Hello all. Today as I was on facebook I came across an article in regards to the NY Post cartoon. This is by far the best response that I have read concerning the distasteful cartoon that the NY post has placed in its paper. After this latest incident of blatant racism I re read my first post and even though it is funny it is sad at how true it is…………….. But on to the response by Ms. Tavaria Robertson
Upon first viewing the cartoon I was overwhelmed with disgust and annoyance at the ignorance of the cartoonist, editor, and paper. However, as I began to meditate on the content of the cartoon much deeper emotions were evoked. I was not only outraged and saddened by the cartoon, but also by the New York Post’s weak and meaningless attempt at an apology.
During this month, my culture and the accomplishments of my people should be highlighted and celebrated—but this cartoon made it very clear that despite the election of a president that is rooted in the Black Diaspora, this nation has not come as far as it would like to think. Not only are the accomplishments and fullness of my culture not being celebrated, they are not even being acknowledged!
I am a full supporter of freedom of speech, but when it is used as a medium to spread ideals of racism, prejudice, and violence against members of a specific community I am compelled to renounce my support.
Yes, I am angry with the cartoonist, Sean Delonas for creating a cartoon so obviously dressed in the garb of racism. Of course I am enraged with editor-in chief, Col Allan for blaming Al Sharpton and other activists for bringing national attention to the cartoon. There is no doubt that I am disgusted with the New York Post’s decision to surrender their paper to the very mindsets that MY generation is fighting so desperately to eradicate.
BUT, most of all I am saddened beyond belief by the hundreds of thousands of people that feel that Blacks are only seeking media attention. I am ashamed to even share the title of ‘American’ with those who feel that Blacks are being overly sensitive, or those who find the cartoon humorous. We must realize that a news paper can write a retraction or an apology (as seen by the weak excuse for an apology that the New York Post placed on their website). It is the audience that the paper caters to that I am concerned about. It is the multitudes of people that continue to buy the paper despite the mentalities and ideals expressed within. I am genuinely distraught at the fact that people have become so comfortable with the American Media’s racist propaganda that they cannot even decipher what is racist. I am sickened by those who view the cartoon with indifference—because statements of a violent nature against ANY group of people are WRONG!
Blacks should not be the only people protesting. All races, genders, and creeds of people should have been up in arms about this cartoon. As the late Martin Luther King, Jr. stated, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” The only fault that I have with my community, the Black community, is waiting until the cartoon was about US to get upset. In my opinion there have been past cartoons with racial and prejudice undertones against other sectors. We should have held the media giant accountable then as well.
I am only 23 years old, and I embrace the inexperience of my youth, but I also embrace the richness of knowledge that I have already received. I may be young in age, but I am so blessed. I possess enough wisdom to discern when something is not right, and I thank the Lord that He has given me the courage and the capacity to speak up against the wrongs occurring in the world. God has placed a desire within my heart to fight for those who need me, and fight against those who wish to destroy the Love and Hope that those like me are attempting to spread.
This debacle with the New York Post is but one battle in the war towards right. No matter how frivolous it may seem to some—I will not give up, and I will not give in. I refuse to compromise my beliefs about the value of ALL humanity. People deserve to be treated with respect and equality, and I will use each and every breath in my body to do my part to ensure that at some point my future children can live this reality. Feel free to take up this challenge with me. God Bless.
Forward this to anyone who you think will read it. Tag/Share with friends.
Ms. Tavaria Robertson
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” Martin Luther King, Jr.
I have Jay’s on my feet and I almost got arrested (which is a story for another post) trying to legally purchase them. That’s right I came close to fist a cuffs just for some Jay’s. At this juncture it is safe to say that I have more Jordan’s then sneaker man Drew which is not an easy task being that when it come to kicks he is the Guru. But back to my Jordan’s as I set out on my quest at 4:00 a.m. Saturday morning and cursing the weather because I had to clean off my car I started to reminisce about the days when I used to hate on Jordan’s when these sneakers were the scum of the earth to me. Don’t get me wrong they have always been great kicks but they used to leave a bad taste in my mouth. So as I am chipping the ice off of my car and ignoring the voice of reason in my head that is telling me to go back to bed like a junkie I start to think how did I get here and why is this pair of Jordan’s so important.
Well it all started with my favorite pair of Jay’s which happens to be my first pair of jays. The number 4’s I remember the day I got these sneakers it was like instant stardom. Don’t get me wrong I have been wearing Nikes since I could walk but to me they were just sneakers. This is due to the fact when ever I needed new pair sneakers my mom just took me to Sea View Square Mall or Monmouth Mall where I would leave with a fresh pair of Nikes. But when it came to my first pair Jordan’s it took my Grandmother to convince her to buy them for me since my older cousins were getting a pair and I had to be just like them. So low and behold I got my first pair of Jay’s the black and red 4’s with the big Nike tag. I can remember all the big up’s I received the first day I wore them to school, but little did I know this would turn to be a bitter sweet moment.
The following year my mom lost her job, so that meant no new Jay’s for me when my cousins got theirs. At this point my mom was not even trying to get me a pair of Nikes. Instead of the number 5 Jordan’s that year I got a pair of Stadiums which were the fake version of the number 4’s. Just like my Jay’s I can remember the first time I wore these to school. There I showed up at new Bradley elementary school with my white and grey Stadiums and instead of big up’s I heard for the very first time the Bo Bo’s song. From that moment on I hated Jordan’s and the empty feeling it left in kids whose parents could not afford them.
