Do Fries Go With That Hate?

I’m not sure if you’ve ever had Chick-fil-A fried chicken but it’s actually pretty good however, I want to be clear why they will no longer be receiving my money. In case you haven’t heard, the owner of the fried chicken chain recently made comments about not supporting gay marriage. Specifically he said, "We are very much supportive of the family -- the biblical definition of the family unit, and that doesn’t include Adam & Steve. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives, thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles." Fine, I have no problem with that in fact I commend him and his family members for their marriage longevity but apparently in Mr. Cathy’s world, gay people don’t have families, Christians don’t get divorces and in fact the whole world is Christian. He went on to say he would probably fire an employee or terminate an operator who “has been sinful,” well disregarding the legality of such terminations the man could end up with no employees to run his restaurants…or maybe he just meant those who commit selective sins.

So is this the new business model? You alienate a segment of the population thereby limiting your clientele and income. A better question is would you support a business that admittedly contributed to hate groups? Let me be more specific, would you support a business that contributed to the KKK? I don’t want to get into a debate on the issue of gay rights vs. civil rights, I previously addressed that issue but I will say hate is hate and bigotry is bigotry no matter how it’s concealed or to whom it’s directed. Between 2003 & 2010 Chick-fil-A donated more than $5,000,000 to anti-gay hate groups, $2,000,000 in 2010 alone. Groups like the Family Research Council and Exodus International. In an effort to promote their hatred and fan the flames of homophobia, these groups foster and advocate inaccuracies’ regarding gay people. Exodus International promotes the idea that gays can change their sexual orientation an idea completely discredited by the legitimate scientific community. However, legitimate scientific research doesn’t prevent them from charging insecure gay people thousands of dollars for this phony reparative therapy which includes shock treatment and drugs to decrease sex drive. In order to support the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) the Family Research Council distorted research to compare gay men to pedophiles. Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council has stated that pedophilia is a “homosexual problem.” In a 2009 attack on gay seniors the Family Research Council falsely promoted the idea that gay people don’t live long enough to become seniors. Your guess is as good as mine why they would promote such a ridiculous and idiotic notion. They also endorsed a fraudulent study that stated parenting by gay couples would be harmful to children and that it would be better if a child was raised parentless or in group homes as opposed to being raised by loving committed same-sex couples.

The bottom line is Chick-fil-A obviously doesn’t value my patronage. A company that so blatantly insults and offends its customers and supports hate speech and bigoted groups doesn’t deserve my money. I have no respect for a regressive organization that claims to be built on following and emulating a loving and accepting God and then does the exact opposite and instead only treats a select portion of their clientele with dignity and respect. Still, it’s a free country, first amendment rights, blah, blah, blah. The man is free to promote his stone-casting values cloaked in the bible as much as he wants but free speech sometimes includes repercussions. I also have the freedom to speak out against him and more importantly take my business elsewhere. By the way Chick-fil-A might want to take a note from history. In the 60’s there was a restaurant that refused to change with the times. They were blatant with their racist imagery and their attitudes regarding the civil rights movement. If Chick-fil-A isn’t careful they may just disappear. When was the last time you saw a Sambos Restaurant?

Dirty Laundry

I like to think that Janet Jackson has more class than what’s being touted by the gossip rags this week. I mean she certainly doesn’t need the money. Of all the Jacksons she was the only one not relying on Michael as a means of support. But the truth is the Jacksons are just like any other Black family after a loved one departs…we lose it. If you haven’t seen the scene from the movie Kingdom Come where Jada Pinkett’s character throws herself on the casket of her late father-in-law and sobs “Aw lawd, take me…take me”, you should. Not only because it’s a really funny and highly underrated movie but because it clearly demonstrates what happens to Black folks when somebody dies. Besides the attention seeking, look at me I’m grieving loud enough to wake the dead, actors and actresses who attempt to make the funeral all about them, if there’s money involved people tend to lose their minds…and it doesn’t have to be millions. Somebody could leave behind a $1,000 savings bond and a fight could break out with relatives taking sides like a scene from the Beat It video. And don’t get me started on those who come by to “clean” the house of the dearly departed and abscond with old moth eaten furs, that leftover couch from 1972, dime store jewelry and even food from the freezer…but nobody else was gonna eat that leftover Gumbo from last January anyway, so she can have it.

