What Donald Trump Could Learn From Buckeye Fans

This weekend, my beloved Wolverines lost a heart-breaker to our fiercest rivals, the Ohio State Suckeyes Buckeyes 30-27. In a dramatic, double-overtime thriller, the Buckeyes pulled off an emotional win thanks in part to highly controversial officiating. In the interest of purging that mess of a game out of my psyche forever, I won’t bother dropping links or YouTube videos elaborating any further. You can do your own research and come to your own conclusions. But let’s just say a number of people are highly upset by the game’s officiating. So much so, that an online petition is circulating in protest.

Interestingly though, the general response of the Buckeye faithful has been one of apathy. Their response is along the lines of: “We won. You lost. End of story.” Not only are they not being distracted by the noise coming from Wolverine fans, they’re seemingly embracing it. Social media has exploded with tweets and memes mocking the Michigan fanbase, its football program, and virtually anything else tied to the Maize and Blue. They’re not asking for a rematch to prove their team’s dominance. They are not owning up to the controversial nature of their win. They’ve accepted the outcome. They’re at peace with the win (largely, I would suspect, because they were the beneficiaries). They aren’t trying to prove their worth. At the end, THEY won and they know it. And now they’re focusing their energy on the next game.

What does this have to do with Donald Trump? More than you may realize.

After a long and emotionally-draining election season, Donald Trump was voted the 45th President of the United States (still trying to wrap my head around that horror show). Despite losing the popular vote by over 2 million votes (and counting), our controversial electoral system secured his win. While drawing the ire of millions of Americans – to the point that they, too, have circulated a petition – we are all still faced with the reality that come January 2017, Trump will be sworn in as the next Commander-in-Chief.

Instead of just accepting the reality of that win and getting himself into a presidential frame-of-mind, the Donald is pulling out all the stops to remove any doubt about his legitimacy as POTUS. Despite having no credible evidence to substantiate the claim, our future leader gave us this real gem of a tweet:

This, coming from the guy who WON the election. Wow.

Time and time again, the fairy tale of election fraud has been debunked. But simple things like, I dunno, facts have never stopped this man from spreading unfounded lies and rumors. But surely, actually WINNING an election would put this to rest, right? For the ordinary person? Yes. For crazed and egotistical people like Donald Trump? No chance.

This latest Trump Tweet Tirade is about his ego. Nothing more, nothing less. His arrogance and child-like temperament simply won’t allow him to accept the fact that he won with the help of the Electoral College. No. He wants to show us all that he was also the most popular candidate, even though there are no metrics to validate that claim. It’s one thing to win an election. But for Trump, being recognized as the undisputed winner is something entirely different. If fair systems dictated, the person who received the most votes in an election should win. Period. But the Electoral College creates the ultimately technicality that slaps that general principal right in the face. Losing the popular vote can still lead to winning an election. We’ve seen that outcome play out before. Like Buckeye fans who gladly accept a win (even if it’s tainted), Trump needs to take the win and shut up. Focus his energy on more pressing issues. Passing off conspiracy theories as truth aren’t going to create 2 million new voters to satisfy his ego. If anything, it’s irresponsible and un-presidential of him to perpetuate myths; especially to highly impressionable people who believe anything he can convey in 140 characters or less. Bruh, take the W and keep it moving.

Besides all of that, I find it very ironic that the same guy who boasts about using systems to his advantage is now whining about a system that got him elected.

That’s ‘Murica for you.

-ACL

Cleveland Fans: Why Even a Dawg Has His Day

The “Before LeBron Came Home with Gifts” pic

I’m going to take a step back from all the seriousness of the world to turn my attention to the world of sports.

This week, the Cleveland Cavaliers defied all odds by defeating the historic and much-favored Golden State Warriors team, capturing the first NBA title for the organization. The win also secured the first major sports championship for the city of Cleveland in over 50 years (football, basketball, baseball, hockey), thus ending the Cleveland curse.

I couldn’t be sicker about it.

First off, let me preface that I actually am happy for the city of Cleveland. As a Detroit Lions fan, I can appreciate the trauma of sports curses. I danced in the street with every Bostonian in America when they finally won a world series…going through their hated NY Yankee rivals in the process. Curses, like records, are meant to be broken. To be fair though, the D has won its share of NBA (3) and NHL (11) titles…and even a World Series. But a Superbowl title has never found a home in Detroit. In the meantime, we’ve watched dynasties form in Dallas, Pittsburg, and New England. We’ve watched bitter rivals hoist the trophy (Green Bay and Chicago). We’ve even seen miserable franchises like the New Orleans Aint’s Saints take home a title. And yet, the Superbowl has become the complete antithesis of Lions’ football. And, yes, the Lions are also cursed.

