NCredibly Ignorant

Stop me if you've heard this before.  An entertainer with a net worth many times above the people he's speaking to, tries to garner support by playing on their worst fears.  His "credibility" is based on his success in business.  He hopes the message he's sending provokes an emotional reaction big enough to get them to spend money on him so he can be their "voice" while everyone else looks on with amazement at how so many people can be so easily duped into championing actions that are clearly not in their best interests.  That's right, I'm talking about...

Nick Cannon.

Yeah, I can see the struggle all over your designer suit. (Photo: laineygossip.com)

Mr. Cannon, who's net worth is estimated to be over $50 million, actually thought it was a good idea to, write, film, and release a work of spoken word called "Too Broke to Vote"*, discouraging his fans from voting.  VOTING.  You know, the most powerful say we have in how our lives are governed.  The thing Super PACs, Democrats, Republicans, and every other party in the country spends billions of dollars in advertising to convince you to cast yours for them.  The thing that is considered so important that it was kept in the hands of the elite for the better part of this country's history.  The thing that great men died for to make available to Nick's family 50 years ago and is still under legal attack today.  The practice that he uses on his own shows  that allow him to make his fortune in the first place.  So according to Nick, voting is great when it makes him money but not when deciding who our local and national leaders will be?  The logic is absolutely Trumpian and in that spirit, let's take a journey into what life is like when everyone follows Mr. "Ncredible's" advice and simply stays home on Election Day.

Ferguson, Missouri:

"...majority-black Ferguson has a virtually all-white power structure: a white mayor; a school board with six white members and one Hispanic, which recently suspended a highly regarded young black superintendent who then resigned; a City Council with just one black member; and a 6 percent black police force."

-- 8/14/2014, Jeff Smith, NY Times Op-Ed "In Ferguson, Black Town, White Power"

The Michael Brown tragedy wasn't a one off.  His passing was an inevitable symptom of what happens when the people who live in a town aren't who's represented in its governance, similar to colonialism.  Abuse, neglect, and violations of human rights are almost a certainty yet Ferguson's voter turnout for its last Mayoral election, in 2014, was still just 12%.  I wonder if Nick would put his money where is mouth is and see what its like to live as an average Ferguson resident for a year.  They clearly agree with his political views.


Chicago, Illinois

The mercifully FORMER Chicago DA (Photo: fox32chicago.com)

"[Anita] Alvarez is the Cook County state's attorney, which is just another way of saying that she's the DA of Chicago. She has been working in the state's attorney's office as a prosecutor for nearly 30 years and has been the head of the office since 2008. She's up for re-election next November, and the March primary is coming up quickly. Kim Foxx, a Chicago native and a believer in criminal justice reform, is challenging her in the primary. (There will be more on Foxx in the next post.)

Alvarez is known as one of the worst prosecutors in the country. Here are just a few of the dozens of stories of misconduct and bad behavior in Alvarez’s office."

-- 11/24/2015, Josie Duffy, Daily Kos, "The Horrifying Behavior of Anita Alvarez, Chicago's Head Prosecutor"  

Anita Alvarez, now jobless after being voted out (see how that works, Nick?), was at the center of not one but two high-profile cases in which the murders of African Americans were treated with utter contempt and disrespect.  In the case of Rekia Boyd, Alvarez deliberately under charged her killer, Chicago Police Detective Dante Servin, with "reckless conduct" instead of first degree murder, knowing that it would be dismissed because the facts of the case clearly point to the more serious charge.  Servin is still on the force...for now.  In the case of LaQuan McDonald, the final nail in her coffin, she knew the police version of the events leading up to the 17 year old's death were a lie.  She refused to do anything about it, however, until a judge forced the release of a dash cam video exposing the cover up.  Only then did she charge Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke with murder.  I still find it incredulous she hasn't been brought up on charges of prosecutorial misconduct but I'll take my victories where I can.


Cleveland, Ohio

"Very interesting people who have their own economic motives"--Former Prosecutor McGinty describing Tamir Rice's mother (Photo: Lisa DeJong/Cleveland Plain Dealer)

"We have never seen a prosecutor try so hard to lose a case," [Jonathan S.] Abady, attorney for the mother of Tamir Rice said.

The grand jury needs only to find that the evidence presents probable cause that a crime has been committed in order to indict a suspect, but Rice's family claims that McGinty seemed to be working explicitly to convince the grand jury of the officers' innocence.

Less than two weeks after receiving the case, McGinty released a redacted version of the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department's investigative report to the public. The Times reported that McGinty believes publicly releasing evidence increases the transparency of the investigation and could help prevent unrest akin to that in Ferguson, Missouri, where evidence was only made available to the public after the decision not to indict the police shooter was announced."

