Santa is White? No, Shit?!

After avoiding this story for close to two days, I finally got around to it while I was reading up on the veterans arriving at Standing Rock to stand alongside the oppressed, on News.Mic.

White people ain’t having, bruh.  White people are showing their frustrations towards all these cultural appropriation going on, bruh.  White people are standing up against cultural appropriation, bravely, in the comment sections & Twitter, bruh.

Ay, man, way to go, my white brothers and sisters.  Enough!

According to News.Mic, the Mall of America hired its first black Santa, and white people are mad.  Rightfully so, or not, they are mad!

And the good, brave white folks have been airing their frustrations in the comments sections of the publications that have ran the story.  From CBS’ comments section, to Yahoo’s, and on Twitter, white people are making their disapproval of black Santa known.

In one of the many comments sections comment, one Chris Guy says, “I don’t understand why Santa would be black.  He is a white character.  Just seems kind of racist to make him black for the sake of having a black Santa.  I don’t really care, but in our racially sensitive society, I don’t see how this is considered okay.  Oh, the hypocrisy.”

First of all, you do fucking care, Chris.  Or you wouldn’t be bringing up this point of how white character Santa is being portrayed by a black guy… at a mall.  Be confident in your convictions, Chris.  Even if they are as stupid as this one, when we know damn well how non-white characters continue to be portrayed by white characters on TV.  The Huffington Post even has an article titled 25 Times White Actors Played People Of Color And No One Really Gave A S**t.  And mind you, Chris, some of those characters aren’t made up characters like Santa, some of them are real life human beings that lived.  Real life people of color whose characters were portrayed by white people in a film.

Commenting on Chris Guy’s comment with some hard hitting facts, Seanmscully asked him, “Do you consider people from Turkey white?  ‘Cause that is where St. Nicholas was from.  Maybe a white guy with a good tan?”

Let’s hit Chris’ idea of white Santa some major blows.  Thanks for that, Sean M. Scully.  I suppose that’s what your name is judging from your username.

Saint Nicholas was born in the Roman Empire in 270, in what is known as Turkey today.  He supposedly had a habit of secret gift-giving, which is how the idea of Santa Claus came about.  But because, you, Chris, and many white people had the privilege of seeing Santa as white all your life, you have now been programmed to believing that he is indeed white.  Which is not factual.  Because if we are to use geographical evidence, Turkish people are not white.  They’ve got more color in them than the Anglo-Saxons who make up the majority of white America.

But what are you even saying, Chris?  Your argument is redundant.  Are you saying that where there aren’t an abundance of the white male species, that those kids don’t deserve the fairytale that is Santa Claus?  Kids in Africa, and Asia also want to see Santa; because they were made to believe in him through the white man’s television shows.  So, Chris thinking that Santa is white and that him being any other race is some kind of cultural appropriation that shouldn’t be crossed because it’s racist is stupid.

It’s stupid, Chris!

And for those whose issue with black Santa is that they are going to have an even harder time explaining to their kids why Santa is black, that right there is the problem.  Why have we racialized this kids’ character who stands for all that is good?  Society should ask itself that question.  Because that is the real issue here, not that Santa is black.  We really continue to fuck up as a society if we think a black Santa is an issue, and not that we hold an inherent belief that Santa is white.

We are letting St. Nicholas down with our buffoonery.  Santa is a fucking fictional character and he should and can be anyone with a fucking white beard.

I, too, have had it up to Here with Kanye West: False Prophets & Everybody Dies by J Cole

As I’m writing to this, I am listening to John Legend’s new Darkness & Light album, like all things John Legend, it’s a soothing masterpiece.

But like most folks, the news today is the two unannounced J Cole songs that dropped this morning by way of his Eyez, Tidal-exclusive documentary, False Prophets (Be Like This) & Everybody Dies.  The news is not in so much that he dropped two unannounced songs, because it was announced the day before that he was going to release his album on December 4, 2016, 4 Your Eyez Only.  The surprise was the subject matter of the songs.

On False Prophets he seems to be taking shots at Kanye West.  And even though some folks on Twitter are of the idea that it’s just an honest observation of what Kanye is going through, I am calling bullshit on that assessment and calling it how I see it, a diss at Kanye.

