Barack Went Straight to College

Tomorrow morning I'll be attending my four year-old's Pre-K graduation. "T" is super excited about the ceremony, especially since he thinks college comes next. You see, although he really likes school, he positively loathes homework.

So why the excitement about college? Well, "T" somehow remembered that I told him that you don't get homework everyday at college. So he's decided he's going there next. Forget about K-12!

I tried to be rational with his stubborn, "artistic" temperament. "No, honey, next you go to kindergarten like all the other big boys."

His response? "Nooo! Barack Obama went to college when he was four, so I can too!"

"Uh, no, he didn't."

"Yes he did! He DID go to college when he was four!"

We went back-and-forth before we agreed to play paper-rock-scissors to settle the debate. Fortunately I've noticed that my son always puts the scissors first, so I put out the rock to break them. He was SO mad that he fell out in the floor and started having a fit! Whatever. I ignored him till he shook his fist in defiance.

"Fine then! But I'm still going to college like Barack Obama!"

"OK, that's good. Of course you're going to college."

Our little "argument" was over but it got me thinking about how, for my sons, these days, everything is about Barack Obama.

Do you think Barack Obama ever had pet silkworms?
Is Barack Obama an omnivore, carnivore or herbivore?
Does Barack Obama play with Legos?

Last night my eldest was checking himself out in the bathroom mirror. As I walked by, I heard him say to his reflection, "What do you command, President Obama?"

He was totally pretending he was Obama!

I don't know if all of us who are parents fully realize how potentially having a black President is going to impact our children. I don't think I ever saw even a TV black president as a child, but gosh, my kids might have the real thing. It matters to see a face that looks like theirs up there. It definitely does.

I know for every person that says that Obama can help instill a sense of confidence and pride in black children, there's someone that says that none of that matters if black folks as individuals don't get their acts together and pull themselves up by their bootstraps. I'd say people of all colors need to get themselves together and we can't do it in isolation. We need each other.

I don't think Obama's going to be an instant panacea for anything, and he shouldn't have to be. If he gets elected, America still has a tough road ahead as far as true racial unity, let alone gas prices, war, healthcare and education. But gosh, it does something special to my heart to see my sons admiring him and developing this whole superhero-like mythology about him. It's especially nice because most of the popular culture heroes that are put in front of them are not black males. Ironman, Batman, Indiana Jones, The Hulk --none of them look like my sons. They play with Batman action figures but I'll never see them look in the mirror and say, "Gee, I look just like Bruce Wayne!"

It's not just black kids either. Obama also does something for children of all colors. He challenges some of the subconscious, less overt stereotypes that our children, regardless of background, have learned about black men. His wife, Michelle Obama likewise challenges beliefs about who black women are and what we're about.

Tomorrow when my son walks across that stage to get his little Pre-K diploma, I know he's still going to be thinking that Obama went straight to college. And really, knowing I have a child who believes a black man can go from Pre-K to college is alright with me.

Your Vote Makes a Difference

I voted!

I'm so proud of myself that I taped my

"Nonpartisan
Official Ballot
County of Los Angeles
June 3, 2008"

voting receipt on my shirt alongside my official, "I Voted" sticker.

I'll admit, I have zero tolerance for people who don't vote. As in, if I find out you didn't vote, I sort of lose respect for you. I reminded everyone I saw today, "Don't forget to go vote!" and I heard some real b.s. responses from folks:

"Oh, is that today? I don't know if I'll have time to get to the polls."

Polls open from 7 AM - 8 PM and you don't have time?

I also heard, "Well I don't know who all the folks running are."

So go educate yourself about who they are. Use the internet for something other than reading gossip blogs.

"My vote doesn't really make a difference."

Oh, OK. You go on ahead and let rent control end in California. And if votes don't make a difference, why is Barack Obama about to be the Democratic Nominee? Let this election be a sign that votes do indeed count.

Voting is such a sacred responsibility and my not fully executing that responsibility would be a total dishonor to the memory of all my ancestors who could not vote, either because of their race or class. But especially in California if you don't vote, you're an idiot. And here's why: California's GDP is larger than all but eight countries in the world. That's a lot of power and influence. And it's why the saying is that so goes California, so goes the rest of the nation.

Wow, as I type this, Barack Obama just officially got enough delegates to be the Democratic Nominee for President of the United States. They just said on MSNBC that he is the first person of color to be the nominee of any major political party for the top office of any country in the Western world. Wow.

It is a great moment. I'll tell you, I never thought this would be something I'd see in my lifetime. Let me wipe the tears off my cheeks and bring myself down to earth because despite the awesomeness, we still have a white supremacist, Bill Johnson, running for Superior Court Judge out here in LA.

