Crossing The Line

Most days, as I listen to my local radio station, I feel the responsibility of my generation. The full weight of a mere decade's worth of years seperation between the 30-25 year-old crowd and the 15-20 year-old generation, or as Whitney put it "our future". "Why," you may ask either quietly or out loud? Because we set the standard, then, in what is seeming to be the calling card of this generation, changed our fucking minds as to what is deemed "normal" or "acceptable" by society's norms. Case in point. About a month and a half ago, on a beautiful Sunday afternoon that normally would've had my kids and wife (emphasis on KID'S, here) in the car with me on our way to Sunday dinner (instead, I was leaving work), across the radio comes the commercial for, I swear on a stack of anything I hold holy, a BIG BOOTY White Girl contest at a local nightclub... I'll pause while you compose yourselves. Now, not only was this a contest to determine an opponent for the following week's winner of a Big Booty Sista contest (sigh), apparently my generation's definition of a big booty "white" girl, is ANY female that's not black... Asian, Hispanic, Indian (red dot AND feathers), any persuasion "other than" automatically gets lumped in under the "white" label.
My disappointment lies not only with our fascination with the celebrated posterior anamolies of white girls, but with how our generation will be remebered throughout history. We seem hell-bent on being the most sexually explicit, most promiscuous, least educated, least motivated, least politically aware generation THIS side of Jesus' birth and death. Now, though this may seem like a tirade directed squarely at my fellow Afro-turned-Americans, it's not. It's not COMPLETELY our fault, but damned if we aren't standing still watching this shit happen (a stance that will be discussed in a later blog). This is a collaborative effort FROM all races that needs to be addressed BY all races. The decline of standards is not due to hip-hop music, rock music, television or movies. The decline of standards is due to the lack of families behaving as families and NOT as individuals living under the same roof. The lack of standards are due to the acceptance of mediocrity within our school systems. None of these are racial or classist flaws, yet, we being a racist and classist society, these are seen as problems ONLY within urban demographic areas.
We crossed a line decades ago when we decided that the fate of this nation rested on the shoulders of the wealthy and disassociated minority. Now, I'm FAR from being a Karl Marx-supporter (I'm VERY pro-capitalist), but I do believe in the quote, "a country for the people, by the people." That's the dichotemy of being American, I guess.

I realize that the responsibility I feel as I listen to the radio, or catch myself stupefied by an episode of "Maury" (and get excited EVERY time I hear "You are NOT the father!"), is simply maturity finally catching up with me. With that reality check, I look back at my generation at 15-20 and see eerie similarities (2008 = Soulja Boy, 1998 = Freak Nasty... need I continue?) to the current crop of tomorrow's future. Though I bitch and moan now, much like my mother did when she didn't understand the bullshit that I fed my brain THEN, I must have faith that we will be of the same assistance that OUR elders were in guiding us on the path we're on (be it positive or negative). And pray that a "white" girl never beats a black girl in a "Big Booty Shake-off"...

Guess what? Daddie'z Home...

Welcome. Bienvenue. Wilkkomen. ¡Hola! I figured I'd give you, my new fans, as multicultural a greeting as you'll ever get from me. Ever. For those uninitiated, my name is R. Clark, the highly intelligent, very outspoken Publisher/EIC of "Middle of Da Map" Magazine, the Midwestern hip-hop mag that hustles harder than you do.

I decided to start this blog for a few reasons, the most important one being to get MY voice and MY company out here in a very public forum. Secondly, I feel an obligation as an EIC to challenge the public's view of status quo, via ME playing devil's advocate to most opinions you hold dearly. Common sense is at a record low, people... I'm your refresher course in it. I know that a lot of people use these blogs as personal diatribes, trying to give you, the consumer, a glimpse into their personal world. Not me. What I will give you is my solemn promise that when you read entries in this blog, you WILL be entertained, and you MIGHT learn something new. What I will also promise you is that, I WILL be as biased and bullheaded as humanly possible, because, THAT'S the kind of person I am. Thank you for reading this far, now let's begin our scheduled program...


The Truth Behind "Ignorant Bliss."

I was driving home the other day, when my brother enlightened me (via text message) to something he nor I ever cared to know. Being residents of this fine mess of the United States of America, we have indulged in the culinary monstrosities known as "fast food" on MORE than our fair share of occasions. The dire-ness of his text was made more humorous to me due to the fact that I could sense the moment that he realized that he may be a pig. His message read simply: "A Monster Burger™ has 990 calories and 72 grams of fat. Christ..."
Now, to those unaware, Monster Burgers™ are the unholy meaty paradise concocted by those lovely people at Hardee's/Carl Jr.'s to enslave people with over-active saliva glands (as per the commercial they aired about a year back). Made of 2 (two) "100% Black Angus (note: Does a fast food burger REALLY need this kind of decadence? ed.) all-beef patties", cheese, mayo, and a whopping EIGHT (8) strips of bacon, anyone who dared eat this beacon of fatty indulgence DESERVES the ensuing heart stoppage it will ultimately cause!! C'MON PEOPLE!!! By no means am I attempting to slander the company, because, I've been known to partake in it's beefy goodness. BUT, (and if you eat more than one a week, the pun IS intended) you've gotta have restraint!! My brother is a healthy guy, but, as black men, we HAVE to stay on top of our diets as we inch closer and closer to the big 3-0. Diabetes aka "Sugar-betes", high cholesterol, high blood pressure, hypertension, colon cancer, prostate cancer, ALL affect us, and are ALL affected by the diets we follow.
Now, Lord forbid this be a singular rant directed at the fast food industry, this is a look at Ignorant Bliss. The wonderful acceptance of not knowing, that ALWAYS retributes and bites people in the ass. Like smokers who think that if they ONLY smoke a pack a week, that they won't get cancer... smfh. Or, that age old urban myth that a virgin won't get pregnant her first time... It's thoughts like these that lead me to believe that retarded is becoming part of "regular" society. When did it become okay to NOT pay attention to warning signs and common sense? A part of me wants to believe that this is God and "Chuckles" Darwin's way of having a collaborated laugh together. The other part of me sees the plot of "Idiocracy" playing out in real-life, and as unfunny as that movie was, the prospect of a world full of George W.'s is downright horrific.

Peace.