I grew up on Kanye West.  From College Dropout, Late Registration, Graduation, to my favourite Kanye West album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.  And then he made Watch the Throne with Jay Z.  In my young eyes Kanye couldn’t do any wrong.  During the Taylor Swift episode, I felt he was unfairly crucified.  I didn’t necessarily feel Beyoncé had the best video of all time, the Stan in me just knew that my man Kanye was getting the bad end of the stick.  I felt the media overplayed the big black guy invading the space of the little, innocent white snowflake.  And I still feel that way.

Then Kanye got into a relationship with Kim Kardashian.  He lost points in my book for that move.  Fuck, we are too emotionally invested in our celebrities.  This is fucking crazy.  But, yeah, whatever, he lost points in my book for that.  But I was still going gaga when he said he should have gotten Jay Z to get Kris Humphries dropped from the Brooklyn Nets(which Jay Z was a minority owner of at the time) on Cold.  But I was bumping to that song like, ‘yeah, yeah, talk that shit, Ye!’

Fast forward, Kim & Kanye get married.  Then Yeezus dropped.  I don’t quite recall the exact sequence of events, but I don’t care anymore to look it up.  But it was during the Yeezus radio-promotion tour that I started looking at Kanye like, ‘this motherfucker!’  There was the ‘you ain’t got all the answers, Sway’ interview, and the ‘Kanye Kardashian’ one with The Breakfast Club.  I thought this nigga Kanye was a cry baby, contradictory, blabbering about nothing, and just making noise; while people called him genius.  I used to wonder that I was stupid for not seeing the man’s genius.  Nah, bih, I ain’t stupid.  And as much as the fake deeps tried to explain the genius of his Yeezus album, I, to this day think it is trash.

So, when I heard Real Friends, I swore I thought, fuck this that old Kanye.  I really thought homie was about to shut my hating ass down.  Nah, how was I wrong.  The Life of Pablo was just blonde Yeezus that grew up around money.  Blonde Yeezus was well polished and could come around people and fool them without saying a word by just how she’s dressed, how she holds her utensils, or her glass of champagne.

Then he ranted on the MTV stage about how he was going to run for president in 2020.  I recall @Luvvie tweeted about how the Kanye-Hive was going to try to write think pieces about how his rant makes him a genius.  Again, Kanye was just talking stupid.  I couldn’t really make out what it is he was saying, or trying to say.  Then he went on a Twitter rant about being in debt and wanting Mark Zuckerberg bail him out, and how he should fund his ideas for making the world better.  That he should stop building schools in Africa and fund Kanye West ideas.  My nigga, what level of entitlement is that?  Like damn, son, get a hold of yourself.  Fuck you, Kanye!

The last straw was when this nigga said he would have voted for Trump, and that black people should stop focusing on race too much ‘cause it’s a racist world.  And that we should just accept it.  Nah, Kanye, just like you ain’t accept it when white man didn’t want you to have a seat at the world of fashion table, we are not going to accept this racist world.  We ain’t gonn’ let that shit fly, Kanye, and to all you motherfucking racists.  Homie kept ranting about how Jay Z should give him a call.  Then had the audacity to call out Beyonce ‘cause she apparently she plotted to win a Moonman for video of the year over him, and his obsession, Drake; after going through seven years of the Taylor Swift debacle for her.  Alright, cool, Kanye, but as far as we know, Beyoncé ain’t asked you to do that.  C’mon, dawg, stop whining all the goddamn time, and grow some balls.

Is Kanye really sick?  I hope not.  Is it him losing his mom?  Maybe.  I haven’t lost either of my parents yet, so I don’t know how it feels, but the thought of losing my mom is a scary one in itself.  But it all started going downhill when his mom passed away.  Or did he check himself into hospital for insurers to cover for the losses for the cancelled Saint Pablo Tour’s remaining days?  If that’s the case, then maybe nigga really is a genius… of some kind.  The conning kind.

I don’t know what it is, Kanye, but get it together, my nigga.  You’s a father of a black boy now.  That class warfare you be fighting against lately won’t be enough to save him from the juggernaut that’s the race warfare.  ‘Cause really, I have had it up to here with your false prophecy.  Going from “I get down for my grandfather, who took my mama/ Made her sit in that seat where white folks ain’t want us to eat/ at the tender age of 6 she was arrested for the sit-ins” to ‘black people should stop focusing on race?’  From ‘George Bush don’t like black people’ to ‘I would have voted for Trump?’  Fuck you, Kanye!