Bill Johnson believes that all non-white folks should be deported from the United States. I'm not sure if he's looked around to see who actually lives in California, but, ahem, this state is over 50% non-white so I'm not sure how he thinks that will go down, but I think he is counting on low voter turnout, voter ignorance and, quite frankly, voter prejudice to get him elected.

You see, Johnson is running against a guy by the name of James Bianco. Johnson probably thinks folks will be more likely to vote for someone named "Johnson" instead of a Latino sounding name like "Bianco". And the sad truth is that certain people likely will go down that road, which is what makes the victory of a black man named Barack Obama all the more significant.

My brother-in-law just called and said, "I just got my 40 acres and a mule."

And with that, I'm going to go cry some more. Yes, our votes do make a difference!

It's Hot

It's really hot here so my mind can only think in lists:

1) Why was there a guy sitting on a bench smoking a joint at the park at 7:15 AM this morning? Isn't it a little early for all that puff puff pass mess? Oh, except he was puffing solo so he had no one to pass to.

2) I know Mike Huckabee apologized for making a joke yesterday about an assassination attempt on Barack Obama, but I'm feeling pretty uncharitable about the whole thing. Not cool.

3) On the list of racial inequalities in the judicial system comes this story from South Bend, Indiana: White co-defendant gets no prison time biracial one gets 8 years. Uh huh. Is Al Sharpton gonna roll up any time soon?

4) The pictures from China are breaking my heart... and my dad heads there in two days for work. Sigh. Greedy people + Building codes = Disaster when an earthquake hits.

5) My seven year-old wants to know why Dracula only bites people on the right side of the neck. He claims to have observed this since my husband let him watch Batman vs Dracula last night. Yeah, he didn't sleep in his own bed after watching that. Poor baby was scared.

6) I'm hot.

7) Clearly, as you can see from the picture above, Rick Ross needs a bra and the Jillian Michaels "30 Day Shred" DVD. And, we all know what would happen to Trina's career if she got a gut like that.

8) Still ridiculously excited about winning the Depeche Mode contest. Like commenter Neil suggested, it totally is like winning the lottery.

9) Speaking of music, if you don't have any Bjork records, you should get some. Like this song:


10) And now I'm going to brave the 95 degree weather. I'm afraid.

10 x 4 = Cinco de Mayo

Happy Cinco de Mayo everybody!

I know the popular misconception is that everyone who's Latino in Los Angeles comes from Mexico, and so folks should be out in the streets partying hardy. But in my neighborhood, half the people are from El Salvador -- totally different country -- and they could care less about a holiday celebrating a 19th century Mexican battle.

BUT since it's a day for celebration, let's start out the morning with a little "Yes We Can", courtesy of House Music United.



I have no idea what's up with the place-setting video. I didn't make it. But can I just say that records like this are exactly why I like Europeans. No Americans these days are gonna throw an Obama speech over a tech-house beat, and we INVENTED house music! Instead we get will.i.am's folksy version, which is all very touching and inspiring, but when I need to get myself going in the morning, this is SO much better.

Disclaimer: If you hate house music and hate Barack Obama because he's an uppity negro and you think his wife will be blasting "Computer Love" from the White House, sorry! Wrong blog for you!

Yeah, let me push "replay" on that clip. I really need to hear that again. Yes we can! Wake up, that is! I will have you know that I did not go to sleep last night at all. I spent my evening getting caught up tweaking a little something I wrote a couple of months ago and then working on another short story I've been absolutely obsessed with. However, I'm feeling a little wired even though I haven't slept. It must be the sheer emotional adrenaline of what I was writing.

That means it's perfect timing for me to swagger jack this meme from Madame hot-blogger herself, 1969! Get ready, because you're gonna learn a whole bunch about me that you had no idea you ever wanted to know. And if you don't want to know, stop reading now and call it a day, m'kay?

Ten things I really liked when I was a teenager that I don’t much care for now:
1) Baked chicken: Vegetarianism sort of lured me away and soured my relationship with chicken. Gosh, I feel so guilty. I've been cheating with tofu all these years.
2) Horse racing: I think Eight Belles death on Saturday at the Kentucky Derby really put the nail in the coffin. But I used to be crazy for the ponies. I even wanted to be a female jockey at one point.
3) Leftovers: I never ate them when I lived in China and that soured me on them forever. I feel like throwing up if I have to eat them.
4) Blue eyeshadow: I really thought I was fly in that light blue. Gosh, it was an '80s thing.
5) Pancakes and fries eaten at the same time: Too much starch and I like for my clothes to fit.
6) Shorts: I just think they're for kids, not for grown women with two kids of their own.
7) Vanity Fair: The book, not the magazine. I recently tried to reread it and it just irritated me. I kept yelling, "Get to the point!" Waay too long!
8) W Magazine: My mom subscribed and I used to love it. I recently bought the issue with Keira Knightley on the cover. Bored to tears by the wack fashions and the lack of diversity in the models.
9) MTV: Too many Tila Tequila shows and not enough actual music. I'm not feeling it and haven't for a long time.
10) Popular radio stations: Same 10 songs playing over and over again and their morning shows? What in the world are they talking about? Radio has definitely changed for the worse -- or am I just getting old?

