Is That How You Really Feel?

So, tonight held the 54th Grammy Award show, and while that is certainly "post-worthy," that is not what I'm writing about tonight. No, tonight I am just venting/wondering about something that I deem a problem with our society. A little melodramatic, perhaps, but indulge me. Read on...

There was a lot of fanfare tonight, with celebrities being celebrated and music being performed. One of the performances was by the one and only Chris Brown. Now, I have struggled with Chris Brown ever since it was revealed that he laid his hands on Rihanna. I was definitely a fan before that. And I do still think he is talented. But how do we hold public figures [which celebrities are - whether or not they want to be] accountable while still allowing them to live their lives? If he was a plumber, he would likely carry on with his job after all that drama. But to exit in such a public arena... I sometimes think that's too much of a privilege. Yes, I'm getting to something. Again, read on...

So, while the euphoria (-_-) of the Grammy's was wearing off, I was surfing the web, and came across this "article." I couldn't BELIEVE what I was reading. Basically, if you don't feel like clicking the link, it is titled "25 Extremely Upsetting Reactions to Chris Brown At The Grammys." The content is 25 tweets/facebook posts with the same message. EVERY SINGLE one of these posts basically say the same thing: "Chris Brown is amazing. He could beat me any day." Seriously???

Why is it deemed ok to actually say [or THINK] that because a man is considered attractive/talented, it's ok that he is abusive? This makes my heart break for everyone with this mentality, because where is our self-worth? Where are little girls learning that they are worth so much more than that? I mean, I know that some of those comments may be facetious, but to even joke about that requires so very little thought about how devaluing and debasing abuse is.

I will NOT look down on people [because it happens to men too] that find themselves being abused in their relationships. I struggle with my own self-esteem daily. But I just don't understand how girls and women alike can be so accepting of this. If ONE woman is being disrespected and objectified, it trickles out into the mentality of the masses. If we can't be a community about something like this, what can possibly bring us together?

This is getting pretty long, but I just want to implore everyone reading this to really think about your place in this. Even if it is just stopping pejorative language about women when you hear it. Can we please agree that this is not ok? Can we please teach our girls that they are worth so much, and teach our boys the same? No man who believes wholeheartedly in himself and his family could possibly think to strike a woman like this, and the same goes for women.

Can we please just begin loving one another? I know that's corny and cliche, but it really is what is at the root of this issue.

Stop disrespect. Everywhere you see it.

"Lunch Scholars" Video Clip

Hello all!

It's been awhile since my last post, and I'm here to talk about something other than relationships!

Well, my linesisters and I typically have a wide range of discussions in the course of a day, some very serious, and some as nonsensical as you can imagine, lol! Today, one of us forwarded this article/video to our listserv. It's a video of some high school students answering questions related to United States geography/history. The questions are relatively simple, but the students are stumped.

[To be fair, the editors of the video did put out a statement saying that they meant the video to be funny, and that there were HOURS of other students answering these questions correctly.]

I will admit that upon first glance, I was a little disgusted and irritated and what I deemed a lack of basic knowledge. However, I started to read some of the comments, and I was really appalled at what some people were saying. I have posted my response below, and I know that there are people who will understand what I am saying, and others who will disagree. Take it how you will...

A lot of people seem to be missing the point on both sides. This was clearly edited to form a "funny" video, and not all students answered in such a ridiculous manner. We should definitely not be demeaning people, especially children, as though we are somehow better because we can answer these questions better than they can.

However, there IS a complacency that is taking place in a lot of school systems that are causing our children to be let down in a major way. I work in Washington, DC public schools, and there are students there that cannot tell you the capital of the United States of America. These children are tested so often that everything seems like a build up to a test, or the review of a test just taken. There is not an expectation of excellence in a lot of our schools, public or otherwise. ("Our" here refers to schools in the United States of America.) No, this one video should not cause an uproar. But everyone should take a visit to some schools, spend some real time in them, and THEN you can be uproarious. There is certainly a reason that the United States is not globally competitive. It's not about THESE students, it is a cultural problem. More emphasis is placed on what you have than what you know, and that is a problem. And in some places, what you have is a matter of survival, not an effect of materialism. And the fact that either of those statements is true is doing a REAL disservice to our youth.

I am not trying to imply that NOONE in our school systems care about our children. I would argue that MOST do. However, the problem has become bigger than any one person, school, or school system. It is going to take a huge ideological shift from our society to get to the root of these issues.

We send our children to school to be educated and forget that a lot of the process of education has to do with the attitude toward education at home, and outside of school in general. This one video (or others like it) should not be a rallying point for people who don't really know what goes on in a lot of our schools to wax poetic about what should be done. It should, however, be a reminder of what will eventually become a majority of students that we will have failed if all we continue to do is talk about it.