Monday, August 29, 2016

Colin Kaepernick

Alex Boone (pictured right), OT for Minnesota Vikings, says that what Kaepernick is doing (not standing for the National Anthem) is "disrespectful and shameful."

If I lived in China or even Russia, or any totalitarian country, maybe I could understand some of these illegal injunctions. Maybe I could understand the denial of certain basic First Amendment privileges, because they hadn’t committed themselves to that over there. But somewhere I read of the freedom of assembly. Somewhere I read of the freedom of speech. Somewhere I read of the freedom of press. Somewhere I read that the greatness of America is the right to protest for rights.

~ Dr. Martin Luther King

Pro and con arguments abound on social media, on the airwaves and sports networks, regarding 49er QB Colin Kaepernick's boycott of the National Anthem. Please, lets not forget the third stanza of America's 'patriotic' anthem.
  • And where is that band who so vautingly swore,
  • That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
  • A home and a Country should leave us no more?
  • Their bloos has wash'd out their foul footstep's pollution.
  • No refuge could save the hireling and slave
  • From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,
  • And the star-spanfled banner in triumph doth wave
  • O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

"Land of the free" for whom?

We've tried the subtle protest and they DO NOT WORK. For this type of change to occur, it's going to take something drastic like what Colin Kaepernick is doing. On a similar scale, in order for college athletes to be paid, it's going to take a few superstar college athletes to sit-out a championship level game in order for the powers that be to listen. If this doesn't happen, college presidents and the board of directors will continue to make billions of dollars and neither has thrown one TD pass.

As an African American father, years ago, I began to talk to my now 22-year-old son about the risk of being stopped by police. "Do not make any quick moves." "Have your drivers license and insurance card in your hand and holding both up for the officer to see when he gets to the window." "Be very courteous, very respectful, and whatever you do, do not show any anger whatsoever." And then, hope that you just get a ticket out of the exchange and you can continue on your journey.

It's 2016 and one would think that black father's would not need to have these type of conversations with a law-abiding young black male.

The late scholar, W.E.B. DuBois stated in his book, "The Souls of Black Folks": The problem of the 20th-Century will be the problem of the color-line." Who knew that his statement would be true for the 21st-Century as well.

The majority race (based on numbers, not intellect, morality, or common decency) in the United States, even those with good intentions, do not understand what it's like to be Black in America.

"Black Like Me" is a nonfiction book by the late journalist John Howard Griffin. Griffin was frustrated by his inability as a white man to understand the black experience, so he decided to take a very radical step: he underwent medical treatments to change the color of his skin and temporarily became a black man.

In his book Griffin describes his six-week experience travelling on Greyhound buses throughout the racially segregated states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia, passing as a black man.

I read this book when I was about 10 years old, and have re-read the book a couple of times in the past 20 years. When Griffin first began his experiment the first thing he noticed was that people stopped looking at him; they would pass him on the street as if he were invisible. When he was looked at, he received disdainful stares from fellow caucasians who thought he was a black man.

Sure, the book was written in 1961, and times have changed a little, but my point in mentioning "Black Like Me", is, unless you have walked in my shoes as an African American, as John Howard Griffin actually did, you will never know the plight of the black race; you can't know.

The issue of race in America is not vague as some might argue, it is quite clear. Humans are not superior by reason of the accidents of race or color. The problem of the color-line is usually quickly swept under the rug. When the subject is broached, skillful analyst will use the following arguments to dodge this national enigma.

Ad Hominem

An argumentum ad hominem is any kind of argument that criticizes an idea by pointing something out about the people who hold the idea rather than directly addressing the merits of the idea. ''Ad hominem'' is Latin for "directed toward the man" (as opposed to the issue at hand). An alternative expression is "playing the man and not the ball". Ad hominem attacks are ultimately self-defeating. They are equivalent to admitting that you have lost the argument.

Circular Argument

Uses its own conclusion as one of its stated or unstated premises. Instead of offering proof, it simply asserts the conclusion in another form, thereby inviting the listener to accept it as settled when, in fact, it has not been settled. Because the premise is no different from and therefore as questionable as its conclusion, a circular argument violates the criterion of acceptability.

Confirmation Bias

Confirmation bias or myside bias, is a tendency of people to favor information that confirms their beliefs or hypotheses. People display this bias when they gather or remember information selectively, or when they interpret it in a biased way. The effect is stronger for emotionally charged issues and for deeply entrenched beliefs.

Double Entendres

Ambiguity of meaning arising from language that lends itself to more than one interpretation; a word or expression capable of two interpretations with one usually risqué.

