Guess You Can’t Call the MLB Racist

They finally did it. After many years of whining by a VERY tiny minority, Major League Baseball has finally put the kibosh on the Cleveland Indian’s mascot - Chief Wahoo.

Starting in 2019, the Cleveland Indians will no longer display Chief Wahoo on their uniforms. Not only that, but the MLB will no longer sell any merchandise with the Chief Wahoo logo. The Chief is still welcome in the stands and will be available at the team shop, but the MLB will no longer “officially” recognize the long-loved mascot.

My feelings concerning Chief Wahoo have been expressed previously. If you want to read about some history and my reasonings why we should KEEP Chief Wahoo, please take a few moments to read it (or, hopefully, REread it!)

As far as the why, I think that is pretty self-evident: Cleveland has been granted the privilege of being home to the All-Star Game in 2019. Coincidence? I think not. I think that the only way Cleveland was granted the honor was IF they allowed for the “retirement” of the mascot.

Now, there are people who like the block “C” logo, and people who don’t. Not to sound like an advertisement - which this is NOT - but there IS a very tasteful alternative. GV Art & Design has come up with a design that removes the Chief, without removing the heart:

Classy, tasteful, and very Cleveland!

If you want to read more, check out this brief article from a local Cleveland station: http://m.cleveland19.com/story/37376116/should-this-cleveland-indians-logo-replace-chief-wahoo

I could go into a tirade over the fact that the minority voice is calling the shots in our society, regardless of what the majority thinks. I could talk about the fact that there is a generation (or two) with VERY thin skin out there. I could mention that trying to rewrite history does not make it better. I could even mention the 1st Inning of the Ken Burns’ documentary “Baseball” that proved how the racism of a MINORITY of white players kept black players from being a part of the MLB for YEARS.

But I won’t. I’ve got too much class (NOT!)

But I will say that I’m sure the MLB will be very happy with the loss of revenue from Chief Wahoo merchandise sales (sarcasm font). Because, the MLB is NOT racist. And neither am I. And if you think that because I’m wearing Chief Wahoo that I am? You are wrong.

And an idiot.

© Emittravel 2018

If You Can't Say Something Nice . . .

Hello, my name is J.P. and I'm a podcast junkie. The podcast can be all talk, or all music, and I'm hooked. If you ever see me and I have a Bluetooth earpiece firmly attached to the side of my head, there's a good chance that a podcast is softly running in the background. My player of choice is Pocket Casts. I use it on my Android phone with the earpiece or over the speakers in the Jeep, or on my Windows phone over a Bluetooth speaker I installed in my motorcycle helmet.

Many of the podcasts I listen to are just for background noise. They have this neat feature of drowning out the voices in my head. Many of those I'll play at 1.5x (or 1.7x) the normal speed. But those are talk only. When it comes to music podcasts, it's all normal speed.

Music podcasts are great in the Jeep and on the motorcycle. There is usually too much wind noise for talk.

And that brings me to a music podcast I was listening to on my way home from work the other day. It's called "KEXP - Music That Matters Podcast". From what I've experienced, it seems that different DJs from the radio station host the podcast - trading off for each. This provides a wide variety of music styles depending on the tastes of the DJ.

Now, to be honest, I listen to any kind of music except for rap and reggae. If it shows up in a mix, I'll listen - and even enjoy it - but not necessarily will I listen to an album's worth in a row. The particular episode I was listening to focused on hip-hop/rap music. In the first song the "n" word was dropped. Okay, it's "gangsta rap" and I can forgive that - once. In the second song the "n" word was dropped again. After the "n" word was dropped in the third song I skipped the rest of the podcast.

As I've joked before, I come from a predominantly Caucasian family. And as far as I know, we have NO history of slave ownership in my family tree. I say that because I want to make sure you understand what I'm about to say. Ready? "I HATE the 'n' word!"

Do you understand what I said? I HATE the "n" word. I do NOT use it. My dad summed it up for me once a long time ago. He said, "The definition of the "n" word: the lowest form of human life. Did you notice there wasn't a color in that definition? I've known white people who would stab you in the back quicker than a black man." My dad is a wise man.

Let me ask you: is the "n" word offensive? If so, why does ANYONE use it? I'm not just talking white people. (As a side, I remember a comedian mention once that there was no such thing as white people. He then held up a sheet of paper to his head and said, "If they are this color they're DEAD! We are all the same color - just different shades of brown.")

If it is offensive for a white person to say it, it is JUST as offensive for black person to say it. And don't give me that "A brother can call another brother a n****r" crap. I've NEVER heard a white man call another white man "cracker".

Should the "n" word die? Absolutely. Is it offensive if someone calls someone the "n" word? Absolutely. But the "n" word will NEVER die as long as a black person can use it. And as a word to the black people who feel they can use it: STOP IT!! Quit pushing a mixed message.

As part of my "research" for this blog (don't laugh, I research . . . sometimes . . . ) I came across the ONLY time a black person used the "n" word appropriately. The comedian Chris Rock used it as part of his "Bring the Pain" (1996) stand up show. And the gist of what he was saying was that he, as a black man, didn't like n****rs either. It's a very funny, but not-safe-for-work routine (and I'm not linking to it - research it yourself).

