An Open Letter to Anyone Who Wants to Listen

Yesterday, I sought out clarity and understanding of an issue.

Today, I want to pass along what my venture has taught me and what I pledge to do from this day forward as a result.

In hoping to have a discussion, I was sent a link to Google images of horrible atrocities.

In sending a private email asking for insight and opinions, I was told that is what us white folks always want to do.

In asking to help educate and open minds, I was told that educating and opening minds wasn't part of the deal.

Racism and bigotry are issues that have always struck a chord with me. That's what happens when you're the white kid who grew up loving hip hop, hung out in a melting pot of cultures and ethnicities and was nicknamed "United Nations" by his old man for being so accepting of everyone, no matter the skin tone.

I do not tolerate either and do not understand those who do. We no longer live in a time where "that's the way they were raised" can be used as an excuse, not that it should have been in the first place.

I also do not understand being bound to the past beyond the point of moving forward. The sins of the father do not always fall to the son and the ills of the father work the same way. At some point, history and the past must simply be that; remember it, swear to never repeat it and work towards the future. The future is what we can control and change and influence. That should be our focus.

Yesterday, part of one of the comments nearly brought me to tears:

If you've had thousands of your people killed and burned while White offspring laugh and smile at the feet of their murderous fathers, then you would totally understand. Slave ships traveled to and fro for 200 years. Two thirds of Africans died on each trip. Do the math.These are the images burned in our memories from birth and where the majority of our distrust for Whites is grounded.

That shit is sick! It's fucking disgusting and an entire race should be ashamed that their grandfathers, brothers, uncles, neighbors, priests and presidents basically authenticated DEATH with no action!

I am not ashamed of who I am, nor do I feel I should be. Slavery and the atrocities committed during those times were not committed by each and every white person. I am as sickened by the pictures linked to me in the comment as anyone with any moral fiber should be, but I am not responsible for those sins. Please don't judge me as such. Doing so is as mistake and a missed opportunity.

I saw yesterday as an opportunity, to open a line of discussion on a topic that is of the utmost importance in our world. Instead of discussing the random, unimportant topics that are usually featured here, I wanted to do something I think is important - educate.

It's not my job or any other Black person to educate Whites on what is right and wrong to say.

Get a fucking book and educate yourselves instead of focusing on yourselves and yourselves only.

No one else in this country does this. We know more about Whites than they know about themselves because we are forced to know.

My question is this: Why not you? Or me? Or anyone?

There isn't any rule that says you can't help someone grow and become a better person. This isn't about black or white, it is about educating, understanding, learning, growing and becoming a better world.

For me, the future is what is most important. It is the world in which my children will live and grown and learn. I cannot change the things that have happened before my time, but I can educate myself, my children and anyone else who wants to listen to where we have been, where we are and where we can go.

Education and communication are the answer.

I refuse to stand in the past and not be a part of building a better future, for everyone.

My world is colour blind.

I only hope that yours is too.

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The Rundown: Random Happenings

The past seven days has been a giant collection of completely random situations, from Sarah's need to have her appendix removed to our quickly put together revised travel itinerary. As such, there was nothing more fitting for today's Rundown...

Top Five Random Thoughts in My Mind

5. Somehow, Kevin Smith Hasn't Had a Heart Attack
He hasn't, or rather didn't because he stopped smoking and started eating much better than before. And it's a good thing, because I'm through about 30 pages of his latest book and Silent Bob and Co. rock the Griddle for breakfast nearly every day, with stops at Wendy's, Carl's Jr. and Mickey D's mixed in for variety.

4. When Am I Getting Sushi?
Before the whole appendix situation, I knew that there would be a bare minimum of two all-you-can-eat journeys, one in VanCity and one in TO. Now, post-op and with different arrival times, things are a little hazy. As it stands now, we're Googling sushi restaurants in and around London, as London proper doesn't believe in sushi restaurants. Suddenly, I'm a little less excited about moving there in May.

3. Strange Things Irritate Me
Like how soft cover books get that bend in the cover when you're reading them. I hate that. Newfoundland drivers, but I've covered that before. How stupid people stand in front of the viewing mirrors at the Sears Fitting Rooms. This is especially annoying because I'm not allowed beyond the doorway since I have testicles.... and I get funny looks for being there with Sarah and having opinions on her outfits.

2. Why Are Athletes Stupid?
And by stupid I mean why do they do stupid things that put their lives and the lives of people around them in jeopardy? In the wake of Jamaal Tinsley's latest incident and the recent death of Sean Taylor, you would think athletes would be taking a second look at their lifestyles and choices, but sadly, I don't think that will happen... read more of my views on this topic here or see what Jemele Hill at ESPN has to say or the fine folks at The Starting Five.

