I would like to begin by stating that; I DO NOT KNOW THE DETAILS OF THE CHRIS BROWN/RIHANNA CASE. That being said, it appears that we now live in an increasingly “double standard” society, where chivalry only applies when it is advantageous to women.
Take the aforementioned case for instance, no one, outside of the individuals involved, and a handful of people, have ALL the “facts” in this case, yet, even before the Rihanna pic was released, there was a plethora of condemning statements, blogs, and articles directed at Chris.
If true, the mere insinuation Rihanna is purportedly contemplating taking him back says it all. She is either glutton for punishment, accepts partial responsibility for the “incident”, suffers from low self esteem, straight crazy, or, all of the above.
Now understand, I don’t condone anyone putting their hands on anyone, much less a woman, without probable cause, but, until the ALL THE FACTS come out, shouldn’t we withhold judgment/condemnation?
Secondly, in the event a man is assaulted by a woman, without physical provocation, does he ever have a right to defend himself?
Granted, a man should never use excessive force, and that very well may be the case in this instance, but he should have every right to retaliate/defend himself with equal force, if his rights are being violated, irrespective of gender.
All the man bashers need to fall back!!! You’re entitled to your opinion, but don’t bury the kid until BOTH versions of the truth are revealed.
The movement to liberate women has made tremendous strides within the past three decades, and rightfully so, but it appears society and the Law has overreacted/overcorrected, and due to the sins of our forefathers, lady liberty’s pendulum has swung unanimously, in favor of the fairer sex.
I’m not going to pretend that men still do not hold an unflattering share of guilt in a majority of domestic abuse cases, but sometimes, women have used the situation to their advantage, and exploited the law, with impunity.
There's a grey area, i.e. if you're being playful, or if someone is crowding you during an argument, but don't overstep your boundaries, and whatever you do, don't raise your hand to a man, if you don't want to get pounded out like a man..... And trust me, I have had my fair share of incidents. Last time, if it weren't for my past experience, maturity, and my level of sobriety, I would have probably done something very similar.
Proportionally, men are physically stronger than women, but in the spirit of equality, shouldn’t we have ensured that the rights of both sexes are equally protected by law, when the laws were being written?
Again, I do not know, and don’t pretend to know the details of any particular case, but for arguments sake, we need to treat each other as equals, with dignity, respect, and, within the law, period. Especially in regards to the people we profess to love. That’s the only way we will ever attain true equality, for all.
Peace,
BLAQ OPS
www.themachinenetwork.com
http://blaqops.blogspot.com/
Friday, February 27, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
NY POST: WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?? - S. DELONAS
Dear NY Post,
As an independent Black man, I have often grappled with the idea, and in certain cases, found validity to the arguments that "some" African Americans use Racism as a crutch for social inequities.
That being said, there has been endless debate recently in regards to the continued celebration of Black History month, and ending affirmative action programs due to the "apparent" advancements/progress our nation, as a whole, has made in regards to racial equality, however, if S. Delonas' cartoon is any indication, clearly, racism is alive, well, and more subliminally sophisticated than many of us are readily willing to admit.
If this piece is any indication, as a society, we still have A LOT of work to do. It is painfully evident that "progress" has eluded the decision makers at the New York Post, and the grievances of those who relentlessly continue to fight for racial equality has been vindicated as well.
Sean Delonas’ depiction of a monkey being shot dead, followed by the caption "They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill" is offensive, particularly to Black people. Not to mention the current Commander in Chief, who happens to be an extremely well educated, well spoken individual of color, a refreshing dose of optimism for all Americans, and the world abroad.
http://www.nypost.com/gossip/gossip.htm (2/18/09 Cartoon by S. Delonas)
I have read the Post and the Daily News virtually every single weekday, for over 7 years, and although some of your cartoons/articles are controversial, this is the first time I have ever felt OVERWHELMINGLY OFFENDED by one of your pieces. I asked the opinions of many of my peers before writing this letter, and not one person, of any race, could justify this piece, or deny it's racial connotations.
If someone from your organization does not publicly denounce the piece, make an attempt to clarify Sean's intent, and/or apologize for the sheer offensive nature of this cartoon, I am afraid you will lose many of your subscribers, and I personally, will lead the campaign encouraging everyone within my social network to discontinue reading your paper, immediately!!!!!
In light of this year’s historic election, and the Bi-Centennial commemoration of Abraham Lincoln, this is a slap in the face to all people of color, and should be reprehensible to ALL forward thinking/intelligent HUMAN BEINGS.
Sincerely,
Patrick C. Montero
A.K.A. Blaq Ops
http://blaqops.blogspot.com/
As an independent Black man, I have often grappled with the idea, and in certain cases, found validity to the arguments that "some" African Americans use Racism as a crutch for social inequities.