Being a Lions’ fan has also given me an affinity for underdogs. Going into this series, the Cavs were already 3 to 1 underdogs just by sheer virtue of the seemingly invincible nature of the Warriors. Coming off an amazing 73-win season, not losing two games in concession all season long, and holding on to an insurmountable 3-1 lead, it wasn’t a matter of if the Warriors would win, it was a matter of when. And yet, the Cavs persevered, refused to lay down, and fought their way back to win in historic fashion. For that, they deserve everyone’s respect, including mine.

What burns my grits about this whole thing is not that the Cavs won, but how the entire city of Cleveland became the recipients of unmerited favor. A few years ago, superstar and hometown hero LeBron James found himself in a position where felt he couldn’t win a title playing for Cleveland. So he did what any sensible athlete would do: he made the jump to a team he felt had championship potential. In a nationally televised spectacle, James infamously announced that he was “taking [his] talents to South Beach” to join the Miami Heat franchise. A couple of years later, he was celebrating two NBA titles. Though this wasn’t the first time somebody moved from Cleveland to win a championship elsewhere, this was probably the most high-profiled exodus on record. I can’t fault the city for feeling embarrassed and angry.

But instead of showing its’ true grit and proving that it wasn’t defined by one man, Cleveland – both the fans and Cavs organization alike – used this as an opportunity to show how truly despicable they could be. Instead of thanking him for the seven amazing years he gave them (both on the court and off), fans took to the streets to show their utter contempt for him. They burned his jerseys, cursed his name, and loaded up on the insults. I could’ve chalked this up to a few passionate, but idiotic fans. But then the Cavs organization chimed in and stoked the flames. Cavs owner Dan Gilbert was just as quick to offer vicious attacks on the man who quite literally reshaped his woefully bad team. Shortly after LeBron made his announcement, Gilbert went in to CAPS LOCK MODE by penning a scathing letter to the city about LeBron. It read of a bitter ex, angry that his lover moved on to do bigger and better things.

That was all the fans needed to reach down into the deep bowels of their darken humanity.

LeBron’s trips back home were welcomed by signs reading of “Witless” (a play on the “Witness” marketing campaign from Nike), “Traitor”, “LeBum”, and “We Hate You.” Chants of “Asshole” and “Akron Hates You” echoed through the building each time LeBron had the ball in his hands. The fans even went as far as to heckle him with “Who’s Your Daddy?” taunts, especially despicable because of James’ fatherless upbringing. They didn’t factor in the emotional scarring he may have experienced growing up without a father or what his children may have been going through not having their granddad in the picture. They went for the cheap low blow, and it was deliberate. I’m sorry, but only the most heartless people would dig into a very deep, hurtful, and personal place just to express their disdain over something as vacuous as a game.

But when James decided he wanted to return to Cleveland last year, everything magically went back to the way it was. He came back home and was immediately greeted by the same fans who just a couple of years prior mocked him in every inhumane way imaginable. And now everything is really well in their world because LeBron delivered them a title. He brought gifts and now everything is forgiven. Never mind the fact that they never apologized to him for being jerks. As long as the prodigal son has returned and taken the city to the promised land, everything is copacetic.

Did Cleveland deserve this title? Sure, their teams were in a championship drought for many, many years. But the city’s fanbase, I’m sorry to say, are real jerks. How they treat their sports heroes is indicative of how much they did NOT deserve this title. They didn’t offer their unconditional support to a man who made their basketball team and city relevant for the first time in decades. No. They mercilessly scorned him for having the audacity to leave for friendlier and more productive climes. They didn’t thank (NFL’s Cleveland Browns’ owner) Art Modell for pouring everything he had into that city. No. They cursed him for attempting to move a team that even his own city didn’t fully support. They didn’t put their arms around (Browns’ great) Ernest Byner for giving everything he had during the infamous AFC Championship game against the Denver Broncos. They cursed him for a costly fumble that wasn’t even really his fault. That’s the M.O. of your typical Cleveland sports fan: they love you when you’re doing good by them, they hate you when you aren’t.