Ten things I didn’t like when I was a teenager but I really like them now:
1) Talk radio: I love KNX 1070 out here in LA but I used to fight with my Dad over Chicago's very own, WGN.
2) Walking: Walking is the kiss of death for a teenager but now I'm all for it.
3) Television cop dramas: You would never have caught me watching a Hill Street Blues type show as some teen Now I love Law & Order. (Except I haven't watched TV for two weeks now.)
4) Exercise: We've come a long way from the days of Jane Fonda-type pure aerobics. Thank goodness.
5) Martial arts movies: I've been a Jet Li fan for 15 years now. And Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is still a masterpiece by any definition.
6) Ice cream: Three cheers for Breyer's Triple Chocolate.
7) Diet Coke: I'm with you on this one, 1969. But I'm being lured away by Coke Zero.
8) Art Museums: Now that I know the history and the stories behind the paintings, I like going.
9) Shopping: 80's clothes were kind of ugly and didn't look too good on me. Plus, if we were going shopping, chances are my mom was getting something, not me. Not fun.
10) Myself: Yeah, I wasn't too crazy about myself as a teenager. Thank goodness I outgrew that.

Ten things I've never liked and probably never will:
1) Snobby people: If you have to keep repeating where you got your little JD/MBA from, how "good" your hair is, or who your daddy is, guess what, you've pretty much guaranteed that I'm going to HATE you. I could stop this list right here with this one because I will HATE you, do you hear me, H-A-T-E you.
2) Being Broke: Been there, done that. I'll never be money hungry but being hungry because I have no ducats is not something I care to repeat.
3) Big cars: Bad for the environment and I don't know how to parallel park them.
4) Alcohol: I can't stand the smell of beer. Drunk folks tend to get on my nerves, and drunk drivers deserve the slammer.
5) Drama: Especially the sort where people ask me for advice, don't take it and then come crying when their life gets all jacked up.
6) Mediocrity: Come hard with it or don't come at all. If you did your best, fine. But don't tell me you didn't really try or didn't really care what the end result was.
7) Brian McKnight, Wesley Snipes, Tom Cruise, Justin Timberlake and Rush Limbaugh: They all make me sick. Just go away.
8) Greasy Southern Food: Hello! Vegetables can be made without butter and I don't want to eat fried eggs you made with a jar of drippings.
9) Self help books: I have a total mental block against them.
10) Scary movies: I'm still traumatized by watching "Secret Window" and "The Grudge" with my sister two years ago. I seriously can't deal with scary movies.


Ten things I’ve always really liked and very likely always will:
1) My kids: I love them more than anything on this planet.
2) Depeche Mode: In case you didn't know, they're the best band in the world. They just need to hurry up with the new record. Pretty please with a cherry on top?
3) Writing: Ah yes, the reason I did not go to bed last night and the reason I blog.
4) Dracula: The novel, as in Bram Stoker's Dracula. Mina Harker is one of my alter-egos.
5) Orlando Bloom: Is this the wrong time to talk about my unopened Legolas doll?
6) Shoes: I have a particular "thing" for red high heels and I really want some black stilettos with metal heels.
7) Driving a stick shift: I can be a little bit of a control freak and a stick shift helps with that. I'm good at it too. Alas, my current car is not a stick because my husband can't drive one.
8) Traveling: I will go anywhere you want to go. I really like to travel!
9) Jane Austen: Austen's novels are still so fresh and relevant. They're social commentary and soap opera all wrapped into one.
9) Tea: I will drink pretty much any tea that you offer me, not just my beloved chai. I like it plain or with a little milk in it and two sugar cubes.
10: Thai Food: I'm so spoiled because I live right on the edge of Thai Town and in delivery distance of one of the best Thai restaurants in LA.

Whew, I'm tagging some of you...later. I think I need to recover from this post.

Tough Enough

I'm halfway through TV Turnoff Week and I'm still alive! In fact, the most TV Turnoff-resistant member of my family, my husband, has sort of gotten on board. In a show of solidarity, he's cut back significantly on his viewing, even while grumbling about it being the NBA playoffs.