That being said, there has been endless debate recently in regards to the continued celebration of Black History month, and ending affirmative action programs due to the "apparent" advancements/progress our nation, as a whole, has made in regards to racial equality, however, if S. Delonas' cartoon is any indication, clearly, racism is alive, well, and more subliminally sophisticated than many of us are readily willing to admit.
If this piece is any indication, as a society, we still have A LOT of work to do. It is painfully evident that "progress" has eluded the decision makers at the New York Post, and the grievances of those who relentlessly continue to fight for racial equality has been vindicated as well.
Sean Delonas’ depiction of a monkey being shot dead, followed by the caption "They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill" is offensive, particularly to Black people. Not to mention the current Commander in Chief, who happens to be an extremely well educated, well spoken individual of color, a refreshing dose of optimism for all Americans, and the world abroad.
http://www.nypost.com/gossip/gossip.htm (2/18/09 Cartoon by S. Delonas)
I have read the Post and the Daily News virtually every single weekday, for over 7 years, and although some of your cartoons/articles are controversial, this is the first time I have ever felt OVERWHELMINGLY OFFENDED by one of your pieces. I asked the opinions of many of my peers before writing this letter, and not one person, of any race, could justify this piece, or deny it's racial connotations.
If someone from your organization does not publicly denounce the piece, make an attempt to clarify Sean's intent, and/or apologize for the sheer offensive nature of this cartoon, I am afraid you will lose many of your subscribers, and I personally, will lead the campaign encouraging everyone within my social network to discontinue reading your paper, immediately!!!!!
In light of this year’s historic election, and the Bi-Centennial commemoration of Abraham Lincoln, this is a slap in the face to all people of color, and should be reprehensible to ALL forward thinking/intelligent HUMAN BEINGS.
Sincerely,
Patrick C. Montero
A.K.A. Blaq Ops
http://blaqops.blogspot.com/
Thursday, February 12, 2009
FABRICATED OUTRAGE: A-ROID
Lately, there has been no shortage of headline furor directed at the celebrities that satiate our daily appetites for entertainment/drama, and serve as our national punching bags when they screw up, but the outrage is overrated, and disingenuous to say the least.
A-Rod
This guy can’t get out of his own way, granted, but the sheer amount of criticism he receives, borrowing a quote from Iron Mike, is ludicrous. I make no excuses for his bad choices, his personality flaws, how much money he makes, or the fact that he has not been part of a championship in his illustrious career, however, to act as if his bad judgment has profoundly compromised the “integrity” of the game is hypocritical, at best.
How soon we forget. The steroid era helped MLB reemerge as one of our nation’s favorite past time. Prior to Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa’s epic quest for the home run crown, the league was practically on life support. True, the players method of enhancing their natural ability was CHEATING, AND ILLEGAL, but ANYONE with half a brain knew these guys were juicing.
At the time, MLB turned a blind eye; they did not sound the alarm internally or otherwise. If they took the initiative to clean house, implemented more stringent drug testing, and put the players on notice right off the bat (no pun intended), perhaps they would have been able to redeem the league's integrity, and they would have suffered minimal collateral damage, even if their efforts were leaked afterwards.
Some in the media, and the “regular joes” have been making outlandish accusations. They act as though these players are the dregs of society. They question how much money A-Rod makes, but if they could afford to pay him $25mil a year, the rest of the team, operating costs, luxury tax, etc, the question they should be asking is, how much money are the owners making off the game.
Without a doubt, the players were wrong for using PED’s, but people are making statements as if “anyone” could simply inject performance enhancing drugs, and ta-da, they would become All Stars overnight as well……. WRONG! The players are the performers, they are the ones the fans come to see, and they have every right to a fair share of the revenue the game generates.
I played with guys juicing in High School, and guess what, the guys that did not have the skills to compete at the highest level, sat on the bench, whether they were clean or not. Most of the big names snared in this controversy were great before they started using. They may have cheated but they were NEVER talentless bums.
Without a doubt, the drugs enhanced their natural abilities, but as we can see A LOT of athletes in general, cheated in order to live up to the immense challenges, expectations, and pressures, to remain at the top of their game. Once you’re incapable of performing, they will put you out to pasture, quickly, and no one sheds a tear for them, besides their fanatics.
I long for the day, society in general, will be sincere, and reserve judgment when anyone screws up. Introspect a bit, analyze your life or the lives of people you know and/or love personally, and use that bad example as an opportunity to correct any similar inequities, instead of piling on.