You didn’t see Lions’ fans collectively taking to streets to burn Barry Sanders in effigy when he decided to call it quits. You didn’t see us torching a pile of Calvin Johnson jerseys when he decided to walk away from the game. No. You saw us thanking these two guys for giving us joy while they performed to the maximum of their abilities, and us wishing them well as they walked off into the sunset. Cleveland fans, oppositely, act like spoiled, petulant children when things don’t go their way. So, no, they didn’t deserve this title. But, as Clint Eastwood pointed out, “Deserve’s got nothing to do with it.”  Sometimes a dog (or dawg, as the case may be) just has their day. So at this point, all the rest of us can do is rant about Cleveland’s undeserved favor and pray for our time in the sun.

OK, fine. I lied about lightening up with this post. Sue me.

– ACL

Money Wasted and Casting the First Stone

Generally speaking, I don’t use my blog as a platform to discuss celebrity news. But I believe that – even in the vacuous world of the celebrity – social commentary can be found in one way or another. The following is a prime example:

First, the story: Billionaire media mogul Oprah Winfrey has been all in the headlines this week for offering up an anecdote about a potentially racial encounter she experienced in Switzerland. While she was at an upscale store there, she asked to see a $38,000 handbag. Apparently the clerk refused to show her the bag, assuming she wasn’t able to afford it. Since the time Oprah shared this story, she has oddly apologized over the misunderstanding (my guess is so that she can save face with her largely white following. But that’s neither here nor there).

My initial reaction to the story was “Damn. That was racist.” [Well actually, my VERY first thought was “Wait. Who, in all of heaven and Earth, doesn’t know who Oprah is?” But I digress.] The fact is: the clerk made an assumption (a very costly one) about Oprah’s ability to pay for the bag solely off of her appearance. Black people in this country are almost instinctively hardwired to believe that our racial appearance often dictates how people view us even before a word exits our mouth. That being said, I understand Oprah’s inclination to suspect the role of race in this situation.  So ends that conversation.

But in an interesting turn of events, Dr. Melissa Harris-Perry – a scholar whom I deeply respect – went in another direction. Rather than focusing on the moment, Harris-Perry goes in hard on Oprah and her spending habits. Check it:

One the surface, I get it. There is an ongoing belief that wealthy folks must be held to a higher standard with their money because of their status. The handbag that Oprah was looking at was worth more than many families in this country bring home in a year. Kimye’s decision to spend over $700,000 on toilet seats is ridiculous in a country where children are sleeping on the streets. Puffy buying his kid a $360,000 car as a birthday gift reeks of social irresponsibility. In general, the spending habits of celebrities is out of control and far out of touch. I hear you loud and clear. And I agree.

But here’s where my issue lies (and even I’M surprised I feel this way): what this boils down is us casting judgement on wealthy people for doing (or not doing) deeds with their money in a manner satisfactory enough for us. In that same vein though, I have to ask: are we? While we criticize celebrities for the way they spend their income, how can we justify receiving an income that far exceeds what we actually need in life? I’m quite sure that at one point or another, each of us has devoted our resources to non-essential deeds or items; none of which have actually contributed to society. If you don’t believe me: ask yourself why you traded in a perfectly fine vehicle just to get a new one. Ask yourself why you’re spending money on bottled water when tap water works just as well. Ask yourself why you’re going out to eat when you have food in your fridge? Ask yourself why you’re living in a house that costs $150,000 when you could have purchased one for $50,000. Ask yourself why you spend a hoard of money on Christmas gifts each year. Do we need that stuff, or do we just want it?

I’ll go on record agreeing that $38,000 is way too much for a handbag. But I say all this while I’m still fuming over a bad flat screen TV I bought to replace a perfectly good tube TV I had. I say this knowing that I have three monitors on my computer at work (because, you know, one monitor is soooo 2008). I say this while I check Facebook notifications from my $600 mass of hotness and badassery smartphone. I’m sure many of you can lay claim to some of the same kinds of items.

The point of this post isn’t to make you feel bad about how you spend your money. Not at all. But while you’re spending your money on stuff you don’t need, you can’t righteously attack celebs who do so. I defer to my Savior BFF: Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

I found that verse scrolling though the Bible app on my $600 phone.

