The Allan Handelman Show: Jimi Hendrix bio "Nobody Cages Me" (part 2)

The Allan Handelman Show: Jimi Hendrix bio "Nobody Cages Me" (part 2): "MP3 File"

The Allan Handelman Show: Jimi Hendrix biography: "Nobody Cages Me"

The Allan Handelman Show: Jimi Hendrix biography: "Nobody Cages Me": "(FRIDAY 9/3/10) Frequent discussions on the greatest guitarists of all time always bring the name Hendrix to the forefront. Generally consi..."

Comparing Apples to Oranges.

With the history of racism and discrimination in the U.S., black people have become very observant. These skills have become very honed and polished over the years due to inequalities in all aspects of life. This is a trait that has led to many a court case being brought to flush out racism, to the benefit of generations to come. Some people have tried to underestimate these observational skills by marginalizing them. This has spawned the phrase"playing the race card".

When black people point out inequalities in non-essential aspects of life, is that really playing the race card? Not exactly. Equality should be upheld in important things as well as things that may seem trivial. When we talk about equality in the classroom for all races, we also want equality when it comes to portrayal in the media. Equality in the workforce should also translate into equality in the world of high school sports. It may seem like we are comparing apples to oranges, but that is not the case. You see, equality has a climate attached to it. When you taste equality in one area of your life, you want that same equality in other mundane areas of your life, especially when it is fair.

I recognize that there are more important examples of unfair treatment in the world, but I want to highlight a current case in the media to show how many black people become jaded. In my book Plain Talk Volume 1, I talk about how the media often sensationalizes the mishaps of celebrities of color. I used Michael Jackson, Kanye West, and Serena Williams as examples. I even had an article questioning why the Kanye West/Taylor Swift debacle was overblown in the media, as opposed to the John Mayer incident. If race is not an issue in these cases, it always comes off that way.

That brings me to another situation: the Ben Roethlisberger alleged sexual assault in Georgia. Many people of color are monitoring this situation internally to see if Big Ben will be treated the same way that Kobe Bryant of Michael Vick have been treated. So far he has been treated better. There have not been immediate calls for him to be released from his contract. He is still being treated by the media with kid gloves. I can remember when Kobe Bryant was accused of sexual assault, there was gratuitous coverage on all the cable news shows. Many people were already convicting him of rape. They were talking about Kobe registering as a sex offender in Colorado and what that would do to his life. His personal life was like an open book at that point.

Michael Vick was given the harshest treatment of any current athlete that I have ever seen. At first, he was already convicted of his crime before he went to trial in the court of the media. Once again, an overabundance of Mike Vick dogfighting stories graced the news. It was lopsided as far as race when it came to Vick supporters and detractors. Even after being convicted and serving time in Kansas, many people were still showing hostility towards Mike Vick. To this day, I still read blogs where people are calling Mike Vick a dog murder and other vile names. If Big Ben is found guilty of sexual assault, will they have the same animosity towards him? I don't condone dog fighting or any type of violence towards animals, but does it equate with sexually violating another human being? Are we comparing apples to oranges? I don't want the media to treat Ben Roethlisberger with the same venom that they did Kobe and Vick. My point is, why did the media treat Kobe and Vick the way they did? Am I playing the race card for asking these questions? Am I comparing apples to oranges? You decide!!!

When Big Ben was charged the first time, many wondered why it wasn't being reported in the media. Click here to read about it.

Life Without Black People!!!

