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This is America: Observations and Thoughts

Published on by Big HomieLeave a comment

This is America

Childish Gambino’s “This is America” music video has swept the nation with its poetic lyrics and its hidden messages. The song has only been out for a week (as of this writing) and the music video already has over 139 million views on YouTube. With its growing popularity, I have decided to compare this music video to Neely Fuller’s view of entertainment. Also, breakdown the contents and significance of his music video.

Background of the Music Video

The music video takes place in a warehouse, and starts out with a guitar on a chair as a black man comes, picks it up and sits in the chair. The camera moves and you see Childish Gambino standing and as the music plays, he starts to dance. He dances towards the man, who before was sitting down playing the guitar, but now has a bag over his head. When Childish Gambino is right behind him, he pulls out a pistol and shoots him. He then hands the gun over to a teenager in a school uniform and starts dancing again. While dancing, teens come and start dancing behind him. Also, while they dance, you can see that there is rioting going on in the background along with a police car.

After, the camera shifts and you are in a room, and a church choir is singing. Then Childish Gambino comes in and starts dancing while they sing. And while they sing, Childish Gambino stops and is tossed an automatic rifle and shoots the choir, which could refer to church shootings. He then hands the rifle to the same teen he handed the pistol to. He dances out of the room and in the background, there is more rioting. Then he dances some more while the rioting goes on around him, then the camera shifts and you see the teenage dancers start dancing again. After a while, the camera shifts again revealing teenagers with bandanas while holding their phones, appearing to be filming the riot. Then the camera moves to show Childish Gambino and the teenage dancers dancing again, and still in the background you can see that the rioting is still going on. Then you see a white horse pass by with a white guy riding it. Then the teenage dancers dance in a circle around Childish Gambino, seeming confused, but is shocked when Childish Gambino acts like he shoots a gun. Then while everyone is running you hear a faint scream. Then Gambino lights a cigar and walks away.

After, the scene changes to Gambino walking up a car and standing on top of it. Then starts dancing on it while the camera zooms out, and shows old cars surrounding him and the black man who got shot in the chair (earlier in the video) and a woman sitting on a car. Then the camera shifts to a scene where he’s running from white people.

Dancing in the Music Video

The dancing in the music video is very African centered. When Childish Gambino is about to shoot the Black man playing the guitar, he poses by putting his butt back and putting his right hand on his hip. I assume he got this pose from a Jim Crow poster of a Black man doing the same thing.

Lyrics in the Song

When the song begins, you hear what seems to be Africans singing, they may be singing to the Europeans that come to “colonize” them. Also, when they reveal Childish Gambino, he starts singing, “We just want to party, party just for you. We just want the money, money just for you.” The “you” may refer to America, and how Americans just want to party and want money all the time. Then when there was rioting going on behind him, he says, “Police be tripping now.” Very likely referring to the police killings and beatings on Black people. Also, while the rioting is going on behind him, he says, “Yeah, yeah, this is guerilla.” Meaning guerilla warfare, referring to the riot that was going on.

Does the Song Fit Neely Fuller’s View of Entertainment and Does It Promote Justice?

In Neely Fuller’s book The United Independent Compensatory Code/System/Concept: A Compensatory Counter-Racist Code, it says, “During the existence of White Supremacy, always expect most so-called “entertainment” for Non-White people to be, basically, pitiful, primitive, stupid, and/or silly.” So, the question is, does the song make Non-White (specifically so-called Black) people look pitiful, primitive, stupid, and/or silly?

It may be viewed a little silly (since during the music video, Childish Gambino has no shirt on), but I don’t view it as making Black people look pitiful, primitive, or stupid. Also in Neely Fuller’s book, he says, “Do not “dance,” or participate in so-called “group-dancing” unless all of the persons participating have a collective understanding of what the “dancing” is designed to produce, in regards to the result.” Since it seems that Childish Gambino (and his background dancers) meant for this song to point out all the disorder in America, I think the song fulfilled its purpose. Now for the important question, does the song promote and/or produce justice?  I think that the song may promote justice, in the sense that it may get people to think about all the disorder in America.

The song itself is good (even though it does say one curse word). If the black (i.e. Non-White) people watching it were to look at the video in close detail, I think people will be shocked at what they find. All in all, I think the music video does produce justice and sends a wakeup call to the nation.

This has been my thoughts and observations of the “This is America” music video. I hope you enjoyed this blog post and learned something while reading it.