Fallacious Reasoning

Keeps us from knowing the truth, and the inability to think critically makes us vulnerable to manipulation by those skilled in the art of rhetoric.

It's past time to meet at the collective table of serious discourse because as long as we struggle, so too will the majority struggle, they are just not aware of it. Its very easy to turn a deaf ear and blind eyes to the situation at hand. You worry about your immediate family and friends and not much else. As much as you hate to read this, we are family. We are branches of the exact same tree; a tree with branches that are fighting amongst themselves.

How so, you ask?

We all came from the same energetic, loving force or entity. The essence that connects us is love and mutual respect. Therefore, when you disrespect another family member based on biases and prejudices, you're ultimately doing irreparable harm to the 'tree', to the 'family', you just don't have the luxury of knowing what your actions are doing. What this does is it hinders and adversely affects the quality of life for us all. Comprehending and adhering to the facets of love and mutual respect is one of the most difficult lessons to learn, which is why serious dialogue has to occur if the human species is to survive.

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

That Special Lady

OK, I'm not ashamed to say that I've been on a few dating sites. The profile heading on the most recent dating site that I'm on is, "Trying Again to find that 'Special' Lady."

A lovely female sent me a message asking, "What is that special lady like?"

Here's my response:

The special lady for me would need to be a reader. She would need to know her responsibility to make a positive difference in society. One person can definitely make a difference.

That special lady for me cannot rely on outdated, archaic, medieval sacrosanct mythology, plagiarized and lifted from Egyptian folklore. If she rolls up her sleeves and does independent study and research about cosmology, about the universe (see Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson); if she studies the Sumerian culture, ancient Babylon, Mesopotamia and the birth of civilization, she will realize that she's been duped by mostly Roman stories. Most women will not do this type of independent study of course, but will continue to rely on apocryphal literature written by men who knew very little about the world around them.

I've been writing and researching primarily about pre-Christian cultures for the past 20 years or so. Google "taskeinc" and read a few articles that I've submitted over the Internet in the past 15 years (over 3000), if you're at all interested.

I've also created and maintain a couple websites and numerous blogs. AmazingUniverse.info is my baby, inspired by the genius of African American Astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson - one of the most brilliant minds of the 21st century.

I mention none of this to brag or boast, only to make the point that I'm not all about partying, hanging out, or sex. I truly want to be a positive light in this world and make the world a better place for my children and their children as well (when/if they come along).

That "special lady" would have to understand what Barry is about as I would attempt to understand what she's about. However, I won't tolerate ignorance and someone who doesn't even try to understand the complexity of who and what she is and her extremely significant place in the universe.

Take care of yourself.... as Gandhi stated, "Be the change you want to see in the world."

I mentioned to "take care of yourself" because after most women reads my spill, they want no parts of me. But it's cool.

Sunday, July 3, 2016

Baffled, Brainwashed, Brethren

An associate posted the image to the right on his Facebook wall. I google'd Ms. Hillary to get a glimpse of her bio. 

Here's what I found:

Barbara Hillary is the first African American woman on record to reach both the North (at the age of 75) and South Poles (at the age of 79).

Born in New York City, New York on June 12, 1931 to Viola Jones Hillary and raised in Harlem, Hillary attended the New School University in New York, N.Y. where she earned both her Bachelor of Arts and Master’s degrees. She used her studies in Gerontology to establish a career in nursing, focusing on staff training in the concepts of patient aging and their service delivery systems in nursing homes and similar facilities. She was also founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Peninsula Magazine, a non-profit and multi-racial magazine in Queens, New York. This magazine was the first of its kind in the region. 

From blackpast.org

I wholeheartedly agree with her quote, "Christianity is the greater shackle, the greater rape of the black mind, than slavery ever was."

British author David Icke stated, "The one major program that holds Black people in America in servitude, and has since its inception, is the 'Christian Program'."


The God Program dominates the psyche of millions of adherents across the globe. The extreme Christian program has gripped the minds of so many Black people in America.

Christianity is the very same religion that was embedded by force, into the mind and hearts of uninformed, unenlightened slaves - who could not communicate with one another, could not read (forbidden to do so) - as part of the process of suppressing and keeping them under control and servitude.

Sadly, in the 21st century, there are millions of African Americans promoting, supporting, and praising the very same system of worship. The control system used by antebellum slave-owners is now controlled, orchestrated and financially manipulated by the ancestors of former slaves. Thereby ensuring that African Americans will stay submissive, remain in servitude and the black mind will continue to be the whore of Christianity.