Pretty (Fairy?) Wings

Maxwell is back! Can't say I noticed that he'd left, but that's because the music industry somehow managed to push all of the artists under the radar at once, so it was hard to keep track of who's gone where. (Lauryn Hill, where you at?)

& he's got a whole new look. His signature unruly, artsy/beach-bum black/white person 'fro is all but gone (not sure how long that's been) & he's looking more mature & serious. Here's the song of the moment, "Pretty Wings." I'm supposed to have some kind of witticism here about the relaxing/sexy vibe of the song & the intimately uplifting lyrics, but the only thing I really like about it is the syncopation.



I judge how good a song is by how many times I listen to it on repeat uncontrollably. Been listening to "Black & Gold" by Sam Sparro non-stop for 3 months now, so my standards have shifted. I'll probably be listening for another hour or so before I get bored, but as far as my music collection goes, that's a solid run. Fi amanimomo. [MdG]

Mister Gates!

So Obama spends an hour going over the details of an intricate healthcare plan & the four days since have been spent with the media scrutinizing an entirely unrelated comment he made in the last minute or so. We've certainly got our priorities in order.

Perhaps I'm not understanding the psychology behind racial profiling, but I feel like a 50-something year-old wearing glasses, a polo shirt tucked too far into his pants, slacks & a clean shaven gray beard who apparently walks with a cane doesn't fit any kind of criminal profile, regardless of his race. As such, I don't feel comfortable saying that he was suspected of robbery because of his appearance (which is not necessarily the debate at hand, but a distinction I think I ought to make), even if he is black.

What I do not doubt is that the police officer in question, Police Sgt. James Crowley, didn't believe that Prof. Gates was the owner of the house because he is black. (& don't take my word for it. Husband #1 & I are on the same page.)

Racial profiling (the sort of which all of us are guilty) is about (unconscious) mental schemas. Black male, black sweatshirt, black sweatpants, Timberland boots trying to pry open door... Thief. White male, black sweatshirt, black sweatpants, Timberland boots trying to pry open door... Thief? (Definitely a rabble rouser.) Old guy, polo shirt, neat beard, glasses trying to pry open door... Senile? I'm willing to bet, though, that "Black" & "Owner" didn't quite fall into the same scheme for the Sgt. Crowley. This may explain why the officer was so dubious as to whether or not Prof. Gates was actually the homeowner, thief or not.

This sort of standard psychological state (pathetic though it be) is one thing. What happened after Prof. Gates proved, unequivocally, that he was in fact of the proprietor I think is a phenomenon specific to police officers. Charles M. Blow wrote a fantastic article about his & others' personal, disturbing experiences with police. At lunch today, one of my old (white) teachers recalled sitting in the back of a Cambridge squad car after witnessing a robbery & listening to the two police officers shoot off derogatory epithet after epithet about black people. It seems that American police culture is one in which overt racial discrimination is affirmed & protected (with tangible effects for black & latino men).

& last, what the hell's up with Sgt. Crowley not giving up his name & badge number? (This part of the story has not been denied by Sgt. Crowley &, of all things, would have been if it weren't true.) This is the part where Sgt. Crowley loses what little credibility he had left. Up until then he's been working with the same gut feelings & suspicions that police officers are supposed to use (as poorly fashioned as those feelings were). It is at this point that Sgt. Crowley most clearly, in the words of my boyfriend, "acted stupidly."

So many layers... First, we have this mental schema that, for many, has trouble fitting in a black male who owns a nice house in Cambridge, Mass. Second, a police culture where sub- & overt racism is either supported or, too often, left unchallenged. Third, an officer who just should have coughed up his name & badge number like the law requires. I won't comment on what happened afterwards as the two accounts conflict. I wouldn't doubt that Prof. Gates went on a yelling tirade & prompted his own arrest. I wouldn't doubt that Prof. Gates repeatedly yet politely asked for the Crowley's name & badge number & "prompted" his own arrest. The Truth of what happened then is lost in passionate memories & group agendas, never to resurface. But I don't believe we need much more information than we have to assess the root problems of this event.

This much is certain; we must work to make our schemas fit reality. Take this test (click "Race IAT") & you'll be surprised at just how biased you really are, regardless of your deep philosophical beliefs about human equality. The media, our parents, our books must all work to promote a psychology of equality. & it looks like our police culture has a long, long way to go. I would love giant strides, but I'll take baby steps over static any day, just as long as we keep it moving.

