Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Ebola....quickly reverts stigmas and stereotypes

Perhaps it is my aspirations of seeing the world that makes the Ebola crisis so scary and saddening. Or maybe it is the fact that so many people of color have been ravaged by it, and that was previously not enough to merit a valiant search for a cure or aid. Or maybe it is the fact that I know that morally and politically, America is not on the right tract. I know that judgement is past due for such an country that boldly challenges God which basically beckons him to respond in a way that forces every knee to bow and every tongue to confess. The fact that Ebola has now crossed international boundaries has brought much attention to it.... Futhermore, I can not fail to mention that white Americans that contracted it seemingly survived, although the African man that contracted it died... Many questions plague me, and make me feel so uneasy. Many Americans are so oblivious to matters outside of their own backyard. I feel deep pain for those that have already been touched by loss and grief of losing family to this virus. I read a story today in which some Nigerian students were rejected from an Texan college admission due to the fact that they were coming from 'a region with confirmed Ebola cases'. Its interesting how such things will quickly bring out deep seeded stereotypes. Suddenly every African is suspect for this disease? Since it is now present in the United States does that mean that make every Texan suspected? Or since one of the nurses exposed traveled to Ohio, does that put every Ohioian at risk? Dont get me wrong, I believe that precautions have to be taken and higher consideration must be taken especially with those that are traveling from infected regions... but that does not beckon ignorance... It never ceases to amaze me how primal humans become in crisis, pointing the fingers and shifting blame. Truth be told, I blame the medical community for turning their nose up at this situation and not being proactive because they obviously never saw the potential of it effecting them. I pray that it does not have the profund impact that my soul thinks it will.... Lord help us all  

Friday, October 10, 2014

Black women; The Example, The leaders and the standard

I ran across a random video on Facebook of a non black twerking contest and that's when it hit me why the world is so much more critical of women of color than everyone else, it is because we are the natural born leaders . We are so innovative ,beautiful, confident, and strong. We lead in many different roles...which other races struggle to manage.  We create fashion. .. have always been creative with our hair and nails. .... and although we are consistently criticized we are seemingly emulated from our innate style down to the way we shake our assets. Lets be honest, black women innovated lively dance. Europeans were always conservative in their delicate ballets while African women shook things up. .. twerking is borne to us. Once a white broad does it....they make a big deal. Even from slavery days black women have been superior. unfortunately the credits go unnoticed. We have to learn to find the strength from within to withstand all the derogatory factors around us designed to tear us down... and we have to learn not to ingest the foolishness. Taking it in and beginning to believe it will lead to depression, low self esteem, and dissastifaction in life in general. Take it from me, I know just how frustrating it can be. Im an emotional person and it rips me to the core to see black women be copied but not given credit, but I want to encourage you to stick to your core values when the going gets tough.. Do not give up, and do not give in. Continue to innovate and create. A copy can never be as plush as the original.......  

Handling Disappointment

This subject has been a lifeling lesson for me that i am still learning how to deal with. being raised to be responsible and dependable has cultivated a very result oriented mindset as well as taking things very personal if the desired outcome is not achieved. As a young person i never wanted to be thought of as the flaky one, the person who never answered their phone, the irresponsible, inconsiderate and selfish one. When people somehow let me down i would take it personally. ... not realizing people are socialized as such. If you are like me, you have to learn not to internalize the disappointment.You have to look for positives and draw from that. I know it sounds typical,but your life will become your mentality.