The other subject matter of Cole’s False Prophets was Wale.  He’s rapper homie who wants to win bad that he can’t even see his blessings, and the millions of fans he’s got.  In a recent interview with The Breakfast Club, I watched Wale nag about how Kendrick Lamar doesn’t call him no more.  Wale nags so much he needs to stop it.  Thank you, Cole for giving Wale the breastfeeding bottle by reminding him that he is the fucking man.  Wale’s Ambition is still one of the greatest Hip Hop records that ever came out.  And this man is constantly putting out bangers.

On Everybody Dies, Cole takes us back to Muhammad crib.  But while at Muhammad crib, Cole just couldn’t help himself.  He had to take a shot at this new breed of lil’ whatever rappers.  These motherfuckers we don’t understand half of the shit they spitting, but we be vibing out to.  I especially got hate for Lil Yatchy that thinks The Notorious-motherfucking-BIG is overrated.  Like who letting these unschooled rappers graduate into the bigger leagues?  We see you Pitchfork!  You and your white staff of writers need to stop with hipster shit.  You new gatekeepers, AKA white publications are hurting the genre of Hip Hop.

Yeah, I’m fucking Joe Jackson-mad at Kanye West.  But that’s beside the point.  Get well, my nigga.  J Cole proves again just how big his star is getting, yet remaining true to himself.  Still the same Friday Night Lights Cole.  Wale, listen to Cole, man.  Yeah, maybe he should have called you instead of airing it out a song, but I hope you hear your homie’s concerns and take it from there.  I know you still got that ambition.  And to you new wave mumble rappers, you’re fucking shit up.  Rap used to be ‘listen and digest’, make you think, but this new wave shit is just for in one ear, out the other.

Still listening to Darkness & Light, and my man John Legend is still the fucking man.  I give this album a solid 4/5.

Hi, everyone.

Well, I’m Edward.  I own this WordPress.  The thing is, I have been neglecting it and I promise to start writing more often.

Thank you.

Brazil’s FIFA World Cup… But Where is the Rest of Brazil?

When Brazil won the rights to host the FIFA World Cup, I was one of those people who were happy. At last, football is going back to the ‘home away from home‘ home of football. Yes, England is the home of football, but Brazil housed it, clothed and fed it, it never went back to England.
It was October 30th, 2007 when Brazil won the rights to host the FIFA World Cup, unopposed. Fast foward, 7 years later, the games have started. The first game of this world cup was the host, Brazil vs Croatia.
The football was okay. The Brazil I knew didn’t really turn up. One of the players I was waiting to see at the world cup, Ivan Rakitic had an okay game too. So, it was a disappointing first game.
Other than the dubious penalty that Brazil got, what raised my eyebrows wasn’t what was going on on the football pitch, but rather on the stands. As expected, Brazil had like 90% of the fans. My concern though, was just how Brazil’s support in that match of any other match after that did not reflect the true demographic of Brazil’s population. Like 92% of the Brazilian fans that I see on my TV are white.
Brazil’s population according to 2010 Census data is, 47.73% White, 43.13% Pardo, 7.61% Black, 1.09% Asian & 0.43% Amerindian. Pardos are mixed race Brazilians, Neymar & Ronaldinho are in this category, so as super model Adriana Lima. The Amerindians are the natives of the land.
The question that lingered with me, where is the rest of Brazil during these matches? Where is the other 52.67% of Brazil?
With the average price for the Brazil vs Colombia match at US$1346.75 according to TiqIQ, it’s only fair to conclude that the average Brazilian was priced out. Brazil’s GDP Per Capita is US$11 080, therefore, making the average ticket price for their game vs Colombia (1346.75/11080*100) 12% on average of Brazilian families income. That is a lot of money to spend on a single game. And to break it down further, we all know that Brazil has one the highest disparity rates between the haves & the have nots. Surely, families living in the favelas are making much less than the country’s per capita income. And with 68.4% of those living in the favelas either Pardos or Blacks, it’s only possible for one to conclude that these are the ones who aren’t able afford to go to these games, the Pardos & the blacks.
This world cup was hosted by Brazil, but it’s a pity the rest of Brazil couldn’t turn up to the party as they were priced out.
In the movie, The Fault in our Stars, the Character of Hazel Grace recited a quote during her eulogy to Augustus “Gus” Waters, “if you want the rainbow you have to deal with rain”.
Brazil’s rainbow is the chance to host the FIFA World Cup, but with the rainbow came with it, the rain. The rain is Brazil being stripped naked for the world to see its dire social & economical inequalities.

