On Kyrie Irving, Jeff Bezos, Amazon and antisemitism

A screenshot of Monique Judge's byline and the header image to her article hosted on theGrio website.
Standard

Kyrie Irving definitely should have apologized for posting the link, but it should have ended there. If you are not going to hold the hosts of the material accountable, how are you going to find multiple ways to punish the consumer for taking it in? 

Kyrie Irving has gotten all the smoke, but why aren’t Jeff Bezos and Amazon being held accountable?

For theGrio, I share my thoughts on the sanctions the Nets have put on Kyrie Irving and question why Jeff Bezos isn’t receiving the same amount of scrutiny for hosting the infamous antisemitic video that Irving has received for posting it to his Twitter account.

White women always choose race and class over their best interests

A screenshot of Monique Judge's article on theGrio
Standard

Most people who have watched the show have expressed their disgust and horror at what is depicted. They have often said how horrible it would be if something like this happened in real life. You can tell the people who said that weren’t Black, because Black people know (or should know, anyway) that the exact things being depicted in “The Handmaid’s Tale” actually happened to enslaved Black women in this country. 

Serena Joy of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ is the epitome of white people who don’t care until it happens to them

For theGrio, I wrote about how Serena Joy Wateford on The Handmaid’s Tale is very much like white women (and white people in general) in this country who only care about an issue when it directly impacts them.

On Election Day

Standard

I want LA people to think about the fact that Rick Caruso spent $100 million of his own money for this mayoral election. $100 million! To run for MAYOR. Not President of the United States. MAYOR. He claims to care for the homeless. Guess what that $100 million could have done?

Rick Caruso is still a Republican. He is out for a power grab. He is helping further the agenda that is happening across this country. Please don’t let him. Our city deserves better.

Imagine the type of power the GOP and the right could wield having an inside man like Rick Caruso as the mayor of the largest city in the state of California and the second largest city in the country after NYC.

Please don’t let them do this. The right taking over this country will make this even more of a nightmare than what we are already living.

NaNoWriMo 2022

Standard

Thanks to some encouragement from Darnell Lamont Walker, for the first time in about 20 years, I will be participating in National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo.

The idea of the challenge is to write every day during the month of November. If you are consistent, you should be able to eke out a first draft of a 50,000 word novel. At least, that’s how we did the program back in the day.

Darnell’s encouragement was different. He said folks should write whatever they want, whether that be a short story, an essay, poetry or something else. The biggest point was to get writing.

Outside of writing to eat aka freelancing, I have not done much writing for myself, and I miss that, so I’m going to take this opportunity to change that.

For those of you who have been following me for some time, I’ve decided I’m going to work on a first draft for what will be the first book in my series of “The Pusha Stories” as they’ve come to be known.

I will post excerpts along the way.

Wish me luck.

One day I woke up and realized I am the prize

Link

Once my focus was taken off turning myself into “wife material,” I was able to devote that energy to improving and evolving me for me. Regular talks with my therapist, a lot of self-critique-turned-into-active improvements and consistently listening to myself helped me to improve my relationship with myself as well as others around me. 

My life changed for the better once I decentered romance

For theGrio, I discuss how my life changed once I de-centered romance.

White people: Please don’t do this

Link

The one part of Halloween that I don’t enjoy, however, is the predictable parade of white people doing inappropriate things and wearing inappropriate costumes. It seems like no matter how much we call them out for it and explain why it is inappropriate, they keep doing it anyway, year after year. 

A list of 5 things I am begging white people not to do this Halloween season

What we not gon do is let Sarah Silverman attack Holly Robinson Peete

Link

The other issue is the way Silverman came at Peete. Nowhere in Silverman’s timeline is there a tweet showing her directly addressing anyone else about their presumed silence on the issue of Kanye’s anti-semitic statements. Yet she felt totally emboldened to go after a Black woman. 

Sarah Silverman went after Holly Robinson Peete on Twitter, and it’s not OK

What’s wrong with taking Black Girl Magic everywhere we go?

Link

The Cardinal Divas are a majorette dance squad similar in nature to those mostly seen on the campuses of our nation’s HBCUs. Part spirit squad, part dance troupe, and always killing the game, these dance squads do something known as “j-setting,” a style of dance popularized by the squad at Jackson State University. Unlike white majorettes, Black majorettes do away with the traditional batons in favor of high kicks and mind-blowing choreography that can be done sitting in the stands as well as on the field.