A very humorous and revealing story is told about a group of white people who were fed up with African Americans, so they joined together and wished
themselves away. They passed through a deep dark tunnel and emerged in sort of a twilight zone where there is anAmerica without black people. At first
these white people breathed a sigh of relief.
'At last', they said, 'no more crime, drugs, violence and welfare.' All of the blacks have gone! Then suddenly, reality set in. The 'NEWAMERICA' is not
Americaat all - only a barren land
1. There are very few crops that have flourished because the nation was built on a slave-supported system.
2. There are no cities with tall skyscrapers because Alexander Mils, a black man, invented the elevator, and without it, one finds great difficulty reaching
higher floors. invented the automatic gearshift, Joseph Gambol, also black, invented
the Super Charge System for Internal Combustion Engines, and Garrett A.. Morgan, a black man, invented the traffic signals.
4. Furthermore, one could not use the rapid transit system because its procurer was the electric trolley, which was invented by another black man, Albert
R. Robinson.
5. Even if there were streets on which cars and a rapid transit system could operate, they were cluttered with paper because an African American,
Charles Brooks, invented the street sweeper..
6. There were few if any newspapers, magazines and books because John Love invented the pencil sharpener, William Purveys invented the fountain
pen, and Lee Barrage invented the Type Writing Machine and W. A. Love invented the Advanced Printing Press. They were all, you guessed it, Black.
7. Even if Americans could write their letters, articles and books, they would not have been transported by mail because William Barry invented the
Postmarking and Canceling Machine, William Purveys invented the Hand Stamp and Philip Downing invented the Letter Drop.
8. The lawns were brown and wilted because Joseph Smith invented the Lawn Sprinkler and John Burr the Lawn Mower.
9. When they entered their homes, they found them to be poorly ventilated and poorly heated. You see,
Frederick Jones invented the Air Conditioner and Alice Parker the Heating Furnace. Their homes were also dim. But of course, Lewis Lattimer later
invented the Electric Lamp, Michael Harvey invented the lantern, and Granville T. Woods invented the Automatic Cut off Switch. Their homes were also
filthy because Thomas W. Steward invented the
Mop and Lloyd P. Ray the Dust Pan.
10. Their children met them at the door - barefooted, shabby, motley and unkempt. But what could one expect? Jan E. Matzelinger invented the Shoe
Lasting Machine, Walter Sammons invented the Comb, Sarah Boone invented the Ironing Board, and George T. Samon invented the Clothes Dryer.
11. Finally, they were resigned to at least have dinner amidst all of this turmoil. But here again, the food had spoiled because another Black Man, John
Standard invented the refrigerator...
Now, isn't that something? What would this country be like without the contributions of Blacks, as African-Americans?
Martin Luther King, Jr. said, 'by the time we leave for work, millions of Americans have depended on the inventions from the minds of Blacks.'
Black history includes more than just slavery, Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and Marcus Garvey & W.E.B. Dubois.

This is not my creation, I was just told to share.

http://www.plaintalk2010.com

Corey Washington

The Piling it on Theory--Why Kanye and not John Mayer???

When some people do things they are just dead wrong. Their actions can not be defended. However, when African-Americans commit an egregious act, many Whites may wonder why the Black community rallies to their defense. It is not that the Black community condones or approves of these actions, but rather it has to do with the modern day phenomenon called: Piling it on. To put this theory to the test look at the Kanye West ordeal and the John Mayer Fiasco.

At the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards Kanye West rudely interrupted Taylor Swift's acceptance speech for Best Female Video. Kanye rushed the stage and politely, but inappropriately pointed out that he felt Beyonce should have won the award. He was booed and then left the stage. Normally people would talk about this incident the next day, but it wouldn't be a major news story on all the networks. I even heard one person say that Kanye assaulted Taylor Swift. Kanye seemed to feel remorse and apologized to Taylor Swift and her mother. This was not enough for some people, they wanted to “pile it on”. Jay Leno even brought Kanye's dead mother into the fray in order to make him feel bad. As if that wasn't enough, the media baited President Obama into commenting on the situation. President Obama called Kanye West a “Jackass”, in what he thought was an off-the-record conversation. Little did he know that his words were being taped. Even former President Jimmy Carter commented on the situation. Soon the media was asking every prominent person what they thought of Kanye West. I am not condoning the actions of Kanye West. He was wrong, but the coverage in the media was extremely excessive and negative.

Thus far, I did not mention the race of the person that Kanye offended. Since Taylor Swift is not Black, it may have seemed to many African-Americans that race was the reason that the media “piled it on”. I hope that is not the case, but history says otherwise. When black people commit crimes or acts against one another, it is rarely covered in a sensational way. When an African-American does something against a non-African-American, then the media coverage becomes extremely sensationalized. It's not something that is obvious at the beginning, but as things drag on and you are able to look back and reflect, you can see the disparity in the treatment by the media.

When you compare the coverage of the Kanye West incident with the John Mayer incident, which one received the "Piling it on" treatment? It has to be Kanye's gaffe. John Mayer's situation barely made a blip on the Mainstream media's radar screen. Can you really say with a straight face that Kanye's actions were more offensive than John Mayer's? No!! So the question that I have is why the discrepancy? Is John Mayer being protected? Or is my "Piling it on" theory correct?