-Big Homie

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College Girl

Published on by Lexi2 Comments

Hi everyone, I haven’t posted a blog post in awhile, and in this blog post I’ll explain why. Things have been busy since I posted my last blog post, My Views on Starting College. I have now put my plan into action and went through with what I said in my last post. I did so well during the summer that I decided to do another semester.

At my college there are two summer semesters, I took two classes in the first semester and one in the second. To start my college experience I took Sociology 101 and Pre-algebra in the first semester, then I took Introductory Algebra in the second semester. I passed all of these classes with an A grade. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be to enter college with no experience in school. Since I started in the summer, when there aren’t many students on campus, I didn’t have a classroom full of people. All my summer classes were what they call ITV classes, which are basically Skype calls where your professor and most of your other classmates are on a screen. This made it much easier to give I presentation in my sociology class. It was also easier than I thought to talk to people. At first, I was nervous to meet people on a daily basis, and I stressed over the little things like can you switch seats on the second day of class or is there an assigned seating code I don’t know about? But there was nothing to worry about, I was just freaking out about being with other people.

I also got to see all the people that left the class in the beginning or middle of the semester. There was one guy in my sociology class that was supposed to give a presentation on the second day of class, he ended up not showing up ever again. Then I just watched all the other students drop like flies. Seeing them leave gave me the courage to keep going when I wanted to cry because I procrastinated on an essay. I also made some companions in math class, which is honestly part of the reason I wanted to start college.

I am now in the Fall semester and I feel like I can do more. So I decided to do a full college load of 14 credits, and continue doing high school at home. Because of this, I made sure to download a lot of inspirational quotes for this semester on my phone. The classes I’m taking in the Fall semester are Interpersonal Communication, Intermediate Algebra, Anatomy and Physiology, and Survey of Jazz/Pop Music. My hope is to get at least two A’s and two B’s.

So this is my update post, I will try to keep people posted on what is going on, but I have a feeling that I will be really busy for the next few months!

-Lexi (a.k.a College Girl)

 

 

What is so wrong with American slavery when the Hebrews had slaves too?

Published on by LexiLeave a comment

By Big Homie, age: 12

So, first off, what exactly was American slavery? American slavery was the slavery of Africans and their main oppressors were the Europeans who took them by ship (as you can see by this map) from Africa to the United States and Europe.

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What is so wrong with American slavery when the Hebrews had slaves too? Well from what the bible tells us, we can only presume that the Hebrews had slaves because in the bible God told Moses laws about slaves. In Exodus 21:1-6 God says to Moses: “Now these are the rules that you shall set before them. 2 When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. 3 If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out alone. 5 But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ 6 then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever”.

Now let’s compare American slavery and Hebrew slavery. In Exodus 21:2 God says to Moses: 2 “When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free…” Well in America when you are a slave, you are a slave either until you die or the master lets you free but even then, you might have go back if someone catches you. In Exodus 21:3-6 God says to Moses: 3 “If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out alone. 5” But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ 6 then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever”. In American slavery, the slaves could marry, but the whole family had to stay slaves.

So, what is wrong with American slavery when the Hebrews had slaves too? What is wrong with American slavery is that the African slaves were treated so bad that were lynched and beaten until they were either almost dead or dead. While the Hebrew slaves were treated nicely had much better clothes, much better living arraignments, and much better lives than slaves in America, which is way American slavery was worse than Hebrew slavery.

The Difference Between American Slavery and African Slavery

Published on by LexiLeave a comment

In 1538 AD the city of Gao had a population of 100,000 people. According to Leo Africanus, a Moorish visitor, the city was unwalled. Its houses were ugly but some such as the royal buildings and others were impressive. The inhabitants were mostly wealthy merchants who always traveled here and there to trade gold and wares. In the market cucumbers, melons, and pumpkins are sold. There was also a place where a busy slave market flourished.

-When We Ruled by Robin Walker

After reading this and other stories about slaves being sold in Africa, I wondered what the difference was between American Slavery and African Slavery. Why are so many people upset about American slavery when Africa also had slaves? But slavery in Africa was not the same as Slavery in America.

The European form of slavery was called chattel slavery. A chattel slave is treated as property, has no rights, and is a slave for life. Slavery in Africa was a different form of slavery. African slaves usually became slaves to pay off a debt or pay for a crime they have committed. On the website www.discoveringbristol.org.uk, Ottobah Cuguano, a former slave, said that slaves were,”well fed… and treated well”. Olaudah Equiano, another former slave who wrote an account of his life, said that slaves might even own slaves themselves.

