djchucklaross

[djchucklaross]

The NBA returned Thursday night as the first set of games were played in the Orlando Bubble. The Lakers played cross town rivals the Los Angeles clippers. And Zion’s Pelicans played the NBA patient zero Rudy Gobert’s Utah Jazz. Following these two matchups what was trendy on Twitter was not about the teams play, but rather what LeBron and the robot Kawhi showed up wearing to the arena. LeBron showed up to the arena looking like business as usual, and Kawhi looks like he is taking the trash cans to the curb the night before trash day. Twitter was fast to give their opinions of the two outfits. So here is a collection of my favorite tweets:

https://twitter.com/espnnba/status/1288976129492234240?s=21

[djchucklaross]

NBA is Back!

With the NBA officially coming back tonight there are tons of unanswered questions. First off, is the bubble efficient? Has the bubble kept NBA clubs safe? In addition, to these questions let’s  talk about play. Anthony Davis is set to miss the Lakers first game with an eye injury will King James be good without him? The Pelicans are on the fringe of making the NBA playoffs will Zion carry them to the playoffs? How will Lou Williams strip club visit affect the Clippers first seed chase? These questions make for an exciting shorten NBA season. If I had to predict the finals right now I got the Lakers over the Bucks in six games.

#NBA #Lakers #Bucks #Orlando #Bubbletalk #Clippers

[djchucklaross]

Netflix takes us back to the 90s

Most Americans have been locked in their homes since the middle of March due to the COVID-19 virus. Without, bars, clubs, movie theaters, live sports, concerts, and sit-in restaurants Americans have been stuck to their couches with little to do (Imagine what people did during the bubonic plague). However, with not a lot to do Netflix has done its job in providing entertainment to the world from uploading shows like the Tiger King, Avatar the Last Air Bender, Space Force, and others. These uploads have brought us a temporary escape from the crazy world we are living in right now. However, given the fact that we do not know how long this virus is gonna keep us inside Netflix has taken a huge step to keep us entertained in the fall. The company has announced that they are gonna take us back to the 90s and early 2000s with a sense of nostalgia by adding seven shows. The shows are as follows:

Moesha- August 1st

The Game- August 15th

Sister- Sister- September 1st

Girlfriends- September 11th

The Parkers- October 1st

Half & Half- October 15th

One on One- October 15th

[djchucklaross]

Today is not just a regular Tuesday. But,  today is July 28th, 2020, which means  DeAndre Cortez Way or more commonly known as Soulja Boy turns 30. The Chicago rapper throughout his illustrious career has provided us with countless sound clips like “Drrrrraaaaakkkkkkeee?”. Soulja Boy has also given a generation of middle schoolers in the 2000s with a song that would be played at every school dance across the United States.

Soulja Boy is often considered a joke unfairly. I cannot stress the influence the rapper has had on the culture.  Let’s begin with his debut song "Crank That (Soulja Boy)," which landed at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. In addition, the song also was digitally downloaded over 3 million times in the United States which was a record at the time. Following his debut single Soulja Boy was the first artist to record a full-length album using fruity loops or FL Studios which was his debut album called “Souljaboytellem.com”.  Soulja Boy was really the first artist to use the YouTube platform to gain fame through creating a dance video that went viral that gained tens of millions of views. His YouTube technique has been replicated by many artists from Drake to 15-year-old tik tokers. And, let’s not forget that he is the OG internet troll. Soulja Boy has used trolling as a device to stay relevant over the past decade without really putting music out.  The Chicago rapper’s impact on the culture can not be stressed enough he has crafted a path to success in Hip-Hop through using the internet and YouTube and the majority of rappers today follow his path.

Happy Birthday, Soulja!

[djchucklaross]

Baseball is back?

I must admit that I am a huge baseball fan, and I was rather excited for it to come back. I was looking forward to seeing Giancarlo Stanton finally healthy in the pinstripes. However, as I watched the games over the weekend I thought to myself how is this possible? And, what are our values as Americans? The thoughts that I could come up with is that bringing baseball back is possible because the American culture is one of consumerism. This consumerism is what drives all of us. We consume everything food, drinks, music, film, and all sorts of entertainment. One form of entertainment that I find in particular that Americans consume with such fascination is professional athletics. Not only, do the American consumers take in professional athletics, but professional athletics is a major infrastructure that drives profits and continues to put money in the pockets of the more than well to do folks. Therefore, my answer to how is this possible is the owners, executives, and even some players will do anything to get money regardless of the fact that there is a global pandemic that has killed over 600,000 people and has laid off millions of other people. And, these same people do not care about how their decisions affect others especially lower-class folks, minorities, and children. This reckless way of decision making is a result of American hegemonic values.

The American hegemony has conditioned Americans to believe what the Wu-Tang Clan calls C.R.E.A.M. or Cash Rules Everything Around Me. This belief in money continues to put people in danger. This is where we are today. 14 people in the Miami Marlins baseball organization has tested positive for COVID-19. The Miami Marlins are a PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL ORGANIZATION, meaning, they have access to resources that most Americans do not have access to. In, addition, everything is controlled in these organizations from travel to nutrition, and lodging. Even though they have access to these resources and control the club's reckless decision making has put people in danger. The baseball team being affected is horrible. However, I am still frightened by the American value of money.

