Saturday Morning Good Writing
Brownfemipower put together a thoroughly enjoyable critique of Queen Latifah's makeover in E! Channel, Starlicious Make Overs and Racism/Homophobia:
So when a show openly states that a black woman goes from "ghetto" to "starlicious" because she removed cultural indicators of her blackness and (assumed) sexuality--what it is really saying is that those indicators are wrong, undesirable, and ugly. Specifically, black lesbians are culturally wrong and undesirable.
Is there any wonder, then, why Neal Boortz could get away with his comments about Cynthia McKinney's hair, in which he states she looks like a ghetto slut?
An excellent companion piece is disU.N.I.T.Y.: or, letting go of latifah by fecundmellow:
call me a renigger (read: reneger), i don't give a damn. but, dana, you've put a homegyrl in a fucked up position. surely many will say i shoulda given it up, turned it loose longlong time ago. i mean, i ain't see taxi, but i saw beauty shop. if i were a camel, that shit would've broken that bridge called my back. but on (some of) the realest shit i've said this year: you broke my heart.
A simple solution to the gay marriage issue, called The Buddy System, is spelled out at defective yeti:
I don't think the government should get involved in gay marriage. But, on the other hand, I don't think the government should be involved in straight marriage either.
That might sound like a strange sentiment coming from a happily married guy like me. But The Queen and I, not religious in the slightest, got married only because it was the only option available to us. If we could have gotten civilly unionized, we probably would have gone that route. Instead, we just made it as secular an affair as possible, with a retired judge as the officiant and a ceremony held in the Seattle Aquarium.
Damn, That Was Close (Again...) on Bark/Bite depressed the fuck out of me, but as usual it's really, really well written and wickedly funny. You make the call about whether to read it. It might depend on what kind of day you're having:
But what I don't understand is why this didn't make a huge splash in the media. I mean, would-be terrorists trying to buy nerve gas right here at home? Hello!? Anyone at Fox listening?
Oh, wait--could it be because he's white?
Check out Van Jones's piece Shout "VIVA!" Anyhow: On Being Black At A Latino March:
The bright mood contrasted starkly with the dreary atmosphere that chokes most protests nowadays. On this march, I saw no resigned shuffling of already-defeated feet. No sea of scowls. No pierced tongues, screaming. Nor could I spy a single person dragging behind her the weighty conviction that resistance - though obligatory - was futile.
To the contrary. Beaming, brown-skinned families walked off those trains with their heads held high. Sure, they may have been poor, facing tough challenges in the near term. But they stepped like they were marching into a future of limitless promise and potential.
And finally, thank god someone finally gave me some guidelines for choosing a password. Thanks, Suebob!
