Makes Me Wanna Holler: Post-Racialism Is A Farse

Hello Guys and Girls. This week's blog challenge topic was "Makes Me Wanna Holler". What makes me wanna holler? First, let me start off by saying that I am an Aquarian. If you are into the zodiac, then you know that most Aquarians are known for their humanitarianism and their passion for causes that are close to their hearts. I'm quantifying that by saying, most, not all.

I'm saying all of this to say that my heart aches for the direction that our world is headed. There are times that I really wish that I didn't care so much, but I do. I sometimes wish that I was like most people, self-absorbed, selfish, and devoid of any type of feelings towards my fellow human beings. But, I wasn't built like that, because my purpose was to reflect the light of my creator. I'm not claiming sainthood or perfection. I'm far from that. In fact, I swore off perfection many moons ago, when I realized how unhealthy it was causing me to be. I know, I may have lost a few of you right there, but my thinking is sometimes viewed as a bit radical to most. We, Aquarians are known for that, too. See, the way I see it, "Perfection" is unobtainable. It can never be reached, so the best that we can do is strive to be the best that we can be every single day that God gifts us.

 When i was trying to be something that I had no chance at becoming, I was always frustrated, depressed and quick tempered. When I couldn't be "perfect", I was constantly feeling like a failure. How insane is that? So, my motto became, "Nothing is more important than my sanity." You can have a healthy body all day long, but your body is nothing without your mind. It's just that simple.

Now, that I've explained all that, let's get to the meat and potatoes of this piece. What makes Ms. X-Brown want to "holla"? I will list a few below:

 The Cold-Blooded Murder of Trayvon Martin:  It boggles my mind that in 2012, we as a people        are still dealing with race matters. We are being hunted like prey in the concrete jungles, sterile gated       communites, well-manicured lawns of suburbia, and the back roads and back woods of these here        so-called, United States. Our black men and boys are being gunned down, vehicular slaughtered, tased,       and yes, even lynched by civilians and those who have sworn to serve and protect us. Just last year a group of white teens beat a black 40+ year old, James Anderson in a parking lot in Mississippi for kicks. Not only did they beat him, but they mowed him down with a pick up truck. This group of young men were at a party, left the party to go kill a black person. The party was that dull that they had to get their kicks by seeking out not just any man, but a black man to kill? In 1998, something very similar happened to James Byrd in Jasper Tx. He was chained to the back of a pickup truck and dragged for about 3 miles before his head and arm was severed from his body. He was conscious throughout the entire ordeal. In 1999, Amadou Diallo was gunned down by New York overseers, I mean officers in the doorway of his apartment building. He was shot at 41 times, but hit 19 times because they "thought" he had a gun. In fact, all that Mr. Diallo was armed with was a very lethal wallet. The police were acquitted. In my Gomer Pyle voice, "Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!"

The Outright Disrespect Of The POTUS, Barack Hussein Obama:  This man and his family have been called everything under the sun that was considered low. His very young daughters have been called whores. White men, have been televised talking about The First Lady's derriere as if she was the modern day Sara Baartman. Just recently a blogger from Charlotte NC posted a photoshopped pic of Our President in heels with chains around his ankles and holding a bucket of KFC. She then had the audacity to say that she didn't realize it was racially inflammatory. "My mind just doesn't work like that." Right! The First family has been depicted as monkeys, the President has been made to look like the Joker from the movie, Dark Knight, he has been made up to look like Sadam Hussein, put on the box of Cream of Wheat, Michelle has been called the "B-word", his mother was called a whore, the list goes on. And through it all, he has handled himself with grace and dignity. Only in America, could this happen.

Black On Black Crime And Gang Violence:  I have heard some people say, "Why do we always get up in arms when a white person does something to a black person, but we don't march/protest/get outraged when it's black on black crime. That's a crock! There have always been organizations and people that have spoke out and are still speaking out against the ills of our communities. They just don't get air time, because the media doesn't care about black on black crime. It gets no ratings and the media is all about the ratings, which is why the most lucrative Black-on-Black crime that we have going now are these mindless imbecilic reality shows. Stop the Violence was a campaign started over 15 years ago by rapper, KRS1. An Anti-Violence rally was just held recently in Chicago after the death of 22 yr old, Quinton Davis. There were rallies and protests in the same city after a 14 yr old, Joseph Price was shot in the head, while walking to his brother's home. So, please miss me with all this placating to the "Powers That Be". I'm tired of trying to make people feel "comfortable". Nothing gets done in comfort. When people get to comfortable, they do one thing, SLEEP! It's time for us to wake up.