I was looking for a certain quote from Chris Rock (who was AMAZING as the 13th Apostle in the movie "Dogma", by the way), but found the above instead. Since I couldn't find the quote, I'll refer to an old "Bloom County" comic strip by Berkeley Breathed.

In the strip, Steve Dallas (recently having been abducted by aliens and having his brain scrambled - turning him from an ultra-conservative to an ultra-liberal - including a perm) has his parents over visiting. His mother is looking out the window:

Steve's mom: "That's the most adorable little colored girl playing outside."
Steve: "'Colored'? You're saying 'colored people' in 1983? You know better, Ma."
Mom: "Then why the 'National Association for the Advancement of Colored People'? I don't think negroes mind at all."
Steve: "DON'T say 'negroes', Ma! You can't say 'negroes'!"
Mom: "Can I say 'United Negro College Fund'?"
Steve: "You are baiting me, Ma!"
Steve's dad: "That's it. We're leaving."
Mom: "Stay put, Reginald. 'Mister socially sensitive' isn't through shaming his parents into enlightenment."
Steve: "Everybody just calm down. Let's agree to use the New-Age term 'People of Color'."
Mom: "People of Color".
Steve: "People of Color".
Mom: "Colored people."
Steve: "NO!!"
Dad: "We're leaving."

(Respects to Mr. Breathed. I pulled that from my copy of "Bloom County Presents The Night of the Mary Kay Commandos". I even had it bookmarked!)

To conclude: There will be no end to racism as long as we continue to label everyone. Get over it people. We belong to one race: the human race. That includes all people of all colors, religions, and sexual preferences.

And before you go calling me a "right-wing fanatic", remember: that's a label!

©Emittravel 2016

Who Told You That?!?

WHO told you that?!? Who TOLD you that?!? Who told YOU that?!? Who told you THAT?!?

The other day a coworker told me about a transgender woman being attacked on a subway. A woman started yelling obscenities at her and ended up chasing her around the car. At one point the attacker yelled, "What should we do about you 'cause this sh** right here ain't appropriate for my child." The attacker wasn't travelling with her child at the time, but apparently didn't see the disconnect between screaming obscenities at someone for just being different and determining what was appropriate or inappropriate for her child.

I'm not going to spend a lot of space discussing my opinions on the whole transgender topic. If you want, you can read that here.

You do not have the right to hate someone because of their sexual identity.

I want to ask the woman one question: Who told you that?!?

President Barack Obama has been given the "title" of "First Black President". That is a title I have a lot of problems with. For one thing, he comes from a father who is black and a mother who is white. So, if anything, he is the "First Half-Black President". Calling him "black" is just as racist as calling him "white". Regardless of whether or not you agree with his policies, if you focus on the color of his skin - as a badge of honor or disgrace - you are being racist.

Let me state that again: It does not matter whether you focus on the color of his skin in a positive or negative way, the mere act of focusing IS racist. You can consider him the best President this country has ever seen, or the devil's spawn himself, but you have to do that based on his character - not his color.

You do not have the right to hate someone because of the color of their skin.

I want to ask you one question: Who told you that?!?

Where did this prejudice come from? Is it something that is a part of our DNA? I don't think so. Our basic belief structures are influenced - nay, determined by those who we either chose (friends, coworkers, church members) or don't chose (parents, extended family, church members[?]) to associate with. It is up to us to open our eyes and minds to the POSSIBILITY that what we've been molded by was wrong. And once we've allowed ourselves that opportunity, it is up to us to change. How? Maybe by consciously filtering the inputs we receive before they, like weeds, take root in us and choke the life out of the beauty that we can experience.

I’m going to end this blog by sharing a "Shots of Awe" video. This video doesn't focus on the prejudice I've been smacking, rather, it focuses on the fact that our free will is not autonomous. Rather, it is influenced by the world around us, and our free will, as a result, influences it back.

©Emittravel 2016

Stuff My Brain Says #40

I think it a pretty sad state of affairs when a person is championed who looks at all things through "race-colored glasses". No matter what the issue, right or wrong, moral or immoral, legal or otherwise, there are some who take the viewpoint that dissension to their opinion HAS to be racist. Take it to heart: if this describes you, you are a very small-minded and cowardly individual.

Of course, that just means I MUST be racist . . .

© Emittravel 2012

Stuff My Brain Says #26

If you vote for or against a candidate because of race, sex, or whatever, you have PROVEN that we have not progressed as a people. I just heard commentary where the Republicans are alienating the Hispanic base. You know what? I'd LOVE to hear a candidate say that they don't give a FLIP about race, sex, or whatever, and that we are ONE American family, and they want what is best for America. THAT candidate will get my attention.

If you voted AGAINST President Obama because he is black you are a RACIST. If you voted FOR President Obama because he is black you are a RACIST.

We will not have progressed as a people until we look past race, sex, or whatever, and have actually listened to what comes out of a person's mouth. In other words, and I'm dating myself here, the ideal candidate will be the Unknown Comic!

© Emittravel 2011