How did this miracle happen? Well, it's a mystery to me because after Monday I didn't say anything else to him about the no TV thing. No evil looks. No self-righteous glances. I didn't even threaten to withhold sex or stop cooking dinner. Only the wives on the TV sitcoms I never watch do that sort of coercive crap, right?

While that's marinating in your mind, let me tell you how not watching TV is proving to be a lot easier than I thought it would be. Sure, some of it could be that I have the Internet as a backup form of entertainment, and where else but the Internet can I read insane stories that start off like this:

"Police in Congo have arrested 13 suspected sorcerers accused of using black magic to steal or shrink men's penises after a wave of panic and attempted lynchings triggered by the alleged witchcraft."

Uh huh. Not kidding. Penis theft panic hits city. Somebody make a sitcom out of that insanity instead of showing Seinfeld Friends Sex and the City Gossip Girl. I mean, do we really need yet another fantasy of life in New York City featuring nothing but white folks running around doing ignorant stuff (with nary a Boricua in sight)?

Yes, stepping away from the veil of cable news channels and reality TV has been good for my sanity. I mean, the Pennsylvania Primary was the other night and I didn't even get a headache because I wasn't listening to all the ridiculous commentary, half-truths, flat out lies and racist code language.

Speaking of racist code language, have you thought about why it is that Obama has to be the only black man in these 50 States, and however many U.S. Territories, that isn't "tough" enough? Strange as it sounds, the Congolese penis stealers/shrinkers got me thinking about how in our culture a man's penis size = masculinity = toughness. Why else would I get 200 "grow your penis 12 inches longer" emails every day?

That means the subliminal message is that a president needs a big penis (military aggression) in order to get the job done. But if I connect the dots, someone wants me to think Obama only possesses a small penis (words) and so he's not tough.

Should we attribute this small penis thing to the genes of his white mom? I mean, every other black man (with their ginormous penises) is sooo tough that folks are scared of them unless they speak really softly and do all the little things black men have to do to make sure their colleagues at work don't feel uncomfortable.

By the way, heaven forbid someone black gets accused of being militant at their job! That's the ultimate kiss of employment death -- which is tricky because if you're black, you can pretty much guarantee that someone at some point is going to try to discuss your company's diversity policy with you. They'll tell you it's to get feedback and see if the company's on the right track, but if you are stupid enough (or big penis tough enough?) to express that you don't think the diversity policy is adequate, well...

Anyway, right now, big penis militancy isn't the spin on Obama. The media sort of tried that, but it didn't quite work because Obama knows the "Must Not Make Uncomfortable" rules very well. He didn't bite the bait. That means that he gets sold as not "tough"and not "fully vetted" and he "can't close the deal", which is all secret code language for, "We're afraid of what that black man with his huge penis will do if elected."

When reporters ask him, "Senator Obama, what are your plans for your 100 days in office?" folks are really thinking Obama's going to secretly give all the black folks he says "hi" to on the street reparations for slavery. And after that he'll single-handedly impregnate all white women in America with his huge, black penis in order to create even more people who happen to have white ancestry but identify as black.

Okay, I'll stop being sarcastic because if this is your first time visiting, you might be thinking I'm totally crazy. (And, um, I plead the 5th on that one.)

I just wonder, how long America will act like all these racial code words and phrases don't bubble underneath our merry, Wal-Mart surface? The words and phrases are playing on a racial record I've been hearing since I was a child. The needle is skipping in the same place, over the same phrases, over and over again. I'd be a fool to act like I don't know what it all really means.

And I guess I can't laugh too much at the literal penis stealing story when we've figuratively got the same thing going on here. I guess that story doesn't sound too crazy after all.

Tax Day Public Service Announcements

Ah, Tax Day is here again.

I hope you're already filed and planning how you're going to spend save your forthcoming return or rebate check. However, if you're on track to be one of those poor souls we all see sweating bullets at the post-office on tonight's 11:00 news, stop reading right now and step away from blog addiction.

Now that we have that all cleared up, if you are finished with your taxes, you deserve to keep reading. I have some public service announcements (PSA) for you!

PSA #1: Be Bitter AND Elite
The words "bitter" and "elite" are not mutually exclusive.

I'm a little bitter that gas is about to hit $4 a gallon here in El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula.

I'm also elite because when I head to the 'Bux, I order a soy chai with a shot of sugar free vanilla, extra hot. Oh, and I went to some super prestigious universities and got a great educmakasion. And, I have lots of student loan debt to show for it! -- Oops, forget about that little mention of student loan debt because we weren't talking about bitterness anymore, were we? Hmm, now I know why people love Jon Stewart.