Yes, celebrities make an enormous amount of money, they are privileged, some of them ignorant, and the spotlight is part of the game, but never forget, no matter how god like they may appear to be, at the end of the day they are mortals, and they are individuals, just like every single one of US.
The game of life can be treacherous, and for these athletes, the spotlight is alluring, entrapping, but ultimately, brief. When critics use a celebrity’s demise as an opportunity to totally destroy their character, to me, it only reveals their inner most insecurities, jealous nature, and hateful tendencies.
Just hope and pray that karma does not creep up and expose your shortcomings to the world abroad. Lord knows, we all have flaws, as does every individual on this planet, WE’RE ALL imperfect by nature, and rightfully so, but we all aspire to be great in our own way, but sometimes the chosen path leads us astray.
Ultimately, demonizing icons/celebrities does NOTHING to improve YOUR life. At the end of the day that responsibility is solely up to you, despite your profession, wealth or lack thereof, your background, upbringing, physical characteristics/impairment, environment, etc.
Always remember, don’t throw stones whether or not you live in a glass house.
Yours truly,
Blaq Ops
http://www.themachinenetwork.com/A-Rod
This guy can’t get out of his own way, granted, but the sheer amount of criticism he receives, borrowing a quote from Iron Mike, is ludicrous. I make no excuses for his bad choices, his personality flaws, how much money he makes, or the fact that he has not been part of a championship in his illustrious career, however, to act as if his bad judgment has profoundly compromised the “integrity” of the game is hypocritical, at best.
How soon we forget. The steroid era helped MLB reemerge as one of our nation’s favorite past time. Prior to Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa’s epic quest for the home run crown, the league was practically on life support. True, the players method of enhancing their natural ability was CHEATING, AND ILLEGAL, but ANYONE with half a brain knew these guys were juicing.
At the time, MLB turned a blind eye; they did not sound the alarm internally or otherwise. If they took the initiative to clean house, implemented more stringent drug testing, and put the players on notice right off the bat (no pun intended), perhaps they would have been able to redeem the league's integrity, and they would have suffered minimal collateral damage, even if their efforts were leaked afterwards.
Some in the media, and the “regular joes” have been making outlandish accusations. They act as though these players are the dregs of society. They question how much money A-Rod makes, but if they could afford to pay him $25mil a year, the rest of the team, operating costs, luxury tax, etc, the question they should be asking is, how much money are the owners making off the game.
Without a doubt, the players were wrong for using PED’s, but people are making statements as if “anyone” could simply inject performance enhancing drugs, and ta-da, they would become All Stars overnight as well……. WRONG! The players are the performers, they are the ones the fans come to see, and they have every right to a fair share of the revenue the game generates.
I played with guys juicing in High School, and guess what, the guys that did not have the skills to compete at the highest level, sat on the bench, whether they were clean or not. Most of the big names snared in this controversy were great before they started using. They may have cheated but they were NEVER talentless bums.
Without a doubt, the drugs enhanced their natural abilities, but as we can see A LOT of athletes in general, cheated in order to live up to the immense challenges, expectations, and pressures, to remain at the top of their game. Once you’re incapable of performing, they will put you out to pasture, quickly, and no one sheds a tear for them, besides their fanatics.
I long for the day, society in general, will be sincere, and reserve judgment when anyone screws up. Introspect a bit, analyze your life or the lives of people you know and/or love personally, and use that bad example as an opportunity to correct any similar inequities, instead of piling on.
Yes, celebrities make an enormous amount of money, they are privileged, some of them ignorant, and the spotlight is part of the game, but never forget, no matter how god like they may appear to be, at the end of the day they are mortals, and they are individuals, just like every single one of US.
The game of life can be treacherous, and for these athletes, the spotlight is alluring, entrapping, but ultimately, brief. When critics use a celebrity’s demise as an opportunity to totally destroy their character, to me, it only reveals their inner most insecurities, jealous nature, and hateful tendencies.
Just hope and pray that karma does not creep up and expose your shortcomings to the world abroad. Lord knows, we all have flaws, as does every individual on this planet, WE’RE ALL imperfect by nature, and rightfully so, but we all aspire to be great in our own way, but sometimes the chosen path leads us astray.
Ultimately, demonizing icons/celebrities does NOTHING to improve YOUR life. At the end of the day that responsibility is solely up to you, despite your profession, wealth or lack thereof, your background, upbringing, physical characteristics/impairment, environment, etc.
Always remember, don’t throw stones whether or not you live in a glass house.
Yours truly,
Blaq Ops
http://blaqops.blogspot.com/
Thursday, February 5, 2009
NO SECRET....