I'm going to end my list here, but as always, I have so much more to say. I will just save it for another rant and "holla". I do miss the days of my naivete, at times, but being the strong intellect that I am, I would never be blissful in darkness. Though, it is quoted often, ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is exchanging freedom for enslavement of the mind. I choose to live free.

Throwing up the Peace Sign......It's your girl,

Nikki Angela X Brown

Love The One You With Or Stalk The One That Got Away....

G'day to all of my four followers! LOL Just wanted to let you know that I love you and thank you for all of your support. I'm glad this isn't the way that I have to feed my family! Nevertheless, I'm thoroughly enjoying this blogging journey. This week's challenge is to blog about what it is that we like and don't like about the opposite sex. Hmmmm....this can get very interesting, to say the least.

I know. I know. Some are you are thinking, what does the subject have to do with the title? Well, I'll be glad to answer that for you. See, the main goal is to get you all's attention by any means necessary and if that means using controversial captions to do it, then I'm not too proud. Blame it on TLC.

I'm just borrowing the tactics of mainstream media. How many times have you seen headlines like this: "Chris Brown Beats Rhianna Again!"? Only to discover that it is an article about how Chris Brown's latest single debut is toppling Rhianna's new single on the charts. I'm just saying, It ain't lying if you can find it in print!

Enough of that. I don't know if many of you know that I've developed AADD, so at times, well, hell, most of the time, I'm all over the place. I'm going to attempt to get serious for a minute. I'm going to put a different spin on this challenge. I think most of the things that I like about the opposite sex, has a lot to do with how society views them.

I always admired the freedom that men seemed to have. I remember being jealous growing up whenever me and some of the neighborhood boys were out playing football, basketball, dodgeball, etc.  They would start getting all hot and sweaty and they would take their shirts off. Hell, I wanted to take my shirt off, too! Turn the water hose on and let the water run from the very tip of my crown to the soles of my feet. Shoot! I was hot too!

Speaking of  letting the water run over the top of their dome, hell, you better not have got your head wet! Ladies you already know that if you wanted to feel your mama's ire, let that pressin' comb in the jar get wet! Ooooooooweee! I don't even want to go back there! It's too traumatic!

I like how men could seem to be in competition with one another and still be friends. They could be fighting to the death at 3:15pm and best buds again by 5pm. Men can be confident and brash and be considered a boardroom genius, but if a woman exhibits some of the same characteristics she's viewed as being a nazi-lesbian-feminist-(insert title to trina's debut album here) and trust me, it's not a compliment.

I love a man's physical strength and his desire to protect the one's that he loves. His willingness to take risks in the face of possibly being ridiculed. I can go on, but I won't because I'm really failing at making these blogs succinct. I'm sorry. I write like I talk. "It's just the song that never ends...." LOL

Ok, so I'm going to try and quickly name the things that I don't like. I don't like their casual aloofness, at times. Their ability to detach themselves from emotions. I've learned very recently that it is a learned ability. It is a survival tactic that is handed down from one generation to the next. I don't like their stubborness. "For Christ sakes! Pull over and get some damn directions! We've run out of road!"

I don't like how men shut down. Communication is always key. Don't tell us what you think we want to hear. Tell us the truth. Trust me, I know that we don't always handle the truth well, but if all things are approached with truth, it would make life a much simpler.

So there you have it. Just a few things of what I like/love and dislike about men. I hope I haven't lulled you all to sleep. If so, then WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKKKKKKKKKKEEEEEE UUUUUUUUUUPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!

Until next time, it's your girl, Nikki Angela X Brown

Peace, Love, and Soooooooouuuuulllllll

STILL A REBEL....

Two Tears In A Bucket....

Sooooooo....this week's subject for my blog challenge is comprising a bucket list. This is quite a challenge, because I've never even considered making a bucket list. I can honestly say that it has never crossed my mind to make a formal list of the things that I wish to do or accomplish before I die.

One of the main reasons that I haven't, can be found in the actual name of the activity. That reason is can be found in the word, list. I absolutely abhor list. I believe my disdain for lists started back in elementary school. Whenever  the teacher had to leave the room unattended for any length of time, he/she would designate someone to "take names" on the chalkboard. The designee would be assigned the task of "listing" the names of those who behaved badly while he/she was gone. Needless to say, my name showed up on quite a few of those "lists". It was usually, for talking. *i know, GASP!*

No one wanted their name on one of those lists because that meant "no recess". Having no recess was like Bennie telling Vera that there was only a swallow of orange juice left. Somebody was about to have a bad day.

Another reason I've never considered doing a bucket list is because to this pessimistic optimist (I'll explain at a later date) it makes me think too much about mortality. Since being self-diagnosed in my late 20's with an incurable case of Peter Pan Syndrome, which means I refuse to grow up, I refuse to get old, and I refuse to die. I'm immortal! That's it! So if I don't plan on dying, then there's no reason to write down a list of things that I wish to do before I die, because that would be insane. Am I right?