So imagine then if you were set to possibly inherit the close to a billion dollars the Michael Jackson estate has accumulated since his death. You too might kidnap your mother and her mother as well and pack their asses off to Arizona to “rest”. Especially if it meant you would no longer have to roll out of bed every morning put on your glad face and trot off to that job where you start counting the hours to quitting time five minutes before you arrive…seriously how can it only be 8:05 AM, I could swear I’ve been here 12 hours already. Of course you would go back for that last check (you earned it) and give them your “y’all can kiss my ass!” speech… really, I’m not kidding I have my “I just won the lotto and y’all can all go to hell...immediately” speech written out and ready to go. Or just imagine you had gotten used to Michael’s millions taking care of you all those years, living the life of Riley, not a care in the world unable to spend it fast enough and then suddenly it was gone. I’m pretty sure I’d rather never have had it, than to have it taken away.

Who knows maybe the Jackson’s claims that Michael’s will is fake are actually true. Like I said before, Janet certainly doesn’t need the money and just how far fetched would it be for some non-related businessmen or trustee to steal billions from the estate. Or maybe the others are just pissed that Michael had gotten sick of taking care of them while he was alive and didn’t feel pressed to do it in death. Hmm, maybe Janet is sick of forking out cash herself to these leeches so she figures she can help them get it from Michael. Or maybe he just wanted them to go out get a job and take care of their damn selves. At any rate, Michael certainly had the right to leave his money to whomever he chose, although anyone who needed an IV full of drugs stuck in his arm to make him sleep clearly wasn’t in their right mind.

On the other hand, Paris Jackson, Michael’s daughter (I’ll save that for another post) needs a good old-fashioned butt whooping and from the looks of the video shot by TMZ, Randy had to stop Janet from doing just that. In this age of electronic messaging and social networking she should know that anything she tweets about her family is going to be picked up by all the news sites, which have never been exactly sympathetic to her family. Little girl needs to sit her ass down somewhere and quit tweeting family business out for the world to view. Part of the problem between Janet and Paris began when Paris tweeted about becoming an actress and Janet told her she should concentrate on being a teenager first which coming from a former child actress is pretty good advice. Paris didn’t appreciate the advice so Janet offered to kick her ass instead…well not really but I’m sure she thought it and they did exchange words. And why are people listening to her anyway? She’s 14! As far as Tito’s (it’s even funnier when you type it) son getting involved, well what are his motivations and what does he stand to gain. Somebody needs to check his ass out as well.

So as the drama continues, according to Michael’s will Diana Ross is next in line for custody of the kids. Now say what you will about Miss Ross, anyone who knows me would know I’m not exactly impartial (ok, I love the woman, is it a crime?) but you never hear anything about her children airing dirty laundry.

No Regrets

George Zimmerman showed up on the Sean Hannity Show on Fox News last night to:

a) Shamelessly solicit more funds for his defense.
b) Set the record straight…as he reimagines it.
c) Generally make a fool of himself.

Correct answer, all of the above.

The Zimm Man appeared on the “Fair and Balanced Network” with his attorney who stated, he hopes the interview will result in donations to his client’s defense fund, which leads me to ask, “what the hell is wrong with people”. I mean who would donate money to this man. Well, considering Zimmerman’s choice of Fox News to plead his case, I guess I have my answer. But seriously, of all the charities people could donate money to, they give it to this nut? Why, because "the left" doesn't like unarmed Skittles toting teenagers being shot dead? Do these right-wing bigots, who are the same ones that claim to cherish life, really find this a cause worth celebrating? All these people heard was young Black male being “menacing”' not where he was “supposed to be” and stand your ground laws and they chose to side with Zimmerman. How is this even a controversial & political issue and not simply common sense? This is the same man who had coded conversations on the phone with his wife while in jail and told her to pay their bills with donations they had previously collected. Then the wife lied to the judge about the money. Now he's on Fox News begging for more money! In case you have not had time to listen to the interview, allow me to provide a few highlights.

Zimmerman stated, contrary to what he reported to police on the night in question, that he was not pursuing Trayvon Martin and that Trayvon was not running but instead was “skipping, going away quickly, he wasn’t running out of fear”, an obvious attempt to refute that he was stalking Trayvon who was running for his life. In fact on the 911 call Zimmerman is clearly out of breath as if he was chasing him and tells the dispatcher “he’s getting away!” Hannity asked if Zimmerman regretted getting out of his car, following Martin or carrying a gun that night. Zimmerman replied, “No,” adding that he would not have done anything differently. Wow. So you take an innocent human life and you have no regrets. I think that says it all, this man is completely deranged. Any decent human being having just taken a life would have some regret but especially upon reflection. How about this for something different you could have done, how about you don’t hunt down an innocent teenage boy like an animal kill him and then claim he attacked you. Zimmerman also said that he noticed that Trayvon “was very leisurely for the weather”. I’m not sure where he was going with this, I mean it was raining and Trayvon as we all know had on a hoodie so what the hell does that mean. By leisurely was he implying that Trayvon was strolling along like he didn’t have a care in the world while talking to his girlfriend on the phone? You know like an innocent kid. Of course we’ll never know because softball Hannity never asked a follow up question…a theme repeated throughout the interview.

