MySpace Blog 20050911

Hmmm...Somebody Got Me Started

In a prior blog, I started ranting about the Hollywood machine and what seems like their obvious desire to put out the same bullshit over and over. That opinion was met with an opinion regarding blacks (in general and local to this area) and how they can be here! (that’s an oversimplification of what was stated, but you can go and read it yourself). Now, I’m in a huffy mood about race politics.

I have managed to, somewhat, let the whole New Orleans disaster go without my 2 cents. I think folks have heard enough about the Bush administration and their poor response. We’ve seen the video on CNN. We’ve heard opinion from the great minds of our time. No one will dispute the fact that things could have been a LOT less horrific if that memo had been taken seriously or that recommendation had been given priority. I’ve gotten enough emails with the picture of the black guy ”looting” and the white family just trying to survive. Context is a bitch sometimes.

But, I find myself thinking about a scene in ”Crash” where this guy says, ”black people...they just can’t keep their hands out of the cookie jar. . . .” Or something to that effect. He was trying to say, no, all blacks aren’t bad, but there are enough bad ones to make you (a non-black) have that bad opinion of them as a whole. Ha! Chris Rock had a whole skit about blacks versus niggers (or niggas depending who uses the word – that’s just ludicrous). And it got me to thinking about some things!!

Perception TRULY is reality. Being in the engineering school, I would be led to believe that the only engineering minds out there are Indian and Chinese. No whites or blacks or hispanics or native americans. If I looked at the faculty, I would be led to believe that by some mysterious way only whites can be faculty. Now, where are they coming from if they’re not in the grad school to begin with?? (lol) Walking around grounds, I would be led to believe that the local black population strives to be janitors ONLY. I could also think that frat houses are only for rich white kids. My thinking could further be stretched to believe that all black kids attending UVA come from upper middle class families (combined incomes of $150K plus). YET, there are those cracks in the perception!!!

I am in the engineering school as a PhD candidate so SOME blacks do go for further degrees. I know of a few black administrators so we aren’t all janitors. I know quite a few black students who don’t come from upper middle class backgrounds. Not all Asian students are bright. Not all Indian students go into engineering. And, lo and behold, there might even be a black faculty member every now and then. But, what do we do about that pesky PERCEPTION???

When I see a confederate flag on a truck, I automatically label that person as a racist. When I see a kid in a long white t-shirt, I automatically label that person as a thug. When I receive poor service at a restaurant, my FIRST inclination is to believe it has to do with the color of my skin. And, when I become Dr. Reynolds, in the back of my head, I will always know that somebody will look at me like I am a nobody.

Somebody said once that if you don’t like the rules of the game, then you need to change the game! What if I don’t want to change the game? What if I want to be an equal participant with all the rights and privileges therein? I don’t need a black-owned restaurant in Charlottesville. What I need is a 5-star restaurant to treat me like every other paying customer! I don’t need a hip hop night. What I need is a greater awareness of possible trouble and a proactive plan to avoid it which leads me to my latest thought.

I had a debate a while ago with a friend regarding hip hop nights. They said that just about every establishment that had such a night stopped because of the fights that broke out and other trouble. I argued (which is uncommon for me since I don’t particularly care for most of the hip hop that’s played on these nights anyway) that you have owners trying to have their cake and eat it too. I’ve been to several clubs in Philadelphia (a real city by the way) that play only hip hop and there were never fights in the club. What happens outside of a club is another story. Why were they able to pull this miraculous feat off? SECURITY!! Many clubs want all that delicious (door) revenue without paying for security. Let me bring in 500 patrons @ 5-8 a pop and have 6 security people. When I go to a club concerned about trouble, you know what they do? They frisk me! Do I take offense? Hell NO! The REALITY is that some people come into clubs to start trouble. So, the proactive approach would be to eliminate some of the danger. Check for weapons!!! Now, that’s the first line of defense. What’s the 2nd? Active security IN THE CLUB. Having all your security personnel at the door does nothing to qwell the potential problems on the dance floor. You can’t throw a bunch of people in a room and just expect that everyone will get along. Please!! I’ve been in faculty meetings where 5 well-educated people wanted to strangle each other over nothing. Make that 500 people of different sensibilities, levels of intoxication, and economic status and you have a powder keg!

When I dj a hip hop night, I don’t play what I consider ”negative” music. Again, you have to pay attention to the words ”what I consider.” Playing a song like ”Put It In Your Mouth” may offend most folks, but, at the end of the day, I don’t think it starts a fight or leads to someone getting raped. ”Don’t Start No Shit Won’t Be No Shit” rings of threat to me and could be just the catalyst someone needs to prove themselves! BUT, the argument could be made that you can play that music without any trouble if you have SECURITY in place. Have you ever been to a punk rock concert before??? This isn’t your average family event! Have you been to a Smokin Grooves concert?? Folks are HIGHHHHHHHHHH!

Every environment has its own life. My point (after all that verbage) is that you can’t set up the scene, put in the actors, and then NOT direct!! What you may end up with is an improvised MESS!!

Nuff said....