New Blog Challenges Start April 15!

The Daily Post

If you’re just getting your blog off the ground, or saw our Zero to Hero challenge in January and wished you’d thrown your hat into the ring, today’s your lucky day: another round of Blogging 101: Zero to Hero gets started on Tuesday, April 15th.

Looking for something more advanced? Blogging 201: Branding, Growth and Traffic starts the same day (201-level challenges on writing/photography and theme tailoring start in early summer)!

Read on to learn more about each challenge and sign up to participate.

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The Facebook Comment that is Shaking a Nation

Racism, a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one’s own race is superior and has the right to rule others. I first saw the screenshot circulating on Twitter, and that she being called racist *derogatory term of your choosing*. At first I didn’t pay much attention to it, as I thought, well… just another day on Twitter. That was like in mid March. But then again, I bumped into the image today (April 4, 2014), yet again on Twitter. It was then that I decided to do my investigation. I went onto my Facebook, searched for Ms Alna Dall’s profile, just so I could go down her timeline & read through the entire thread as to what might have been said further. I came to find out that the post has been long been deleted, and Ms Dall had came forth to apologize for Ms Strydom, stating she was not racist, and that she was dating an Indian. After reading this thread on facebook of the conversation, I decided, I had to write about this evil that was perfected by men such as Hendrik Verwoerd through acts of apartheid, racism. Firstly, is Ms Strydom a racist? That I will let you, the readers be the judge of this. Secondly, how can we uproot this evil that is racism? That is a question that I would like to at least try & tackle.

I believe, one can never know another’s story without having walked in their shoes. For that reason, I would like to talk of the issue of classism. I believe classism and racism are intertwined like bread & butter go together, especially in Namibia’s case. Why? Well, our history like that of the rest of the world is built on the oppression of race over the other. And hundreds of years of oppression have created social classes that are favorable towards one race than the other. White people in Namibia are especially well off. They are in the upper echelon of the economical class in Namibia. They live in suburbs, neighbored by other white people. They go to “white people schools”, they socialize with other white people. And yes, there are some minimal black people that live in their suburbs, that go the same schools as them, they socialize with, but mostly, these are elitist black people, the ones that are referred to in the movies as “good niggers”. They don’t really represent ordinary black people, the lower class black people. They behave in the same ways as white people do. Liberal Nicole Myers like them, but racist Andreas Müller dislikes them; which they view as nothing else then them not “clicking”. This is because to these elitist blacks, race is not a topic of discussion in their houses. Now, Andreas Müller will never really walk in the shoes of a black person, he never was met with the stinging words of a really angry black person that sees color. A little Nicole, who might have gone around saying racial slurs without repercussion around her black friend that she liked, who acts like her, listens to the same music, lives in the same suburb as her, will probably go on one day and just make vague statements that are really racially insensitive to a person of a different race. These two souls have been left behind in the face of a changing world that is trying to move forward. And it’s all because of economical and social classes that never allowed me & Michael Mackenzie to form a true friendship.

Another hindrance is what  I am about to coin, ‘reconciliation that meets half way’. It’s only fitting that all the players meet on a football pitch for a football match to take place. So when Nelson Mandela called for reconciliation but was facing opposition from both sides of the color line, reconciliation was already facing strong opposition from the onset, even from Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. There was no football match going to take place. But black people I feel seem to be the ones pushing for reconciliation compared to our fellow white brothers & sisters. Whites just don’t seem to wanna join the party. They don’t wanna take a seat at the table and aid negotiations, they would rather play foul at how programs like BEE are reverse racism. But ask yourself this, when has equality really been been reverse anything bad but good? Yes, I recognize that the thought was an excellent one, but BEE is being applied in a way that is creating an elite class of blacks. Which is just creating another social evil that is classism. But point of the matter is, more white people need to join the conversation of racism, they need to come to the table. Not dismiss racism just because you, your family and other people you know aren’t racist. Let us all join hands and built a better, unified, color conscious, equal Namibia.

Shout out to Whitney Kendra Greyton. Her comment on that thread was to me, the most thought provoking one. Clearly these aren’t the only solutions to racism. Let’s talk about it. Leave comments. I have vowed to always leave you guys with a song every time I write a piece. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ “A Wake”:

“…It’s just something our generation is used to, and neighborhoods where you never see a news crew. Unless they’re gentrifying, white people don’t even cruise through. And my subconscious telling me stop it. This is an issue that you shouldn’t get involved in. Don’t even tweet “RIP Trayvon Martin”. Don’t wanna be that white dude, million man marching. Fighting for freedom that my people stole. Don’t wanna make all my white fans uncomfortable.”