What are the solutions to the “Piling it on” modern day phenomenon? Hopefully this book will open up a dialogue in order to explore solutions. That is my hope for many of the things discussed in this book. I hope people can discuss racial stereotypes/ slurs and how it erodes cooperation between the races and breeds distrust. I hope people can learn from the racial miscues of famous people and not make the same mistakes. I hope people will examine how the media influences the way we feel towards other races. Talk to people of all races and don't rely on the media to shape your views on other races. Let's look at polarizing racial events and see how our views on these events are shaped by stereotypes and life experiences. I hope people will see through the methods of racists and see that they are not that creative. They attempt to boost themselves up by childishly tearing other races down. Above all, if you learn nothing new from this book, I just want you to examine yourself and see if there is any room for improvement. And remember, there are more of us (non-racists) then there are of them. (racists)

Excerpt from Plain Talk Vol.1

http://www.plaintalk2010.com

The Joke's on Me!! (and everyone else who paid attention to Don Moose Lewis)

When I first wrote my open letter to Don Moose Lewis, the Augusta community, and the world at large, I began to have any eerie feeling that I was part of a con game. The whole scheme just seemed so convenient. A promoter from Atlanta comes out of nowhere and proposes an all-white basketball league on Martin Luther King Day. A newspaper from Augusta known for its divisiveness in the community decides to run with this story. Both parties benefited by receiving national attention. Both parties are quoted in newspapers all over the world. I personally reached out to Don Moose Lewis to find out if this was some publicity stunt or if he was really serious about bringing such a league to Augusta. He sent me a Facebook message saying that as soon as all the hoopla died down he would contact me. Well, he never did. After many attempts to contact Mr. Lewis, I finally gave up. I began to scour the Internet in hopes of finding an interview that Mr. Lewis gave that confirmed my fears. Well, I finally found that interview. The following is a direct quote from an interview that Mr. Lewis gave to Creative Loafing, a website out of Atlanta:

(Courtesy of Creative Loafing)

Is the league gonna happen, or is it just a publicity stunt? Well, yes and yes. It’s absolutely going to happen, he insists. He says the response has

been overwhelmingly positive and he thinks he can get 2,000 to 3,000 spectators at games. But he also copped to the gimmickiness of the

league’s whites-only requirement. He wouldn’t be getting any attention from the media, he says, if his announcement about a new league didn’t say

the league was whites-only. “I had a conventional league for a year-and-a-half. I lost a ton of money,” he says. “The press release is basically to

garner press. It worked. I’ve slashed my advertising budget because I don’t need it anymore,” he says, noting a crew from “The Daily Show with Jon

Stewart” (which he calls “The Jon Daily Show”) will be interviewing him this week. In other words, Lewis believes he’s using the media’s shock, horror

and condescension to his advantage.

So there you have it, straight from the Moose's mouth! Someone needs to ask the Augusta Chronicle some serious questions. The first being, why in the world did you give this guy a major spotlight? Before I approached Ben Hasan to print my open letter about the all-white basketball league, I approached the Augusta Chronicle. I let everybody who was somebody at the Augusta Chronicle know about this open letter. I even had a prominent member of the community who has her own radio talk show to petition the Augusta Chronicle for me. Basically, I received the cold shoulder from the Augusta Chronicle. (Big surprise there!) Now it all makes sense. I can see why the Augusta Chronicle wanted the story to go away very quickly. If it lingered around too long, people would begin to wonder if the Augusta Chronicle was in collusion with Mr. Lewis.

Now is the time to admit my part in this whole fiasco. I should have just read this story, made a few comments, and kept on moving on. I feel bad about wasting my time and more importantly, other people's time on a publicity stunt. Every word in my open letter was sincere. I really do believe that an all-white basketball league would set the city of Augusta back a few decades. But at the same time, I feel foolish to even be associated with such a publicity stunt. So this essay is just a simple way for me to say, I've been had! The joke's on me and anyone else who got fired up over this issue. Looks like we got race hustled!!! Oh well, I guess you live and learn.

Corey Washington

Author of Plain Talk Volume 1

www.plaintalk2010.com

Why go Backward? (Stop living in the Past!)

An open letter to Don "Moose" Lewis, the Georgia community, and the world at large.

By Corey Washington

Regardless of what you think about Martin Luther King Day, many recognize that day as a time to reflect on how far the United States has come concerning race relations. So when a news story came out of the Augusta Chronicle on Martin Luther King day of 2010, most people thought it was a sick joke. Don "Moose" Lewis, the commissioner of an all-white basketball league, released a press release to the Augusta Chronicle, that expressed interest in Augusta, Georgia as one of the cities for this all-white league.