– ACL

Dorner the Rogue: My Quick (And Final) Thoughts

I’m sure by now you’ve already heard the news about Chris Dorner, from when he first made the news by killing three people in a vendetta against the LAPD, to his fiery death (???) the other day. My quick (and final) thoughts:

• First, did you read ole dude’s manifesto? Whoa. Talk about a page turner. His manifesto to me is what 50 Shades of Grey is to just about every woman I know. It was morbid, but entertaining. Cryptic, but transparent. Telling, but weird. He gave shout outs to everybody from celebrities to folks in the media (liberal, mostly. More on that later). He criticized and protected the President, and gave first hand accounts of incidents that took place on the job. I believe a lot of what he said was true. Of all the law enforcement agencies in the country, the LAPD is by far the most corrupt. I’m not disputing that…or the cathartic need Dorner may have had to blow the whistle. Good for him…in that respect.
• Secondly, however, let’s not conflate the ideas of being a hero and being a terrorist. If any of you ninjas are martyring Dorner as a hero, you need your head examined…after the rest of us smack the mess out of you. This man is NO hero. He’s a killer. Plain and simple. As of today, four innocent people are dead at his hands. Rather than taking an opportunity to expose the corruption we all know exists within the ranks of the LAPD, this fool decided to go Django Unchained on people. The way to confront “injustice” is not by killing innocents, especially folks that could have been any one of our people.
• If there was ever a time not to be B3 (big, black, and bald) in America, it would’ve been this month. I can only imagine how B3’s in California were feeling when the manhunt for Dorner was announced. I mean, the LAPD are out there shooting up old Latino ladies. What makes you think they would think twice before shooting our black asses?
• Speaking of which, all these clowns offered the victims was another truck to replace the one they shot up? Who does that? The LAPD, that’s who. I hope these ladies’ lawyer has a field day with them.
• LL Cool J would make theeeee perfect Dorner in a Lifetime Movie. Oh, you know it’s coming.
• You normally won’t find me agreeing the conservatives. But as I mentioned earlier, Dorner’s manifesto was decidedly pro-liberal, stemming from his support of Obama to his praise and adoration of several liberal news personalities. If Dorner was a white dude going on a similar rant as Tea Party supporter, praising Fox News personalities, the headlines would reach much, much differently. I’m sorry: you can’t argue with that one. You know it’s true.

All these thoughts notwithstanding, I’m done with this conversation. People are dead, guns are still dangerous, and the LAPD is still corrupt. What could have a been a significant step toward addressing a huge problem involving corruption and institutional racism is now tucked away in the country’s psyche as a bizarre example of a maverick (pardon the term) and violent enemy of the public. Another wasted opportunity to motivate change.

Welp. On to the next thing.

So, do you guys have any thoughts on this Dorner incident or should we just put this to bed? Holla at me!

– ACL

Dear Young Black Males in Flint…

It pains me to write this. But even more to the point, I write this knowing the people who need to hear this probably never will. But this missive is directed at you, Mr. Young Black Male in Flint. No sugar coating: I’m sick of you. I hate everything you stand for. You embarrass me. You embarrass your people. I know I shouldn’t speak in generalities, and I try my hardest not to. But it’s too late in the game for me to be polite at this point.

First, I’m sick of looking at your underwear. What could have possibly possessed you to think that it’s sexy to have your pants hanging half way (or in some cases all the way) down? As a side note, ladies, if you actually find that attractive, then you’re a part of the problem. Anyway, why walk around with the need to yank your pants up after every fourth step? Exactly how hard is it to buy a belt? Believe me, I’ll be the first one to say that respectability politics is laughable. MLK was shot wearing a suit and tie. But does that mean you should strip away your own dignity by having your pants pulled all the way down? C’mon, man. Just, come on.

Next, I’m sick of how you somehow feel justified in terrorizing and assaulting people just because you can. Thing is: the people you are targeting – far more often than not – are not that different than you. You’re not victimizing millionaires who can recoup their losses with no problem. You’re attacking people who get up every day to work for a living, who struggle to pay bills, who have dreams and aspirations, and who have families to care for. What I need you to understand is that when you steal from us, we don’t get our goods back by some stroke of magic or by wishful thinking. We have to pay good money (which we probably needed for something else) to fix the damage, replace what was stolen, AND usually to brace for the increase in our insurance premiums. Congratulations. I hope the TV you stole and pawned off was worth it.