According to the police report, Gates was hysterically shouting, "This is what happens to a black man in America." Hysterical or not, he's quite right. Fi sabil Momo. [MdG]

Penny For Your Health?

As I watched my boyfriend during his press conference about healthcare, my main thought was "Can you imagine how much more confusing this would be if ol' George was trying to explain this?"

But I seriously, seriously don't get this whole debate. A few people with a lot of money are bending over backwards to paint government healthcare as anti-capitalist. Since capitalism was created by Jesus, anything mildly opposing it is clearly from the devil/Hillary Clinton & ought to be destroyed. In response, a lot of people with very little money are trying to show that government healthcare is actually pro-capitalism & will increase competition, promote rainbows, strengthen marital fidelity, &c.

Who cares?

The real question is: Is capitalism good for healthcare? The answer is clearly 'no'. I don't mean to say that every aspect of our society should be centered around healthcare. Nor, as the contemporary debate might make it seem, should every aspect of our society be centered around capitalism (does this count as blasphemy?). Rather, leave capitalism where capitalism is good (like with I-Bankers & AIG... LOL) with a solid understanding that it's not good for everything.

So why isn't capitalism good for healthcare? Put simply, I don't get why we allow peoples' health, the most basic aspect of their livelihood, to be part of someone's profit-maximizing scheme. Not their money, not their homes, not their food. Health.

The basic function of a health insurance plan is to provide services when your health is damaged or put in jeopardy. But spend a minute looking at health insurance providers as they actually function, & you'll see they dedicate a disproportionate amount of time denying people the only service they're supposed to provide. That's what happens when capitalism & health mix. Icky. If I'm paying for my cookie, give me my cookie.

So perhaps this doesn't necessarily call for government healthcare -- though I have to say I'm a fan. But it definitely is a call for healthcare providers to start... I dunno... providing healthcare (& not leaving families in the dust). Qitaal fee sybil Momo. [MdG]

30 years & still gay

We're now almost a month after the 30th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, that infamous day when the most bullied segment of society rose up & stuck his boot stiletto stiletto boot up the ass of "The Man." A few days ago, I listened to a podcast featuring two gay rights leaders. They recounted the events & how the gay ____ movement (will explain the blank in a moment) has changed over the years. This tied into another article I read that day on the Huffington Post titled, "In Defense of Bruno"; all of this got me thinking about the gay ____ movement & where it is going.

Why the gay ____ movement? That's because it depends on who you ask. The leaders from the 60's referred to the gay liberation movement while we in the new millennium are quite engrossed in the gay rights movement. A subtle, but important difference.

The two gentlemen (can't find their names for the life of me) talked of a revolution where glitter & boas were the slogan of choice. Nowadays, the flamboyant Brüno's of the world are shunned by uncomfortable straights as well as ashamed gays. We are no longer looking to "liberate" ourselves, per se, but rather we are looking to show that, despite a long history of ostracization, limp wrists, & show-tunes, we can be just as bland as the next hetero couple. The movement once asked society at large to accept us with all of our differences. In many ways, it now asks society to overlook them.

As Bill Maher said – & (shame on me) I haven't looked up statistics on this – the gay rights movement picked up speed when folks realized they weren't stopping that guy in the ass-less chaps from marrying the bear with the whip & nipple piercing. They were really impeding Aunt Sheryl & her friend Marsha with the short haircut who keeps coming to Christmas... & considering they've been coming to Christmas longer than Daddy, it seemed more than unfair. So perhaps the de-glamorizing of the entire affair has done us some good... at least in the rights talk.

But did we lose something when we made the shift? Depends on your perspective. This is more a difference between loud & soft than gay & straight. I heard a gay man decry the acceptance of gay marriage because it would mean that the gay community would lose part of its distinctiveness. While I'm certainly a fan of diversity as a means of promoting progress through the intersection of different lifestyles & ideas, I wonder if we don't defeat the purpose by stewing in our difference & clinging to it, even if it means losing touch with the individual. The gay community can be just as oppressive as the mainstream society that fostered its growth.