-- 12/28/15, Dan Turkel, Business Insider, "Tamir Rice's family accuses prosecutor of 'manipulating' grand jury to get cops out of indictment for 12-year-old's death"

Timothy McGinty, the now former head prosecutor in Cuyahoga County, was also voted out of office (amazing how that works isn't it, Nick?) after his office, like Alvarez's, also botched two high profile cases of the deaths of African Americans.  To his credit, at least he prosecuted the officers involved in the deaths of Timothy Russell, and Malissa Williams, even though he failed to get a conviction. What was truly inexcusable, was his refusal to prosecute never-should-have-been-a-cop Tim Loehmann for the cold blooded murder of 12 year old Tamir Rice.

 Alvarez would still be the sitting DA, running her office as her personal re-election headquarters instead of a place of justice if the people of Chicago shared Nick's apathy.  Tim McGinty would have had what amounts to a mandate for the system he works for to ignore the deaths of black children at the hands of police had the people of Cuyahoga County decided nothing would change.  Ferguson is still woefully unbalanced in its representation because its citizens clearly don't understand, just like Cannon, that a closed mouth doesn't get fed.  Even with the release of the so-called "Panama Papers," highlighting the abuses of capitalism we've all suspected the world's super rich were guilty of, abandonment of the system only ensures entrenchment of the status quo.  Who watches the watchers if we, the people their actions directly affect, decide we simply can't be bothered?  I don't know if Cannon is a rags to riches story of if he was born into privilege, nor do I care.  What concerns me is how easily someone who is part of the 1%, the people who are historically least affected by political change, can convince people that willingly abdicating the little political power they have is a good idea.  Nick Cannon's message isn't a call to revolution against the system.  It's an appeal to your baser instincts, anger and fear, to manipulate you into doing what people like him are best at.  Separating you from your money.  With every YouTube click, money flows into his pocket.  You know what America would look like if we did as he's suggesting?  Maybe you should ask your grandparents. Then ask them if they ever thought they were "too broke to vote."

Who Cares About Father's Day?

I didn't grow up celebrating Father's Day.  If my life were a sitcom,  my father would be the recurring special guest star you don't see for 3 seasons then shows up for the season finale.  As a matter of fact, most of my life I thought Father's Day, Mother's Day, and Velentines Day were corporate holidays solely designed to get you to spend money. I know a lot of people who feel this way and I was right there with them.  My family changed my mind.

Thanks, Chris.  Bet you won't say this on Mothers Day, though.

"Why do you want props for something you're supposed to do anyway?" - the Peanut Gallery

Men are wired to need two things, appreciation and respect.  It's why men working a dead-end jobs and/or hear nothing but complaints from their lady at home feel like their soul is being crushed.  No one wants to put their heart and soul into something day in and day out for the only pay off to be criticism and indifference.  Sounds great in a stand up routine but real men need to know their efforts are appreciated. (Deadbeat dads and no-ambition workers, this is not for you.  Shhh.). 

"If you appreciate your [insert loved one here] every other day of the year why do you need a special day?"

Anything you do every single day becomes normal and routine.  People are people.  We get angry, say things we don't mean, get caught up in our own drama, and tend to forget to be nice to those we see and love the most.  It isn't possible to do something above and beyond every day.  

You already know...

We love our families.  We work hard to keep them safe, protected, clothed, and fed and there isn't a day we don't think about how to do better for them.  A special heartfelt thank you from the people we care about the most is worth more than any pair of Jordan's, any power tool set, any sports championship, any favorite car, or ...tie.  So to all my brothers standing in the gap...

Word! Caribbean Book Fest

I can't say enough how refreshing it was to be around such creative and conscious souls.  The myriad of publishers, authors, and enthusiasts gave the Word! event an energy that felt like home.  It's easy to forget how many writers are still out there struggling to get across the message of the everyman to to other everyday people.  The job of a writer is a time consuming emotional roller coaster that if you don't have the right support, can throw you into the proverbial dirt like a wild bull.  These people reminded me just how sweet it is when you refuse to let go.  I got speak with great fiction writers like Marlon James, author of Jon Crow's Devil, The Book of Night Women, and A Brief History of Seven Killings.  Insight into another author's creative process, as individually unique as it is, can provide a great starting point for novice writers like me to create their own.  The art form itself is so cathartic to me I can't help but put pen to paper or keystroke to screen when the fire is lit.  It's not often I get to be surrounded by people who have that same passion.  An added bonus is that most of the guests have lived the immigrant experience and not only put it into their stories, but the books have a cultural flavor and authenticity that can't be matched by mainstream writers.  It's nice to know that I don't have to compromise myself, nor should I, to write a great story.  That's not something many of us can say every day.