Richard Sherman -- Still a Thug!

Many people are blasting Seahawks defensive back Richard Sherman over his so-called "rant" after the Seahawks Superbowl win. He's been called every derogatory racial slur on the planet. According to reports he is being referred to as a "thug," "crazy man," "gangsta," "dangerous" and last but never least the proverbial "n-word." Now, as a former football player and current coach, I know what it means to play with heart and passion. When you have a competitive spirit, you compete, it's that plain and simple. Guys talk all type of smack in the game of sports on and off the field. It's part of the culture!
Now, do I agree with the many who said his remarks were mistimed, absolutely, but it is what it is, and what is is the game of football. Trash talking is a part of the culture of sports as mentioned above. While critics blasted the likes of Tom Brady (cursed out a referee), John Mcenroe (Classic rant on umpires) Coach Bobby Knight (Throwing chairs), and Coach Mike Gundy (I'm 40, I'm a man) for their rants. All of these individuals (who are White) were romanticized, and never forced to endure the type of derogatory onslaughts that Sherman and other Black athletes endure. Paraphrasing radio talk show host Joe Madison "If you're white it's alright, and if you're black it's not."

Let me switch to my social scientist hat... If you think we live in a post racial America I must say with all due respect-Stop Thinking It! Many people say "African Americans are always playing the race card." But, in all candor, I submit the card cannot be played if it is not in the deck. Black athletes have always been categorically castigated--while our white counterparts are romanticized. Think about some of the greatest rants in sports history. Sherman's exuberance is right in step with the same exuberance that a Serena Williams or Muhammad Ali exclaimed when they won. Ali was dragged through the media during his day, and he too, while not college educated was highly intelligent. America had never seen anything like the bold and charismatic Ali--Ali "shuck up the world," and the labeling of the African American athlete began. Sherman who grew up in Compton is being labeled as "America's New Thug." Never mind the fact that Sherman graduated from high school with a 4.0 GPA and went on to Standford to earn a 3.9 GPA--he's still a THUG!

In the words of Muhammad Ali according to Minister Louis Farrakhan during a conversation they had some years back--"The Champ" uttered these words "Still a nigger, brother." What Ali was saying to Farrakhan was that no matter how far African Americans have come in American life we are still thought of as "niggers."  Like blogger Olivia A. Cole wonders, I too am wondering " what it takes for a black man to be regarded as human in America." The categorical castigation of Black males continues and is a result of the perverted mind of white supremacy. I know many think we live in a post racial society, but the dominate power structure can't let it (power) go. The dehumanization of black males continues, and the idea of black male masculinity being seen as dangerous, obtrusive, and thuggish is woven in to the racial tapestry of American life.

How Far Are We Gonna Go People?

The blatantly sexually suggestive, foul language, misogynistic, and believe it or not misandrist over and undertones that permeate Hip-Hop and R&B music and video production today has run a muck! -The Brotha's Corner (Inuendo2010 v. 1997) Click link for full blog

“If you can control a man’s thinking, you don’t have to worry about his actions. If you can determine what a man thinks you do not have worry about what he will do. If you can make a man believe that he is inferior, you don’t have to compel him to seek an inferior status, he will do so without being told and if you can make a man believe that he is justly an outcast, you don’t have to order him to the back door, he will go to the back door on his own and if there is no back door, the very nature of the man will demand that you build one.”-Carter G. Wodson, Mis-Education of the Negro

Nicci Minaj at BET Awards 2011

This has gone way too far people!!! Mother Sojourner, Harriett, Lena, Betty, Dorothy, and Coretta are all turning over in their graves behind madness like this... how long are we gonna allow this degenerate behavior to continue people?  This young lady is talented indeed, but she is using the art of free and creative expression in a very deplorable and foul way.  Obviously she is aware of what she is doing beyond just being a creative marketing tool for the proverbial “shock value moment.”  A former mentor once shared with me “Many people tell you what you don’t know won’t hurt you but I’m here to tell you what you don’t know may kill you.”  The mental death of a people is now the order of the day among the African American community, or as some scholars suggest the "dumbing-down" effect.  We are no longer in the grasps of chattel slavery; we are now in the abyss of mental slavery; and it surely is not the “white man’s fault" or doing.  Mr. Willie Lynch's plan is being carried out in full effect today by-US!

92' LA Riots

I do not want to put sole responsibility on Ms. Minaj because this deplorable and disrespectful behavior has been brewing since the polarizing images of the proverbial black male went across the world through print, film, and television media in the early 90’s.  The images found in movies like Boys -N- The Hood, MenanceIISociety, television coverage of events like the OJ Simpson trial, and riots that followed the Rodney King verdict all showed black men in a negative, scary, and demon like manner.  These events scared the mess out of white America and painted young black men as predators that needed to be locked down or killed.  This is why we have seen a rise in what is now known as the prison industrial complex-MASS INCARCERATION.  It also projected an image of us across the entire world; an image not of high esteem and beauty but one of disgust and immorality that allowed our women to be called "bitches and ho's" and our men to be seen as "thugs, gang-bangers, and dope dealers."  These ills of Black urban life have been accepted as the norm and are reflective in every aspect of urban culture today.  We see young men with saggin’ pants, wearing caps indoors, young ladies practically naked on the streets, and adolescents belting out offensively foul language or reenacting the overtly suggestive sexual innuendo of the latest rap song or video.  Today, we find these kinds of antics very funny and amusing.  Our level of tolerance and acceptance today has been diminished from the high moral standards those of old once held us to.  We just do not find these kinds of artistic expressions unsettling or appalling, so we tend to just over look them versus addressing them for what they really are.  We have taken a blind eye approach to the fact and reality of the matter!

Father taking his kids to school.

We have to stand against this in every way possible.  This cannot be just written off as free or creative expression.  Yes, we that are aware can shield our young one’s ears and cover their eyes but we are not always with them.  With the flooding of mass media, it is hard to fully control what their delicate eyes and ears hear and see.  The best thing we can do is train them up in the way to go and hope they remember their training and not give in to the madness that surrounds them constantly.  We are at war and we must realize and recognize the art of war where ever it rears its ugly head.


Forever Forward, Never Backwards

-Bro. Lamon