Gays as well as straights are coming to terms with an important fact. Being gay, for many people, does involve a level of noise, flamboyance, & broadcasting (unintentional or otherwise). But for many others it really is nothing but a sexual preference. Not a community identity, not a fashion statement or a certain taste in music -- just who you want in your bed. To maintain this wholly as a liberation movement would be to ignore or suppress an entire segment of the gay population who, quite frankly, would like to go quietly about their day. Hockey players (not unlike the glittery Brüno) are gay, too. Radiyamomohu anhuma. [MdG]

In Support of Polygamy

... if it means I can marry both David Brooks & Stanley Fish. Both columnists for the New York Times. Both smart (= sexy). I was looking to dig up an article to post re: my earlier post, "The Best Medicine" & was going through Brooks' archives to find it. Turned out it was written by Fish, at which point I was going to retract my love for Brooks until I saw under "What David Brooks is Reading" a book titled "On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You're Not" which I plan to mail express to my grandmother & the Pope (after I read it for myself, of course). Plus Brooks writes pretty good stuff on his & Gail Collins' blog, "The Conversation". (People having a conversation about... their opinions? I might have to bake a cake.)

Anyway, for those of you who still don't get the situation with the firefighters & why there's no simple or "right" answer to the problem, here's the article from husband #1. As I've already written my own, I'm not 100% with his conclusion, but the analysis is very bien cuit. Masha Momo. [MdG]

Barry says...

This week the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People... I actually had to explain that to someone a few days ago) celebrated its centennial & had, for its final speaker, the big man himself, Barack H. Obama. (Check the video here.) The material was so-so... Nothing particularly thought-provoking (unlike w/ Cornell West who spoke the day before &, among other things, warned us not to become "adjusted to the injustice." Glitter). Some stuff about self-determination that I can get behind.

As he spoke, & especially towards the end when the speech hit its crescendo, I was perpetually reminded that he grew up as an atheist in an all-white household & learned how to speak gospel much later in life. His well-placed use of ancient clichés that moved the audience to thunderous applause sounded just that... well-placed. This only served to remind me that while it's certainly true that he's our first black president, his experience is such that he is moved squarely out of what many blacks refer to as the black experience. (I'm not sure exactly what this experience entails, but I know a white atheist mother is not usually a part of it). What's more, I have to admit, I feel we do Ann a disservice when we refer to a man who looked up to his blanche mother each day as if he's "exclusively" black. Show the woman some respect.

This is the part where I started going on at some length about race & language, but I've decided your tight little jaws are probably tired already. I'll let you chew on that one a little later. Momòhu Akbar. [MdG]

Triflin' Ass (Black) People

Over the past few years, I've found myself saying "I hate (insert income/racial/ethnic/social/sexual/gender/intellectual/&c. class) people" over & over again after attributing some stupid action to their _____-ness. Now I just cut the middle man & say "I hate people" since most of the shit they do really rubs me the wrong way, no matter where the hell they're from.

Most recently, I hate (black) people. Some bitches just don't know when to stop. If she didn't keep that smile on her face I'm more than certain we'd have a sexual harassment case on our hands & we would never hear the end of it:

"Oh no, he's bigger than she is, what was she going to do?"

"She's taking advantage of him, she didn't say 'no'."

"He didn't get consent beforehand, I cannot support the objectification of women!"

"She was just trying to live out her fantasies with a black man & now she's trying to keep us down!"

Ugh. Momo Yeh'fazak Wa Yar'ak. [MdG]

p.s. I always hate stupid people. Always.

The Revelation

The precursor to the second coming of Momo & The Prophet:



What I don't understand is why this gem wasn't on Sam's freshman album. For those of you who don't know, Sam Sparro is only the hottest thing since the electric stove. His self-titled debut album has everything from sickly seduction to a techno ballad questioning god, self-searching & an ode to marijuana. "Black & Gold" is the first future-club-feel song that I expect to hear in 20 years & say "That's a classic," perhaps along with some tunes from the likes of Adele & Ms. Knowles. (Something about "P-P-P-Pokerface, P-P-Pokerface" seems like it will never properly fit into the category of 'classic.' Sorry Lady.)

Unfortunately this one wasn't on the otherwise fresh album, so I had to go digging to find it. I remember hearing it once when I started my Sparro binge a few months ago (thanks to RdG). I found this song again about two days ago & haven't stopped listening to it since. Make sure to listen to the words on this one. A near-perfect blend of classy yet raw vocals, delicious harmonies, butt-poppin' beat, & the reflective lyrics that have kept him square off of the American radio circuit. Sam, keep the juice going (do I smell another album in the works?) & barakmomo fik. [MdG]