Thursday, October 20, 2005
Couple of Thoughts
I love to read the Washington Post Express, whenever I get on the Metro. When it comes to the Sports section, I almost always skip it and move on to other articles. Well, this morning, KT lead me back to the Sports section to read an article about the NBA and the dress code. Lemme post the article here:
Jackson: Dress Code Targets Blacks
You gotta agree that this new rule is racially-motivated to control the clothing and accessories of certain people. I mean, really! Where do you get off by telling people what they can or cannot wear? So, what if you don't like it? What's next, they can only have a certain hairstyle?
Obviously, the NBA is trying to avoid being associated with a certain image...hip-hop. There is a large percentage of basketball players who are Black. I would think that these players would be role models for the younger generation. Don't you think that if these players were manipulated to "dressing up the right way" and abiding by the rule, then the message might be that wearing bling-bling or that hip-hop is bad or unacceptable?
The nerve NBA has!
**********
Last night, KT and I watched a TiVo'd episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. This particular episode, Strain, was about 2 gay men, who were lovers, who were murdered separately. The medical examiner discovered that these 2 men had a killer strain of AIDS, the one that's resistent to most of the medicines available for treatment.
Anyways, the man who murdered these 2 men, was also gay and was on a mission. When evidence pointed out to him that he was the murderer, he was quick to admit his deeds. He plead not guilty by reason of self-defense. He felt that by killing these 2 men, he saved thousands of other lives.
You see, these men had the killer strain of AIDS. They were also doing meth, ergo, infecting other men by having unprotected sex and spreading the strain. It was also discovered that the murderer's younger brother was also gay and was infected by one of these 2 men. The younger brother soon passed away. (This killer strain is known to rapidly progress from HIV to AIDS, then death within 6 months, if not less.) The murderer explained that his brother never did drugs before until he met one of these 2 men. He tried a little and the next thing he knew, he was having unprotected sex. An "innocent" person, said the murderer.
The episode almost made you want to believe that the murderer's actions were justifiable. The ending of 2 infected men, who were doing meth and carelessly infecting men, which they will infect others and so on. Like the murderer said, "I killed 2 lives to save thousands of otherss." You get the picture.
Then, the prosecutor made her closing arguments. HIV/AIDS is parallel to smoking cigarettes. We all know that some smokers are likely to get lung cancer. However, they've been warned by the Surgeon General and with warning labels on cigarette packs and elsewhere. People, companies and the media can overload you with warnings but nothing is gonna stop you if you're gonna smoke.
The same goes for gay men who do meth. Everyone, not just gay men, should know that unprotected sex isn't the way to go. Sex and meth are a dangerous combination. Gay men should know that because I'm sure we're all sick of hearing this same message over and over again. Well, hello, then why does it continue to happen? Anyways, the point is that gay men have a choice. They can turn down an opportunity to do meth and continue to protect themselves or they can do meth and know that they might have to pay the price dearly.
Larry Kramer spoke about gay men murdering other gay men, via HIV/AIDS in The Tragedy of Today's Gays. Powerful message! I believe that everyone should read this book. His speech is only about 100 (short) pages long.
So, killing 2 infected lives isn't gonna save thousands of other lives. We are each responsible for our own actions and we can do our best for a better world by educating others.
Whoo, deep, eh? Anyways, ponder on these two and lemme know wha'cha think.
ta ta for now...
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Jackson: Dress Code Targets Blacks
NBA| Indiana guard Stephen Jackson believes the NBA's new ban on bling-bling is racially movtivated, but says he will abide by the rules.
The NBA has announced that a dress code will go into effect at the start of the season. Players will be required to wear business-casual attire when involved in team or league business. They can't wear visible chains, pendants or medallions over their clothes.
Jackson, who is black, said the NBA's new rule about jewelry targets young black males because chains are associated with hip-hop culture, and he said the league is afraid of becoming "too hip-hop". In protest, he wore four chains to the Pacers' exhibition game Tuesday night.
He defended his actions on Wednesday, but said he won't allow his feelings to cause a distraction in the regular season. "They don't want your chains to be out, all gaudy and shiny. But that's the point of them," he said. I love wearing my jewelry. But I love my job. I love playing basketball more than I loved getting fined and getting suspended." (AP)
You gotta agree that this new rule is racially-motivated to control the clothing and accessories of certain people. I mean, really! Where do you get off by telling people what they can or cannot wear? So, what if you don't like it? What's next, they can only have a certain hairstyle?
Obviously, the NBA is trying to avoid being associated with a certain image...hip-hop. There is a large percentage of basketball players who are Black. I would think that these players would be role models for the younger generation. Don't you think that if these players were manipulated to "dressing up the right way" and abiding by the rule, then the message might be that wearing bling-bling or that hip-hop is bad or unacceptable?
The nerve NBA has!
**********
Last night, KT and I watched a TiVo'd episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. This particular episode, Strain, was about 2 gay men, who were lovers, who were murdered separately. The medical examiner discovered that these 2 men had a killer strain of AIDS, the one that's resistent to most of the medicines available for treatment.
Anyways, the man who murdered these 2 men, was also gay and was on a mission. When evidence pointed out to him that he was the murderer, he was quick to admit his deeds. He plead not guilty by reason of self-defense. He felt that by killing these 2 men, he saved thousands of other lives.
You see, these men had the killer strain of AIDS. They were also doing meth, ergo, infecting other men by having unprotected sex and spreading the strain. It was also discovered that the murderer's younger brother was also gay and was infected by one of these 2 men. The younger brother soon passed away. (This killer strain is known to rapidly progress from HIV to AIDS, then death within 6 months, if not less.) The murderer explained that his brother never did drugs before until he met one of these 2 men. He tried a little and the next thing he knew, he was having unprotected sex. An "innocent" person, said the murderer.
The episode almost made you want to believe that the murderer's actions were justifiable. The ending of 2 infected men, who were doing meth and carelessly infecting men, which they will infect others and so on. Like the murderer said, "I killed 2 lives to save thousands of otherss." You get the picture.
Then, the prosecutor made her closing arguments. HIV/AIDS is parallel to smoking cigarettes. We all know that some smokers are likely to get lung cancer. However, they've been warned by the Surgeon General and with warning labels on cigarette packs and elsewhere. People, companies and the media can overload you with warnings but nothing is gonna stop you if you're gonna smoke.
The same goes for gay men who do meth. Everyone, not just gay men, should know that unprotected sex isn't the way to go. Sex and meth are a dangerous combination. Gay men should know that because I'm sure we're all sick of hearing this same message over and over again. Well, hello, then why does it continue to happen? Anyways, the point is that gay men have a choice. They can turn down an opportunity to do meth and continue to protect themselves or they can do meth and know that they might have to pay the price dearly.
Larry Kramer spoke about gay men murdering other gay men, via HIV/AIDS in The Tragedy of Today's Gays. Powerful message! I believe that everyone should read this book. His speech is only about 100 (short) pages long.
So, killing 2 infected lives isn't gonna save thousands of other lives. We are each responsible for our own actions and we can do our best for a better world by educating others.
Whoo, deep, eh? Anyways, ponder on these two and lemme know wha'cha think.
ta ta for now...
|