Could you possibly be bitter and elite, too?

PSA #2: Free Iced Coffee
I don't drink coffee anymore but I know you probably do. So, if you live in driving distance of a Southern California McDonald's, today's your lucky day! Here's a coupon for you to enjoy a FREE iced coffee at Mickey D's! I'm sure it'll be loaded up with sugar because it is McDonald's and the sprinkle sugar on everything over there, (watch Supersize Me if you don't believe me) but heck, it's free and you might like it. And did I mention it's free till May 5th? You could print out a bunch of these coupons and go to a different Mickey D's every day of the week!

If you don't live in Southern California, bummer. Maybe you should move here -- and bring your kids so the enrollment at our schools will stop going down. Plus, where else in the country can you get...

PSA #3: Free Trees:
I know. You were hoping I was going to type "Free Winning Lottery Tickets". Sorry. I don't have a hook-up like that. But, if you live in LA, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power will give you free trees to plant in your yard. Never mind that they're gonna jack up your light bill 23% and your water bill by 10%. At least you'll have a nice shady tree to plant in your yard as a gift for forking even more of your hard earned moolah!

To get the tree, all you have to do is take a 20 minute online tree care class. Seriously easy, so go get yourself some trees.

And since you're already in the mood to save something...

PSA #4: Go Clean a Beach
I promise that after you do it, you will want to slap the next person you see throwing a cigarette butt on the ground. I know from personal experience because I've done three beach clean-ups. They were sponsored by Heal the Bay and I took my 3rd graders out to Dockweiler State Beach to pick up trash. When you do stuff like that, you think about the environment in a totally different way. So now, every third Saturday, Heal the Bay picks the dirtiest area beach and sponsors a clean up. You can head out to Redondo Beach this Saturday and put in some time. They provide all the supplies for you so all you have to do is put your back into it from 10 am to noon.

You say you're into saving something but afraid of upping your skin cancer ante?

PSA #4: Save the Los Angeles Public Library
While our mayor, Mr. Villaraigosa has been hamming it up in the national media and getting out the Latino vote with Hillary Clinton, our city budget has been going to hell in a hand basket.

Case in point, the Los Angeles Public Library is so cash-strapped that they stopped buying new books back in February and they started canceling periodicals and database subscriptions. Oh, and say your local neighborhood branch in the hood is craptastic and doesn't have half the books that the nice branch in Los Feliz does, on July 1st you'll have to pay a dollar a book to get the tome you need sent to your branch. (See, I use words like "tome". I really am elite, n'est-ce pas?)

What can you do to stop this travesty of literary justice? At the very least, go to the Save the LAPL website and click on the link there to send a letter to Mayor Villaraigosa. We need to let him and the rest of his city hall buddies know that this ain't gonna fly. Plus, you'll feel like a rock star because you'll be contributing to literacy and preventing the masses from obtaining hair weaves, kissing trashy looking women and wearing Ed Hardy t-shirts all the time!

I seriously would love to get Bret Michaels a different hairstylist and makeup artist but unfortunately, I can't pay it forward like that. Instead, I'll participate in the...

PSA #5: Pay It Forward Exchange
Okay, okay. All you non-Southern California peeps are feeling left out. Sooo, I have to give you the opportunity to get a nice gift from me, courtesy of the Pay It Forward Exchange. I read about it on Anali's awesome blog like three weeks ago and signed up to participate. Here's the way it works:

"I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog."

Unfortunately, I don't know how to make much of anything. I'm just not very crafty like that. That means I know what the handmade gift from me will probably be.

Hint: Put "Depeche Mode" + "my favorite songs" + "burned onto a CD" + "just for you" together into a sentence.

And that's about it for our Tax Day edition of Public Service Announcements. Earth Day is coming up so I have even more PSAs for you (and a cool giveaway from these lovely folks) coming up!

Race Isn't An Excuse

One of my fellow bloggers, Hammer, left the following comment for me yesterday in response to my post on racism and voting:

Race isn't an excuse. I went to a poor school with broken toilets, teachers who read the paper, 20 year old text books and no lab equipment. But we had no gangs or drugs and pretty much everyone graduated got a job or went to public college.

Declaring racism as an excuse for violent and criminal behavior when is counter productive.

My whole family was poor and or mexican and we got out of the projects despite most white people hating our guts.

I think just as many blacks are voting racism as whites.

So much came to mind in response to this so I figured I'd just post my thoughts right here. (I was going to write about how Madonna's holding dance auditions four blocks from my house but maybe I'll fill you in on that tomorrow. I know, you're sooo disappointed.)