Also, I’m tired of you being the opposite of intelligence and civility. At what point in our existence did it become ‘the thing’ to not be able to form complete sentences, use terms like “please” and “thank you”, or shake a person’s hand? I’m not sure why you decided to leave school – where some of these educational and social values are taught. But judging by what I see you doing every day, it certainly wasn’t so you could jump into the job market. Being intelligent and civilized is NOT “acting white.”

Finally, I’m sick of being afraid of you. I hate that you have negatively changed who I am with your never-ending attacks on my community. In my earlier years – high school, college, and such – I was an unapologetic idealist, volunteering as much as I could; helping wherever I can. But now? I avoid people like you. And it shames me. But how can I effectively advocate for someone I’m afraid of? Perhaps the better question is: why should I even bother? Why go to the mat for a person who will turn around and break into my car in appreciation? Why defend a person who will senselessly snatch a life without losing any sleep? How can I declare that #BlackLivesMatter when the description of the people who invaded our home was “black men in dark clothes…”?

Perhaps you didn’t have a father around or a man you could consider a father figure. Perhaps your mother didn’t establish ground rules for the house. Perhaps nobody held you accountable for your actions. Maybe your mother thought you were a precious gem who could do no wrong. Maybe your family thought it was cute when you were cussing by the time you were three years old. Frankly, I don’t care. Most of us grew up poor in Flint. Most of us weren’t afforded the finer things in life. And, yet, we’re not all out there victimizing our brothers and sisters. Later for all that “product of my environment” stuff.

Then again, even those are just excuses. Some of you DID have at least one parent who cared. You had at least one person in this world looking out for your best interest. A person who taught you the importance of education, or the value of hard day’s work. But leave it up to you to ignore them, because you were so sure you knew everything. Maybe it was because you glommed onto the words of some rapper you don’t know instead of the advice you got from people who know you and love you (which reminds me: Please turn your radios down. Just because you love a song, doesn’t mean the entire neighborhood wants to hear it).

Do young men or other races and ethnicities commit crimes? Absolutely they do. But in my world? In my city? In my neighborhood? No. It’s you. You’re the terrorist. Maybe things are different in other parts of the country. I can only hope. But I’m talking about what I know, what I see, and what I personally experience.

What angers me most – maybe hurt is a better term – is that when I look at you, I see endless potential. I look at you and I see potential husbands and fathers to our women and children; scientists, college professors, advanced technicians, musicians, athletes, entertainers. I see you as the protectors of our women, the guardians of our community, the hope of our race. I see you as a person worth fighting for against injustice, and worth giving back to. But what I get in return is some thoughtless person responsible for violating our home to steal things you should be working as hard as we are to earn. Instead of being the person going around the neighborhood shoveling driveways, raking yards, or coordinating beautification projects, you’re are out casing the next house to rob. Instead of adding aesthetic value to our neighborhoods, you’re tagging public property with crap nobody can even read. Instead of using your God-given time and talent to make the world a better place, you’re wasting your life away in front of party stores smoking and drinking. Please stop it.

It saddens me to know that I can’t look at your generation with a sense of pride. I just can’t. In trying to accentuate the positive, I’m fully aware of all the amazing things many of our young people are doing. But their accomplishments – impressive as they are – aren’t stopping you from creating dark clouds hovering over your generation. I’m asking you – hell, BEGGING YOU – to step up to the plate. Not just your own sake, but for the sake of your people. You may not feel connected to the rest of us, but you are. Trust me when I say: I’m not some grumpy 80 year old Republican rich guy who is out of touch with the common folk. I’m a 30’s – something black man born, raised, and raising a family of my own in Flint. Trust me when I say, I’m not too far removed from you.

I’m not completely callous here. I’m sorry if you had a rough life and you’re trying to make do. I’m sorry if nobody cared about you enough to show you the right way to live. I truly am. But that doesn’t give you the right to make the world a miserable place for people who don’t deserve being subjected to your anger, selfishness, or whatever motivates you to do what you.

You may not be aware, but black people around the world are accomplishing monumental feats with all kinds of odds stacked against them. Every day. I’d really like to believe that one day, we’ll be celebrating some of your accomplishments. It’s a wonderful thought to have. But unfortunately, my thoughts are usually interrupted by the sound of me locking my doors.

Please, brothas. Do better. We need you.

– ACL