In this country, the people that make decisions are unfortunately those folks with money. And they make decisions often that help them continue to make money. This is way of thinking is what truly scares me because the decisions like bringing baseball back are happening with the questions of are we opening public schools in the fall? If our policymakers and decision-makers continue to have this value of money children, teachers, administrators, staff members, and their families will be put in great danger in the fall of 2020. The majority of public schools lack the resources to test their members for the virus and keep them safe from it. And schools cannot control what their students do once the last bell of the day rings. Ultimately, it is time to make crucial decisions that are not influenced by money, but rather the decisions must take account for safety, morality, and the longevity of civilization

[djchucklaross]

Baptizing American Sin

As I sit here I reflect on a conversation I had with my friend. He began this conversation with me by simply asking “Charles what do you think of all of this”?  I took a moment to gather my thoughts but it was at that moment I was momentarily paralyzed with a loss of words. I remained silent for a little while longer. Noticing the silence he asked “Bro like what are your thoughts with the shit that's going on”? Hearing the question phrased in this fashion I was able to formulate some thoughts. I moved to change these thoughts into words.  I began to answer his question by saying “ I wish I could say that I am surprised but sadly that is not the truth. In fact, I am not.” This response caught him off guard a little so he asked me “ What do you mean by that” I told him “look what do you expect? A pandemic has caused people to remain in isolation in their homes since the beginning of March. And even in this nationwide and global pandemic, Black Americans continue to face the same racial injustices, marginalization, inequities, and inequalities they have experienced for the past 400 years”.    

    Now for the purpose of this, I do not want to go into the conversation that ensued following this statement I made. However, I want to focus on the element that I was not surprised.  Let me tell you why these murders, public killings, and spectacle lynchings are just scratching on the surface. Do not get it twisted I am not making light of these deaths. But what I am saying the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmed Aubrey, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Paris Cameron, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Brooklyn Lindsey, Mike Brown, Tony McDade, and so many countless other Black Americans are parts of a much greater evil system. And these deaths are enabled and are permitted by the greatest sin of America which was the institution of legalized slavery which lasted as a legal institution from 1619 until 1865. Following the abolishment of slavery America has never repented for this great sin, in fact, America continues to commit sins against Black Americans. These sins only are perpetuated and sustained by the White Capitalist Supremacy Patriarchy which manifest systemic racism. And, in this manifestation, Black Americans continue to face inequalities, inequities, disenfranchisement, marginalization, hatred, and death. These traumas are apparent and urgent. But how do we move forward and transform?             

Before we transform we must remember something. And, that is before we are Black, White Latinx, Arab, Asian, etc we are HUMANS. And, I don’t write this to be corny, cliché, or ‘colorblind’. However, I say this as the realization we are humans who coinhabit this planet, and currently, the way we are living is not sustainable. With this realization, we need to figure this out! In addition to this realization that we are all humans, we must address that there is a system in place to keep Black Americans from gaining economic and political freedom. Also, this same system restricts Black Americans from truly living free in a country they built. WE MUST ACKNOWLEDGE THIS FACT. WE CAN NO LONGER REMAIN PASSIVE. IT IS CRUCIAL THAT WE CALL A SPADE A SPADE. The spade is the WHITE CAPITALIST SUPREMACY PATRIARCHY.              The system of the  WHITE CAPITALIST SUPREMACY PATRIARCHY is a system that affects our daily lives. Racism is not the only kryptonite that suffocates Black lives, but it is a part of a system. Capitalism, patriarchal masculinity, American hegemonic values, and racism are the variables that drastically hinder Black life. However, I firmly believe we can change this system. I have faith in the people of this country. America has rallied on multiple occasions. Now more than ever is a time to rally. Our rally call now is liberation. We must liberate every American citizen to create a society in which every citizen feels to live free.      

  So how do we move forward? How does America get baptized to wash away its original sin? To be honest I do not have a real answer to this question because the system of oppression has existed for centuries. But, what I do have is a start to dismantling this system. Like I said previously we must first address and acknowledge that such an institutional system exist. And then something different. It’s a very philosophical and abstract idea because we live in a world that operates on a binary either you’re right or wrong, you are good or bad, you are Black or white, there is just and unjust, and finally yes or no. But the reality is no one truly lives on one side of the spectrum the majority of people operate in the grey. And given this fact, people have their own ideas, experiences, biases, prejudices, and perspectives. However, given this binary, we are conditioned to think and believe certain ‘truths’ the problem with this way of thinking it avoids conversations and discourse.  We need to enter the zone of proximity and have deliberate and challenging conversations.         

    Therefore in these conversations, it is imperative that we do not cancel people. Meaning, we cannot call people out but we must call people in. Calling a person out is a tool of alienation. Therefore, we must call people in. If a person goofs up don’t criticize or chastise them but rather provide constructive criticism. With this being said, it is vital, WE CANNOT BE SOFT WE HAVE TO ACCEPT CRITICISM AND LEARN FROM IT. Now, conversations only go so far.WE MUST ALSO QUESTION and ACT. What should we question and act upon? To begin with, how can we create equitable economic opportunities for EVERY CITIZEN? How do we educate our children? How do we fund our public school system?  How do we police our citizens? How do we disrupt the current housing structure that systematically displaces Black folks? These questions are very broad strokes on the painting of oppression. However, I believe these strokes are important. Along, with these questions, we must also act. We act by voting, and not just for presidential elections but also for LOCAL ELECTIONS. In addition, we need to be politically active writing and calling our local politicians.We must fight for representation and diverse voices and faces in every field. We must write and create! We must work to educate. Not only do we educate but we must also be liberatory educators. Meaning, we allow for folks to question and to think.                 

Ultimately, I believe it comes down to seeing the world and your life in a different way. We begin to see differently we enter the zone of proximity. We have to get close to people. We have to have conversations that are hard and uncomfortable. More than anything we have to know each other. Like the magnificent bell hooks said “ When we drop fear, we can draw nearer to people, we can draw nearer to the earth, we can draw nearer to all the heavenly creatures that surround us”. That is how we baptize ourselves.