Anyway, I think Hammer's definitely overcome a whole lot and I wish more people had the ability to do so, but it doesn't always work that way. More often, people end up being stuck in a cycle of generational poverty. And instead of focusing on whether the poor have realistic opportunities to get out of the situations they're in, our society is trained to instead blame those who need our help. I am all for individual accountability but when it involves children, I just want there to be a real solution that allows them to be able to have real choices about their lives.

People excuse racism in this country and behave like it's just people saying mean things to other people. I can deal with name calling. I've been called a zebra, an Oreo, and a crispy, critter, burnt up ni**er.

So, I suppose I could pat myself on the back and say, "Whatever, and now I've got a graduate degree!" I suppose I could also pat myself on the back for not being an addict saying, "I'm addicted to crack because people called me bad names." But it's not about me.

There are plenty of other people I've known over the course of my life who didn't make it. It's not just about one person pulling themselves up. How can I celebrate when others still suffer?

No, race should not be an excuse. But, just because it shouldn't be an excuse doesn't mean that racism isn't alive and well. We like to think it's just name calling, but unfortunately racism involves power. Mortgage lenders can decide whether or not to grant a loan. Landlords can decide whether or not they want black folks renting apartments in their building. My landlord never met me before he rented this apartment to me. All he saw was my nice Irish last name on the application I faxed to him. I know it worked in my favor.

Power means journalists can spin stories a certain way and influence the masses. And before we know it, you and I don't know the truth.

City officials have the power to decide whether or not they're going to let gangs take over a neighborhood. We can "conquer" Iraq but we can't root gangs out of Los Angeles?

Um, yeah. Okay.

Hammer mentions that he didn't have gangs back when he was in school. Well, if only we could be so lucky these days. As you all know very well, here in LA, gangs are no joke. They start recruiting when the kids are in 2nd/3rd grade. The kids with no fathers think the gang members are cool guys that are just trying to protect the neighborhood, even if everyone is terrified of them. Those guys have the cars, the cash, and all the cool tattoos that everyone from ball players to rockers have these days. It's all very appealing to a young mind.

Even for me, in high school I talked to gang members all the time. I thought they were just cool, misunderstood guys. The reality is that they were the guys who didn't know how to read past a 3rd/4th grade level. They were the guys who only knew basic math. And they were the guys who'd never been given leadership opportunities because teachers were so busy labeling them as bad and sending them to the office for random crap.

A few years ago, before rents in my neighborhood went pscyho, two Latino guys with all the requisite tattoos and wife beater shirts started sitting on my front porch. And then this kid that lived next door would be out there with them. Now, where's his mom? She's at work because she's gotta pay her rent and she has no one to watch her son after school. She figures her boy's in 4th grade, he can come home and stay in the house after school. Where's dad? Who knows, but you know, that's only a bad thing if you're poor. Rich people are single parents too and no one's shaking their head at them, even if they should.

One day I came home and these guys are on the porch with this kid, Anthony. I went to get the mail and they told me to get them a glass of water. You'd best believe my ass went to the kitchen and got them a glass of water. I was just as nice and sweet to them as could be. If I called the cops, guess what? They're going to know I called and did I really want to deal with that? Um, nope. Especially since I'd seen some of the other stuff they did to people in our neighborhood.

Anthony ended up getting kicked out of two elementary schools. Two schools, that are about .1% white and almost 100% low income. No one can tell me that the level of ineptitude and lack of academic focus that went on in his schools would be tolerated in a middle-class white neighborhood. And of course, teachers have the power to decide whether they want to believe that the kids they're teaching can really achieve or not.

In my own life, I had guidance counselors tell me I didn't need to take the SAT and I should just consider going to community college. Counselors told me I should take auto shop because I might be a great mechanic. They weren't telling any of the white kids in my Advanced Placement physics class that they should be mechanics too. Nope. Just me. And that's racism.

Now, whether I believe I should be a mechanic or not is another thing, but when you have people who've been systemically told for generations, you're inferior, well, not everyone has the ability to hear what the guidance counselor is saying and know that something in the milk ain't clean.

I've seen teachers sit around and say, "Let's face it, these kids just aren't that smart and at the most, they're going to be flipping burgers or cutting lawns." Why do these teachers say these things? Quite frankly deep down inside, they believe the kids aren't smart because they're not white.

Disagree with me if you will but I have my sister calling me last week telling me how my nephew's math teacher split up the class into a low group and a high group and all the kids in the high group are white and Asian. Guess what color all the kids in the low group are? They're the black kids. There's not one white child in the low group. And my nephew is frickin' gifted, okay? He's one of the smartest kids I've ever seen and I'm not just saying that because he's related to my brilliance!