With that, thank you Alna Dall for raising the issue in the first place, intentional or not.

My Week – Recap

It’s Friday morning, 40 minutes after midnight. So I thought I should write something ’cause WordPress sent me an email to do so. I can’t think about something to write about really. So, I thought let me recap my week; recap as much about as I possibly can, as much as I am willing to reveal. Here we go.

Real Madrid:

It’s only fitting that I begin this recap of my week with something that holds dearly to me, & something that I was most anticipating about the week. So, we played Schalke 04 on Tuesday in the Champions League. I was really happy to see a lot Real Madrid’s youngster given a chance to impress; Nacho started at right-back, Varane at centre back, Illaramendi started in a midfield trio that also included Isco. Jese started on the right, though his game would come to a horrific end just over a minute of play. Morata started at as the lone striker. It was a great game. Real won 3-1 on the night, giving them a 9-2 aggregate win. They could have won by more, but that’s history.

From what I have seen, I believe Real is one of the favorites to lift the Champions League trophy this season. I have also concluded that Cristiano Ronaldo is motivated to write a legend for himself that’s like no other, and he is his number one critic. Requires so much of himself, which is a great thing.

President Jacob Zuma and his Nkandla Residence:

President Jacob Zuma’s private house that was supposed to cost the tax payers R27 million end up costing them more than R250 million. Mind you, this are supposed security upgrades.

Public protector, Thuli Madonsela read out 70+ page executive summary of the Secure in Comfort report to the media on Wednesday. Some of the findings according to News24’s live update caught. It was found that Zuma’s private architect was heading the upgrades, and that he was being paid on a percentage basis of the cost of the upgrades. I found this ridiculously stupid on the side of the state. And some of the ‘security upgrades’ included a swimming pool. A swimming pool? Now that’s some secure comfort.

The Hunger Games 2, Catching Fire:

Finally watched the movie, and it’s really good actually. Made me rue not giving the first Hunger Games that much attention when I watched it. Don’t like how this one ended though. Freakin’ sequels. They ended it to that I should have to watch the next Hunger Games.

I got to see Philip Seymour Hoffman. I swear he does not look like a man that was using. He’s acting is really good. And maybe one has to give it up for the makeup team. They did a phenomenal job. I guess. Rest well Philip.

Song of the Week:

Every week I write, I’ll leave you a Song of the Week.

The truth is, I have not listened to this song for a while until hours ago. Kendrick Lamar’s HiiiPoWeR is a revolutionary Rap song. From 2 years ago, from his Section.80 album. I love this song. Give it a listen.

House of Cards

I’m not a film critic, certainly not a critic of any kind. The only kind of critic I can bring myself to doing is when it’s faced towards Real Madrid, the football team that I have adored ever since I was a little boy, playing football bear foot in the sandy streets of Oshakati.

Back to the topic at hand, House of Cards. I first came to learn of this show after President Barack Obama tweeted about it. After reading that tweet, I knew I had to start watching what one of the most powerful man in the world is watching. And, I was not disappointed. From the first episode of season 1, I was glued to the laptop as I watched Kevin Spacey’s character of Representative Francis “Frank” Underwood plot his way to the top after being denied what was promised to him, US Secretary of State.

I am on season 2 now, Frank is Vice President. Hope I’m not spoiling it for anyone, especially not the President. But on his way to being VP, a lot of conniving, by Frank & Linda (White House Chief of Staff), and the death of my favorite character on the show, Peter Russo. Peter Russo. That guy. Well, I liked him because he looked the most sincere, genuine politician. Your everyday person. His character was the closest thing to any character being human to me on the show. All else just seem made up. I guess that’s what politics would look to an outsider.

Above all else, House of Cards is a brilliant show. Netflix has without a doubt, got one of the best shows on TV. Thank you Beau Willimon for this hard hitting show, that is in a way is helping ease my fascination with Washington by bringing the behind the scenes drama to my TV. And the journalists on the show seem to be real journalists, unlike Wolf Blitzer.

This show gets a 9/10 rating from me because it covers one of my interests, American Politics.