The Lake Show Is Dead

So, I didn't want to make this declaration.  I didn't. Not because I'm a Lakers fan (I'm a Sixers Girl) and I don't hate the Lakers per se (their fans are DEFINITELY a different story however....ha!) but I think it needed to be said because you cats are in a state of disillusion and what kind of friend would I be if I didn't shake you by the shoulders and say "Hey. Wake up, honey."

The Lake Show as you knew it is dead.  It actually started it's slow decline in 2010, with those pictures Kobe took. Oh. You forgot the pictures?

#NeverForget

No lie. The moment I saw this, I said in my head "It's a wrap for the Lakers. This man got on a bow tie, a 3/4ths length shirt, a hat and a sweat band. AND IS THAT TINTED LIPGLOSS?!?!?!"

*leaps out window*

I digress.  After they got swept by the Dallas Mavericks (for real...who saw that coming? They didn't put up a fight or anything!) and the public meltdown of several of the players caught the attention of everyone, the chips just started falling at will. They lost their fearless leader in Phil Jackson. Fisher got traded. They got Nash (who I think at one point said he would NEVER wear a Laker jersey); They got some kid from Orlando who has never really been a factor in the game but because he is a big guy, he gets a lot of attention (a modern day Shaq if you will, but at least Shaq had the rings to back up anything he said). They got Pau, who shows up and plays when it's cool for his pysche, And....that's about it. Who else is making it happen for the Lakers.Oh yea. This guy.

But he is a clutch player. Can't take that away from him.

But yo...for real....The Los Angeles Lakers WILL NOT be contenders again until the 2014-2015 season. Quote me.

This Whole Tebow Thing.....

Think back for a second. Ya'll remember when Tebow FIRST got drafted, and I said "Hey. The kid is OK, but he only got drafted because the NFL needed a PR savior?" Oh, ya'll dogged me.  Said I didn't know sports. Called me a hack. Said I didn't know anything because I was a *gasp* GIRL.  And all I did was smile. You know why? Because I know a media move when I see it.

See, Tebow isn't that great. We all know this.  If he was a great as others though he was, he'd be a starter. Period. Point blank. But see, Tebow was NEEEEDDDEEEEDDDDDDDD, do ya hear me. NEEDED.  The league was plagued with one quarterback who had rape charges, another who was just getting out of federal prison on dog fighting charges, and many other players who decided that they were going to drink and drive, beat up their girlfriends, and do whatever else they wanted to do because they are, after all, human.  With all this going on, the NFL commish had to do something. ANYTHING. Even if that meant have the media hype up convince a team to draft a player who was good looking, Godly, hard-working but not talented; someone who you wanted your dated to lose her virginity to; someone who would be a good look.  Someone who, as Mike Golic called him this morning,is  "a commodity".

And TA DA! Here you have Tim Tebow.  A young kid who made OK grades who was Godly, a virgin, and just so damn nice that you felt bad if you didn't at least try to like him. I mean, he has built a PR empire on being "nice."  Such is life; such is his lane.

Now, my stance on his talent is still the same; he needs to go to the CFL, fine tune a few things, and come back strong OR he could accept being passed around in the NFL until it's "his time".  The second tactice would work.  "Well Kitti, why?"

I'll tell you why. 

In 5 to 10 years, when the RGIII's and Mark Sanchez's of the league are getting ready to hit their climax, he will just be getting started? Why? Because he has been sitting on the bench, taking no wear and tear on his bones, getting rubbed up by trainers, and viewing the mistakes of others. So look, don't feel bad for Tebow. He is a PR commodity; we will see him again.

Keep Calm...It's not the end

You know, far be it for me to question someone's belief system, but uh....don't you think this whole "it's the end of days because bad things are happening" thought process is...well....kind of backwards?

Here me out though.

Evil has always existed. No matter if you believe in God, Buddha or yourself.  Evil is apart of the balance that is life.  Evil has existed since the first cave man killed another for having better animal pelts.  You know what else has always existed? Nature. Earthquake and storms and wild weather has been recorded for million of years. Floods and storms are nothing new. Not at all.

So these things....Evil men....wild nature...have always been present and real in our lives. Ask someone who has lost a child  to domestic violence or ask an older person who has lived through various weather situations.

You know what IS new? Technology.

The world isn't just now going to shit. It has been going to shit. We just see it now due to Facebook and Twitter and Instagram. Look. The 24 hour news cycle was created in my lifetime and they have to fill the void. Good news doesn't sell. It never has. Scandal sells. Corruption sells. Sadness sells. FEAR sells. So we sit around and tweet about Boston and terrorism while we watch CNN. We watch the horror of Newtown and Chicago unfold as we Facebook back and forth on MSNBC message boards. And as we do these things, we perpetuate that there is no good in this world. No hope.