My sister asked the teacher about this situation and the teacher got mad and did the, "How dare you call me a racist?" thing. Well, what the heck else is it when my nephew is getting an A but gets put in the low group? Just a friendly mistake? I don't think so.

My sister has the social and cultural skills to address the situation. But what happens if people are poor and uneducated and that the child comes home and says they got put in the low group for math? Well, that parent might do what my sister did and talk to the teacher and principal. But if that parent has limited English ability, they may feel incompetent. If that parent hated school and didn't do so well he/she may feel uncomfortable talking to a teacher and may think that the lack of math ability is inherited. That parent may have addiction issues or be abusive and so may not even care. Regardless of the reason, if the child is allowed to remain in the low math group, guess what? He falls behind. I don't care what teachers tell you, as someone who's been a teacher, the low group never catches up to the high group. Never.

So that kid Anthony that used to be in my building? His family ended up moving to a different building a few blocks away and I haven't seen him although I see his tag, "FACTS" all over the neighborhood. I ran into his mom the other day. Anthony's been kicked out of middle school, has been arrested several times, and is in a juvenile detention home -- where he, of course, is probably learning how to be a better criminal. His mom's just trying to hold it together for her younger daughter. She's given up hope on Anthony because, as she said, the gang owns him now.

Should she have moved heaven and earth to make sure her child didn't end up in that gang? Yes. Should Anthony have had some sort of intrinsic motivation that made him, "Just Say No," to those gang members? Some sense of right and wrong that made him say no to that pressure. Absolutely. But sadly enough, fourth graders don't always have the resources to make that decision on their own.

The only other thing I have to say is as far black folks voting racism...well, I know a lot of black people who used to love Hillary Clinton and are now are choosing to not vote for her precisely because of the racial games her campaign has played. She brought that on herself. But people voting for Barack only because he's black? Sure, some people probably are, and even though whites have done it for forever, two wrongs don't make a right. I actually think most black people voting for him are voting for him on issues and because they're inspired by him, just like all the other Obamaniacs of all colors out there.

So Hammer, thank you for sparking all these thoughts. I think about these kinds of things all the time. These issues hit me in a certain place because I look in the eyes of my sons every single day and know what this world has in store for them. I always say that people think my boys are so cute and adorable now, but in about ten years, they're going to be scared of them. I'm going to have to worry about cops pulling them over because they look suspect. I'm going to have to worry about a new generation of teachers telling them they're nothing. And I plan to fight it all tooth and nail.

I wish I didn't have to.

A Vote For Racism

I hear there's a new bestseller out right now. It's called, "The Dummies Guide to Being a Racist in the 21st Century".

And obviously, the book's instructions are working. According to Ohio's Democratic Primary exit polls, 18% of white voters said that race was a factor in the way they voted. And 75% of those voters cast their ballot for the candidate who's white.

I'm not suggesting that everyone who doesn't vote for Barack Obama is a racist. I don't believe that. I genuinely think folks have the right to vote for whoever they want to and if folks really don't like Obama's policies or character, fine.

If they don't like Hillary's policies or character, that's cool too.

McCain's comb over? What can I say? You're either feeling it or you're not.

But the policies, character and comb over have nothing to do with that 18%. I have a real problem with that 18%. "Race being a factor" is basically code language for saying, "Hell no! I'm not voting for that negro!"

I can't say I'm surprised by that. I think that may actually be a low ball number. Despite all the hype talk about how we've transcended race, we can look around us and see that that's not true. We're not burning crosses on each other's lawns every other day but we're not exactly homies unidos either.

It gets me thinking about how we've had just about zero conversations between our presidential candidates about the de facto segregation that takes place in our nation's schools. But here in Los Angeles, according to some reports, up to 60% of black and Latino students do not graduate from high school. They aren't bad kids, but they do get stuck with teachers who will sit at their desk and read the newspaper. They get stuck with the teachers who say, "If you don't want to be in my class, don't come anymore."

I know I can go on a candidates website and check out an education plan but why isn't this a huge issue in the national conversation? To me it's because this drop out rate disproportionately affects people of color and poor white folks. And the last thing the elites in this country really want are more people competing against their own children for a spot at a top college.

And what do uneducated people do? Well, some of them join gangs. Here in LA, we've had a ton of gang violence in the past two weeks and the violence has primarily affected innocent victims. An entire neighborhood was shut down for hours in the aftermath of the shooting of a 36 year-old man and his 2 year-old granddaughter. A seventeen year-old high school senior, Jamiel Shaw, was shot and killed Sunday night. Yesterday a six year-old child got shot in the head while riding in a van with his family.