According to the press release of the AABA (All-American Basketball Alliance), the only players who qualify are "natural born US citizens with both parents of the Caucasian race". When asked why the restriction on color, Lewis said that the NBA is shutting out many white players. Lewis wants the AABA to focus on basketball fundamentals instead of the typical "streetball" played by "people of color". Lewis cited recent events involving the gun charges of Gilbert Arenas and past events in the NBA involving black players as a reason for an all-white league. Lewis claims that it will be automatically safer for patrons if all of the players are white. He goes on to state that fans would not have to worry about players flipping them off, attacking them, or grabbing their crotch. (Don't go to a baseball or hockey game) it's obvious that Lewis is referring to the incident at the Palace in Auburn Hills, Michigan, where Ron Artest, Jermaine O'Neil, and Stephen Jackson of the Indiana Pacers got into physical altercations with white Detroit Pistons fans in the stands. What Lewis fails to mention is that it was the drunken and obnoxious behavior of the fans that provoked the incident. (Someone threw a cup of beer at Ron Artest.) Clearly, those NBA players crossed the line, but those fans also went way beyond being spectators.

Let's look at Lewis' other line of reasoning for wanting an all-white league, the issue of streetball versus fundamentals. While it is true that the NBA has its share of showmen, those who are the best players know when to hotdog and went to stick to the fundamentals. Players like Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas, and Michael Jordan come to mind. They were very flashy at times, but very effective. They worked on basketball fundamentals first, then they developed and honed their skills in order to even have the option of performing more complex maneuvers. When the game was on the line, they were all business. My favorite player, Dominique Wilkins, was known as one of the most flamboyant players in the NBA. However, his greatest moment was a duel with the fundamentally sound Larry Bird. In Game seven of the 1988 NBA Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, these two small forwards went back and forth and played a game of basketball at such a high level, that it moved the legendary and fundamentally sound coach, Red Auerbach to declare: "Greatest quarter I ever saw in 42 years in the NBA". Then you have non-flashy black players like: Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Craig Hodges, Tim Duncan, Oscar Robertson, and even Wilt Chamberlain. All of these players were very fundamentally sound in their positions. On the other hand, you have flashy white players like: Pistol Pete Maravich, Steve Nash, Jason Williams (white chocolate), Da Professor (streetball And One legend), Rex Chapman, and Brent Barry(the only white winner of a NBA slam dunk contest-1996).

I mention all of these players to show that you cannot categorize basketball fundamentals according to race. According to Lewis, he subscribes to the Jimmy "the Greek" Synder theory of blacks being "natural athletes". He says people of color can "make up for their shortfall in fundamentals, with their natural athleticism".(He has obviously never heard of Harold Miner.) Let's be perfectly clear. You have to be fundamentally sound to make it to the professional level of any sport. Coaches want people who are going to help them win. It's not like in college, where you are limited to selecting from your student body. Professional leagues attract the best players. If all of those players happen to be white, then so be it. If they happen to be all black, same rule applies. If there is a mixture races, then so be it. As long as you put together the best team, that's all that counts.

With Augusta's murky and tempestuous past concerning race relations, one begs to wonder: Why select Augusta? Ray Charles refused to perform at the Bell Auditorium in Augusta, Georgia because of segregation. When they agreed to desegregate, he came back and fulfilled his obligation. Desegregation of education has also been very messy here in Augusta. Even in 1899 (Cumming versus Richmond County Board of Education), this issue garnered national attention, going all the way to the Supreme Court. This case shot down an attempt to close white high schools until they reopened black ones. This was three years after Plessy versus Ferguson, which gave us the "separate but equal" doctrine, thus clearing the way for state imposed segregation. With Brown versus Board of Education of Topeka in 1954 making segregated schools illegal under the "equal protection" clause of the law, how would Augusta respond to this landmark case? Not very well!

The Richmond County school system had to be sued by a group of private citizens to force them to desegregate the schools. That was in 1964, 10 years after Brown versus Board of Education. It wasn't until the 1970s, that Augusta's Board of Education finally came up with a plan for desegregation. As of this writing, Augusta is still under a federal court order for the desegregation of its schools.

We have not even mentioned one of Augusta's ugliest racial incidents, the riot of May 1970. We are approaching the 40th year anniversary of the riot. On May 11, 2010, Augusta will mark the anniversary, not with joy and celebration, but with somber reflection and forethought. With all of these issues of the past, not to mention the current uncertainty of the racial make up of the County Commission, do you think Augusta is ready for an all-white basketball league? If you think so, please go back and read this article over from the beginning. In fact, keep reading it until you join the rest of us in the present, and stop living in the past!

Corey Washington

(Author of Plain Talk volume 1)
This is an excerpt from Plain Talk Volume 2-Digging a little Deeper