What I'm saying is this: bad things happen. Doesn't mean the world is ending. Just means we can't ignore it anymore.

My Open Letter to "Black and Proud"

Dear Black and Proud,

Girl, bye.

Seriously.  Did you really write this letter to Essence expecting sympathy?  Did you expect fellow black women to jump on your ship and row with you?  I really hope you didn't because honey....sister to sister....you are getting what you deserve.

You aren't getting what you deserve because you are dating a white man, as you said your family and friends would imply. No, No.  I love my black men, yet God/Allah/The Universe bless the white man that lays eyes on my fellow sisters and says "Lawd have mercy."  The rate of white men-black women relationships is at an all time high, so hearing of, thinking of, or speaking of a black woman marrying a white man is becoming kind of a thing.  

You are, to me, getting what you deserve.

You hear that? You are getting what you deserve because you traded integrity for trips.  You traded your standards for Chanel.  Your love for self for a diamond slave chain because truth be told...you're a slave. A well paid, well fed slave, mind you; but a slave none the less.  I'd call you a slave if you said your husband was Black and from Nigeria or Alabama. In the letter, you say you don't want to leave because you don't want to give up the lifestyle you have.  I commend Sister Abiola for her response to you because to ME, the moment you said you'd rather have trips, money or diamonds over the sexual respect and love of your husband, you lost me.  You really did.  I would have written you a personal response that said "get over yourself" then I would have put your letter in File 13.  You have an Ivy League degree; at least that's what you said in your letter. You know what File 13 is.

Then to say you want to have children with this man. Disgusting. Absolutely.

But yo, sister, do you. I dig it. I do. Maybe if I was in the same shoes, I'd feel the same way.  Maybe I'd try to work it out with a husband who has a heart filled with malicious slander about my looks.  Maybe I'd try to work it out with a man who openly degrades my heritage.  Maybe I'd try to work it out with a racist little pigmy of a man because he buys me whatever I want and takes me places. Maybe I would.

But I doubt it.

Discipline & Being Black

Okay, so last week, we all heard about the two daughters who were "beat down" by their father for "twerking".  Before we clear up a few things, let's discuss and clear up a few of the details::

                  1) Two girls went to stay with their father for the weekend.

                  2) Upon returning to their mother's house, she sees welps and bruises and calls the cops.

                  3) The girls were whipped with the cords from the TV and DVD player.

                  4) The girls themselves have admitted they got the punishment for sneaking out the house.

  I REPEAT: THEY GOT IN TROUBLE FOR SNEAKING OUT, NOT TWERKING

                  5) The father has been arrested and charged with corporal abuse.

So you don't think I'm making up these details

First off all, I know society. Now, the girls look to be pre-teens in the video. If they would have snuck out and got pregnant, everyone would have said "the parents should have whooped their ass more."  Matter of fact, that's the one thing everyone says when folks act out as young adults/teenagers: "If you would have got your ass whooped when you were a kid, you wouldn't (insert whatever offense)*  The FIRST thing people said when the bus driver gave the girl an uppercut was "If she would have got more uppercuts as a kid, she wouldn't have put her hands on the bus driver." But because he "got caught" (read: there was provable video), suddenly, everyone is so outraged.  Everyone is so alarmed.  It's so....wrong. Question:: Where are ya'll when these mothers out here are beating their daughters over and over and calling it discipline?

And I've heard some say that physical discipline is reminscient of our "slave days". Basically, our ancestors were beat, so we beat each other and our kids.  The unending cycle of violence and despair they say.  You know, I see their point, but as a child who HAD to have physically discipline (mental discipline doesn't work when your kid is smarter than 90% of their peers *smart black girl shrug*) I'm not going to say my parents were wrong. I can count the times on one hand my father physically disciplined me.  My mother and I stayed going round and round, but like I said, I was a handfull and I tested her on a daily. So what was her recourse?

See we don't like when people use creative ways to discipline their kids. We say they are shaming and being unfair. This is my thing: Every kid is different. Some kids don't care about time out; they didn't at 2 years old, and they won't at 15. Some kids don't care about taking a an ass whipping; they didn't at 2 years old, and they won't at 15.  Take the time to know YOUR KID and know YOUR TEMPERANCE. Screw society; screw these pseudo-child psychologist and super pro-black types. Do what is best for you and your family.