Leaderboard

Clash of the titans? More like a measuring of the penises to see who is the best hung. Male leaders personify the egos of their nations, and the guns and bombs and drones of their armies are phallic symbols. How much misery is inflicted and how many lives lost because one country has to prove that it is the most potent? "Peace" and "diplomacy" are synonyms for "wimp" and "wussy" by those whose lives won't be screwed up due to losing sons and daughters in senseless wars. Street gangs mimic this attitude by killing each other over turf. It's an "us" against "them" society. When does it end? How can it end? Is another big bang on the horizon, poised to blow this world back to square one? Maybe next time around gay men will be the Alpha Males and the only thing their fights will revolve around will be which queen has the best decorated palace. Brave new world.

Black fast food is certainly not something that can be promoted as healthy. Ribs, fried chicken, soul food menus made of fatty starchy food are precursors of high blood pressure and diabetes which, in turn, adversely affect the heart. So giving such franchises their piece of the pie, may fatten the pockets of the owners but certainly won't benenfit the well being of the black community. I'm not defending McDonalds or any of the other big name servers except to say that they represent the supply and demand principle, and taking on the welfare of the general population can be akin to a Nanny society where people are told what's best for them and made to feel guilty if they do as the please. We do have a right to personal choices. I eat what I have a taste for whether it's good for me or not. I've convinced myself that savoring good food releases endorphins and phereonomes, and these chemicals balance out the bad effects of calories and cholesterol. Crazy, I know. But never underestimate the oblivion of rationalizing or the power of pleasure, and enjoying what I like to eat is one of the few pleasure I have left in a life where I'm still here in spite of my bad habits.. But - I digress. What is occurring to me is that we tend to ennoble the masses. We think that because they are victimized, that they are morally superior to those who victimize them. Cynic that I am, I starting to feel that the only difference between the "haves" and the "have-nots" is that the haves have managed to pull off what the have-nots couldn't. Just because people are indigent doesn't mean they are brimming with sterling character and scruples and integrity. Folks steal from and cheat each other on a daily basis.Opportunists are not limited to the rich. Philanthropy, however, is the domain of the rich where many practice the "to whom much is given, much is expected" credo. Altruists are in a class all by themselves. These humanitarians are a rare breed who deserve credit and gratitude and respect. They are our hope. Obviously nobody wants to be poor and impotent and exploited, and in order to better their circumstances, if given a chance, they are very likely to emulate what profit-driven successful people have done. A poor slob working for minimum wages in a factory, stealing and selling equipment on the side, looks at the CEO of the company and thinks: "there, but for the lack of guile, go I." Never mind how he got to the top; he got there. Being a cut-throat is the name of the game Politics is another arena where honesty suffers. Elected officials who rise from the ranks of the common man, promising to represent the best interests of their neglected constituents, sell them out Power and money corrupt at the grass roots level just as much as at the upper echelon. "I got mine, now you get yours" is the mantra of our capitalistic system where what unites the poor, huddled masses is a "misery loves company" lament. Man is such a flawed entity and materialism so enthralling how could the world be full of anything other than greed and need????

Now this is the conversation definitely taking a turn towards something I hadn't considered at all. Tax breaks. I guess my opinion of tax breaks is based on Memphis which is distinctly different from Harlem in that Memphis is in the bible belt and is a primarily black city. In turn the people recieving the tax breaks are black people who are opening church after church after church. In Memphis if the simply removed the tax exemption from churches the money in property tax and business tax generated would make the city rich. Also in regard to poor neighborhoods, in Memphis there may be a Churches Chicken, and a McDonald's now, but that is a new trend. These places were never really in the black community. We had local establishments Lot-A-Burger and Jack Pirtle's Chicken. In my life I never saw a fast food joint until we moved to what was considered middle income neighborhoods. In my old neighborhood there still isn't a McDonald's within a five mile radius. So therein lies my inability to demonize McDonald's in the same way as others. I guess I can take it one step further and say that even on the dollar menu there are healthy options, but like you said, people aren't ordering that. I agree the crowding out of small biz remains the problem with corporations, but small black businesses also often fail to capitalize on the things that are available to them. More important, because when these people open places of business and they have failed to support other Black businesses, you are led to the chicken or the egg discussion. I've made this argument before and I guess because I witness this ridiculous exchange of money in the sneaker world, I have a bootstrap mentality in hoping that people begin thinking this way: If black people would simply find the best Black businesses and support those businesses in every city in America at least once a month, we would see the creation of millionaires in ridiculous amounts. The problem is, in Memphis, people would rather go to Applebee's national chain, instead of taking a longer drive to go to Deja Vu, a black restaurant. People would rather go to Kroger grocery store chain since it is everywhere, to get a cake baked instead of going to The Pie Folks, an award winning Black owned bakery. While I know how influential big business is, I hope that we begin understanding the importance of supporting each other. On the point of urban/street fiction as an underlying ecosystem, book buying is about disposable income. Those who have these crazy big bookshelves and buy books often aren't interested in walking into the bookstore to only see street/urban lit. We want to see an array of titles and balance. But, when we don't walk in and see diversity, we walk out. Maybe Black bookstores can't be solely about Black books, but books in general. I guess that goes without saying though. This is heavy stuff, but at least the dialogue can lead to solutions.