Friday, December 18, 2009

Just What In The Hell Did You All Expect?

By Heru Ammen

The faux controversy surrounding the escapades of Tiger Woods reminds me of the old fable of the lion and the monkey; whereupon  finding the lion gravely wounded the monkey nursed him back to health and upon regaining his health the lion promptly ate the monkey. Just prior to being eaten by the lion, the monkey inquired as to why after all that he did for the lion, why was he about to eat him. Of course the lion replied "I'm a lion. Just what in the hell did you expect me to do?" Notwithstanding my liberal paraphrasing of the aforementioned story, it always amazes me how we in this country always act shocked and surprise when a celebrity, sports figure, politician, etc., gets caught laying pipe inside the sugar walls of women other than the wifey.

Cable television talking heads and the "Gossiperati" are hitting the Tiger Woods controversy harder than a butt naked crackhead taking a hit off of a fifty dollar crack rock. For the last two weeks it has been a Tiger Wood feeding frenzy. But is it really a surprise that a high profile celebrity icon is once again making news for cheating on his wife? I don't think so.

The same competitive nature that drives Tiger to be one of the greatest golfers that ever lived is the same nature that drives him and other sports figures and celebrities into the bedrooms of multiple women. Women are attracted to Tiger because - well he's Tiger, arguably the greatest golfer in the history of the game. Men from the bible's King Solomon to Michael Jordan and beyond have all parlayed their success and charisma for the perceived glory of bedding a bevy of beautiful women. Like Tiger Woods, most of them get caught and end up going through the per-functionary and televised mea culpa moment that seems to be in vogue nowadays.

The only people Tiger owes an apology to is his family. The public and the cable gossiperati whores and talking head hypocrites that feed them need to get a life of their own. Because when you get right down to it, when Tiger decides once again to pick up his one wood and he hammers a 320 yard drive down the middle of the fairway on the first hole at Augusta, the only discussion will be about how great Tiger is in his latest comeback.







Thursday, December 17, 2009

BMHS (Black Mama Hollering Syndrome)

By Heru Ammen

For those of us that grew up in predominate African American communities with African American mothers one of the things that we can all relate to is the fact that if you stepped out of line in any form or fashion, mama would correct you. This correction usually was in the form of a severe and loud verbal assault which was often laced with colorful metaphors and personal attacks against your character and or perceived personality flaws. African American mothers hollering at their children is about as common in the African American community as is fish on Friday and church on Sunday. The aforementioned is what I term Black Mama Hollering Syndrome or BMHS for short.

For years, my wife and I have been debating the merits of constantly hollering at our own children to discipline them. I know from experiencing it firsthand that it is an ineffective tool when used as the primary form of correcting your child or teenager. In my opinion hollering at your child is a form of verbal violence and it should only be used as a game changer. Any parent will tell you that there will be an occasion or three when you have to get raw with your hormonally enraged teenage son or daughter.

If you have raised your son or daughter to know the difference between right and wrong, and you have instilled in them a sense of self worth, self respect and respect for others then the occasions where you have to "get down" with your teen will be rare. Of course my wife disagrees with me and therein lies the major issue in our relationship. Her first instinct is to hoop, holler, and spit fire and brimstone at our boys.

Sometimes it gets to the point where I feel she goes way beyond what is reasonable and I intervene. Of course when that happens she then accuses me of parental treason for siding with the enemy; i.e., the boys, which then leads to her verbally assaulting me for my perceived lack of spousal loyalty. This has taken a toll on our relationship to the point where I'm seriously considering raising my sons by myself and she is at the point where she is wishing I would hurry up and make up my mind and do it! So stay tuned for the next episode....


















 


Monday, December 7, 2009

The Anomalous Negro

By Heru Ammen

Welcome to the first blog post in what I hope to be many more to come. For those that have followed my musings on the Urban Village Blog & Commentary you know that I mince no words when it comes to addressing issues that affect African Americans. I have been critical of African American Republicans and Democrats alike and I've also offered solutions to the various problems that are currently wrecking havoc within our urban communities.

I have been especially critical of our so called black leaders and the Black Church for their wholly uninvolved attitude and the lack of an agenda regarding the plight of our poorer and uneducated brothers and sisters in the aforementioned urban communities. While our so called black leaders are personally enriched via the income streams created primarily from the largess of the American Government, and black churches continue their building boom  of ornate cathedrals complete with shopping boutiques, ATM machines and television studios, urban America has become overtly dysfunctional and is now on the brink of destruction. There is no need to go through the per-functionary and long litany of issues that affect our people. We know what they are.

So what is "The Anomalous Negro?" Anomalous is defined as "inconsistent with or deviating from what is usual, normal, or expected. In other words, if you're looking for the status-quo, black-blog talking points or a blog that takes a position either to the right or left of the political spectrum, this is not the place for you. The goal of this blog is to peel back domes and get folks thinking outside of the glass fence of what currently constitutes political dialog and debate in this country. So if you're looking for fresh, controversial, and thought provoking commentary, I'll guarantee you that you'll find that here at The Anomalous Negro.