I've said it long ago, a superstar is all this team is lacking, period! Although Hell Week has started off 0-2, and despite the organization's bumbling of the Marbury situation, I am confident this team is "constantly" improving, and should get their first taste of the playoffs this year.
If the core continues to develop their game individually, and, within the D'Antoni system, once we land an SUPERSTAR, sky is the limit. Mark my words......
I only hope I am financially capable to witness the re-emergence of the Franchise, first hand, when it happens.
Blaq Ops
http://blaqops.blogspot.com/
BERNARD DREAMS OF GARDEN'S FUTURE KING 2/05/09 NY POST
Reached at his home in Atlanta, King, who watched Bryant's historic night on television, told The Post it would be "phenomenal" if the KnicksNew York Knicks can sign King James in 2010.
"The Knicks need a superstar," said King, the Brooklyn-born forward who is still a big Knicks fan. "They should always have a superstar like LeBron. Being in New York, the biggest media capital in the world, it would be phenomenal. It's something I would love to see. The Knicks deserve to be mentioned in the top echelon of the league. LeBron would be a perfect fit in the offense because D'Antoni would love to run with him."
***************************
Let's just hope karma doesn't derail the potential of a superstar coming to the club in 2010. Obviously, the league is privy to the way the organization treated Steph, and although he was a perennial malcontent, he did not deserve to be ostracized like that.
He did everything they asked of him in the off/pre season, they should have given him enough rope to hang himself, but the organization jumped the gun, which has transformed him into sort of a "martyr" in the eyes of many around the league.
That being said, the current cast of players on this team are primed for championships, we just need that "ONE" piece. Hopefully, time will grant the organization clemency, and All Stars will once again gravitate back to the biggest Basketball stage in the world.
Blaq Ops
http://blaqops.blogspot.com/
STAR IS NOT KEEN ON GUTTED TEAM 2/05/09 NY POST
The Knicks traded away their two leading scorers, frantically trying to clear salary cap space for the 2010 free-agent class that is headlined by LeBron James and includes Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. King James offered them both a tantalizing reminder of what they're chasing, and a warning of how not to get him.
"It all depends on what type or caliber of players you have. And if you're a team that you feel is trying to build toward the future, then I definitely would," James said. "If I was in that position and I felt like our team was geared toward the future and not the present,
I'd try to put myself in a position where I at least had a chance to get a big market player.
"But you don't want to just trash the season you have, and disrespect the players you have on the team. . . . It would be a tough decision for me if I was running a team."
If the core continues to develop their game individually, and, within the D'Antoni system, once we land an SUPERSTAR, sky is the limit. Mark my words......
I only hope I am financially capable to witness the re-emergence of the Franchise, first hand, when it happens.
Blaq Ops
http://blaqops.blogspot.com/
BERNARD DREAMS OF GARDEN'S FUTURE KING 2/05/09 NY POST
Reached at his home in Atlanta, King, who watched Bryant's historic night on television, told The Post it would be "phenomenal" if the KnicksNew York Knicks can sign King James in 2010.
"The Knicks need a superstar," said King, the Brooklyn-born forward who is still a big Knicks fan. "They should always have a superstar like LeBron. Being in New York, the biggest media capital in the world, it would be phenomenal. It's something I would love to see. The Knicks deserve to be mentioned in the top echelon of the league. LeBron would be a perfect fit in the offense because D'Antoni would love to run with him."
***************************
Let's just hope karma doesn't derail the potential of a superstar coming to the club in 2010. Obviously, the league is privy to the way the organization treated Steph, and although he was a perennial malcontent, he did not deserve to be ostracized like that.
He did everything they asked of him in the off/pre season, they should have given him enough rope to hang himself, but the organization jumped the gun, which has transformed him into sort of a "martyr" in the eyes of many around the league.
That being said, the current cast of players on this team are primed for championships, we just need that "ONE" piece. Hopefully, time will grant the organization clemency, and All Stars will once again gravitate back to the biggest Basketball stage in the world.
Blaq Ops
http://blaqops.blogspot.com/
STAR IS NOT KEEN ON GUTTED TEAM 2/05/09 NY POST
The Knicks traded away their two leading scorers, frantically trying to clear salary cap space for the 2010 free-agent class that is headlined by LeBron James and includes Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. King James offered them both a tantalizing reminder of what they're chasing, and a warning of how not to get him.
"It all depends on what type or caliber of players you have. And if you're a team that you feel is trying to build toward the future, then I definitely would," James said. "If I was in that position and I felt like our team was geared toward the future and not the present,
I'd try to put myself in a position where I at least had a chance to get a big market player.
"But you don't want to just trash the season you have, and disrespect the players you have on the team. . . . It would be a tough decision for me if I was running a team."
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