Note: Yes, I'm in 100% agreement with Jemele Hill here, which is a departure from normal. Maybe I was too quick to judge last week...

1. What Has Happened to Society?
Broad strokes, I know, but I long for the halcyon days of my childhood. Reality TV and things like TMZ.com and Perez Hilton hadn't turned the average people into gossip crazy celebriholics*, athletes weren't going to jail for dog fighting, nightclub brawls or trying to hire a hitman to kill their agent and gas cost 49 cents a litre. Sure those days had their problems too, but it wasn't like this. The question that scares me most is what's next?

* celebriholics: those who are obsessed with the lives and travails of celebrities, especially scandals. This is my word and I hereby claim it in the name of ESKimo Enterprises...

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Ecko Under Fire / The Status of Hip Hop

As has been the case for the initial two posts on this here blog, this third installment will again have a tie-in with my "other job" writing over at Bugs & Cranks.

Earlier this year, I covered fashion designer / entrepreneur / Jack-of-All-Trades Marc Ecko's purchasing of Barry Bonds' historic 756th Home Run ball and the vote held on his website to determine it's fate. Basically, homeboy paid over $750K for the ball and then let anyone who wanted to vote on whether to send it to the Hall of Fame as is, brand it with an asterisk signifying Bonds' alleged steroid / HGH usage or blast the damn thing into orbit.

The asterisk won... I covered that too.

So now, two of my colleagues have picked up on a story from The Starting Five where they (TSF and my fellow Bugs) are agreeing with Barry's decision to boycott the Hall if they take and display Ecko's Branded Baseball. Their contention: doing this, branding the baseball, makes Marc Ecko a racist and a sellout.

For those who don't know, Marc Ecko and his initial and most profitable clothing line Ecko Unlimited got it's start in the Hip Hop Community. Ecko is the brand with the rhino for a logo you see people rockin' all over your town.

Settle in, here comes the rebuttal.

Marc Ecko didn't brand the ball himself. Millions of people, myself included, voted to put that big, fat asterisk on the ball because we believe Bonds has achieved his records through the use of performance enhancing drugs. Ecko is just following up on his promise to go along with whatever "The People" voted. It's not his fault all the Barry Lovers didn't get online...

As for how this makes him racist, I'm not sure. Would sending it to the Hall sans asterisk earn him an Image Award?

Yes, some people probably dislike or even hate Barry Bonds because he is black. Personally, I have my own reasons and not one of them has anything to do with the colour of the man's skin.

Now, let's take this away from the diamond and Barry Bonds and onto TSF's claims that these actions make Ecko a sellout who is turning his back on the people who got him to where he is today...

There is no doubt that the first demographic to embrace Ecko Unlimited was the Hip Hop Community. I can say this confidently because I count myself as part of that demographic and have proudly donned Ecko gear for some time. The flaw in TSF's argument, and therefore my friends Hulk and Chalk's co-argument is this:

Hip Hop Is Mainstream and Hip Hop Is Middle America

Like it or not, Hip Hop broke from the counter culture a long time ago and has been becoming more and more mainstream by the day.

Hip Hop tracks dominate Top 40 Radio. Hip Hop styles are present on the runways, in the shopping malls and in the closets of all races and backgrounds. It's not a 'hood thing anymore like TSF either thinks it should be or wants it to be...

I live in St. John's, Newfoundland. There is no real 'hood. There aren't even very many folks who aren't Caucasian around here. But there sure as shit is a whole lot of Hip Hop.

Now I'm not saying dressing the part and talking like 50 is the correct representation of Hip Hop, but it does show that the influence of the music and the culture extends far beyond the boundaries of race.

You want to toss Ecko aside? Do it, but do it full out. Don't say you're not tossing his glasses that you wear because you'd be blind without them. Go buy new ones tomorrow and renounce him completely. Pull a Chuck D and try and Shut'em Down. Even though the clip didn't work, it was nice to remember the power of PE...

In the end, I see it like this:

Ecko's moves weren't racially based, they were press and publicity based. He's not a racist for buying and branding the ball, he's a spotlight whore, at best. You call his move racist, I call it savvy - interjecting your name and brand somewhere it never would have been in the first place is smart business.

The two - his decision to brand the ball and hip hop - aren't related. If a white player broke that record with the same allegations swirling around his head and Ecko pulled the same moves then what?

He didn't say "Fuck Hip Hop"
You said "Fuck Ecko!"

His moves were about a baseball and a baseball player.Yes, he's black, but that doesn't mean Ecko is racist, at least not in my books. And they weren't even his moves if you want to get technical.

Besides, I was always taught - through hip hop - that hip hop isn't a colour and isn't a race, it's a culture and a way of life. It's not a black thing, it's not a 'hood thing... it just is... and I am Hip Hop.

Still Free...

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