Oh, but I'm sure that 18% in Ohio could care less, because to them, that's what black folks and "illegal immigrants" deserve. They're going to sit around and think that it won't happen to their children because white children are inherently good and never join gangs or get shot by gang members.

I wonder if that 18% sees Obama's face and thinks of that black boss of theirs that they believe only got the job because of some sort of quotas, special treatment or diversity initiatives.

And the candidate that this thinking benefits doesn't denounce this sort of thing at all.

When I lived in China, the newspapers would mock U.S. criticism of Chinese human rights violations by basically saying, "Look who's talking! Isn't racism a human rights violation?" And truly, it is.

Those 18% weren't voting for someone because of the content of their character. They weren't voting for policies that will make this country a better place for everyone.

No matter how we look at it, they were voting for racism. How shameful.

Religious Freedom

Most of us know the 1st Amendment because it gives us the right to free speech. As a writer, I appreciate that right and honor the responsibility it conveys. Thankfully, that amendment also gives us the right to freedom of religion.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Because of this amendment, in this country we are free to practice our various faiths as we see fit. I'm especially aware of this freedom since if I lived in another part of the world, notably in Iran or Egypt, I'd face serious persecution since I'm a Baha'i. I'd be denied an education and denied the right to marry. My property and material possessions could be taken away by the government. Or if my next door neighbor decides to steal my car, as a Baha'i in those countries, I'd have no legal recourse.

Yes, if I lived in another part of the world, I might be arrested and imprisoned because of my beliefs. Tortured. Executed.

As a teenager, I was horrified by the story of Mona Mahmudnizhad, a young Persian girl executed for teaching Baha'i children's classes. She was only sixteen and was hung along with nine other Baha'i women.

Thankfully, because of our First Amendment, I don't have to worry about that. Here in this country, someone might be mean to me and tell me I'm going to hell, but compared to the possibility of being hung or shot by a firing squad, I can deal with that.

Despite the persecution of my Baha'i brothers and sisters taking place in countries that are majority Muslim, I have nothing but love and respect for those who practice Islam. I believe that all of the world's great religions come from the same source, God, and are truly only one faith, even if some of the social laws of the religion may change.

Of course, not everyone feels that all religion is the same truth. Even among Christians, there is lots of fighting and arguing about which version of Christianity is better. Some people trash Catholics. Others trash Baptists, Methodists, and so on. Atheists and agnostics get lectured, and likewise do their share of lecturing.

We clearly have not yet learned how to be unified and respectful of each other's beliefs, which is the exact opposite of what religion actually teaches.

As I listened to the news today, I found myself thinking specifically about how as a nation we have not addressed our religious prejudices against Muslims. In fact, we are guilty of a great deal of religious prejudice toward our Muslim brothers and sisters.

I thought about all this while listening to a couple of news pundits debating the use of Barack Obama's middle name, Hussein. A typical statement was, "Well what's wrong with saying his middle name?"

Nothing's wrong with Barack Obama's middle name but what is wrong is the intent behind saying it over and over. It's used to fan the flames of anti-Islamic fears and prejudice in the hope that people will erroneously believe that the man is a Muslim.

Months ago, someone forwarded me one of those, "Freak Out Because Obama's a Muslim" kind of emails and it made me feel profoundly sad. The email was full of horrible lies and needed some serious fact checking. The emails have been circulating and circulating like a toxic poison in our collective conscience.

No, Obama's not a Muslim. But if he was, so what? What's wrong with that?

I wish the talking heads on TV would say this. I wish Obama would stand up and say it.

Instead, he passes out fliers featuring images of him at church. Instead he mentions being a Christian in his rallies. He should do those things because being a Christian and going to church is an important part of his life. I hope this is why he's doing this. He should not have to do it because he has to soothe our fears and pander to our national prejudices. The sad reality is that because of our nation's prejudices, if Obama was a Muslim, he wouldn't even be on a ballot right now.

Funny we can take folks' oil but we decry and demonize their faith.

Islam is a beautiful religion in its own right. Sure, there are people who justify their wrong, immoral and evil actions by cloaking them with the mantle of Islam. But that doesn't take away the original intent of Mohammad. If some Muslims say they hate Christians, they need to pick up their copy of the Koran and re-read how Mohammad venerates and honors Jesus.

I'm also quite aware that the same twisting of purpose was also done with Christianity.

Or have we all forgotten how people chose to interpret certain passages from the Bible to justify slavery? Decided that black folks were only 3/5 human? Denied women the right to vote?