Olaudah Equiano

Olaudah Equiano

In large states, some slaves worked in government administration and could become a royal official with wide-ranging powers. Other slaves in Africa worked within their master’s house as domestic servants, agriculture laborers, or went to work in the gold mines of West Africa. As outsiders coming to Africa grew such as Europeans and Arabs, the demand for slaves grew too.

When Europeans came to Africa they only wanted to import African’s to America to work their land. Unlike Africans, who treated their slaves like they were part of the family. When Europeans came and took slaves to America, they treated them like animals. The European slaves were wiped, hung, and beaten. European slaves that were women were raped and the slaves had horrible living conditions. As you can see, slaves in Africa could hold important positions in government and were treated much better than the way the Europeans treated their slaves.

-Lexi

The Top 10 Richest Countries in the World

Published on by Lexi2 Comments

This is a list of the top 10 richest countries in the world by GDP per capita.

10 – Saudi Arabia – $51,924 GDP per capita

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Saudi Arabia has an oil-based economy. The country also possesses 18% of the world’s petroleum reserves and ranks as the largest exporter of petroleum.

 

9 – The United States – $54,630 GDP per capita

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While having the world’s largest economy and the third highest population with 325,735,473, it is surprising that the country can maintain a per capita GDP of $54,630. The reasons why are because of their automotive industry and their technological sector.

 

8 – Switzerland – $57,235 GDP per capita

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The reason that Switzerland is eighth on the list is because of the Swiss banking and financial institutions. Some of the wealthiest people and companies in the world own Swiss bank accounts. Switzerland’s most well-known cities (Zurich and Geneva) is ranked among the top ten highest living standard cities in the world and Swiss is also ranked first in best country.

 

7 – Norway – $64,856 GDP per capita

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With an economy driven by fishing and major oil and petroleum exploration, Norway is seventh on this list. Norway is also the eighth largest exporter of crude oil, 9th largest exporter of refined oil, and 3rd largest exporter of natural gas in the world.

 

6 – The United Arab Emirates – $67,674 GDP per capita

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With a population of about 9.4 million people and land area of about 32,278 sq. miles (which means it can easily fit inside New York State, which is 54,556 sq. miles). A third of the economy comes from oil revenues, while the other two-thirds are from the service sector and telecommunications.

 

5 – Brunei – $71,185 GDP per capita

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Located in Southeast Asia, Brunei is a small country with a wealthy economy. It is supported by exports of crude oil and natural gas. They also have a population of 434,448 people.

 

4 – Kuwait – $73,246 GDP per capita

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Kuwait is a small country. There population as of 2016 is 4.2 million, but only 1.3 million are Kuwaitis the other 2.9 million are expatriates. The highest-valued currency in the world is the Kuwaiti dinar. Kuwait also as 10% of the world’s oil reserves and the petroleum accounts for nearly half of the GDP and 95% of government income.

 

3 – Singapore – $82,763 GDP per capita

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Singapore is a tiny city-state with a population of 5,784,538. The reason Singapore is third on this list is because of it financial services sector and a chemical export industry. Singapore also has the second busiest port in the world, exporting $414 billion of goods in 2011 alone.

 

2 – Luxembourg – $97,662 GDP per capita

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Luxembourg is a small country in western Europe with a strong economy, held up by its financial sector, fiscal policies, and industrial and steel sector. Banking in Luxembourg is the largest sector of its economy with an asset base of over $1.24 trillion.

 

1 – Qatar – $140,649 GDP per capita

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Qatar is a small country located western Asia with a small population of 2,338,085. Qatar has an oil exploration industry where the petroleum industry accounts for 70% of its government revenue, 60% of its GDP and 85% of its export earnings. Because of the country’s wealth and economy, it has been chosen to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the first Arab nation to do so.

I hope you liked this list. Some of you may have been surprised by this list and in the next post will be about how the countries got this way.

-BigHomie  age 12

 

The Top 5 Poorest Countries in the World

Published on by LexiLeave a comment

In 2016, all five of the world’s poorest countries are in Africa. These countries are mostly ruled by authoritarian regimes, and corruption is widespread. These countries are compared by their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, which is one of the primary indicators used to figure out the health of a country’s economy. In this article, GDP is measured in International Dollars.

  1. Central African Republic (CAR)

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This country became independent from France in 1960 and has had a democratically elected president since then. The current president of CAR is Faustin-Archange Touadéra, who has been president since March 30, 2016. The Central African Republic has a GDP per capita of $639.

2. Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

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Although the DRC contains a large amount of natural resources, it is still the second poorest country in the world. Right now the country is experiencing severe political unrest. President Joseph Kabila has been in office since the death of his father in 2001. The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s GDP per capita is $753.

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3. Burundi

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Burundi is a small country that has been dealing with civil war, and Hutu-Tutsi ethnic conflict. The president of Burundi is Pierre Nkurunziza who won a third term last year. Burundi’s GDP per capita is $951.

4. Liberia

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Africa’s oldest republic is focusing their attention on next year’s presidential election, until then President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf will remain in office. Since their civil war in 2003, the country has had peace and stability. Despite the recent stability, its economy is struggling to find its feet after the ebola crisis. Liberia’s GDP per capita is $934

5. Niger

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80% of Niger is covered by the Sahara desert and is a rapidly growing population. The main drivers of their economy are gold and uranium, so the economy is at risk because of price shocks as well as droughts and floods. The president of Niger is Mahamadou Issoufou who has been president since April 2011. Niger’s GDP per capita is $1,069.

It seems that Africa is still struggling with poverty. Two of the countries, Niger, and the Central African Republic have persistent droughts. Reading this does not mean there aren’t any wealthy parts of Africa like Nigeria, South Africa, and Egypt. But we need to know what is wrong with Africa as much as we know what is great about the United States. In my next post, I will explain how these countries became the way they are today.

-Lexi

Mom Arrested For Homeschooling Her Kids In Buffalo, NY

Published on by Cool PappaLeave a comment

Kiarre Harris was arrested not for a violent crime, embezzlement, or drinking and driving. No, she was arrested for homeschooling her children.

KiarreHarris.png

Now, homeschooling parents are aware that educating your kids is always a risk, and that is why many join the Homeschool Legal Defense Association, even if their state is considered “homeschool friendly”. It seems that if you are a member, the association will even publicize your case on their website and a check in the news area shows at least two other recent stories of families under fire in New York. I’m not sure what is going on, but it certainly seems like NY’s Child Protective Services is putting extra pressure on homeschooling families in 2017. That decision is probably made from a higher agency, but more on that in a moment.

If you watch the video below, you will have the opportunity to hear Kiarre Harris tell her own story.  But allow me to expound on a few other points:

  • At first blush, this seems like the typical media trick (or should I say dog-whistle) being played when describing Harris in many news outlets. However, there is some relevance, as NY is said to be contesting her right to homeschool because she does not have full custody of the children.
  •  If having full custody appointed by the court vital for homeschooling, why is it not a requirement for sending the child to public or private school? After all, a common area of contention with parents that do not live together is where the child should go to school. So, if there is fear that the parent does not have complete authorization to homeschool the child, shouldn’t the same standard apply for enrolling the child in any school, as there is no guarantee that the other parent agrees with that decision?
  • According to theblaze, “In addition, the district told WKBW that children are not to be taken out of school until individual education plans are approved.” Isn’t it amazing, that New York is considered a state that consistently votes Democrat over Republican, a party that prides itself on fighting for civil rights? This is why I do not get caught up in the politics game. Why does a “liberal” state that many flock to for the opportunity to express themselves, need to approve what you can teach your children? Many of us homeschool to teach our children true history, biblical values and to have a more focused overall education free of violence and the surrounding culture, so do you think they would approve of  When We Ruled as a textbook in the curriculum? Do you think the POTUS will “tweet” about her case as an example of democratic hypocrisy and over-regulation?

Now that leads me to my final two points:

  • Kiarre Harris’s children were put into foster care. Unbelievable, and extremely sad for such an “infraction”. Much is said about the foster care system and whatever your view is, I am sure we all agree it is nowhere near the same as being with your parents in a loving home. A home so loving, she is choosing to stay at home with the kids 24/7! Is her “crime” worse than the possibility of her kids being harmed in a stranger’s home or even her in jail? And even if they are not harmed, how do you account for the confusion, fear, sadness, and anxiety of not knowing what is going to happen to them and why it is happening? Yet now, despite doing the “right thing”, the children are in the system. There is a file that has been created that will follow them at least until they are 18, and in the 21st century, likely much longer.
  • Kiarre Harris is officially “in the system”. While I do not know anything about her past, below she says that she has never been arrested and is not a criminal. Sadly, most so-called Black folks need to always give this disclaimer because if they have had police contact of any kind (this is why “stop and frisk” laws are so dangerous in case you don’t know), any injustice against them is now warranted as acceptable by the dominant society. But now, she has something that all law-abiding so-called Black people fear, a record. Again, it will follow her for the rest of her life as well, because she had the audacity to homeschool her children. On that note…
  • Kiarre Harris represents the quandary that proves why and the risk of so-called Black folks homeschooling their children, you BETTER have all yours t’s crossed and i’s dotted. Listen to me. If you are homeschooling in New York and have the finances to join the HSLDA, please do so! Forget that lawyer that our cousin used that we could call or just thinking nothing is going to happen, there are stories in your area showing that they are cracking down big time. When some groups catch a cold, we catch pneumonia, so a word to the wise is sufficient. That said, most so-called Black folks grow up in areas with subpar school systems and we cannot afford to send them to private schools, which are often subpar as well! Trust me, I went to one in the suburbs and there were numerous Detroit public schools that would have given me a better education and more advantages. But this generation, we no longer have to settle, we can bring them home, or at least do the main teaching at home! Just remember if you do, make sure you have extra layers of covering. It certainly appears Kiarre Harris had everything checked, but like we all know when that police car is in your rearview mirror, they can always get you on something.

Hear Kiarre tell her story below. Warning, language alert if your kids are around. While I’m not a fan of swearing, I ask that you do not be hypocritical in your assessment of her because of some of her foul language (I made the mistake of reading the comments section on some of the stories about her case…I normally know better and yes, they were as ugly as expected). After years of working in the corporate sector, I cannot hold her to a standard that those in the boardroom and on the golf course are not required to follow, not to mention, I’ve heard the bombs many drop in front of their children…

Why Do I Homeschool You Ask? Wait, Why Do You Send Your Kids To School?

Published on by Cool PappaLeave a comment

CornerstoneDad

It is time for me to come out of the closet here at CornerstoneDad. My wife and I homeschool our children. There, I said it. I know, I know, you probably have a ton of questions and they are well meaning. However, some of you do not have true questions, but criticisms about a decision we made for our family.

I do not know why. I would never ask you if your kids attend government schools and then go on to ask more questions in a condescending way. But there is so much on this subject that I will write about in the future. So first, I will kick off my “coming out party” with the greatest article that I have found for the critics.

Enjoy!

Source: http://www.secular-homeschooling.com/001/bitter_homeschooler.html

The Bitter Homeschooler’s Wish List

by Deborah Markus, from Secular Homeschooling, Issue #1, Fall 2007

1 Please stop asking us if…

View original post 1,054 more words

Disney’s Queen Of Katwe

Published on by Lexi2 Comments

Last Friday I went to see the movie Queen of Katwe on the day it came out. My interest for the movie started when I saw a poster while at the movies to see another film. So let me tell you my thoughts on the movie.

For those who don’t know, the movie was about a girl named Phiona Mutesi who lived in the city of Katwe which is in Uganda, and how she gets through troubles in life while playing chess. Her coach, Robert Katende saw that she had potential, so he started to take her to chess competitions. I do not want to spoil the movie, but there were some parts of the movie I liked and parts I didn’t.

One of the things I liked about the movie was that there was no “white savior”, meaning a so-called white person that came in to help/rescue the so-called black person. Phiona was helped by her coach and later on in the movie she was helped by her mother. I also liked that there were many non-white people in the movie. Most movies will have a non-white person as the main character but will also have a so-called white person running things in the background of the movie. Most of all I loved that it showed what an African woman can do and the knowledge possessed by many of the children in Africa. I am sure that there are many more children who are just as smart a Phiona but do not have the opportunity she had.

Now things I did not like about the movie. In the movie the mother of Phiona (who is the main character) is not married (because her husband died of AIDs when Phiona was 3 years old, which is something they didn’t mention in the movie). Throughout the movie, her mother is having trouble paying for rent and food, so women are telling her that she should get a husband that will pay her rent. This made me irritated because it made it seem as though every woman needed a man to take care of them. Also, the film only showed the city of Katwe, which fits the stereotype about many African cities. Dirty roads, barely standing houses made out of wood planks, garbage everywhere, and crowded streets. The movie could have shown other parts of Africa that weren’t as bad as Katwe, or it would be nice to have more movies showing other cities in Africa that do not fit the stereotype.

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Above is the city of Katwe

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The city of Port Louis which is the capital of Mauritius

 

In summary, The movie met my expectations. There were some things I didn’t like, but the part of the movie I really liked was how at the end they had the actors line up with the people they were acting for in the movie. So you get to see what the person looks like today. I think it was worth the money to see, and I encourage other people to see it too.