I'm sure by now, that I have you all scratching your heads. I get that a lot. For you see, there is confusion sometimes found in brilliance. Remember Einstein and that confusing mass of cilium that topped his brilliant mind?

Ok. Ok. Let me take a stab at being serious for a bit. Let's pretend that one day I may get old and I may even die. What would be some of the things that I would list? Well, just take a gander below.

1.  Become a published author (well, on my way)
2.  Become a sought after motivational speaker
3.  Learn to drive a motorcycle
4.  Own a motorcycle
5.  Travel to another country
6.  Be photographed by photographer extraordinaire, Saddi Khali
7.  Perform a spoken word piece in front of an audience (my stuffed animals don't count)
8.  Scuba dive
9.  Jet ski (do I have to know how to swim????)
10.Own my own company
11. Learn photography
12. Yoga
13. Live in tropical paradise
14. Create a safe haven for our young
15. Marry Idris Elba (don't judge me! I can dream can't I?)

That wasn't so bad after all. In fact, it was quite therapeutic. Thanks L-Boogie for challenging me to do this. Gave me some things to think about.

Signing out....it's your girl,

Nikki Angela X Brown

I'M SUPERBAD.....

LIVING OUTSIDE THE BOX

Living Outside The Box

Hello everyone and welcome to my new blog, TheVillageCrier. This blog was created as a result of a challenge by a fellow creative, but I would love for it to evolve into a place where people who aren't afraid to "live" and "think" outside the box can dwell. This is a place where people can be free to be themselves, a place where you don't have to fit into any type of group or category. Labels will not be allowed here. This is a place that one should feel free to define themselves, even if that definition changes everyday.

I am Nikki Angela X Brown and I'm named after some of my biggest inspirations; poet Nikki Giovanni, plotical activist, scholar, and author, Angela Davis, the incomparable Malcolm X, and fictional characters Foxy and Jackie Brown. Hey, in a world like ours, you have to throw a little fantasy in with the reality. It's what keeps me sane.

So, what does "living outside the box" mean to me? It means that I can live free of being in cramped quarters. It means that I'm free to spread my wings, take flight and travel at any speed and/0r altitude that I choose. Being free means that I am no longer bound by societal mores.

Like, who in the hell is this dude, Society and where does he get off trying to tell everybody what they should and should not do? Who died and made him Sovereign? One of my biggest pet peeves is when people start off an explanation of why I should or shouldn't be doing something with "Well society says..." Is this dude the prototype for our knockoff childhood friend, Simon Says? Remember you couldn't make a move of any kind without Simon giving you permision to do so. If you did, you were put "out" the game. You became a "loser". Sort of how you become considered a "loser" in  society if you don't follow its rigid rules of play. Rules that somehow seem to change without notice.

When I think about it, I've always been a little external box dweller. I remember in elementary, my 3rd grade teacher gave me an assignment to do a report on George Washington. Tired of hearing about George and his aspirations to be a tree trimmer, I did a report on George Washington Carver. A man who hadn't been talked about in my short educational career. I continued doing this for most of grade school. Of course,it upset my teachers, but I was in search of myself and my truth.

During those times, I was only taking baby steps, because there was always someone from "society" telling me that I shouldn't be doing this and I should be doing this. This rebirth has not been easy nor swift. It was sometime a very painful and stress-filled labor, but you know how it goes, once the water breaks, you better suck it up and push it out.

Two of my biggest break throughs were when I realized that I didn't need makeup and when I decided to stop straightening my hair. There was a time in my life that I thought that I couldn't leave home without my makeup on. I would be late or miss school and/or work, if my make-up was not tight. But you know what was tighter than the make-up, that tight space in that compact where my confidence had taken up residence. I was still living in that "Color Me Beautiful" box up until about 4 years ago.

It was about 15 years ago when I first shaved my head. It was one of the most liberating things that I have ever done. Black folk were gasping everywhere, especially my parents. My mother kept asking me if I was worried that people would think that I was a lesbian. I proudly told her no. I advised her that I couldn't control another person's thoughts. My father couldn't say a thing. I left him speechless, but I usually did. Ten years later I would decide to grow dreds. I've heard it all. I was warned that people may not hire me. I advised those people that if that was the case, then that was a place that I had no desire to work, anyway.

Living free is not easy and more than likely comes with a price. People may shun you, turn down their noses at you, and talk about you. The way I look at it, folk/society talked about Jesus and he was perfect. Talking about living outside the box............................ What bigger radical is there than the "Man", himself?

Choose to live freely.....

Your girl,

Nikki Angela X Brown