and walked away with pretty much nothing.

In all honesty, that Federline is in the process of suing Spears for full custody of his kids speaks volumes about his mindset. I mean, the fucker barely interacts with his other two kids from a previous relationship, and he wants custody of the two children he had with Spears… If I was the judge, the first thing I would ask is why he didn’t sue for full custody of his first two children? Why these two? Clearly it’s a ploy to get more from Spears.

Don’t get me wrong… I am not adverse to accepting money from my sig other… if two people are working toward a common goal, I figure that eventually it all comes out in the wash. If I was married to someone who made millions though, and the relationship came to an end… I’d walk with what i came in with… pride would just not let me take money I had nothing to do with accumulating.

All I really have to say is the fucking douche bag is from Fresno! The only thing that comes out of Fresno is hair dressers and raisins… I find it oddly entertaining to hear Federline expound on his "rough hood" credentials… he’s from fucking Fresno… it’s like claimin you’re an OG from mean streets of Piedmont, CA… What a cocksucker…

In life, you will meet two types of people. I know, I know… you will undoubtedly claim that you can’t be pigeon-holed, but the god’s honest truth is, you can. Most people are not that complex and I can probably figure someone out in less than an hour of face to face conversation. This is the unalienable truth, and, the cross I must bear.

As I was saying, two types of people… people who seek the truth and people who avoid it. I come across both types daily, and have at one time or another, occupied my time bedeviling each of them.

I write this to inform you just what direction my blog will now take. I will no longer censor myself as I have been doing for the last two years or so. There were often times in which I had plenty to write about, but felt that posting would cause friends, family, acquaintances, and other strangers undue harm. Not because what I would write would be malicious or untrue, but because it would be honest and free of any emotional agenda. As Jack Nicholson once said, "You can’t handle the truth!"

I have always been a black and white person… something either is or it isn’t… grey areas are for people who can’t be bothered to believe in something, or worse, believe in themselves. Grey areas are for people who make mistakes often and need grey areas to have plausible deniability. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying I am perfect (although others can feel free to describe me as such), but I am saying that I won’t make the same mistake twice. This new blog will be my little corner of the intraweb where I can point out the lies, unmask the liars that tell them, and beat the morons who believe them with my big stick of truth.

In other words, this blog will now be the place where I can comment on things I see, read, hear, witness or endure… all for my entertainment.