It was not until the number 11’s that I would ever put my feet in a new pair of Jordan’s again, which happens to be my second favorite pair of Jay’s. Although I enjoyed the Christmas gift of the number 11’s I still despised Jordan’s and refused to acknowledge their greatness. It took my younger brother coming of age and playing basketball for me to even spend money on Jay’s. Even through out high school I would not buy them for myself although I would spend my after school job money on Jay’s for him to make sure he did not have to know the same bitterness that I did. So I would keep a fresh pair of Nikes for me and I would make sure he had his Jay’s.
But as faith would have it when I got to college I ended up meeting Sneaker Man Drew who happened to have a pair of all black 11’s that he let me rock on more then one occasion. Due to his unselfishness and my girlfriends Christmas gift of a retro pair of 7’s that year I feel back in love with Jay’s. From there on I have continued to trek to the mall to get the retro Jay’s that I have missed out on due to my bitterness. So as I continued to chisel away at the ice on my windshield I remembered that the packaged that came out on Saturday was my beloved 11’s so the hell with that voice of reason in my head and like the junkie I had to go get my fix which happens to Jordan’s. So to all the Jordan fans who were out there looking for that fix on Saturday you were not alone because no dam winter storm will keep us away from our Jay’s. With that being said what your favorite pair of Jay’s and why.
Guess Who’s back that’s right Laced has finally come back to the internet and low and behold I have a public service announcement. Recently I had got a virus on my computer and it was a real b*&$% to get rid of. But due to my diligence and refusal to fix any of my friends or family member computer’s I will post the fix to this annoying virus. For starters this bull shit virus has several names (antivirus 2009, winweb security and some other crap). The annoying yet very creative thing about this virus is that it blocks access to websites and software that will allow you to delete this virus. But none the less some people far smarter then I developed software to delete the virus and a workaround to allow you to download and install the software if you already have the virus. This savior software is called MALWAREBYTES ANTIMALWARE I suggest that all of you reading heed to my advice and install this software it is free and it works. Some of you may say well I just did a virus scan and neither Norton nor MacAfee said that I have a virus so I am good. Well yes and no, true you may not have a virus or the virus is hidden from your virus scan as it was on my machine. So just do yourself a favor and download the software and run it. Here is the link to the site http://www.malwarebytes.org/ by the way if you can not view site, most likely it means that you already have the virus so in that case just shoot me an email at laced@lacedink.com and I will email you the steps to the work around that I used.
Being that my job is my hobby it took me a long time to finally get this Blog up and running so that means before I can get to the current things I must address a few things that took place a short while ago. So this past summer was very hectic for me but I was able to find a moment of clarity even if it was just for a short time. One of those times would have to be when I attended one of my good friends wedding. This was truly a great moment it is wonderful to see things come full circle. Not everyone could say that they married their soul mate. Once again I would like to give say congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Virgil Magee. Besides a lovely ceremony and a memorable trip down memory lane at the rehearsal dinner, the best came at the reception with the Open Bar. Yes I said Open Bar “Free that Liquor” now me being me and being with my peoples I got it in. Now they say liquor brings out the fools in people, which I can attest to because I have been a fool or quite a few occasions. But what happens to some one who is already a character when they start drinking? They turn into creative genius that will keep you laughing the entire night. I would like to introduce the world to my dog Andrew Preston who you check out over at http://www.ayarepee.com and his classic soul for real dance.
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Yo this is MC Such and Such You read the title it aint tricking if you got it. The hell with that shit I said before: “all I got is a hard dick and bubblegum” but like it says if you got it, it aint tricking, it is only tricking if your broke a$$ don’t have it so stop hating. Now let’s be honest this has be on the stupidest things to come out of some of these rappers mouths. Here I only thought the McCain campaign were the only ones to try to sell you one thing and call it something else. But that is a discussion for another day. I myself can care less if you are tricking or not, my problem is don’t try to sell me NO BULL and then when someone call you on it, YOU BE LIKE “CATS IS HATIN.” No fools, people are not hating, they are just intelligent enough to know that your financial status does not in any way determine if you are tricking or not. However, it is a determining factor if you are making an educated decision or not. For example, if you have the money and you decide to spend it one of these fine women that you are trying to impress (to get in bed), yes it is tricking the only thing is that you have the money to spend with out having to jeopardize your lively hood. I believe that since no one can tell you how to spend your money you should do you but, JUST BE AWARE, YOU ARE PARTICIPATING IN TRICKERY. On the flip side if you don’t have the money and you still decide to spend your money on these fine women then you are a tricking fool. And for lack of a better term, hoes (because I don’t know your names individually), that you are dealing with are stupid too! Now, all women who accept gifts from men are not hoes. I myself buy’s my woman things all the time WHEN I HAVE IT. She being an educated woman who makes her own money and has held me down during rough times (like when I have to lend money to foolish family members because they just can’t get it right) will never accept anything from me that will hurt my financial situation. Best believe she is no hoe and I am not participating in trickery, a sucker for loving to see a smile on her face…. maybe. So in the end, to all these Rappers and Rapper-Wannabes who choose to participate in trickery because you lack self assurance: Man up, Stop lying to yourself, Stop selling me bull (that is the Republican’s job), and get yourself an educated woman who makes her own money, and you will not have to question if you are a TRICK.