Why are so many Black people bothered by the new Black majorette squad at USC? 
Continue reading

‘Woke,’ ‘quiet quitting,’ and other word games the right plays

Link

You see, those on the right have been engaged in a game of wordplay that has them redefining words and phrases to fit their various propaganda campaigns. Three very loud examples that come to mind are the word “woke” and the phrases “critical race theory” and “quiet quitting.” Stick with me and I’ll explain to you what I mean. 

Word games and propaganda campaigns: The right is weaponizing language against us

When white institutions uphold white supremacy

Link

As a Black woman, Anya was supposed to keep her thoughts to herself. This is how white supremacy works. You are supposed to endure the abuse and keep silent about it. Even raising the issue makes you a bigger problem than the issue itself. Remember selective offense? 

Carnegie Mellon’s response to Professor Uju Anya’s tweet is an example of how institutions uphold white supremacy

Why are Black characters in fantasy stories such a controversial thing for white people?

Link

It really bothers (some) white people that Black people get cast in their favorite make-believe stories. Maybe we are infringing on their ability to make believe that we don’t exist. Whatever the case may be, it’s seriously time to get over it, like Whoopi said. 

When you can imagine dragons but not imagine Black people in fantasy stories, your racism is showing

Serena Williams is the greatest athlete of all time

Link

Have you ever watched Serena on the court? It is almost as if she has a choreographer who plots out her moves for her. She is aware of the ball and her body at all times. She moves around the court with a speed and gracefulness that almost makes it look easy. Almost. 

There are no qualifiers needed. Serena Williams is the greatest athlete of all time, and here are a few reasons why

Selective offense strikes again, this time with Chris Rock

Link

Comedian Chris Rock, who was infamously slapped by Will Smith while on stage at this year’s Oscars, recently made a very tasteless joke about Nicole Brown Simpson, who was murdered in 1994 along with her friend, Ron Goldman. 

The responses to Chris Rock’s tasteless joke about Nicole Brown Simpson vs. Jada say a lot about how America views Black women

The PWI vs HBCU debate is old and tired and needs to stop

Link

We live in a world where facts matter, and there are simple facts that could help people understand why a Black student may not choose to go to an HBCU—and they have absolutely nothing to do with wanting to be white.

Yes, David Banner, HBCUs are a treasure but not always an option for a lot of Black students

Amazon’s ‘A League of Their Own’ Tells Black stories loudly and proudly

Link

Although the new show is also a fictionalized retelling of the World War II-era All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL), that’s where the similarities to the original ends.

‘A League of Their Own’ is based on the 1992 movie, but has an identity all its own
Aside

I saw Top Gun: Maverick this weekend, and I really want to talk about it, but I feel like I need to watch it again to fully digest it and get my thoughts together.

Coincidentally, I just joined AMC’s A-List Stubs program, so I get three free movies a week. This worked out.

‘Down in the valley where the girlies get naked’

Standard

Since season one, fans have been intrigued by the goings-on at the Pynk, the strip club owned and operated by Uncle Clifford (Annan) but commanded by the women who perform there, including Mercedes (Evans); Keyshawn, aka Mississippi (Thornton); and Autumn (Johnson). Every single scene of every single episode is jam-packed with action, drama, or both, and by the end of each episode, you are left wanting more of the characters and their brilliantly evolving stories. 

If you are not already watching ‘P-Valley,’ here is a list of reasons why you should

Terrell Owens is the latest Black man to experience a white woman’s weaponized tears

Link

Who was the first white woman to lie on a Black man? Who was the first white woman to use her tears to try and get a Black man in trouble, or worse—killed? Who was the first white woman who realized if she put out her best crocodile tears, it could gain her the results she was looking for?

Terrell Owens finds out the hard way that white women have perfected weaponizing their tears against Black men

Jay Ellis got cyber-bullied over his marriage, and that’s not OK

Standard

As I watched this, I kept wondering why people felt the need to attack him. He had done nothing wrong. His bride had done nothing wrong. They were simply living their lives and sharing what is undoubtedly a very happy moment in their story. Why do people feel the need to ruin that (or at least try to) simply because they don’t want to see an interracial couple? 

Jay Ellis and his new wife are not harming you, so why the vicious social media attacks?