The most ridiculous and insulting statement from Zimmerman was when Hannity asked, "Do you regret that you had a gun that night?" and Zimmerman replied "No sir", “I feel it was all God’s plan.” WHAT? WHAT GOD DOES THIS MAN WORSHIP?? God’s plan was for him to pursue, shoot and kill an unarmed kid based on his preconceived bigoted notions about teenaged African-American boys. Great. Points for deflecting responsibility Georgie and to the Almighty no less. Predictably Trayvon Martin’s parents were insulted and released the following statement. "George Zimmerman said that he does not regret getting out of his vehicle, he does not regret following Trayvon, in fact he does not regret anything he did that night. He wouldn't do anything different and he concluded it was God's plan," Trayvon’s mother added, “We must worship a different God because there is no way that MY God would have wanted George Zimmerman to kill my teenage son." Couldn’t have said it better myself. Of course if Fox News was truly "fair and balanced" they would invite Trayvon Martin on to tell his side of the story...oh, wait...Zimmerman already took care of that…with no regrets.

Free Stuff

The NAACP held its annual convention this week in Houston and Mitt Romney showed up to speak talk down to them…and was promptly booed like an off key singer at the Apollo Theater attempting a Whitney Houston song. In spite of this I think his little publicity stunt worked as he had planned. Romney walked into a crowd of obvious President Obama supporters and swiftly began attacking the president’s policies, generally putting him down and referencing his health care plan as the derogatory Obamacare. Anyone who did this would expect to get booed…right? You don’t go to an event sponsored by the nation’s oldest civil rights organization and toss out Tea Party inspired slang against the first African-American President. I don’t know maybe with this crowd he should have actually referenced the real name of the health care legislation. He said, “If you want a president who will make things better in the African American community, you are looking at him.”…feel free to insert your own comment here. When the crowd reacted negatively as expected and booed he said, “You take a look”.. I have no idea what he meant by that so I don't have a snarky comment. But what was most telling of his ultimate intention was when he spoke later in the day to a crowd of his mostly white supporters in Montana and told them if those in the NAACP audience like "free stuff," from the government they should vote for Obama…wait, what now? Health care, a decent living wage, benefits and a pension are considered free stuff?

The truth is Romney was being deliberately provocative and he got exactly the reaction he wanted, so now he can boast of his ability to speak truth to those people. This was to show conservative voters "Oh well, I tried" and make him look like he is reaching out to the black community. Julian Bond said after Romney's speech, "He was speaking to that slice of white America that hasn't made up its mind about him, and he's saying, I can say things to them that they don't like, so I'm not afraid to stand up to them.” His statements only serve to further entrench himself with people who think Black people want and get benefits without "earning" them. Free Stuff, was this statement meant to infer that the NAACP audience was full of welfare and food stamp recipients? Well guess what, of the 46 million people living in poverty in America, in 2010 the U.S. census revealed that 31 million were white, ten million were black. Of the 49 million people without health insurance coverage, 37 million were white; 8 million were African-American. Latinos and Asian-Americans represented the remaining largest ethnic groups. White Americans, poor and middle-class alike, receive the vast majority of tax-funded government assistance programs, from monthly assistance to Social Security to food stamps. But truth is not this man’s or his party’s objective. He is committed to race baiting and pandering to the bigoted minds of his supporters. Speaking of which, Rush Limbaugh weighed in immediately saying the Republican candidate was booed “simply because Romney’s white”. Yeah Rush it couldn't possibly have been his rhetoric. 

The only way that Republicans can continue to win elections in this country is to demonize and vilify the poor, minorities, gays, women and those that acknowledge the existence of science. They have managed to convince middle class and poor whites to vote against their own best interests by plugging in to their irrational “fear of a Black planet”. In addition, the Republicans insistence of denying voting rights for hundreds of thousands of Americans, if it continues, will allow them to "win" more elections. Just ask any minority voter in Florida or Texas whose registrations have been purged from the records.